Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Batman Inc. #3One of the most talked about rules in comics is how Batman doesn't kill anyone, and his old friend and ally Ghost-Maker provides more insight as to why that is.
The group known as Batman Incorporated has been in a bit of flux lately, as Bruce Wayne had trouble financing the group after he lost his fortune to the Joker. As a result, Lex Luthor attempted to step in and use the group toward his own aims. This only resulted in the group becoming further fractured and Batman stepping in to stop Lex's schemes. No longer able to support the group on his own, Batman asked his one-time rival Minkhoa Khan aka Ghost-Maker to take over. Ghost-Maker accepted the job and even brought the young vigilante Clownhunter along to join the group as well.
In Batman Inc. #3 by Ed Brisson and John Timms, Ghost-Maker is trying to figure out who was responsible for killing all of his and Batman's old teachers. It turns out that the killer is a former sidekick of Ghost-Maker's named Phantom-One. After kidnapping Clownhunter, Phantom-One reveals his origin story. He was the son of two criminals who Ghost-Maker killed during a mission. Feeling responsible for making the boy an orphan, Ghost-Maker adopts the child but keeps him at a distance while training him to be his new sidekick. Eventually, Phantom-One was caught in an explosion while the two of them were out fighting crime. Rather than help his sidekick, Ghost-Maker left him for dead to pursue the criminal they were after.
Ghost-Maker Darkly Made His Robin
Although there are many similarities between Phantom-One and Robin, there are some key differences. While both are orphans who were brought under the tutelage of Batman and Ghost-Maker respectively, the main difference is that Ghost-Maker was responsible for his sidekick becoming an orphan while Batman was not. In fact, because Bruce Wayne is an orphan himself, Batman is probably uniquely understanding of the situation. This is most likely a core foundation of his no-killing rule. The Dark Knight understands that even by accident he could create more orphans by killing his opponents and therefore perpetuate the cycle that led to him becoming Batman in the first place.
There have been many stories and theories as to why Batman doesn't kill. It's brought up frequently, and the main idea is that it is simply morally wrong to take a life. However, this story about Ghost-Maker's sidekick brings a much more practical side to Batman's decision to not take lives. It's beyond a matter of right or wrong. He just knows the damage being an orphan can do to a child. Ghost-Maker didn't set out to make Phantom-One an orphan. He was merely taking out two criminals. That being, said he inadvertently created an orphan, the very thing that caused Bruce Wayne to become such a tragic and dark figure. Regardless of how easy it would be to simply eliminate criminals, Batman doesn't kill to try in an effort to limit the number of orphans in the world.
Batman Inc. #3 is now available from DC Comics.