Bruce Wayne

## Batman

* Bruce Wayne
* Batman

*For his entire family tree, check the Wayne Family tree.*

**Bruce Wayne**, otherwise known as the vigilante **Batman**, is the superhero protector of Gotham City, donning a bat costume to strive fear in the hearts of criminals, using the shadows to his advantage using his decades of training with the best martial artists around the world. As **Bruce Wayne**, he is a billionaire philanthropist, entrepreneur, and notorious playboy. Despite having no superpowers, he is one of the respected superheroes and is a founding members of the Justice League.

## History

### Origins

#### Early Life

Bruce Wayne was born to Thomas and Martha Wayne in 1979 to a life of luxury. He was their second child after his older sister Samantha died to illness at just two months old which led to him having a sheltered upbringing. Described as an intelligent and happy child, he often would run around in the backyard or the manor, making it a hassle for the Wayne Family butler Jarvis Pennyworth.

At the age of four, Bruce was running around the backyard when he fell down the family well, falling into the caverns far below Wayne Manor, attracting a swarm of bats. Being trapped down there for nearly half an hour left a deep scar into his developing brain and advanced into a fear of bats. His father eventually was able to save him, but he would have a fear of bats and the well for years to come.

At the age of five, Bruce witnessed his father save the life of crime boss Carmine Falcone after he had been shot in a deal gone wrong. Witnessing this act of kindness led to an enlightened view of his father as he didn't understand the ramifications of what relationship was being established.

Starting school at Gotham Academy, he became fast friends with Gilda Gold, the remaining heir of the Gold Family. He also became friends with Thomas Elliot around the same time. This led to connections for the Wayne family with other wealthy families and expand Wayne Enterprises as a brand. This was also around the time Jarvis died and led to his son, Alfred, taking over his position. Alfred and Bruce quickly bonded over a shared interest in literature and classical music.

#### The Death of Thomas and Martha

On September 15th, 1989, a ten-year-old Bruce Wayne went to go see a private showing of 1940's The Mark of Zorro with his parents. At 9:42 PM, noticing a flying bat in the rafters of the theatre, Bruce got scared and asked his parents to leave early. While cutting through a short cut through Park Row, which later went on to be dubbed Crime Alley.

From the darkness approached hitman and petty criminal Joe Chill who stood them up with the intention of killing Thomas and robbing the Waynes. After shooting Thomas, he shot Martha when she refused to give him her pearl necklace. With the intention of shooting Bruce, he quickly changed his mind and ran off, leaving with none of the loot and leaving a young boy without his parents.

At the scene of the crime, a fresh-faced cop new from Chicago named Jim Gordon tried comforting the young man at the scene of the crime, keeping him company until Alfred came to pick him up.

The death greatly affected Bruce and would change the trajectory of his life forever.

#### Adolescence

Bruce became obsessed with who killed his parents once learning that Joe Chill was a hired assassin to kill his father, he would spend his time reading old Gotham City records and learning about the city's history. Through his research he learned of The Court of Owls and their connections to several establishments in Gotham.

He was also taught self-defense, martial arts, deduction skills, history, and other skills he'd use in the future thanks to Alfred.

He kept at his academic career with his best friend Gilda and another rich girl by the name of Andrea Beaumont. As they grew older, Andrea and Bruce began to develop an attraction to each other. It was a very strong relationship that lasted for three years, Bruce even proposed to her as he hoped to live something of a normal life with her. But after her father got into hot water with the mob, she and her family had to flee to Italy, leading to her breaking up with him for his own sake.

#### Training Abroad

At the age of nineteen, he wanted to become better at all the skills he had been honing previously with the help of Alfred, leaving to travel the world. While traveling, he learned manhunting skills by notorious manhunter Henri Ducard in Paris, stealth and reconnaissance under Japanese ninja Kirigi located in South Korea, martial arts and sword fighting under Shaolin monks in Tibet, tricks and illusions under Giovanni Zatara in Las Vegas, racing cars under criminal Don Miguel in Brazil, tech gadgetry from brilliant inventor Sergei Alexandrov hiding out in Japan, detective skills from notorious private detective Harvey Harris in Birmingham, and was the apprentice under David Cain, a world-class assassin.

David Cain was the one who took him to meet Ra's al Ghul, where he'd be one of his pupils for two years. Quickly demonstrating his worth, Ra's became quickly impressed with him. During his tutelage under Ra's, he'd meet his daughter Talia al Ghul, where the two would quickly develop a romantic interest in each other. They even got legally married in 2006 when he was 27. The bond would quickly become strained when Bruce became rather distrustful of Ra's al Ghul's methods and goals, which was ultimately revealed to Bruce once the training was over. Bruce refused and left back for Gotham, leaving his marriage with Talia annulled.

#### Back in Gotham

After eight years of training, he returned to Gotham on New Years Eve 2006, he made a fittingly bombastic appearance at the annual Wayne Manor New Years Eve party that had been hosted by Alfred Pennyworth previously. He also climbed to the top of Wayne Tower just to prove to himself he could do it. He also begun using requesting the help of Wayne Enterprises board member and engineer Lucius Fox to help create the soon-to-be infamous suit to the dreaded Batman.

### Early Career

#### The Batman

Batman was first spotted March 11th, 2007. Being a target of the police for his vigilante behavior and by criminals on the street for his crime-fighting, he quickly became a notorious figure around Gotham. The only person who went against the corrupt police force was a person from his past, by the name of Jim Gordon. He acted as Batman's in to the GCPD. However, being Batman led to some concerns from Alfred for his own safety. The fear of his surrogate son risking his life for a greater cause.