The Reaper is an identity taken on by various enemies of Batman. First appearing in Batman #237 (December, 1971), the moniker is heavily inspired by the Grim Reaper, a personification of Death. Most incarnations are heavily associated with murderous vigilantism and make use of weaponized scythes. The most famous incarnation is Judson Caspian, who featured in the 1987 storyline Batman: Year Two.
History[]
Benjamin Gruener[]
The first known incarnation of the Reaper was Dr. Benjamin Gruener, a Holocaust survivor who hunted Nazis who'd escaped post-World War II trials. He came into conflict with Batman by hunting one during a Halloween parade, during which he seemingly perished. However, Gruener later reemerged years later as part of Jeremiah Arkham's Ministry of Science alongside Hugo Strange and Doctor Death.
Judson Caspian[]
The second known version of the Reaper was Judson Caspian, a wealthy socialite and father of Bruce Wayne's love interest Rachel Caspian. Having sworn to eliminate criminals after losing his wife in an attempted robbery, he was active in Gotham twenty years prior to Batman's operations. Caspain's brutality and use of weapons forced Batman to break his codes against using guns, eventually committing suicide after being unmasked and defeated by Batman. His operations and costume were later taken by other versions, including his son Julian.
Joe Chill, Jr.[]
The third known incarnation was "Joseph Chilton, Jr.", the son of the mugger who'd murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne. Having witnessed his father's death at the hands of Judson Caspian, Chilton assumed the mantle of the Reaper during the 1991 one-shot Batman: Full Circle as part of a scheme to drive Batman insane in retribution for his involvement in his father's death. Chill was defeated and did not appear following this story.
Unknown Identity[]
The fourth Reaper during the New 52
A fourth, unnamed incarnation of the Reaper appeared in multiple times throughout the New 52 and DC Rebirth. Though he resembled Judson Caspian, Detective Comics Annual 2019 suggested this may be a criminal who merely took the identity after Caspian's death. This incarnation most notably allied with Bane during the Forever Evil: Arkham War and later fought Harley Quinn in her third comic series.
Reaper Prime[]
The fifth version of the Reaper was an android dubbed "Reaper Prime. Created by Julian Caspian, it was capable of mimicking Judson Caspian's fighting prowess and served as a major enforcer in the Reapers. This incarnation was presumably destroyed by Batman during his confrontation with Julian in Detective Comics Annual 2019.
League of Assassins Member[]
An sixth, unnamed version of Reaper was a hulking member of the League of Assassins. He only appeared in The Silencer Annual #1, where he was deployed by Ra's al Ghul to take down Talia's enforcers in Leviathan. This incarnation was fought by both the Silencer and Batman, though was killed by the former during their confrontation.
Powers and Abilities[]
As the Reaper, Caspian wears a large hooded black cloak with a heavily armored red leather or cuir bouill, which prevents bullets and punches from affecting him in any way. The knees and fists of the red leather armor are tipped with spikes that add more power to blows Caspian inflicts. Caspian also wears a skull shaped mask with hooks on the mouth to cover up the lower part of the face, and red glowing eyes. The Reaper also wields two scythe-shaped weapons, with various other lethal implements contained in the spiked shafts of both weapons. The shaft contains a very powerful handgun and smoke pellets to help give the illusion that the Reaper is in fact an incarnation of death. The scythes are stored in two inverted sheaths located on his back under his cloak.
Reaper's DCAU counterpart, the Phantasm.
In Other Media[]
- The title villain of the 1993 animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is heavily based on the Judson Caspain version of Reaper. However, the identity is taken by Andrea Beaumont, who also serves as its version of Rachel.
Alternate versions[]
DC Bombshells[]
The Reaper appears in DC Bombshells (an Elseworld set during World War II), as Andrea Gruenwald, a composite-character of Andrea Beaumont from Mask of the Phantasm, and the Pre-Crisis Reaper Doctor Gruener.
Gallery[]
