Batman

Revision as of 10:32, 12 December 2022

Batman in Batman: Urban Legends v1 #5.

Batman is a male comic superhero who features in DC Universe.

Biography

Pre-Crisis, Earth-2

Originally Bruce Wayne, son of wealthy doctor Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne. After seeing his father shot by criminal Joe Chill- causing his mother to die of a heart attack at the sight- young Bruce vowed to fight a war against crime. Raised by his uncle Phillip, Bruce trained himself in body and mind through adulthood- becoming an Olympic-level athlete, an escape artist, a master of martial arts and disguise, and a supreme detective. Claiming his inheritance, Bruce moved back to Wayne Manor, and took on Alfred Beagle as his butler. One night, a bat crashed through his window- seeing it as an omen, Bruce decided to become like a bat, a creature to strike fear in criminals. Bruce Wayne became Batman.

Using his fortune, Wayne created a vast crime-fighting arsenal, including the devices and weapons on his utility belt, the Batmobile, the Batplane and his base, the Batcave. (Early on, he also had twin guns, but later abandoned their use.) As Bruce Wayne, Batman cultivated a playboy image. During his career as a crimefighter in Gotham City, Batman made many enemies, including the Joker, the Catwoman and Two-Face, but also found allies in Commissioner Gordon (who deputized him) and his ward Robin. In addition to his distinguished heroic career in Gotham, Batman was a founding member of the Justice Society of America.

However, Batman eventually decided to semi-retire in the late 1950s, settling down with a reformed Selina Kyle. Instead, he fought crime as Commissioner Gordon's successor in the Gotham City Police Department. Unfortunately, although Bruce and Selina had a daughter, Helena Wayne, Selina died after being forced back into crime by an old fellow-criminal. Wracked with irrational guilt, Bruce Wayne completely retired his Batman identity.

A short time later, Batman was forced to go into action one final time when a super-powered criminal attacked Gotham. Despite the aid of the Justice Society, Batman had to sacrifice his life to save his city. Thus ended the career of one of Earth's greatest heroes.

Pre-Crisis, Earth-1

Largely similar to the Earth-2 version. Both of Bruce Wayne's parents were killed by Joe Chill, who was acting under the command of crime boss Lew Moxon- revenge for Thomas Wayne's incriminating testimony against Moxon. Bruce attempted at one point to fight crime as a lawyer, but rejected that route because it would limit him too much. Bruce's Batman identity was also subconsciously influenced by a bat costume his father once wore, in addition to the window-crashing bat. His butler was Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce Wayne played the role of a socialite for a time, but later settled down to run Wayne Enterprises and the Wayne Foundation. Later still, he left both roles to focus more on his crime-fighting.

Batman's foes also included Ra's al Ghul, the Scarecrow and Poison Ivy, while his allies included Batgirl. His ward eventually abandoned the Robin identity to become Nightwing, so he took on another ward, Jason Todd, who became the new Robin. Batman worked with the Justice League of America, but later resigned to found a team of his own called the Outsiders.

Batman first came in contact with members of the Earth-Two Batman Family when Helena Wayne, the daughter of his Earth-Two counterpart came into Earth-One, seeking his advice after she started her crime-fighting career as Huntress. Batman was graceful enough to introduce Helena to Kathy Kane and Barbara Gordon, allowing the heroines to give Huntress a word of advice. For his help, Helena started calling Batman 'Uncle Bruce' to show affection. (Batman Family v1 #17) However, Batman was not so well received by the adult version of his junior partner who felt that the Earth-One Wayne was another pretender to the role that the Earth-Two Wayne had originated. The Earth-Two Grayson's feeling was in part from his own feelings of failing as Batman II and that no one could really measure up to the Earth-Two Batman, especially not a Batman who was even younger than him. The Earth-Two Grayson and Earth-One Wayne would resolve their differences later on and team up on many occasions, though Grayson would never again adopt the role of Batman II. (The Brave and the Bold v1 #182)

In a last attempt to get his romantic life in order, Bruce Wayne ended his relationship with Vicki Vale and Batman told Catwoman that there was no future for them. (Batman v1 #389) While tracking down the Night-Slayer, who returned to Gotham and started killing members of the False Face Society, Batman encountered Nocturna and they surrendered to their mutual love. (Detective Comics v1 #556) However, Batman turned away from Nocturna due to her own dark and dangerous nature, even thought it was precisely that which he loved in her. Conflicted, Batman sought answers until he came to the conclusion that he truly loved Nocturna. Going back to convince her to reform, Batman was forced to fight Catwoman, who wanted to capture Nocturna to clear her name. In the struggle, Catwoman was struck by lightning and almost died. It was then that Batman realized that he also loved Catwoman, until she reformed and he didn't love her anymore. This realization brought a painful epiphany to Batman, who finally understood that he was attracted to dark and dangerous women, because he knew he could never love them. (Batman v1 #390)

On Batman's last mission, he was challenged by almost all of the prominent enemies he made over the years, who were organized by Ra's al Ghul to eliminate Batman. With help from his ever trusting allies, Batman thwarted their plans and conquered over evil, as he always did. (Batman v1 #400)

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Bruce Wayne

When Bruce was 4 years old, he fell down the family well into the caverns beneath Wayne Manor, attracting the attention of several bats. He came to be saved by his father who eventually came to his rescue. (Batman v1 #0)

At 8 years old, Bruce and his parents, wealthy physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, were walking home from the Monarch Theater one night, when they were held up at gunpoint by a mugger who demanded the pearl necklace that Martha was wearing. When Dr. Wayne refused to surrender it, both he and Martha were shot dead in the streets. (Batman v1 #404)

Fortunately, physician and social worker Leslie Thompkins was making a house call that night, and arrived to give loving comfort to the traumatized Bruce. He was then raised on the Wayne Manor estate, with help from the wise and loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth. (Batman: Gotham Knights v1 #7)

After his parents were shot by a criminal in Gotham City's "Crime Alley" when he was a child, young Bruce Wayne vowed to avenge them. Training himself for years with the best in every field he would need for his crusade, he returned to Gotham, the perfect weapon to fight a war on crime. After his first night as an anonymous vigilante ended in miserable failure, a brooding Bruce returned to Wayne Manor, trying to figure out what was missing. When a bat crashed through his window, he was inspired, realizing that he needed to inspire fear in criminals by becoming something more than a man- he would become the Batman.

Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham City after many years of study and training with his body and mind developed to perfection. Despite having all of the skills and methods to fight crime, he still felt that there was something missing in the completion of his physical and mental arsenal. Wayne discovered the answer late one night while sitting in his manor. He recalled his fear of bats as a child after a large one crashed through one of the windows; he ultimately decided to make his appearance resemble a bat's. Wayne designed himself a costume equipped with experimental technology and set out against the crime and corruption that thrived in Gotham City. (Batman v1 #404) Wayne's tactics to oppose crime as a vigilante at night proved successful leading him to become an urban legend in Gotham City. He revealed himself at a dinner of the most influential and corrupt figures in Gotham City and promised them all that their reigns on the city would eventually end. Wayne's first ally was Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent. (Batman v1 #405)

According to one account, Superman came to Gotham viewing Batman as a dangerous criminal and attempted to arrest him for his vigilante tactics. They were forced to work together tracking down the dangerous psychopath Magpie and Superman realized that although his own style of crime-fighting was suitable for his environment, the Bat-Man did what he needed to do to protect his city. They both gained respect for each other, although they doubted, they would ever work together again. (The Man of Steel v1 #3)

For years, Batman fought a variety of both mundane and bizarre costumed villains, including the Joker, Two-Face, Catwoman, the Penguin and more. He found an ally in Commissioner Gordon, although the general populace thought of him as an urban legend. He also took on young Dick Grayson as a partner, Robin, who eventually broke off on his own and became Nightwing. He also gained an occasional ally in Batgirl. Dick was succeeded by young street punk Jason Todd.

Both Batgirl and Robin's careers were cut short by the Joker, who paralyzed Batgirl and killed Todd.

Following the death of Jason Todd, Batman became much more violent and aggressive while coping with the tragedy without someone to balance him out. A young man named Tim Drake figured out his secret identity using detective work, and determined that he needed a Robin to keep his darkness in check, just as Two-Face reappeared with new plans to kill the Dark Knight. (Batman v1 #440)

Batman became determined not to take on another partner, but Tim Drake's own determination eventually led Batman to take him on as the new Robin.

Bane, a brilliant tactical mastermind who had trained his body to physical perfection, came to Gotham City and dedicated himself to destroying Batman and taking over his territory. This villain was more driven and powerful than anyone he had ever faced before and wanted to prove himself by defeating and breaking Batman. At their first meeting, Bane did not introduce himself but said that his name would eventually make him beg for mercy. Batman suggested that if he was threatening him, he should get in line behind everyone else. (Batman: Vengeance of Bane v1 #1)

Later, Batman was driven to the point of exhaustion stopping the villains Bane released from Arkham Asylum, and broke Batman's back. Bruce passed on the mantle of Batman to Azrael while he recuperated with the help of Lady Shiva. Upon his return, he discovered that Azrael had become a much more violent Batman, and led his allies to take him down. After Nightwing took over the role for a brief stint, Bruce returned to being Batman.

Although he was never a full member of the original Justice League of America, Batman did help found the new version of the team created after the incidents with the Know Man and the Hyperclan. Not long after, Gotham was hit with crisis after crisis, from a plague called the Clench to an earthquake that left it abandoned by the U.S. government. Batman persevered with the help of his allies, including Robin, Oracle and the Huntress. His efforts to create emergency countermeasures to defeat the League were eventually stolen by Ra's al Ghul, leading to a loss of trust which got him kicked out of the League. He rejoined to heal the breakdown of the team after he left, revealing his secret identity to the other members as a gesture of good faith.

After accidentally sparking a gang war, the fact of Batman's existence was revealed to the public. Still, he continues to battle crime in Gotham City.

Bruce regained his memory at the end of time, having worked out his plan to thwart Darkseid's revenge. Memory loss gave the monster nothing to go on, and the clues he planted for himself all along helped him work out how to get through everything. Merging with one of the great Archivists, he briefly gained omniscience and created a Time Sphere to travel back to his own time though he was infected by the Hyper-Adapter. After coming back to the present, he easily took out every member of Justice League that stood in his way. The only people he didn't harm were Tim and Diana, who used her Lasso of Truth to make him regain his memories and remember his plan. The infestation however overtook him, and he started attacking her. The Time Masters soon arrived on the spot, and he ripped the Hyper-Adapter off of himself when others failed to do it. Superman, Diana and Hal trapped it in the Time Sphere on Bruce's advice, sending it back in time. He was then induced into a clinical death to dissipate the radiation while Clark and Diana tried to revive him. Experiencing a hallucination in the Fifth World, Batman was confronted by a vision of Darkseid urging him to accept Anti-Life and Metron urging him to defeat the ultimate evil by accepting the first truth of Batman. Tim gave them his Batsuit and told them to inform him that Gotham was in trouble. Bruce then states the first truth of Batman: he was never alone. After he is revived and purged of the radiation, he suited up to go stating he won't be done until Gotham needs him. (Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne v1 #6)

Doctor Hurt and Professor Pyg had taken Gotham by siege, fighting Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne. After defeating the 99 Fiends together, Bruce went after Hurt and the others went after Pyg. Trapping him in his own interrogation room to listen to Alfred's death, Hurt proclaimed that he was the devil and Batman would rot in purgatory. Bursting out of the prison, he delivered a final beat-down to Hurt and went to rescue Pennyworth. The Doctor escaped outside where he was defeated by the Joker and buried alive with a giant grin on his face. Having come to a new conclusion about the direction of his fight against crime, Bruce revealed in a press conference that he had been privately financing Batman for years and went public with Batman Incorporated. (Batman and Robin v1 #16)

Batman gathered his closest associates Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne in the Batcave and gave them all new assignments as the start of an army against crime. They would make their battle ideological, fighting the idea of crime with the idea of Batman and making sure there was nowhere for evil to hide. Lucius Fox was commissioned to make a private army of Batman Robots. Bruce tried Damian out and determined that they would not work well together on missions, insisting that he continue his position with Grayson as the Batman and Robin of Gotham City. These actions drew the attentions of the Leviathan Organization. (Batman: The Return v1 #1)

Batman and Batgirl went undercover to take down an evil finishing school. They stopped Son of Pyg, who was using the school to recruit for Leviathan. Doctor Dedalus trapped the entire team in a labyrinth to drive them insane, until Robin was forced to kill Dedalus. It was revealed that Dedalus was just a distraction, and the mastermind by Leviathan was Talia al Ghul. (Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! v1 #1)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Bruce Wayne

When he was 3 years old, Bruce's mother Martha was expecting a second child to be named Thomas Wayne, Jr. However, because of her intent to find a school for the underprivileged in Gotham, she was targeted by the manipulative Court of Owls, who arranged for her to have a car accident. She and Bruce survived, but the accident forced Martha into premature labor, and the baby was lost. (Batman v2 #10)

Following his parents' deaths, Bruce attempted to commit suicide with a razor blade. However, just before he went through with it, he realized that this wasn't what his parents would want, and it was at that moment Bruce vowed to spend the rest of his life warring on crime. (Batman v3 #12) Shortly after their deaths, Bruce became obsessed with using toy guns and killing the man who murdered his parents. Because of this, Alfred sent Bruce to an Arkham boys' rehabilitation home upstate where he first met Harvey Dent. The boys became good friends but would not realize their identities until years later. (All-Star Batman v1 #3) Bruce would become obsessed with the search for meaning in the loss of his parents. He thought perhaps the mythical Court of Owls was responsible, but he never found anything to prove it. (Batman v2 #4)

In his youth, it was noted that Bruce Wayne came to attend the Gotham Academy. It was there that he dated Julie Madison, but his psychological issues with his parents' deaths ultimately led to the end of their relationship. One day, he was asked by a professor to answer a problem involving a projectile being fired at a target. This triggered Bruce to answer the question by burning the answer on the professor's front yard. (Batman v2 #31)

Fuelled by the loss of his parents, Bruce began a global sojourn. He began in Paris, briefly training with the world's best fencer; he would best said swordsperson after two weeks of training. Sometime later, Bruce encountered the Grey Shadow, a French cat burglar of high renown. Though he initially intended to turn the Shadow in, after some conversation and consideration, he became her protege. In the process of his training, the pair would rob the CEO of Sunrise Oil, Hubert Glonet, unaware that Hubert was the notorious serial killer known to the French public as 'The Foundling'. Bruce developed feelings for the Shadow, culminating in a kiss; however, the Shadow, who shared his attraction, rejected him as too young. Moments later, the pair would be interrupted by notorious manhunter Henri Ducard, who was hired by Alfred Pennyworth to track Bruce down. (Batman: The Knight v1 #2)

At 19, he was in Rio de Janeiro where he met a highly skilled getaway driver named Miguel where he learnt stunt-driving. (Batman v2 #21) When he was 21 years old, Bruce sought out a famed inventor and tinkerer named Sergei Alexandrov to learn his craft. (Batman v2 #22) Among the people he sought out to train him was the famed detective Cassander Wycliffe Baker though the man refused having been beaten by another foe and had been mentally broken in the process. (Batman v3 #94)

With only his mission in mind and no care for his legacy as a Wayne, Bruce moved himself out of Wayne Manor and into a brownstone on Park Row from which he based his early attempts to infiltrate the Red Hood Gang after only six weeks back. (Batman v2 #0) With only his mission in mind and no care for his legacy as a Wayne, Bruce moved himself out of Wayne Manor and into a brownstone on Park Row from which he based his early attempts to infiltrate the Red Hood Gang after only six weeks back. (Batman v2 #21) Philip outed Bruce's return to the media. When Bruce refused to return to the company while his uncle was selling weapons, Nygma advised Philip to have Bruce killed, and the Red Hood Gang soon attempted just that by blowing up Bruce's brownstone with him inside. (Batman v2 #22) Injured, Bruce crawled back to Wayne Manor, where Alfred reaffirmed his support for him and bandaged his wounds. (Batman v2 #23)

During an early outing, while disguised as a veteran, Bruce encountered Selina Kyle on the streets of Gotham; at the time, she was operating as a prostitute. They came to blows, and Selina would later remember this as their first meeting, though Bruce would disagree for semantic reasons. (Batman v3 #66) During this outing, Bruce would be grievously injured, and was nursed back to health by Alfred yet again. Afterwards, he would decide to take on the guise of a bat, presenting the concept to Alfred the following morning. Alfred rejected it at first, but Bruce was persistent. Over the next few days, they assembled the suit, and on the following Saturday, Bruce made his first patrol as the Batman, attracting the attention of journalists, who chronicled what they knew of the mysterious vigilante in a front-page article in the Arkham Post the day after. (Detective Comics Annual v2 #3) Soon afterward, industrial tycoon David Lambert was murdered, and Bruce would investigate; this would become his first real investigation as Batman- an adventure he would later recall as the Case of the Chemical Syndicate. (Batman: Lost v1 #1)

Overview

Personality and attributes

For an emergency, Bruce came to craft a psychological backup identity in case he was ever mentally compromised. This led to the creation of a secondary personality known as the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh that was a secret self to save him from danger. The persona was said to be more carefree and somewhat more unhinged than Batman himself. According to the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, he was what happened when Bruce Wayne was taken out of the equation. (Batman v1 #679)

Powers and abilities

Bruce was said to had been trained by six different specialists in key skills. (Batman and Robin v2 #6)

Among his mentors included:

• Gray Shadow :
• Henri Ducard :
• Master Kirigi :
• Avery Oblonsky :
• Swiss Mark :
• John Zatara :
• Daniel Captio :
• Thaddeus Brown :
• Miguel :
• Sergei Alexandrov :
• Ra's al Ghul :

He was listed as a Class-12 fighter in the files of the Fortress of Solitude in terms of martial artist and close-quarter-combat skills. (Justice League of America v2 #8)

Ra's al Ghul was noted to had taught Bruce that memory was like a museum and how to sift through it to find important information that was retained by his mind. (Detective Comics v1 #985)

If his mind was ever compromised, a secret self and psychologically implanted backup identity was triggered that was known as the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. (Batman v1 #679) The persona allowed Batman to operate when Bruce Wayne was no longer mentally active. However, this was said to be only a short-term fix to help get Batman out of trouble in the event of an attack on his mind and was not meant to operate in the long run. In addition, the persona manifested a hallucinatory figure seeming to be Bat-Mite who was the last fading echo of Bruce Wayne's voice of reason. (Batman v1 #680)

He kept a log of strange events that did not fit with the normal understanding of the world with these being recorded in the Black Casebook. (Batman v1 #665) He later established a new file known as the White Casebook that contained his writings on his various allies in Gotham City. (Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batman and Robin v1 #1)

Among his creations included:

• Batarangs :
• Bat-Box : a network of these devices were part of a 'ghost grid' attached to the existing Gotham City power grid Their purpose was to short out and block tracking systems and cameras in the area so that Batman cannot be filmed on high quality or official film, thus helping him remain legendary and mysterious in Gotham. (Batman v2 #12)
• Hellbat :
• Failsafe :

Batman maintained secret files and protocols that contained contingency measures to deal with other heroes and how to best neutralise them. (JLA v1 #45)

Notes

• Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger where he made his first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #27 (March, 1939).
• In Batman v1 #256 (1974), it was shown that Bruce Wayne in different circumstances would have adopted a different superhero identity had he not seen the bat. Among the identities he was shown to take included the Scorpion, the Stingray, the Owl, the Shooting Star and the Iron Knight.
• In Bruce Wayne: The Road Home v1 (2010), he briefly operated under the guise of the Insider who was equipped with a masked suit with a number of superhuman abilities such as heat vision, camouflage, brief super-speed and a teleporter.

Alternate Versions

• In Detective Comics Annual v1 #7 (1994), an alternate version of the character known as Captain Leatherwing appeared in the Elseworld setting set on Earth-494. He was a 17th Century privateer and the captain of the Flying Fox where he was supported in his endeavours by his trusty first mate Alfredo. Leatherwing and his crew operated out of a hidden harbor at Vespertilio Cay that was also known as the Bat's Cay.
• In Kingdom Come v1 #1 (1996), an alternate future version of Bruce Wayne appeared in Kingdom Come set on Earth-22 in the Multiverse. In this alternate future, Batman made Gotham City safe by patrolling it with an army of robot Bat-Knights. He refused to join Superman's Justice League of the World, and instead formed his own group of largely non-powered heroes. Ostensibly, his goal was to oppose Superman, but his true goal was to blow the lid off Lex Luthor's schemes against the League and the world. However, he was unable to prevent a brainwashed Captain Marvel from releasing the criminals within the Gulag. After an appeal from Superman, he sent in his group to try to help quell the war between the new and old generations of heroes. He was one of the few survivors after the fearful United Nations used a nuclear weapon on the superbeings, and he became godfather to Superman and Wonder Woman's son. He also travelled back in time with them to save newborn Jonathan from Gog.
• In Justice League of America v2 #25 (2008), an alternate version of the character was shown who went by the name of Paladin instead with this one created in a world made by Anansi. The trickster god weaved a world where a young Bruce Wayne on the night his parents were killed had picked up the gun and shot their murderer. He became a ruthless vigilante who used a gun to kill criminals in Gotham City who was wanted by the law and never joined the Justice League.

In other media

Television

Films

Video games

Appearances

The Batman of Earth-2.

The Batman of Earth-1.

• Detective Comics v1: (1939)
• Batman v1:
• Justice League of America v1:
• Justice League v1:
• JLA v1:
• Batman and Robin v1:
• Batman v2:
• Justice League v2:
• Batman and Robin v2:
• Batman: The Knight v1:

Links

Internal Links

• Batman (Generations)
• Batman (Serials)
• Batman (1966 TV)
• Batman (Super Friends)
• Batman (Films)
• Batman (DC Animated)
• Batman (Birds of Prey)
• Batman (The Batman)
• Batman (Batman Begins)
• Batman (Elseworlds)
• Batman (Tangent)
• Batman (Stan Lee)
• Batman (1,000,000)
• Dark Claw
• Knight Watchman
• Nighthawk
• Owlman
• Professor Night
• Raven

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry