Batman Incorporated is a 2010 comic book series published by DC Comics. The series is written by Grant Morrison, with art by Yanick Paquette and Michel Lacombe.
Spinning out of Batman (Grant Morrison), the series is apart of Grant Morrison's sprawling Batman run. Launched in 2010, the series featured Bruce Wayne going international and setting out to recruit Batmen to protect cities across the globe. Went on hiatus with the New 52 reboot, was eventually relaunched in 2012 as part of the new continuity, and concluded in 2013.
Batman Incorporated (2010) provides examples of:
- Big Bad:Talia al Ghul for the Leviathan arc in Batman Incorporated.
- Bilingual Bonus: Batman Incorporated #3 has whole narration boxes in Spanish.
- Breakout Villain: Otto Netz was only meant to be an Arc Villain spanning three issues, but Morrison's fascination with him grew enough for them to expand his role for the rest of the first volume of Batman Incorporated.
- Brick Joke: A more straightforward example where Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! #1 has Knight and Squire asking Batman about a rumor that he had a shrink ray. Later, Batman Japan tells Batman about a fellow superhero he has a crush on who is only a few inches tall...and asks for the shrink ray.
- Canon Immigrant: Zig-Zagged with Lord Death Man, a villain from Japan in Batman Incorporated While he is identified with the earlier villain "Death Man,"
he's far more closely based on the version who appeared in the 1960s licensed Batman manga, but had become a Breakout Villain in the US fandom when selections of the manga were translated into English and published in the US in 2008. At the end of the second issue, after Jiro has become Batman Japan, we also see Professor Gorilla, another one of the original villains from the manga. (Who was also loosely based on a one-off villain from an earlier American comic.) - Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Batwoman, Oracle and Batgirl are all absent from the New 52 Batman Incorporated, though with the latter two it's due to continuity changes after the reboot (Barbara becomes the new Batgirl, while Stephanie doesn't exist).
- The Comically Serious: As usual Batman is stern, stoic, and unmoving contrasting him nicely with the more colorful members of Batman Incorporated.
- Cool Old Guy: Man-Of-Bats and Legionary are the oldest members of Batman Incorporated, but that doesn't make them any less badass.
- Death by Origin Story: Batman Incorporated introduces two more characters with similarly tragic pasts to Batman. Mr. Unknown, the future Batman of Japan, took on the role after his friend and mentor was tortured and killed in a very gruesome manner. Batwing is a former child soldier from Congo whose parents died of AIDS when he was a boy.
- Death by Cameo: Chris Sims, writer for Comics Alliance, host of War Rocket Ajax and "the world's foremost Batmanologist", makes an appearance in Batman Incorporated #6 — as a rotting corpse being eaten by Gotham City seagulls. Congrats Chris!
- Designated Girl Fight:
- Batwoman winds up taking on Scorpiana in Batman Incorporated #5.
- Used much more darkly when Kathy Kane abruptly and casually kills Talia in Batman Incorporated (vol. 2) #13.
- Foreshadowing: Cassandra Cain's cameo in Fabian Nicieza's Red Robin #17 heavily foreshadowed her eventual involvement in Batman Incorporated, where Morrison made her into the Batman of Hong Kong in issue #6.
- Hero Does Public Service: In Batman Incorporated, Man-of-Bats is a doctor in his civilian identity who, in his very limited spare time, also does pro bono work and tries to battle alcoholism.
- Hijacked by Ganon: In Batman Incorporated (vol. 1), there are clues to suggest that the Big Bad is Jezebel Jet, a villain created by Morrison. The final issue reveals the true mastermind behind Leviathan is actually Talia Al Ghul.
- Hypocrite: In the final issue of Batman Incorporated, Talia al'Ghul sneers that Batman is a "pompous, posturing bastard". While a fair criticism, no one from the House of al'Ghul — Talia included — has much room to be criticising others on any of those counts.
- Kick the Dog: The villain of the week in Batman Incorporated #7 is introduced in the act of literally kicking his dog. Naturally it bites back at the end, just in time to save Man-Of-Bats and Red Raven from getting shot dead.
- Killed Off for Real: Knight, at the climax of The New 52's Batman Incorporated #6, gets his neck snapped by the Heretic. Though a later issue suggests that some people are researching the means to bring him back to life, his death ends up never being undone.
- The Mole: Hood, revealed at the end of the new Batman Incorporated #7 as actually working for Spyral.
- Mythology Gag: Mutants make an appearance in Batman Incorporated #1, indecipherable slang and all.
- Only Sane Man: Batman himself for Batman Incorporated.
- Retcon: The origins of Batman Incorporated are changed halfway through the story to accommodate a continuity reboot that rendered its original backstory unfeasable. Instead of Bruce announcing to the world that he has been secretly funding Batman and plans to go global with the "Brand", the New 52 origin is Bruce announcing the initiative to a group of investors in a private meeting.
- The Reveal: The Heretic, Talia's Elite Mook in Batman Incorporated, is a clone of Damian birthed inside of a whale.
- Ship Tease: Dark Ranger II and Squire get really flirty with each other and are mentioned to have been inseparable after their first exchange of communication. If they got together, Batman Incorporated doesn't show it.
- Shout-Out: In Batman Incorporated (vol. 2) #11, a Japanese villainess refers to a schoolgirl as "Sailor Pizza Face".
- Batman Japan's post-New 52 costume was explicitly inspired by that of the original Kamen Rider,
according to the artist.
- Batman Japan's post-New 52 costume was explicitly inspired by that of the original Kamen Rider,
- Shrouded in Myth: One of the aspects of Batman Incorporated is bringing this facet of the Batman mythos to the fore — Batman is now everywhere. He's black, he's white, he's a woman, he can fly, he's Bruce Wayne, he was never any one person... Bruce actually spreads these rumors himself on various chatrooms and message boards.
- Superman Stays Out of Gotham: The events of Batman Incorporated has worldwide ramifications that sends Gotham into a state of anarchy and chaos that has deteriorated to the point of Batman becoming a wanted vigilante for the first time since his inception. Despite this, none of the Justice League, which Batman is a member of both before and during the New 52, seem to take notice and lend a hand.
- Take That!: The later issues of Batman Incorporated contain a heavy stream of Take Thats at DC, the New 52, and the very concept of Status Quo Is God, finally culminating in Talia telling Batman to just go back to beating up mental patients before Kathy Kane, a character who hadn't appeared for decades, shoots her in the head.
- Took a Level in Badass: Morrison's reworking of Kathy Kane, the first Batwoman, in Batman Incorporated #4. Originally a circus stuntwoman who inherited money from a dead uncle and later became a token "girlfriend figure" for Batman, Kathy Kane (nee Web) is reimagined as a stuntwoman, an underground film director, and an author before she married Nathan Kane. After he died, Kathy was approached by a representative of the spy organization called Spyral, and joined as part of an investigation into the life of Batman. Kathy legitimately fell in love with Batman and decided to quit Spyral after learning the organization was run by Otto Netz, a.k.a. Doctor Daedalus. She then becomes the Headmistress of Spyral/Agent Zero and has been acting as a mole in Leviathan along with her young operatives. She ends up shooting Talia in the head.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Made really obvious in Batman Incorporated #6, in which Batman briefs his various allies on what's going on, but all the reader gets are the bits where he says "Listen carefully, I will say this only once..." or "... and now you know as much as I do", without any of the good stuff in between. Not to mention the bit where Batman and an ally are going over a plan that relies on nobody knowing the ally's identity — including, apparently, the readers.
- You Have Failed Me: Talia beheads the Heretic for daring to insinuate that she needs him after what she assumes to be his failures.
- You Monster!: Ra's al Ghul, of all people, says this to his daughter Talia after the events of Batman Incorporated #8. However, he doesn't really seem to dislike her for it, even seeming congratulatory.Ra's al Ghul: You have become a monster at last.
