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Batman Inc. has become murderers and they have a new villainous leader but who exactly are these rogue international Batmen?
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman #120 by Joshua Williamson, Jorge Molina, Mikel Janín, Tomeu Morey, and VC’s Clayton Cowles, on sale now from DC Comics.
Batman left Gotham to investigate the claims that his old international team, Batman Inc., had become murderers. During the course of his investigation, he found out that Lex Luthor had taken over the team and concluded that they were in fact guilty of murder.
However, nothing was as it seemed. In Batman #120, it was revealed that the person they were accused of murdering, the new villain Abyss, was not only alive but their new leader. Now they want to kill Lex Luthor. So who exactly are the murderous members of Batman Inc.?
El Gaucho
One of the first of Batman Inc.’s original recruits. He was created by Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff and first appeared in Detective Comics #215 in 1955. Santiago Vargas was once an agent for the secret organization Spyral. After he retired from spy work, he craved more adventure. He heard of Batman and was inspired to become Argentian’s own hero, El Gaucho. He and the Dark Knight have butted heads before, over their methods and old flame Kathy Kane, the original Batwoman. Given his Spyral background, he could easily justify killing Luthor.
Man-of-Bats
Created by Ed Herron and Sheldon Moldoff and first appearing in Batman #86 in 1954, Willaim Great Eagle is the Native American Batman. He was also inspired by Batman and his son became his own Robin, Raven Red. Unlike Bruce Wayne, he isn’t rich but gives whatever he can to his community. He was part of the international team the Batmen of All Nations, Batman Inc.’s precursor. Man-of-Bats is an altruistic hero, a doctor, and an example to his community.
Bat-Man of China
The only member who didn’t feature on the original team, Bat-Man was created by Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic and first appeared in New Super-Man #1 in 2016. Wang Baixi was a big fan of the original Batman and jumped at the opportunity to become China’s own Dark Knight. He was part of the Chinese Ministry of Self-Reliance’s Justice League of China and designed tech for them and himself, including a Robinbot. He and the League left the Ministry and became free agents, so it’s no surprise he teamed up with these worldwide Batmen when he had the chance. However, considering how much of a Batman fanboy he is, murdering Luthor seems extreme.
The Dark Ranger
Australia’s Batman was created by Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff and first appeared in Detective Comics #215. The Dark Ranger is actually the sidekick of the original Ranger, known as the Scout. The original costume was inspired by Australian bushrangers but took on a space ranger theme as the years went by. Ranger’s adventures got darker and his sidekick embraced that. Could that be why he’s working with Abyss to kill Luthor?
The Hood
Rather than taking inspiration from Batman, English hero The Hood fashioned his heroic identity after Robin Hood. Created by Alan Grant and Bret Blevins and first appearing in 1993’s Batman: Shadow of the Bat #21, the British Government ensured George Cross would be invited into Batman Inc. Cross’ loyalties never truly laid with the Dark Knight and instead with the Agency, which turned out to be part of Spyral. Despite Spyral betraying him, he worked with them again after Batman Inc. first disbanded. The Hood’s motives are questionable at the best of times so who knows the real reason he rejoined the team.
Abyss
New to the series, Abyss remains a mystery. They terrorized Badhnisia and kidnapped twenty people before Batman Inc. intervened. As for their skills, they were able to best the Dark Knight in combat and blind him in an unnatural way. Although it’s revealed that they are their new leader, Lex Luthor was the one funding Batman Inc. So why kill him? Lex and the Batmen know more than they’re saying but it’s up to Batman to figure out the truth behind Abyss.
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