In this final review with Batman Incorporated #12, the team races the clock before the Joker’s plan succeed. They do so while also facing pressure from their leader to break Batman’s cardinal rule – no killing.
Batman Incorporated #12
Written by: Ed Brisson
Art and Main Cover by: John Timms
Variant Covers: Stephen Segovia and Michele Bandini
Page Count: 32 Pages
Release Date: September 12, 2023
Please Note: This review contains spoilers.
Let me kick things off by saying the I am disappointed that Batman Incorporated #12 is the final issue of the series. This title surprised me in every possible way. From Brisson’s grasp of the individual characters and team dynamics, to John Timms’ stunning art, Batman Incorporated brought a great dynamic to the Batman universe. yet, as we get through the final installment, Brisson tells a complete story. But he also leaves the door open for many more adventures to come.
Batman Incorporated #12 – The Story
Batman Incorporated #11 ended in the streets of China as Ghost-Maker continues to push members of the team to take lethal action against the members of Joker Incorporated. This includes imploring the Bat-Man of China to take the life of his own sister. The issue ended with both he and El Gaucho in a verbal face-off with their leader. As Batman Incorporated #12 begins, the non-stop action from the previous issue continues. Thought dead after the events in issue #10, the authorities in Melbourne, Australia realizes that Dark ranger survived his encounter with Corvus Cawl. The clown, however, did not. The bomb implant the Joker placed in him took his like exactly as the Joker said it would. Yet, the hostages remained safe.
Would the same occur with Dusty Bronco? After attempting to kill Chief Man-of-Bats, he finds the hands of his son, Raven Red, around his throat. Brisson places Raven Red in a perfect position in this arc. Unlike Dark Ranger, whose past made it easy for him to go along with Ghost-Maker’s edict to kill, Charles Great Eagle never held such tendencies. He is truly his father’s son. Yet, as his dad lay near death, had no problem taking the life of the man who nearly killed his father. In the end, however, Raven Red uses better judgement.
Brisson’s placement of Raven Red’s ordeal illustrated what other members of the team felt. But he ramps it up with Raven Red compared to the rest of the team. He almost succeeds in killing the clown. yet, as El Gaucho did at the end of issue #10, he realizes how important Batman’s cardinal rule is to the team and their success. The varying ranges in thoughts of each member truly highlights Brisson understanding of each character. On one end, Dark Ranger is happy to know lethal force was allowed (well, he is Jason Todd’s dad). On the other end of the spectrum, Jiro, Bat-Man of China, Nightrunner and Knight clearly push back from the start.
Then there are those in the middle. It took the near death of his father to make Raven Red a willing killer. El Gaucho, who throughout the series, became Ghost-Maker’s right-hand man, would eventually come around as would Raven Red with some guidance from Jiro and Clownhunter. Despite being in different parts of the world, Brisson creates a great team dynamic that clearly exhibited itself in this last arc.
Most of the characters in this series experienced some growth in this series. Clownhunter grew the most. By the time we get to this final issue, Bao separated himself from Ghost-Maker, who Batman (Bruce Wayne) entrusted with his training. Yet, Brisson doesn’t allow this to happen. Instead, Brisson allows Bao to grow in a more natural way. The level of maturity appears similar to how Damian Wayne has grown as a character under Joshua Williams writing in Robin and Batman and Robin. For both, readers experienced great progression (i.e., Bao using the “nonlethal” end of his bat-axe). By the time we reach the end of the issue, Bao returns to Blüdhaven where he meets up again with the kids he met in Haven.
As fighting and verbal spats continue, the most intense scene of the issue occurs in China as Alpaca ordered her men to toss hostages from the top of building. Ghost-Maker has had enough, and he begins to tear through Alpaca’s henchmen, killing three with ease before he sets his sights on their leader. The panel showing blades impaling three shadowed heads was quite a site. Yet, Ghost-maker did not kill Alpaca. He simply cut the device from her. Did he fear further retribution from her brother? The team? Batman himself (he did kill the henchmen though)?
The team of Knight and Gray Wolf, however, turned out to be the true heroes. They discovered the means to disrupt the implanted devices – an EMP. While this solution saved the life of Dusty Bronco, it did not arrive in time to save Charles de Ghoul. While Nightrunner saved the citizens of Paris, the Joker Incorporated member exploded in the Seine River.
Perhaps the best things happen in the final pages of the issue. First, Ghost-Maker quits the team. He can’t live by Batman’s rules (or anyone else’s for that matter). He actually attempts to dissolve Batman Inc., but that doesn’t seem to work as several members decide to stick together. The only two to walk away with Ghost-Maker are Clownhunter and Raven Red, who needs to have more time to watch over the recovering Chief Man-of-Bats. The rest of the team commits to keep the mission going. Gray Wolf also decides to stick around. This not only improves team dynamics, but also allows the budding relationship with Knight to continue its development. This backstory I’ve truly enjoyed since their first date.
The series ends with the team, now under the leadership of El Gaucho, crashing the plans of an unsuspecting Dai Laffyn. Knight kept her promise.
Art To Be Proud Of
I haven’t always been a fan of John Timms’ art. In fact, his work in Batman Incorporated might have been the best I’ve seen from him. His pencils along with the colors from Rex Lokus have been pretty stunning from the start. This is odd considering that I didn’t enjoy his work in Son of Kal-El. To be fair, it also suffered from pretty questionable writing from Tom Taylor (shocked I’m saying that). However, I hope Timms keeps this up in future projects. It could make me a big fan.
One Final Look at the Series
For the last time, I want to express how much Batman Incorporated impressed me as a whole. I held a lot of skepticism over the title considering that we were getting another book with Batman in the title, but with no sign of the character himself. Other titles failed in gaining traction in this manner (see The Outsiders, for example). Brisson, however, created a great story with very impressive arcs. They somehow reminded readers we were still in Batman’s world although he wasn’t around. This was no clearer than in this final arc. “Joker Incorporated” placed Batman’s cardinal rule on trial. Having Ghost-maker as team leader allowed things to work perfectly simply because of who Ghost-Maker was. Team members questioned themselves. Some were willing to cross that line. Fortunately, none willingly killed the members of Joker Incorporated, thus dealing the Joker another defeat. Every arc finished in a satisfying way.
Despite my initial apprehension, I became a believer in Ed Brisson’s Batman Inc.
Final Thoughts
I’m disappointed that the series ends with this issue. However, I appreciate that Brisson ended the title in a way that leaves the door open for future missions. Batman Incorporated plays an important part in the Batman mythos. Despite Bruce not appearing in the series, you see his influence throughout the twelve issues. This was particularly the case as the team became willing to push back on Ghost-Maker as he pressured them to willfully kill members of Joker Inc.
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with an advanced copy of this comic for review purposes. You can find this comic and help support TBU in the process by purchasing this issue digitally on Comixology through Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
