Alias: Batman; also gone undercover as "Matches Malone"
Nicknames: (Yes, he has them) Bats, �Tall, Dark, and Grumpy� (although rarely used to his face), World�s Greatest Detective, The Detective
Occupation: multi-billionaire, entrepreneur, philanthropist, vigilante
Base of Operations: Gotham City
Affiliations: Has belonged to several incarnations of the Justice League of America, core member of the current JLA
Marital Status: Single
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 210 lbs.
Eyes: Blue Hair: Black
Young Bruce Wayne was the only son of prominent Gotham City doctor Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha. He grew up wealthy, well-cared for, and educated. He lived a happy life with his parents and the family butler Alfred Pennyworth. He probably would have remained very much the same had Bruce�s life not been forever changed when he was only eight years of age with one tragic event.
The story is a classic.
Bruce put his utmost into his school work and upon graduation he left Gotham to travel the world, learning from the brightest and the best in each field of education. He also traveled to remote schools of the Far East and studied for years under the masters of the various martial arts. Upon returning to the United States, he set out on a fact-finding mission into the depraved parts of Gotham's seedier districts to see how the criminal element had evolved.
With the help of Alfred, Bruce dynamited a path from the house down to the massive caverns beneath, and formed the Batcave. From there he began planning and designing the weaponry and costume that would give him the edge against the criminals he needed. Hence the creation of the Batmobile, batarang, and other such vehicles and weaponry that emerged from his exertion.
Before long, the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) began to receive reports of a large bat-shaped creature attacking and harrying the local hoods and criminals. The corrupt force at that time sought to hunt
down the Batman but one lone lieutenant by the name of James Gordon
At the same time he was carving a career as a vigilante, Bruce had to adopt a daytime occupation. As the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Wayne Development, and Wayne Technologies � businesses long-held by his family � he also created a flaky playboy image for himself to cover up his nightly excursions. In the office, Bruce feigns stupidity and cluelessness, yet cleverly drops enough hints to his right-hand man Lucius Fox in order to implement his (rather genius) ideas. Bruce Wayne will never be tied to Batman because of the simple fact that while Bruce Wayne can't even run his own company and is trying to figure out what "CEO" means, Batman is running around in the Himalayas fighting off a legion of super-armored robots.
One day during his third year as The Batman, Bruce Wayne attended Haly�s Circus, and witnessed the deaths of John and Mary Grayson as they fell from their trapezes high above the ground. Knowing this was not accidental, he snuck out to change into the Bat and investigate the crime. The deceased acrobats� son, nine-year-old Dick Grayson, was left an orphan, and Bruce Wayne made the decision to take the boy in, knowing exactly how the boy felt and sensing a connection between himself and the young acrobat. Soon after he revealed to Dick his alter ego and began to train him as his sidekick � and Robin was born.
Batman and Robin fought side by side for many years, and the pairing was occasionally helped by another recent vigilante, Batgirl, whose true identity was that of Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon�s daughter. At first Batman was reluctant to take in another pupil, but her eagerness (and refusal to give up) soon convinced him (not to mention the 11-year-old Robin developed an immediate crush on the 17-year-old beauty).
At the age of 19, however, Batman and Robin split after Dick was shot in the shoulder by the Joker and nearly died. Not wanting to put Robin in any more danger, Batman fired him. But Dick was not about to give up the nightlife, and instead changed his identity to Nightwing and returned to his position as leader of the Titans. This was also the year that Barbara Gordon retired as Batgirl, but was then shot by the Joker and put into a wheelchair, re-derfining herself as Oracle.
The loss of Todd turned the Batman into an even darker figure than ever; he dived into his work, returning to the solitary figure that he was before he teamed up with a sidekick. During this period the Batman developed a second wave of enemies. Batman�s darker-than-usual drive was noticed by young Tim Drake, a boy that had actually managed to work out both Batman's and the original Robin�s secret identities. Tim set out to try and convince Dick that he should return to being Robin because Batman needed a stabilizing presence, someone for him to watch out for. But Dick refused, and instead, and rather accidentally, Tim became the third.
Refusing to make previous mistakes, the Batman insisted that Tim train with the same people that had taught him. Tim also studied under some that Batman had never encountered. The result was the third Robin who is much nearer to Batman's own abilities than that of the second and perhaps even the first, though there�s plenty of dispute on that one.
All seemed to be going well (or as well as it could be going), but a massive breakout at Arkham Asylum pushed Batman to his limits. He then had to face the toughest moment of his career when he had to fight the grossly powerful Bane, and had his back broken in the process. It was both a humbling and disturbing experience � he was not as invincible as he seemed.
While Bruce recovered from his injuries, he hired Jean-Paul Valley, codenamed Azrael � to take over the mantel of the Batman. However Azrael�s mental condition started to kick in, and he grew more and more unstable to the point where he was on the edge of killing criminals. After an intense period of re-training his body, and with help from Nightwing, Robin, and Catwoman, Bruce managed to take back the mantle and take down Azrael.
The Cataclysm � a large-scale earthquake that left the city of Gotham a barren wasteland. As Bruce Wayne, Batman attempted to go to Washington to plead for the finances to rebuild it, pouring much of his own wealth into both cities � D.C. and Gotham. But the government thought Gotham incapable of being repaired, and with many people still inside, the bridges connecting Gotham to the USA were blown, and the city declared a No Man�s Land.
But for three months, Batman was no where to be found.
Feeling he had let everyone down, Bruce retreated, traveling mostly around Europe trying to figure out his place in this mess. He eventually got some sense kicked into him (literally), and with a helpful push from an old flame Talia al Ghul, returned to No Man�s Land determined to make it end. What he faced was an entire city taken over by all his arch-enemies, all of whom had taken residence in a certain area, controlling it the way they wanted. The GCPD � now the Blue Boys � were trying to take back their territory, but Two-Face, Penguin, Black Mask, and Poison Ivy weren�t the only ones they had to worry about. NML was also ridden with
Needless to say, this would take a lot of work. But Batman was steadfast in his quest. Eventually, with the help of several vigilante friends and family, he and the Blue Boys took Gotham back and city was restored after a year of No Man�s Land. There were many losses and few gains � Commissioner Gordon�s wife Sarah was shot and killed by the Joker, Huntress nearly died protecting a warehouse full of children, many innocents were killed in battles for territory � but the heroes of Gotham were successful in the end.
Bruce Wayne and the Dark Knight can be very hard to distinguish � what separates the two? Which is the real Bruce? Let�s put it this way � it is the death of Bruce�s parents that drives Batman, but the memory belongs to Bruce Wayne. In truth he is both Batman and Bruce Wayne � all squished together. The Playboy persona is not Bruce, and is more of a mask than the cowl is. Batman-and-or-Bruce is a loner, driven, deep, and expects nothing but perfection. He can easily get his point across with a few short words, and isn�t one for long conversation and small talk. He is most often solemn, strict, and diplomatic, never do anything that appears impulsive or rash, never seems to laugh. It�s almost scary when he cracks a smile, which he does�rarely.
But if you really, really know him, you see more. While he claims that emotion does not rule him, and that he will not let himself be rule by said emotion, it is exactly what drives him to his nightly toils. He loves his �family� with such tenacity he will do anything to protect them. He is extremely loyal to both them and his allies, and though he would readily sacrifice himself or another hero�s life to save thousands, he�d prefer not to have to turn to that option. �Tough Love� at its best.
As far as relationships go in his �family�, the two dearest to him are Alfred, and surrogate son, Dick. Despite all they have gone through and all they have done for each other, Alfred was not and never could be Bruce's father, and both men know that. Bruce and Dick still have tensions in need of resolving, they do ultimately love each other and would do anything for the other. They're almost father and son, almost friends. Almost.
With all it's problems, quirks, and hard times, it's amazing how the Bat-Family has held together. One cannot deny that it is Bruce's/Batman's family that makes him like himself more, makes him have something worth living for. He may have lost his first family, but despite his attempts not to form a new one, he has inadvertently created such a unit. Is it better than what his original family could have been? That�s up to the reader to decide.
As the �World�s Greatest Detective�, Batman is one of the world's most formidable intellects and analysts, knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects with expertise in many (especially the sciences). He is a master strategist, master of every known martial art, and physically as strong as is humanly possible. He is also a master of disguise and deception, a genius, and possesses superior knowledge in language, technology, and weaponry.
Batman's cowl is a Kevlar-lined helmet with Starlite nightvision as well as infrared goggles, and a radio link to the Batcave. His costume and cape are Nomex fire-resistant and lined with triple-weave Kevlar. He supplies himself with non-lethal weapons such as the razor-sharp batarang, bola, and gas pellets, rebreathers, and as far as transportation goes, no one is better equipped than he (Batmobile(s), Batplane, boats, cycles�). And let's not forget the decel monofilament cord jumplines and grapnels; Heaven knows all the gadgets he keeps in his utility belt, which is booby trapped to prevent tampering. But more often than not, Batman would rather rely on his own abilities than those of his gadgets.
I fear for my life, and thus I shall not risk giving Batman a music style....Don't give me no lines how he's "just a comic book character", imagine such on your own time...Though I imagine Alfred encourages the soothing compositions of the Classical genre while at the Manor....
Batman-and-or-Bruce is one of the hardest characters to write, one of the hardest characters to understand. You think you get him, but you're wrong. I don't think anybody will ever truly "get" Batman because that understanding is so elusive, unattainable. You can know his motives, his drive, the way he works...but will any of us truly understand him? Why he is the way he is...really?
It's interesting. We often say we like "Batman" to cover him and his whole family of vigilantes. It's an acceptable answer that leaves room for broadness.
But in truth, and I'm not sure if I should feel ashamed or not, and I may be in the minority, I like the other members of the Bat-team better than Batman! *mob closes in* Not that I don't like him! Honest! He's cool! And when I read him through an author like Greg Rucka, for instance, I'm left totally in awe at such a complex, deep, and interesting character. There are even a few brilliant fan-fic writers that can nail him (or at least I think so), Artemis being one of them. But I think it's that he is so complex that I can't relate to him as I can all the others.
I often think of Batman as a type of character like Cosette of Les Miserables is - the impetus, the driving force behind so many actions. Just look at this bio! Only so much is about solely him. A good portion of it revolves around those he took in, or came into contact with. He has done so much for others, been such a part of so many lives.
Granted, Bruce does a lot more than cause reactions, so in that sense he's not really like Cosette at all...but can you see why it can be so incredibly difficult to understand him? Even Dick - the closest thing to a son Bruce will ever have - doesn't always get him.
I think that's part of what makes him so freakin' cool, though. I think that's what makes the Bat-verse so interesting. With every story we get this much closer to getting a bit more of a clue to who Batman - who Bruce - really is.
