WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman #109 by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Right from the start, Ghost-Maker was out prove that he was better than Batman. Things took a surprising turn when they decided to work together instead of against each other. In a lot of ways, it was good for both of them. Batman got someone highly competent he trusts and even views him as a friend, and Ghost-Maker got the chance to work at being a real hero. But there is still a healthy rivalry between the two and Ghost-Maker is out to prove that he is the better crimefighter. So he started by making his own, much better Batcave.
Ghost-Maker had brought Harley Quinn over to his place to get to know her better. He couldn't pass up the opportunity to show off his new mancave. When Harley excitedly asked if this was another Batcave, he immediately corrected her, calling it his own base of operations designed from top to bottom by himself as an improvement on the original Batcave. He calls it the Haunt. And frankly, it's pretty awesome.
Everything inside the Haunt is state of the art, but it's not just a desire to have the best equipment on hand that motivates Ghost-Maker, he also wants to one-up Batman in every detail. For example, much like the original Batcave, the Haunt has a dinosaur, specifically a Spinosaurus, which is a larger breed of dinosaur than the T-Rex Batman kept in his Batcave. Harley didn't care so much about the size of his dinosaur so much that both he and Batman have dinosaurs.
But the dinosaur wasn't the only thing there to put the Batcave to shame. Ghost-Maker's practical equipment also comes with his very own Batmobile, the Ghost-Racer. But he quickly revealed that even though he is striving to outdo Batman, his friend's car is still faster than his. So naturally, the current Ghost-Racer is heading the industrial incinerator as the new model is being designed. Ghost-Maker even possessed trophy cases and costume displays much like the original cave, having multiple iterations of his costumes and weaponry on hand incase he wants to change things up.
It's all very impressive, honestly. In the short time since he's moved into Gotham, Ghost-Maker has built an impressive base for himself -- one that can even keep out Oracle for a time. Even if it motivated by playful rivalry, the Haunt is a testament to how effective and efficient Ghost-Maker can be when properly motivated.
But there is a touch of arrogance to it all. He did say that Batman's current Batcave is a disgrace. And he's not entirely wrong. With the absence of the Wayne fortune, Batman is now forced to become more practical with his money, doing a lot of the work by hand now. He's built several microcaves around the city toit easier for him to get around safely and gives him a place to work no matter where he is. It's the one advantage that he has over the Haunt.
But these caves are more or less garages rather than the bleeding edge hub that Ghost-Maker has set up for himself. Perhaps the microcaves will function as satellite bases while centered around the Haunt in the future. Batman has shared his new cave system with Ghost-Maker already, and it's only a matter of time before Ghost-Maker invites him to the Haunt. From there, the two might have a real forward base of operations that can coordinate with the other caves. And all of it was spawned from the simple desire to make Batman seem second rate.
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