- "It was my Aunt Martha's. She was wearing it the night that she and my Uncle Thomas were killed, but he always kept it here."
- —Kate Kane on Martha Wayne's necklace[src]
Martha Wayne (née Kane) was a prominent philanthropist in Gotham City. She was the sister of Jacob Kane, the wife of the late Thomas Wayne, the mother of Bruce Wayne, and the paternal aunt of Kate and Beth Kane.
Biography
Early life
Martha was born in Gotham City into the Kane family and had a younger brother, Jacob.
Through her charity work, Martha gave so much to her community, to the point of being considered a role model for all the women of her time. Martha later met and married billionaire businessman Thomas Wayne[1] and gave birth to their son, Bruce.[2]
Death
One fateful night, during which Martha was wearing a pearl necklace, she and Thomas were murdered by a mugger who stole the jewelry, leaving a traumatized Bruce the sole survivor.[2]
Legacy
Sometime after Martha and Thomas's murders, their son, Bruce, became the vigilante known as Batman to honor his parents.[2]
Bruce spent years searching for Martha's pearl necklace on the streets, eventually buying it back at an auction for $1,000,000.[1] The necklace was kept in his office inside a square pyramid-shaped glass container that functioned as an entrance into an elevator to the Batcave.
Martha was one of the main catalysts for her brother, Jacob, to found Crows Security in order to protect and clean up Gotham better than Batman ever could.[2]
In fall 2018, the Gotham Museum of Antiquities honored Martha at a showcase for prominent women in the city. Her niece, Kate Kane, agreed to have Martha's pearl necklace put on display at the museum during the event.[1]
Appearances
Batwoman
Season 1
- "Pilot" (mentioned)
- "Down Down Down" (mentioned)
- "Who Are You?" (mentioned)
- "An Un-Birthday Present" (mentioned in newspaper)
Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Martha Wayne (née Kane) was the wife of Thomas Wayne and mother of Bruce Wayne; her and her husband's murders would ultimately inspire her son to become the superhero Batman.
References
| Other versions of Martha Wayne | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To see other versions of this character, click the Earth name below for that Earth's counterpart of Martha Wayne. | ||||
| New multiverse | ||||
| Earth: Prime | ||||
| Original multiverse | ||||
| Earth: 1 • 99 | ||||
| Transmultiversal multiverse | ||||
| Earth: | ||||