- See Batman (disambiguation) for other uses of the word "Batman."
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Batman, otherwise known as Bruce Wayne, was a Gotham City vigilante who rose up to fight common criminals, Metahuman threats, and eventually even gods, extradimensional entities and intergalactic tyrants.
History
Early Life
Costume from Batman: The Animated Series.
Young Bruce Wayne would often watch the television adventures of the Gray Ghost with his father. Bruce would take many ideas from this show later.
On the way home from seeing the film, The Mark of Zorro, Bruce Wayne watched as his parents were gunned down by a mugger. Some say that Bruce died that night with his parents, and in his place, The Batman was born. Young Master Bruce was taken home to Wayne Manor, where he was raised by the Waynes' faithful friend and butler, Alfred Pennyworth.
Batman learned many arts and sciences toward the goal of eliminating the crime that took his parents from him. He learned from masters in their fields, such as escape artistry from Zatara and martial arts from Yoru Sensei.
Bruce very nearly gave up his plan to become a force for justice in the night when he nearly found happiness with Andrea Beaumont. When Ms. Beaumont walked out of his life, he became even more determined and dove headfirst onto the path of becoming Batman.
On a night like many others before and since, Bruce sat reliving his parents' murder. While absorbed in this horrific daydream, a bat crashed through the window of his study. It was then that his obsession and plan was given form. He would become the bat, he would be the night and strike fear into those who preyed on the innocent.
Using the caverns he discovered below Wayne Manor as a young boy, Bruce built Batman's secret headquarters, the Batcave.
Bruce Wayne took in Dick Grayson as his ward after Grayson's parents were killed. Batman eventually took Dick as his partner, Robin.
New Adventures, New Partners
Costume from The New Batman Adventures.
Batman spent decades keeping the people of Gotham City safe from common criminals and bizarre villains. He had several partners and occasional imitators such as Batwoman.
Batman rescued the young Tim Drake after Two-Face attempted to kill the boy. Tim would become the second Robin.
For a time, Dick Grayson returned to Gotham as Nightwing to assist Batman, but struck out on his own shortly thereafter.
Batgirl would be the last of Batman's regular partners.
Batman has three rules for his partners: Rule number one: You give me everything you've got. Rule number two: Then you give me more. And rule number three: I make the rules.
Batman would also occasionally team with Superman and the young Static when a case brought the heroes into one another's home city. He trusted both of these heroes with his secret identity.
He was also apparently acquainted with at least some of the other heroes with which he would later found the Justice League, possibly working with some of them as well.
Saving the World
Batman's costume in the Justice League years
Over the course of a few months, Batman had detected several security breaches in Wayne Tech's deep space monitoring network. While investigating the Wayne Tech Metropolis sub station, he encountered three scientists speaking a strange language. These scientists tampered with the station's antenna, and when confronted, displayed superhuman strength and resilience. Though Superman arrived to assist, he was incapacitated by J'onn J'onzz' telepathic contact. Batman was unable to prevent the scientists from destroying the antenna. After the antenna's destruction, Superman gave Batman a signal watch to call him for help if he needed it. Batman tracked the scientists to an abandoned STAR Labs facility where he found the scientists being held in stasis pods. He was attacked by a shape shifting sentry and rendered unconscious, but not before signaling Superman with the watch.
Superman found the unconscious Batman at the STAR Labs facility, just as a meteor crashed to Earth in Metropolis park. Superman left Batman with an ambulance crew and flew off to investigate the meteor. Just as the medic was about to look under Batman's mask, he reached up and grabbed her hand saying "don't even think about it".
When the Imperium's attack walker emerged from the meteor, incapacitated Superman and began raining destruction down on Metropolis, Batman took off in the Batwing which he seemed to have summoned while lying on the gurney. Batman began firing missiles on the walker and then two more walkers emerged from the meteor. When military air and armor units arrived on the scene, Batman followed Superman who had mysteriously left the battle without explanation.
Batman tracked Superman to a military base in the mountains outside Metropolis where they found more Humans in stasis pods and the imprisoned J'onn J'onzz. After freeing J'onzz and learning of the Imperium, the trio were stopped by Imperium forces posing as military personnel. Outnumbered, Batman fled with the incapacitated J'onn J'onzz in the Batwing while Superman covered their escape. The Batwing was pursued by Imperium craft and shot down, but rescued by John Stewart and Hawkgirl before the crippled Batwing could crash. Batman witnessed the other heroes battling the Imperium craft and the appearance of Wonder Woman. The Flash arrived at the end of the battle, having retrieved the Batwing's severed wing. After J'onzz informed the assembled heroes of the Imperium's invasion of Mars, their eventual defeat, and their inadvertent release by Earth astronauts, the Imperium's factories began manufacturing smoke to block out the sun's rays.
The heroes split up to disable the factories. Batman went to Giza, Egypt with Wonder Woman and J'onn J'onzz. The trio infiltrated the factory and found the Ion Matrix Crystal, a vital component of the plant. Batman and Wonder Woman provided a diversion to allow J'onzz to remove the crystal. As he removed the crystal, J'onzz was incapacitated by Imperium forces. Batman then covered Wonder Woman and J'onzz' escape from the plant, but was himself trapped inside and cornered by Imperium forces. J'onzz reported that Batman was dead, but in truth, he had mentally shielded Batman to prevent the Imperium forces from detecting him.
Batman remained hidden until the Imperium arrived on Earth. He then revealed himself and reversed the ion charge in the Ion Matrix Crystal, causing the plant to burn off the smoke it had been producing. With the sun shining again, the heroes defeated the Imperium and freed their human prisoners, then mopped up the remaining Imperium forces around the globe.
Inspired by a general's speech about vigilance and the possible return of the invaders, Batman had the Watchtower constructed by Wayne Enterprises, hiding the funding as a "line item in the aerospace R&D budget". Batman invited the other six heroes who had repelled the invaders to the station. The seven heroes formed the Justice League. Saying he isn't a "people person", Batman did not explicitly join the League, though he did offer to be on call when the League needed his help.
Long considered the brains of the League, Batman often found solutions that eluded the other members. Quick to place himself in danger, despite the awe-inspiring powers of his teammates. During the Atlantis Usurption, Batman put a stop to the melting of the Polar Ice Caps. On another occasion, Batman single-handedly defeated five dangerous criminals before being taken prisoner by an Amazon trained criminal.
During his time with the League, Batman showed his distrust of Superman. After Superman was brainwashed by Darkseid and when Batman had to pull Superman back later when he attempted to end Darkseid's life, Batman began carrying a piece of Kryptonite, which was revealed when the android Amazo copied Superman's powers. However, Batman still held a deep respect for the Man of Steel, especially after he had seemingly died at the hands of Toyman. Remaining stubborn in his disbelief in Superman's death.
During the Thanagarian Invasion of Earth, Batman was forced to reveal his identity to his teammates. After successfully retaking the Watchtower from Thanagarian Forces, Batman piloted the Watchtower through the Earth's atmosphere in an attempt to plunge it into a Hyperspace Bypass, a city-wide machine that would generate a wormhole through the Earth. As Batman lost consciousness due to the heat surrounding him, Superman rescued him and as the Watchtower destroyed the Bypass Generator.
With the Watchtower's destruction and Hawkgirl's resignation from the League, Batman and the five other members reformed the Justice League with a new Watchtower and an expanded roster of heroes. Batman was instrumental in recruiting Green Arrow into the league, who along with other Human league members, helped keep the league from becoming an autonomous Metahuman army. He also succeeded in demonstrating to Amanda Waller that Cadmus was being used as a tool to further Lex Luthor's personal agenda to discredit and destroy the Justice League.
Amanda Waller was so impressed with Batman that she created Project Batman Beyond to ensure that the world would always have a Batman.
Late Adventures
Bruce Wayne's final Batman outfit
Bruce Wayne in 2030
In his middle age, suffering from the effects of a hard life of crime fighting, Batman developed a powered suit that augmented his physical abilities and allowed him to continue the never-ending battle for a while longer.
At this time, his corporate rivalry with Derek Powers began, and Wayne Enterprises resisted a bid for corporate takeover.
Injuries suffered through the long decades of physical punishment and an ailing heart finally took their toll, and even the suit couldn't compensate any longer.
While attempting to rescue his old friend Veronica Vreeland's daughter Bunny Vreeland from kidnappers, Batman was forced to point a gun at a common thug to save Ms. Vreeland and his own life. After being forced to rely on the weapon of his parents' cowardly murderer, Batman was ashamed and vowed to never again wear the cowl.
Passing the Mantle of the Bat
Bruce Wayne, mentor to the second Batman
When Bruce Wayne hung up the mantle of the bat, Gotham City was without a Dark Knight for several years. Bruce became a recluse, shut off in Wayne Manor with his dog, Ace. He withdrew from the day to day operations of Wayne Enterprises, a decision that left the company vulnerable to a takeover by Derek Powers and caused Wayne much regret.
Chance brought teen-aged Terry McGinnis to the gates of Wayne Manor, where he learned of Bruce's past secret life. After McGinnis suffered the loss of his father, Bruce reluctantly agreed to allow him to take up mantle of Batman. Bruce then served as a mentor and informant for the successor to his legacy.
For years, Bruce coordinated with Terry, supplying advice and direction from the Batcave while McGinnis worked in the field. He also ran the labs and developed new gadgets for Terry to use in the new crusade against crime.
The elderly Bruce Wayne occasionally ventured into the field to support Terry. His sense of duty and self sacrifice ever present, he once donned a suit of Batman armor to rescue Terry from the villain Inque, despite Inque's Metahuman power and the strain produced on Bruce's already damaged heart.
Bruce Wayne in the 2070s.
As Bruce Wayne continued to age, he suffered a kidney failure. When it was discovered that Terry was not just a suitable donor but a perfect one, their relationship reached its weakest point; Terry, like Dick Grayson before him, felt betrayed, manipulated, and outright used. He cast the mantle of Batman aside, berated Bruce, and set off to uncover the truth from someone willing to reveal it. Terry left his mentor scrawling on the ground grabbing for pills.
Terry confronted Amanda Waller and learned the truth about his heritage. In her earlier years, Waller realized the world would always need a Batman. Taking fate into her own hands (unbeknownst to Bruce), she gathered a sample of Bruce Wayne's genetic material from crime scenes (in his older age, Bruce apparently became much less agile). Using her Cadmus connections, Waller implanted this genetic material into a young Warren McGinnis, replacing his genetic material with Bruce's and effectively creating a clone of Bruce Wayne. As a result, only half of Terry's genetic material is that of Bruce Wayne's; rather than a clone (like he'd believed), Terry was Bruce's son.
Terry returned to Wayne manor with a new sense of purpose. Bruce wondered about the fate of Gotham, and Terry replied "I've got it covered. Always." Their relationship seemed repaired; Bruce had truly become the father Terry had lost long ago.
The Savage Time
Batman in Vandal Savage's alternate timeline
Vandal Savage created an alternate timeline by interfering with the historical events of World War II. In this alternate timeline Bruce Wayne became Batman and the leader of the resistance movement against Vandal Savage's regime.
In this timeline, Bruce Wayne's parents were killed for speaking out against the regime. Bruce then dedicated himself to taking down Savage's brutal regime.
When the Justice League from our timeline appeared on Earth, Batman helped them escape from the authorities and learned of our timeline. Batman assisted the League in breaking into the facility where the time portal had appeared. Batman did not accompany the League into the past to thwart Savage. He preferred to stay behind and continue to run the resistance in case the League failed.
- It is assumed that this reality ceased to exist when the League traveled to the past to counteract the Axis powers' artificial advantages.
Batman's Secret Identity
While Batman keeps his identity a closely guarded secret, there are a number of individuals to whom he has either revealed his identity or have discovered it:
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Powers & Abilities
Batman, though considered a "superhero", has no powers beyond those of mortal men. He is however, in the peak of Human physical and mental condition, having studied academics, martial arts, forensics, and many other disciplines under masters of their respective fields. He stands at 6'3" and weighs 240lbs, therefore his agility and prowess are even more spectacular along with his ability to prowl without being caught. Batman's mind is more than a match for nearly any foe, human or otherwise. He once manipulated the super-genius Ultra-Humanite into fighting with the nearly mindless Solomon Grundy.
Equipment
As the head of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne has access to cutting edge technology and Batman makes good use of it in his field equipment.
Batsuit
See dedicated article: Batsuit
Utility Belt
Batman's Utility Belt has compartments to hold several items, the contents of which change according to his needs, and often include items such as flashlights, laser cutters, underwater rebreathers, binoculars, a fingerprinting kit, remote controls for his vehicles, and more.
Vehicles
Batman has used several vehicles in the course of his crimefighting career, including:
Appearances and References
Background Information
Appearances
Batman is the only character to appear in every DCAU TV show at least once. He also was mentioned in and influenced the webtoon Gotham Girls.
Trivia
The movie which Bruce and his parents were watching before the murders is "The Mark of Zorro" which was an inspiration to both Bob Kane and Bill Finger to create the Batman persona.
| Members of the Justice League |
|---|
| Founding Members: |
| Batman • Flash • Green Lantern • Hawkgirl • Martian Manhunter • Superman • Wonder Woman |
| Expanded League: |
| Aquaman • Atom • Atom-Smasher • Aztek • B'wana Beast • Black Canary • Blue Devil • Booster Gold • Captain Atom • Captain Marvel • Commander Steel • The Creeper • The Crimson Avenger • Crimson Fox • Dove • Dr. Fate • Dr. Light • Dr. Mid-Nite • Elongated Man • Etrigan • Fire • Green Arrow • Gypsy • Hawk • Hourman • Huntress • Ice • Long Shadow • Metamorpho • Mr. Terrific • Nemesis • Obsidian • Orion • Plastic Man • Question • The Ray • Red Tornado • Rocket Red • Sand • Shining Knight • Speedy • Stargirl • Starman • Steel • S.T.R.I.P.E. • Supergirl • Johnny Thunder • Thunderbolt • Vibe • Vigilante • Vixen • Waverider • Wildcat • Zatanna |