In the comics, Batman has no shortage of sidekicks, who have each gone on to become important players in the DC landscape. While most Batman sidekicks serve as a lighter and more optimistic take on the Dark Knight’s ideology, one lesser-known sidekick is a dark and a radical mirror of the masked vigilante.
In the comics, Ghost-Maker and Batman share a deep history and are often at odds with each other because of the former’s drastic approach to crime-fighting. As a result, Ghost-Maker might have served as a better blueprint for Zack Snyder’s take on the Dark Knight in the doomed DCEU. Here is everything you need to know about Ghost-Maker and why he fits Snyder’s vision.
Batman’s Sidekick Ghost-Maker Has a Much Darker Approach to Crime Fighting
Minhkhoa Khan / Ghost-Maker is a childhood friend and rival of Bruce Wayne / Batman. Born in Singapore, Ghost-Maker also lost his parents to crime much like Batman. The duo would eventually find themselves training with each other under the tutelage of many of the same mentors such as Ra’s al Ghul.
Despite sharing the same mentors, lessons, and skill sets, Batman and Ghost-Maker are drastically different from each other in their crime-fighting ideology. While Batman has a strict no-killing policy and sees his vigilante activities as a duty, Ghost-Maker is the opposite. He has a more radical approach as he does not abstain from killing and sees crime-fighting as an art.
After demolishing the organized crime scene in Southeast Asia, Ghost-Maker arrives in Gotham and after some conflicts with Batman, decides to work with him. Although not technically a sidekick, Ghost-Maker does join Batman Incorporated, which mainly consists of the Dark Knight’s sidekicks and regional variants.
Ghost-Maker’s Comic Book Arc Might Have Been Ideal For Zack Snyder’s DCEU Batman
Ghost-Maker’s radical approach to fighting crime, particularly his inclination towards killing his opponents is a concept that would have felt right at home in Zack Snyder’s DCEU. Snyder’s take on Batman is equally radical as Ben Affleck’s Batman has a jaded past, primarily due to the death of his sidekick.
In the comics, Ghost-Maker’s radical approach gives him clarity on the battlefield, as evidenced by his choice to save citizens over his sidekick, Phantom-One, from a falling building. The incident leads to Phantom-One’s death and Ghost-Maker kills the villain responsible for his sidekick’s death. In contrast, Batman fails to kill Joker, who is responsible for Robin’s death.
As a result, had Snyder drawn inspiration from Ghost-Maker’s comic book arc, he could have better justified Batman’s more radical approach we see in the DCEU films. At the same time, Ghost-Maker enjoys a hedonistic lifestyle while Batman merely uses Bruce Wayne as a mask for his crime-fighting activities.
Since the DCEU films focus a lot more on Bruce Wayne’s psyche, basing his personality more on Ghost-Maker would also have been beneficial. In the comics, Ghost-Maker sets out to prove that he can be a better version of the Dark Knight and we could have seen the same come to fruition had the DCEU closely followed his comic book arc as a blueprint for the Dark Knight.
