Bruce Wayne (Earth-99)

"There is no hope."

- Bruce Wayne's final words

Bruce Wayne (died December 2019) was the cousin of Beth Kane and the late Kate Kane. He spent his lifetime protecting Gotham City as the vigilante Batman, stylized as the "Dark Knight".

Biography
Prior to December 2019, Bruce had dedicated himself, body and soul to fighting crime as the masked vigilante Batman. Years later, following the death of his cousin Kate, Bruce gave up his code not to kill. He eventually ended up a broken man, believing the world was not worth saving in any universe.

Confronting Superman
When Superman revealed himself on Earth, Bruce saw him as a man with powers and abilities unlike any mortal. Despite this, he had a close enough relationship to call him by his alter ego's name, "Clark", as well as know of his vulnerability to Kryptonite. But once he realized Clark always said "yes" to anyone with a badge or a flag, giving them too much power, Bruce went head-on against the Kryptonian, and killed him. He was almost killed in the process; forcing Bruce to wear an exoskeleton, so he could move around.

Meeting "Kate"
Five years after the death of his cousin, a girl that looked like Kate appeared in the entrance after her friend Kara broke the door. Bruce asked Luke to stop pointing his gun at them and has a talk about whom she is. Knowing that Clayface was currently a mud and that Jane Doe was in Arkham, he asked her about whom she was before revealing that she was supposed to be dead. Once she explained that she believes that he was the Paragon of courage, Bruce laughed as he revealed that he was retired and that he wasn't a hero since he even lost count of how many people he killed. Later, in his underground lair, he showed his suit in spider's web explaining that he would not fit in it anymore and that he can barely walk. When Kate explained that the multiverse was in great danger, Bruce revealed that he didn't care as long as this world dies. When Kara has Supergirl entered the lair revealing that he has killed his earth's Superman, Bruce revealed that he hatted Superman for being powerful and punched Kara revealing that he has Kryptonite inside his Exoskeleton. After Kate Interfered and tried to stop Bruce from killing Kara, he was accidentally pushed on an electric remote electrocuting him. In his dying breath, he had the time to say to Kate that there was no hope.

Legacy
Bruce's death and idealism about being hopeless would affect Kate to the point that she had kept some Kryptonite and made her feel guilty of his death. Kate started to fear the possibility that she could become like him.

Personality
"My parents taught me a very different lesson. Life only makes sense if you force it to."

- Bruce Wayne

Bruce was a stark contrast from his Earth-1 counterpart; he was much darker, pessimistic and hopeless.

Abilities
"Earth-99 exists in a future time where Bruce Wayne has dedicated himself, body and soul, to fighting crime."

- Monitor


 * Peak of human physical condition: Bruce had dedicated his body to fighting crime. He had withstood a lifetime of injuries, most notably from Superman.
 * Intimidation: The Gotham City Gazette described Bruce's war on crime as a "reign of terror". He lost track of how many people he killed.
 * Indomitable will: Bruce Wayne has dedicated his soul to fighting crime.

Equipment

 * Exoskeleton: After Bruce's fight with Superman, he had to wear a metallic Exoskeleton suit to help him move around.
 * Kryptonite: Bruce used Kryptonite in his battle against Superman. He later used it against Kara Danvers when fighting against her. Some of his supply was taken by Kate Kane after his death.

Former equipment

 * Batman suit: Whilst fighting crime in Gotham, Bruce wore a protective black suit stylized like a bat.

Behind the scenes

 * This version of Bruce Wayne was played by Kevin Conroy. Conroy previously portrayed the character in various animated movies, television, and video game series, starting with 1992 DCAU's Batman: The Animated Series. is Conroy's first live-action appearance as Bruce Wayne.
 * Kevin Conroy discussed with Entertainment Weekly how the "Crisis" role took him by surprise, stating how the experience of playing Batman for the first time in live-action "threw him" at first. "I never approached this character from that physicalized aspect. I always just inhabited him with my voice", Conroy said. "When you do that in a recording studio, it's a very intimate experience and you're sort of living in your own imagination. You do it with your eyes closed and you're in this other world, and you have Mark Hamill feeding you (need), and the other actors (because we always recorded together in the booths)". "To actually be on the set, in the physical world, and to be walking as the character and inhabiting the character in three dimensions, it was a real transition for me", he added. "It did take a while to get used to, I have to admit. I was surprised because I know the character so well".
 * Ruby Rose and Melissa Benoist helped Kevin Conroy overcome this initial obstacle on how to approach his character. "Everybody was so generous to work with. I can't emphasize how enough how welcoming everyone was, especially Ruby. She is so open and giving. I just fell into her eyes at one point and we just connected on camera. It was wonderful", he says, adding that it was "amazing" to work with Benoist, too. "I felt like I was working with old friends I'd known for years. There was just such trust there that I could open up to them on camera".
 * Executive producer Marc Guggenheim spoke of Kevin Conroy, "He is stupendous, He is Bruce Wayne. (It's) just a lot of fun to see this actor who we all mainly know from voice work being on camera. It was really exciting". Conroy's appearance in "Crisis" is the result of a dream. "One of the things that was always on my bucket list is that I wanted to see old Bruce Wayne," says Guggenheim. "We talked about a variety of different casting possibilities, but (Legends of Tomorrow showrunner) Keto Shimizu, who is a huge animated Batman fan, pointed out that Kevin is the right age. We reached out to Kevin and he couldn't have been more lovely and more game for it".
 * Earth-99 Bruce Wayne shares similarities with various Batmen:
 * Bruce's appearance as an old man with a metallic exoskeleton is based off the Kingdom Come storyline.
 * Bruce's views on Superman is reminiscent on The Dark Knight Returns comic and Ben Affleck's character from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This is referenced by Bruce's dialogue towards Supergirl.
 * Bruce drives the same Batmobile as the 1989 Batman.