WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman #105, by James Tynion IV, Carlo Pagulayan, Danny Miki, Christian Duce, David Baron and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
As Gotham City has recovered from the devastating events of "Joker War," Batman has had to contend with the arrival of Ghost-Maker back into his life. The vigilante was someone that trained alongside Bruce Wayne years ago to become his own crimefighter before arriving in Gotham after deciding that his old rival was inadequate in protecting his own city.
And with the Dark Knight having grown noticeably unmoored since the tragic death of Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's greatest, original frenemy may have just stepped up to fill the void left by the lovable butler and surrogate father figure.
In the wake of "Joker War," Ghost-Maker felt the Clown Prince of Crime's exposed how ineffective Batman was in defending his hometown, arriving in Gotham and dispatching criminals with lethal efficiency. Flashbacks revealed that the two traveled the world and trained under the same experts as teenagers, with Ghost-Maker always just slightly better than the young Bruce. As the two completed their training, Bruce forced his teenage rival to promise that he would leave Gotham to Batman, while any city that had secretly fallen under Ghost-Maker's jurisdiction was considered off-limits to the Caped Crusader. With Batman refusing to kill his most murderous antagonists, Ghost-Maker decided to break this promise and intervene himself, with the Dark Knight quickly recognizing his old rival's handiwork and tracking him down.
After killing clowns still on the loose after the Joker's fiery attack, Ghost-Maker turned his attention to a much different vigilante that had arisen in the Narrows: Clownhunter. The teenage antihero butchered any of the Joker's goons that dared set foot on his turf after his parents were killed by the Clown Prince of Crime during a skirmish with Batman years ago. Ghost-Maker cited Clownhunter as a prime example of Batman's constant failings to defend the city as the teenage serial killer kidnapped Harley Quinn with the intent of taking a more personal approach towards killing her in retaliation for the crimes she committed alongside the Joker.
As Harley was able to use her expertise as a psychiatrist to talk down Ghost-Maker, Batman's rival sees firsthand that lethal force isn't always the right answer and that rehabilitation and forgiveness are possible means to carry out justice. With the two frenemies making amends for the first time in years, Batman offers Ghost-Maker a spot among his allies on the Bat-Family. The vigilante surprisingly agrees with the caveat that he doesn't intend to stop openly criticizing and correcting Bruce whenever possible. Batman observes that Alfred had long held this very role to keep Bruce grounded and in check, and Ghost-Maker taking on this acerbic role could help Batman fill that void.
No one will ever truly replace Alfred Pennyworth, as the man who raised Bruce and virtually every Boy Wonder that accompanied him in defending the city with a disarming quip and critique of the Bat-Family's effectiveness. But since Alfred's death, Batman has found himself drifting listlessly during his crimefighting crusade, with even his old friend Lucius Fox unable to replace the beloved family butler as Bruce's closest confidante in and out of the cowl. Ghost-Maker will be a much more contentious, adversarial ally to Batman than many the Dark Knight has allied himself with before but a little tough love is really just what the Caped Crusader needs.