WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman #101, by James Tynion IV, Guillem March, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Batman is dealing with a new status quo following "Joker War" that includes familiar faces in new roles. Costumed allies like Barbara Gordon and Harley Quinn appear to be on new paths, and Batman's relationship with Catwoman is even on pause. Even Batman's corporate allies are in new positions after the fallout of the war, including Lucius Fox who currently possesses the Wayne Family fortune. He's used some of that new money to hire a metahuman bodyguard who is a familiar face, but not commonly associated with Batman.
Fox's new bodyguard is Cole Cash, better known by his code name of Grifter. It's a name Fox considers appropriate given what he's charging for his services. True to his violent reputation, the new bodyguard introduces himself to Batman with a fight.
In a brief skirmish, Batman land more blows, including a punch that Grifter admits "probably broke a rib." Batman seems to gain an advantage when he disarms Grifter, but he still winds up with a snub-nosed revolver pointed at his head. Before things can go any further, Fox shows up and calls off his bodyguard.
When Lucius reminds Grifter that he told him to expect Batman's arrival, he admits that he just wanted to say he'd had the experience of fighting him. He asks Batman if he can blame him. He gets a terse "yes" in response, showing that they haven't reached the team-up stage of superhero introductions.
Grifter's first appearance was in 1992's WildC.A.T.s #1, one of Image Comics' original titles. He was created by Jim Lee, DC's current Publisher and COO, and his writing partner Brandon Choi. He was a key member of both the WildC.A.T.S. and the paramilitary strike force Team 7. While he traditionally has psi powers, he's more proficient with weapons and hand-to-hand combat, including his trademark dual guns.
While he's been in circulation for nearly three decades, he's a relatively new arrival to the DC Universe. Most of his publication history was in Wildstorm's continuity, even after DC's 1998 purchase of the company, until the imprint was closed down in 2010. After a surprising appearance in Flashpoint, he was one of the Wildstorm characters integrated into the DC Universe in the New 52 reboot.
Following his role in the Future's End weekly series, Grifter has mainly been seen in the appropriately titled Wildstorm reboot the Wild Storm. His appearance in Batman marks a return to the DCU. Given Fox's poisoning and captivity in "Joker War", and the target his newfound wealth will put on him, Grifter should become a regular in the book. After all, Punchline avoided Arkham and the Joker is still free, despite suffering a severe injury.
Grifter's reappearance might herald the return of other elements of the Wildstorm Universe. Batman tells Grifter that he knows about Halo, the corporation behind the original WildC.A.T.S. team, and that he would be watching them. If Halo is operating in Gotham, this could indicate that more WildC.A.T.S. characters may be joining the DCU.