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It's not every month that a major new Batman villain debuts, but for months now DC has been hyping up the early 2026 debut of a new villain in their just-released Batman series by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez. Announced back in October, DC is bringing a Japanese-inspired villain in January's Batman #5 called Lady Death Man. Described as a "sinister assassin" coming to confront Batman and Robin, it was evoking a nearly-forgotten classic '60s Bat-villain called Death Man (later adjusted to Lord Death Man).

"And another new character design in the run. Lady Death Man. BATMAN #5," Jiménez wrote on Facebook back in November. "I promise this issue is one of the best I’ve ever done. Matt’s script has allowed me to explore new narrative avenues in this issue. I really enjoyed it and I sincerely hope you like it!!"

Then, something happened.

As pieces together by several people online, ahead of Batman #5's debut on January 7, both the marketing text for the issue and the finished main cover design have replaced the name "Lady Death Man" with "The Ojo." In Japanese, 'The Ojo' translates to "young lady." Additionally, a Batman #5 variant cover featuring Jiménez's design was changed to list the name as 'The Ojo' instead of 'Lady Death Man.'

So why would this be done? It's not the first time a name of a major Bat-family character was changed - just this week, we wrote about how the Robin known as Tim Drake was originally named Jeff, but in this case, it could have been for a few reasons.

The most logical is that, upon further consideration, the Batman comic book's creators or DC thought that 'The Ojo' was a better name than 'Lady Death Man.' Which could hold some water, given how some readers might be confused by two differing genders being referenced in the name, or how the nomenclature is less conventional for American superheroes than 'The Ojo.'

Another possible reason is legally. The name 'Lady Death Man' is a bit too similar to the popular non-DC comics character 'Lady Death,' and attempts to trademark the name 'Lady Death Man' could've hit some resistance due to the similarities. In the '60s according to the late Stan Lee, DC sued Marvel for launching Wonder Man, considering it too derivative of their character 'Wonder Woman.

However it shakes out, it's an interesting footnote to what could be a major DC villain. And possibly an in-demand comic, if DC has printed versions of it with the character's original name.

Lady Death Man The Ojo is announced to debut in Batman #5, on sale January 6.

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