Batman (Pre New 52)

#### Murder

As a young child, Bruce Wayne watched his parents murdered before his eyes. Thomas and Martha Wayne were walking home from the Monarch Theater one night with their son, when they were held up at gunpoint by a mugger who demanded the pearl necklace that Martha was wearing. When Dr. Wayne refused to surrender it, both he and Martha were shot dead in the streets.The killer was a criminal known as Joe Chill.Fortunately, physician and social worker Leslie Thompkins was making a house call that night, and arrived to give loving comfort to the traumatized Bruce. He was then raised on the Wayne Manor estate, with help from the wise and loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce had very few friends during his childhood.

#### Training

Bruce Wayne swore an oath to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents' lives. He spent his youth traveling the world, training himself to intellectual and physical perfection and learning a variety of crime-fighting skills, including chemistry, criminology, forensics, martial arts, gymnastics, disguise, and escape artistry.

### Batman Year 1

Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham City after many years of study and training with his body and mind developed to perfection. Despite having all of the skills and methods to fight crime, he still felt that there was something missing in the completion of his physical and mental arsenal. Wayne discovered the answer late one night while sitting in his manor. He recalled his fear of bats as a child after a large one crashed through one of the windows; he ultimately decided to make his appearance resemble a bat's. Wayne designed himself a costume equipped with experimental technology and set out against the crime and corruption that thrived in Gotham City.Wayne's tactics to oppose crime as a vigilante at night proved successful leading him to become an urban legend in Gotham City. He revealed himself at a dinner of the most influential and corrupt figures in Gotham City and promised them all that their reigns on the city would eventually end. Wayne's first ally was assistant district attorney Harvey Dent.

### Rogues Gallery

Batman's presence in Gotham City generated a new breed of criminals, no longer the simple thugs and gangsters involved in Gotham Organized Crime, but more dynamic personalities. The first person inspired by him was Catwoman, a dangerous seductress using his style and methods towards her own ends.His next challenge was Dr. Hugo Strange, a mad scientist who had created Monster Men to do his bidding.He met his greatest nemesis when the Joker first appeared, a brilliant serial killer dressing like a clown and murdering people uncontrollably. He had been exposed to chemicals in an accident that drove him completely insane, and he swore revenge on Gotham for creating him. This confrontation led to the creation of the Bat-Signal, a giant spotlight displayed in the sky whenever there is danger and Batman is needed. There would be many more villains starting to appear within this time. The Scarecrow was an outcast who developed techniques to strike terror into the hearts of his victims for his own pleasure.The Riddler was another deranged genius who felt a psychological compulsion to demonstrate his intellectual superiority, and constructed elaborate crimes while delivering clues daring law enforcement to catch him.Poison Ivy attempted to destroy the city when an advanced connection to plant-life led her to wage a personal war against humanity.The psychotic Mister Freeze used dangerous experimental technology to take revenge against society when his wife died.Another crime boss appeared named the Penguin who acted as an eccentric criminal mastermind without any crippling mental illness other than a desire to prove himself. Many of these villains were kept in Arkham Asylum for the criminally insane.

### The Long Halloween

Batman and his trusted allies James Gordon and Harvey Dent met up on the rooftop of police headquarters one night, and they swore that they would bring down the organized crime syndicates led by Carmine "The Roman" Falcone and Sal Maroni that were completely controlling their town. Although it was necessary to bend the rules in their efforts, they agreed that they would never break them, and become as bad as the evil they fought against.Meanwhile a serial killer named Holiday began stalking prominent Mafiosos and shooting them dead. There was suspicion immediately cast on the three men in the triumvirate, and the possibility that it might be someone trying to remove their competition.Gotham's new breed of criminals was replacing the traditional gangsters, and the underground was slowly being taken over by costumed freaks with no respect for the old ways. Batman's presence was arguably the cause of this.Amongst the killings Falcone's son Alberto was murdered.In his desperation, the Roman changed the game by employing super-villains in his activities. Falcone and Maroni each believed the other was responsible for Holiday, and their gang wars tore Gotham apart.Harvey Dent became a leading suspect because of his vindictive attitude towards criminals.Bruce Wayne was also suspected of involvement with the Roman's organization and arrested.His father Thomas Wayne had reluctantly performed emergency surgery on a young Carmine Falcone for bullet wounds and indebted him, making him indirectly responsible for the Roman's empire. Bruce's trial proved his innocence thanks to the testimony of Alfred Pennyworth.Dent later admitted this was a mistake, and Maroni brought himself into custody with the intention of spilling his secrets before he was killed.At the trial, Maroni smuggled in a bottle of acid and threw it at Dent's face during the prosecution, leaving him horribly disfigured. This also drove him insane, and he killed a doctor escaping from the hospital. They arrived at the conclusion that Harvey Dent was Holiday, and Batman attempted to find him after he escaped. While Gordon was transporting the gangster to a different cell, Holiday appeared and shot Sal Maroni in the head, finally revealing his real identity... Alberto Falcone, having faked his own death.Batman was disguised as the guard accompanying them, and he beat Holiday down before taking him into custody. Harvey Dent reappeared calling himself Two-Face after the nature of his personal tragedy, taking a team of villains into the Roman's private office. As the two leaders battled, Batman arrived and put most of the criminals down, but he was unable to stop Two-Face from shooting Carmine Falcone twice in the head. The three men, Batman, Gordon and Dent, had a final meeting on the rooftop of police headquarters. Dent was accused of betraying the things he believed in, but he insisted that his methods were the only ones that actually got rid of the Roman and he did what he needed to. He was then arrested, and although Batman and Gordon had seen one of the best men they knew completely broken, they still maintained that Gotham City could be saved and ridden of evil. Neither of them was willing to give up.

### JL Origins

There are several stories of the first time Batman met Superman, the greatest of his friends and allies. In the first version, Superman came to Gotham viewing Batman as a dangerous criminal and attempted to arrest him for his vigilante tactics. They were forced to work together tracking down the dangerous psychopath Magpie, and Superman realized that although his own style of crime-fighting was suitable for his environment, the Bat-Man did what he needed to do to protect his city. They both gained respect for each other, although they doubted they would ever work together again.In another version, they both met as Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent while they were forced to share a room on a cruise ship. They are made aware of each other's secret identities when both are called upon to fight threats including Deathstroke and the Crime Syndicate.Superman later introduced him to Wonder Woman when they teamed up against Ra's al Ghul and Bizarro, and she disliked Batman at first for his methods. She later gained respect for him after they fought together as a team for the first time.There was a great team-up between many heroes to fight the alien Appellaxian invaders, including these three along with Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter.Eventually they would decide that they could better protect the planet if they permanently joined forces... and they became the Justice League of America.

### Robin #1

Bruce Wayne was on an excursion to the circus when he witnessed another tragedy that would shape his life. The parents of a young acrobat named Dick Grayson were murdered by the gangster Tony Zucco.He saw both great potential and something of himself in the boy that night. Although Bruce knew he could never replace Dick's father, he adopted Grayson as his legal ward to help him and provide guidance where he didn't have any when he was that age.He eventually revealed his secret identity as Batman.Dick wanted justice for his parents, and he agreed to a regiment of rigorous physical and mental training so that he could become Batman's partner.fter several months Dick was finally ready to take to the streets as Robin, fighting crime alongside his mentor.Before he could go into action regularly, Robin had to pass a final exam and he proved himself by taking down the gangster Joe Minette.Their first adventures as a dynamic duo were a remarkable change in tone, with Robin's lightheartedness alleviating the grim seriousness. Dick's first solo mission was stopping Mad Hatter in a sex trafficking ring while Bruce was indisposed.Everything changed when Robin was targeted by Two-Face. A double-gallows trap caused Robin to inadvertently cause the death of an innocent man, after which Two-Face beat him within an inch of his life using a baseball bat and made Batman watch.Batman refused to let Robin go out with him anymore after the boy recovered because he didn't want to put him in further danger.Dick had to prove again that he really wanted this life, demonstrating his competence and resolve.

### Batgirl

When Bruce was invited to the Million Dollar Masquerade Ball, Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara crashed the party in a female version of Batman's costume to surprise her father, who was also attending the event. At the party, before she revealed herself to Gordon, Killer Moth and his henchmen crashed the party, gunning for Bruce Wayne. James Gordon was taken out quickly so Barbara decided to step in. Bruce Wayne was previously shoved out of the way by Barbara so that she could protect him and her unconscious adoptive father, thinking that Bruce was but a helpless bystander. She defeated Killer Moth, breaking a heel in the process. She was later named Batgirl by Killer Moth, which stuck, even though she stated that she would have preferred Batwoman. Directly after the confrontation with Killer Moth, Batgirl met Batman and Robin. Batgirl's first encounter with Batman and Robin proved to be unpleasant. While she was angry with Batman's automatic dismissal of her capabilities, she was repulsed by Robin having a romantic interest in her. Soon after that, Batgirl attempted to swing from rooftops, being saved by Robin, who told her that regular rope is not good for diving from forty feet in the air. Later, Robin sent Batgirl equipment, pretending that he believed in her and Batman didn't. In reality, Robin was sending them on the orders of Batman. She was later captured by Batman and Robin to be tested, an examination she failed in Batman's eyes, not being able to save the innocents in a holographic containment chamber. Batgirl later teamed up with Black Canary, her idol, and she finally gained some respect from Batman, while Robin still harbored a crush on her. She was introduced to James Gordon as Batgirl, one of Batman's protégés.Batgirl's career came to an end after a few years, when the Joker shot and crippled her in an attempt to drive Commissioner Gordon insane. Although Batman eventually rescued Gordon and stopped the Joker, Barbara could never walk again.

### Knightfall

#### Arc 1

The plot of Knightfall began with the master criminal Bane freeing all of the maximum-security inmates of Arkham Asylum. Bane's plan consisted of weakening Batman by forcing him to deal with the deadly villains one at a time. Among the freed inmates, there were numerous high profile villains, such as the Joker, who trapped Arkham's administrator Jeremiah Arkham, and Scarecrow, as well as many less known villains, such as the Mad Hatter, The Ventriloquist, Firefly, Cavalier, and Victor Zsasz. The storyline of Knightfall drove a large rift in the relationship between Robin and Batman, as Batman sought to face the outbreak alone. Indeed, in later issues, Tim Drake, the current Robin, asks Batman if he is even needed as his sidekick anymore.Over the next few issues, Batman became weaker and weaker as each criminal was put away. The combination of the Joker and Scarecrow took Batman to his mental and physical limits. After this encounter, Bane made his move and attacked Batman (by this time, Bane had deduced the identity of Batman to be Bruce Wayne) at Wayne Manor, where he was most vulnerable as his alter-ego. The fight between Bruce Wayne and Bane was detailed in Batman #497, and ended in Bane breaking Wayne's back over his knee. With Batman supposedly out of the way, Bane assumes control of Gotham City and begins to take over a number of illegal operations within it.
After his defeat, Bruce Wayne enlists the aid of Dr. Shondra Kinsolving to rehabilitate him and asks Jean-Paul Valley (Azrael) to take up the mantle of Batman so that Gotham has a protector. Tim Drake argues with Bruce to allow Dick Grayson (the former Robin) to become Batman, as he is more experienced and mentally competent. However, Bruce says that Dick is his own man now, with his own responsibilities and would only do so reluctantly; Dick later expressed resentment at not being asked to stand in as Batman. Bruce's rationale for this decision is revealed in later issues -- secretly, he doesn't want Dick to have to face Bane, as he knows Dick's character will compel him to try. Bruce gives Jean-Paul strict orders never to engage Bane in combat; indeed, when Jean-Paul faces Bane, only his modified gloves save him from being thrown to his death.Soon after, Kinsolving and Tim's father Jack Drake are kidnapped and Bruce with Alfred leave the country to find them - their story is continued in Knightquest: The Search, whilst the happenings in Gotham are recorded in Knightquest: The Crusade. Jean-Paul is shown as a different but not dangerous Batman until an encounter with the Scarecrow, which culminates in Jean-Paul being infected by Scarecrow's fear gas and the "System" - his programming as Azrael - taking over, in order to combat Jean-Paul's fear. Following this, Jean-Paul was unable to shake the influence of the System, giving into it completely after his first defeat at Bane's hands, and being increasingly influenced by it during the rest of his tenure as Batman. Over the next few issues he is portrayed in, Jean-Paul alienates Robin and becomes paranoid and arrogant, the opposite of what Bruce had chosen him for. In Batman #500, Jean-Paul in his new mechanical Batsuit confronts Bane in a vicious battle and eventually prevails. Jean-Paul leaves Bane broken mentally and physically, although he struggles with the choice of whether to simply kill Bane or hand him over to the police. Stating that he will let Bane go to Blackgate Prison, Jean-Paul continues to watch over Gotham after the fight but grows increasingly unstable.The massive story was quickly collected into two volumes of trade paperbacks. Volume one was subtitled Broken Bat and the second was Who Rules the Night. In late 2011, the story was recollected in one massive volume together with The Vengeance of Bane as Knightfall Vol. 1: Knightfall.