Bruce Wayne

Bruce Wayne aka Batman is a major DC Comics character who also features prominently in several related continuities in cartoons, live-action movies, television series, and video games. He is the head of the Batfamily.
==Canon Information==
Born to a wealthy family in Gotham City, he witnessed the death of his parents as a child. The trauma becomes his driving force that leads him to take up the Batman identity. Over the years he trains himself to become a crime fighter and fight criminals in his city, later aided by various other heroes, but most notably by his butler/surrogate father figure Alfred Pennyworth and the young heroes known as Robin. One of his important and recurring allies is Commissioner James Gordon. As Bruce Wayne he is known as a billionaire playboy, while as Batman he is often shown as a much darker character. It can be argued (and sometimes is) that Bruce Wayne is the mask and Batman the real man.
He has acquired one of the most iconic comic superhero rogues gallery, including characters like the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman.
He is also an essential member of the Justice League.
===Batman (1966)===
In the three-season TV series and 1966 spin-off feature film, Batman, the Bruce Wayne version of Batman was portrayed by Adam West. He later provided the voice for animated versions of the character, and the actor's likeness was used in tie-in comics and crossover mini-series.
===Death and Return===
===New 52===
==Fanon and meta==
===Batman of a thousand faces: different iterations and interpretations of Bruce Wayne===
Because of an embargo the character could not be used for the TV show Smallville, but he was frequently written into stories (sometimes in the form of crossovers with Batman properties) and often slashed with main character Clark Kent. (The character recently was intoduced to Smallville canon in the comic book continuation Smallville Season 11).
*please dont trust anyone who claims theyre a batman fan and havent at any point in time made fun of him
===Public Image===
The double identity and the stark contrast between Bruce Wayne, the public figure, and Batman, the tough detective and costumed hero, is often a theme in fanworks and can lead to identity porn.
Bruce deliberately shapes his public identity as an irresponsible playboy to protect his secret identity as Batman, and the persona can be considered more a mask than the Batman identity. Many fanworks deal with the public and media perception of the billionaire. Humorous works often show how the public follows Bruce Wayne's frequent scandals and baffling actions. More serious works deal with how Bruce manipulates his public identity and hides his true darkness and angst, which he is only able to express as a vigilante. 
Identity Porn works often involve people meeting Bruce Wayne and Batman separately and having different relationships with seemingly different love interests. Other works may see Bruce Wayne kidnapped by a villain in an attempt to draw out Batman. Works using this trope can also be further complicated with the inclusion of Bruce's criminal alter ego Matches Malone.
===Social issues===
*Socioeconomic privilege, billionaire status, self-appointed authority, class issues, noblesse oblige, Batman as a "warrior-prince"
*Depiction and treatment of the mentally ill in Gotham, Bruce Wayne as a mentally ill person, ableism
*Copaganda and use of incarceration
*Deontological ethics and no-kill rule
*meta by thebatmanfiles
*People who don’t understand Batman by galahadwilder
===Batfam===
:See Batdad for more fanon and tropes associated with Bruce Wayne in his role as a parent.
Batman works with many other Gotham heroes, including but not limited to the series of Robins, many of which are Bruce Wayne's adopted children. Fanworks exploring the familial dynamics, either close or trouble, between Bruce and the Batfamily.
===Religious background===
From early in the Batman mythos, many iterations of Bruce Wayne have been depicted engaging with some Christian traditions, such as Christmas festivities, his parents having Christian funerals and graves. Following the Infinite Crisis event, September 2006 saw the introduction of a new Batwoman, Kate Kane⁠—a re-imagining of Katherine "Kathy" Kane, the original Batwoman who debuted in 1956. The DC Infinite Holiday Special (2006) established that Kate was Jewish. Batwoman #25 (November 2013) established Kate as Bruce's maternal first cousin in the New 52 continuity, leading some fans to conclude that Kate's father and Bruce's mother could have been Jewish, and Bruce could be Jewish through matrilineal Jewish inheritance. Detective Comics #939 (2016) shows Thomas and Martha's funeral hosted at a church, with a shot of a menorah possibly included somewhere in the procession. As of 2021 and the Infinite Frontier continuity, ambiguity remains as to whether Bruce Mother, Martha Wayne (née Kane), and her brother, Jacob Kane, are Jewish in heritage. 
==Relationships==
===Gen relationships===
:See Batdad for fanon and tropes associated with Bruce Wayne in his role as a parent.
*Bruce Wayne & Thomas and Martha Wayne
*Bruce Wayne & Jim Gordon
*Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson
*Bruce Wayne & Alfred Pennyworth
*Bruce Wayne & Clark Kent
*Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne & Diana (The Trinity)
*Bruce Wayne & Ace the Bat-Hound
*Bruce Wayne & Barbara Gordon
*Bruce Wayne & Zatanna Zatara
*Bruce Wayne & Jason Todd
*Bruce Wayne & Carrie Kelley
*Bruce Wayne & Helena Bertinelli
*Bruce Wayne & Tim Drake
*Bruce Wayne & Stephanie Brown
*Bruce Wayne & Terry McGinnis
*Bruce Wayne & Cassandra Cain
*Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne
*Bruce Wayne & Duke Thomas
*Bruce Wayne & Jarro
===Notable pairings===
:A list of Bruce Wayne's canon love interests can be found at the DC Database wiki at wikia. 
As Bruce Wayne's public persona has a playboy image he often has female love intersts in canon and had different canon relationships, most notably with Selina Kyle aka Catwoman, who appeared as his love interest in different media, Talia al Ghul (in comics canon mother of his son Damian Wayne), Vicki Vale (who also appeared in the first of the Burton movies) and many others like Wonder Woman, Batwoman Katherine Kane, Zatanna Zatara, Silver St. Cloud, Jezebel Jet, Black Canary.
In the Nolanverse a new love interest was intoduced with Rachel Dawes.
In the DC Animated Universe he has also shown interest in Superman's love interest Lois Lane.
* Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne (BatCat, Brucelina)
* Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne (SuperBat)
* Bruce Wayne/Talia al Ghul (BruTalia)
* Diana/Bruce Wayne (WonderBat)
* Bruce Wayne/Zatanna Zatara
* Bruce Wayne/Harvey Dent (BruHarvey)
* Bruce Wayne/Hal Jordan (BatLantern)
* Dick Grayson/Bruce Wayne
* Joker/Bruce Wayne (BatJokes)
* Jason Todd/Bruce Wayne
* Tim Drake/Bruce Wayne
* Jim Gordon/Bruce Wayne
* Bruce Wayne/Wally West
The pairing of Bruce Wayne/Batman (as though they are separate people) is also a popular trope/crack pairing in fanworks, where characters will often come to the conclusion that Bruce Wayne and Batman are in a relationship to explain links between Bruce Wayne and the Batman persona, rather than putting together that they're the same person.
==Fanworks==
===Example Fan art===
===Example Fan fic===
====Nolanverse====
*Music of the Spheres Link by mithen is a series set in the combined universes of Batman Begins and Superman Returns and depicts a developing and later established Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne relationship.
===Example Vids===
* Natural by Amaranth (Batman: Arkham)
===Meta===
* Superhero Muses Workshop: Writing Bruce Wayne (Batman) by Sasha_anu
* Bruce Wayne (Batman/DC Comics) character manifesto at Idol Reflections
*A brief overview of Batman and capital-R Religion by medusaceratops (jerseydevious)
==Example Art Gallery==
File:Comlink44.jpg|Holy Hanna-Barbera! by Bob Miller, cover of Comlink #44, with Robin, this piece obviously referencing the 1960s version of this character
File:BatmaniaIssue22.jpeg|Cover art by Arlen Schumer, Batmania #22 (February 1976). 
Image:TMC7.jpeg|Cover art by the Caywood Brothers, Midnight Conference #7 (1987).
File:Espresso1-1.jpg|Art by Shayne McCormack from Espresso #1, this based off the Tim Burton films (1990)
==Archives and Communities==
* Batman Comics, Nolanverse, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: The Animated Series works featuring Bruce Wayne on FanFiction.net
* Fanworks tagged Bruce Wayne on AO3
* Works tagged Bruce Wayne or Batman on DeviantArt
==Links==
*Bruce Wayne on wikipedia
*Bruce Wayne on the DC Database wiki at wikia
==References==
Category:DC Comics Characters
Category:Batman Characters