Thomas Wayne

"My Father once told me, to succeed, we need only pick a star and follow it"

―Bruce Wayne^[src]

Thomas Wayne was a doctor in Gotham City. He was the husband of Martha Wayne, and the father of Bruce Wayne.

After Thomas took his wife and son to see Footlight Frenzy at the Monarch Theatre, Martha was robbed at gunpoint by an assailant. When Thomas interceded to protect Martha, both of them were shot in cold blood by a second assailant, Jack Napier. After his death, Thomas' son, Bruce, grew up and became Batman, patrolling the streets of Gotham in their memory. He would later avenged his parents in a battle with Napier, now a pyschotic mob boss called the Joker.

Appearances[]

Batman
Batman '89 (Mentioned only)
- #1: "Shadows: Chapter One" (Mentioned only)
- #2: "Shadows: Chapter Two" (Mentioned only)
- #4: "Shadows: Chapter Four" (In a picture/painting only)

Behind the Scenes[]

The Gotham Globe headline that told of the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne was dated Thursday, October 26, and likely placed the date of their murders on Wednesday, October 25.
Adam West was considered to play Thomas Wayne. Originally, he wanted to play Batman. Interestingly, West voiced Thomas Wayne in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
An earlier draft of the script had Thomas Wayne running against Rupert Thorne (in Carl Grissom's place) for City Council before he was murdered by Thorne's hitman, Joe Chill.
- Interestingly, the version from the 2022 film The Batman was also running for mayor before his death. His and Martha's murder was presumably also by a hitman sent by a mob boss.
Sam Hamm's original script for the sequel, "Batman II", had the Penguin and Catwoman team-up to look for lost treasure that was buried beneath Wayne Manor. The backstory behind it implies that Thomas may have been murdered due to his involvement in the Raven Society.