WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman & the Outsiders #12, by Bryan Hill, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini and Clayton Cowles & Batman: The Adventures Continue #3 by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Ty Templeton, Monica Kubina and Joshua Reed, on sale now.
Batman is a hero of many gifts. He's naturally strong and agile, incredibly brilliant and one of the most experienced and skilled tacticians in the world. But beyond all these abilities, he's also proven to have an exceptionally large amount of empathy and insight into the human condition that's come in handy multiple times over the years.
Now, villains are starting to recognize that Batman's skill in finding, recruiting and training the next generation of heroes is one of his best attributes -- meaning he's the ideal target if you want to steal some gifted protegees.
Across two recent series, Batman's younger allies have been confronted by a potential evil mentor. Ra's Al Ghul has been targeting the newest incarnation of the Outsiders in Batman and the Outsiders, with the intent purpose of corrupting the young heroes that Batman has been helping train to become the future protectors of the world. Ra's sees the potential in Signal, Orphan and Babylon, wishing to use them in his League of Assassins. Ra's even takes multiple cities hostage with alien technology, threatening the lives of everyone in them if he's not given the three younger heroes and Black Lightning doesn't kill Lady Shive as a sign of his commitment -- the ultimate sign that the heroes have been broken of their morality.
Meanwhile, in Batman: The Adventure Continues, Deathstroke has made his first appearance within the DC Animated Universe canon. He's introduced in the shadows, observing Robin and Batgirl from afar. While he's established as a mercenary that Batman is aware of, his first introduction sets him up to actually be an ally to the Caped Crusader and his fellow heroes, helping them bring down a wild Clayface. But in reality, Slade Wilson fully intends to recruit young heroes like Batgirl and Robin to his mysterious cause because of their skill and potential -- and is perfectly fine killing Batman if he gets in the way of his recruitment attempts.
Batman's always been gifted at reading people. It's part of his skill-set as a detective and has served him well when figuring out potential threats to him and the rest of Gotham City. It's also given him a good eye for recruiting allies, as he can see the potential in certain young individuals. This attribute has led Batman to recruit a host of gifted sidekicks over the years, some of whom have gone on to become major heroes in their own right. Some of them have even escalated to the point of joining the Justice League. Even his greatest failures don't end up dead forever, instead being restored and becoming a chaotic but dedicated anti-hero in his own right.
It makes sense that his enemies would eventually look at their henchmen, minions and followers -- who always fail to slow down the Batman and his allies -- and decide that maybe it's time to start recruiting differently. The problem for both villains is that they may be too late. Working with Batman has taught them the ideals of heroism, especially for people like Babylon and Orphan -- two young women who were trained specifically to become killers. He's too effective as a mentor, instilling a firm code of ethics into almost everyone he's ever worked with. Even the heroes that do defy his orders or his rules make a case of still respecting their former mentor, as in the case of the Post-Crisis Huntress or the current incarnation of Jason Todd.
Perhaps the villains shouldn't just try to steal proteges from Batman, but to emulate his tactics with them. Neither Deathstroke or Ra's is fully incapable of feeling emotion, as evidenced by their complicated relationships with their children. But if they could learn to harness their leadership into a more constructive and responsible form, then maybe they could elicit the loyalty and determination that Batman inspires in entire generations of young heroes.