Rhetoric
Rhetoric was a former member of Penguin's gang who later became independent once his telekinetic powers awakened during his incarsion. His costume consists of repurposed Blackgate and Arkham inmate uniforms, while his arsenal includes various weapons manufactured by WayneTech.
Name:
Rhetoric
Publisher:
Real name:
Aliases:
Birth date:
None
Gender:
Male
Powers:
- Telekinesis
- Unarmed Combat
- Weapon Master
Concept & Creation
Rhetoric is a comic book supervillain created by Sharif Robbins-Brinson of Macon, Georgia, the winner of DC's Building Bad Sweepstakes 2026. The competition allowed one winner to help create an all-new Batman super-villain who would become part of the official DC canon. The character would debut in the pages of DC's comics (Detective Comics #1113 and Batman #14), along with an appearance of in the highly anticipation video game LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight on September 18th 2026 and a DC GO! webcomic.
The contest ran from April to May 22nd 2026. The winner, Sharif Robbins-Brinson, was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 (July 24th) by Batman editor Katie Kubert. Jim Lee drew a variant cover for Detective Comics #1113 with the new character. Rhetoric would appear as a back-up feature of Detective Comics #1113 written by Dan Watters and drawn by Scott Hepburn.
Rhetoric symbolizes the challenge of Batman's crusade on an ideological level, questioning whether the Dark Knight actually changes Gotham - or simply protects a broken system and maintains the status quo.
History
Building Bad - Rhetoric
Detective Comics #1113
Rhetoric was revealed to be a former henchman of The Penguin, who was later sent to Arkham Asylum by Batman some time ago. Whether it was a blow to the head by Batman or the electro shock therapy sessions at Arkham that awakened his telekinetic powers remains a mystery. During his time in and out of prisons, Blackgate Penitentiary included, Rhetoric realized that the status quo was the problem.
Donning a costume of his own design from his time as a prisoner at both Arkham and Blackgate, Rhetoric began his crusade against Wayne Foundation Charities, who helped fund rehabilitation programs for Arkham inmates. He broke into three separate nights stealing and destroying all records of his own criminal past before he got his powers. His actions caught the attention of Batman on his fourth break-in at Wayne Enterprises. Rhetoric was able to escape from Batman after a brief encounter with a combination of his guns and chained hooks controlled by his telekinetic skills.
