Batman has quite a bit of trouble on his hands at the moment, as Joker's stolen all of his money and is unleashing havoc on Gotham. However, once the dust settles from the 'Joker War,' a new character will make their debut in the DC Universe - the Ghost-Maker.
The 'Joker War' has left Batman as vulnerable as he's ever been. With the Clown Prince of Crime turns Gotham citizens into Joker-ized versions of themselves. Basically, Batman is going through a lot at the moment. But, once the 'Joker War' is over, a mysterious figure from his past will return in Batman #100.
Screen Rant got the chance to speak with James Tynion IV and we discussed his plans beyond the 'Joker War.' Tynion IV teased a brand new character entering the fold at the end of Batman #100. The new character will have an intertwined history with Bruce Wayne, as he was a teenaged Wayne's first rival. Tynion IV teased the character as not being particularly impressed with Wayne's work in Gotham City, while revealing the character will go by the identity of Ghost-Maker.
What can you tell us about the new villain, Ghost-Maker, also being teased in solicits for future issues?
Oh boy. So Ghost-Maker is a character we will see a little bit of at the end of Batman #100, but will come in in a big way in November and beyond. This is a character I've been excited about for a really long time. He is definitely going to show up as an adversary to Bruce, but he is not necessarily a villain, per se. He is someone Bruce has known since he was a young man traveling around the world training to become Batman. Now basically, Bruce's rival from when he was fifteen years old has come back to Gotham City because he doesn't think Bruce is doing a very good job. That is the core conceit, is creating this rival from youth we're going to see come into the present in a big way. Jorge's design for him is absolutely incredible, I think I'll be able to show everybody that probably one month from now. He may or may not be on some covers starting in November.
Then a character like Ghost-Maker I've had in the back of my mind, the idea of Batman's rival. Back during the New 52 I think I pitched a young adventures of Bruce Wayne story, that was the thing I wanted to do there. Being able to bring that character into the present and do something different with him... I'm going to wait to dig into that character more until you guys can see the character, and I can talk about it some more.
It seems Batman's past will play a big part in the future of Tynion IV's and Jimenez run on Batman. The current Batman scribe stated that Ghost-Maker won't necessarily be a villain, but it seems like his old rivalry with Bruce will inform how the pair do business both in their personal lives and as caped vigilantes. Considering all Batman's been through, the loss of Alfred, Joker's takeover, and his resources being tapped, it appears things aren't going to get much easier going forward - but such is the life of the Caped Crusader.
