Batman

**Batman** is a title given for and passed down to multiple costumed crimefighters based in Gotham City, New Jersey.  Ever since the first Batman went public in 1939, Batmen have been involved in significant historical events, including major crises.

## Bruce Wayne (1939-1954)

#### **The Park Row Tragedy**

Bruce Wayne was born on February 19, 1916  into the Wayne family, one of the oldest and richest in Gotham City. His father, Dr. Thomas Wayne, was an esteemed physician and surgeon who inherited the industrial corporation Wayne Enterprises, and his mother, Martha Wayne (née Kane) was the heiress to the Kane Chemical fortune, a relative of newspaper mogul Charles Foster Kane,  and a famous socialite. Both were renowned for their philanthropic efforts, stemming from a deep-seated belief that the higher classes should use their wealth to improve the lives of the lower classes.

Thomas and Martha loved and indulged their child, who had a happy childhood. However, everything changed when they went to the Monarch Theatre in Gotham's Park Row on June 26, 1924.  The family caught a late showing of the George Valentin swashbuckler *The Mark of Zorro* , and it was already nightfall by the time they left the theater. A mugger, later identified as Joe Chill, leaped out of an alley and demanded Martha Wayne's pearl necklace. Chill shot Thomas when he tried to defend her, and he died instantly; he then shot Martha when she screamed for help, and she perished from blood loss exacerbated by a weak heart. Chill, himself a father, escaped and left Bruce alive, but also orphaned and traumatized.

The child was then placed in the care of Alfred J. Pennyworth, the family butler. His father Jarvis had been the family manservant before him, and he encouraged his son to follow him. Initially he resisted and returned to his father's home of England, enlisting in the Royal Marines. After fighting in the Boxer Rebellion and sensing that a devastating war was brewing, he traded the military life for an actor's life and performed in theater under the stage name of Alfred Beagle.  However, his father, on his deathbed, convinced him to take on the role of the Wayne family butler, saying that a baby was on the way and someone needed to be there. Sensing that it was his duty, Pennyworth accepted his new employment in 1915, unaware of the dramatic turns that his life, and that of the family, would take.

In the days after the double murder, Bruce was inconsolable and practically catatonic. But one night, he privately swore that he would avenge the deaths of his parents and dedicate his life to fighting crime. To this end, he committed himself to intensive studying on a myriad of eclectic subjects, especially in the sciences, and developed an extraordinary intellect by the time he was a teenager. He also took up athletics and bodybuilding with similar excellent results. Pennyworth encouraged Bruce, believing this behavior to be a sign that he refused to be stunted and a healthy method of moving on from the tragedy. He even agreed to train him in some of the combat and medic skills he learned in his time as a Royal Marine, as well as the art of acting. Due to his outstanding intellect, and with some help from his notable inheritance, Bruce was able to attend college at a younger age than normal and earned a Diploma of Law from Yale University's satellite campus in Gotham City in 1934.

#### **Five Years of Training**

Bruce Wayne considered embarking on a career in law, either in the courts or as a police officer, but he concluded that Gotham City's law system and police force were both extremely corrupt. Jaded, he chose to travel the world in search of a better solution for his home city's crime problems. After reading reports from 1917 concerning a mysterious avenger named Judex,  he took off to France to see for himself.

By this point, Judex had been inactive for nearly twenty years, but despite the efforts of reporters (including Philipe Guérande, who worked with the avenger himself in a campaign against the sinister Apache gang known as the Vampires),  little was known about the man himself. Upon some questioning from Wayne, Guérande mentioned that he once heard Judex mention something about a castle and speculated he used one as a base of operations. Upon researching known areas where Judex was spotted throughout 1917, Wayne deduced that of the castles near Paris, the most strategically located one for the crimefighter's purposes would have been an abandoned castle near Paris that once the residence of the magically deformed Prince Ardent and his beautiful bride Belle.

The castle quickly became a tourist attraction after the head of the Vampires killed its last private owner, a Dr. Nox with whom Guérande was acquainted, so it struck Wayne as unlikely that Judex operated from the castle itself. However, he had a hunch that there was more to the castle than meets the eye, and on one guided tour he sneaked away from his group and searched for secrets. Wayne understood that most castles had secret entrances and managed to find one *(RADDman: but what? Will investigate)* that led him to a subterranean cave filled with gadgets and space for a car. He learned that Judex was a rich man who used his wealth to create unique gadgets and fund a double life as a caped vigilante.

*(Note: this article is still under construction.)*

Following the deaths of his parents at the hands of a petty mugger and his graduation from college, millionaire Bruce Wayne, heir to the Wayne Corporation, departed from his hometown of Gotham City, New Jersey and traveled the world seeking different solutions for how to handle the massive crime problem that plagued the city. He first roamed the United States, investigating the criminal network-infiltrating Green Hornet  and especially the masked detective known only as “The Spirit”, and also studied accounts of El Zorro from pre-statehood California. The former two showed him the power of fear over criminals, “a cowardly and superstitious lot,” and with the latter he was fascinated by the way that the aristocrat Don Diego de la Vega kept his identity secret by pretending to be a total fop and a terrible swordsman.

His attention was then turned to Europe, where he looked into the history of the Scarlet Pimpernel, a baronet who took on a disguise in order to rescue people from guillotine executions during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution. While in France, he also secretly tracked the active and notorious Judex, who used advanced technology and had a base of operations underground, ideas that Wayne would implement in the future. In Ireland he paid a visit to John Holloway, 17th Lord of Fingall, who once dressed up as a bat to defeat some crooks who tried to defame and swindle his father. While in Britain, he may have also visited and spent some evenings with an elderly beekeeper in the Sussex Downs. His travels to Italy introduced him to stories of the Neapolitan Count Rosalvo, who used two secret identities in a crusade to rid Venice of crime in the waning years of the eighteenth century.

After this he traveled to Asia and extensively studied martial arts and survival techniques, all in preparation for an ambitious plan to be a one-man crimefighting army working outside of the law. In the meantime, he invested money in private weapons development (supposedly for the American military), as well as a “man cave” that was supposedly never finished because the massive cave system under his mansion is inhabited by bats and covered with guano - while technically not a lie, that cave did need cleaning, it was all a cover for what would be the Batcave.

The formation of his secret identity was complete in 1938 when the world shook with the news of Superman, a superpowered being who fought crime in costume. Wayne studied Superman extensively and reversed his methods in a way that a similar style of crimefighting can be applied to Gotham City, whose problems were very different from those of Metropolis, Delaware.

#### **The Life and Death of the Batman**

A year after Superman made his debut, the figure that the press initially dubbed “The Bat-Man” began his battle. Wayne personally preferred to be simply called Batman, which partly spurred him to use the phrase “I’m Batman” when capturing criminals. Due to his nightstalking and brutal nature, he was initially feared by the general public and the city’s police force, and Police Commissioner Gillian Loeb and his successor James Gordon famously led campaigns trying to bring him to justice. There were those who defended his vigilante war on crime, including District Attorney Harvey “Apollo” Dent, and some support was gained after Batman helped take down the crime empires of Sam Maroni and Carmine “The Roman” Falcone.

Any questions about Batman’s morality were swiftly answered when he came to defend his city, state, and world in the Martian invasion of 1939. He teamed up with Superman for the very first time and they repelled the invasion together, elevating both to the status of national and worldwide heroes. They would both become founding members of the All-Star Squadron during World War II, which Bruce Wayne chose not to participate in because of his belief that protection of the homefront was equally important if not more than any foreign theater, although he indeed joined the Justice Society, which focused on domestic crime. It must be noted that some Justice Society members were also members of the All-Star Squadron.

In 1940, he assisted Superman in training the young godlike human Captain Marvel. He was initially hesitant to care for a child, but he felt a connection with Billy Batson, an orphan with a strong desire to fight crime and be a hero. As the years went on and his body aged, Wayne began to feel a bit lonely in his one-man war on Gotham City’s crime and thought of obtaining a sidekick. In 1952, he found a ward in Dick Grayson, the twelve-year-old child of trapeze artists and a former circus performer. His parents were killed when gangsters sabotaged the wire act, and after Batman caught the crooks, he took on Grayson as his sidekick. Grayson took the name Robin, after Robin Hood (and because Batboy would be silly), chose a colorful costume because he had always been more of a fan of Superman and his brightly-colored attire, and trained with Wayne for years. What he did not immediately realize was that Wayne was training him to replace him when his never ending battle finally concluded.

After many years of adventuring, Batman realized that his battle with his one major enemy left active, the Joker, would never end until one of them is dead. The Joker would only win if Batman killed him, and Batman realized that the Joker can only lose if he kills Batman, the one reason he left him alive all this time. Batman sacrificed himself, intentionally losing the fight to the death, causing Joker to go into a catatonic state. As the Joker was taken away to Arkham Asylum for what would be the last time, a dying Bruce Wayne told Dick Grayson, who had fought alongside him as his ward Robin since the early 1950s, that this was meant to save the city from the Joker … and also the Joker from himself, saying that if he didn’t revert to sanity, he’d stay in the asylum until his death. Wayne always believed that no one was beyond saving. He told Grayson that he did well and was like a son to him, and he also asked the boy to take up the mantle after the Joker’s death in case seeing the return of Batman would set him off. Robin then proceeded to form a team of teenaged superheroes known as the Teen Titans and led the group for a while before branching off on his own to patrol Blüdhaven, a neighboring city to Gotham City with an even worse crime rate, as Nightwing.

## Dick Grayson (1966-2012)

#### **Second Knight**

The Joker finally died in 1965, and Dick Grayson, now a young adult, became the new Batman. This new Batman was more light-hearted and wisecracking than the previous one, and had a new costume to make up for it. Shortly after donning the cowl he found a boy, Jason Todd, trying to steal the wheels off of the Batmobile and took him under his wing (No pun intended). In December 1971, Jason’s training concludes and the new Robin makes a debut. However things don't last very long, as an old friend returns.

#### **A Killing Joke and A Death In The Family**

In 1976, The Joker is revived by a mysterious individual using the Lazarus Pit, and he is just as crazy as ever. Joker tracks down the old members of his gang and tracks them down to force them to work for him again. To make his presence known, he heads to the home of Commissioner James Gordon and rings the doorbell, before shooting the first person who comes answers, which just so happened to be Barbara, who just so happened to be Batgirl. While the shooting didn’t kill her, she was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. For years after, she’d use her knowledge to assist Batman and his allies under the name of Oracle.

Dick starts searching all over Gotham City. Using the detective skills Bruce taught him at a young age, he finds Jason pretty soon. He deduces that Joker has Jason captive in the old Sionis Steel Mill. When he goes there, he is knocked out. When Dick wakes up, he finds himself tied up and hanging upside down, where he sees Jason tied to a chair. Dick struggles to escape, but he can't. Suddenly Joker comes into the room holding a crowbar. He explains that Joker would kill Batman, but he's still going to have her fun. He starts hitting Jason with the Crowbar until he can't take it anymore and his head slumps to the side. Dick is furious and escapes from his trap. He runs towards Joker and slams her into a wall and strangles him. to death. For the first time ever, Batman has taken a life. Dick realizes what he has done. Batman is supposed to be a symbol of justice and hope, not a mindless killer! What would Bruce think? So Dick brings Joker’s body to the Batcave so no one can get it’s hands on it ever again, hangs up the cape, and the legend of Batman ends. But not for long.

#### **The Dark Knight Returns**

The year is 1986, 10 years after Jason Todd died, and Gotham is going to hell. James Gordon Jr. is the new Two-Face, Black Mask killed Penguin and took over his criminal empire, the GCPD is struggling to keep up with all the crime, and an entirely new gang emerged called "The Mutants". Meanwhile, Dick Grayson is living alone in the Wayne Manor, still mourning the death of his ward. As he hears about all the crime on The Vicki Vale Show, something awakens inside him and he realizes something. Bruce wouldn't have wanted Dick to kill Joker like that, but he also wouldn't want Dick to give up being Batman just because Jason died. Jason wouldn't want that either. So for the first time in a decade, Dick goes into the Batcave and suits up. Batman needs to be redeemed in the eyes of Gotham, and today is the perfect time to do so.

Batman goes after Two-Face first. After finding some clues and interrogating thugs, he learns that Two-Face is going to rob two banks at the same time. Batman knows he can't be in two places at once, so he calls on an old friend who was in Gotham to help take care of the crime. Roy Harper, the second Green Arrow and former Teen Titan. Together, they stop the heists. When Two-Face hears about this, he is enraged and sends in as many forces as he can to stop the two vigilantes. Of course they all fail. After interrogating some more thugs, Batman and Green Arrow find out that Two-Face is stationed at the Old Solomon Wayne Courthouse. Batman and Green Arrow head over there only to find Two-Face tied up and gagged. That’s when he realized someone else was controlling Two-Face’s men. Batman interrogates Two Face, but can't find any evidence on who did the kidnapping. Before heading off, Batman gives Green Arrow an earpiece so the two can keep in touch.

Batman goes after Black Mask next. He knows Black Mask took over the Penguin's museum, so that would be the first place to look. However, the Iceberg Lounge is highly guarded by experienced fighters, some of which are former soldiers. He can't just barge in there, he has to be stealthy. He sneaks into the Lounge through the ventilation system. Through an air duct, he sees the lounge. Black Mask is nowhere to be seen. He hears two guards talking about how Black Mask has a hidden panic room. Batman thinks Black Mask knew he was coming. Batman sneaks through the vents. He eventually finds the room, only to discover Black Mask was tied up before he could arrive. Batman investigates the body, and discovers Black Mask was kidnapped in the same way as Two-Face. That couldn't be a coincidence. Who could possibly find their way inside a panic room that could only be accessed through vents or a secret entrance?

Finally, Batman goes after the Mutants. He searches the entire city, trying to discover where the Mutants' fortress is. In an alley, he sees several mutants attacking a teen girl. No wait! The girl was attacking the mutants! Batman went down to help the girl fend off the Mutants. After the fight. Batman talked with the girl. He found out her name was Carrie Kelly, and her parents left her to die in Gotham during the evacuations. Feeling sympathy for her, Batman brought her to the Wayne Manor where she would be safer. After that, Batman continued his search. Suddenly, he saw the Bat Signal high in the sky. Curious as to how this happened, Batman went to the top of the empty GCPD building, where he was met with a blow to the head.

When he woke up, he was in the same room where he saw Jason die, suspended upside down. Standing in front of him was a man dressed as the Joker, with a smile painted on his face. The man looked somewhat familiar for some reason. That's when Dick realized, that the man looked a lot like an older Jason Todd. Jason explained that he survived the Joker's beating, but he hates Batman for not killing the original Joker earlier and that he is the leader of the Mutants, whom he believed would bring true justice to the city.. Jason said that he actually wants to kill Batman unlike the previous Joker. Dick escaped from his trap and socked Joker in the jaw. Jason asked Dick if he was going to kill him, just like he did with Joker. Dick replied that he wasn't going to kill him, but he's going to make him wish he was dead, before knocking him unconscious and handcuffing him. Dick used an old GCPD commlink on his utility belt to tell the GCPD that they will find Joker in the Steel Mill. They arrive several minutes later to take the new Joker to Arkham Asylum. Soon after, Dick recruited Carrie to become the new Robin. Together, they would take down many enemies. Deacon Blackfire, Anarky, KGBeast, Prometheus, The League of Assassins, the list goes on. They were a great team, but things would take a turn for the worst when Bane came to Gotham.

#### **Knightfall**

The 90's was a horrible time to be a superhero. But for a very long time, Batman and Robin were lucky. In fact, for the seven years since the Dark Knight returned, Gotham had as a whole had been lucky. Crime was at an all time low, security in Arkham and Blackgate increased tenfold, and the GCPD was given a brand new Chief of Police, Barbara Gordon. Nobody expected Gotham to go through a tragedy anytime soon. They should have thought twice before thinking something will never happen.

When Bane arrived in Gotham, he took the criminal underworld by storm. The few criminals that were still on the streets were shocked by Bane's proposal to free every prisoner in Arkham and Blackgate and have them all team up to take down Batman. But when Bane got the sufficient funding, he exceeded expectations. The streets were filled with hordes of criminals able to do whatever they pleased. This was a job for Batman and Robin. As soon as Batman located Bane, they had the greatest fight that both of them had ever been in. Batman leaped through the air, dodging blows from the massive Bane. Eventually, after what felt like years of fighting, Batman couldn't take it anymore and collapsed from exhaustion. Bane held Batman's body over his head, and broke his spine over his knee. Bane left leaving Batman for dead, allowing Robin to come save him. Dick spent the rest of the night in the Batcave, sitting in a wheelchair. He knew Carrie couldn't go after Bane, even with Dick's help. This was a job for Batman and Batman only.

Luckily, he had a plan for something like this. He always did. He went through a list of potential people who could temporarily take the role of Batman if Dick suffered an injury. at the top of the list was a GCPD Officer named Jean-Paul Valley. Valley was a former member of the Order of St. Dumas, a splinter cell of the original Knights Templar that eventually became dedicated to protecting Gotham by any means necessary when they arrived to the New World. He’d managed to quit the group and become a cop. He told Carrie to contact Valley, and convince him to be Batman. Although he was reluctant at first, Valley eventually said yes because he knew as a cop he must protect this city at all costs. Robin told Valley to wait for a dropoff on the roof of the GCPD building. When he got to the top, he saw the Batwing flying overhead. It dropped a massive capsule on the roof of the building. In the capsule, there was a futuristic suit of armor. As Valley put on the suit, he felt strength flowing through himself. He was ready to be the Batman.

He went around the city, bringing criminals to justice left and right. In several hours, a third of all criminals in the city were behind bars once again. Bane knew that soon, this "new" Batman would go after him. So he decided to beef up his strength before the fight. He put a prototype formula for an enhanced version of Venom called TN1 into his Venom Pump.

After Batman took out most of the criminals, he decided to go after Bane and stop this. Dick advised him not to engage him over a commlink, but Valley refused. He made it to Gotham Stadium, where Bane was waiting for him. Bane explained to Batman that he hijacked a major news station and was broadcasting the fight to thousands of people. The fight began and Bane's first action was to yank off Batman's cowl, saying he wants to see his face as he dies. They fought violently and Bane almost won, until Valley severed the tubes connecting Bane to his Venom supply. As his build shriveled away, Bane requested Valley kill him, as he wanted to die honorably. As he held Bane by the neck, Dick and Carrie tried to convince him not to, and they managed to. Thousands watched Valley as he spared the terrorist who put their city at risk, which would go on to be a controversial decision. Bane was put in Arkham and had the Venom drained from his body, living as a shriveled version of his former self.

The next day, all the news could talk about was "Jean-Paul Valley: The Man Who Became Batman For A Day". Thousands of people discussed what happened in the stadium the previous night. Jean-Paul Valley became a celebrity at the GCPD, and he could not be left alone. Several weeks later, Valley went missing.

#### **New Allies**

Around the same time, Carrie Kelly graduated from high school, and would move to Keystone to go to college, so she had to quit being Robin. Months later, Dick finally recovered and would continue being Batman. Soon after, a child appeared on the doorstep of the Wayne Manor claiming to be the five year old son of Dick and Talia Al Ghul, whom Dick remembered having a brief fling with in 1987. When Dick asked the child what Talia named him, he replied with Ibn Al Xu'ffasch, which translated to “Son of The Bat” in Arabic. Dick renamed him “Damian Wayne Grayson”, and would train him to become the new Robin, and eventually, the new Batman. But in the meantime, he would still need a new sidekick.Reports of an amateur vigilante named the Spoiler were spreading around town, so Batman would investigate. After Batman confronted Spoiler on the top of a building, he learned that Spoiler was a teen girl named Stephanie Brown, who had become a vigilante in order for Batman to notice her and make her the new Robin. Batman agreed, seeing her combat experience and detective skills. While she wouldn’t serve as Robin until years later, she did become a great ally to Batman.

In 1999, a teenage boy named Tim Drake appeared at the Wayne Manor claiming that he discovered Batman’s true identity and wished to be Robin. When asked to prove himself, Tim passed a test originally constructed by Bruce Wayne to test Dick decades ago, therefore cementing his status as Robin.

That same year, a 7.2 magnitude Earthquake hit Gotham City and was declared a “no man’s land” and isolated from the United States. Crime exploded and started to run rampant. While Batman, Robin, and Spoiler all helped in the conflict, they had help from an agent of named Cassandra Cain. Cain was raised by famed assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, and thus had great skill in combat. However, she was entirely mute, although she could understand language and did learn to speak later on in life. Impressed by her talents, Batman made Cassandra the new Batgirl with Barbara’s approval.

However, during the No Man's Land event, Tim was captured by the Joker and his assistant, Harley Quinn. Batman, Spoiler, and Cassandra all went out to look for him. Based on past experiences,  Batman decided to check at the Sionis Steel Mill.

Eventually he came across Joker and Harley, who brainwashed Tim to be their adoptive son. Batman engages Joker in combat while Batgirl and Spoiler go after Harley. Joker manages to defeat Batman and traps him in ribbons, before putting a gun in Tim’s hand and asking him to shoot his former mentor. Tim laughs as he holds the gun to Dick’s head. Suddenly, Tim shoots Joker in the chest, causing him to stumble into a tank of water which is electrified by Tim pulling a lever. Jason is now dead.

Meanwhile, Spoiler and Batgirl are in hot pursuit of Harley. Harley breaks Spoiler’s leg with a rock, knocking her down, leaving it up to Cassandra to finish the fight. After several minutes of running, Harley falls through a hole in the ground due to the unsturdy architecture of the Steel Mill, and she apparently dies.

Afterwords, Tim underwent intense therapy, although he still felt that he was healthy enough to still serve as Robin. Despite this, the events still haunted him, even causing him to suffer an intense mental breakdown in 2004, causing Stephanie to temporarily take the mantle of Robin for a five-month period.

#### **Will The Real Dark Knight Please Stand up?**

Little did people know was that Harley was still alive and well. In 2005, she snuck into the Arkham morgue and swiped the remains of Jason Todd, before tracking down a Lazarus Pit located just underneath Gotham City. However, the effects of the Lazarus Pit are extremely unpredictable. Jason was restored to the physicality and mindset of his teenage self, although he was still somewhat unhinged. He had mild memories of his old life, and was no longer the Joker. Disgusted with Harley, he escaped to the surface to seek revenge on Batman for not saving him. However, he decided to do it secretly and indirectly.

He located the body of Bruce Wayne in the Wayne Mausoleum and brought it to the Lazarus Pit. When Bruce was resurrected, his perception of reality was fractured. Jason told Bruce that he was Superman, who revived him to take down Batzarro, a copy of Batman who replaced him following his death. Bruce believed him, and started his crusade to bring “justice” back to Gotham City. Bruce created his own low budget Batsuit, Batmobile, and assortment of gadgets. Calling himself the “Goddamn Batman”, he kidnapped a young orphan believing him to be Dick Grayson and took him to a Wayne Warehouse to use as a Batcave.

This new Batman used lethal methods, such as razor sharp batarangs that always pierced flesh instead of having two settings, “rubber” bullets, and an assortment of deadly weapons on the Batmobile. Dick and Tim tracked down Bruce in the warehouse and attempted to take him down once and for all. Unfortunately, Bruce managed to defeat the Dynamic Duo, and was nearly about to kill them when he was impaled from behind. After he collapsed to the ground, they saw that the killer was the boy he kidnapped, dressed in a makeshift Robin outfit. Batman and Robin asked the boy a few questions. The boy said that he was named John Blake and that the fake Batman murdered his parents and took him away. Dick brought John under his care, and would train him, just in case. Dick brought Bruce’s body to the Batcave after cremation and placed his ashes right next to the original Joker’s, his sworn enemy.

Knowing that his original plan did not work, Jason fled Gotham to build an army just to stop Batman with the help of Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke. He would create his own persona, something that could serve as an opposite to Batman.

#### **Arkham Asylum**

In 2008, a new person arrived claiming the identity of the Joker. This new Joker was the one responsible for the terrorist attacks in Wilmington, Delaware which is relatively close to Gotham in New Jersey. He was sent to Arkham Asylum for treatment and became obsessed with the story of the Joker before he was broken out by Harley Quinn, who heard about him and fell in love. This is because she isn’t really in love with Joker as a person, but the concept of the Joker, which is why she holds all three Jokers in equally high regards. To her, they’re all the same person. He adopted the Joker identity, while still holding on to his ideals. After performing a bank heist, killing Dick’s current girlfriend Rachel Dawes, encouraging the long incarcerated James Gordon Jr. to start committing crimes again, blowing up a hospital, and many other horrible things, he was brought to the Asylum by Dick one year later. However, getting caught was apparently part of Joker’s plan, and he and Harley took over the Asylum. Dick made his way to the asylum, eventually realizing the existence of Titan, a super serum extracted from Bane’s blood by Penelope Young, who was killed by an explosive trap. After making his way through the criminals of the Asylum, Batman engaged in battle with the Joker, who injected the Titan serum and turned into a massive monstrosity.

After these events, Arkham Asylum was permanently closed down. However, former Warden Quincy Sharp somehow managed to become mayor, leading some to question the current state of Gotham’s government. That same year, Cassandra Cain passed on the mantle of Batgirl to Stephanie Brown to leave Gotham. Also, Tim Drake took on a new identity he named Red Robin, as an attempt to be independent while remembering his past. He then moved to Blüdhaven to serve as its protector.

#### **Batman Inc.**

One year later, Dick realized that he was getting older, and he would not be Batman for very long. He remembered his mentor Bruce’s ideas for a group called “Batmen Of All Nations” that never managed to become reality following his death. Dick tweaked the idea and started Batman Incorporated, a worldwide group of vigilantes funded almost entirely by Wayne Enterprises. Now, there was a version of Batman in almost every country on the planet.

#### **Arkham City**

Mayor Sharp had plans of his own however. He commissioned Arkham City, a project to move all the criminals of Gotham onto the island of Old Gotham, which was barely inhabited. Despite protest, the project was finished in 2011. A PMC named TYGER came in to ensure that all prisoners behaved, as well as secretly apprehend those who publicly spoke out against the project, including Dick, who spoke out in an attempt to get inside Arkham City to see what exactly was going on. After managing to hack into TYGER’s radio systems, he hears of something called Protocol 10 which is apparently happening in 10 hours.

He then hears that Carrie Kelly, now using the name of Catwoman, managed to make her way into Arkham City as well, only to be captured by Two Face at the Solomon Wayne Courthouse. Batman comes in and rescues her, defeating Two Face and his men, before asking her if she knows anything about Protocol 10, which she does not. Suddenly, Batman notices a dot on her head from a laser sight and slams her against the wall to evade the blast. Using their detective skills, the two realize that Joker was operating a remote control sniper rifle from the Sionis Steel Mill, his trademark hideout. Batman decides to go after Joker to see if he has any information on Protocol 10, while Catwoman focuses on Two Face and his gang.

When Batman makes it to the Joker’s location in the Loading Bay, he is greeted by a horde of guards as well as a huge one-armed man with a hammer, appropriately nicknamed Mister Hammer. Once he defeats them all, he grapples up and finds Joker looking incredibly sick, with rashes and scabs all over his skin, Harley sobbing beside him. Suddenly, he is knocked out by someone with a chloroform rag. When he wakes up, he is tied to a wheelchair, and Joker explains that the Titan in his body is mutating and is slowly killing him. Furthermore, he said that he injected Batman with his infected blood, while also sending infected blood to hospitals, and everyone injected with his blood at this point has less than a day to live, before kicking the wheelchair out the window. Upon regaining consciousness, Batman decides to send Damian to sneak into Arkham City, take a blood sample, and sneak back out.

Damian takes the Batwing and flies around Arkham City, staying away from the anti-aircraft guns before turning on autopilot and ejecting out to Dick’s location. Damian takes Dick’s blood as planned and sneaks out on foot. Damian then uses the teleporter in the Batcave to head up to the Justice League Watchtower and send it to the lab so they can send down a supply drop later on.

After getting his blood taken, Batman continues on his quest to find out information about Protocol 10, interrogating almost every criminal he can find. Then,  Batman tries to ask some of the TYGER guards, only to find out that the only thing they even know about Protocol 10 is that their orders were to do everything Mayor Sharp said over the commlink.

Eventually, he received word that the Watchtower released a dropoff containing the cure at the Old GCPD Building, and that he should get there immediately. When he arrives, he finds out that the cure is not in the pod, instead there is a video message of the Joker stating that he’s been listening in on Batman’s frequency for hours, and that he thanks him for the cure.

When he makes it to the Loading Bay, he sees Joker perfectly healthy, as if he drank the entire cure. He is then surrounded by an assortment of guards, including Mr. Hammer and his twin brother, Sickle. He defeats them before moving on to Joker. As Batman comes in, he is drugged yet again by Fear gas coming through the vents.

When he comes to, he is pinned down by a pile of rubble and there is a massive hole in the Steel Mill, with Catwoman lifting the debris off of him, freeing him. Catwoman explains that Protocol 10 was a plan to send attack helicopters to go in and kill everyone in Arkham City in the event that they gain access to weapons and plan a mass breakout. She then explains that she learned that Mayor Sharp is at the top floor of Wonder Tower, and that the only way to get the access codes is to extract them from a attack helicopters. With that, Batman goes to find the right helicopter before heading for the tower.

When he makes it to the top floor, he finds Sharp with an assortment of armed guards, which Batman takes out one by one. Sharp reveals that he was not the one truly responsible for Arkham City, he was merely a figurehead for the Court Of Owls, a secret society that has controlled Gotham for centuries. Batman tackles Sharp out the window in an attempt to save him, but Sharp slits his own throat before Batman can get any information. On the bright side, Protocol 10 is now called off, so now Batman can focus on that cure.

Catwoman than meets up with Batman and informs him that Harley gave her the cure and told her that Joker was located at the Monarch Theater. Catwoman gives Batman the cure vial, he drinks from it, and puts the vial in his utility belt.

When Batman entered the theater, he saw Joker facing the projector screen, still looking healthy. Batman ran after the Joker to try and extract the cure from his blood and stabilize it at the Batcave. As Batman stuck the injector into Joker’s arm, he noticed that it wasn’t blood that was coming out, but orange sludge. That’s when the real Joker, with the rashes and scabs, to come through the side door to introduce Johnny Williams, the current person to use the Clayface moniker, as well as explain that Harley hasn’t even given him the cure yet.

Clayface than attacks Batman, and the fight begins. During the fight, the two fighters eventually fall from the floor to see the Lazarus Pit below, and while Batman manages to move out of the way and land safely, Clayface falls into the pit and a chemical reaction commences, causing the Lazarus pit to sizzle and light on fire. Batman than grapples up to confront Joker. Batman takes the cure out of his belt before Joker gets up and tries to rip the vial out of his hands. This causes the vial to fall to the ground and break. Joker screams and desperately tries to drink the cure off the floor. For the first time in Dick’s life, he’s seen the Joker scared. Batman just stares at him in silence, before telling him that he would’ve given him the cure. Then, Joker starts laughing before collapsing to the floor.

“That’s… pretty funny” Joker says with a smile. He says something else however that Batman can’t hear. “T-Tyler…”

Batman carries Joker’s body outside of the theater, surrounded by GCPD officers. Joker’s body is taken to be cremated, and the Arkham City program is shut down permanently. Batman would later locate the files

#### **Apocalypse**

The next year would be a rough one for Dick. Not only did he have to grapple with the usual crime he fought all the time, he had to come to terms with his own mortality. He was going to die soon, and he knew it. Not only that, but he’s been having strange dreams. Dreams of an armored figure trapped underneath the earth. Dreams of a bright orange circular light with a figure in the center, forming almost an iris. These images were familiar, as Dick had knowledge of the legends Tolkien published. He knew something was happening.

After doing some digging, Bruce discovered that these legends were uncovered with the help of archaeologist Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones. More startlingly, he learned that their expeditions were partially funded by Wayne Enterprises, and that Bruce Wayne was close friends with both of Tolkien and Jones.

He did even more digging and found letters written between the two men describing the the 2012 doomsday prophecy and how to prevent it. That’s when Dick deduced that Sauron was trying to awaken Morgoth using thoughtform. Furthermore, the Ring was never truly destroyed in the Crack of Doom and it was now owned by Banazîr Galbasi (Translated to Samwise Gamgee by Tolkien). There, Dick decided to track down Henry Jones IV to get some information. Recognizing Batman from the stories his father and grandfather told about the 1938 Mollusk invasion, he was happy to provide him with info. Henry explained that he was part of a group called the New Knights Of The Round Table that was dedicated to stopping Sauron and Morgoth and destroying the One Ring once and for all. While he declined the offer to join, Batman said that if the team needed help, they could contact him or the Justice League, and they would relay that to all the other superhero teams. After that, the year was mostly quiet.

At least until Sauron himself along with an immense army of orcs appeared in London one November morning. That day, Batman informed the Justice League of what was happening, who in turn informed the other superhero teams, until almost the entire superhero community knew and converged on one point.

Batman teleported into the battlefield, the rest of the Bat Family by his side. As these new orcs were being controlled directly by Sauron and had no free will, he could break his no-kill rule. However, even if Batman was going to kill, he still despises gun. So what does he do instead?

He comes in wearing a massive suit of power armor of course. It was originally designed in the 80’s as a way to help take down Superman if he was ever brainwashed, or any other ultra-powerful being for that matter. This means that it could absolutely decimate the average man. Not only that, but it comes with a long list of built-in weapons and gadgets, both lethal and nonlethal. He also brought along a Nth sword originally used by Bruce while he was traveling the world, as well as an upgraded Batmobile. He outfitted the other members of the Bat Family with similar equipment. Oracle was back at the Batcave, controlling the Batwing remotely.

The team went through the orcs, slaying them left and right, eventually Batman engaged Sauron himself in the Batmobile, firing rounds at him from a vulcan gun on the Batmobile. This managed to actually hurt Sauron, although he had been weakened after a fight with Gandalf and Superman. The impact even managed to shatter some of his armor. However, Sauron managed to grab Dick out of the Batmobile and throw him through a wall. Fortunately, Dick survived because of his armor, but Sauron was moving closer to him, ready to step on him. Dick knew what he had to do. He managed to stand back up, his sword in hand. Dick proceeded to jam the sword through his own chest, reaching the power core, which exploded in a bright miniature explosion. Sauron’s armor was charred, and he was stumbling. It was in this moment...when all hope had faded, that Damian, son of the bat, took up his father's sword. Damian used the half broken sword to slice the ring off of Sauron’s fingers, proving that some people never quite learn. Sauron then exploded in a flash more radiant than the explosion from before. Damian brought the ring to the other heroes so they could throw it into Mount Doom, and the rest was history.

## Damian Wayne (2012-????)

After Sauron was defeated, a huge funeral was thrown on Christmas Eve for Dick. Many of his friends and comrades attended. His ashes were spread onto a beach in the shape of a bat symbol by Tim, Carrie, Stephanie and Damian,  before it was swept away by the waves.

The same day, a conversation was held between the Robins to see who would be the next Batman. The group all agreed that it should be Damian to carry the title, stating that Dick always did intend for him to be the next Batman, which Damian had no idea. Tim explained that Dick would sometimes talk to them in private, about how proud he was of his only son, and that he wants him to be the next Batman. It was that moment that Damian realized that it was his calling. As long as crime exists in Gotham, there must be a Batman. John Blake volunteered to be the new Robin, something he’d been training for for years. Reluctantly, Damian agreed, and so the Dynamic Duo was born again.

#### **Arkham Knight**

On Halloween of 2015, several chemical attacks were committed across Gotham City using a potent new fear gas formula. The figure who claimed the responsibility called himself the Arkham Knight, and he stated that more would come. This caused the city to be mass evacuated. This would be Damian’s first true test under the mantle of the Batman.

The city was quickly occupied by the Arkham Knight’s Militia, ready and willing out any criminals they saw and delivering their own brand of justice. However, the majority of criminals went into hiding, and the ones who didn’t tried to fight against the Militia, mostly failing. The coast guard and GCPD helped of course, but the Militia was much better trained. Plus, had bombs placed in case any other superheroes tried to help. This was a job for Batman and Batman alone.

In order to deal with this new threat easier, Batman upgraded his suit. The Batsuit 8.03 was somewhat of a fusion between the typical Batsuit and the power armor, providing the best advantages of both. He was faster, stronger, and more capable overall.

He went through the city, bringing down the militia and bringing criminals to GCPD. Meanwhile, Red Robin helped cut weapon convoys throughout the city, Robin protected workers still inside the city, and Catgirl sabotaged vehicles and  gear. Eventually, he came to the ACE Chemicals plant, where he received info of the militia holding five workers hostage to force them to activate some sort of superweapon. When Batman finds all of them, he discovers that only three are still alive at this point, while two were executed for unknown reasons. He asks the workers if they know how to shut down the Cloudburst, yet none of them know how to work the machine.

While in the ACE Chemicals plant looking for more info, Damian is confronted by the Arkham Knight and his soldiers, before taking out the soldiers escaping with the Batmobile. He then hears that Barbara Gordon has been kidnapped when Oracle wouldn’t respond to him. He investigates Oracle’s Clock Tower hideout for clues. He follows tire treads to a construction site guarded by soldiers. After taking out the soldiers, he heads inside to find Barbara  contained in a room with glass walls which Damian cannot break through. Suddenly, fear gas spreads into the room, and Barbara begins to hallucinate Damian as the Joker. She picks up a gun sitting on a table and tries to shoot him through the glass, but the bullets can’t pierce through. As a last resort, Barbara shoots herself in the head. Damian screams and pound the glass with rage, allowing his emotions to control him. A video message of the Arkham Knight then plays.

> “Now, based on what I’ve seen of you, you are not the real Batman. You’re young, dumb, and full of mistakes. Besides, we both know what happened in London. You’re obviously a new guy, it doesn’t take the World’s Greatest Detective to figure it out. Now, you may not be the real Batman, the Batman I knew,  but if you have one thing in common, it’s this; you put the people close to you in danger. Ol’ Batgirl could tell you that. Goodbye… Damian”
>
>

Damian is shocked by this person who somehow knows his true identity. He knows that somebody with that knowledge can do some horrible things. And he needs to remember that Barbara wouldn’t have wanted him to mope and dope about her death. She would’ve wanted him to take action immediately. Soon after, a massive airship arrives over the city. Damian learns from  important files he stole from a general that the Cloudburst is on the airship and ready for deployment. With this knowledge, Damian sneaks onto the airship, and makes it to the tail end where he learned the  Cloudburst is deployed. Suddenly, it turns out that the Cloudburst was not real in the first place, and was all part of a massive ruse, and that the whole airship is rigged with explosives. Damian manages to quickly escape by using the suit’s strength to tear an exit in a wall.

After the explosion, the Arkham Knight upgrades security to search the area and find  Batman, knowing that there is a chance he may have escaped. To make matters worse, Arkham Knight has quarantined the searching area with a legion of drone tanks. This means that Batman would have to make it out via the sewer.

After making it out of the search area, he heard soldiers talking about an assortment of tanks heading for the GCPD. Batman quickly made his way there to inform the officers there, while also explain what happened to their commissioner.

In the Batmobile, Batman engages the Drone tanks in combat, using all the weaponry at his command. Eventually, the Arkham Knight himself shows up in a massive tank, which Batman manages to incapacitate. The Arkham Knight ejects from the tank and grapples up to a building and Batman follows after him, chasing him across the rooftops.

Eventually, they reach a construction site and Batman tackles Arkham Knight to the ground before ripping off his helmet, revealing the face of Jason Todd, which Damian remembered seeing in photographs. While they continued to struggle, Jason explained the circumstances of  his revival, before breaking free and sliding the red mask he wore under his helmet back onto his face. What began was an intense battle, the toughest one Damian had been through at the time. Not only was Jason armed with a sniper rifle that could easily take him out in one shot, he was backed up by an assortment of guards. However, with the element of surprise, Damian prevailed and tried to reason with Jason. At first, he wouldn’t listen, but eventually, he realized that trying to kill Batman was wrong, and he escaped into the night to think about this further.

Soon after Batman leaves the construction site, he receives a message from Deathstroke, who received word that Arkham Knight gave up. Deathstroke boasted that he was going to do what the Arkham Knight couldn’t do.

Later, Robin was kidnapped by Deathstroke and what remained of the militia. Deathstroke sent a message to Batman saying that the only way to save Robin would be to head into a nearby abandoned building, leave his utility belt and the rest of his gadgets on a table, and surrender himself to Deathstroke. Reluctantly, Damian followed Deathstroke’s orders. As he head into the back of a truck, he felt like his career as Batman was over.

Eventually, the truck made it’s way to the now abandoned Arkham Asylum. Batman was taken out of the truck and put onto a gurney, As he was being wheeled in, he felt like this would be the final day for the Batman. He was wheeled into a room with Deathstroke standing beside Robin, who was tied to a chair. Television screens lined the walls, and a multitude of cameras filled the room, broadcasting the events within. Deathstroke did a speech, talking about how the legend of the Batman was dead, and a new kind of justice was going to be brought to Gotham.

As Deathstroke leaned in to try and unmask Batman, the broadcast was cut off.  Then, Jason burst through the wall, still wearing the Arkham Knight armor, and started firing at all the soldiers in the room, including Deathstroke. On his chest, the metal plates were torn off and a red bat symbol was painted in their place. He freed Batman and Robin, and told them to escape quickly before Deathstroke could heal from his injuries. Robin contacted the GCPD and they soon surrounded the asylum. The militia was officially defeated.

Jason explained to Batman that Barbara was still alive and that what he saw was the effects of fear gas. Jason gave Batman, Barbara's location before vanishing into the night. The GCPD found Barbara alive and well, and with minimal injuries.

Later, on the roof of the GCPD, Batman stood quietly, watching the city he protected. Suddenly, he saw Jason coming up behind him. Jason apologized for everything he’d done, both as Joker and the Arkham Knight, and Batman forgives him. Jason then says that since they have different ideas of justice, they will never get along 100%.  Jason then says that he’s going to stay in Gotham and use the name “The Red Hood” to fight crime in his own way. After this talk, Jason heads off into the night, as Damian wonders what will come next.

## References

1. ↑ *Citizen Kane* (film)
2. ↑ *The Mask of Zorro* is usually given as the movie that the Waynes watched before the murders, switching between the 1920 version starring Douglas Fairbanks and the 1940 version with Tyrone Power. The former is used here because the latter had not been made yet. As for Valentin, he is the main character of *The Artist* (film) and he was based on Fairbanks, with one scene from the movie even splicing Jean Duardin into footage from *The Mask of Zorro*.
3. ↑ *Judex* (1916 film)
4. ↑ *Les Vampires* (film). Louis Feuillade directed both this and *Judex* in 1916. Furthermore, Musidora plays Irma Vep in this film and Diana Monti in *Judex*, and both are leaders of villainous gangs. Monti's organization and Les Vampires are conflated here.
5. ↑ *Beauty and the Beast* (folklore). Judex's lair is under a castle in the film, and I imagine it's the same castle from the first episode of the other Louis Feuillade film *Les Vampires*. There's no given history for this castle as far as I know, so I thought I'd give it some. On that note, my conception for the FM's incarnation of this "tale as old as time" is based on the 1756 version written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. However, the names of the characters come from Jean Cocteau's classic 1946 film adaptation, and I'll be damned if we don't somehow fit in Disney's Gaston! But let's cross this bridge when we get there. - RADDman
6. ↑ Green Hornet (radio series)
7. ↑ The Spirit (comic series). Some of the early Batman comics were even rip-offs of Spirit stories.
8. ↑ Zorro (story series)
9. ↑ The Scarlet Pimpernel (book series)
10. ↑ Judex (film series)
11. ↑ The Human Bat (short story series)
12. ↑ The implication here is that he meets Sherlock Holmes. Picture him tracing the great detective to his secret home, only for Holmes to immediately recognize him (possibly less because of his detective skills and more because Bruce Wayne is fairly well-known).
13. ↑ Aballino the Great Bandit (book)
14. ↑ Superman (comic series). All of these were (probably) influences on the comic series.
15. ↑ I thought it’d be a funny explanation for that dramatic catchphrase.
16. ↑ Batman: Year One (comic story arc)
17. ↑ The War of the Worlds (radio broadcast)
18. ↑ Captain Marvel (comic series)
19. ↑ I have been struggling to find the appropriate years for Dick Grayson to be born and then reborn as Robin. Originally they started fighting together in 1940, but I knew I wanted Bruce Wayne to die in the 1950s and Dick Grayson to have time as both a Teen Titan and as Nightwing before becoming the 1960s incarnation of Batman. Then I thought I’d found the perfect dating to his birth: 1945, the birth year Burt Ward (who portrayed him alongside Adam West on TV)! Then I learned that in the original comics, or at least in established canon, he became Robin when he was twelve - not eight, as I’d previously thought. So I moved his birthdate to the first day of Spring (the canonical month and day) in 1940, the year of the first comic he appeared in. This still gives him plenty of time to grow and be the Boy Wonder, a Teen Titan, and Nightwing before donning the cowl.
20. ↑ Bruce Wayne was right on the money, as this is exactly what happens in The Dark Knight Returns (book)
21. ↑ Teen Titans (comic series)
22. ↑ Batman: The Killing Joke (graphic novel)
23. ↑ Batman: A Death In The Family (comic story arc)
24. ↑ Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (comic miniseries)
25. ↑ Batman: Knightfall (comic story arc)
26. ↑ Batman: Arkham Origins (video game).
27. ↑ Batman: Son Of The Demon (graphic novel)
28. ↑ Batman: No Man's Land (comic story arc)
29. ↑ Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker (animated film)
30. ↑ Batman: Under The Hood (comic story arc)
31. ↑ All-Star Batman and Robin (comic series)
32. ↑ The Dark Knight Rises (film)
33. ↑ Fight Club (movie/book). I got this idea from a fan theory I heard about that said Edward Norton’s character in Fight Club would end up becoming the Joker of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. Now, this is very unlikely to actually be canon to either movie, but the FM is all about uniting fiction, so come on!
34. ↑ This new Joker is basically the one from *The Dark Knight* (film)
35. ↑ Batman: Arkham Asylum (video game)
36. ↑ Batman, Inc. (comic series)
37. ↑ Batman: Arkham City (game). I’m putting Mayor Sharp in the role of Hugo Strange because since Strange made his first appearance in 1940, he’d be either dead or a centenarian at this point. This isn’t the only major difference with the story.
38. ↑ This is a reference to The Dark Knight Strikes Again (book), where Carrie Kelly takes on the name of Catgirl.
39. ↑ Batman: The Court Of Owls (comic story arc)
40. ↑ The Lord Of The Rings (book series). Yep, the 2012 event is beginning. Buckle up kiddos.
41. ↑ Indiana Jones (film series).
42. ↑ Hawkman (comic book)
43. ↑ Batman: Arkham Knight (game)

## Additional Notes

1. ↑ The Wikipedia article for Gotham City lists no less than six references, including *The Atlas of the DC Universe* published in 1990, giving New Jersey as the city's location.
2. ↑ February 19 was listed as Bruce Wayne's birthday in the 1976 DC Calendar, and this also seems to be popularly used online as his birthday.
3. ↑ This date has been consistently used as the date when Thomas and Martha Wayne died. As for the years used for this event and for Bruce's birthday: Detective Comics #33 contains the first telling of Batman's origin story, and it states that the death of Bruce's parents happened "some fifteen years ago." Bruce Wayne's age at this time is usually given as eight, so I concluded that Bruce Wayne was 23 when he first donned the identity of Batman in 1939 and worked backwards from there. - RADDman
4. ↑ "Beagle" was the first last name given to Alfred's character before it was retconned to Pennyworth, and it was Grant Morrison who brought it back as a stage name. Alfred's backstory is inconsistent; he is a former Royal Marine in Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's 2012 *Batman: Earth One* and in the 2013 TV series *Gotham.* His past as an actor comes from the pre-Crisis comics. The mention of his participation in the Boxer Rebellion was all my idea: the Royal Marines were involved in the conflict, and in this timeline I imagine Alfred would have been one of them at the time of the conflict.
5. ↑ The information on his college and degree of choice come from a background detail in the last panel of *Detective Comics* No. 439, from 1974. In 2011, some enthusiastic writers for *Yale Alumni Magazine* caught this detail and wrote several essays about it. There's also a scene in an episode of the 1960s TV series that reveals Bruce's great-grandfather founded the Skull and Bones secret society.