Martha Wayne
Martha Wayne is a female comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Golden Age
Martha Wayne
While walking home from a movie theater with their young son Bruce, Martha Wayne and her husband Thomas were accosted by a robber named Joe Chill. Attempting to rob Martha of her jewelry, Thomas Wayne tried to disarm the attacker. The mugger shot and killed Thomas and, moments later, killed Martha as well. (Detective Comics v1 #33)
Silver Age
One night when Bruce was a young child, his family attended a costume fundraiser. The theme of the party was 'Flying Creatures' and Dr. Wayne decided to masquerade as a bat, wearing a costume consisting of a pointed mask and large, dark blue scalloped wings. The impressionable Bruce admired his father's outfit and openly asked if one day he might be able to wear such a fearsome costume. Thomas had no idea how prophetic the innocent question truly was. (Detective Comics v1 #235)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Martha Kane was the daughter of Roderick Kane and Betsy Kane of the Kane family of Gotham City. (Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne v1 #5)
At some point, she was friends with Marla Elliot though was not aware that her friendship was based on her families fortune. After the Kane family lost money due to a bad investment, Martha Kane was working with Leslie Thompkins and wanted to help in aiding orphans. She approached Marla's husband Roger Elliott who headed Elliot Pharmaceutical for a dire need in funding but he refused as he did not wish to take part in a charity case that did not offer him profit. At the time, Martha had met them during a magic show by John Zatara that Thomas Wayne was attending with the Elliot's looking for a merger between their company and that of Wayne Enterprises. (Batman: Streets of Gotham v1 #14)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Martha Kane was the daughter of Roderick where she grew up in her stately childhood home of Kane Manor that was built in 1823 and was where she grew up with her siblings Nathan, Phillip and Jacob. (Detective Comics v1 #978) Her brother Jacob Kane was known to had later gone into the military. As a member of the Kanes, her family had long been at odds with the Waynes. When Martha Kane was dating Thomas Wayne, her father had taken her before the family crest and quoted the Kane motto Stemus Simul (We Stand Together). (Detective Comics v1 #935)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Her father was Roderick Kane and her mother was Betsy Kane who were members of the elite Kane family of Gotham City. (Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne v1 #5)
She was known to had hated the family motto of Stemus Simul as she felt that blood alone did not keep people together but that it had to be earned. (Detective Comics v1 #978)
One of her good friends was Marsha Lamarr who was an actress. (Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne v1 #5)
Powers and abilities
Notes
- Martha Wayne was created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Gardner Fox where she made her first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #33 (November, 1939).
Alternate Versions
- In Flashpoint v2 #1 (2011), an alternate version of Martha Wayne appeared in the altered timeline of the Flashpoint. Similar to her mainstream counterpart, she was married to Thomas Wayne and they had a son named Bruce Wayne. One night, they went to the movies and on returning they went to Crime Alley to be confronted by Joe Chill. However, instead of Thomas and Martha being killed, their son Bruce was murdered by the mugger. The loss of her son caused Martha Wayne to suffer a mental breakdown where she fell into madness and became their reality's version of the Joker. She was believed to had been killed but in fact had survived where she went into hiding and looked to restore reality by ensuring that she and Thomas had died instead of their son. Thus, she began operating as the mysterious Clockwork Killer as she began targeting time travelling beings in her reality.
- In Batman: Earth One v1 #1 (2012), an alternate version of Martha Wayne appeared in the reality of the new Earth-1 set in the restored Multiverse. It was revealed that originally she was Martha Arkham where her family were the founders of Arkham Asylum, and the house she grew up in during her childhood was said to be haunted.
- In Justice League v2 #25 (2014), an alternate version of Martha Wayne appeared in the reality of the new Earth-3 set in the restored Multiverse.
In other media
Television
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Martha Wayne appeared in the setting of the animated television series where she was initially voiced by actress Pat Musick and later by actress Julie Newmar.
Films
- In Batman, Mrs Wayne appeared in a flashback in the 1989 live-action film where she was portrayed by actress Sharon Holm.
- In Batman Begins, Martha Wayne appeared briefly in The Dark Knight Trilogy live-action film where she was portrayed by actress Sara Stewart.
- In Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Martha Wayne was shown in flashback sequences in the live-action movie where she was portrayed by actress Lauren Cohan.
- In The Batman, Martha Wayne appeared in the setting of the live-action film where she was portrayed by actress Stella Stocker. This version was originally Martha Arkham who came from a wealthy family with a history of mental illness, and as a child witnessed her parents die in a murder-suicide, spending years in and out of psychiatric hospitals as a result of the trauma.
Video games
- In Batman: The Telltale Series, Martha Wayne appeared in flashbacks in the video game where she was voiced by actress Lorri Holt.
Novels
- In Batman: The Ultimate Evil, Martha Wayne's backstory was explored in the novel where it was said that she had worked as a social worker who looked to stop crime in her own way and wanted to protect sexually abused children. According to Alfred Pennyworth, her investigation of a child prostitution ring led to sex traffickers ordering her murder leading to Martha and Thomas Wayne's death in order to silence her.
Appearances
- Detective Comics v1: (1939)
- Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne v1:
- Detective Comics v1:
External Links
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