One of Batman’s Most Iconic Symbols Is Co-Opted by DC’s “Most Proficient Killer”

Warning: Spoilers for The Penguin #11

Batman is well known for his gallery of rogues that have threatened Gotham through the years — including the Help, who is back in Gotham and making good use of the Bat-Signal. While not a supervillain, the Help works as a support in helping other criminals achieve their underworld goals. Not only that, but he’s been deemed DC’s most proficient killer — and he is back in Gotham.

In the last pages of The Penguin #11 by Tom King and Rafael de Latorre, while the city explodes into a mess of blood and bullets, Batman answers the call of the Bat-Signal only to find an enemy waiting for him on the rooftop. Only the Help would have the audacity and the lack of fear to call the Bat to him, simply to give him a simple message: both the gangs of the city and the FBI are closing in on Oswald’s apartment, as the Penguin’s plan is finally coming to fruition.

Like a villainous Alfred, the Help informs him about “the day that needs to be saved. Or the night, as it were.” Batman is left with a choice: save the city or deal with the Help. Choosing the former, it seems like the wait for that much anticipated showdown between Batman and the Help will have to wait a few more issues.

The Help Uses an Iconic Gotham Tool

In 12-issue series The Penguin, which began in 2023 at the height of the Dawn of DC era — which saw a number of resets for the DC Universe — Oswald Cobblepot once again enlisted the help of the Help to regain his control of the criminal under-belly of the city. Working with Batman, the FBI, and his own children, the Penguin now has his back to many walls, and the Help just might solve one situation: Batman. After all, they had already fought once, and Batman didn’t come out on top.​​​​​

First introduced in Batman: Killing Time #3by King and David Marquez, the Help met Batman for the first time, and fought him like a mentor. This grim-faced, butler-clad criminal seemed to know every fighting style Batman performed, even naming their origins, and when he defeated his opponent, he vanished without a trace. Even though he’s nearly ninety, this Anti-Alfred still exceeds Batman in peak physical performance, and the showdown between the two characters is surely imminent.

The Help Has Become an Iconic Batman Character in His Own Right

The Help Debuted in Batman: Killing Time #3 by Tom King, David Marquez, Alejandro Sánchez, and Clayton Cowles

With only one issue left in The Penguin, it’s uncertain if the Help will appear once again, and if he does, who he’ll be there to support. As a supporting character — both metatextually and in the literal sense, given his purpose and motivations — the Help is already one of the most interesting Gotham characters to appear in recent years. When this series concludes, hopefully the Help will appear again before long in Batman’s city — maybe even using the Bat-Signal.

The Penguin#11 is available now from DC Comics.