The mainline, ongoing Batman run is one big game board with a ton of moving pieces, and each issue progresses at least one or more of these pieces while the other pieces must naturally wait their turn. For example, quite a lot has happened since we last saw the Ōjō, Batman’s brand-new villain, such as GCPD Commissioner Vandal Savage launching an assault on the Bat-Family that resulted in Barbara Gordon’s Oracle being willingly taken into custody and incarcerated at the island Supermax prison.
Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez’s Batman juggles a handful of supporting antagonists, with the mysterious Minotaur and Savage being the book’s main villains and sharing that role generously. That said, there’s an argument to be made that the best villain of the book is Ōjō, a brand-new character in the Batman mythology whose role is hopefully only beginning to blossom.
Batman’s Ōjō Is As Stylish As She Is Deadly
The Ōjō debuted in Batman (2025) #5, and we haven’t yet seen the full extent of how dangerous she is. She’s wonderfully unique and lethal, wielding dual blades and able to somehow vanish and reappear in a misty manifestation of a flock of birds. Sadly, all three of her battles against Bruce so far have been interrupted before we could see more of her.
Ōjō even successfully dealt Bruce what could’ve been a lethal blow with one of her blades had Bruce not been wearing a layer ø body armor (with “pass-through haptic input density phasing” and “moisture wicking”) in the lining of his dress shirt.
Before their duel could continue in issue #5, Bruce’s son, Damien Wayne (one of two Robins before Tim Drake retired an issue later) appeared and neutralized Ōjō with an M-EMP nullification network Batsnare, which he knew would be effective due to studying her when he was with the League of Assassins. Ōjō fled after this defeat, and it wasn’t until this most recent issue that she returned for a rematch, confirming her addition to Batman’s recurring gallery of rogues.
Her Villainous Ambitions Are Still Unclear
Bruce originally believed that Ōjō was attempting to collect a bounty on the head of Dr. Annika Zeller (she did take a stab at her through a dumpster, to be fair), but realizes that she was hired to kill him, not Annika, when he tells Ōjō, “Annika Zeller is protected,” and she replies, “Who?” With Ōjō sneaking up on Batman in Little Tokyo’s Kamata-dōri, then, it seems fair to assume that she’s connected the dots and discerned that Bruce is Batman.
Interestingly, the solicitation for Batman #11 teased a “quest for blood” that isn’t necessarily mutually exclusive to her goal of killing Bruce:
“The deadliest woman in the world wielding two blades is back, and her quest for blood puts her on a collision course with the Caped Crusader.”
Even if Ōjō’s sole motivation as an antagonist was that she is a professional assassin and compelled to see her task to completion, she’s an incredibly intimidating and fascinating Batman villain. As she swiftly unsheathes and sheathes her blade, slicing Mr. Blake in half before he can react, Ōjō vows: “Flood your fetid streets with assassins for all I care. I will kill them all, just as I shall Bruce Wayne.”
Six new assassins will arrive in Batman #12 and likely tend to the matter, following the Shadow Board reopening bids to the “global talent pool.” Therefore, it’s possible that the Ōjō might even fight them alongside Batman, if only so that she can be the one left to kill him herself thereafter.
Batman #11 is out now.
- Created By
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Bob Kane, Bill Finger
- Alias
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Bruce Wayne
- Alliance
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Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family
- Race
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Human
- Franchise
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D.C.
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
