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Batman

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Last Updated on Saturday, July 17, 2004

Personal Data:

Click here to view a gallery of Batman graphics.

Real Name:

Bruce Wayne, Various cover identities ("Matches" Malone, Sir Hemingford Grey, etc.)

Status:  Active in The JLA

Versions of the JLA:

The Original Pre-Crisis JLA, The Pre-Crisis JLA - Detroit, The Justice League, Justice League International, Justice League America, The JLA

Known Aliases:

"Matches" Malone, Sir Hemingford Grey, etc.

Nicknames:

"the Caped Crusader", "the Cowled Crusader", "the Darknight Detective", "the Gotham Goliath", "the Masked Manhunter", "the Masked Marvel"

Occupation:

Multibillionaire Industrialist, Playboy and Philanthropist

Other Group Affiliations:

Justice League of America (current), formally JLI and Outsiders leader

First Appearance:

Historical: DETECTIVE COMICS #27 (May, 1939)
Modern:

Base of Operations:

Gotham City

Age:

Somewhere around 35 years old

Height:

6' 2"

Weight:

210 lb.

Eyes:

Blue

Hair:

Black

Known Relatives:

Doctor Thomas Wayne (Father) - Deceased Martha Wayne (Mother) - Deceased, Richard Grayson (Adopted Son), and Jason Todd (Adopted Son) - Deceased.

Known Allies:

Superman, Nightwing, The Huntress, Robin (Tim Drake), The Oracle (Formerly Batgirl), Black Canary, Black Lightning, Green Arrow I (Oliver Queen), Azrael, The Flash III (Wally West), Commissioner James Gordon, Anarky, Green Arrow II (Connor Hawke), Fate, and Alfred Pennyworth.

Known Enemies:

The Joker, Bane, Ra's Al Ghul, The Riddler, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, The Ventriloquist, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, Scarecrow, The Mad Hatter, Mr. Zsasz, Catwoman, The Black Mask, and many more.

Powers and Abilities:

Batman possesses no super powers of any kind, but is a highly skilled athlete, and is master of all known forms of combat. Also possesses great inventive, detective and deduction skills due to his great intelligence all of which make him a great crime fighter despite the lack of powers.

Background:

Though regarded by many Gothamites as an "urban legend" built on superstition and fear of the city's darkened streets, Bruce Wayne knows all too well that the Batman is a cold, hard reality of his own fabrication. Since his parents' death in Gotham's dreaded "Crime Alley," Wayne has spent his life in pursuit of physical and mental perfection in order to wage unrelenting war on crime. Watching over Gotham's streets from its gargoyles and parapets, the Dark Knight is the city's last best hope against evil. And it is this obsession that drives the Batman, for Wayne has vowed that no innocent should suffer the pain he has endured.

When the Venom-fueled Bane destroyed Arkham Asylum and unleashed its inhabitants on an unwary Gotham, Bruce Wayne learned that his obsession might be more than he can endure. Driving himself past the point of exhaustion to capture Arkham's most dangerous inmates, Batman led himself right into the clutches of Bane, who had deduced his identity and invaded the sanctity of Wayne Manor and the Batcave. There, surrounded by all the trophies and weapons of his crusade, Bruce Wayne was defeated, his back broken and his spirit destroyed. Crippled and wheelchair-bound, the humbled Wayne left Jean Paul Valley his costume and began an arduous quest to regain his strength and will to fight, including calling upon the beautiful but deadly Lady Shiva to retrain him in the fighting skills he had spent years mastering.

Upon learning that Valley had become a darker, more violent vision of Batman, Wayne returned to Gotham to forcibly reclaim the mantle of the Dark Knight. Shortly thereafter, Bruce Wayne departed Gotham once again, leaving the city's custodianship in the hands of his former partner Dick Grayson for a brief time. When Wayne finally did return, it was for good, adopting a darker look and stronger arsenal to reflect the changes in his body and mind Bane's attack had wrought upon him. Since that time, he has returned to the Gotham night and attempted to rebuild his life as both Bruce Wayne and Batman, in addition to reaffirming his relationships with Tim Drake, Dick Grayson and Alfred. In the aftermath of Bruce Wayne's flight from the law as an accused murderer, Batman and his crime fighting crew have become a stronger fighting unit than ever.

Notes:

  • Bruce Wayne traveled the world learning all of mankind's fighting styles before he donned the Batman costume, karate, judo? even boxing from Ted Grant, the Golden Age Wildcat.

  • Just as Superman is the perfection all superhumans aspire too, Batman embodies everything man can ever hope to be.

  • The standard content of Batman's utility belt is a stash of money, a flashlight, a lock-picking device, and communications gear - everything else varies according to anticipated need, except for his trusty Batarangs.

  • Refusing JLA teleport tube technology, Batman has fashioned his own "secure" teleport device.

  • Even in his absence, Batman monitors JLA meetings and is uplinked to the JLA Monitor Womb to remain abreast of planetary crises.

  • Bruce Wayne handed the Mantle of the Bat to Jean-Paul Valley while he was recuperating from injuries suffered at the hands of Bane. Valley proved to be unworthy by becoming a brutal vigilante, and when Wayne recovered, he took back his cowl and cape by force. The only other person to wear the costume of the Batman, is Dick Grayson a.k.a. Nightwing, who stood in for Wayne when he left Gotham for awhile.

  • As Gotham City rises from the rubble of "No Man's Land," the Batman has returned to his original costume to signal his unwavering commitment to Gotham's protection.