WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman #106, by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
With the start of DC's Infinite Frontier, all of the superheroes of the DC Universe, the new and the old, are embarking on new beginnings. The case is the same for Batman who, when last we saw him, had lost his family fortune and had taken his crusade to protect Gotham back to basics. Now, the city has undergone a new tragedy in the form of a poisonous attack on Arkham Asylum, just as new threats have started to reveal themselves, in the form of the nascent Magistrate program and the Unsanity Collective.
It's a new beginning for Batman, one where he now has to operate without his usual endless arsenal of gadgets, suits, weapons and vehicles, and it comes at a time when his enemies are taking things to the next level. But luckily, he doesn't have to face them alone because Gotham City officially has a new Dynamic Duo: Batman and the Ghost-Maker.
The Ghost-Maker was introduced following the conclusion of 2020's Joker War. The character was revealed to be an old friend of Bruce Wayne turned enemy. Indeed, when Bruce was a young adult traveling the world, training to become the world's greatest superhero, he wasn't alone. Another young man also learned the same skills from the same teachers, and they trained together for a while -- that is until they had a falling out. Since then, Batman and the Ghost-Maker had an arrangement to stay out of each other's respective cities, but the last storyline of the Batman title brought them face-to-face.
The Ghost-Maker arrived in Gotham to save it like Batman never could, and this ultimately led to a confrontation between the two. However, to great surprise, Bruce reached out to his former friend and, as a result, they ended up burying the hatchet. Instead of continuing to fight alone, Bruce then asked for Ghost-Maker's help in saving Gotham -- and he agreed to stay. At the time, it was unclear what exactly that meant for Gotham, and what kind of partnership the two crime-fighters would have. Now, Batman #106 delivers the answer: they are, essentially, the city's new Batman and Robin.
At the start of the issue, Batman is chasing the new supervillain group known as the Unsanity Collective aboard his new Batmobile. The group of thieves is numerous, and they are making their getaway in various vehicles, including a flying drone and hi-tech bikes as well. In order to stop them, Batman goes after the drone, but that doesn't mean the thieves on the bikes are in the clear. Moments later, both are attacked by the Ghost-Maker, who swoops in to help after getting a call from Oracle.
Thanks to his help, all of the Unsanity Collective thieves are caught. With just this mission, the Ghost-Maker proves to be a crucial new hero in Gotham City. Batman and Ghost-Maker now work in tandem, and the best part is that although they are now back to being friends, they also have a soft rivalry fueling them, creating a fun dynamic of competition between the two.
Later, Bruce continues his investigation into the Unsanity Collective in his new Batcave -- and the Ghost-Maker is also there. The two spar and train together, and the Ghost-Maker even helps Bruce make sense of the evidence to help deal with this new threat.
With Robin gone, Bruce has found himself without a sidekick for some time. But now, he has a new partner in the Ghost-Maker. The villain-turned-ally is more of an equal than a sidekick, something that makes him stand apart from all the previous Boy Wonders. His presence in the Batcave and alongside Bruce feels familiar, but it's also completely different. Together, the two really make for a new kind of Dynamic Duo.