Bruce Wayne (Earth-99)

"You start with a code. You hang onto it with every self-righteous breath. But then you take one life. Then another, then another, then another."

- Bruce Wayne to Kate Kane

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". He was believed to be the Paragon of Courage until it was revealed to be Batwoman.

Early life
Bruce Wayne has mostly experienced the same events as his Earth-1 counterpart. Namely, a similar set of events, such as his parents' death, that had led him to dedicate himself body and soul to fighting crime. Dressing as a bat, Bruce became the masked vigilante Batman, operating out of his secret cave below Wayne Manor. There are minor differences, however, such as the circumstances of how he operates in Gotham City as well as his sense of justice.

Reign of terror
"It's like a wise man once said. "Battle not with monsters, lest you become a monster." I've lost track of how many people I've killed."

- Bruce Wayne, to Kate Kane

Over the years, Bruce has made a lot of enemies, some being a large assortment of villains make up Batman's rogues gallery, including Clayface and Jane Doe. Despite starting with a code never to kill, Bruce ended up taking one life. In his "reign of terror", Bruce would eventually lose track of how many people he killed, keeping a wall of trophies. Bruce ended up a broken man, uninterested in redeeming himself and believing the world was not worth saving in any universe. At some point, his cousin Kate put on a cape, believing she would succeed where he failed, only to get herself killed.

Confronting Superman
"Strange visitor from another planet comes to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men? Clark. Clark always said yes to anyone with a badge. Or a flag. He gave them too much power."

- Bruce Wayne justifying his murder of 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 knowledge 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. Bruce kept Clark's pair of broken black-rimmed glasses on a wall of trophies. Batman's "reign of terror" presumably ended with Bruce barely able to walk, as well as his belief that there is no hope for the world.

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 died. When Kara has Supergirl entered the lair revealing that he has killed his earth's Superman, Bruce revealed that he hated 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 told Kate that there was no hope.

Legacy
"That Bruce was brave once, too, and he had heart. What if I end up like him?"

- Kate Kane to Kara Danvers

Despite believing Bruce was the Paragon of Courage, Kate and Kara find out that the harrowing trial has proven that Kate was the Paragon. But Bruce's idealism about being hopeless would affect Kate to the point that she kept a piece of Kryptonite. Feeling guilty of Bruce's 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. While his counterpart was a team player and never took a life, this Bruce Wayne is bitter and alone and he is more like a villain in this earth when he crossed a line when he took a life, instead of stopping bad guys like he used to. He even laughed at the idea of him being the Paragon of Courage. One look at his collection of trophies was enough to convince Kara Danvers that no rational person could consider him "a Paragon of anything", especially when she saw Superman's civilian glasses among them.

He was also borderline-suicidal and a nihilist. While he could never take his own life or destroy the world, he would not lift a finger to save himself or the world if the antimatter wave were to wipe away his home dimension or the rest of the multiverse.

His attitude towards Kryptonians was best described as racist paranoia. He believed that his world's Superman was a threat purely because his abilities were "beyond those of mortal men", never once considering Superman's moral compass or refusal to kill, and was appalled that Kate Kane would trust Kara. He fought and killed Superman out of this paranoia, and would have killed Kara as well had it not been for Kate's intervention.

Powers

 * : Bruce's exoskeleton elevated his physical strength. With one punch, he sent Supergirl across the room.

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.
 * Genius-level intellect/Master detective/Master tactician: Like his primary counterpart, Bruce was a highly intelligent individual. He instantly figured out that the Kate Kane of Earth-1 was not a ghost, Clayface nor Jane Doe. He keeps a wall of trophies from his greatest victories, having defeated many villains. He even managed to kill Superman, and kept a piece of kryptonite in his exoskeleton as a backup plan incase he confronted any others like him.
 * 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.

Weaknesses

 * Physically disabled: After his final battle against Superman which proved to be their decisive battle, while Bruce suceeded in murdering him, Superman while defending himself made him pay for that by wreaking his body. Without his exoskeleton, he would not be able to move and more than likely be bound to his bed.

Equipment
"And I'm not an old man held together with wire and metal."

- Bruce Wayne

"A little souvenir from the old hometown."
 * Exoskeleton: After Bruce's fight with Superman, he had to wear a metallic exoskeleton suit to help him move around.

- Bruce Wayne


 * 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.
 * Car: Bruce has a car in his lair.

Trivia

 * Even though it is unknown when he ended his crime fighting career, Bruce is probably one of the most seasoned and experienced superheroes in the known multiverse.

Behind the scenes

 * This version of Bruce Wayne was played by Kevin Conroy. Conroy previously voiced 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.
 * 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 are reminiscent of 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.