# Rupert Thorne

Rupert Thorne is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a crime boss and enemy of Batman.
Thorne has made several appearances in animated DC media, such as Batman: The Animated Series, in which he is voiced by John Vernon, and the DC Universe animated series Creature Commandos, voiced by Benjamin Byron Davis.

## Publication history

Created by Steve Englehart and Walter Simonson, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #469.

## Fictional character biography

Thorne is introduced as a corrupt politician with extensive ties to organized crime and ambitions of becoming a crime boss in his own right. Doctor Phosphorus blackmails him with evidence of his crimes into turning the city against Batman. After Phosphorus is defeated, Thorne decides not to waste the opportunity and persuades his fellow city councilors to declare Batman an outlaw. He attempts to gain complete control of Gotham City by running for Mayor but fails.
Thorne is one of three criminals (the other two being the Penguin and the Joker) who make a bid at Hugo Strange's secret auction for Batman's secret identity. He kidnaps and tortures Strange to force him to divulge it rather than risk losing the auction. Strange resists, however, and apparently dies in the process. After disposing of his body, Thorne is haunted by eerie sounds and visions of Strange.
After failing in his campaign against Batman and spending some time in hiding, he secretly returns to Gotham. He gets the corrupt Hamilton Hill elected as mayor and orders him to fire Police Commissioner James Gordon in favor of Peter Pauling, who is on Thorne's payroll. Thorne finally identifies Bruce Wayne as Batman after acquiring photos of him changing into his costume from reporter Vicki Vale. Thorne then hires Deadshot to kill Wayne. Deadshot is unsuccessful, but before Thorne can deal with the problem, he begins to succumb to Strange's manipulations; the professor is revealed to have faked his death while using elaborate special-effects devices to simulate ghostly encounters. Thorne becomes paranoid, convinced that Hill and Pauling are plotting against him and trying to drive him insane. He shoots Pauling dead but is eventually apprehended by Batman and brought to justice.
Decades later, Thorne returns in Detective Comics #825. He is serving a lengthy prison sentence in Blackgate Penitentiary when a vengeful Doctor Phosphorus unsuccessfully attempts to kill him.
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". While Rupert Thorne's role as a corrupt politician remains intact, he and the city councilors in his payroll established the Oceangate Nuclear Power Plant on the outskirts of Gotham City following the destruction of the one that Alex Sartorius worked at. After Councilwoman Ann Vinton was found dead after she was shot by a radioactive bullet, Batman and Batwoman found out about it as a police investigation occurs. After Doctor Phosphorus was subdued with help from Julia Pennyworth, Batman figured out that Thorne needed Doctor Phosphorus' blood to coat the bullet used on Councilwoman Vinton. Thorne was later seen at his house being visited by the police.
In Batman: Three Jokers, Thorne is shown to be incarcerated at Blackgate when Batman visits Joe Chill.

## Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Rupert Thorne appears in Gotham by Gaslight. This version is a respected member of Gotham's city council who later becomes interim mayor in the aftermath of Jack the Ripper's killing spree.

## In other media
### Television

* Rupert Thorne appears in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by John Vernon. This version is Gotham's most powerful crime boss who contributed to Two-Face's creation and has elements of Carmine Falcone and Sal Maroni.
* Rupert Thorne appears in The Batman episode "The Bat in the Belfry", voiced by Victor Brandt.
* Rupert Thorne appears in Batman: Caped Crusader, voiced by Cedric Yarbrough. This version is a cunning politician, crime boss, and rival of Penguin. Similarly to the Batman: The Animated Series incarnation, Thorne contributed to Two-Face's creation by having his minion Tony Zito disfigure him with acid.
* Rupert Thorne appears in flashbacks in the Creature Commandos episode "Priyatel Skelet", voiced by Benjamin Byron Davis. This version is an industrialist who financed Alex Sartorius' efforts to create a cure for cancer via nuclear fusion in exchange for access to the latter's findings so he can sell it to the fascist nation of Bialya. Upon discovering Sartorius gave him falsified data, Thorne has Sartorius' family killed, frames him for it, and attempts to kill him with his nuclear equipment. However, Sartorius transforms into Doctor Phosphorous, kills Thorne and his family, and takes over his criminal empire.

### Film

* Rupert Thorne was originally intended to appear in Batman (1989) before being replaced with film-original character Carl Grissom (portrayed by Jack Palance).
* Rupert Thorne appears in Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, voiced again by John Vernon.

### Video games

* Rupert Thorne appears in the Sega CD version of The Adventures of Batman & Robin, voiced again by John Vernon. Clayface assumes his form to distract Batman and Robin from his operations.
* Rupert Thorne appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.

### Miscellaneous

* Rupert Thorne appears in The Batman Strikes!.
* An alternate universe variant of Rupert Thorne appears in the Justice League: Gods and Monsters prequel comic.