WARNING: The following contains spoilers for "Catfish Crisis," a story in DC Cynernetic Summer, by Stuart Moore, Cully Hamner, Hi-Fi, and Rob Steen, on sale now.
Famously, Batman has a lot of skills. He's the world's greatest detective, an expert martial artist and even a master of disguise. From Matches Malone to Superman, Batman has used a diverse set of disguises to achieve his goals. However, the Dark Knight's most recent disguise is one of the most absurd looks he's sported in years.
On a typical summer day at the beach in the "Catfish Crisis" story, Superman and Cyborg fought the villainous Cyborg Superman, who was out for the Man of Steel's blood. The clash was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a rather absurd figure who called himself the "Super Cyborg Cyborg Superman."
This strange new character claimed to be from a parallel Earth, where all of its heroes and villains were fused from groups of three into one being during a Crisis. Superman, Cyborg, and Cyborg Superman were apparently fused together during the crisis, with Superman as the composite being's dominant voice.
Still, Cyborg and Cyborg Superman both maintain conflicting voices in this hybrid's mind. The odd being even pulls up his wiki page to verify his apparent identity. The "Super Cyborg Cyborg Superman" then tells everyone to stop fighting before suddenly joining forces with Superman and defeating Cyborg Superman. It is then revealed that this hybrid being was really Batman in disguise, serving as a distraction for the battle, a revelation that confuses Cyborg beyond comprehension.
Despite its absurdity, Batman's disguise was quite intricate, requiring knowledge of three different characters and their backgrounds. Superman was clearly the easiest role for Batman, who used the Man of Steel as the dominant voice. The Dark Knight exaggerated Superman's role as the classic superhero, including his upstanding morals and incredible power-set, much to Superman's annoyance.
Batman also uses his knowledge of Cyborg for this disguise. Victor Stone became Cyborg after his father had an accident in his laboratory that killed Victor's mother and left him badly wounded. With no choice, Victor's father implanted him with cybernetic prosthetics, turning him into a cyborg.
This left Victor with bitter feelings towards his father, which Batman parodies in his impression of Cyborg. Over time, however, Cyborg became known as a classic Teen Titans member, and, following the New 52 relaunch, a founding member of the Justice League alongside the Dark Knight.
Finally, Batman takes on the role of Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman. Created by Dan Jurgens in Adventures of Superman #466, Henshaw was an astronaut at NASA when a fight between Superman and the Eradicator caused a solar flare that killed Henshaw's crew, including his wife. The barely-living Henshaw transferred his consciousness into a cyborg with the powers of Superman, swearing to destroy the Man of Steel.
Henshaw initially emerged during the Death of Superman storyline, during Superman's absence. When the Man of Tomorrow returns, Henshaw becomes a formidable foe for Superman. Cyborg Superman's intense hatred for Superman himself is also satirized by Batman, which angers Henshaw to no end.
Despite the ludicrous nature of the ruse, Batman's disguise succeeded in distracting Henshaw. This distraction enabled Superman and Batman to defeat the Cyborg Superman, ending the conflict. While Batman's disguise worked, it may have been a bit too effective. After the fight, an actual Cyborg/Superman hybrid appears before Cyborg, claiming that he planted the admittedly ridiculous idea in Superman and Batman's mind. The character warns Cyborg of an impending crisis, but Cyborg ignores the warnings and walks off with Henshaw in tow. In a rather comedic ending, this hybrid character is shown playing cards with several powerful beings, using multiple Earths from the multiverse as poker chips.
Batman is indeed a man of many talents, from forensic science to escape artistry. One of his most undervalued skills, however, is the ability to embrace his more light-hearted side and his zany old adventures.
With this disguise and his open discussion of how it reflects their old adventures, Batman does exactly that.