- "Bruce gave me a great piece of advice once. Grow into the person you needed as a kid.'"
- —Kate Kane[src]
Bruce Wayne (born February 19)[1] is a well-known billionaire, philanthropist, and former owner of Wayne Enterprises. He is the son of the late Thomas and Martha Wayne, the nephew of Jacob Kane and the cousin of Kate and Beth Kane. Sometime after his parents' murder, he trained himself physically and intellectually to become Gotham City's protector, the vigilante known as Batman, or simply the Bat, stylized as the "Dark Knight".
In 2015, he disappeared for unknown reasons, leading the local crime rate to rise higher than ever and the Bat-Signal to be finally switched off in 2018 to signify his permanent absence. After discovering his secret identity, his cousin Kate took on his mantle becoming Batwoman.
Biography
Early life
Bruce was born on February 19 in Gotham City to Thomas and Martha Wayne. One fateful night, his parents were murdered, leaving Bruce traumatized as the sole survivor.[1]
Becoming Batman
The Bat-Signal, the iconic distress signal that Gotham City used to turn on whenever in need of Batman's help.
Sometime after his parents' murder, Bruce committed himself to being the protector of Gotham City presumably becoming Earth-1's first vigilante and crafting himself a bat-inspired persona to fight crime and strike terror into the hearts of his enemies.[1] He eventually became known as Batman, though his existence is considered a sort of urban legend.[2]
The Wayne Enterprises building.
Over the years, Bruce began working as the CEO of his family company, Wayne Enterprises. In his office, he kept the necklace his mother wore on the night of her death in a square pyramid-shaped glass container, the case also functioned as an entrance into an elevator that lead to an underground base where Bruce kept his Batman suit and gadgets. His maternal younger cousins Beth and Kate Kane, with whom he was very close to, often went visiting his place of work or tried to sneak into his office.[1]
During his career, Bruce was associated with a number of individuals, including a young individual known to the public as "Robin".[3]
Kane family car crash
After having been Batman long enough for the public to be aware of him, Bruce was in pursuit of a school bus that had been hijacked by the Joker in January 2003, through happenstance, the bus impacted a car that contained Bruce's two cousins and aunt, which caused the car to to crash on a bridge. He tactically shot two hooks with his grapple gun at his family's car, which was about to fall off of the bridge, securing it to the bridge and allowing Kate to escape, then quickly left to save the 34 children on the bus that crashed into the Kanes' car. However, the part of the car his grapple was attached to separated from the rest of it, causing Beth and his aunt to fall into the river below, Bruce searched for their bodies, but was only able to find his aunt's. Due to Kate thinking that Batman didn't care about the rest of her family, Bruce took it upon himself to comfort his cousin as himself, which Kate greatly appreciated. Despite the two being family, Bruce never told her his secret identity.[1]
Hiring Luke Fox
Batman's lair beneath Wayne Enterprises.
Eventually Bruce employed Luke Fox as the head of Wayne Security and shared his secret identity with him. However, presumably due to a violation of his trust, he once fired Luke, but eventually reinstated him. [1]
Disappearance
Around 2015, Bruce left Gotham City for unknown reasons, also leaving behind his identity as Batman.[1][2] His cousin, Kate Kane, was left in charge of his properties in Gotham,[2] while Luke remained responsible for watching over the Wayne Enterprises building.[1]
In 2017 Oliver Queen mentioned Bruce Wayne at a press conference about Green Arrow's identity, citing that a forger could put anybody's head on Green Arrow's body, even Wayne's. He then jokingly asked whether Bruce Wayne left Gotham to hang out in Star City recently, but then said that it hadn't happened, indirectly hinting at his absence from the city.[4]
Batman's disappearance led to the local crime rate rising higher than ever before. His iconic symbol, the Bat-Signal, was finally switched off in 2018 by the Gothamites to represent the permanence of his absence.[1]
Legacy
Batman's existence was never fully confirmed to the public, making him a myth. While most individuals (including Barry Allen) believed that he did exist, other individuals (like Oliver Queen) believed that Batman was never real, but in fact an urban legend created by the GCPD in order to scare the criminals of the city; however, in Oliver's case, his refusal to acknowledge Batman's existence is out of jealousy; due to the fact that he is not the first/original vigilante.[2]
Personality
According to Kara Danvers and Kate Kane, Bruce is a very heroic yet deceptive individual, as he constantly portrays himself as a careless, egotistic and selfish individual, however, in truth, he is anything but careless, egotistic and selfish.[2]
Bruce is a no-nonsense and blunt individual. As Batman, he is very stoic and committed to helping Gotham City.[1]
According to Luke Fox, Bruce is a very caring and selfless individual, as he not only cares about protecting the citizens of Gotham from criminals, but also members of his family as well, possibly due to the death of his own parents. Bruce also has a very close relationship with his cousin, Kate Kane, as he provided her with emotional support following the death of her mother, Gabi Kane and the (apparent) death of her sister, Beth Kane respectively, which she appreciated despite the latter's stoic personality.[1]
According to Luke and Jacob Kane, Bruce achieved a lot with his life and shares many traits with Kate.[1]
Abilities
- "I would never compare myself to a total badass like Batman."
- —Barry Allen to Kate Kane[src]
- Peak of human physical condition: As a vigilante, Bruce is in top physical condition from his years of fighting crime in Gotham City for over a decade.[1] Bruce has a reputation for being "a total badass".[2]
- Genius-level intellect/Great business acumen/Master tactician/Leader: Bruce is an extremely intelligent individual, being a nearly flawless tactician, he is able to think fast and calculate the variables of every situation in order to predict the results of his actions and quickly react as he sees fit, he is also an exceptional businessman, tactician and leader, as he was able to successfully run and oversee Wayne Enterprises' daily activities for years, acting as it's CEO and maintain it's status as a multi-billion dollar corporation despite his vigilantism, without any perceivable difficulty, his immense intelligence and tactical abilities were seen in his years-long war against Gotham Organized Crime that he was able to effectively perpetrate without exposing his real activities to the public or to his remaining family. Bruce can also perform calculations in his head during missions, such as the weight of Gabi Kane's car and the angle of the grappling hooks he fired to secure it when he tried to save her, Kate Kane and Beth Kane from a car accident caused by the Joker.[1]
- Master of deception/Manipulator: Bruce has managed to (successfully) keep his identity as Batman a secret for many years, not only from the public, but also from his remaining living family members as well, the only known individuals who are aware of his identity as Batman; are Luke Fox and Kate Kane respectively, furthermore, even the highly intelligent Oliver Queen doubts the existence of his alter-ego, Batman, dismissing him as an "urban legend concocted by the Gotham City Police Department to scare criminals", the former continued to believe he was a myth even after seeing the Bat-Signal and hearing a confirmation of his existence by Kate.[2] By day, Bruce puts on the impression of a careless, egotistic and selfish individual, as Kara Danvers doubted Bruce would be the one to bail her, Barry Allen and Oliver out of jail, however, in truth, he is actually a selfless and caring individual.[1][2]
- Master engineer/gadgeteer: Bruce is a highly skilled user of gadgets, carrying tons of them to fight crime. He fired two grappling hooks to secure Gabi Kane's car, because he knew it would go over the bridge.[1] Even the highly intelligent Luke Fox doesn't know how to operate most of Bruce's gadgets.
- Expert driver: Bruce is capable of driving multiple vehicles, such as cars; as Batman, he utilizes the "Batmobile" when out on patrol.[2]
- Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Due his years of fighting crime in Gotham City for over a decade, Bruce is (presumably) a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist.
- Expert marksman: As Batman, Bruce possesses an almost infallible aim, as proven when he uses his grapple gun, both for transportation in order to ascent rooftops, as well as to pull individuals or objects, such as Gabi Kane's car.
- Master knife wielder/Knife thrower: Batman has great accuracy when he threw the Batarangs, his signature non-lethal weapon, to his enemy.
- "That's why Bruce became Batman, to play by his own rules. It made him terrifying to his enemies."
- "Yeah, and his friends and his co-workers."
- —Kate Kane and Luke Fox[src]
- Intimidation: As Batman, Bruce commands an intimidating presence, to the point where many criminals fear him; even a psychopath like Beth Kane, is visibly terrified of crossing paths with him, which was demonstrated when she (initially) mistaken Batwoman for the Dark Knight.[1] According to Kate Kane and Luke Fox, what made Bruce so terrifying was due to the fact that he played by his own rules, which scared criminals and citizens alike.
- Master of stealth/Infiltration: Bruce is extremely secretive, being able to approach other individuals without being sensed. He can quickly vanish from sight after performing his heroic deeds[1] and managed to be a vigilante for over a decade with very few individuals having actually seen him.[2]
- Network: According to Luke Fox and Kate Kane, Bruce had access to the best technology on the entire planet. Due to heading Wayne Enterprises, it is conceivable he possessed technology very few individuals on the planet had access to, which is backed up by his own equipment, which greatly aided Kate in her crusade as Batwoman.[1]
- "Sitting at that desk, staring out that window, watching this city that we grew up in rot at its core, you find a way to not break. Bruce didn't leave Gotham without a fight."
- —Kate Kane to Kara Danvers[src]
- Indomitable will: Bruce has a tremendous force of will, he remained in Gotham City after the death of his parents, fighting crime even as he witnessed the putrefaction of the city he grew up in. Hence, he "didn't leave Gotham without a fight".[2] He never stopped looking for Beth Kane's remains after he failed to save her and her mother.
Equipment
Former equipment
Batman's suit in the Batcave
- Batman suit: Whilst fighting crime in Gotham, Bruce wore a protective black suit stylized like a bat designed to both terrify his enemies and hide his identity from them. After his disappearance, he abandoned the suit and it was later redesigned by Luke Fox and utilized by Kate Kane as the new Bat vigilante.[1] The suit cost $10.8 million to create, is completely bullet-proof, can blend into the darkness, is equipped with a remotely activated defibrillator, has a cape that allows the wearer to glide,[1] and a cowl with a direct comm link to the Batcave.[3]
- Batarang: Batman uses a roughly bat-shaped throwing non-lethal weapon.[1] The batarangs serve as instruments of disarming, distraction, confusion or simply to warn his would-be adversaries that the Batman is present.
- Grapple gun: As Batman, Bruce uses a length of monofilament wire attached to a spool. It could be used to make a quick ascent to a rooftop or offensively to pull people or objects.[1]
- Batmobile: Bruce uses a vehicle dubbed as the "Batmobile", when he is out on patrol as Batman.[2]
- Laser saw: The device can cut through anything. Bruce had previously used it as Batman.[3]
- Rebreather: As Batman, Bruce would use this device to breath underwater without needing an oxygen tank.[3]
Appearances
Arrow
Season 6
- "Tribute" (mentioned)
Season 7
- "Elseworlds, Part 2" (mentioned)
Batwoman
Season 1
- "Pilot" (flashback; as Batman)
- "The Rabbit Hole" (mentioned)
Trivia
- Given that Bruce began his career as Batman before 2003 and continued for more than 12 years, he is the first known vigilante on Earth-1 and is one of the most experienced superheroes in the known multiverse (aside from J'onn J'onzz).
- Other challengers for this title are Clark Kent of Earth-38, who had been Superman for at least 12 years as of 2015[5] and Oliver Queen of Earth-1's 7 years.[6]
- Bruce doesn't have a middle name.[1]
- Bruce owns a plethora of books: The Joys of Wine, Degas, The Golden Bible, and many more. He keeps them in a bookshelf in his office at Wayne Enterprises.[1]
Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Bruce Wayne is a vigilante hero known as Batman, the protector of Gotham City, a man dressed like a bat who fights against evil and strikes terror into the hearts of criminals everywhere. He is also a former mentor of Dick Grayson/Nightwing, who is the protector of Blüdhaven. He is also an occasional ally of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Barry Allen/Flash, and Clark Kent/Superman, the latter third of whom is his most frequent ally.
- In the original script for "Tribute", it was not Bruce Wayne but some other unrelated person's name on it. Stephen Amell himself suggested Bruce Wayne's name on the script after receiving approval from Warner Bros. Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara, Greg Berlanti and DC Entertainment executive Geoff Johns.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 "Pilot"
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 "Elseworlds, Part 2"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "The Rabbit Hole"
- ↑ "Tribute"
- ↑ "Pilot"
- ↑ "Flash vs. Arrow"
- ↑ Arrow's Bruce Wayne 'Crossover': Stephen Amell Reveals Its Bat-Story
| Other versions of Bruce Wayne | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To see other versions of this character, click the Earth name below for that Earth's counterpart of Bruce Wayne. | ||||
| New multiverse | ||||
| Earth: Prime | ||||
| Original multiverse | ||||
| Earth: 1 • 2 • 38 • 99 • 203 • TUD14 | ||||
| Transmultiversal multiverse | ||||
| Earth: 1A • 27A | ||||