Batman Incorporated Is Poised To Be the International Adventure Comic DC Has Been Missing

The following contains spoilers for Batman 2022 Annual, now on sale from DC Comics.

Introduced in the wake of the Joker War storyline, Ghost-Maker has cemented himself as a unique player in the future of the DC Universe. An old frenemy of the Dark Knight who has patterned himself as a unique counterpoint to the Caped Crusader, Ghost-Maker might have finally found the perfect way into the spotlight.

The Batman 2022 Annual (by Ed Brisson, John Timms, Rex Lokus, and Clayton Cowles) sets the stage for the upcoming Batman Inc. ongoing series, and it's one of the most exciting new titles that DC has announced.

In actuality, the Batman 2022 Annual doesn't focus much on the titular Dark Knight. It instead focuses on Ghost-Maker being handed control of Batman Inc and his immediate changes to their operations. He upgrades a handful of the members to his international team (including Batman of Japan, Raven Red, Dark Ranger, El Gaucho, and Wingman), while getting under the skin of the others when he orders them to return home and effectively serve as reserves. On the revised team's first mission, Ghost-Maker leads the group to Kazbek to confront a supposed rouge former agent of Lex Luthor, Gray Wolf, who was trained to be yet another version of the Caped Crusader.

Although the massive Gray Wolf proves to be more of a threat than the team is prepared to handle, he also proves to be more heroic than expected. He initially only fights the heroes to defend the residents of his town who've been infected with a test run of Lazarus Resin. Gray Wolf even joins up with the team at the end of the day, invited by Ghost-Maker after he helps save the town by reverse engineering a cure for their illness. All of this sets the stage for Batman Inc. to be a major force going forward.

This all sets the stage for a truly epic global series, which was recently confirmed to be on the horizon. A title focused on Batman Inc. is a terrific idea, and an international game-changer for the DC Universe. Ghost-Maker and his new partner Clownhunter are some of the best new characters introduced into the Dark Knight's universe, and it's exciting to learn that they'll continue to have a presence in the DC Universe. Meanwhile, the already established members of the international team each offer their own perspectives on crime-fighting and morality and have proven to be capable heroes in their own right many times over the years. Still, this could be the showcase the group has never truly received, allowing them to really show off what makes them special.

There's also an inherently good concept behind a global squad of Batman allies working together. It's a title that could easily tie into virtually any other book, giving this team a chance to become interconnected with almost any part of the DC Universe. It's a perfect place to introduce new characters or reintroduce old ones from around the world. Having numerous agents of the team based around the globe opens up the possibility that the team could be used in any number of stories, giving any series focusing on them an ingrained ability to genre-hop at will. It also allows Batman's influence to continue to spread around the world, even as the core-Bat-family are occupied by their commitment to Gotham City.

The new series is also a way for fan-favorite characters such as England's Knight and Argentina's rough and tumble El Gaucho to get a chance to shine outside of the shadow of the Bat. The series could even take a cue from last year's Batman: The World and recruit comic creators from around the world to work on stories for the series, making it a truly international approach to the Dark Knight. A Batman Incorporated series is a terrific idea and has the potential to become a special part of the DC Universe.