- For other uses of "Batman", see Batman (disambiguation).
- "I used to work with a man. Helena's father. He was Gotham's greatest champion... and most people never even knew he existed."
- —Barbara Gordon on Bruce Wayne[src]
Bruce Wayne is a billionaire philanthropist and formerly the vigilante known as the Batman, stylized as the "Guardian of New Gotham" or the "Caped Crusader".
Biography
Early life
- "In all my years serving Master Bruce, do you know what he told me was his biggest regret? That he never found someone with whom he could share his life."
- —Alfred Pennyworth to Barbara Gordon[src]
From a young age, Bruce Wayne was raised by his family's butler, Alfred Pennyworth.[1]
Becoming Batman
- "A generation ago, there was a man, a vigilante, who prowled New Gotham's nights, claiming he was fighting for justice. All the while, and I'm not kidding about this, he was dressed as a bat."
- —Claude Morton to Jesse Reese[src]
As an adult, Bruce dedicated himself to protecting New Gotham City and became a vigilante, crafting himself a bat-inspired persona to fight crime and strike terror into the hearts of his enemies. He eventually became known as Batman, though many considered his existence as a sort of urban legend.[2]
Batman's presence in New Gotham saw generated a new breed of criminals, no longer the simple thugs and gangsters involved in organized crime, but more dynamic personalities such as the Joker[2] and Clayface[3]
After having been Batman long enough for the public to be aware of him, Bruce would form a romantic relationship with the queen of the criminal underworld, Selina Kyle. With her, they had a child, Helena, but Bruce remained estranged. Over the years, Bruce trained many protégés, including Barbara Gordon as Batgirl.[2]
During his career, Bruce was associated with a number of individuals, notably Barbara Gordon,[2], Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake,[4] and a young individual known to the public as "Robin".[3]
Leaving New Gotham City
- "Master Bruce. I thought you might want to know your daughter's doing rather well. You would be most proud. Most proud indeed."
- —Alfred Pennyworth to Bruce Wayne[src]
After fighting constantly with his archenemy the Joker, one night Bruce finally won, but despite being given the chance to kill him, resisted. As a result, however, the Joker came for Selina and Barbara, killing the former and paralyzing the latter. Some months following this, Bruce left New Gotham,[2] but kept in regular contact with Alfred.[5]
Personality
- "I think it's safe to assume he had some issues. He called himself the Batman."
- —Claude Morton to Jesse Reese[src]
Bruce has been described by Barbara as an honorable man, as he chose to spare the Joker's life, and became known to criminals like Chris Cassius as "the goody-two-shoes vigilante Batman", however, when Joker retaliated by killing Selina Kyle and paralyzing Barbara, Bruce left the city, leading Barbara to theorize that the Joker had driven him a little mad, furthermore, Claude Morton theorized that he had some issues, Alfred also thought it curious that Bruce loved Selina, possibly being lured by her lawlessness. Alfred theorized that he divulged his identity to him for the psychological relief it provided.
Bruce is a man of integrity. He never killed his enemies, not even after the Joker had Selina killed and paralyzed Barbara.
Alfred noted that Bruce, as Batman, did not have an easy alliance with the police, having disagreements with commissioner Gordon, despite this, he cooperated with them.
Abilities
- "The point is, he attracted criminals. It was a prestige thing to fight him, you know, make your mark in the underworld."
- —Claude Morton to Jesse Reese[src]
- Peak of human physical condition: As a vigilante, Bruce was in top physical condition from years of fighting Gotham's underground war. Jesse Reese assumed he was a meta-human.
- Acrobatics/Free-running: According to Alfred, Bruce used to navigate New Gotham City by rooftop alongside Barbara and Dick Grayson.
- Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Bruce was a highly skilled martial artist, able to contend with the likes of Joker and Catwoman. Barbara Gordon described Bruce as "Gotham's greatest champion." He had also trained many proteges over the years of operating as a vigilante, including Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Carolyn Lance, and Robin. His training with Barbara allowed her to defeat a hallway full of criminals as Batgirl, as well as contend with the extremely dangerous Lady Shiva. According to Claude Morton, it was a "prestige" thing to fight the Batman, as it allowed one to make their mark in the criminal underworld, thus explaining the abundance of criminals in New Gotham City.
- Master of deception/Manipulator: According to Barbara, most people never even knew Batman existed.
- Network: According to Harleen Quinzel, Bruce is one of the wealthiest men in the United States of America.
- "He was human all the way. He just, you know, he had a scary dress sense."
- —Claude Morton to Jesse Reese[src]
- Intimidation: According to Claude Morton, Batman was scary to criminals.
- "Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous? I mean, imagine the headlines. "Batman returns to save New Gotham from evil grip of street punk." It is ridiculous, isn't it?"
- "Of course it is. And even if he did return, Batman sacrificed everything for the pursuit of justice, but he never crossed the line. I mean, even after the Joker did what he did, he wouldn't kill. Not like this, not ever."
- —Helena Kyle and Barbara Gordon[src]
- Indomitable will: As New Gotham City's greatest champion, Bruce fought for and sacrificed everything for the pursuit of justice. He battled the criminals of New Gotham for years without killing anyone, not even the Joker after he killed Selina and paralyzed Barbara.
Equipment
- "Okay, now I know you're messing with me. A grown man who fights crime and he does it dressed as a giant flying rodent?"
- —Jesse Reese to Claude Morton[src]
- Batman suit: While fighting crime in Gotham, Bruce wore a protective black suit stylized like a bat.
Appearances
Birds of Prey
- "Pilot" (flashbacks)
- "Slick" (mentioned)
- "Prey for the Hunter" (mentioned)
- "Three Birds and a Baby" (mentioned)
- "Primal Scream" (mentioned)
- "Lady Shiva" (mentioned)
- "Reunion" (mentioned)
- "Feat of Clay" (mentioned)
- "Devil's Eyes" (phone call)
Trivia
References
- ↑ "Three Birds and a Baby"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Pilot"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Feat of Clay"
- ↑ "Slick"
- ↑ "Devil's Eyes"
| Other versions of Bruce Wayne (Earth-203) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||