Bruce Wayne (DCAU)

Bruce Wayne was orphaned as a child when he witnessed his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, brutally gunned down in a random mugging. He made a solemn vow at the grave of his parents that he would commit his life towards bringing wrongdoers to justice. After the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Bruce Wayne became the legal ward of the family butler Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred and he lived at the family estate in Gotham City known as Wayne Manor.

Bruce Wayne drew upon the influences of others in order to create what would one day become his dual identity as Batman. One of his earliest inspirations was taken from a character from old movie serials known as the Gray Ghost. Little did Bruce know that he would one day meet his childhood hero.

As a young man, Bruce Wayne had already mastered several martial arts forms. He had discovered an immense cavern beneath Wayne Manor, and Alfred and he began furnishing it as a secret crime laboratory. In short order, Bruce began operarting as a street-level vigilante, donning a black ski-mask and going out into the night to foil crimes. Though he was marginally successful, Bruce grew frustrated by the fact that his foes were not afraid of him. He realized that he would need something else in order to inspire terror into the hearts of Gotham's underworld.

During this time, Bruce met and fell in love with a woman named Andrea Beaumont. He even considered abandoning his crusade for justice to devote himself to her, but he was haunted by the memory of his slain parents. Bruce proposed to Andrea, who readily accepted. Unfortunately, as Bruce would later learn, her father, Carl Beaumont, had borrowed money from Sal Valestra and his mob gang (including a young Jack Napier) Andrea chose to flee with her father overseas, and sent the ring back to Bruce with a letter not telling the real reasons. Heartbroken, Bruce Wayne committed himself entirely towards fighting crime. However, he had yet to develop the means by which to instimidate his adversaries.

A few nights later, Bruce Wayne was in his father's study mourning the loss of his parents when a bat crashed through the study window. Inspired by this incident, Bruce realized that he would garb himself in the visage of a bat... and thus, the Batman was born.

Partners

Batman's first partner was Dick Grayson, a circus acrobat whose parents were murdered by gangster Tony Zucco. With training by Bruce Wayne in both fighting and criminal science, Dick became the first hero to bear the mantle of Robin. Later on, as a young adult, Dick abandoned his Robin identity and adopted that of Nightwing, mostly working solo but assisting Batman and his new partner Tim Drake, who was the second Robin, from time to time. Tim's career came to an end when the Joker and Harley Quinn kidnapped him and tortured him into revealing secrets about Batman, eventually using genetic technology to transform Tim into J.J., a youthful version of what years later would become the second incarnation of the Joker. When the Joker had Batman on the ropes, he handed Tim one of his BANG! guns and told him to "Make Daddy proud...deliver the punchline!" Tim struggled with his conscience as he aimed the gun first at Bruce, then a split second later fired the flag projectile at the Joker, killing him. Though Tim was restored to sanity, Bruce forbade him from ever being his partner from that point on.

Bruce on occasion also worked with Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, in her costumed identity of Batgirl. The two also briefly dated.

Justice League

Bruce became one of the founding members of the Justice League, teaming up with six other powerful heroes to deal with an alien threat that had devastated the people of Mars, whom J'onn J'onnz was a part of, and was now threatening Earth. He chooses to mostly work part-time with the League due to Gotham City's need for him to be their protector. During his time in the Justice League, he met his Justice Lord counterpart in an alternate reality, who through his companions had made even his Gotham City a peaceful place to live in, though with the residents of Arkham Asylum lobotomized by Superman's heat vision and with armed police handling even the most minor transgressions such as a disgruntled restaurant customer complaining about a miscalculated check.

Batman Beyond

Now old and requiring a cane for mobility, Bruce Wayne served as a mentor and guide to his unexpected successor Terry McGinnis, who was outfitted with a black capeless Batman uniform equipped with abilities such as flying and near-invisibility. Terry eventually learned from Bruce Wayne's enemy and later ally from the Justice League days, Amanda Waller, that he was created as a biological son to Bruce Wayne through the use of Project Cadmus nanotechnology injected into his father, Warren McGinnis, for the sake of creating a Batman to take over for Bruce Wayne.

Powers and Abilities

Strength level

In his prime, Batman was the peak of physical perfection. He possessed the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engaged in intensive regular exercise. Even as he grew older, his strength levels still surpassed other men his age.

Weaknesses

Restricted Mobility: The physical punishment of a lifetime of crimefighting began to take its toll on Bruce Wayne as he grew older. As an elderly man, Bruce developed a heart condition and required the use of a cane to ease mobility.

Paraphernalia

Notes

The voice for Batman in the various animated programs was provided by Kevin Conroy.

Trivia

Bruce's identity and costume were inspired by the character of the Gray Ghost. In Batman: The Animated Series, the Gray Ghost was voiced by actor Adam West, who also played the role of Batman in the 1966 Batman live-action television series.

Links and References

Footnotes

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Bruce Wayne (DCAU)

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Contents

History

The Early Years