There’s something familiar about “No More Teachers,” the first arc of Ed Brisson and John Timms’ Batman Incorporated. A mysterious figure has begun murdering a string of mercenaries. As Ghost-Maker investigates, he slowly realizes that this killer is targeting him personally. The murderer reveals themselves as Phantom-One, a vigilante who was once Ghost-Maker’s teenage sidekick. Ghost-Maker assumed that Phantom-One had been killed in action years ago. For his part, Phantom-One is angry that Ghost-Maker didn’t avenge his death and isn’t thrilled that there’s a new sidekick, Clownhunter, in the picture.

Does any of that sound familiar to you? In some ways, “No More Teachers” follows the same path as Batman: Under the Red Hood, the groundbreaking Batman story that brought back Jason Todd. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that one story copies another. In fact, while both stories share some interesting similarities, the key differences they share are what makes “No More Teachers” interesting. Since Batman Incorporated follows a global franchise of Batmen, it only makes sense that some of these vigilantes would have their own franchisee versions of the Dark Knight’s most famous stories, including Under the Red Hood.

This is why “No More Teachers” is a fun character study for Ghost-Maker. We see him go through the same scenario that Batman when through, but Ghost-Maker has his own way of handling it.

A brief tangent to say that if you’re unfamiliar with Ghost-Maker, you should check out the Batman storyline “Ghost Stories.” Before adopting the identity of Ghost-Maker, Minhkhoa Khan traveled the world to train for life as a vigilante. In the process, he crossed paths with Bruce Wayne and trained under some of the same teachers he had.

Minhkhoa and Bruce eventually parted ways once their dueling ideologies became apparent. Khan found Bruce to be too sentimental, and Bruce wasn’t a fan of Khan’s thirst for violence. Fortunately, Batman and Ghost-Maker are getting along better these days, mostly because Ghost-Maker has agreed to show more restraint regarding the whole “slaying your enemies” thing. This is important, because now Ghost-Maker is a part of Batman Incorporated, and murder kind of ruins their corporate image.

Let’s talk about Phantom-One and the way his story parallels Jason Todd’s rise and fall. Most of his origin is detailed in Batman Incorporated #3. Like Jason Todd, Phantom-One was the son of a criminal. The big difference is that Ghost-Maker was responsible for the death of Phantom-One’s parents. The vigilante killed them as they were performing a robbery. As the criminal couple bled out on the floor, they asked who would take care of their son.

Interestingly, Ghost-Maker decided to adopt their unnamed son. This is where the story becomes a bit messed up though, because Ghost-Maker didn’t conduct the adoption as Minhkhoa Khan. Instead, he created a fake persona and wore a facial disguise. Even worse, this wasn’t just a smokescreen for the adoption agency. Khan also kept his identity from his new son.

This is a big contrast to Bruce Wayne and Jason Todd. When you read Jason’s origin in “Batman: Second Chances” it seems like Batman reveals his identity a bit too fast. (Although I think part of that is because he was rebounding from the end of his partnership with Dick Grayson, but that’s a thread for another article.) Either way, Bruce went all in on Jason, while Ghost-Maker never opened up to Phantom-One. As the present day narration reveals, that caused some resentment which the youth never truly got over. But it gets even worse.

Phantom-One reveals that Ghost-Maker was never home and left him in the care of tutors. He was hoping they would build the boy into the ultimate sidekick. “This was around the time that Robin—the second Robin—had died at the hands of the Joker,” Phantom-One explains. “Ghost-Maker couldn’t pass up the opportunity to improve upon Batman’s failures. He sought to build me into a better Robin.”

Phantom-One wasn’t allowed to have a life outside of his training. Ghost-Maker would not let him leave their mansion unless it was for a mission. Even during dinners, Ghost-Maker would wear his mask, putting more distance between him and the boy. It all sounds dehumanizing, and in fact, we never find out Phantom-One’s real name. Maybe it’s because Ghost-Maker dehumanized him so much that he no longer felt he had any identity outside of Phantom-One. Wouldn’t you feel the same way if you only left the house for missions and your guardian never spent any time with you outside of that?

Now imagine what it must have been like for Phantom-One when he was presumed dead on a mission and Ghost-Maker moved on as if nothing happened. By stripping away Phantom-One’s identity, he tied the boy’s self-worth to his role as Ghost-Maker’s partner. Once that part of his life was torn away, it’s no surprise he fell apart.

I think that’s the big difference between the story of Red Hood and the story of Phantom-One. Jason and Phantom-One both returned from the dead seeking vengeance against their mentors, but Batman was able to pull Red Hood from the abyss. It took years and lots of work (like most hard-earned redemptions do), but Jason is now a member of the Bat-Family.

Why did Bruce succeed at that while Ghost-Maker failed? It should come as no surprise, but the origin story makes it clear. Bruce gave Jason a sense of family and established a relationship as a father to him. Ghost-Maker did everything to dehumanize Phantom-One. When Jason went rogue, the loving foundation of his relationship with Bruce was never truly gone.

Batman was able to use that foundation to bring Jason back to the metaphorical light. What’s more, the strong bond they built motivated Batman to keep trying and not give up on his adopted son. If Jason had been any other criminal, Batman would have just tossed him in prison without a second thought. Needless to say, Ghost-Maker and Phantom-One lacked the same foundation. Seriously, how messed up is it that they lived together for years and Phantom-One never saw Ghost-Maker’s real name or face?!

If you’ve read Batman Incorporated #5, then you know how the story ends. I won’t spoil it here, but Ghost-Maker is no longer the man he once was. He’s trying to follow Batman’s example, and that means finding another way to deal with his former pupil. “No More Teachers” is a great companion piece to Batman: Under the Red Hood because it reinforces the strength of Batman as a teacher and a father. Bruce Wayne may not appear in this story, but in many ways, Batman Incorporated still acts a great character study for him.

Batman Incorporated #5, the final issue of "No More Teachers" by Ed Brisson, John Timms and Rex Lokus, is now available in print and as a digital comic book.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Twitter at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC Entertainment or Warner Bros.