Batman

## Overview

The Iron Batman, more commonly known as either Iron Man or Batman, is a dark and grim genius inventor and trillionaire industrialist with a personal vendetta against criminals. Traumatized by the death of his parents, (twice over, mind you), Batman has sworn to rid Gotham from the criminal elements that took his parents from him. He is very paranoid and obsessive, which often makes it difficult for him to trust other people that aren't Alfred, or members of the Outsiders.

Despite this, Batman has proved to have a great love for humanity, which was instilled by his parents. His father was a doctor, while his mother was a crusader against child abuse. Indeed, Batman's oath of vengeance is tempered with the greater ideal of justice. He refrains from killing, as he feels this would not make him any better than the criminals he fights. He is also a very prominent member of the Justice League Avengers and the founder of the Outsiders.

## History

### Wayne and Stark

In addition to Howard and his wife Maria suffering the latter's inability to give birth again, they needed to find a healthy boy to act as a decoy in place of their secret firstborn, Arno Stark. Arno's gestation had been extremely difficult, and his birth was only made possible with the help of an alien robot, the Rigellian Recorder 451, who had agreed to help the baby survive in exchange for the opportunity to bioengineer him, so he could accelerate humanity's technological growth in the future.

However, as 451 genetically modified the baby in the womb, Howard had discovered the robot hid some sort of kill switch, that would compromise the life of his son in the future, for which Stark developed a "biococktail" to interfere with it behind 451's back. Once Arno was born, 451 left the Earth. In a turn of events, Howard's interference with 451's machinations caused the newborn to become fatally ill. The Starks decided to keep the baby hidden in the Maria Stark Foundation Hospice. In addition to filling the void left by Arno's fatal illness, Bruce's adoption would prevent 451 from learning of Howard's meddling if it ever returned to Earth.

### Early Life

**Bruce Findlay Wayne**, also known as **Findlay Stark**, was born to two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Martha Marie Kane and Doctor Thomas Anthony Wayne, who at the time had assumed the aliases of "Amanda Armstrong" and "Jude Hayworth." Dr. Wayne was once a secret Hydra double-agent, but deserted the organization after being convinced that he was on the wrong side. As penance for aiding the organization, he dedicated his life and fortune to philanthropy, settling in Gotham City with Martha, whom he married.

However, their married bliss was short-lived, as Hydra located them and sent an assassin to eliminate the rogue agent and his wife a single year after Bruce was born. Director Nick Fury followed agency adoption procedures and the baby was left in an orphanage in Sofia, Bulgaria. Dr. Wayne's associate and famous industrialist Howard Stark learned of this and decided to find the baby and adopt him, keeping the name Martha wished he retained: Bruce.

Despite young Bruce's age at the time of the incident, he had flashbacks of the horrible incident in the form of nightmares, and eventually discovered the truth of his adoption from his adoptive parents, who decided to take family trips to the old Wayne estate every so often so that Bruce could pay his respects to his parents' graves (at Maria's insistence). When Bruce was four during one of these trips, he fell down the Wayne family well into the caverns beneath Wayne Manor, attracting the attention of several bats. His father eventually came to his rescue, which would further strain their relationship. These caves would later become the Batcave.

While loved unconditionally by Maria, Bruce suffered from a strained relationship with his father, both due to the contrast of Bruce's sensitive and reclusive nature with Howard's glorification of physical prowess and Howard's ever-increasing drinking habits, which caused him to verbally abuse Bruce and suffer from mood swings. This last factor caused Bruce to turn to electronics as a coping mechanism at barely five years old, as he started to believe hardware to be comprehensible and reliable, whereas people were unpredictable and hard to understand. Bruce's world couldn't find order, but the things he built did.

At the age of eight, Bruce and his adoptive parents were walking home from the Monarch Theater in Gotham one night, when they were held up at gunpoint by a mugger who demanded the pearl necklace that Maria was wearing. When Howard Stark refused to surrender it, both he and Maria were shot dead in the streets. The killer was Joseph Chilton, 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.

At age 14, Bruce Wayne began his global sojourn, attending courses at Cambridge, the Sorbonne, Berlin School of Science and other European universities, only taking subjects that suited him and his plan. However, he did not often stay long and would often drop out after one semester. In spite of this, Bruce eventually joined an undergraduate program at MIT at the age of fifteen. He would effortlessly graduate as class valedictorian with double majors in physics and engineering. When he was seventeen, Bruce met Meredith McCall, his first love and, unfortunately, the daughter of Howard's greatest business rival. Their relationship didn't develop beyond being a summer love, due to interference of Meredith's father. Meredith was sent to live with relatives, and Bruce was scheduled to go to Europe for education, with neither being told where the other was.

Around this time, Bruce met Dr. Ted Slaght during a symposium. The physicist became a mentor to him, and taught him values beyond the importance of science, like the significance of guiding the search for knowledge with an ethical compass, and carrying an open mind. While abroad, he studied and received training in multiple martial art styles from various instructors in different countries. He learnt man-hunting from Frenchman Henri Ducard, stealth and reconnaissance under the Japanese ninja Kirigi and other certified shinobi, hunting under the African Bushman (the Ghost Tribes of the Ten-Eyed Brotherhood, among others), hand-to hand combat under the tutelage of Ted Grant, a world-champion boxer, and David Cain, one of the world's premier assassins; traditional healing disciplines under Nepalese monks and even ventriloquism under skilled practitioners. Bruce also trained with Chu Chin Li and Tsunemoto in martial arts. He was trained in kung fu by The Help.

He was also trained in archery by Oliver Queen. At the age of 17, Bruce was trained by detective Harvey Harris to improve his detective skills. At age 20, he attempted to join the FBI, but after learning about its regulations and conduct, Wayne deducted that he would never be able to completely oppose crime while working within the legal system. The final mentor Bruce trained with was bounty hunter Willie Doggett, when Bruce and Willie were tracking a target, Willie was killed and Bruce managed to fight off the target by throwing him over a cliff, along with his parka. Luckily Bruce was rescued by a shaman and survived. After this, Bruce returned to Gotham after twelve years of training at the age of 25, when he learned that, as per his parents' secret will, he inherited his adoptive father's business, Stark Industries. Within a few years, he turned it from solely a munitions firm to a multinational corporation with a range of interests covering virtually all types of contemporary scientific industry, and the leader at the cutting edge of electronics.

#### Batman Begins

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 the well incident, and 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. Most of the Gotham City Police Department was sent in force to capture him. He gained his most powerful ally when he met Police Lieutenant James Gordon, one of the few honest cops on the force. The two developed a working relationship operating outside of the law when they needed to.

### Inventing the Iron Batman Armor

While overseeing a military demonstration of his technology in Sin-Cong, Bruce's escort tripped a booby trap that killed said escort and lodged shrapnel in his chest. The gravely injured Bruce was taken captive by the terrorist leader Wong-Chu, and was informed that within a week the shrapnel would penetrate his heart and kill him. Wong-Chu falsely promised Bruce that if he built a powerful weapon, he would be allowed to undergo an operation to save his life. Even though Bruce realized the tyrant was lying, he agreed, hoping to gain time and access to tools.

Bruce was given access to a small laboratory with another captive, the renowned Asian physicist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Professor Ho Yinsen, whose work Bruce admired in college. With Yinsen acting as his assistant, Bruce designed and built an electrically powered suit of armor with a pacemaker-like device that enabled Bruce's heart to keep beating, the armor was also equipped with heavy offensive weaponry.

Donning the suit, Bruce connected it to its power source, an electrical generator. Lying on a table Bruce was helpless until the suit was fully charged. In the least fortunate turn of events, Wong-Chu decided to check on his prisoners. Knowing that if they were found all of their work was for nothing, Yinsen decided to sacrifice his own life by distracting Wong-Chu, giving Bruce the extra time he needed to charge the armored suit fully. As the Iron Batman, Bruce avenged Yinsen's death and scattered Wong-Chu's guerrilla troops. Then, still clad in his armor, which was necessary to keep his heart beating, Bruce made his way toward the front lines, trying to escape enemy territory.

James Rhodes, a pilot with the United States Marines, had been shot down by rockets while he was on a reconnaissance mission. Rhodes managed to land safely and was attempting to get his helicopter air-worthy when he encountered the wandering Iron Batman. After Iron Batman helped Rhodes fight off an attack by enemy forces, Rhodes allowed him to drain the helicopter's batteries to recharge his armor. The two continued to make their way back to American forces and stumbled upon a hidden rocket base. Stealing an enemy helicopter, they destroyed the site and flew to the nearest American base.

Back in the United States, Bruce redesigned his chest plate, which contained a pacemaker-like device, reducing the chest plate's size and weight so he could wear it under his normal clothing. Required to wear the armor's chest plate at all times to keep his heart alive and beating, Bruce decided to put the rest of the armor to regular use as well.

After redesigning the entire armored suit to match the lighter chest plate, Bruce made the existence of the suit public. He concealed the suit's true origin, as well as the fact that he himself had to wear the chest plate to live.

### Becoming a Super Hero

Soon afterward, Bruce donned one of his battle suits in order to prevent thieves from stealing parts from the other copies of it. This experience made him realize that the suit was too dangerous to be made available to the public. The next day Bruce revealed what had happened to him in the war zone to Joanna Nivena, his then fiancé. Together they attended a tennis match in Forest Hills, N.Y. that afternoon. Bruce brought along his armor, which he was taking to a nearby laboratory for tests. Terrorists who threatened to kill everyone present with a bomb invaded the match. Joanna urged Bruce to don the armor to stop the terrorists. Bruce did so, captured the terrorists and saved the spectators by throwing himself atop the bomb. The Iron Batman thus publicly became a hero, and Bruce had a new sense of purpose, having decided to combat evildoers as the Iron Batman.

Wishing to retain some degree of anonymity, Bruce established the fiction that Iron Batman was his paid bodyguard wearing a suit of armor that he had invented. Only his most trusted aides learned Bruce and Iron Batman were one and the same. One of these early confidantes was Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce's butler since childhood. Hogan fell in love with Bruce's secretary Pepper Potts, whom Bruce eventually fell in love with as well. Even though Potts reciprocated Bruce's feelings, she eventually began a whirlwind romance with Hogan, which ended with the two of them getting married.

At first, Bruce used his Iron Batman identity mostly to combat spies, like the Actor, and criminals who threatened Stark Industries, like the Melter or Mr. Doll.

During this time, the original Crimson Dynamo attacked Stark Industries, but Bruce Wayne persuaded him to defect. Also, Bruce utilized the Iron Batman suit for the first time against the Mandarin, who would become one of his most recurring enemies.

Later, he expanded the scope of his alter ego's activities to battle any force or person who threatened the security of America or the world. Bruce was instrumental in the organization and armament of the original global intelligence and law-enforcement agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D.. As Iron Batman, he became an founding member of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", the team of super-human champions known as the Avengers. Bruce donated his Manhattan mansion to the Avengers for their exclusive use.

As an Avenger, Bruce would go on to participate in many missions over the years, although he sometimes had trouble reconciling his private affairs with his responsibilities in the Avengers. With the other remaining founders after the Hulk left, he was among those who discovered the frozen form of the heroic Captain America, still frozen since World War II. He was also the Avenger who sponsored the membership of Hawkeye, a man whom he had briefly fought with, after realizing his good intentions. Hawkeye was one of the new Avengers who joined when Bruce and the other founders decided to take leaves of absence.

Over the years Bruce constantly refined and modified the design of his armor. From a bulky, transistorized iron suit, he eventually built a relatively lightweight, integrated circuit, magnetically-polarized suit with more human-looking articulated musculature. Bruce's extraordinary genius in theoretical mechanics has enabled him to keep his suit of armor state-of-the-art. Bruce eventually underwent heart surgery so that he was no longer obligated to wear his metallic chest plate.

#### 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. Bruce Wayne went on his first date with Selina Kyle around this time, who flirted with him as Catwoman by night unaware of his alter-ego.

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.

### Justice League 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.

In *Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity*, Clark later introduced him to Wonder Woman while chasing "The Purge" led by the Mandarin. His methods however created tensions between them. He later rescued her from Bizarro and she fled to Themyscira. After finding her, he kissed her when he was overwhelmed by her beauty and the island's enchantments, leaving a memory which he kept fighting for, though he was decked by her in response. After being surprised by his gesture of retrieving her Lasso of Truth and Superman stating that despite his methods, he was a brave man who fought for justice despite no powers, she came to see him as a complicated man. She also wondered about him acting alone, finding him obsessive. After defeating the Mandarin and Bizarro, she came to see him as a loyal companion.

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 Avengers.

### Illuminati

In the wake of the Kree-Skrull War, Bruce initiated a meeting in Wakanda with Professor X, Mister Fantastic, Black Bolt, Doctor Strange, and Namor to form a clandestine, unnamed group to devise strategy and policy regarding overarching menaces (the "Illuminati"). Bruce's original goal was to create a governing body for all super heroes in the world to answer to. However, the different beliefs and philosophies, besides the fact that many heroes chose to conceal their real identities, made Bruce's plan impractical. Despite this, the group agreed to share vital information.

### Founding Stark Enterprises

Wayne also managed to reclaim control of his fortune, although he decided not to claim ownership of the company formerly known as Stark International. Rather, he founded a new technological design and manufacturing company, Stark Enterprises, based in Silicon Valley in Northern California. Stark Enterprises quickly became a highly successful and innovative company.

### Armor Wars

Bruce learned that an industrialist calling himself Spymaster had stolen the plans for the many secret technological innovations found in the Iron Batman armor. Spymaster had then turned these plans over to Bruce's most powerful and antagonistic business rival, Justin Hammer, who in turn had made them available to criminals. These criminals had then incorporated the stolen technological innovations into their own armored battle suits. Outraged that his inventions were being used for criminal activity, and even for killing, Bruce determined to deprive these criminals of his secrets. He planted a computer virus in Hammer's computer system that would wipe out all traces of the plans for Bruce's Iron Batman technology. As Iron Batman, Bruce sought out and caught many criminals and others (such as the United States government's Guardsmen) who wore a battle suit utilizing his technology. He implanted devices called 'negator packs' on their armor to fuse the circuits, rendering the suit useless. With the computer records of the plans for his technology gone, presumably it could not be used in reconstructing the suits. Iron Batman accidentally killed the second Titanium Man (also known as the Gremlin) in the course of these "Armor Wars."

The United States government branded Iron Batman an outlaw as a result of these and other vigilante actions, and his longtime Avengers comrade Captain America was among those opposing him. Bruce publicly claimed that he had fired Iron Batman in displeasure over his illegal activity. He even went so far as to create a false history for "Randall Pierce," allegedly the original Iron Batman's identity, which he turned over to the government. Shortly afterward, Iron Batman was apparently destroyed in combat with government forces.

In fact, however, Bruce had survived. He created an even more sophisticated armored battle suit to wear as Iron Batman using technology far more advanced than that which Spymaster had stolen from him. Bruce continued to go into action as Iron Batman, but publicly claimed that the previous Iron Batman was dead and that another employee of his whose identity was being kept secret was now wearing the armored suit.

## Aliases

To protect his secret identity, Batman has constructed a fake persona he can use in his civilian identity. To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is a self-absorbed, superficial, irresponsible playboy and philanthropist. Only his closest allies know that this attitude is just an act.

The Bruce Wayne/playboy aspect of his character is a facade, while the masked and particularly dark, grim vigilante is marked as the "true" man. Usually, Batman is further separated from Bruce Wayne by the raspy and stony bass voice he usually assumes while costumed.

Another identity used by Batman is that of gangster "Matches Malone." Matches was a small-time arsonist who killed his brother and then committed suicide by burning himself to death. Becoming Matches allows Batman to operate within the criminal community as a respected member with pre-established credibility. Matches is often under suspicion of being a snitch to Batman however, and great lengths often have to be gone to maintain his "rep." Matches would later return to Gotham City, and reveal to Batman he had been innocent, and had faked his death. The real Matches was murdered by the Ventriloquist, for Batman's actions in his name, but Batman was able to preserve the identity and even avenge his death. He has since, when in the Malone persona, pursued it to the point of even being incarcerated as him in Blackgate Penitentiary.

Several villains have discovered his true identity over the years, most notably eco-terrorist Mandarin, Hugo Strange, the Riddler, the Scarecrow, and Bane.

The villain Hush has attempted to take revenge on both sides of the Batman/Bruce Wayne persona, and he is noted throughout his run as a villain who has personal ties to Bruce Wayne and/or Batman; Hush is later revealed to be Thomas Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. Fortunately, most of Batman's enemies have dismissed the notion of Bruce Wayne as Batman because of Wayne's apparent dim-wittedness and self-absorption while the ones who do know prefer to keep the information to themselves for their own reasons. The Joker has had opportunities to learn himself, but he has always refused them, since it would personally rob the mystique of his enemy.

## Powers

Batman is a normal human being who does not possess any superhuman abilities, but has character flaws that can be exploited by enemies.

As a young child, Bruce tended to be solitary and withdrawn, a condition only exacerbated by the murder of his parents. This lead to his current state as a loner who would prefer to be on his own rather than rely on others. His difficulty in trusting others is a constant issue for him to overcome, and perhaps his only weakness.

## Relationships

His longest and closest relationship is with Alfred, who represents a father figure, confessor, and advisor. Alfred and he have clashed in the past, but share a deep and unbreakable bond. To the world at large, Bruce Wayne looks like a rich, good looking, dim-witted playboy. But there are times when Bruce has found love - the beautiful Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Talia al Ghul, Vicki Vale, Sasha Bordeaux, Zatanna and some others. They have all fallen in love with him. Bruce can love, it's just more difficult for him to after his parents deaths.

Next to Alfred, his closest relationships are with his partners and students. Although they have not always been harmonious, due to his nature as an often harsh, strict and emotionally withdrawn mentor. James Gordon remains a close friend and staunch ally, although their relationship has also been challenged by Batman's secretive nature. Still, Gordon remains arguably Batman's best friend.

His relationship with other superheroes and metahumans has been complex. Though a long time member of both the Justice League and the Outsiders, and a close associate of the Justice Society and the Teen Titans, he also does not fully trust them. This (warranted or not) has led to his keeping files on how to defeat allies and friends in case they ever cross the line. This stems from events revealed in the Identity Crisis incident where his memory was erased by other members of the Justice League Avengers to cover up their roles in the punishment of Doctor Light (Arthur Light), who had raped Ralph Dibny's (Elongated Man's) wife. In the past, this information has been used against him and his allies, first by Ra's Al Ghul, and then later by the OMAC Project.

Among the superhero community outside the Robins and Batgirls, he is closest to Superman and Wonder Woman, having a long established partnership with Superman and a romantic relationship with Wonder Woman. These relationships have never been smooth. Superman and Batman have often disagreed with each other over methods and trust. A particularly sour point was the arrival of Kara Zor-El; Superman believed Batman was being unnecessarily cautious about a potentially dangerous Kara, and Batman was shocked at Superman's willingness to reveal his secret identity to a girl with little actual memory of Krypton. Despite their disagreements, the two hold a deep respect for each other.

Batman has occasionally been arrogant, treating many of his allies with various degrees of disrespect. He often imposes his exacting standards on others as he does himself. He also sometimes overestimates his own abilities, allowing foes to take advantage of that.

## Suit

Batman has a number of suits but his most powerful is his Model XVII armor, wherein he was able to defeat Darkseid while the rest of the Justice League Avengers were incapacitated at his hands. The armor itself is composed of a shifting nano-kinetic imperium composition which can be shed and re-adorned to his person on command via voice activated computer A.I, with a built-in cloaking feature giving him total invisibility.

The armor's cape transforms into a pair of wings for flight which are composed of the same nano-imperium particle mesh. Enabling them to change shape and semblance diving into living bodies and putting off the inner ear, liquefy and reform around enemies to flail/bash them around, use them as shields for defense or stone cutting armaments for offence. As well as the ability to transfer all power to the chest insignia port, the latter of which can be used to send out a powerful blast of energy. The wings were torn off by Darkseid during Batman's battle with him over his son's corpse, but were quickly dispersed into a swarm of bats, then quickly reintegrated into the suit. He can eject select elements of the armor in order to prolong his life within it with voice commands, such as the helmet and the gloves, should necessity call for such measures.

## Trivia

Wayne guards his secret identity well, but several individuals know of his superhero alter-ego, including Superman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Lois Lane, The Flash (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen & Wally West), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner & Alan Scott), Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brien), Arsenal (Roy Harper), Starman (Thom Kallor), Vixen (Mari McCabe), Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce), Aquaman (Arthur Curry), Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance), Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Catwoman (Selina Kyle), Red Hood (Jason Todd), Red Robin (Tim Drake), Oracle (Barbara Gordon), Robin IV (Damian Wayne), The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz), and his butler Alfred Pennyworth. The kindly Doctor Leslie Thompkins also is aware of Bruce's secret identity.