Spoilers for Batman: The Detective 4 ahead!
Batman Incorporated was one of the most novel addition to the character’s mythos, but it has also caused some serious continuity nightmares over the years. In Batman: The Detective #4, the waters get even murkier, and Batman Incorporated’s status in the DC Universe’s current Infinite Frontier canon is up in the air.
During their 5-year run on Batman, writer Grant Morrison introduced a number of concepts that have persisted to the current era, namely Damian Wayne. Morrison’s run also saw Dick Grayson temporarily become Batman when it was assumed Bruce Wayne was dead. He was not, and when Wayne returned he publicly admitted he had been funding Batman’s war on crime for years. Furthermore, he established Batman Incorporated to help fund an army of Bat-people the world over. When the New 52 made some alterations to Batman’s continuity, it left Batman Incorporated’s status up in the air; it would return a year later, trying to tell the same story it had but within confines of the New 52. The company has been mentioned sporadically, leaving fans to wonder if it even still existed.
Batman: The Detective #4 does nothing to clarify the matter. The issue is written by Tom Taylor, with art by Andy Kubert, inks by Sandra Hope, colors by Brad Anderson and letters by Clem Robins. Batman has travelled to Europe and has just been double crossed by one of his former mentors, Henri Ducard. Apprehended by Interpol, Bruce Wayne is grilled by two agents, who question his motives as well as his connection to Batman. The agents continue their questioning, but ultimately conclude Bruce is not Batman because he is too old—and because Bruce is too trustful, having inadvertently drunk poison. As Bruce passes out, one of the agents, clearly working for someone other than Interpol, concludes that Bruce must have been financing Batman.
The agent’s comment is puzzling. When Bruce Wayne announced he was bankrolling Batman, he did it in a public press conference, with the eyes of the world watching—so why did she not know about Batman Incorporated? Her comment implies the company does not exist—or never did. Since Batman Incorporated debuted, DC has tweaked its continuity several times—so perhaps it was swept away in one of those? That might seem the most logical answer, but most recently, in Batman #104, Nightwing mentioned that Batman once tried to recruit Ghost-Maker to the company. Does the company exist, or does it not?
With the arrival of Infinite Frontier, many characters and concepts have been reintroduced to the DC Universe; it seems odd that Batman Incorporated, popular during its time, would be taken off the table. The possibility exists that DC will one day clarify Batman Incorporated’s status in continuity, but for now this innovative idea is up in the air.
