text: The Batman wiki last edited by Jphu8414 on 08/17/14 07:01PM View full history Current EventsSince being rebooted into the "New 52," Batman has more exposure than ever before. He is presently starring in six titles, as follows Someone said:Batman - The story travels back to Bruce's origin in zero year, where he is first starting out as Batman, trying to take down the Red Hood gang but at the same time being targeted by the Riddler in an assassination plot.Detective Comics - With a new company in town, competing with Wayne industries, comes a new dark knight, The Wrath, exactly like Batman yet fighting for a different cause.Batman and Robin - Recently, Damian was killed and Bruce is currently mourning over the death of his son. The comics now are more focused on him teaming up with other members of the Bat-family.Justice League - Batman is working on adding new members to the Justice League. However, a hacking attempt and a robbery from his cave makes things even more challenging. Now with the events of Trinity War, Bruce must fight with the Justice League against the JLA and JLD. Phantom Stranger recently brought him and Katana to heaven where they could talk to Doctor Light about his incident with Superman.Batman/Superman - Focuses on the teaming up between Batman and Superman in the New 52.Batman has also been featured prominently in a story arc in I, Vampire and shows up periodically in Nightwing, Batgirl, Batwoman, Batwing, and Catwoman. He was featured in the 34 issue Batman: The Dark Knight before its cancellation.OriginYoung Bruce grieving over his parents' bodiesA wealthy philanthropist, Thomas Wayne, his wife, Martha, and their 8 year-old son, Bruce Wayne, were coming out of a movie theater at 10:47 p.m. As they stepped onto Park Row (now called Crime Alley), a thug named Joe Chill armed with a gun approached them from the shadows to steal the pearl necklace Martha was wearing. Thomas, moving in to protect his wife, was shot by Chill, causing Martha to scream. Chill then shot her, while shouting, "this'll shut you up!". Bruce, traumatized by the deaths of his parents, would never be the same. Afterward, Bruce was raised by his wise and loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth, and inherited his family's vast fortune as well as his father's company, Wayne Enterprises. Standing at his parents' gravestones, Bruce made a solemn oath to avenge their deaths.Despite fiscal security, happiness eluded Bruce. Young Bruce was comforted by Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who helped him to mourn his parents and find a purpose in life. At age fourteen, Bruce started a twelve year walkabout around the world seeking experts in many fields, training himself mentally and physically. From an academic standpoint, he studied at Cambridge in England, the Sorbonne in France, and other famous European universities. A Frenchman named Henri Ducard taught him man-hunting, a ninja named Kirigi taught him stealth, an African bushman trained him in the art of the hunt, and Nepalese monks taught him healing.Bruce returned to Gotham City, where he became a vigilante. But despite all his honed skills, he knew something was missing. Bruce believed criminals to be a "superstitious and cowardly lot," and in order to rid Gotham of evil, he needed to reinvent himself to become a terrifying symbol that would strike fear into the hearts of criminals. While in his father's study, a large bat crashed through the window. Bruce saw this as an omen and recalled his fear of bats as a child. This would be his symbol; the Bat would strike terror into the Gotham underworld. Using his vast wealth, Bruce designed a costume and state of the art equipment, thus beginning a difficult double life: by day, he would be the billionaire playboy and businessman, Bruce Wayne, and by night, he was The Batman.CreationBob Kane's original design.Batman, one of the most influential comic book characters to be penned, was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, though Kane, who designed the character, often receives credit as the sole creator. After the success of Superman in early 1939, DC comics started requesting more superheroes for its titles. Bob Kane had an idea for a character called "Bat-Man." There is a large controversy that suggests Kane came up with a "Birdman" and Finger is the one who actually suggested the name "Bat-man." The character's alter-ego's name was influenced by the names of the Scottish patriot Robert the Bruce and revolutionary U.S. Brigadier General Mad Anthony Wayne (who, in the comics, is an ancestor of Bruce). For the character's costume, Kane drew inspiration from a flying device designed by Leonardo da Vinci: the ornithopter, a glider that had bat like wings.Most of the Bat costume designs were suggested by Bill Finger. Kane initially drew Batman with a red and black costume, a domino mask, and wings. Finger suggested the character's costume be colored gray & black to make the character look more "ominous." He also suggested replacing the domino mask with a cowl and the wings with a cape. Finger also wanted Kane to change the way Batman's eyes appeared behind the mask and urged him to turn them into white spots. Later Finger admitted that he was influenced by the comic character The Phantom, who also wore a mask with no visible pupils. Gloves were also added so that Batman would not leave fingerprints behind.Batman's First appearanceLike Superman, various aspects of Batman's personality, character history, visual design and equipment were inspired by contemporary popular culture of the 1930's, including movies, pulp magazine, comic strips, newspaper headlines and even aspects of Kane himself. Notable sources of inspiration were two of Kane's favorite movies, The Bat Whispers (1930), the film was a screen adaptation of Mary Robert Rinehart's mystery novel that featured character named The Bat, a detective who has a secret alter ego known as the Bat. The other movie that influenced Kane was The Mark of Zorro (1920). One might point out that in the movies young Bruce Wayne is often shown to have seen a Zorro movie before his parents were murdered. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27, published in 1939, and later became popular enough to spawn his own comics. Along with Superman and Wonder Woman, Batman has provided many of the core story arcs for the DC brand since his creation.Batman is unique for the simple reason that he has no superhuman powers and is an ordinary human relying on intelligence, money, inventiveness, detective skills, martial arts, and fear to defeat his opponents. He currently makes the most money for a single publishing character and is widely considered to be one of the most popular superheroes in comics.In the original version of the story and the vast majority of retellings, Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, an American millionaire (later billionaire) playboy, industrialist, and philanthropist. Having witnessed the murder of his parents as a child, he swore revenge on criminals, an oath tempered with the greater ideal of justice. Wayne trains himself both physically and intellectually and dons a bat-themed costume in order to fight crime. Batman operates in the fictional American Gotham City, assisted by various supporting characters including his crime-fighting partner, Robin, his butler Alfred Pennyworth, the police commissioner Jim Gordon, and occasionally the heroine Batgirl. He fights an assortment of villains such as the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman, among others. Unlike most superheroes, he does not possess any superpowers; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, martial arts skills, an indomitable will, fear, and intimidation in his continuous war on crime.Batman became a very popular character soon after his introduction and gained his own comic book title, Batman, in 1940. As the decades wore on, differing interpretations of the character emerged. The late 1960s Batman television series used a camp aesthetic which continued to be associated with the character for years after the show ended. Various creators worked to return the character to his dark roots, with varying results. The comic books of this dark stage culminated in the acclaimed 1986 miniseries The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller, as well as Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, among others. The overall success of Warner Bros.' live-action Batman feature films have also helped maintain public interest in the character.Pulp InfluencesBatman as a character was heavily influenced by Pulp magazines, cheaply-printed prose magazines that were a popular form of mass entertainment in the first half of twentieth century. Pulp genres varied from romance to horror, but mysterious heroes featured heavily. And as Bill Finger later said, Batman was originally written in pulp style. One famous Pulp character that inspired both Finger and Kane - in different medias - was The Shadow. Finger liked the magazine version of the character: a gun toting no nonsense crime fighter whose real identity was a mystery. Kane preferred the radio version of The Shadow: a wealthy playboy named Lamont Cranston who had the hypnotic power "to cloud men's minds," so they couldn't see him.Character EvolutionGolden AgeGolden Age BatmanDuring the Golden Age of Comics, when he was first introduced, Bruce Wayne was already the vigilante known as Batman. Batman's first appearance was in Detective Comics #27. In Detective Comics #33, the origin of the character was told. Bruce Wayne was the son of Thomas Wayne and his wife, Martha Wayne. His parents were wealthy philanthropists in the high society of Gotham City. Bruce grew up in Wayne Manor and experienced a privileged life until one fateful night. Bruce and his parents went to the movies and were walking home when suddenly they were confronted by a small-time crook carrying a gun named Joe Chill. At first, Chill demanded Martha's jewellery, but he ended up shooting both of Bruce's parents. After the deaths of his parents, Bruce swore to rid Gotham City of evil forever. He began an intense mental and physical training and mastered many skills including martial arts, criminology, and escape artistry.Upon completing his training Bruce realized that his skills alone were not enough to do the job; he needed the criminals to fear him. That was when a bat flew through the window, scaring Bruce. He was inspired by the symbolism of the bat and used this to become Batman. Batman witnesses the death of the Flying Graysons, high-flying acrobats that were killed by mobsters after the owner of the circus refused to pay "protection money" for the crooks to be their bodyguards. Bruce takes in young Dick Grayson as his ward and trains him as his sidekick, Robin. Bruce and Dick first hunt down and defeat Tony Zucco, the crime boss that was responsible for the deaths of John and Mary Grayson. It is never stated why Bruce took in Dick, but it could be due to how Dick lost his parents at a young age just like Bruce. Together the " Dynamic Duo" face off against many enemies such as the Riddler, Scarecrow, Penguin and the Joker.Batman eventually becomes one of the founding members of the Justice Society Of America. Batman continued working with the Gotham City Police Department in fighting crime and is later legally deputized as a civilian police agent. Later Alfred Pennyworth is introduced and serves as his butler. Alfred eventually learns the identities of the Dynamic Duo and aids them in keeping their identity safe. Love interest Vicki Vale debuted during the 1940's as one of the numerous "flavors of the month" for Bruce Wayne. Vicki was created as a mirror of Lois Lane of Metropolis. She often spends her time trying to figure out the identity of Batman. Whenever she got close to figuring out Batman was Bruce Wayne, Batman would often trick her into believing he was not Bruce Wayne. This was a common occurrence in the golden age (secret identities nearly being found out.) Batman was first portrayed as a cold-blooded vigilante who was willing to use a gun and kill his enemies to rid the city of crime. However, DC comic's new editor, Whitney Ellsworth, enlisted a moral code for Batman, preventing him from ever killing or using a gun.Silver AgeSilver Age BatmanDuring the Silver Age DC Comics introduced the Multiverse continuity to its characters. It established the fact that all the Batman stories told during the Golden Age actually took place on Earth-Two. The Earth-Two Batman marries Catwoman and fathered a daughter named Helena Wayne who grows up to be the Huntress. Earth-Two Batman retires to take the job as Commissioner of the GCPD. Dick Grayson of Earth-Two became a lawyer with his own practice and continued his career as the Earth-Two Robin. Eventually he dies during his final adventure against a criminal named Bill Jensen who had acquired superpowers. Batman's back story was expanded upon to include his uncle, Philip Wayne, who raised Bruce for a while after his parents' deaths. He also had an older brother named Thomas Wayne Jr. who had to be institutionalizes after the death of Thomas and Martha. In addition, it was revealed that his parents' killing had not been chance, but an assassination ordered by gangster Lew Moxon.As a child, Bruce's father had worn a bat costume (similar to Batman's future costume) to a masquerade party, where he encountered and stopped the mobster. Moxon swore revenge against Dr. Wayne, and hired Joe Chill to orchestrate the "mugging" that would result in their deaths. At some point in Bruce's training, he wears a costume similar to the future Robin's and is trained by Harvey Harris, a Gotham City Police detective. During this time Batman would regularly team up with other heroes to fight evil (these adventures were published in World's Finest Comics from the 1950's through the 1980's), and many of the team-ups featured Batman, Superman and, occasionally, Robin and led to the formation of the Justice League of America.After Robin (Dick Grayson) sustains an injury, Batman insists on going without a sidekick. Dick leaves to attend college and moves out of Wayne Manor. Batman primarily works solo but occasionally teams up with Robin and Batgirl. It was during this period where Batman starts becoming a bit darker (partly due to the loss of Robin's presence, but mainly because times were changing in the real world). Violent crimes increase in Gotham and the Joker returns with a darker, more sadistic nature (i.e. he was starting to kill his victims)The Batman also comes face to face with Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head. Ra's has lived for over 600 years and is one of the few people who deduces that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Ra's saw their ideals as being the same, but the two became rivals quickly when Batman realized that Ra's did not value the lives of others as he did. During this time Bruce's older brother, Thomas Wayne, Jr., reappears. Thomas becomes an assassin, but his body was taken over by the anti-hero Deadman. Batman was able to remove Deadman from his brother's body, but Thomas soon dies trying to save his younger brother's life. Batman later quit the Justice League to form his new group called the Outsiders. Batman leads the group for a while, but he eventually quit the Outsiders as well.Modern AgeModern Age BatmanAfter the story called Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Batman of Earth-Two was erased from history. DC Comics attempted to reboot many major characters' origins including Batman. The re-tooled history was recounted in Frank Miller's run on the Batman: Year One story arc, or, at least the more serious, less campier sides of The Dark Knight. This made Batman darker and more believable and showed how much Batman dominates Bruce Wayne's psychology, so much so that Bruce has fully transformed into the Dark Knight, both physically and mentally. The character of Jim Gordon was portrayed in greater detail, and the corruption of the Gotham City Police Department was more pronounced, giving more of a reason for Gotham City to need Batman. Dick's back story remains the same, but Jason Todd's origin was changed, turning the boy into the orphan son of a petty crook, who tries to steal the tires from the Batmobile. Philip Wayne and Thomas, Jr. were removed from continuity and Bruce was raised by his father's trusted friend and butler, Alfred Pennyworth.In addition, Batman was no longer a founding member of the Justice League. During the Son of the Demon story arc, Batman marries Talia, and she becomes pregnant with their child. When Talia was attacked, Batman nearly dies trying to save her. Talia concludes that she was a hindrance to Batman and pretends to have a miscarriage. The two annulled their marriage, but Talia delivered the baby and gave him up.In the new continuity Batman found Jason trying to steal the wheels off the Batmobile. Unlike Dick, Jason would question and eventually defy Batman's orders. It would get to the point where Jason was becoming a danger to himself and others around him. Batman considers removing him as Robin, but Jason manages to convince him otherwise. Jason Todd eventually learns that the woman who raised him was not his biological mother and became determined to find his true mother. He travels to the Middle East, where he encountered Batman (who was searching for the Joker), and explained that he was searching for his birth mother. Batman saw the list of candidates and recognized one of the names on the list as Sandra Woosan: the assassin Lady Shiva.After a brief fight Batman learned that she was not Jason's mother. Jason managed to find his mother, Sheila Haywood, and revealed his secret identity to her, but she turns him over to The Joker. Jason's mother was being blackmailed by the Joker, but as she had some shady dealings herself she did not want attention being drawn to her. Joker savagely beats Jason with a crowbar, then detonates an explosive that kills Jason and his mother. This was during the story arc Death in the family.After this tragic event, Batman becomes even darker and more violent when he battled crime. Tim Drake, a young boy who witnessed the death of the Graysons, noticed the dark nature of the Batman after the loss of Robin. He had figured out that the original Robin was Dick Grayson and thus, Bruce Wayne had to be Batman. Tim knew that Batman needed a friend in his war and after being unsuccessful in convincing Dick to return to the role, Dick petitions Bruce to train Tim to become the next Robin, in order to keep Batman sane. After a grueling training regime, Tim finally becomes the new Robin.In the Knightfall storyline's first phase, the new villain Bane paralyzes Batman, leading Wayne to ask Azrael to take on the role. After the end of "Knightfall," the storylines split in two directions, following both the Azrael-Batman's adventures, and Bruce Wayne's quest to become Batman once more. The story arcs realign in "KnightsEnd," as Azrael becomes increasingly violent and is defeated by a healed Bruce Wayne. Wayne hands the Batman mantle to Dick Grayson (then Nightwing) for an interim period, while Wayne trains to return to the role.The 1994 company-wide crossover Zero Hour changes aspects of DC continuity again, including those of Batman. Noteworthy among these changes is that the general populace and the criminal element now considers Batman an urban legend rather than a known force. Similarly, the Waynes' killer is never caught or identified, effectively removing Joe Chill from the new continuity, rendering stories such as "Year Two" non-canon.Batman once again becomes a member of the Justice League during Grant Morrison's 1996 relaunch of the series, titled JLA. While Batman contributes greatly to many of the team's successes, the Justice League is largely uninvolved as Batman and Gotham City face catastrophe in the decade's closing crossover arc. In 1998's "Cataclysm" storyline, Gotham City is devastated by an earthquake and ultimately cut off from the United States Government afterwards. Deprived of many of his technological resources, Batman fights to reclaim the city from legions of gangs during 1999's "No Man's Land".Meanwhile, Batman's relationship with the Gotham City Police Department changed for the worse with the events of "Batman: Officer Down" and "Batman: War Games/War Crimes"; Batman's long-time law enforcement allies Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock are forced out of the police department in "Officer Down", while "War Games" and "War Crimes" saw Batman become a wanted fugitive after a contingency plan of his to neutralize Gotham City's criminal underworld is accidentally triggered, resulting in a massive gang war that ends with the sadistic Black Mask the undisputed ruler of the city's criminal gangs. Other troubles come for Batman in the form of Lex Luthor (secretly behind the events of "No Man's Land"), who seeks revenge for Bruce Wayne cancelling all of his company's government contracts upon Luthor being elected President of the United States. Luthor arranges for the murder of Batman's on-again, off-again love interest Vesper (introduced in the mid-1990s) during the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" and "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive" story arcs. Though Batman is able to clear his name, he loses another ally in the form of his new bodyguard Sasha, who is recruited into the organization known as "Checkmate" while stuck in prison due to her refusal to turn state's evidence against her employer. While he was unable to prove that Luthor was behind the murder of Vesper, Batman does get his revenge with help from Talia al Ghul in Superman/Batman #1–6: not only does he bring down Lex Luthor's Presidency but also engages in a hostile take-over of Luthor's corporate holdings, bankrupting the villain in the process.Meanwhile, with Tim Drake finally the new Robin, unknown to Batman, Jason Todd is secretly recovered by Ra's Al Ghul. While the resurrection was a success it also had repercussions. Jason Todd was alive, but he was without emotion and pain. When Ra's told Talia that the plan to bring back Jason was a failure; he told her to kill him. Growing an attachment to Jason, Talia decided to take drastic measures and dumps him into the Lazarus Pit a second time. This time it brought back all of his memories, emotions, and pain back into his life. Talia decides to start training him to be ready to finally kill Bruce Wayne and the Joker. Jason is seen telling Thomas Elliot (better known as Hush) the true identity of Batman. Jason eventually fights Bruce and the Joker and fails to kill either of them. Also during this time side adventures of Superman/Batman were created. This had some connection to main Batman/Superman continuity, but always had its own stories.Major Story ArcsDynamic DuoSome of the major story arcs of Batman have been Hush, Knightfall and No Man's Land. For a full list of Batman's key story arcs please visit the Batman story arc page. The story arc Knightfall was significant because it was the first time Batman was clearly defeated. His back broken by Bane, Batman relinquishes the cowl to another man, Azrael, who becomes Batman for a time. However, due to him being insane, Bruce Wayne has to intrust the Batman mantle to his ward, Dick Grayson, until he comes back fully recovered.Batman's first meeting with the JokerGotham got it's first taste of the Joker when an abandoned warehouse full of mutilated bodies with a grin on their faces were found by the police. The Batman is at work tracking down the killer when the Joker himself appears on live TV, on a news report on Arkham Asylum, killing the reporter with his mysterious laughing venom and predicting the deaths of some of the richest individuals in Gotham. Bruce suspects if the joker is a deformed version of the Red Hood, a criminal who fell into chemical waste while being engaged by Batman. The Joker carries out his hits as promised, using his venom, despite Batman's efforts to stop him. The city is thrown into chaos when he invades a prison facility and sets its inmates free, providing them with weapons and killing all of its guard personnel in the process. The criminals wreak great havoc throughout the city but is apprehended by Batman. Joker's next target is Bruce Wayne. The Wayne manor is under strict surveillance and guard by the police making Bruce Wayne unable to act as Batman. He secretly injects himself with some of Joker's venom he had gathered. The venom takes instant effect and Bruce is rushed to the hospital. But on the way, Alfred administers him with the antidote he had made after careful study and as Bruce recover, he understands the Joker's true plan. He had gained an understanding of what drives the Joker while under the effects of the venom and realised Bruce Wayne's assassination is only a divertion from his real mission, which is killing everyone in Gotham. And the easiest way for that would be poisoning Gotham's water reservoir, which Batman deduces from the clues he had gained in the last few days while tracking the Joker. He finds and stops Joker at the reservoir and refrains from killing him. The Joker is put in the reopened Arkham Asylum.Birth of Two FaceAt the wedding of Carmine The Roman Falcone's nephew, Johnny Viti, Bruce is asked by Falcone to lend his vote in accepting Falcone as a partner in the Gotham City Bank. Bruce refuses as he knows of Falcone's laundering schemes. Bruce is accompanied by Selina Kyle. On the way out, Harvey Dent is seen heavily beaten by Falcone's men as he was snooping around. After helping him, Bruce leaves alone.When investigating Falcone's penthouse, Batman encounters Catwoman and gives chase. But she escapes. The Bat signal lights up and he meets up with Dent and Gordon, where they make a pact to take down The Roman. The roman places a bounty on Batman's and CAtwoman's heads.Batman threatens Gotham City bank president Richard Daniels, who was in support of The Roman's money coming to the bank. He resigns and as a consequence is assassinated by Viti, sent by Roman.On Halloween Viti is killed by an unknown assailant with a .22 caliber pistol silenced by a baby bottle nipple. A jack-o-lantern is left on the scene. Following a lead from catwoman, Dent and Batman burn up a large stockpile of The Roman's cash. When Dent returns home, his house is blown up by Roman's men, seemingly killing him and his wife Gilda. They are later revealed to be alive after questioning the criminals who made the bomb turned up nothing, as they are silenced by the Roman. Gilda is in the hospital with minor wounds and Dent is unharmed.The killer of Viti strikes again, numerous times for months afterward, systematically on holidays and kills numerous people close to the Roman, including his son Alberto and with the same type of weapon(which is left on the scene) and leaves souvenirs related to the Holiday on the scene each time. The weapon's serial number is scraped away and handle covered by tape. The killer earns the name 'Holiday'. The Joker escapes, seeking to kill Holiday and tries to murder everyone in Gotham square with his laughing gas but is stopped by Batman.Poison Ivy is broken out of Arkham by Roman and manages to infect Bruce Wayne, whom, under her influence give the Roman his vote for partnership in the Bank. He is later saved from her clutches by Selina Kyle as Catwoman, who had a romantic relationship with Bruce at the time.Meanwhile, Dent's new assistant, Vernon Fields, searches old police files and discovers a connection between Carmine Falcone and Bruce Wayne. Thomas Wayne had once saved Falcone's life after he was shot, and Dent concluded that a connection exists between the sons. Bruce is arrested on Mother's day.However, the following trial on Father's Day turns in Bruce's favor after Alfred embarrasses the prosecution by testifying that Thomas Wayne's original report of the shooting never came to light due to the city's long history of corruption in the police. It is one father's day that Holiday kills Sal Maroni's father.The Riddler is hired by Falcone to find out the killer's identity but is kicked out by Falcone's daughter Sofia when he proved unsatisfactory. He is approached by Holiday but is left alive as it is April Fool's day.Holiday kills everyone who might uncover his/her identity. The coroner himself, the gunsmith who provided him with guns Viti's mother who was going through the Coroner's papers are all murdered indicating they may have some clue to his/her identity.Maroni turns up at Dent's to testify against the Roman. in Jail he is approached by Sofia and they are revealed to have a romantic relationship. On the trial day which is Falcone's birthday, instead of testifying he throws acid on Dent's face, provided by Vernon Fields, who was bribed by Maroni. Dent escapes from the hospital after stabbing his surgeon.Dent has been missing for a month and Gordon comes to the conclusion that Dent is Holiday, owing to evidence uncovered from his house, including the .22 caliber type pistol. Batman refuses to believe so.On labor day, Batman talks to Julian Day, the Calendar Man about who might be Holiday's next target and he says it might be Maroni, it being a holiday. That night Gordon, at Batman's request, moves Maroni to a new cell. Holiday appears and shoots Maroni twice in the head during the transfer, and his bodyguard several times in the chest. Holiday turns his gun on Gordon, who discovers Holiday's true identity is Alberto Falcone. The bodyguard, who was really Batman, beats Alberto so severely it almost kills him, but Gordon stops him. Alberto is placed under arrest and jailed. He later confesses to his crimes and is declared insane, and thus avoids the gas chamber.On Halloween night, all the Arkham inmates except Calendar Man are released by Dent, based on the flip of a coin. Falcone and his daughter Sofia are ambushed in their penthouse by Dent, Catwoman and the inmates after the Joker killed his guards with the laughing gas. Batman intervenes and fails to stop Dent( who has become two face) from murdering Falcone. During the fight, Sofia falls out a window. Two-Face escapes and kills his former assistant Fields for helping Maroni scar him. Then Dent turns himself in to Gordon and Batman. As he is cuffed, he tells them there were "two" Holiday killers, which leave Gordon and Batman in doubt.Epilogue: Gilda is packing to leave their new home on Christmas eve. She takes a box down to the basement furnace. She says aloud to herself how she read in Dent's case files about the removal of the serial numbers of guns and how baby bottle nipples could be used as silencers. She then removes from the box a .22 pistol and drops it into the flames of the heater, along with a familiar hat and coat. She says that she took it upon herself to start the Holiday killings, to save her husband, who was fixated on ending the Roman's reign from deteriorating and thus giving them opportunity to have a child. She believes that Dent took up the killings on New Year's Eve and that Alberto is lying to the police with his confession. She also says that she knows Dent will eventually be normal and they will be together even, as she believe in him strongly. It is never confirmed who is the real Holiday.Batman recruits Jason ToddBatman found Jason Todd in Crime alley, trying to steal the tires of the Batmobile. Jason lived alone in an abandoned building, making a living off the tires he stole on a daily basis. After his crime fighting tendencies became apparent, Batman decided to take him with him, partly due to the loneliness he experienced after previous Robin, Dick Grayson's departure. Jason quickly absorbed the skills necessary for the post and seemed to make a good successor to Dick's mantle. But as time passed, it quickly became evident to batman that he was far from the ideal crimefighter. His conduct on the field was in stark contrast to that of Batman's cold professionality. Often he would thrust himself into exceedingly dangerous situations, endangering both student and mentor, giving vent to his inner emotions, which seemed to be dominated by rage. This became even more evident when Jason seemingly killed a criminal who had walked free after causing the death of a woman Jason was emotionally invested in. Batman soon realized Robin hadn't coped with the death of his parents, and felt it was best to make him inactive for a while and thus give him some time to come to grips with what happened to his family. Jason opposed this but had no choice but to comply.While walking through crime alley, his place of origin, Jason encountered an old family friend who had a few belongings of his parents safely stoved away. She gave him the package, which contained some certificates, deeds and photographs. While going through his items back in Bruce's home, Jason found a discrepancy in his birth certificate that indicated his mother wasn't the late Catherine Todd, but someone whose name started with an 'S'. Thus filled with hope that his biological mother may still be alive, he began searching for clues for her identity. His efforts turned up the names of three women who could be his mother, all three out of the country, and he left off in search of the first one, in Beirut. Meanwhile, Batman, tracking down the Joker, who had escaped from Arkham, arrives in Beirut, where the Joker was planning on selling an illegally acquired warhead to the local terrorists. Coincidentally, they arrive at the same place in Beirut, and found that their tasks coincided when it was revealed Jason's first candidate was in fact an undercover spy in the terrorist group. Together, they thwart the Jokers plans and takes down the terrorists, after which the woman says she never had any children, to Jason's dismay.The next candidate is Shiva Woosan, a deadly acquaintance of Batman, who was working with the same group of terrorists. Batman and Robin overcame her together, and after using the truth serum, it was revealed she never had any children.The next woman was in Ethiopia, working in famine relief efforts in Ethiopia. They track her down and finally, Jason comes face to face with his real mother, Sheila Haywood. She has the same eyes as Jason. They spent some time together, after which she asks him to leave to Jason's great surprise. Jason, monitoring her tent from outside soon found out she was in fact working with the Joker, who had blackmailed her into giving him shipments of medical supplies that he can sell in the black market. Robin calls Bruce, and together they go after the group, which was filled with Joker's bodyguards. They arrive at the tent too late. Joker had already taken the shipments and replaced them with crates of something much worse - his deadly laughing gas. The gas was being transported to relief destinations, and this being a much greater prority than Jason's mother, Batman leaves in pursuit in his mini copter, leaving Jason near the medicine warehouse. Despite Batman's repeated orders to not take any actions until he got back, Jason leaves for the warehouse to find his mother. There, he finds her and asks her about Joker, revealing his alternate identity in the process. A look of shock is seen on the face of his mother temporarily. But she tells him that the Joker had left and that there was nothing to worry about. She leads him to a secluded room, where he realized too late that his own beloved mother had led him into a fatal trap. The Joker and his henchmen were waiting for him in the warehouse. Jason's mother say's she couldn't allow Robin to have Joker's plan discovered by the authorities. The resulting investigation would uncover her own embezzling. The joker severely beats up Jason with a crowbar, with his mother turning her back.Joker, having gotten what he was after, laves Jason almost dead and her mother tied up in the warehouse, with a bomb ticking beside them. Jason gets up somehow and manages to untie her mother. She lifts him up and they try to escape together but realize the Joker had locked them inside.When Batman got back, the warehouse was in ruins, destroyed and burning. He starts desperately searching among the wreck, knowing deep inside that his efforts are in fact were in vain. It was too late. He reminisces about the time he spent together with Jason. He soon finds the body bruised and burned, and resolves to avenge Jason's death.Batman: FamilyFifty years ago, Celia Kazantkakis became the illegitimate child of Lucinda Delmont who was the secretary of Costas Kazantkakis, a Greek businessman who took up residence in Gotham. Costas abandoned Lucinda and Lucinda's love sick depression caused her to commit suicide when Celia was three years old. Celia was placed in the Copper St. Orphanage and when Celia was of age, she became the sole guardian of the orphanage. Celia met Martha Wayne when Celia was being harassed by a developer named Stanford Whitaker. Whitaker wanted to buyout the entire neighborhood which included the orphanage so he could build high-rise apartments. Martha has been combating Whitaker at City Hall and she finally beat him by getting City Hall's approval to make the entire neighborhood an historical landmark.Sadly, the victory of saving the neighborhood was short-lived because the orphanage was burnt down to the ground. The evidence against Whitaker was circumstantial but he was eventually convicted for arson by the jury thanks to Martha Wayne's testimony as well as Celia's. Celia was still grateful for Martha's efforts in convicting Whitaker and Martha decides to cheer up Celia by taking her to a local club called Chat Noir on Avenue B. It was here that Martha met Denholm Sinclair who was an affiliate of Caesar Rossetti.Celia tried to warn Martha about Sinclair but Martha wouldn't listen so Celia took it upon herself to confront Sinclair and tell him to leave Martha alone. Sinclair viewed Celia's defensiveness as a charming form of envy. Sinclair brushes off Celia's threat by saying he knows who was actually responsible for the fire at the orphanage. Celia is left with a loss for words but Sinclair comforts Celia by saying he will agree to leave Martha alone but his silence will come at a price. Sinclair grabs Celia and thrusts her body against his. Celia reluctantly submits to Sinclair's advances.Martha eventually found out that Celia had burnt down the orphanage in order to collect the insurance money and Whitaker was the perfect patsy. Martha confronted Celia about the orphanage but Celia didn't acknowledge Martha's accusations. Instead, Celia wrote off Martha's anger as petty jealousy because Sinclair courted Celia rather than Martha. However, Celia knew Martha's political pull in Gotham so she decided to leave the country by returning to her ancestral home in Greece.Celia was 22 when she left Gotham for Greece. Celia eventually met her estranged father and worked for his company. After his death, Celia took over Costas textile mills and built a niche by supplying designer fabrics to the European fashion houses. At the age of 53, Celia married industrialist Porter Endicott but remained in Milan. When Endicott died of a heart attack, Celia took over his seat at as a board member of Wayne Enterprises.Nicholas Kazantkakis aka the Tracker attacked the Rossetti mob as a demonstration of his mother's hatred for Caesar Rossetti. Gabriel Rossetti, Caesar's grandson, has taken over his grandfather's operations by expanding into drug trafficking. Tracker killed the mobsters by emitting an electrical charge into their bodies. Fortunately, Batman saved Santos, one of Rossetti's men and an undercover ATF agent. As a means of gratitude, Santos agreed to share information with Batman's in order find out who would have a personal vendetta against the Rossetti mob.Nicholas returns to the Zephyr Building in Midtown Gotham. The Zephyr Building was purchased by Celia from a Japanese holding company and now is a secret hideout for the Court of Owls. Nicholas tells Doctor Excess, the Court's physician, about his opinion of the Batman. Nicholas believes Batman fights crime because he finds danger exhilarating but the doctor tells Nicholas not to underestimate the seductive allure of risking one's life.Doctor Excess believes that the Batman's crusade on crime in Gotham stems from a deep-rooted psychological trauma during his childhood and he possesses an obsessive compulsion to save lives even though some don't want to be saved. After their discussion, the doctor injects a synthesized compound composed of electrum into Nick's body thus making him somewhat invulnerable to being injured or killed.The next day, Bruce attends another meeting at Wayne Enterprises because the board is deciding whether or not to keep Bruce as CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Celia Kazantkakis tries to convince the board that Wayne Enterprises would be nothing without a Wayne at the helm. Delilah Wagner, who is the proponent of Bruce's removal, believes his social life as a boy billionaire could pose as a disastrous liability for the companys reputation.Even though Bruce was cleared for his involvement with Vesper Fairchilds murder, he was still being scrutinized by the press. Delilah believes that Bruce's peculiar notoriety makes the stockholders and business partners uncomfortable. Delilah gives Bruce a written ultimatum which dictates that if he refuses to resign from the company then she will put in a vote of no-confidence in front of the shareholders. Celia convinces Bruce to consider Delilah's request as a formality. The board knows Bruce has let Lucius Foxhandle the day-to-day responsibilities of the company but Lucius's condition after his near fatal stroke has left him unable to carry on.Bruce had feared that Wayne Enterprises would be vulnerable of a takeover but not from inside his own company. Lex Luthor was counting on this vulnerability when he hiredDavid Cain to implicate Bruce as Vesper's murderer. Bruce hired Delilah to keep other corporate sharks at bay but eventually he knew that Delilah would pull a stunt like this.However, Bruce was more concerned about the Tracker's motives for attacking the Rosettis. Bruce has been studying the Tracker's movements for the last two months. The Tracker apprehended Rossetti's family accountant Bertis Delgado. The Tracker also killed Clement Wellman by feeding him to his dogs in Little Moscow. According to the testimonies of those who survived the Tracker's bust at a crystal meth lab, they described Tracker as something demonic.On the other side of the city, Gabriel Rossetti makes his way to his car but his driver Ruiz is nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Ruiz is dropped on the windshield of Rossetti's car. Rossetti and his men open fire on the Tracker. The Tracker knocks out Rossetti and his crew then he makes his escape with Rossetti's brief case. Fortunately, Batman has been observing Rossetti's movements in the likely event that the Tracker would show up.Doctor Excess uses Bugg's surveillance feed throughout Gotham to keep in contact with Tracker by via comm link. Doctor Excess tells Nicholas not to engage the Batman. The Tracker takes the doctor's advice and makes a quick getaway by discharging an electrical pulse at Batman. Doctor Excess terminates his communication with Tracker and congratulates Bugg on his network of spy cams.Bugg was once a young boy named Hector who witnessed his parents murder each other. The ten year old orphan was institutionalized because the trauma he suffered caused him to detach from interacting with others. However, he developed a compulsion for voyeurism which Celia found useful to the Court. Celia's maternal affection toward Hector encouraged him to establish the Court's surveillance network within a year. Now, the Court has eyes and ears throughout Gotham.Rossetti decides to seek outside help in order to combat the Tracker. Penguinrecommends the Technician who has a fetish for collecting several things from Gotham's history such as the inventions presented at the World Fair in 1941 and some things that predate Gotham's beginnings. The Technician refurbishes them and sells them to villains like the Riddler. However, the Technician works for Celia and he was responsible for designing the Tracker's stealth suit. The Technician refuses Rossetti's offer to take down the Tracker and instead gives Rossetti a business card in the form of a playing card. The Technician recommends that Rossetti contract the Suicide King.During Dumont Hotel benefit gala at Wayne Enterprises, Delilah threatens the mayor that Wayne Enterprises will take their business elsewhere unless the city can provide a greater incentive. Bruce arrives at the gala but he is accosted by a drunk named Roger Sloane. Sloane tells Bruce that he must speak with him but the gala security removes Sloane before he could utter another word. Celia pulls Bruce away from his date at the gala in order to speak with him. Celia confides in Bruce to fight for control of Wayne Enterprises because she feels Bruce's mother would be disappointed in him if he didn't. She continues by bringing up her past and how she met Bruce's mother. Celia plays off of Bruce's emotions by she saying that she regrets not being a part of Bruce's life after Martha was killed.Meanwhile. the Suicide King pays the Rossetti house a visit. The Suicide King shows off his talents by taking out some of Rosetti's men. Suicide King then introduces himself to Gabriel Rossetti who is impressed by the king's ingenuity. Gabriel deems Suicide King worthy enough to be a part of his organization. The Suicide King tells Gabriel that he can eliminate the Tracker if Gabriel signs over 20% of the Rossetti's family business to him. Gabriel reluctantly agrees Suicide King's offer because he wants the Tracker dealt with sooner rather than later.Bruce goes Lucius Fox to get his impression on Celia. Lucius informs Bruce that Celia made her fortune in textiles throughout Europe but now her main source of income is real estate. She later married Porter Endicott, a Spanish national and took over his corporate position of power when he passed away. Lucius views Celia as a tough business woman but a humble person nonetheless. Batman later meets with Santos to gather more Intel on who the Tracker is and why he has a vendetta against the Rossettis. Santos informs Batman that Gabriel Rossetti has hired the Suicide King to take out the Tracker. Both Gabriel and the Suicide King have set up a bogus money drop in order to lure the Tracker out into the open.As Batman makes his way to money drop, he contacts Oracle. Bruce asks Oracle to find out who the Tracker's point man is because he recalls the Tracker was speaking to someone through a comm link. Oracle uses her decryption software to decipher any irregular transmissions that could be linked to the Tracker and Doctor Excess thereby giving her a digital trail to follow. Oracle also brought up some interesting information on Delilah Wagner's business methods. Oracle gave this damaging information to the stock exchange commission which will indict Delilah for fraud and insider trading.Batman also contacts Tim Drake and instructs him to investigate Roger Sloane. Batman wants to find out why Sloane was so anxious to speak to Bruce Wayne. Tim discovers that Sloan has outdated press credentials and he was once an award-winning Boston reporter until his editor learned that he was fabricating his sources. It turns out Sloane has been obsessed with the recent events that have been occurring at Wayne Enterprises. Sloane has documented a pattern that could possibly be a conspiracy. His conspiracy starts with Bruce's decision to leave the country then Wagner's ascension at Wayne Enterprises and finally the untimely death of Porter Endicott. Tim believes Sloane was trying to make up for the slander and libel that he printed at his bugle and he wanted to rejoin the media's good grace by reporting a fantastical new story. Unfortunately, Mister Fun, one of Celia's associates, disposed of Sloane before Tim got to his apartment. Mister Fun removed any incriminating evidence that could be linked back to Celia and dumped Sloane's body in a nearby dumpster.Batman arrives at the money drop as does the Tracker. Both the Tracker and Batman watch as Gabriel Rossetti gives a brief case full of money to Arturo Zamora. Batman informs the Tracker that he is being set up and the Tracker says "It's the other way around." Tracker shocks Batman with his tazer talons then the Suicide King makes his entrance. Suicide King pretends to fight off the Tracker in order to gain Gabriel's trust. Suicide King stuns the Tracker and the Tracker falls twenty stories off a rooftop. Batman attacks Suicide King for what he did to the Tracker. Batman deduces that the Suicide King's fighting style is Asano Nitobe. Batman almost defeats Suicide King until the Tracker returns and knocks out Batman. Suicide King is amazed that the Tracker actually survived his fall.Suicide King tells the Tracker to abort their mission in killing the Batman. Batman overheard their conversation as he staggered to his feet. Batman finally realizes that the Tracker and the Suicide King are running a shakedown operation by gaining Rossetti's trust thereby allowing them to infiltrate his organization. Doctor Excess tells the Tracker to retreat back to their base of operations but the Tracker refuses. Batman activates a signal jammer to cut off Doctor Excess' communication with the Tracker. During their heated confrontation, the Tracker and Batman collide with a stack of metal pipes and steel beams. Both the Tracker and Batman must jump off the rooftop to avoid the plummeting mass of metal. Batman manages to save himself with his grappling claw but he was unable to grab Nicholas in time. Batman descends to the bottom and finds the Tracker buried in a heap of metal beams. As Batman pushed the beams away, he could see that the steel pipes had impaled the Tracker. Batman removes the Tracker's mask and is shocked that the Tracker is Nicholas, Celia's son.The next day, Delilah Wagner is taken into custody for her crimes and Bruce informs Celia that she is the new CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Celia had anticipated on Bruce's affections toward her and his reasoning for making her Delilah's replacement because she knew her manipulations on Bruce's emotions would work. Her victory of becoming the new CEO of Wayne Enterprises was short-lived when she heard that her son had died. Mister Fun removed Nicholas' body from the County Morgue because Celia knew that if the coroners examined Nicholas' body then they would have found Doctor Excess' electrum compound in Nicholas' bloodstream.Unfortunately, Freeway, Celia's right hand man, was unable to procure the Tracker's stealth suit from the hazmat team who arrived at the crime scene. It turns out that the hazmat team wanted to analyze the Tracker's suit because it's part of a new procedure that began after Vox's armor destroyed half of a building in Gotham last year. It was Celia's last wish to have her son cremated thereby destroying any evidence of Doctor Excess' electrum compound. It would seem that Nicholas was the first step in perfecting Doctor Excess's electrum compound because the Court of Owls wanted to utilize this compound and make more Talon enforcers. The Talons would be near unstoppable but they would also be replaceable.Celia bids her son one final farewell before his body is cremated. She then turns attention to her associates and informs them that they must learn everything about Batman's allies and weaken Batman's reserves. Celia goes on to tell her accomplices in crime what their roles will be in the Network. The Network's goal is to control the city's business, politics and crime.The Network will collect information with the aid of Bugg's citywide surveillance. Thanks to Bugg, Celia knows about the mayor having an affair with Councilwoman Dawson as a means to spite his wife for her dalliances. Celia also knows about the mayor's aid who has a crystal meth habit and cops who are on the take. She is even aware of old mobsters who broker their lawyers to stay out of jail.Freeway, Mr. Fun and Suicide King create distractions when ever necessary while Doctor Excess eliminates any obstacles that require extra persuasion. His formidable medical talents in surpassing the boundaries of human experience and endurance will ensure the cooperation of anyone who stands against the Network.Celia maintains the illusion of a philanthropist by donating relief funds to the police force, cutting operating costs without sacrificing jobs and humbles the workforce at Wayne Enterprises by acknowledging their hard work. Celia intends to increase Wayne Enterprises profits dramatically for the next two quarters while Suicide King makes the Rosetti Family believe that they are rising up in the underworld's hierarchy. As the newly appointed CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Celia starts dipping into the company's discretionary account with Gotham's International Bank and begins transferring the funds.Celia calls in another meeting to gather the Network's latest intelligence. According to Bugg's findings, the Batman is a myth to most because there is little documented evidence to prove otherwise. Freeway concurs with Bugg by mentioning GCPD's failure to report the Batman's involvement in several cases. Celia figures Gordon is the source that allows to the Batman to remain elusive. Bugg goes on to introduce the Network to the remainder of Batman's allies like Red Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Huntress, Spoiler and Orpheus. Celia tells Suicide King to keep tabs on Huntress since her obsession and apathy toward organized crime became apparent when she tried to kill "Tiny" Hidalgo in public.Freeway assumes that the Batman and his allies are some kind of special military unit assigned to protect Gotham at the behest of the governor while Suicide King believes the vigilantes are being financed by some corporation who is underwriting their expensive crusade on crime. Celia puts an end to the meeting by telling the Network that they must eliminate Batman and his cohorts before her plan can be realized.Celia is assigned the task of observing Spoiler. Freeway watches Spoiler's movements throughout Gotham and figures her motive to fight crime stems from this need to prove herself to someone else. Perhaps an absent parent who was once or still is a criminal. Spoiler fights crime to strike back at that particular parent but she still wants parental approval for efforts and that is where the Batman fits into it. Spoiler busts a group of thugs who were robbing a grocery store. It turns out the group were college kids who were looking for a little trouble to get some kicks.Spoiler grapples to a nearby roof where she is taken by surprise by Freeway. Freeway tells Spoiler that he was impressed by her performance and his employer would find Spoiler's talents invaluable. At first, Spoiler blows off Freeway's offer but Freeway leaves a business card in case Spoiler decides to change her mind. Later that night, Steph contemplates on whether or not to accept Freeway's offer but since Bruce hasn't been training her as often as he should be, she decides to call Freeway. Steph tells Freeway that he will only agree to a meet if his employer is present.Freeway introduces Spoiler to Celia and Celia informs Spoiler that a friend of hers was murdered by the Ruvalcaba syndicate during a robbery in the Diamond District. Celia tells Spoiler that the police have not made any progress in apprehending suspects but Freeway has come across some vital information. The syndicate's accountant Louis Trundell is leaving town and with his testimony, the syndicate could be brought down. Spoiler can't understand why Celia doesn't go to the police with this information. Celia tells Spoiler that she can't trust the police since some officers maybe on the syndicate's payroll. Spoiler understands Celia's concern and agrees to take the assignment.Freeway drives Spoiler to the East End Docks because Trundell has a boat that neither the authorities or the syndicate are aware of. Trundell went off everyone's radar when the FBI approached him about turning over state evidence against Diego Ruvalcaba. Freeway drops off Spoiler and points her in the direction of Trundell's boat. Spoiler notices Trundell and a woman helping him load the boat with supplies. The woman goes inside the boat to put away the supplies while Spoiler ambushes Trundell. At first, Spoiler had everything well in hand and Trundell under restraint but the woman surprises Spoiler with a display of acrobatic fighting styles.Spoiler tries to grab the woman's hair to get her off but it turns out to be a wig. Trundell's woman is actually Selina Kyle. Trundell has hired Selina as his bodyguard/ travel agent. Selina has agreed to share with Trundell her international contacts who have the means to hide him from the syndicate in exchange for a cut of the money he was skimming from the syndicate. Selina knocks Spoiler off the boat and Steph falls into the icy waters of Gotham bay. Selina and Trundell escape in her car and head to the Gotham's Central Station.Trundell and Selina grab some last minute train tickets to Centerdale, NY. Trundell placed his funds in a safety deposit box at a bank in Centerdale. Trundell notices two men wearing shades staring at him and Selina but Selina informs Trundell that those men aren't the FBI or hit men. Selina tells Trundell that the syndicate are known for sending unexpected assassins. At that same moment, an elderly woman pulls out an uzi and tries to kill Trundell. Fortunately, Spoiler arrives and disarms the woman. Trundell makes for the uzi and attempts to kill Spoiler because he refuses to go to testify. Selina saves Spoiler by knocking out Trundell with a drop kick. Trundell is down for the count and Selina searches Trundell's person for his safety deposit key. She finds the key and tells Spoiler to stay out of her way next time.The next day, Celia asks Bruce to an afternoon lunching where she gives him a framed photo of his mother as a way to thank him for entrusting her with the continued success of Wayne Enterprises. She tells Bruce that this particular photo was taken at Sandy Newport's New Year Eve's Party. Bruce then receives page from Tim Drake. Bruce sent Tim to investigate Roger Sloane but it turns out Sloane has been murdered. Someone broke into Sloane's apartment and strangled him.Drake also tells Bruce that a woman by the name of Eleanor Sandhurst has been brought to the Gotham PD morgue. The way she died is similar to Sloane's. All of sudden, Celia's assistant interrupts their lunch. The assistant informs Celia that she is unable to get a hold of Eleanor Sandhurst. Celia needed Sandhurst to sign off on a land grant in order to get land clearances for an impending performing arts center. Sandhurst refused to give Celia the land grant so Celia sent Mr. Fun to murder Sandhurst. Celia tells her assistant not to worry and that she will take care of it but Bruce begins to suspect Celia of fowl play.Celia and Bruce part ways after their lunch. Celia gets a call from Freeway that he is already handling the Trundell dilemma. In Gotham PD's interrogation room, Freeway poses as a cop and shows Trundell photographs of women who have been beaten to death in the past couple of weeks. Freeway got a hold of these photographs thanks to Bugg's surveillance. Freeway tells Trundell that the authorities were never able to find Trundell's own mother who disappeared under strange circumstances and each of these women in some way resemble Trundell's mother. Trundell realizes that his sick compulsion has been exposed so he asks Freeway what he wants.The Network gather for another debriefing. Freeway informs the Network that Trundell rolled over for the cops and the Ruvalcaba syndicate is being broken apart. Suicide King tells the Network that the Rossettis are happy with his supposed efforts in bringing down their competition. The Network relays all their information to Celia's cell because Celia is meeting with Spoiler to congratulate her on a job well done. Celia gives Spoiler a check for accomplishing the mission. Spoiler at first refuses but Celia convinces Spoiler to think of the check as a means to fund her crime fighting. Spoiler grapples away with the check in hand and Celia calls Freeway. Celia tells Freeway to make sure their supposed deal with Trundell is null and void. She expects to see Trundell behind bars for murder by tomorrow morning.The following night, Orpheus responds to a disturbance at a electoral fundraiser. Senator Bowman who was running for re-election became deranged. The sixty year old politician began to grow to abnormal heights. Orpheus uses his ultra sound gauntlets to subdue the senator but the senator's rampage doesn't come to an end until he suffers a cardiac arrest. Bugg watches the entire scene from afar. He calls the Technician to set up a disposal of the evidence.It turns out Senator Bowman was being treated by Doctor Excess who has been running the Jaeger-Solomon clinic in Gotham for terminal cancer patients under the name Dr. Gustav Jaeger. The clinic was leased by a supposed Norwegian medical corporation and founded by the late Curtis Jaeger and Henry Solomon in 1891. Both doctors were reported missing in the Amazon and presumed dead. Most likely, both doctors ran afoul with the Court.Dr. Jaeger agreed to save Senator Bowman from his degenerative brain disorder if he would finance the Technician's advancements in the Tracker's stealth suit. Doctor Excess injected the senator with an experimental cancer fighting serum that was laced with Venom. The serum repaired the damaged tissue in six months but it eventually metastasized which caused the senator to mutate into a roid rage behemoth.The coroners arrive to place the senator's body into the ambulance and transport the body to Gotham General Hospital. During mid transit, the Technician sets up a remote controlled fuel rig to crash into the ambulance. The rig and the ambulance collide and the senator's body is reduced to ashes.The next day, Orpheus visits his friend and favorite author Marcus Cooper. Orpheus met Cooper when his sister introduced him to Marcus' first book. Marcus asks how Orpheus' professional dance company is doing after its latest donation from the Wayne Arts Foundation. Orpheus is more interested in Marcus' impending book that depicts his life in Gotham and how the city has changed in the last 40 years. Marcus shows Orpheus a vacant lot where the Chat Noir Club once stood. Marcus used to work at the club as a busboy.Marcus remembers Celia Kazantkakis and Martha Wayne as regular patrons at the club. He also knew about Denholm Sinclair's involvement with the Rossettis. When Carmine Falcone started expanding his empire, Sinclair went into hiding and Cesare Rossetti's son was later declared legally insane.Orpheus gets a call from Oracle who digged up some information about Senator Bowman's health records. She informs Orpheus that Bowman was being treated at the Jaeger-Solomon clinic for cancer. Oracle tells Orpheus that she can secretly hack into the clinic's database if he can run one of her decryption thumb drives into the main computer's terminal. Orpheus is successful in breaking into the clinic and Oracle starts downloading the medical files of every patient in the clinic.Unfortunately, Bugg has been observing Orpheus' movements and notifies Doctor Excess about the clinic's trespasser. Doctor Excess suits and pumps a psychotropic gas that he developed in med school through the ventilation system. Orpheus begins to feel disoriented and Doctor Excess stuns Orpheus with his electrified gauntlets. The doctor interrogates Orpheus about a project he has been working on that involves metabolic enhancements and mind control. Orpheus shakes off the doctor by kicking him across the room. Orpheus jumps out of a nearby window and makes his way to his motorcycle. to getaway.Meanwhile, Black Canary goes to Little Moscow which is located on the East side of Gotham. She has been asked to do a favor for a troubled wife. The wife's husband Jordan Wiley has gone to see his bookie Gregori Ulanov at the Red Star Lounge. Ulanov has agreed to wipe Wiley's debt clean if Wiley kills Rossetti's new enforcer...the Suicide King. Black Canary makes an explosive entrance with her Canary Cry and takes down Ulanov's men. She then confronts Wiley and tells him to go back home in order to take care of his six month old baby. Ulanov tells Canary to take Wiley out the back before she brings down the rest of his lounge.Orpheus tries to push through the side effects of the doctor's gas but he loses consciousness and crashes his bike in Little Moscow. Black Canary overhears the commotion coming from the streets and decides to investigate after telling Wiley to go home. Dinah discovers Orpheus lying on the streets with Ulanov's men beating Orpheus with baseball bats. It seems Orpheus was responsible for starting a civil war between Ulanov and his brother in law Rasputin which dismantled their organizations and got Rasputin thrown in jail.Dinah uses her Canary cry to immobilize the mob and places Orpheus on her own motorcycle. Dinah takes Orpheus to a warehouse that was originally a library rather than taking him to County General Hospital. When Orpheus regains consciousness, he tells Canary that he must go back to the clinic but Canary informs him that the clinic has been burnt down and is being covered by the news. Oracle calls Orpheus and tells him that she was able to recover enough incriminating data from the clinic but the police have no leads on Dr. Jaeger's whereabouts.Oracle then reports some distressing news about one of the patients that Dr. Jaeger was treating. Orpheus immediately hangs up the phone and hops on Canary's motorcycle. Orpheus arrives at Cooper's apartment building to find his apartment thrashed and Cooper lying on the floor. Cooper was one of Doctor Excess' cancer patients and like Senator Bowman, Cooper dies from a heart attack after mutating into a giant brute.Celia asks the doctor to report on his failure to keep the clinic's practices a secret. Doctor Excess reassures Celia that the Court's affiliation with the clinic went up in smoke and all loose ends are being tied. The doctor hangs up his call with Celia and Bugg watches as the doctor self medicates himself. The doctor's years of recreational experimentation has caught up with him and his patients at the clinic were merely test subjects for his designer drugs.Freeway has been observing Sylvia Cassavetes who has cashed in her last paycheck and starts another tab at the Wintermint Lounge. After leaving the lounge, she walks down Avenue C and is accosted by two speed freaks. Fortunately, Tim Drake arrives and disarms the two thugs. Tim has been meaning to question Sylvia because of her relationship with Roger Sloane. Tim escorts Sylvia back to her apartment.Sylvia tells Tim how she & Roger met. Roger was covering the trial of a mobster for the Boston Herald and Sylvia was dating the mobster. Tim asks Sylvia why Roger was trying to get Bruce's attention at the charity gala. Sylvia then pulls out a CD from a picture frame and gives it to Tim. All of a sudden, Freeway comes crashing through the window of Sylvia's apartment and disarms Tim with a few quick blows to his body. Freeway then grabs Sylvia and snaps her neck.Tim tries to get back on his feet after failing to save Sylvia's life. Freeway then knocks out Tim with a gas pellet of chloral hydrate designed by Doctor Excess. When Tim awakens in a warehouse, he vaguely remembers that Freeway was the same man who stole the Batmobile for a short time. Freeway stripped Tim of all of his weapons and tools. Freeway decides to have Doctor Excess torture Tim for information on the Batman. Freeway got a hold of Bruce's fingerprints from the Batmobile but the fingerprints were fake. The prints instead belonged to James Scott Westerberg, a car thief who died in Blackgate five years ago.Tim scoffs at Doctor Excess by saying he must not be registered with the AMA. The doctor is amused by Tim's mockery and says the practices of the AMA are outdated. Doctor Excess considers himself a practioner of human potential. He believes in better living through chemistry and surgery. The doctor then recalls how Celia found him in Honduras during Reagan's war campaign against drugs. The doctor was concocting poisons for the special forces to use against the Sandinistas.The doctor prepares his nanotech cocktail syringe. Once injected, the nanomites will latch onto Tim's nervous system and they will be wired to a remote control. The doctor likes to inflict Pavlovian torture in which a person feels pain & pleasure at the same time. Fortunately, Tim has a trick fingernail with a key that can unlocks cuffs. Just as the doctor was about to the nanotech syringe, Tim surprises the doctor with a blow to the head. The doctor cringes from the pain while Freeway & Tim have a rematch.Freeway is aware of Tim's training days with Lady Shiva and asks if he has had the pleasure of seeing Shiva's tattoo which is located near her pelvis. The doctor recovers and charges after Tim with his nanotech syringe. Tim senses the doctor getting closer so he dodges Freeway's attacks with a back flip. He then kicks the doctor into Freeway's path. The doctor accidently injects the nanomites into Freeway and Tim grabs a hold of the nanotech remote control.Tim triggers the remote and immobilizes Freeway. Tim grabs the CD from Freeway's jacket but the doctor shuts down the fuse box to the warehouse causing everything to go pitch black. Excess and Freeway make their getaway but at least Tim has Sloane's disc. Freeway reports his failure to Celia. Celia begins to question Freeway's combat techniques since Suicide King was his prized student but she isn't entirely disappointed since her plan to siphon off what's left of Wayne Enterprises.The next night, a giant robotic monkey with clashing cymbals goes crashing through the Diamond District. The monkey served as a distraction for the police while the Simian Syndicate robs an Ironclad armored truck. Det. Crispus Allen and Renee Montoya disarm the giant monkey with gunfire but the syndicate makes off with 200,000 dollars. Det. Montoya & Allen interrogate Beezer, a member of the Simian Syndicate to find out where they got the robot monkey. Beezer gives up the Technician and detectives are well aware of his reputation as a specialist in unusual hardware, supplying Gotham's psychopaths with weapons and his base of operations is always mobile.Batman debriefs his team on what was on Sloane's disc. The disc contains info about the Network's dealings in Texas, Rio, Milan, Santa Prisca, Taiwan and Stuttgart. Sloane came into contact with Linus Samuelson, a former Fortune 400 executive in Philadelphia about two years ago. Samuelson told Sloane that a mysterious cabal had systematically sabotaged the Arroyo Biotech firm in Texas. Things took a turn for the worse about six years ago when Arroyo introduced Immunotux, a drug that was supposed to halt and potentially reverse the metastasis in tumors.The FDA approved the drug and Lyle Bodean, the CEO of Arroyo stood to make billions. Unfortunately, three months into the FDA trials and patients were starting to experience deleterious side effects. The government halted testing, Arroyo was bankrupt and Bodean committed suicide. Samuelson swore Arroyo's collapse wasn't brought on by faulty research or mismanagement but carefully placed industrial sabotage. Samuelson's body was later found on the campus grounds of Ivy Town after his interview with Sloane. Sloane investigated further and came across a former Arroyo researcher.Dr. Fiona Kirkpatrick explained how she felt watched not only in her office but at her home. She also claimed that the internal lab reports and other secure documents were altered during the FDA trials. On occasion, she would see unauthorized personnel in high security areas. Those who filed reports about the security breaches were immediately let go. The project head for Immunotux was Dr. Charles Ingram (Doctor Excess in disguise) who unexpectedly died of a heart attack before he could be questioned about the failed trials.Sloane later discovered Ingram was a general practioner in Alaska who died in 1961. The FDA administrator who shut down Immunotux trials began investigation but was later found beaten to death on a golf course (by Mr. Fun). As for Kirkpatrick, she was threatened to keep quiet after she discovered that some batches of Immunotux were chemically altered. Sloane had enough circumstantial evidence to suggest malfeasance.Sloane's findings led him to Recklinghausen LTD, a German pharmaceutical company that bought out Arroyo after they went bankrupt. The company was a dummy corporation according to Interpol. The orchestrator is a woman of mystery known only as Athena. However, when Sloane saw Celia's face in the business section of the Gotham Gazette. Tim believes they should act now and expose Celia but Cassandra Cain suggests patience and using decpetion to figure out Celia's endgame and turn it against her.The Technician was hanging out with Sy Lefkowitz, Mickey Dunn and Little Mo Derringer, three old time hoods from back in the day until he receives a call. The Technician goes to the Turlock Gym to collect his payment from the Simian Syndicate then he heads to Little Moscow and demonstrates his latest armor plated car made from a light weight alloy. The Technician's next stop is the Oasis where he delivers some explosive merchandise to settle a business feud and finishes off the day by handing over some deadly toy airplanes to Harley Quinn.Technician grew up in a tract home within the strip mall wastelands of Orange County, CA. Technician loves Gotham for its criminal history like Edgy Tannenbaum, Zootsuit Rudolph, Milo Reinhardt and Count Zefferelli. Freeway and Technician met when he was 16 at Tommy's Ng's chop shop before they were brought into Celia's. inner circle.Bruce decides to meet with Santos to share his intel that he gathered from the desk. Santos tells Batman that the Suicide King was recommended by someone called the Technician. Santos also remembers Rossetti going to a warehouse on Novick Street to meet with the Technician. Bruce disguises himself as Matches Malone and finds out from a bartender that her boyfriend Arturo Rojas who lives in an studio apartment in the Cauldron district, has been in contact with the Technician recently.Batman tails Rojas and arrives at the Technician's latest base of operations at a warehouse near the Augustine Bridge. Batman quietly breaks into the warehouse and confirms the Technician's involvement with the Suicide King when he finds the Tracker's helmet. He then finds the Technician introducing Rojas to his latest toy...a LexCorp 3000 H-Model battle armor. Batman radios Gordon to send all available units to converge on his location.Batman then deactivates the surveillance system in the warehouse. The Technician immediately gets a call from Bugg. Bugg tells Technician to evacuate before the police arrive. Technician suspects the Batman is inside the warehouse so he tells Rojas to allow him to give a demonstration of his battle suit's firepower. Technician activates the battle suit and triangulates on the Batman's location. Batman dodges the battle suit's assault while Oracle finds the proper override access code to deactivate the suit via frequency.Oracle hacks into a satellite and sends a frequency in the warehouse area. The suit deactivates and Batman makes quick work of Rojas and his crew. Batman then goes after the Technician who hops on a getaway motorcycle. Batman uses his remote control for the Batmobile to rundown the Technician. The Batmobile collides with the Technician's motorcycle and the Technician is jettisoned from his motorcycle. The Batman apprehends Technician but he doesn't bring him to police custody. The Batman places the Technician in Cassandra's keep.Suicide King reports to Celia about the Technician's capture and Freeway asks Celia to let him handle the situation. Celia ignores Freeway's pleas and tells Mr. Fun to find the Technician. Mr. Fun gets a call from Celia after he dumps a body into a vat of acid at the Ace Chemical plant. Celia tells Mr. Fun to find the Technician and end him before he can say anything to anyone.Hush and Under the Red HoodAnother major story arc involving Hush teases the return of Jason Todd -- though it was not him in the end. Created by Jim Lee and Jeff Loeb, Hush brought another deadly villain to Batman's doorstep, now literally since this villain actually knew Batman's secret identity. Batman and his friends were in grave danger because of Hush's attempts to always be two steps ahead.Hush was revealed to be a childhood friend of Bruce's, Tommy Elliot. He wanted to ruin Batman's reputation so he could replace him as protector of Gotham City. For a time Bruce's personal life was greatly challenged when Jason Todd returns from the dead as the violent vigilante Red Hood with a personal vendetta against Bruce for letting Joker live in the story arc Under the Hood. Tim Drake's father is killed, which led to Bruce to adopt Tim a short while later.Bruce also becomes more suspicious of other heroes, creating a super satellite called Brother Eye, which is stolen and eventually causes the death of Ted Kord. Things then hit a personal low for Bruce during the story Infinite Crisis when he almost murders megalomaniac Alex Luthor. Bruce realizes his morality is at an all time low and decides to take a sabbatical from fighting crime. In recent years after cleansing himself of personal demons and returning to his role as Batman, he discovers he had a son with his old-flame-turned-enemy Talia named Damian. Soon Bruce is tested in new ways both by a conspiracy to kill him and a journey through time caused by Darkseid. During this period Bruce is assumed dead leaving Dick Grayson and Damian to become the new Batman and Robin in his absence.Batman Inc.With Damian as Robin and Dick as Batman, Tim Drake decides to leave his Robin mantle and find clues to prove that Bruce was not dead, but lost in time. He proves his theory by becoming Red Robin, a mantle that was used by Jason Todd years ago. After surviving his journey of time trials, Bruce Wayne had returned with a greater sense of responsibility and decides to take his crime fighting mission on a global scale with an organization called Batman Incorporated while Dick and Damian remain protectors of Gotham and also dedicated members to Batman Inc. Over the course of this series, it has become clear that Bruce's reasons for forming an international army of Batmen has been to combat a old global brain washing terrorist force called Leviathan.In August 2011 the series Batman Incorporated will conclude as part of DC's Revamp. That August, DC also cancelled the both the long running series, Batman and Detective Comics and relaunched both titles in new volumes as well as relaunchs of Batman and Robin and Batman: The Dark Knight. Batman, Inc. resumed its story in early 2012.Final CrisisBatman shoots DarkseidDuring Darkseid's attack on Earth, Batman gets captured by the possessed Alpha Lantern Boodika. Batman is experimented on by Darkseid's followers who aimed to create an army of cloned Batmen that would serve Darkseid.Batman escapes from captivity and uses the time-gun Darkseid killed Orion with to shoot the Lord of Apokolips with a radion bullet, fatally wounding him and paving the way for his defeat. However, Darkseid manages to strike Batman with his Omega Beams, seemingly killing Wayne. In reality, the Omega Beams had banished Bruce to the early prehistoric age, forcing him to periodically time-travel and build up enough energy to become a living bomb that would unravel time when it detonated.The Return of Bruce Wayne In 2010, after one year there was still no Batman. We see Bruce Wayne who suffered from amnesia in a cave back in prehistoric time, and he saw Anthro son and his son Antro's grandson. They were looking for the father and grandfather. The Anthro family knew that Anthro had passed away for old age. Bruce Wayne had the beads in his hands. After they buried Anthro, savages came and attacked. Anthro's son said to Bruce Wayne to save his son, and Anthro's son was killed by Vandal Savage to protect his family. Bruce Wayne and Anthro's grandson ran as fast as they could, and Bruce Wayne was captured, but Anthro's grandson rescue him and stopped Vandal Savage's plans.Anthro's grandson and Bruce Wayne ran, but Bruce Wayne fell off the cliff and into the water, leaving Anthro's grandson to carry on the legacy of his grandfather. Bruce Wayne woke up in the 1600's as a Quaker in New England during the witchcraft trials. Bruce Wayne dressed up in old fashioned clothes, and was taken back to get some sleep and get healed from what he went thought. Bruce Wayne saw a lady with a put ferret and they talked after he was better he went to see the town settlement and he saw some Quakers and one of his Grant Great Great Uncle's named Siles Wayne and he told him you came from Salem to get away for the witch trails. Bruce said yes that he came from Salem to get away from all of this and setter here in the small town. After all the crazy things that happened the Quakers and marched to get the girl and hang her for being a witch and after all this bats stuff happening in New Gotham and the hanging of the dead bat on the door of the church and homes the lady was hanged and Bruce Wayne Great Great Great Great Uncle Silas knew who has was and where after him to kill him. The lady said to Bruce that his family will be cursed the Wayne family will be cursed by her and there other family's too will be cursed too. Bruce escaped and fell in the water and woke up and saw ships on fire and scrammed for the lady name and it was too late. He was in a different time line and was put in a boat and he saw Captain Black Breed and was part of the crew. The crew took row boats and landed to shore and wanted to buried there treasure. Captain and his crew saw lots of bones of the first people that came here where the Europeans in the 1600's and it was the 1790's. Captain Black Beard and his crew found a place to buried his treasure and Bruce Wayne saw a crew member and talked to him about the plans that had to get ride of Black Beard. Bruce Wayne dressed up as batman just the cape and scared the Captain Black Beard and the crew and some of the crew saw a bat-cave and it had Batman real cape there and the tribe wanted Bruce Wayne instead of the crew. Some of the crew where killed by the blow darts. The Captain and one of the crew left Gotham and never to come back to this place at all. Bruce Wayne gave back the cape to a British sailor and Bruce Wayne left to carry on his life. The British sailor retired and got married and moved back to England to built a house and start a family and live the rest of his days in England and pass on. Bruce Wayne went 1880's Gotham City by riding a hoarse. Bruce Wayne dressed as a cowboy Batman and fought off criminals on the street and some people where scared of the new person that came to the town of Gotham City. Johanna Hex heard he news and wanted to kill him for his bounty hunting kills. After all that happened with the bat-book he had carry thought time and fight off gangsters. Johanna HEX had enough him and he saw that he knocked out of the gang and shot him and Bruce Wayne fell in the water and one of his ansisters left Gotham City and took a ship to Liverpool, England and never came back and Johanna Hex got his bounty money that he needed to get rid of the Batman cowboy. Bruce Wayne still in his 1880's coustume was in the 1920's after World War I and he fell down on the streets of Gotham City with blood leaking in his chess. Bruce Wayne woke up and was in the Wayne house and he saw his mother there Marta Wayne and she spend some time with Bruce Wayne and got him to meet the family and her father was paralyzed and tried to say the word it was Doctor Hurt. It rang a bell to Bruce Wayne and that his mouther and father where part of the cult group called the Black Glove and where going to kill Bruce Wayne. He was tied up and was saved by the Justice League and the Teen Titans. The Justice League in water and calmed him down and that Superman had to put his heat vishion on to get the radation out of his body. Bruce Wayne vomited all the black stuff out of his body and was better and healed up. Bruce Wayne later on went back to his Wayne Manor and to the Batcave to put his Batman costume back on and become Batman once again and help the JLA and protect the city of Gotham. Everybody was happy to have him back in action.DC's New 52 RelaunchBatman #1 variant by Ethan Van SciverDC Comics announced that starting in September 2011 a complete relaunch of all of their titles would take place. 52 new #1 titles would be relaunched throughout the monthly featuring several changes to the universe. Batman plays a key role in the relaunch, and one of the biggest changes in the universe is Bruce Wayne's return as Batman and Dick Grayson's return as Nightwing.Batman headlined several of the relaunched titles including Batman, Detective Comics, Justice League, and Batman and Robin. He makes appearances in other books as well and was a team member of the new Justice League International.Part of the New 52 relaunch involved a condensed timeline of the DC universe, which slightly affected Batman's origin story. Sometime after the death of his parents, Bruce left Gotham City for four years to travel the world and receive his training, including a time at a monastery in the Himalayas. During his absence, Martha Wayne's family, the Kanes, actively sought control of the Wayne estate and fortune, including Wayne Enterprises. After returning to Gotham, Bruce moved out of Wayne Manor into a brownstone in Crime Alley where he operated as a vigilante (sans Bat-persona) for about a year. During the next year, Bruce would develop the Batman persona and build a relationship with Jim Gordon, resulting in Gordon's installation of the Bat-Signal. In this period, five years before the New 52 "present day," Batman is still a lone crime fighter when he meets other superheroes with whom he eventually forms the Justice League to defeat the threat of Darkseid.The Court of OwlsAfter stopping an outbreak in Arkham Asylum with Dick Grayson's help, Bruce attends a formal gathering in Wayne Manor and announces Wayne Enterprises new goal of rebuilding certain districts of Gotham City as well as improving the train system. He listens in on a conversation Commissioner Gordon is having on the phone about a murder. Leaving the party, Batman meets up with Harvey Bullock to investigate the crime scene. He discovers a message saying "Bruce Wayne will DIE tomorrow" and after returning to the Bat Cave finds out from the analysis of some DNA samples found in the area, that the killer is Dick Grayson.The following day, while meeting up with Lincoln March, Gotham City's new mayoral candidate, for a conversation in the Old Wayne Tower, Bruce is attacked by a mysterious assassin who overpowers him and throws him off the window. Bruce struggles with the assassin in mid-air and manages to grab on to a gargoyle while the assassin falls down. He discovers that his attacker is an assassin sent by the Court of Owls known as the Talon, but does not believe it as the Court of Owls is simply an old nursery rhyme.Batman manages to escape from a trap set by the Court of Owls during his investigation into whether they really exist or not. After returning to the Bat Cave, he tells Dick of how he investigated the existence of the Court some time after the death of his parents and discovered nothing. Continuing his investigation in the sewers of Gotham City, Batman is suddenly knocked out by the Talon; after waking up, he finds himself trapped in the Court's labyrinth.Batman has been missing for days, but Commissioner Gordon refuses to turn the Bat Signal off, using it as a source of hope for their allies and Gotham City. Batman is unable to escape the labyrinth and keeps finding himself returning again and again to the same places and is slowly being driven insane. The Talon then suddenly attacks Batman. Beaten and battered, all hope seems lost for Batman, but he manages to fight back and eventually finishes of the Talon. He finally escapes the labyrinth through an opening he created that leads to and returns to the Bat Cave through the sewers.The Night of OwlsSoon after escaping the labyrinth, the Court of Owls sends out all of their Talons to attack the public figures of Gotham City in order to take it back. In the Bat Cave, Bruce reveals to Nightwing that the Talon who attacked him is William Cobb, Dick's great-grandfather, as well as the fact that he was meant to be a Talon as well.Numerous Talons attack Bruce as he maneuvers around Wayne Manor to reach the Bat Cave. Once there, more Talons arrive and eventually corner him and Alfred into the armory where they lock themselves in. Bruce exits the armory wearing a special armor and tells the Talons to "Get the hell out of [his] house." While analyzing the data found on a Talon's gauntlet, Alfred finds a list of assassination targets for the Talons. Alfred calls the rest of the family (Red Robin, Red Hood, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and the Birds of Prey), asking for their help to save Gotham City.Batman fights off as much Talons as he can, but they eventually overpower him and are slowly destroying his armor. Then suddenly, a swarm of bats arrive and attack the Talons, saving Batman in the process and allowing him to finish off the remaining Talons. Batman goes to Arkham Asylum in order to save Dr. Arkham; Talons attack them both until the inmates are released who then proceed to attack the Talons. He then proceeds to Lincoln March's location to save him but is too late; he finds a dying March who gives him a message, the names of three members of the Court of Owls.After scaring off one of the members of the Court in their own house, Batman goes to Harbor House, a building he investigated in search of the Court back when he was a child. He swears to end the Court of Owls once and for all. But instead of finding the members of the Court, he finds them all dead in the dining room. He realizes who was behind this attack and goes to Willowwood Home for Children, a hospital for children suffering from mental illnesses and neurological disorders. He finds an undead Lincoln March, who staged what looked to be the Court of Owls suicide. March begins to talk about their plans of training a new Talon, one with a new, modern armor able to match that of Batman's. He begins wearing the armor while Batman explains his theory that March was once an inmate in the mental hospital. March then reveals his truth: he is Bruce Wayne's brother that never was, Thomas Wayne Jr. He claims to have been placed in Willowwood, back when it was a premiere hospital, after being born early and hurt due to a car accident. After Thomas and Martha Wayne died, Willowwood lost its funding and eventually became a mental hospital for mentally ill children that it was known for the lost and forgotten children .Batman #11 Variant Cover by Andy Clarke & Tomeu MoreyBatman and Lincoln March begin their battle; March easily brushes off all of Bruce's attack and eventually throws him through the walls and flies him around Gotham City, smashing him around onto different structures. Batman manages to plant a small bomb on March's back and stops him. March survives the explosion and manages to capture Batman once more, this time in a building where he begins to plant explosives. Batman manages to escape just in time as the explosives detonate, leaving March behind as he taunts him, telling him to run away from the truth.Bruce has returned to Wayne Manor and is slowly healing from his wounds. He tells Commissioner Gordon that he privately searched the wreckage of the destroyed tower but didn't find anything. Dick arrives and Bruce tells him the truth: for one night, Bruce Wayne had a brother. His brother was born premature and with neurological damage and only lived for a single night. He explains his investigation on the matter, stating that the medical records were not faked and how his parents would have told him if Thomas Wayne Jr. did survive. He says that the truth is a mystery for now, until he finds the evidence that will answer it. Bruce gives some more of his insight on what has happened and declares that when the Court of Owls will reemerge, he will always be watching.Death of the Family and the return of ClayfaceAfter his return, the Joker broke into the GCPD to take back his face and killed 19 police officers while taunting Jim Gordon. He then proceeds to make a live broadcast saying that the mayor will die at midnight using the son of the first person joker murdered in Gotham : John Claridge. John couldn't take it anymore and begs Joker to kill him. Batman says that he'll go after him, the family offer help but batman points out that it's between him and the joker. Jim Gordon and several other police officers are at Mayor Hady's office. Hady points out that there's no way joker could have broken but Gordon says that these precautions are necessary. Gordon goes to re-check the elevators and there he finds batman who's keeping an eye on the mayor. Batman suddenly realizes that the mayor isn't the target but it's everyone else. He rushes in but it was to late, all the police officers are poisoned and fall dead. While examining the venom, batman learns that it contains three unnecessary ingredients whose initials spell A.C.E. Batman heads to the A.C.E chemical plant where the joker was disfigured. There he finds someone dressed in jokers previous identity "The Red Hood ". Batman realizes that it isn't joker and attacks but gets knocked over and falls into an empty vat that starts to fill with chemicals. The hood is revealed to be Harley Quinn who tells Batman that Joker isn't the same.Batman manages to escape by blowing a giant hole in the vat. He goes back to Wayne Manor and learns of Alfred's kidnapping. He then finds a cassette tape bearing the brand "Gordon" that recorded the event. Batman later visits Gordon, determining he is the next target. Gordon begins to bleed uncontrollably, having been dosed with a powerful blood thinner by Joker; Batman uses a coagulant to help save his life. Knowing that the Joker is reenacting his previous crimes, Batman goes to the Gotham Reservoir, Joker reveals that Batman was too late and that he's killed several people, Batman becomes infuriated and attacks the Joker but he manages to immobilize him. Joker says that he knows who batman and his allies are but Batman believes that he's lying.Lieutenant Bullock and the GCPD arrive at the reservoir , but the Joker's men stop them with explosives. Batman frees himself and attacks Joker, but is paralyzed by Joker venom, allowing Joker to escape. Batman is rescued by the Batman family and taken to the Batcave, where he confesses that after an early battle with the Joker, he discovered a joker playing card in the Batcave; he denies it is possible the Joker found the cave but the family remain convinced that it is how he knows their identities. Continuing his investigation, Batman interrogates an Arkham guard, who admits the Joker is waiting for Batman at the Asylum. Batman then goes to the asylum; his inner monologue reveals that the movements he had previously seen in Joker's eyes when they met indicated love.Batman makes his way through the asylum, and is attacked by Mr. Freeze , Scarecrow and Clayface , whom Joker has labeled with their 'role' in Batman's 'kingdom'. He easily beats them and finds Joker with Two-Face, Riddler and Penguin , but before he can stop them, Joker shows him video of Robin, Red Hood, Nightwing, Batgirl and Red Robin captured. Joker orders Batman to take his place on his throne-an electric chair-to spare their lives, and Batman does so, receiving an electric shock.Batman later wakes up to find himself in the Bat-cave. He is found sitting at a dinner table, alongside other members of the family. The Joker reveals that Alfred is alive, but poisoned by Jokers venom. Alfred then removes the curtains revealing that The Joker has preseumably cut off their faces and serving them as "dinner". The Joker then sets the table on fire, but Batman breaks free and manages to put out the fire, the joker escapes and Batman removes Damians bandages. It's revealed that it was all a sick joke and evereyone was fine. Batman goes after The Joker. After fighting for a while, Batman easily defeats the joker, and says that he's determined to finish their rivalry once and for all. Batman tells the joker that he's figured out who he is. The Joker denies it and commits suicide by jumping down. The next day, Batman says that The Joker didn't care who he was under the mask, because it would ruin his fun.In the Batman issue 19 we see Bruce Wayne pointing a gun at Jim Gordon and shooting him and running him over with his motorcycle and leaving the crime scene. It turned out to be Clayface by the name of Baslio Kaslio who was pretending to be Bruce Wayne and framing him for Jim Gordon murder. Jim Gordon survived and is in hospital recovering. Batman knew it was Clayface all a long covering the whole thing up. Batman knew because his friend that was hit by a batdart had some blood and mud in it and Batman dna it on the Batplane and it was Clayface all the time. Bruce Wayne went in to his office and he saw his friend Louchis Foxx and his mouth opened it was mud and he attacked Bruce Wayne in his office and it was Clayface chocking Bruce Wayne and he was fighting back at Clayface for his life. Bruce Wayne fought off Clayface with his Bat-Bots and Clayface dressed up as Bruce Wayne and he stopped the Bat-Bots and he barfed up Loushis Foxx and Bruce Wayne and left them in the deep bottom flour and left them to blame Bruce Wayne from the events that happened in Batman INC and he dressed up as Bruce Wayne and left them for the police to find them. Clayface fought Bruce Wayne and he fought back and told the Bat-Robots to attack Clayface and Clayface change his face to Bruce Wayne and stopped the robots from there attack on him. Bruce Wayne attacked Clayface and ran to get his Batman costume and Clayface bet him to the punch and ate him and put him in the garbage waste where Loushis Foxx was there and Clayface left them to dressed up as Bruce Wayne to cover up all the crimes and pout him to jail. Bruce Wayne had a little secret Batman costume and he put it on and it was from the TV show like his costume from [Batman Beyond] he dressed up in it and attacked Clayface as Bruce Wayne and the police came to arrested Bruce Wayne and they where in shock to see it was Clayface the whole time. Batman and Commissioner Gordon trapped Clayface in a heard steel glass. Clayface shape change in to faces of Batman's Villain's and it shape change in to his son Damian and said words like you where a failure to me father and then Batman punched the steel glass and it was heard to break and Batman said to the police to take Clayface in the Arkhem Asylum. Batman also said there nothing there to find out what happened and he left it to the police to handle it. Batman went back to the Wayne Manor and deep in the Batcave Batman and Alfred where talking about Clayface and they where looking for something in the cave with there laser glass and could not find any part of Clayface in the cave. batman heard flashbacks voices of his son Damian and it all a memory they had before his son was killed in[ Batman INC] Batman left the cave with Alfred and went up for the night to relax from all the events happing.RequiemAfter the events with the Joker in Death in the Family and in Batman Incorporated. Damian was killed in Batman Incorporated issue 8 by The Heretic. Batman lost two members of Batman Inc., Knight and Damian his son, in the fight against the Heretc. Batman fought the Heretic and blinded him in the eyes in a fight but was eventually defeated. Thanks to the efforts of Red Robin and Nightwing, the Bat Family escaped from the Heretic and Leviathan after recovering Damian's body.A funeral was held from Damian where Bruce Wayne told that he will get his revenge on Talia by himself, and even instructed Alfred to take a vacation.After recovering form his injuries against the Heretic, Batman visited Azrael. It was revealed that Batman has had visions of his son from the timeline where Damian has inherited the title of Batman. Azrael also revealed several visions. At the end of their conversation, Batman obtains the Suit of Sorrows from Azrael.Meanwhile, Gotham City has been held at ransom by Leviathan who has demanded the arrest of Bruce Wayne, the end of Wayne Corps support for Batman Incorporated and the surrender of Batman. Batman obtains from Wayne Corp labs a special exoskeleton suit, and also somehow obtains the Man-Bat serum from Dr. Langstrom. Equipping himself with his usual Bat-suit, the Suit of Sorrows, and the exoskeleton, Batman injects himself with the Man-Bat serum and travels to confront Leviathan, Talia, and the Heretic who have captured Wayne Tower. Batman and his Man-Bats army attacked Talia army and batman fought off the Heretic in a fight to the death and all of a sudden. Batman fought him off invisible with his body armor and the battle took place on the top of the building and ground and all of a sudden Batman got mad at him and told him that he killed his only son and that it was the end soon for all this that happened. Batman and the Batman Family where ready for him to come and take down Talia and the Heretic and her army and all of a sudden they saw Batman and the Heretic falling to the ground and Batman punched his steel mask off and it was a shock for everyone to see who it was in the masked. It was a boy in a adult body it was blind and it lost it right eye from battle with Batman. It Heretic fell down and got up and talked to Talia took her sword and killed decamping his head off. Batman said it was over and all of a sudden Talia got in the chopper and had a remote and blew up the Wayne Tower and the Heretic head was a bomb inside that detonated to the building. Talia chopper landed at the Wayne manor and she had hired a assassin girl to kill Batman in the Bat cave and that she had been waiting for him to come. The assassin was Talia and Batman and her fought a good fight and the international of Batman's fought off the villains. Batman and Talia where fighting and talking about Damian death and it was all played in a game of chess and it was planed from all the way to the start. Batman was badly bleeding and hurt and losing blood every minute. Talia knew she was going to win this war and take over Gotham City and the World. All of a sudden a shadow came and it was a famous face that we have not seen in the Batman comics it was Betty Kane the original Batwoman in the 1960's. She shot Talia at the top of the stairs and twice shot her at the head and she was dead. Batman thanked her for the rescue and Batman thanked his Batman Team for the battles they fought and remember those who where lost including his son Damian. Batman and the team will take a while to recover from all the things and events that happened and get everything back to normal again.Zero YearIn this story, a young Bruce Wayne attempts to save Gotham City from the murderous group known as the Red Hood Gang. However, since Bruce has yet to establish a reputation in the criminal underworld, and has yet to turn himself into the fearsome figure of Batman, he has been having a hard time winning his war. His inexperience, carelessness and uncontrolled anger have not only stalled his mission but also strained his relationship with his faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth.Bruce's uncle, Philip Kane, who had declared Bruce legally dead during his absence from Gotham, has taken control of Wayne Enterprises and is using it to produce weapons. In an attempt to improve the company's public image, Philip attempts to convince Bruce to take control of his family's company, but Bruce refuses, as has no interest in living as "Bruce Wayne", focusing all his attention on his war on crime. To make matters worse, the Red Hood gang is stealing the weapons produced by the company to further terrorize the city. Phil's leading strategist, Edward Nygma, the future Riddler, advises Phil to kill Bruce in order to solve their problems but Philip refuses and still tries to convince Bruce to lead the company.For weeks, while keeping his identity as secret using sophisticated technology, Bruce has been hunting down the Red Hood Gang and sabotaged several of their operations, but failed to take them down. The gang is getting stronger and stronger, equipping themselves with Wayne Tech and causing several random acts of violence throughout the city. However, following a surprise party for Bruce by his uncle, the Red Hood Gang, thanks to a tip from Riddler, ambush Bruce and give him a vicious beating. Bruce barely makes it back to the manor where he is nursed back to health by Alfred. Enraged by Nygma's actions, Philip attempts to kill the villain, admitting that Bruce is a better man than both of them, but Riddler incapacitated Philip and ends their alliance.Bruce comes to terms with the fact that he is losing this war and asks his father for guidance. Then a bat crashes through his window, and Bruce finally decides that he will become a Bat.Finally realizing his purpose, Bruce and Alfred set up their base in a cave under Wayne Manor, and Bruce sets off to strike fear in the hearts of criminals as Batman. He starts by methodically taking out members of the Red Hood gang, quickly establishing his reputation and finally getting the attention of Red Hood One. While investigating the gang's operations, eventually, with some help from a guilt ridden Phillip, who was forced into becoming a member of the gang, Bruce discovers that the Red Hood gang are planning to use dangerous toxing from the Ace Chemical factory to terrorize the city. He holds a press conference in front of the factory and exposes the gang's plans, forcing them to invade the factory right away. As Batman, Bruce fights off the Red Hood gang, but not without the death of Uncle Philip, who was killed by the leader for attempting to stop him. As the GCPD round members of the gang, the factory burns down and Batman goes after the leader, preventing him from escaping and defeating him, but despite Bruce's efforts to save him, the Red Hood allows himself to fall into a large acid container.In the aftermath, Batman continues setting up his Bat-Cave and establishing himself as a hero in Gotham. The Riddler then makes his presence known and knocks out all power from the city, in an attempt to challenge the people to get smarter.In Nigeria a war in Africa was going on and in Gotham City after the Riddler knock out all the power to the city Metropolis aid came to help the city. Batman was driving his new Batcar in the city and the police knew he was trouble. Batman Batcar turned into a plane and flew in the sky to test his car and plane. Bruce Wayne was reading the events and all that was related to his Uncle company and the gang he deal with. Bruce Wayne came up and Jim Gordon and talked to him and he wanted to see what was underground. Jim Gordon wanted to peek and see the hole in the ground and all of a sudden Bruce Wayne press a button on his watch and the bats came out and attack Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne told you should get that checked out at the Gotham Hospital. Bruce Wayne went to see Lucius Fox and all of a sudden he drugged Bruce Wayne and said that he was working for Dr. Death, the nightmare master leaving Bruce Wayne unconscious on the ground. PersonalityBatmanWitnessing the death of his parents traumatized Batman and shook him so greatly that he swore he would devote every breath for the rest of his life to eliminating crime and criminals from Gotham City. This has, in turn, transformed Batman into a dark, suspicious and brooding figure with a personal grudge against injustice. His traumatized childhood have made it difficult for him to trust people outside of Alfred and his sidekicks. Despite his cold demeanour, Batman genuinely cares for Alfred, who he sees as a father figure, and the Robins, who he loves as his own children, though these relationships have been strained at some points.His dedication to fighting crime has gradually turned into a sort of obsession, something Batman himself has come to terms with. He has vowed to permanently end the evil that took away his parents, and is willing to do everything he can to accomplish this goal. This obsession is balanced with his strong ideals of justice and moral values, which were instilled to him by his humanitarian parents. His dedication is backed up by his indomitable will and his strong resolve.Despite his lack of powers, Batman's immense will, combined with his inventive mind and resourcefulness has allowed him to hold his own against more powerful foes. However, the biggest aspect of Batman's personality is his moral code. Despite his inventiveness, he refrains from killing as he believes that will make him no better than the criminals he puts behind bars. Batman knows that he walks a very thin line between sanity and insanity, and the only thing that keep him from crossing that line is killing. He has vowed to never take a life under any circumstances because he fears what he would be come if he would ever kill. When confront by Jason Todd on why he never killed the Joker after all the atrocities that he has committed, Batman responded that, despite his desires to do so, he cannot because if he did, he would go to a dark place and become what he has always fought against, and he would never be able to come back.Batman also has a deep love for humanity, which also backs his no killing rule, and he truly believes that deep down, people can be good. This is shown when was willing give the Joker a second chance and offered to help him cure his madness (albeit with no success). He also has an extreme distaste for firearms, and always tries to refrain from using them, because he considers them to be the weapon of cowards, the same weapon that killed his parents.Batman also made an alternative personality to conceal his secret identity, that being the personae of "Bruce Wayne", an irresponsible, clumsy, arrogant, womanizing, billionaire philanthropist. This personality contrasts with Batman's more serious demeanour in order to sway the public from ever deducing his secret identity. In order to complete his facade, Batman modifies many of traits, including his voice tone, body language and of course his behavior. However, even as Bruce Wayne, he has attempted to do good, through charitable campaigns, renovation projects and also the funding of Batman Incorporated.Character ProfileReal Name: Bruce WayneOccupation: Head of Wayne Industries, superhero/vigilanteHeight: 6ft 3inWeight: 225 lbsHair: BlackEyes: BlueBase: Gotham CityPartnerships: Nightwing, Alfred Pennyworth, Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl, Robin, Red Robin, Red Hood, Catwoman, Leslie Thompkins, Spoiler, Black Bat, Superman, Azreal, Harvey Bullock, Renee Montoya, Talia al Ghul, Man-Bat, Batwoman, Zatanna, Kathy Kane, Batmite, Ace the Bat Hound, Carrie Kelley, Wonder Woman, Creeper , Deadman, Silver St. Cloud, Julie MadisonTeams: Batman Inc., Justice League, Batman and Robin, The Outsiders, Justice Society, Mystery Analysts, Justice League International, Batman Family, Sinestro CorpsFoes: The Joker, Harley Quinn, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Bane, Scarecrow, Clayface, Ra's al Ghul, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Mad Hatter, Ventriloquist, Man-Bat, Talia al Ghul, Killer Moth, Hugo Strange, Court of Owls, Deadshot, Black Mask, Professor Milo, Crime Doctor, Rupert Thorne, Hush, Black Spider, Calculator, Calendar Man, Crazy Quilt, Condiment King, Cluemaster, CatmanFirst Appearance: Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)Created by: Bob Kane and Bill FingerPowers and AbilitiesThough he does not posses any innate superhuman abilities, Batman is considered by many (even Superman) to be among the most dangerous men in the world. Throughout the many years that he has been around, Batman has become one of the most powerful human beings in the DC Universe, despite having no superhuman powers at any time in his life. Starting at the age of 14, Bruce began to train with brilliant minds on the planet to learn about biology, criminology, anatomy and other areas that would help him become the World's Greatest Detective.Master of ManyBatman is also a master of stealth, disguise, and escapology, using his Ninjutsu training. He has infiltrated high security strongholds and systems including Lexcorp. He has vanished in plain sight from regular humans and metahumans, such as Azrael. His stealth skills are so great that that even groups of superheroes such as the Legion of Super Heroes have been unable to locate him. His accuracy is said to be on par with Green Arrow himself. He is the second greatest escape artist, behind Mr. Miracle. Batman has escaped a straitjacket in 52 seconds, then stated that it was too slow for him. He always carries several lock picks with him. He commonly uses disguises, his most notable one being Matches Malone.Large Supply of Money and ResourcesTo acquire all of these skills, Bruce needed money. When his parents died, Bruce inherited millions of dollars from the Wayne Fortune which he later turned into billions through investing. Bruce owns and runs Wayne International, as well as Batman Incorporated.IntelligenceBatman is considered to be the "World's Greatest Detective," solving the biggest secrets with small or large amounts of data. He's also fluent in many different languages such as English, Spanish, French, Russian, German, Japanese, Chinese, and others. Bruce has vast knowledge in criminology, psychology, medicine, and anatomy.Batman is a excellent strategist,and is always steps ahead of his opponents.This incredible ability is due to the fact he studies his opponents, not only physically but mentally as well. He has led the Justice League, the Bat-family, the Outsiders, and served as mentor for the Justice League International. He is a highly knowledgeable in business, great in finances and marketing. He has earned degrees in multiple subjects before the age of 25. He has hacked into alien and future technology.Master Martial ArtistBatman has been said to be trained in every martial art known to man, and out of every single one of those forms of fighting he knows 127 that are deadly. These 127 are the main forms of fighting that make up his normal fighting style. He is known to change his styles in order to become unpredictable to his opponents.His primary style of combat though is a mixture of Judo, Ninjitsu, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Jujitsu, Boxing, Karate and Dragon Style Kung Fu.Batman's Daily RoutineBecause of his training Batman has also mastered nearly all weapons known to man, even most firearms. Batman's combat skill surpasses most metahumans and normal men, and he even knows every pressure point and nerve strike in the human body, as well as Dim Mak ("death touch") techniques. These can cause dangerous pain to his enemies which can lead to dizziness, numbness, unconsciousness, temporary paralysis, disorientation, and even death.Peak Human ConditioningDue to his intense training and diet Batman has accomplished feats that normal human beings might call superhuman. Batman is in peak physical and mental condition. Batman has displayed surprising strength, and is able to bench press weight of at least 1000 pounds, and has personally stated that his maximum leg press weight is 2500 lbs (over 1.133 Kg). However, as shown in Batman Odyssey # 2, Batman was able to overcome his personal record leg press, moving, with the strength of the legs, a stuck railroad car. In Gotham After Midnight # 2, Batman was able to hold up two golden sarcophagi with the approximate weight of at least 1 ton, for at least one minute. In addition, Batman is an accomplished gymnast and acrobat, though not quite at the level of Nightwing. Batman's training and peak condition mean he's very fast, both in combat and on his feet. This speed combined with his strength, make him phenomenally powerful; even the enhanced assassin Deathstroke has commented upon the power and skill of the Batman. He once grabbed Green Arrow's arrow shot at him in mid-air and dodged point blank fire at times. He can hold his breath from 3 minutes and 15 seconds. He once survived in an airless vacuum of space for exactly 27 seconds.Weapons and EquipmentGadgetsBatman - David FinchBatman is most notable for his use of gadgetry. Due to his wealth, money is no obstacle to the development of various gadgets and paraphernalia he uses in fighting crime. The most recognizable of these is the Batarang, a razor throwing weapon that has a returning ability similar to a boomerang. This was slowly replaced by his grappling hook as a favored gadget over time. Other items include smoke or flash grenades, caltrops, a re-breather, and various types of anti-venom. The heels of his boots have a sonic device which can summon a swarm of bats to his location. This allows for dramatic escapes or diversions to keep his enemies busy. Superman entrusted Batman with a Kryptonite Ring in order to stop him should he ever go rogue.Bat-SuitThe Bat-Suit is an experimental military body armor that is too expensive for the military to produce. Various bat-suit designs have appeared over the years, but all maintain the fact that Bruce's suit is tear resistant, bulletproof, and immune to temperature extremes (will not melt if in contact with fire,etc.). The suit is shock absorbent and acid resistant. It is made to rebound punches and kicks. When he is unable to defend, his mask emits knock out gas and electrical shocks to attackers who are attempting to remove any part of his gear. The Bat-Suit has shown that it has an outer layer that can be shed when trapped, and it also masks any DNA on his suit. However, despite all this protection, the suit has shown vulnerabilities to sharp objects, like knives, and Batman has sometimes decreased the amount of armor in the suit to increase mobility. In the past, Batman wore a bright yellow chest plate with a bat-symbol on it, to distract enemies from targeting his face and instead focusing on the plate which is reinforced with kevlar, giving Batman extra protection.CowlThe cowl has a computer link directly to the Bat computer. The mask has a hollow bat-ear assembly containing a directional microphone, telescoping high gain antenna and a fiber optic coaxial cable. It also contains an audio processor that can transmit and receive audio which can be augmented for better hearing, or even completely shut down when dealing with an opponent that uses sonic weaponry. The cowl contains a built-in recorder that is constantly recording, and the information is stored in the cowl archives for later reference. The lens can also magnify his vision and serves also as a lie detector. They also come with x-ray, thermal, sonar, and night vision. It has face recognition and can give information about the people around him. It also protects him against throat trauma, and its internal comm-link enables voice command over various equipment including grapple hooks, face recognition softwares and vehicles.Gloves/GauntletHis gloves are very handy as they come with a high velocity bat-rope, and a wrist laser. They can also emit a high voltage surge of electricity to stun enemies and shoot out the firearm spikes, smoke pellets and anaesthetic gas. Each glove has three spike coming out of them, and they can be fired at an opponent or used to defend against or even break swords.CapeThroughout many revisions, all the versions of Batman's cape still retain the scalloped wing design at the bottom of the cape, which is instrumental in intimidating criminals. The cape is made from a "memory fiber", which is based on a nylon derivative, allowing it to flow like any fabric, but through an electrical surge applied by Batman's gloves, it becomes stiff and takes on a distinctive shape, thus functioning in a way similar to a parachute, used to slow Batman's fall and allow him short term flight or "gliding". It is fireproof and is used to help conceal Batman in the shadows, protect him from debris as a result from explosions and it can sometimes be used as a weapon in combat.Utility BeltBatman's toysBatman's Utility Belt is one of his most iconic pieces of equipment. Batman had designed the pockets to be locked, and only he knows how to open them. His belt has a security device on it where it can electrically shock someone or detonate an explosive device to prevent anyone from tampering with it. It is made of a leather strap with a solid steel buckle. There are also compartments that hold collapsible "Batarangs." Other equipment Batman carries include various kinds of venom to stun his opponents in his utility belt and boots, as seen in Batman: Year One.It is a crime fighting kit that batman has outfitted to contain only the most advanced of technologies. Its contents include batarangs, a grappling hook, forensics kit (used on crime scenes), and electronic communicators.Some gadgets include:EMP emitterEnergy deflectorDemagnetizerMagnetsBatarangs (cryogenic, explosive, electric, boomerang, and so on)Sonic grenadesSonic GunSonic EmitterHard light gunGrapple GunPlastique explosiveSmoke PelletsRocket PatchTranquilizer dartsMiniature explosivesIncendiariesAnti-Fire foam gunGas maskLock Picking toolAntidotes for poisons and Scarecrow's fear toxinKryptonite ringBatmobile controllerElectrical sticksInsider SuitWhen returning from his supposed death, Bruce created the Insider Suit, which had the abilities of the Justice League members. It needs constant recharging, but can be recharged by absorbing energy attacks.It has the following abilities:Insider SuitSpectral Mode: night vision, sound/light dampeningSpeed Force Mode (The Flash): limited access to Speed Force, super speedHeat Vision Mode (Superman: beams of heat)Will Power Mode (Green Lantern): concentrated blasts of green energyCamouflage Mode (Martian Manhunter): invisibilityVeritas Mode (Wonder Woman): cord with lie detectors and can send electrical shocksFlight ModeTeleportation: 3 meter radius, can carry other individualsSpecial Bat Suit in "Night of the Owls"When the Court of Owls invade Bruce's house, he wore a power suit. He states that it's made of meta-aramid fibers, stronger than Kevlar. It can endure burning heat and temperatures cold as the Arctic winter. It has enough oxygen to last weeks, powered by semi-solid flow micro battery. It can shoot electrical shocks and fire multiple cryogenic batarangs at once.VehiclesBat-BoatWhile he is in physical peak and has many gadgets, Batman has had numerous vehicles to help him get the jump on villains. Bat-cars, Bat-Planes, Bat-Boats, and other vehicles have been used by Batman to get to locations in record time. The most famous vehicle is the Bat-car or Batmobile. The Batmobile can drive up to mach-1. For more information on Batman's vehicles, view their individual pages.Alternate RealitiesThroughout the universe there is more than one Earth. This meaning that there are alternate timelines/futures and people that are unique in their own special way. From the events of the multiple Crisis, most of the Earths have been erased from history. Only 52 Earths remain in the entire universe.Earth-11On this gender-swapped Earth, Batman is Batwoman. Her real name is Helena Wayne, who is the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. She took up the mantle of the Bat after her father passed away.Earth-2On this earth, Batman retired as a police commissioner and married Selina Kyle (Catwoman). They had a daughter named Helena Wayne, also known as the Huntress.Post-Flashpoint, Earth 2's Batman fought alongside Superman and Wonder Woman against the forces of Apokolips, and in the process died saving the planet. His daughter is transported to the main DC universe along with Earth 2's Supergirl, and there they take on the persona of the Huntress and Power Girl.Current issues from the Earth 2 series have revealed that someone has taken up the cape and cowl of Batman. However this new Batman uses gadgets designed to kill and has been shown to be more than willing to kill criminals with rather brutal force.Earth-3On this third Earth, Bruce Wayne is actually Thomas Wayne, Jr. He is the son of the wealthy/powerful Thomas and Martha Wayne. This Earth did have a Bruce Wayne in the family, Thomas Wayne, Jr.'s little brother, however after the multitudes of crisis that have happened in the DC Universe, he was erased from continuity. Instead Thomas Wayne, Jr. is the mirror reflection of Bruce Wayne/Batman of New Earth. Thomas Wayne Jr.'s parents died and he inherited their fortune. He decided to train with assassins, mercenaries and masters of various skills to be a force of evil. As an adult Thomas Wayne, Jr. finds out that his father survived and is the Commissioner of the Gotham City police force. Thomas Wayne, Sr. knows that his son is Owlman and has decided to dedicate his life at bringing his son to Justice. Thomas Wayne Jr. hates his father for this and wants to kill him. He is the founder/leader of the Crime Syndicate.Earth-1Retelling the story of Bruce Wayne and his transformation from billionaire playboy to Dark Knight, creator/writer Geoff Johns recreates Batman's origin to go along with the Earth-1 story line. Earth-1 is to not be considered the "main Earth" or New Earth as it is called, however Bruce will be traveling around the world in search for retribution for his parents death. This story came out in late 2011, with artist Gary Frank also working on the Graphic Novel.This story begins with Batman chasing after a cop named Jacob Weaver on the rooftops because Batman thinks that Jacob is somehow connected with the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Since Weaver is a great distance away, Batman uses his grappling gun to catch him. But when he fires, the spool of wire gets tangled inside the gun, making it useless. Agitated, Batman throws the gun on the ground and continues to chase after Weaver. Jacob manages to climb up a staircase but the screw break. He somehow manages to jump on the other rooftop opposite of Batman. When Batman tries to get across, he leaps towards the roof but didn't reach. Batman then falls straight towards the ground, landing on trash cans and garbage. When Batman leaves his alleyway he falls into, he sees a poor, old frightened woman. Batman pulls money out of a pocket in his utility belt, gives it to the old woman, and leaves. A flashback occurs when we see a younger Alfred standing outside Wayne Manor. Near him is a sign that says Thomas Wayne for mayor. When he enters the building, he is greeted by Thomas and Martha Wayne. Alfred talks to Thomas about the death threats towards him and how he thinks they were sent by Thomas' political opponent. Thomas called Alfred because he wants someone on security that he could trust. Then Bruce comes running right under the two and tells his father that they will be late for a movie. Alfred warns Thomas that he shouldn't be going out right now, but Thomas says they go out every week as a family since he wants Bruce to have a normal life. So Thomas, Martha, and Bruce leave to go to the movies. While the Waynes are getting to their seats, the power goes out. Even though Thomas and Martha want to leave and come back another time, Bruce insists on seeing the film at another theater tonight. He runs out of the back of the theater while Thomas and Martha chase after him. On his way pass an alley, Bruce bumps into a man wearing a hood. The man tells him to watch where he's going. Bruce replies by saying that he doesn't have to listen to anything he says since his parents are the richest people in Gotham City. The man stops suddenly and says to Bruce, "You're the Wayne kid". When Thomas and Martha finally catch up with Bruce, he's being held hostage by the hooded man. He demands for their money and jewelry. But when he gets impatient, he lunges at the Waynes and shoots them both, right in front of Bruce. The story cuts back to Wayne Manor, where the police tell Alfred that if the Wayne's ever died, Alfred would be Bruce's legal guardian. Alfred hesitates to do this job, but then accepts it. Alfred walks over to the table Bruce is sitting by and tells him that he has to eat something. When Bruce asks who he is, Alfred replies by saying that he is Bruce's butler.Earth-31On this Earth, Batman was 55 in The Dark Knight Returns. Having retired following Jason Todd's death, crime began to rise to an all time high in Gotham and times were worse than ever. Bruce had to don his Batman persona once again. Fighting various criminals/friends from the good old days, Batman is equipped with a 13-year-old female Robin who will help Batman in his war on crime. Bruce has retired twice in this world and has to always come back to clean up after the government and their mess. Earth-31's Batman is a much darker Batman.Earth-43On Earth-43, Bruce Wayne/Batman was bitten by a female Vampire named Tanya, to oppose the king of vampires, Dracula. Tanya was a vampire that refused to draw on the blood of humans, and only wants to protect them from Dracula and his vampires. Tanya bites Batman, but instead of drawing blood, she transferred him new powers. Batman grew a disliking of the sun and gained incredible strength, speed, and agility. He also had the ability to grow wings in human form and become one with the shadows. While not wanting the blood of others, he had to use Tanya's a substitute to control the hunger. Most of Batman's villains were drained of blood when Tanya's was no longer sufficient. When this occurred, Bruce had already morphed into a giant bat like monster with fangs. Part of Batman's psyche and detective abilities stayed, but he is starting to loose it slowly. Since he wasn't a full vampire, he is hit with a stake in the heart and changed back to human form. Batman of Earth-43 still stands guard over his Gotham, but with the mark of a vampire.FlashpointThomas Wayne as BatmanIn Flashpoint, the DC Universe's continuity thriller, the world has gone to hell. Barry Allen awakens to find that his beloved Earth is no more, and his friends/family have changed. Batman still protects citizens of Gotham from scum/villainy that will try to corrupt it, however Bruce Wayne isn't Batman.Instead, Thomas Wayne became the Dark Knight when he watched his beloved son get gunned down in front of him. Thomas Wayne isn't the Batman we all know and love, but rather he has torn up Wayne Manor and lives in the Bat-Cave based under it. Thomas brutally attacks criminals and isn't afraid to kill them as well in this twisted version of the DC Universe.Zur-En-ArrhBruce using the Zur-En-Arrh identityOn planet Zur-En-Arrh, Batman has superpowers. Near Batman's early creation, Ed Herron created this planet to give Batman abilities like Superman. Batman had all Superman's abilities and even a special weakness. In this comic, the Batman native to the planet was just a regular Batman like Bruce Wayne of Earth-1, with the name Kent Wayne (a combination of Bruce and Clark). He was raised by a rich family of farmers and when they eventually died, he became Batman. When Bruce Wayne came to his planet, Zur-En-Arrh Batman envied him because of how he was doing a greater job at Batman than he was. Eventually, Batman was weakened by a material on that planet, and Zur-En-Arrh had to remove his powers. After Crisis on Infinite Earths, this planet has been said to be erased from continuity.Earth-5On Earth-5, Bruce Wayne is only 8 years of age. Thomas and Martha Wayne are a rich family in Gotham City. Thomas is the legendary Batman with Martha as Batwoman. Bruce loves Batman and Batwoman and how they saved people. When he found out that his parents were his heroes, Thomas had no choice but to train him. With months of training, Bruce Wayne became Robin - The Boy Wonder.Arkham City EarthThis Earth is similar to DC main continuity Earth-0 (New Earth); however, it differs from much of Batman's story. Still having his parents brutally murdered by a criminal, Bruce decides to devote his life to fighting crime in Gotham City. Years later, Batman finds himself in Arkham Asylum with Joker (and other Batman rogues) running the show; Batman locks himself in the asylum to stop Joker. Joker plans to create super thugs with the new Titan formula (a variation on the Venom serum). Batman stops a Titan-infected Joker, but the serum's effects make Joker very sick. A year later, Quincy Sharp, the former warden of Arkham Asylum and now the mayor of Gotham, closes the Asylum and places Arkham inside Gotham City. Batman is trying to prevent Gotham from destroying itself because of the Mayor's choice. This occurs in the Batman: Arkham City mini-series.Earth-7642This Earth, otherwise known as the Crossover Earth, is where DC main continuity coexists with the Marvel 616 universe. Spider-Man visits Gotham City after a psychologist, Cassandra Briar, believes she can cure the Joker of his insanity with a cranial microchip the same way she did Carnage. The insane duo eventually escape, and Batman is forced reluctant to partner with Spider-Man to save the city. This first meeting between the two occurs in Spider-Man and Batman.Earth-9602Otherwise known as the Amalgam Universe, this Earth is a combination of DC's New Earth (Earth-0) and Marvel 616. A head-to-head battle royale, which includes Batman defeating Captain America, results in the cosmic everyman Access creating Earth-9602. On this Earth, Bruce Wayne and Batman have been divided into two new characters: Bruce Wayne, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Dark Claw (Batman/Wolverine).Batman/Danger GirlIn this miniseries and company crossover, the Danger Girl team goes to Gotham City after being informed that Donavin Conrad is trying to sell a mind control gun to the Joker. Batman does not like the involvement of Danger Girl, but neither does he like the threat which they pose. The Joker does not trust Conrad and attempts to double cross him as he sends Harley and Conrad to retrieve the codes to use the device. Abbey and Sydney come across Bruce Wayne, who invite them to a gala. The Danger Girl team faces the Joker but he manages to escape. Valerie finds a way to activate the bat-signal, but when Batman shows up a fight ensues between him and Sydney. They eventually reach a truce but only exchange information before parting ways. Johnny and Valerie have set up the villains to also attend the gala, hoping to catch them there. Johnny himself goes dressed as Batman and is unmasked before the real Batman arrives and stops the villains alongside the Danger Girl team.Earth 30-Red SonIn this alternate reality Kal-El's ship lands in Ukraine instead of Smallville. Batman is a freedom fighter who's parents were killed by Pyotr Roslov for printing anti Superman propaganda.Batman fighting SupermanBatman is labeled a terrorist by the government, and manages to escape the police everytime. After growing jealous of Superman, Pyotr convinces Batman to work with him to take down Superman. Batman agrees but warns Pyotr that after Superman is taken care of, he's next. Batman lures Superman by kidnapping Wonder Woman. Once Superman was in position, Batman bombarded him with red sunlight in order to weaken him. After beating up the weakened Superman to a pulp Batman locked him in a cellar, unfortunately for him Superman managed to convince Wonder Woman to destroy her lasso and destroy the lamps. When his plan failed Batman told Superman of Pyotr's treachery and committed suicide but Superman had no powers in a red sun only a yellow.This wasn't the end of The Batman as other men have taken up the mantle after his death and brought justice to the streets of Russia.Batman in Other MediaFilmThe live-action versions of Batman (1989 - 2012)You can find a full list of Batman's movies here. In 1943 The Batman made his debut in a film serial simply entitled Batman which starred Lewis Wilson as the Dark Knight and Douglas Croft as Robin. The film was made during WWII; there is in fact a villainous Japanese scientist named Dr. Daka (J. Carroll Naish in yellow-face) as the villain. Although critically bashed, the film series did introduce the concept of the Batcave as well as a thin Alfred, prompting DC to remake the comics version into the version known today. A second film serial series was launched, which followed Batman and Robin's battle with the mad scientist The Wizard. Other characters in these films include Vicki Vale, Alfred, and Commissioner Gordon. With a higher budget and more solid acting, it is considered superior to the previous serial, but it still had errors with equipment and continuity, like the previous serial.There was also 2 movies named "Batman" and "Batman Returns" which where released In 1989 and 1992 this 2 films where directed by Tim Burton these films where received well and In 1995 Joel Schumacher made a third installment named "Batman Forever" which tried to make Batman more family friendly by introducing Robin.This was received badly, But Joel Schumacher made a 4 installment named "Batman and Robin" which was received as the worst Batman film, So Joel Schumacher gave up on the series. In 2005 Director Christopher Nolan brought Batman back to the big screen with "Batman Begins." This was followed by 2008's "The Dark Knight," which grossed over 1 billion dollars worldwide, making Batman a legitimate box office presence. Nolan made the final chapter of his Trilogy entitled "The Dark Knight Rises," which was released on July 20, 2012.American actor Ben Affleck will also portray the Dark Knight in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice film alongside Henry Cavill as Superman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. This marks the first that Batman and Superman have appeared on screen together in history. The film is set for release on March 25th , 2016. TelevisionAdam West's Batman in the 1960'sThe next notable Batman incarnation was the weekly television series starring Adam West in the title role and Burt Ward as Robin. The series was intended to be a lampoon comedy show because of producer William Dozier's initial loathing for comic books; this gave Dozier, who also narrated the series, the idea to "overdo" the series. The stories followed a format that was villain-driven and action-comedy heavy and tended to need two parts to complete. The first part usually involved a villain committing a crime with Batman and Robin attempting to stop the criminal, only to be caught and put in a death trap.Animation through the 60's, 70's, and 80'sThrough the years Batman has spent more years animated on television than in a live action series. Starting in 1968, Batman and Robin made their animated debut in an hour-long series called The Batman/Superman Hour. This program, a Filmation Associates production, featured Olan Soule as Batman and Casey Kasem as Robin. The Bat-Duo were featured in numerous animated shorts which had Batman and Robin battle various Batman villains, as well as teaming up with Batgirl. These shorts eventually were repackaged as a solo TV series titled Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder, which ignored other segments in favor of solo Batman and Robin adventures. Soule and Kasem would reprise their roles in the Scooby-Doo Movies featuring Scooby and the Gang meeting Batman and Robin while battling Joker and Penguin.In 1977 running concurrently with Challenge Of The Super Friends was The New Adventures Of Batman, featuring Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and the creature called Bat-Mite, fighting the Gotham rogues, both classic and newly created villains. (This constituted the previously mentioned Batman segments of Tarzan And The Super 7.) Because of Adam West's and Burt Ward's involvements in the show, it could be considered a continuation of the 1960s Batman series. Due to copyright issues, however, Challenge Of The Super Friends had the use of the Riddler and the Scarecrow, making them off-limits to The New Adventures Of Batman, while this series had use of the Joker, preventing his use in Challenge as a Legion of Doom member.DC Animated UniverseBatman: The Animated SeriesStarting in 1992 the critically acclaimed DC Animated Universe series of animated TV shows began, consisting of Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Static Shock, and The Zeta Project; all of which shared continuity and actor Kevin Conroy as Batman. Throughout all these shows, a history of Bruce Wayne was recounted, from his childhood to glory days and dark times as well as him as an older man in retirement.Many of the scripts of all the shows featured Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Dwayne McDuffie, Stan Berkowitz, and Hilary Bader, creating a Batman that was very consistent in between all shows. All of the series have been met with acclaim due to the treatment of subject matter that told stories in a way that was child friendly but still attracted older audiences.This is true especially for the treatment of Batman staying true to many versions of him and having stories lifted or inspired by the Batman mythos. The series also introduced Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya to the Batman mythos. Soon after Batman the Animated Series ended, Batman appeared (once again) in a guest spot for Superman: The Animated Series before starring in his own show titled The New Batman Adventures. In these adventures, Batman along with many other characters featured a new costume design many of which were recast including Batgirl who was elevated into Batman's partner. Dick Grayson left Gotham and soon used his Nightwing identity that was displayed in the comics. A new Robin came in the form of Tim Drake (who had Jason Todd's origin story). These new revamped episodes not only showed Batman fighting the same villains but new ones as well some created for the show itself.Before the scenes in Return of the Joker, Batman was shown having many adventures with the Justice League involved in the creation of that team offering his own money and service but preferring to stay a reserve member. That did not stop him from developing friendships with Superman, Flash, Hawkgirl, and Wonder Woman, whom it is implied he shared a romantic attraction. Over the series Batman would often be the one of the critical members and often serve as a way to solve a problem showing his importance. Though Justice League is that last produced series in the DCAU, it chronologically takes place before Batman Beyond.Batman BeyondAn old Bruce with Terry McGinnisBatman Beyond is a continuation of Batman's legacy, the series is set in 2039, and follows a teenage Terry McGinnis as the new Batman. Many other characters that were seen in previous DC Cartoons also appeared. Bruce Wayne is seen as an elderly man, Barbara Gordon is Gotham's new commissioner of Gotham Police, taking after her dad, and Superman appears in a couple episodes, older but still active. Terry also time-traveled to meet the Justice League and also Static. Tim Drake appeared in Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker. The series was so popular that Batman Beyond has its new ongoing comic series beginning in 2011.The BatmanThe BatmanIn 2004, another animated series was developed called "The Batman." This series ran from 2004-2008, and starred Rino Romano as the voice of the Dark Knight. This series follows the early days of Batman in the first two seasons (Batman was in his third year of Batman in his first episode), but was seen with Robin and Batgirl in the later two seasons, and even Superman; he also fought many villains, both of his regular rogues gallery and others'. The series was not connected to Batman: The Animated Series or the DCAU. The character designs were by Jeff Matsuda, who drew the character designs for Jackie Chan Adventures and an aborted Spider-Man series. The series was not as dark or gritty as Batman: The Animated Series, and it did not receive as much praise; the series, however, was successful.Batman: The Brave and the BoldThe Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the Bold was aimed at young children and was not as dark as the previous Batman shows. Batman in this incarnation was voiced by Diedrich Bader; other versions of him were featured as well, including a manga-style Batman (voiced by Corey Burton) and a homage to the Batman featured in the show "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" (where he was voiced by Frank Welker). The show was also partially based off the Silver Age of Comic Books, and like the original "Brave and the Bold" comics, he teamed up a lot with other heroes, but did not include Wonder Woman or Superman (this mostly focused on minor A-list or B-C list characters).Among the characters he teamed with include Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Aquaman, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, and the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle. The series ran from 2008-2011, ending with the fourth wall-breaking episode "Mitefall". The series also had Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin for one episode. This is the only Batman cartoon that featured Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin.Young JusticeBatman in Young JusticeBatman/ Bruce Wayne plays a key role in the series. He is one of the 7 founding members of the Justice League. He is also responisble for disatching the team on covert missions. He is also a mentor to many of the members of the team especially to Super Boy who does not a great relationship with Superman. His alter ego of Bruce Wayne also plays a key role in some episodes of the series. Batman is also a mentor to three incarnations of Robins throughout the series with respects to DIck Greyson, Jason Todd and Tim Drake, as well as Batgirl/ Barbra Gordon.He is voiced by Bruce Greenwood (who previously voiced him in the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood). Although he is not the main character, he is vital to the show. His character model is based off the design from the animated movie Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths. This version of Batman is based on Earth-16. Batman and five other members of the Justice League were manipulated for sixteen hours by Vandal Savage, in this time the six league members may have committed crime in a distant planet of Rimbor. The charagers are later dropped once the team found evidence freeing the memebers and Batamn of the crime.Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)Following the success of Batman: The Animated Series, Batman made his animated film debut in 1993's Mask of the Phantasm, released in theaters. A new vigilante shows up in Gotham and unlike Batman, resorts to lethal force in order to take down Gotham's former mob bosses. The mysterious nature of the vigilante, as well as the similarity in appearance to Batman, causes the city of Gotham to go on a manhunt for the Batman. This film also explores Bruce's life before he took on the mantle of the Bat - in particular his serious romantic relationship with Andrea Beaumont.Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)Batman in Gotham KnightsThis anthology film explores Bruce Wayne's transition from his beginning as a tormented vigilante to The Dark Knight in a crumbling metropolis rife with criminality. Gotham Knight has six distinct chapters, but its intended to be viewed as a whole. Kevin Conroy reprises his role.Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)Justice League BatmanJustice League: The New Frontier was based off the 2003 Elseworlds miniseries of the same name by Darwyn Cooke. Batman's character design strongly resembled Bob Kane's original Batman design. He was voiced by Jeremy Sisto in this film. The plot follows a new generation of superheroes that must join forces with the community's active veterans and a hostile US government to fight a menace on Earth.Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)Superman/Batman: Public EnemiesSuperman/Batman: Public Enemies is based off the first six issues of the 2003 Superman/Batman series. The story follows Superman and Batman stopping an asteroid from striking Earth, and stopping Lex Luthor, who has now become the President and has put a bounty on both their heads. Kevin Conroy again voiced him.Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths (2010)Crisis on Two EarthsThe story follows a good version of Lex Luthor from a parallel Earth who comes to the Justice League's dimension to help fight their evil counterparts. This movie is loosely based on Grant Morrison's 1999 graphic novel JLA: Earth-2. Batman is voiced by William Baldwin.Batman: Under The Red Hood (2010)Batman: Under The Red HoodThis movie is based off the Judd Winick story arc Batman: Under The Red Hood, though it's slightly different. The story follows the Jason Todd Robin's death, and years later a new foe who uses the Joker's old alias wreaks havoc among Gotham City's organized crime, Batman finds him disturbingly familiar. Batman was voiced by Bruce Greenwood.Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)Supergirl and Batman in Superman/Batman ApocalypseSuperman/Batman: Apocalypse was based off the "Supergirl From Krypton" story arc in Superman/Batman. The story follows Batman discovers a mysterious teenaged girl with superhuman powers and a connection to Superman. The girl comes to the attention of Darkseid, the evil overlord of Apokolips. Kevin Conroy once again voiced him.Batman: Year One (2011)Bruce Wayne in Batman: Year OneBatman: Year One is an animated movie based off the graphic novel Batman: Year One. The story will follow Batman's early days. It will have the work of Frank Miller on the movie as the writer and Bruce Timm will be working with Frank to deliver Batman's story. Batman is voiced by Ben McKenzie.Justice League: Doom (2012)Justice League: DoomWhen Batman's contingency plan to use only if the Justice League go rogue, is taken by villainous hands. Things get out of hand immediately. As it is up for Batman to save his fellow partners and friends from a threat he didn't possibly foresee in the beginning. Based on the story JLA: Tower of Babel and Justice.The Dark Knight Returns: Part 1 (2012)Having blamed himself for the death of Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne retires as Batman and allows Gotham City to sink into a cesspool of evil. Constantly living on the edge of life, Bruce eventually comes out of retirement with the revelation of Two-Face's return. After that, Bruce is joined by a new Robin, a young girl named Carrie Kelly, who helps him battle against the Mutants that seek to control all of Gotham. This follows Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns issue 1-2.The Dark Knight Returns: Part 2 (2013)Having come out of retirement, Batman sees it as the time to run out all the crime in Gotham. Armed with an army of ex-Mutants and the Sons of Batman, not everyone is happy with the extreme measures Batman is taking to stop crime in Gotham. Joker returns and it pushes Batman over the edge and because of it Superman is sent by the U.S. government to take him down for good. This sparks an all out brawl between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel. Follows Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns issue 3-4.Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)Batman, along with the Justice League, aided the Flash in defeating Reverse Flash and the Rouges. But when Flash changes history, Bruce Wayne is killed and Thomas Wayne assumes the mantel of Batman. When Flash fixes the timeline he pays a visit to Batman and gives him a letter from his father.Justice League: War (2014)A new movie based off the New 52 Justice League comic. Batman is voiced by Jason O'Mara.Son of Batman (2014)A new movie based off the Grant Morrison story, "Batman and Son". Batman is again voiced by Jason O'Mara, reprising his role from Justice League: War.Video GamesMortal Kombat VS DC Universe (2008)Batman is a playable character with his own moves and finishers in MK vs DCU.Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)Batman: Arkham Asylum promotional art by Carlos D'AndaBatman: Arkham Asylum takes place in the titular asylum as the Joker has set his plan into motion: total control over Arkham Asylum. Batman must bring order back to the asylum as he stops all of the inmates that have now been released as part of Joker's plan, and put an end to his madness.Arkham Asylum is an action-adventure game developed by Rocksteady Studios for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. The game holds the Guinness World Record for "Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever", as well as several other awards such as Game of the Year (from various sources), and Best Action-Adventure Game.Batman: Arkham City (2011)Batman "5.0" as seen in Arkham City's cover artTaking place one year after the events of Arkham Asylum, former Arkham Asylum warden Quincy Sharp has taken all the credit to stopping Joker's takeover of the asylum and has assumed the role of Gotham City's mayor. Converting a portion of Gotham City into a mega-prison known as Arkham City, all the inmates of both Blackgate Penitentiary and Arkham Asylum have been transferred to the new prison, and are allowed to run amok to do as they please. Batman sets into motion a plan to get himself into Arkham City to investigate what is truly going on behind its walls.Arkham City was developed by Rocksteady Studios for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, as well as an "Armored Edition" for the Wii U. As with its predecessor, Arkham City has won several awards such as Game of the Year, Best Action Game, and Best Performer Award (for Mark Hamill as the Joker).Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)Batman "0.9"A prequel to Rocksteady's Arkham series, Origins takes place on Christmas Eve during Batman's second year as the Dark Knight. The villainous Black Mask has placed a bounty on the mysterious vigilante's head, sending top assassins such as Deathstroke to take down the Caped Crusader. Batman must figure out why Black Mask is after him whilst proving to the GCPD that he is on their side.Arkham Origins is being developed by Warner Bros. Games Montreal, unlike the previous games which were developed by Rocksteady Studios. The game is set for release on October 25th, 2013 for the PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Xbox 360.Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013)Batman he appears in Injustice: Gods Among UsBatman is a playable character in Injustice: Gods Among Us, a DC Comics fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios for the PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Xbox 360.Batman: Dark Tomorrow (2003)Dark Tomorrow was released on April 11, 2003. The game's plot was co-written by Scott Peterson of DC and Kenji Terada.Lego Batman: The Video Game (2008)The first Lego Batman game, it features three stories in which Batman and Robin have to defeat various criminals. It also has the same three stories playable from the villains' perspective.Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes (2012)The Cover for Lego Batman 2: DC Super HeroesA sequel to the first Lego Batman game, this introduces many other superheroes from the DC universe and is the first Lego game to feature voice acting.Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (2014)Batman will also appear alongside many other DC characters in the third game of the Lego Batman series.Batman: Arkham Knight (2015)The final installment of the Batman Arkham games, set approximately one year after the events of Batman: Arkham City. Scarecrow has forced the entire city of Gotham to evacuate allowing the cities criminals and many of Batman's villains to take over the city. This is the first game in which the Batmobile will be able to be controlled and driven by the character. BooksBatman: The Ultimate EvilWhile aiding a beautiful social worker in her crusade against child abuse, millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne comes to a shocking revelation about his childhood--knowledge that nearly destroys him. Desperate for answers, The Batman follows a twisted trail of perversion from Gotham City to Southeast Asia, where he faces The Ultimate Evil.Written by: Andrew VachssBatman BeginsBased on the eagerly awaited new feature film–the exciting origins of the ultimate crime fighter!Bruce Wayne is dead. The young heir to the Wayne empire disappeared seven years ago. His vast fortune has been given away, and the crime wave that began with the brutal murder of his parents has turned Gotham City into a living hell. The last holdouts against corruption–the cops who can't be bought, the D.A.s who can't be intimidated–are outnumbered and outgunned. They need help... fast.A world away, in a dank Himalayan prison, a nameless, hardened man fights every day to survive. He has spent seven years scouring the globe, studying the criminal mind, looking for an answer to the ugly riddle of his childhood. But something has been looking for him, too. Here, in the darkest places of his own anger, Bruce Wayne will discover his destiny–and an ordinary man will become a legend.Written by: Dennis O'NeilBatman: Dead WhiteWho better than Batman to protect the dangerous city of Gotham, where even the cops are crooks? But the latest imminent terror might be too much for the burgeoning Caped Crusader, who is still carving out a place for himself in the minds of Gotham's criminals.There's a host of deadly new weapons in Batman's glittering, sinister city–in the hands of a psychotic mastermind called White Eyes. With his radical murder machine, the fiendish leader of Gotham's racist Bavarian Brotherhood can move beyond dealing drugs and hot guns to pursue his real passion: the white supremacist takeover of America.The homegrown terrorists' first strike–at the heart of our nation's capitol–is only weeks away. But first they'll test out their killer toys on Batman, who is hot on the trail of White Eyes and his brutal militia. Ounce for ounce, muscle for muscle, Batman's no match for the cunning villain and his wicked new firepower. At least, that's how White Eyes sees it.Batman has other ideas...Written by: John ShirleyBatman: InfernoGotham's never been so scorching, the Joker's never been more despicable, and Batman's never been in such grave danger.With more than thirty fires raging out of control across the city, Gotham is indeed a hell on earth. But torching the population is small potatoes for the arsonist extraordinaire known as Enfer. The pyromaniac's mad masterpiece is Arkham Asylum, blazing like a Roman candle and engineered to provide the perfect escape for Arkham's most infamous inmate, the Joker. But the dire situation goes from bad to beyond monstrous when the archvillain's path to freedom leads directly to the Dark Knight's cave.The Joker believes in striking while the iron is hot . . . and now it's never been hotter. After all, the diabolical villain has devised the ultimate joke: launch the mother of all crime waves, masquerading as the Caped Crusader himself! With Gotham erupting in flames and its #1 crime fighter fast becoming its #1 enemy, the burning question is: Who's going to get the last laugh?Written by Alex IrvineThe Dark KnightFollowing on from 2005's critically acclaimed "Batman Begins", Christopher Nolan returns to direct "The Dark Knight", where Christian Bale's man-behind-the-mask is joined by Heath Ledger as The Joker. Batman continues to fight crime on the dark streets of Gotham City, but when a crazed psychopath unleashes a fresh reign of chaos, it seems Batman has met his match in the ultimate crime lord, The Joker. The official novelization is essential reading for fans wanting the full story of this extraordinary movie, and is written by acclaimed comic book writer ("Batman", "Green Lantern/Green Arrow") and editor Denny O'Neill.Written by: Dennis O'NeillBatman: Fear ItselfBatman strikes fear in the hearts of criminals, but there's a killer stalking Gotham who's even better at inspiring fright–and his method just might be unbeatable . . . because it's invisible.Unbeknownst to the general public, a powerful new designer drug has hit the streets of Gotham, courtesy of an evil genius determined to turn the expression "scared to death" into lethal reality. Unlike the Caped Crusader, who petrifies only villains, this mastermind is targeting decent citizens–and he's come up with the ultimate delivery system. After all, the public can't refuse something they can't see, hear, or smell. That's the beauty of a terror toxin that is undetectable by the human senses. And with all of Gotham's super-villains incarcerated, Batman must hunt down a mystery madman about whom he knows nothing.Maybe the Dark Knight should be afraid . . . because there's plenty to fear when you go head-to-head with fear itself.Written by: Michael ReavesThe Dark Knight RisesChristian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman return in the thrilling and hotly anticipated conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy.The blockbuster movie will introduce new faces to the franchise as well, including Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), Bane (Tom Hardy), John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard).From the team that brought you Inception, The Dark Knight Rises is guaranteed to be the blockbuster hit of 2012. This enthralling official novelization will transport fans into a Gotham City once again under threat.Written by: Greg CoxBoard Games and HeroclixsIn 2002 to 2013-present there have been a game called Heroclixs and they have made Batman from every pack in Heroclixs as a playable hero in the game and has points as power. They have made a pack for the first tim e based in the 1966 Batman Tv Show from 1966-1968 now in Heroclixs games form and there collectables from TV shows and comics.In 1999 there was a game called Monopoly it was called Justice League of America in the 1960's with the small team of Justice Leaguers and Batman is a playable hero in the board game.