Batman was the chosen name of billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne. He fought crime in its various forms for many years, having twice retired and returned to crime fighting.
Despite existing outside of mainstream continuity, he is one of the most influential incarnations of the Dark Knight.
History[]
Origins[]
Bruce Wayne was born in 1931, the son of billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. In 1938 when he was 7 years old, Bruce (anachronistically) went out to watch the film The Mark of Zorro with them, and afterwards witnessed their murder in an alley at the hands of a mugger named Joe Chill. After this, Bruce was adopted by his butler Alfred Pennyworth who came to believe that the child Bruce died that night as-well and was replaced by a demon.
Bruce would go on to spend the rest of his youth training his mind, spirit and body to their extremest potentials in-order to eventually wage a one man war on crime.
Batman: Year One[]
In 1956, 18 years after his parents' death Bruce returned to Gotham City to begin his war at the age of 25. After getting wounded in Crime Alley in a fight with the pimp of an underage girl named Holly Robinson, Bruce was forced to return to Wayne Manor to receive medical treatment from Alfred.
While healing in the manor, Bruce began asking a marble bust of his father to deliver him with a symbol to strike fear in the hearts of criminals. At that moment, a bat smashed through the window and landed on Thomas's bust leaded Bruce to agree with his father, and that he shall become a bat.
Over the next several weeks, "The Batman" began systematically taking out the criminals of Gotham. One night he even broke into a dinner event of Gotham's don Carmine "The Roman" Falcone held in the corrupt Mayor Hady. Batman blew a hole in the wall of the dining room during their supper and told them that they have feasted well on Gotham's soul but that their feast was over. He then proceeded to strip Carmine Falcone naked and leave him, tied up in the Mayor's mansion.
An anti-batman SWAT task-force came to be created which is headed by Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen. The task-force served ineffective however, with Gordon coming to be an ally of Batman. Batman's appearance also inspired prostitute Selina Kyle to take up the criminal alias of Catwoman with them eventually crossing paths and sharing a hatred for Carmine Falcone whom Selina would scar across the face.
After saving Gordon's child the two came to an understanding, the first case Gordon gave Batman to help solve was a criminal calling himself the Joker, who poisoned Gotham's water reservoir.
Aftermath[]
The Joker and Batman would regularly fight and developed a twisted relationship. The two would be extremely violent with one another while holding a twisted psycho-sexual element to their relationship. Joker mainly murdered as his way for showing affection towards Batman and Batman continued to not punish or kill the Joker while openly holding himself responsible for the Joker's actions.
Carmine Falcone's criminal empire was seemingly dethroned. At some point in time, District Attorney Harvey Dent got half of his face scarred and become the villainous, Two-Face. The two fought with Harvey later being imprisoned in Arkham Asylum.
Superman: Year One[]
Batman first came to meet Superman when the Man of Steel was persuaded by Lex Luthor into travelling to Gotham and fighting Batman by telling him he was an eco-terrorist vigilante.
Superman used the batsignal to lure out the Batman and upon meeting, Batman became needlessly obsessed with degrading and intimidating Superman to no avail. In rage, Batman started throwing every gadget and move he had at him, also futilely due to Superman's invincibility.
The two nearly fought, only for Wonder Woman to intervene and stop the battle from taking place.
All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder[]
While on a date with Vicki Vale at Haly's Circus, a mobster named Jocko-Boy Vanzetti was hired by the Joker to murder the acrobatic Flying Graysons leaving their son Dick Grayson, orphaned. Bruce Wayne would go on to adopt the orphan, deciding him to be a soldier in his war on crime. Bruce abused Dick and even locked him up alone in the Batcave under Wayne Manor and forcing him to fend for himself. When Alfred tried to bring him food, Bruce harassed and chewed out Alfred for doing so.
This caused strife in the Justice League who believed Batman was being disgusting in his treatment of the boy with Wonder Woman even suggesting they murder Bruce for the action. Green Lantern however advised they talk to Bruce, only for Batman to trap Green Lantern in a room where everything was yellow with Batman having covered his entire body in yellow paint before getting Grayson (now called Robin) to violently attack the superhero.
Career in Prime[]
Justice League[]
Batman would also come to be a (presumably founding) member of the Justice League alongside Wonder Woman, Superman, Plastic Man, and the Green Lantern (Hal Jordan).
Robins[]
Batman came to hate Robin and eventually fired him from the position of Robin and disowned him for supposed incompetence.
Some point later, Bruce adopted a much more skilled and violent Robin named Jason Todd. Todd became Batman's favourite but tragedy struck during the investigation of several of Bruce's friends having apparently committed suicide. The Dynamic Duo discovered the perpetrators behind the suicides were Poison Ivy and Killer Croc although in chasing them, they let the Joker escape.
Due to having heard Bruce say Jason wasn't fit to become Batman, Jason flew into a frenzy while trying to apprehend the Joker to prove himself. But after finding Joker's hideout, Jason was ambushed and beaten to death by the Joker's henchmen. As tribute to his fallen apprentice, Batman memorialized Jason's costume in the bat cave with a plaque which read, "Jason Todd, A good soldier".
Spawn/Batman[]
At some point in time, Batman travelled to New York City in-order to investigate a serial-killer who decapitated homeless people to put the heads on weaponized robots. Along the way, Batman came into conflict with the supernatural vigilante Spawn before the two realized they were after the same criminal. The two begrudgingly joined forces in-order to stop this murderer.
1976[]
In 1976, some event occurred which resulted in all superheroes (with the exception of Superman) being deemed illegal by the U.S. government. A 45 year-old Batman was forced into retirement by these laws with the Justice League disbanded as: Wonder Woman returned to the Amazons, Green Lantern went to space, Flash was enslaved in a giant hamster-wheel by the government, Plastic Man was committed to Arkham Asylum, and Green Arrow was supposedly killed by Superman.
Reemergence[]
Ten years later in 1986, a now 55 year old Bruce Wayne is struggling with his retirement from crime-fighting. During this time, Gotham is at an all-time high in violent crime with a gang known as the Mutants wreaking havoc under the leadership of the Mutant Leader. This lead to Bruce's violent subconscious pushing him to retake his Batman identity and fight crime once more.
Two-Face[]
Not long after Batman's return, his old enemy Two-Face was released from Arkham after receiving cosmetic surgeries to look normal again. However, after his release it didn't take long for Two-Face to return to his old ways and use two helicopters to try and bomb Gotham's twin-towers.
Batman came to fight Two-Face and his men for this attempt, using modified fear-gas and a harpoon rifle to infiltrate the towers. After disarming the bomb and confronting Two-Face, Batman learned that Two-Face's insanity has made him see his face as being only the bad side with, "Both sides matching".
The Mutants[]
Struggling with old age, Batman found a new Robin in the form of Carrie Kelly, a 13 year-old daughter of drug-addicted pacifist hippies. Carrie saved Bruce's life while dressed in a store-bought Robin costume and as-such was recruited by Bruce as his newest Robin. Using the Riot Tank Batmobile, Bruce attacked the base of the Mutant gang in a junkyard where he mowed down their ranks with rubber bullets then partook in 1-on-1 combat with the Mutant Leader in a mud pit.
After coming out of the fight the winner, the young and impressionable Mutant thugs decided that Batman was their new leader.
The Joker[]
Batman's reappearance in Gotham was one of high controversy and media coverage. When a debate of whether or not Batman was good for Gotham got aired in a reformed Arkham Asylum, it was overheard by the Joker. Ever since Batman's retirement, Joker's life lost its meaning and he went effectively comatose for a decade. Upon hearing Batman's name on the TV, Joker spoke for the first time in years with a large smile saying, "Bb...Bbbat...Batman. Darling".
To escape from Arkham, Joker began manipulating his anti-Batman psychiatrist Bartholomew Wolper into getting him onto a late-night show to claim he was a victim of Batman rather than being a villain himself. Little to Wolper's knowledge, Joker came to reconnect with his old henchman Abner who equipped the Joker with mind-control lipstick and two robotic bombs made to resemble small ugly children.
On the late show, Joker used these weapons to murder the entire audience with deadly gas before going on a rampage. Teaming up with Abner, Joker travelled to an amusement-park to start selling poisoned cotton-candy to children. After receiving information from an aged Selina Kyle who had become a brothel madam, Batman and Robin came to the park to stop him with Robin fighting Abner and Batman pursued Joker.
The fight between Batman and Joker was extremely violent, with Joker even getting a batarang through the eyeball. The fighting between the two lead them to the Tunnel of Love with Joker giddily reflecting on how this will likely be the time that Batman finally kills him. It is also expressed Batman feels responsible for everyone Joker murders, that Joker never kept count of his victims, that Batman did do-so, and that Joker knew and loved Batman for it. Joker began stabbing Batman with a knife to abdominal area countless times once close. Overwhelmed, Batman ened the frenzy by snapping the Joker's neck to a certain degree, partially paralyzing him. Joker mocked Batman as a coward for not having the strength to finish the job. Taunting on how the new Gotham government will likely have Batman killed for the "murder" of the Joker, he managed to twist his own neck completely while laughing wildly.
Batman riggs Joker's body to explode before the police arrive. While waiting, Batman looked down at Joker's frozen death grin and couldn't shake the sound of his laughter from mind, spitting on his face as a final "goodbye." The police discover Joker's corpse at the end of the tunnel and indeed assume it's Batman's doing. Against Yindell's warning, an armored SWAT officer touches the body and it ignites him in flames. Amidst the confusion, Batman hurls three small explosives from his belt to further disorient the police, knocking them out of their boats. Yindell attempts to arrest Batman at gunpoint but he simply punches her in the face ands procures her pistol. Batman took pills from his belt to keep himself from passing out as he continued to elude the SWAT team. Batman glanced at Joker's face (now a blackened husk) one last time, still unable to shake the sound of his laughter in his mind. Batman struggled to aim the pistol, but managed to hit the plastique explosive he set up to ignite the entire the tunnel in flames. Robin arrived with the stealth helicopter soon after, pulling him out of the area with a line.
Superman[]
In the fallout of the Joker's death, the GCPD's new commissioner Ellen Yindel decided that Batman was public-enemy #1. To deal with Batman's resurgence, President Ronald Raegan himself ordered Superman to travel to Gotham and eliminate the Batman insurgency by force. Before this could be done though, Superman had to deal with a nuclear warhead sent out by soviet forces in the nation of Corto Maltese. The explosion was deterred but it greatly weakened Superman and caused a massive blackout in Gotham
In the blackout, Batman assembled the former mutant-gang members into a new group he deemed the "Sons of Batman." On horseback, Batman instructed his, "sons" that they are to be a vigilante task-force which answers to him directly in an illegal, proto-fascist regime. He also instructs them to use violence but never use guns, saying that they are the weapons of cowards (while he himself is holding his heavy-duty grapnel rifle).
Superman travelled to Gotham to take-on the Dark Knight but Batman knew he was coming and prepared for combat beforehand. Batman equipped himself with an Exoframe Batsuit to increase his strength, a sonic gun to attack Superman's enhanced hearing, and electrified gauntlets to incapacitate him. Bruce also received assistance from the Green Arrow who was revealed to have faking his death but lost an arm to Superman and who fired a kryptonite arrow at the Man of Steel which Superman caught but was still weakened by.
Following this, Batman faked a heart-attack and pretended to be dead as a means of getting the government off of his back. He was buried outside the ruins of Wayne Manor (which he had recently instructed Alfred to burn down right before Alfred died of heart-failure) with Carrie and Superman both attending his funeral. At the funeral, Superman's hearing detected that Bruce's heart was in-fact beating but he chose to keep this a secret.
Bruce later escaped to the caves under Wayne Manor where he and Carrie would lead the Sons of Batman in-secret.
The Dark Knight Strikes Again[]
Batman's New Team[]
Bruce and Robin began training the sons of Batman to be "Bat-Boys" with Bruce believing that the government was under threat of a dictatorship lead by the villainous Lex Luthor. Together, Batman's new army begins to raid government facilities to free imprisoned superheroes including the Flash, the Atom, and Plastic Man. Additionally, they recruit Elongated Man and Green Arrow. Carrie also switches from being Robin to being Catgirl, an allusion to Catwoman.
As it turned out, the government was secretly being controlled by Lex Luthor and Brainiac through the use of an A.I. President of the United-States. This lead to Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel (Shazam!) being forced to serve the government which was holding their loved ones hostage. They are tasked with stopping the new, rebelling superheroes who have become popular amongst youths starting an anti-government movement.
Brainiac and Lex Luthor[]
Later, a gigantic version of the alien Brainiac attacked Metropolis while on a destructive rampage. Batman wanted to fight it but was talked out of it by the Flash due to doing so likely being something which would cause mass amounts of civilian-casualties. Superman and Captain Marvel on the other-hand attempted to fight Brainiac with Captain Marvel being killed in the process. Superman on the other-hand was blackmailed out of defeating Brainiac due to Brainiac's possession of the shrunken Kryptonian city of Kandor which he threatened to destroy.
Brainiac's goal is to destroy the public's faith in superheroes so that he and Lex Luthor can rule America more easily. Superman is nearly killed but is saved at his and Wonder Woman's daughter Lara who the government subsequently asks to be handed over.
Because of all of this, Superman, Wonder Woman and Lara all join-up with Batman's faction of vigilantes. Lana and Atom infiltrate Brainiac's ship where the Atom shrinks down to save the people of Kandor who subsequently use their combined heat-vision to kill Brainiac. Batman however gets kidnapped by Lex to be tortured and beaten before Luthor reveals that he is intending on using doomsday satellites to reduce the Earth's population to a more manageable number.
The world is saved when Hal Jordan AKA The Green Lantern has returned from space, now a being of sheer willpower. Lantern destroys Luthor's satellites and Luthor himself is subsequently murdered by the son of Batman.
The New Joker[]
As Batman was starting his movement, a new incarnation of the Joker began making appearances, murdering superheroes to steal their costumes with his victims including: The Creeper, the Question, Martian Manhunter and Guardian.
After Luthor and Brainiac are defeated, Carrie gets attacked by this Joker in the Batcave. When Batman comes to save her, he recognizes that this new Joker in actuality was Batman's first Robin, Dick Grayson. After having been fired and disowned by Batman, Dick went through an experimental cell-enhancement procedure which gave him super-strength, enhanced healing and endurance.
Batman activates a trap-door which drops Grayson into a cavern filled with lava before following him and after a fight, hurls the new Joker into the lava where he disintegrates.
Dark Knight III: The Master Race[]
Powers and Abilities[]
Abilities[]
Weaknesses[]
- Insanity: This Batman suffers from some form of clinical-insanity. In addition to PTSD flashbacks, we see that his condition has likely some form of Dissociative Identity Disorder with his Batman self coming out without Bruce's knowledge. It is also very possible that Bruce's mind might heavily manipulate his perception of certain events, such as possibly seeing the murdered Joker's corpse as talking to him before snapping its own neck, clearing Bruce of the guilt of having done it himself.
- Old Age: Batman's old-age leads to some incidents of bodily weakness against his enemies.
Weapons and Equipment[]
- Batarangs: Sharp Batarangs which pierce the flesh and bone of Batman's enemies.
- Grapple Rifle: A heavy rifle which Batman uses to grapple around.
- Fear Gas Canisters: Batman has weaponized fear gas which makes his enemies perceive him as a monstrous bat-monster.
- Sonic Gun: A gun that projects high-frequency sound to attack Superman.
- Exoframe: A mechanized power-suit which allows Batman's strength to rival those of Superman's.
Appearances[]
- Batman: Year One
- All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder
- Dark Knight
- DK2 (The Dark Knight Strikes Again)
- Dark Knight III: The Master Race
- Superman: Year One
Appearances in Other Media[]
Animation[]
- The New Batman Adventures: The Batman of Earth-31 is referenced in the episode Legends of the Dark Knight, voiced by Michael Ironside. Here, he is a (in-world) fictitious Batman created from the imagination of the DCAU's Carrie Kelly, who wants to imagine her version of Batman with herself as Robin. The story she tells of their adventures is a direct adaptation of the raid of the mutant gang's lair from the second issue, The Dark Knight Triumphant.
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Animated Films): Batman features in the animated adaptations of The Dark Knight Returns, voiced by Peter Weller. Though faithfully adapted, several changes made to the character and his actions.
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold: In this series, the Batman of Earth-31 is one of several Batmen of the Multiverse. He joins the fight alongside his fellow batmen against the evil Owlman. He is later referenced when Bat-Mite briefly transforms the show's Batman into his form.
- Teen Titans GO! To the Movies!: The Batman of Earth-31 is seen in a fantasy sequence imagined by Dick Grayson where he is holding up Dick in a way satirizing an iconic scene from Disney's The Lion King.
Influences on Live-Action Batmen[]
- The Dark Knight Rises: The Dark Knight Rises takes certain queues from the Dark Knight Returns. This movie's Batman is one unhappily living in retirement in Wayne Manor after having been declared a criminal for the murder of Harvey Dent. When the League of Shadows return to Gotham led by the ruthless mercenary Bane, Bruce comes out of retirement to fight them. The film's first "Batman" scene also directly quotes from The Dark Knight Returns. The film itself take a number of plot elements and themes from The Dark Knight Returns, including Batman being defeated in an initial confrontation with a stronger opponent and inspiring the people of Gotham to fight against a chaotic force.
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: The Batman of this film is very heavily based on the Dark Knight iteration of the character. He is a grizzled, middle-aged, ruthless Batman who once lost a Robin to the Joker and keeps the Robin's uniform on display in the Batcave. He comes to develop a hatred for Superman that leads him to equip himself with a Dark Knight Falls inspired armor, and both sonic and kryptonite weaponry. Unlike his comic-book counterpart, this Batman attempts to murder Superman for fear that he may destroy humanity, though eventually allies with him after learning about Lex Luthor's plotting.
Notes and trivia[]
- Batman's forced exile and Superman's comments on his actions being pointed-to parallels the real-life propagandistic book Seduction of the Innocent (1954) which impacted Batman publication history. This book accused the Batman franchise of having queer themes and violence, resulting in the formation of the conservative censorship group the Comics Code Authority and campy/sanitized Silver Age of Comics.
- Frank Miller described his version of Batman and the Joker as having a closeted queer attraction and his Batman as putting his own repressed sexuality into crime-fighting. Miller stated on his Batman that, "He'd be much healthier if he were gay.".[1] Said sexuality also connects to the afformentioned Seduction of the Innocent which contributed to America's homophobic, "Lavender Scare", partly directed against the Batman franchise.
Gallery[]
Dark Knight[]
DKIII[]
Advertising[]
References[]
- ↑ Sharrett, pg. 37-38