WARNING: The following contains spoilers for DCeased: Dead Planet #1 by Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, Gigi Baldassini, Stefano Gaudiano, Rain Beredo and Saida Temofonte, on sale now.
It's hard to call Batman incompetent. He has plans for every villain imaginable and even his fellow heroes, too. Seeing what he's accomplished over the decades, it's safe to say he's an expert at his job.
However, in DCeased: Dead Earth #1, there's a new Dark Knight on the block -- except this one is a far cry from Bruce Wayne. Damian, now manning the cape and cowl, has big shoes to fill. However, as unreliable as he is, this characterization works well, as it adds a breath of fresh air to the mythos of the Caped Crusader.
Usually, the Bat has solutions for everything and the mantle is passed to people like Dick Grayson, who can handle the same duties. DCeased changes that up early, though, as Dick and Tim Drake are infected and killed, with Bruce biting the dust soon after.
Years later, as President Lois Lane takes a contingent of heroes and has them colonize a new planet, Earth-2, Damian still can't adjust to his role as Batman. When a territorial conflict arises and the new Justice League has to fight a royal spaceship, it's actually Jon Kent, the new Superman, who constantly has to keep Batman on his toes.
Over the earpiece, he's frequently reminding Damian not to kill anyone -- which is hard, especially with dad not around. Their interactions provide a lot of room for humor and really evolve the idea of the Super Sons becoming the World's Finest.
Superman chides Batman after hearing blows over the airwaves, asking Damian not to rip out spleens or kick people in their faces. The thing is, it doesn't matter if they have tech, because Jon's using his super-hearing to monitor his bestie. Even when Damian calls it stupid, Jon hears and reminds his buddy to fall in line, as it's in the best interest of the team.
If Damian kills anyone, it could lead to all-out war. Jon's also being fair, as he's instructed Cassie/Wonder Woman and everyone else to go easy on the opponents. When Damian does get to the throne room, he botches the introduction, threatening the king and boasting they could squash them if they wanted. When he considers ripping out spleens, Jon rushes in to be more diplomatic, averting disaster. Again, this isn't part of the job description, so luckily, Jon's there to be "gentle," as he put it.
Bruce would have been stern, but he wouldn't have jeopardized the mission like this. Damian needs to adapt much faster than he is; he's not a junior anymore. He's a leader.
That said, it also creates room for Alfred to really become his new dad, for Lois to educate him more and for other heroes like Black Canary, Green Lantern or Black Lightning to help Damian level up. Honing his craft without the Bat-family works, as it creates a more human, vulnerable and emotional Batman.
Damian did tell Kal-El in the Hope at World's End spinoff he didn't want to wear the suit, as it'd confirm Bruce really is gone forever, so this bumbling attitude could simply be Damian in denial. However, time's running out as they seek a cure back on Earth -- so the new Bat will have to buck up ASAP.