History
Batman is among the last of the heroes who have not succumbed to Brother Eye's corrupting technology. When he sends Amethyst and Grifter to destroy the Firestorm Battery (while John Stewart and Blue Beetle provide a distraction), Batman engages a time travelling device that will enable him to prevent Brother Eye from ever having been built by him and Mister Terrific. When he receives a crippling injury from one of the Brother Eye units, he gives his successor, Terry McGinnis, the device and sends him thirty years into the past to do what Bruce cannot.
He does not perish after Terry's jump to the past, however, and is put on some form of life support following the battle, instead of being assimilated into Brother Eye. Frankenstein heads to a holding cell to fetch a nearly lifeless Joker, revealed to have also been kept alive and un-assimilated. Frankenstein reveals to both men that they have been spared thus far for an unspecified purpose that revolves around one another, to which the Joker regains his vigor with his characteristic laugh.
Bruce's scalp was then torn off as data from his brain was extracted to determine the location of Terry. Frankenstein then performed a horrific surgery on Bruce, "merging" him with the Joker to repurpose him as a soldier to murder Terry. In his new horrific form, Bruce was brought by Brother Eye and presented to Mr. Terrific.
Although Terrific tried to force Bruce to maintain himself, the former Batman was slowly losing hope upon realizing he had been turned into a monster. After being sent back in time, the Bruce Wayne side of the Bat-Joker had completely lost hope, finally giving in to Brother Eye.
By the conclusion of Futures End, however, the Bat-Joker finally located and critically wounded Terry. With a last ounce of defiance, Bruce fought past Brother Eye and urged Terry not to die. In Terry's last moments, the Batman finally destroyed the Bat-Joker and put Bruce to rest.
Altered Timeline
A comatose Bruce, believed by all of his allies to be dead, was found during the first wave of Brother Eye's invasion by Carter Wilson, also known as the supervillain Terminal. Terminal maintained Bruce's life in his condition, and dressed Bruce as the Joker, in order to convince his followers (The Jokerz) that Bruce was in fact The Joker's dead body, and that he was planning to use advanced technology to bring their idol back to life. In fact, Wilson was simply draining funds from Wayne's accounts and using them to amass an army of Jokerz to seize control of Neo-Gotham.[1]
Notes
- Bruce attended neither Green Arrow's funeral[2] nor Barbara Gordon's wedding.[3]
Related
- 88 Appearances of Bruce Wayne (Futures End)
- 31 Images featuring Bruce Wayne (Futures End)
- 9 Quotations by or about Bruce Wayne (Futures End)
- Character Gallery: Bruce Wayne (Futures End)
Footnotes
  This character is or was an incarnation of or an ally of Batman, and a member of the Batman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Batman Family members" category. |