As you can see, I've gone to some trouble to prepare a suitably elaborate death for you. I trust you'll appreciate my efforts. 
- — Mister Whisper src
Mister Whisper is a serial killer who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for 300 years of life. Having operated in Gotham City, he is an enemy to Batman. His most distinct feature is he does not have a shadow.
History
Origins
Born in Austria, Brother Manfred was the greatest and proudest of a capuchin monk order living in a monastery. However, his pride became his downfall and he fell into the worship of sin and debauchery. Manfred converted his entire order into sin-worshipers and their monastery became a rape camp where they sacrificed innocent nuns on a burning pyre. Eventually he contracted the plague and sold his soul to the Devil for several hundred more years of life. The entire monastery was eventually destroyed in a great flood that drowned all the monks, but Manfred survived to walk the Earth.[1] Later in America he took the name Mr. Winchester and became headmaster of a boarding school, where he disciplined a young Bruce Wayne. During this tenure he was responsible for the murders of seven children, and eventually retired in scandal.[2] Thomas Wayne confronted Winchester about the mistreatment of his son and it's believed that he would have turned him in, but fortunately for Winchester the Waynes were killed by a mugger the next night. Following his dismissal, Manfred took the name Mister Whisper and became a serial killer of children in Gotham City. His actions brought down heat on local criminals, and a group of organized crime members named the Kane Brothers, Leo Graziano, Morgenstern and Ottavio began hunting him down. They were unable to kill by conventional means, but eventually drowned him in the harbor using concrete weights and believed him dead for another twenty years.[3]
Gothic
Main article: Batman: Gothic
Whisper returned to Gotham many years later and begins murdering the men who tried to kill him one by one, taunting them with passages of poetry.[4] Batman eventually tracked him down and the two men recognized each other instantly, although Whisper escaped by jumping off a roof.[2] Batman traveled to Austria to investigate Whisper's history, and discovered he had plans involving Gotham Cathedral which he owns using the name Mr. Wicker.[1]
The Devil takes Whisper's soul.
Investigating further, Batman realized that Whisper had built his own evil cathedral reversing the dynamics of Gothic architecture to send human souls to Hell instead of Heaven. Whisper captured Batman in a deathtrap and reveald that his plan is to release a virulent plague on Gotham, in hopes of bargaining several thousand souls to the Devil in exchange for his own.[3] Batman broke out of the deathtrap and they hought through the subway, Whisper is hit by two trains before he escaped but Batman was still able to stop the plague. Returning to his hotel room, Whisper was met by the Devil himself who insisted there will be no bargaining with him and finally drags Whisper screaming down to Hell after 300 years.[5]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Immortality: Whisper was granted a long life as part of a deal with the Devil. This was limited to 300 years, although he could not be harmed or killed by conventional means during that time.[1]
Abilities
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Whisper had excellent fighting skills. He was able to overpower Batman. He was able to break batman's arms with a chop.
Trivia
- Whisper is loosely a character in the Morrison's Batman saga, although he's not directly connected as Gothic is a stand-alone story and Whisper dies at the end of his initial storyline.[5] However, Morrison's later villain Doctor Hurt is another evil-worshiping immortal who resembles Whisper in many ways.[6]
Recommended Reading
Related
- 5 Appearances of Mister Whisper (New Earth)
- 6 Images featuring Mister Whisper (New Earth)
- 3 Quotations by or about Mister Whisper (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Mister Whisper (New Earth)
Footnotes
  Batman Villain(s) |