[CENTER][COLOR=SLATEGRAY][B]C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L[/B][/COLOR][h1][color=54626e][b]B R U C E W A Y N E[/b][/color][/h1][hr] [img]https://i.imgur.com/eO6Th0V.png[/img][h3][sup][sub][color=54626e]P H I L A N T H R O P I S T [color=1E90FF]♦[/color] G O T H A M C I T Y , N E W J E R S E Y [color=1E90FF]♦[/color] W A Y N E I N T E R N A T I O N A L[/color][/sub][/sup][/h3] [/CENTER][COLOR=54626e][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR] [CENTER][color=54626e][B][i]"Never again."[/i][/B][/color][/CENTER] [INDENT][i]For over half a century, Gotham City had been protected from the forces of evil by an unseen guardian. Considered an urban myth whispered among a superstitious and cowardly criminal lot, those who had been saved by him and those who had been unfortunate enough to earn his wrath knew him only as The Batman. And as the times and traditions of Gotham's citizens changed, he remained the one true constant, striking terror into criminal factions of all creeds and urban terrorists that sought to challenge him through their own bizarre, inspired gimmicks. But with the aid of Commissioner James Gordon, his trusted and faithful servant Alfred, his one-time partner Robin, The Boy Wonder, and the use of his civilian identity as billionaire Bruce Wayne, The Batman crusaded against evil successfully for many years - until one fateful night in 1986 changed everything. Becoming hardened, grim and vicious, The Dark Knight Detective began to forgo the shadows and legitimately terrorize evildoers, leaving them maimed, broken, and scarred beyond repair. Some terrible evil had been committed against him, and those who knew him best were unable to comprehend how Gotham's greatest hero could have fallen so far. It wasn't until many years later, in a final fight against arguably his greatest foe, The Joker, that something finally shattered The Caped Crusader's restless spirit. Bruce Wayne realized that he'd come too close to the edge for comfort - or worse, that he may have even descended into the abyss without even realizing it. And so he made a choice. Retiring the cape and cowl, destroying the many weapons, gadgets, suits and vehicles that he'd used to operate as a vigilante, and going so far as to abandon Stately Wayne Manor and block off the fabled Batcave beneath, Wayne devoted himself to his philanthropic and financial efforts entirely. One way or another, The Batman was dead. And as soon as his absence became noticed, his rogue's gallery seemed to slowly dissipate, either dying out due to age, unfortunate circumstances, or retiring far away from Gotham to live in peace, their war against the masked vigilante having ended. With only a few remaining in Arkham and no further escapes reported, Gotham seemed to settle into a period of peace, seemingly affirming that The Batman's war on crime had escalated the very evil he sought to vanquish and that the city was better off without him. But while Batman's abscence may have left Gotham with eased tensions, they eventually began to boil over once again with a dramatic rise in street crime. With Commissioner Gordon having left the GCPD years earlier, a new civil servant had to rise up and challenge this escalating violence - and to everyone's surprise, the one to answer the call would be Harvey Dent. The one-time criminal known as Two-Face, Dent had been given a clean bill of health and returned to civilian life shortly after his masked enemy retired. Having managed to amass a fortune that rivaled Bruce Wayne's own in the years following, Dent's charm and ambition managed to win him back the public's trust - aswell as an eventual election for Mayor of Gotham City. In a move that could only be seen as suspicious soon after taking office, one of Dent's first acts as Mayor was to erect a massive wall, blocking off the crime-ridden East End of Gotham City from the more fortunate West End, where the rich were accommodated while the poor were left to fend for themselves against common criminals and street gangs. Despite the best efforts of Commissioner Renee Montoya and the GCPD, whose members were beginning to align with Dent's promise of a Gotham where good and evil could be easily separated, The Blackgate Wall eventually stood as either an achievement in forceful dominion over crime or a testament to a city too far gone to be saved. Montoya eventually quit the force in disgust, leading the way for the ruthless Lyle Bolton to succeed her. But regardless of who was running the police, the massive blockade proved to be effective at preventing GCPD from interfering with what transpired in what was then dubbed "Old Gotham", with even fewer citizens of "New Gotham" willing to lend a hand. While some initially heeded the legend of The Batman as an example to try and take back their streets, those that fought back were soon eliminated by a vicious gang of masked criminals calling themselves The Disciples Of Order. In the year 2020, all hope seems lost. Bruce Wayne is 81 years old, forced into a pending retirement as CEO of Wayne Enterprises. The once gallivanting socialite has turned into a bitter old hermit, never seen among the public between his hours at the office and the many nights spent alone on the top floor of Wayne Tower, overlooking the city he once would have given his life for - wishing desperately to be able to defend it once again, but physically and mentally unable to return to the mantle of The Bat. In his mind, he is poised to die a failure, leaving behind a Gotham City torn apart by the very sort of criminal that murdered his parents. It is only until a mysterious figure treads the soiled ground where a ghostly Wayne Manor now stands and begins digging, reaching the partially collapsed ruins of The Batcave beneath with the intent to steal a very important book - The Journal Of Alfred J. Pennyworth - that the quest for Gotham's salvation begins again. Someone out there knows Gotham's biggest secret, and they're determined to continue the fight whether Bruce Wayne allows it or not. The Batman is dead. Long live The Batman.[/i] [/INDENT] [COLOR=54626e][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][i]This concept is the most ambitious endeavor I've ever attempted with the character. It's not so much about one single narrative - with the exception of Bruce Wayne and the new Batman's perspectives, since they're the protagonists - as it is the biggest statement I have about the myth and legacy of Batman and how that can affect a Gotham City which has seemingly lost it's hope. When Bruce began as a vigilante, he was trying to save a corrupt version of the city. This is the antithesis, where the war was seemingly won, but the corruption naturally took back over after the age of the costumed supervillain passed. There's been no one there to stop it - until now. I've taken alot of inspiration from notable Elseworlds stories, including [b]The Dark Knight Returns[/b], [b]Year 100[/b], [b]Brotherhood Of The Bat[/b], [b]The Batman of Bethlehem[/b], [b]White Knight[/b], [b]Arkham City[/b], a very tiny bit of [b]Batman Beyond[/b], and the general history of the character in comics, films, television, games, and everything in between. I've also taken some inspiration from stuff like HBO's [I]Watchmen[/I], [I]Logan[/I], Netflix's [I]Daredevil[/I], and the current political climate of The United States to really try and tell a story with some meat to it. It's going to be something very personal that I hope can be wholly mine and yet honor everything that Batman is and has been for the last 81 years. [/i][/indent][/indent] [COLOR=54626e][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/COLOR][hr][i]Gotham is home to many characters that operate within the new status quo of a city quite literally divided. Very few of the original rogues gallery remain, and if they do, they're far too diminished to make any trouble now. But there are quite a few recognizable names that still appear within the city that will make up the supporting cast of Bruce Wayne and the as-of-yet-unidentified Caped Crusader.[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/M3nEVBf.png[/img] [hider=Mayor Dent][i]Once the dashing and crusading District Attorney of Gotham City, Harvey Dent's campaign against the likes of mobsters Salvatore Maroni and Rupert Thorne resulted in a face full of acid that helped split his sanity into two distinct personalities. Becoming Two-Face, the criminal mastermind modeled himself after the gangsters that had ruined his life, taking out the competition in a bloody war for Gotham's streets. Giving up his own sense of free will, he relied solely on defaced silver dollar to decide the outcome of his crimes - which proved to be his ultimate undoing, when Batman used this weakness against him in their final battle, destroying the coin and rendering Two-Face unable to act. Surrendering to authorities, Dent was committed to Arkham and underwent intense therapeutic sessions for nearly twenty years. But against all odds, Two-Face was eventually purged, and Harvey's immense sense of guilt for his many crimes eventually convinced the board of directors that he was sane enough to be released. With Batman having disappeared, Dent saw the city rise up from the chaos only to fall again. Determined to prove that his legacy as a crusader for justice would outlive his legacy as Two-Face, Dent used his knowledge as a lawyer to craft a masterful Mayoral campaign, promising to separate the good people of Gotham from the criminal underworld that sought to bring the city to ruin. A promise he unfortunately made good upon with the Blackgate Wall, bringing tensions to the forefront in a way that he either never expected or willfully ignores, having become an elitist who would prefer to rebuild part of Gotham than to cure the whole of it.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/xVMjXcf.png[/img] [hider=Selina Kyle][i]Bruce Wayne's ex-wife, formerly the master thief known as The Catwoman. While she remained loyal at his side for over a decade as he waged his neverending war on crime, often joining him in the pursuit of criminals with her own thrill-seeking flair, Selina eventually realized that her husband's obsession with operating as Batman was only going to end in tragedy - a premonition that would come about rather cruelly. When a clash between Batman and The Joker indirectly led to the miscarriage of Bruce and Selina's would-be child, the pain of that loss solidified into an irreconcilable split between them, leaving The Dark Knight to walk a much lonelier path than he had ever before. Selina has been globe-trotting for the better part of two decades, putting as much space between her and Bruce as possible. Whether she'll ever really return is anyone's guess.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/UbSxyuS.png[/img] [hider=Timothy Drake][i]A brilliant engineer that helped to reshape the once-decrepit Arkham Asylum into The Arkham Institute in the 21st century, Tim's history with The Batman is complex as it is dormant. As boy, he was rescued by the vigilante firsthand during a massive fire caused by the villain Firefly, creating a lifelong obsession and dedication to justice that might not have otherwise existed. Though he's largely put his faith in The Caped Crusader behind him following the disappearance of Batman and Gotham's restructuring under Mayor Dent, Drake was still able to piece together a secret that has remained hidden for decades - that beneath the cowl, at one time, was the now elderly billionaire Bruce Wayne.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/HZM101j.png[/img] [hider=James Gordon][i]The sole remaining ally that Bruce didn't manage to drive away in all his years as The Dark Knight, Gordon is now in the twilight of his life, having long since retired from his role as Gotham's storied Police Commissioner. Living well at the age of 96 years old, despite a few close calls, he acts as an unofficial consultant for the GCPD, keeping the discretion of the few good officers who look towards him for guidance when put against the overt corruption of the new Commissioner, Lyle Bolton. Wayne occasionally visits Gordon in times of crisis, hoping that the presence of his old friend can quell any temptation that might remain to once again act outside the law.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/WaDtTqy.png[/img] [hider=Damian Xu'ffasch][i]The leader of The Guild Of Shadows, a group of followers in the methods of the original League Of Shadows, before it was tainted by bloodshed to become The League Of Assassins under Damian's grandfather, Ra's al Ghul. Damian is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, conceived during a brief period in which The Dark Knight considered succeeding Ra's as Son Of The Demon. It was only when Talia realized Bruce could never truly part with his mission to protect Gotham that she falsified a miscarriage, a fact that would later create a permanent rift between Talia and her beloved. Surprisingly loyal to The Batman's code of ethics, it would appear, Damian has nevertheless been unable to reach his father and form a legitimate bond.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/WCSox8e.png[/img] [hider=Barbara Gordon][i]Having briefly acted as the vigilante Batgirl, fighting alongside Batman after the departure of Robin and disappearance of Catwoman, Barbara eventually gave up the life of a crimefighter to entertain a career in law enforcement. But unlike her father, Barbara could recognize the cracks in the system that were allowing repeat offenders to terrorize Gotham's streets despite Batman and the GCPD's best efforts. And so she eventually became disillusioned with both the badge and the Bat, opting to run for local office against her corrupt colleagues. Now serving her second term as District Attorney of Gotham City, her days are spent torn between a tireless legal effort against Mayor Dent's growing authority and her ailing father, who she fears isn't long for this world. She was made aware of Batman's dual identity as Bruce Wayne, and has chosen to remain silent out of respect for her father's admiration of him - but having witnessed the vigilante's brutal methods up close, she's far from a fan.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/nNqA8IB.png[/img] [hider=Duke Thomas][i]Currently a member of the Gotham City Police Department, Duke's willpower is second to none after being forged by tragedy. Witnessing his parents succumb to a debilitating strain of Joker Toxin as a teenager, Duke was saved by Batman from the clown's wrath and forever changed, determined to become The Dark Knight's partner after the original Robin had long since abandoned his post to become the vigilante Nightwing. But despite Duke's best efforts, he was rebuffed by the increasingly hostile Batman, leading him to pursue a more legitimate path following the retirement of Commissioner James Gordon. He now serves as a partner in the Major Crimes Unit to Lieutenant Jason Bard, pursuing a mentality that Gotham's streets need to be taken back by the people Batman inspired.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Stru0ET.png[/img] [hider=Lucille 'Lucy' Quinzell - Hyena][i]Raised by a couple of loving foster parents, Lucy Quinzell discovered the truth about her bloodline after she was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 14 - that in reality, she had been the daughter of The Joker and Harley Quinn. Learning that her biological mother had been killed in 1992 during a scuffle between her father and his hated enemy, The Batman, Lucy became consumed with the idea that the masked vigilante had murdered her mother and began to grow resentful of a city that seemed to worship him while demonizing her father. Leaning into her psychosis and turning her delusions into violent behavior, Lucy eventually used a straight razor to kill her 'false' family - including her adoptive father, adoptive mother, and adoptive brother - before disappearing for a number of years. Resurfacing as the clown-themed villainess Hyena, Lucy sought to bring chaos bring to a city that was desperately seeking order. Now, she prepares to commit a grand act of terrorism that will unravel Mayor Dent's work to keep the peace in New Gotham, amassing a group of loyalists that she refers to as 'The Mistahs' to help her enact vengeance in the name of her true parents.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/i8OdCAa.png[/img] [hider=Nathaniel Cobblepot][i]Born from the affair of the infamous crimelord and an unnamed cocktail waitress working at The Iceberg Lounge, Nathaniel Cobblepot grew up far away from Gotham City in what was considered The Penguin's only true act of compassion. Receiving only the best education that the world abroad had to offer, Nathaniel grew up to become a spoiled, arrogant playboy that shunned his father's legacy whenever possible, seeing Oswald Cobblepot as a failure who turned to petty crime after being too weak to take back his family's fortune through legitimate means. A cunning businessman in his own right, Nathaniel invested in several fortune 500 companies and became a billionaire in his own right. But the all-too-familiar lure of criminal pursuits eventually drove Nathaniel down his father's path, turning him into a leading seller on the Black Market of weapons and narcotics. A chance to return to Gotham eventually came in an invitation from none other than Harvey Dent, who sought an adviser in an upcoming Mayoral race. Dent had long respected The Penguin's business tactics, but despised the man himself, figuring that his son would be a suitable replacement. Tempted by the chance to fully humiliate his father by doing what he never could, Nathaniel made the arrangements and now sits on a throne of misery and wealth as the new Penguin.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/YYVEoqy.png[/img] [hider=Arthur Isley][i]When Poison Ivy wished to sire a daughter that wasn't born of her experiments with plant mutations, she found the perfect unwitting host in the form of Edward Nigma, better known as The Riddler. Convincing him to cooperate through her pheromones, Pamela Isley soon gave birth to the disappointment of her life - a son, not a daughter. Rejecting him almost immediately, declaring that man had spurned both her and the natural resources of the world, Ivy placed the baby in the care of her one-time ally, Catwoman. Burdened with a child of her own due to be born with her husband, Bruce Wayne, Selina and Alfred Pennyworth arranged for the child - whom they named Arthur, after the inventor of the crossword puzzle as a means of giving Edward [i]some[/i] part in the boy's legacy - to be raised by Leslie Thompkins. Ever the kindly caretaker, Leslie taught Arthur the nature of compassion and healing before she eventually passed away, leaving Arthur to succeed her in operating Gotham's only health clinic for the less fortunate. Turning the struggling clinic into an overnight success as he came of age, Arthur eventually opened the Leslie Thompkins Memorial Hospital and gave the good people of Gotham a proper medical facility to rely on. With this achievement, Arthur sought to expand his commitment to Gotham by campaigning for a seat at the board of directors' table of Wayne International, noting Leslie's close connection to the Wayne family. There's only been one obstacle standing in his way: CEO Bruce Wayne, who cynically suspects criminal intent from Arthur due to his biological parentage being that of two of Batman's greatest enemies. After years of trying to convince the old man that he's not out to become either his father or his mother, Arthur eventually won his place on the board and regularly tries to earn Wayne's respect - almost predictably, to no avail.[/i][/hider] [img]https://i.imgur.com/ooLV2Kj.png[/img] [hider=The Disciples Of Order][i]Originally started by a gathering of the last remaining remnants of The Red Hood Gang, The False-Face Society, The Royal Flush Gang, and other followers of Gotham's most notorious super-criminals, the borderline cultist group The Disciples Of Order came into true prominence with the election of Harvey Dent, with the group adopting a Two-Face themed mantra of doling out a vicious perversion of justice in the name of balancing out Gotham's 'natural order' of criminal conduct. Each member is anonymous, ranging from those living in poverty to the very top of the elite, but their mission is clear: with the flip of a coin, they will decide the fate of each and every individual citizen of Gotham City. Good heads, the victim will be left alive. Bad heads, and they'll be rendered nothing but a memory. Only fate can spare those from The Disciples' wrath, and fate has seemingly favored death, as the body count of the fringe group of terrorists begins rising with each passing day.[/i][/hider] And finally... [img]https://i.imgur.com/F37Ntwf.png[/img] [hider=The Batman][i]In response to a tragic event from their past, a mysterious figure that is much more physically able than Bruce Wayne to carry out the Dark Knight's war against crime will soon emerge to try and quell escalating tensions between the citizens of "Old Gotham" and "New Gotham". Virtually nothing is known about this new Batman, other than the fact that in order to acquire all that he has to pursue his crusade against Mayor Dent and the escalating class war that threatens Gotham, he's at least aware that the original Batman was Bruce Wayne - aswell as many other crucial secrets related to Gotham's history that would be able to lead one towards the path of succeeding The Caped Crusader. Bruce Wayne is personally unaware of who the new Batman is, and in his paranoia, will likely begin efforts to try and deduce his identity in the event that the copycat ends up falling short of the model that inspired him - even if his appearance may yet rekindle hope in the people of Gotham that their masked savior hasn't abandoned them.[/i][/hider] [u][b]The Once Deadly... And The Dead[/b][/u] [i]Many of Batman's original rogues gallery were either scared off by their arch-nemesis' newly gruesome approach to striking fear into the hearts of his enemies, forced into retirement by debilitating circumstances, or simply died off due to a varying number of causes. Whatever the case may be, their names are almost as mythic as Batman's own, even now existing as whispers within the halls of The Arkham Institute from the mouths of those who still remember. They are...[/i] [hider=The Joker]Status unknown. Many believe he was killed by The Batman in their climatic battle, resulting in the latter's retirement for crossing such a sacred line. But there are those that believe there's more to the story - some are even determined to prove it, believing that when the opportunity for the perfect punchline to Gotham's chaotic state arises, The Clown Prince of Crime will re-emerge to deliver it.[/hider] [hider=The Penguin]Retired. Formerly the reigning crime boss of Gotham following the deaths of Carmine Falcone, Sal Maroni, and any other would-be criminal families, Oswald Cobblepot eventually lost control of his thriving empire thanks to the efforts of Batman's relentless pursuit to put him away in Blackgate. Though The Dark Knight was never entirely successful in seeing Cobblepot serve a sentence in prison, karma eventually caught up to the aging gangster when a heart attack and stroke rendered him a complete invalid. Now pushing 87, Cobblepot lives an undignified existence as a resident of a Coast City nursing home, put there by the cunning and entirely spiteful inheritor of his vast fortune - his son, Nathaniel.[/hider] [hider=The Riddler]Retired. A permanent resident of The Arkham Institute, Edward Nigma's obsession with proving his intellectual superiority over every citizen of Gotham, particularly The Batman, eventually caused him to have a nervous breakdown that he never entirely recovered from. In a tryst with Poison Ivy, controlled by her mind-altering pheromones, Edward produced a son that he's too hopelessly insane to even recognize at this point. Considered harmless, despite his unending compulsion to speak entirely in brainteasers, Edward lives within a waking nightmare of thoughts that can no longer escape his fractured mind as the other residents of Arkham relentlessly mock the over-the-hill ex-criminal's continued delusions of grandier.[/hider] [hider=Mr. Freeze]Reformed. One of the few success stories to come out of the era of costumed criminals and crusaders, Victor Fries' cold heart eventually thawed when Bruce Wayne, in an astonishing act of compassion, utilized his vast resources to finally cure Victor's beloved wife, Nora. With his motivation for criminal conduct erased, the former cryogeneticist walked away from a life fueled by hatred and pain in an effort to reunite with Nora. Giving himself over to the police almost immediately, Fries was given a light sentence in exchange for co-operating with the GCPD in building a state-of-the-art series of cryogenic chambers that would preserve bodies more efficiently than the standard methods of preservation, leading to earlier deductions in murder cases and pushing forensic technology ahead by several years. With his time spent serving justice, Victor eventually even pulled off a miracle himself by curing his body of the need to exist only within zero temperatures. He now lives a normal, happier life with Nora and their new children, only occasionally called upon to consult for new technologies developed by Wayne International.[/hider] [hider=Killer Croc]Reformed. Waylon Jones holds the distinct honor of being Batman's only foe to transition from ruthless criminal brute to the world of celebrity stardom. After coming to the conclusion that he had spent over half of his life either incarcerated or in Arkham Asylum, Jones went about another path that subsided his animalistic nature and tried his hand at underground boxing. Being careful not to cross the line into unlawful territory, the former "Killer Croc" was sought out by a talent agency to endorse a line of skin-care products. Despite the inherent irony, Jones took a chance and became a beloved figure of the media once he published his first novel, [I]I Threw A Rock At Him: The Waylon Jones Story[/I], telling his side of things in regards to his many clashes with the GCPD and The Dark Knight. Having acted in television, produced an album, and even started his own charity for people with disfigurements, Jones now enjoys his life as the narrator to the popular reality television series [i]Legends Of The Dark Knight[/I], a program devoted to speculating the identity of The Caped Crusader.[/hider] [u][b]Residents Of The Arkham Institute[/b][/u] [i]Julian Day Thomas Elliot Hugo Strange Drury Walker Jervis Tetch Arnold Wesker[/i] [u][b]The Dead[/b][/u] [i]Poison Ivy 1966-1997. Transmutated. Bane 1965-2012. Overdose. Ra's Al Ghul ????-2005. Natural Causes. The Scarecrow 1941-2008. Heart Attack. Harley Quinn 1952-1992. Murdered. Deadshot 1950-2016. Suicide. Firefly 1952-2012. Asphyxiation. Victor Zsasz 1972-2005. Shivved.[/i] [COLOR=54626e][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]P O S T C A T A L O G:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/0jrO3Hq.png[/img] [b]THE DARK KNIGHT LIVES[/b][/center][hr]1. [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5079390]And I Heard, As It Were, The Voice Of Thunder[/url]