The Batman aka Bruce Wayne
Family History - 1609-1983
The Wayne family’s occupation in Gotham can be traced back to Nathaniel Wayne who was a small time merchant and professional witch-hunter who operated under his middle name Malleus to avoid endangering the Wayne name. Whispers during these witch-hunting trials later haunted Nathaniel as he believed himself to be cursed by the horrible deeds he had done. But it wasn’t until the Revolutionary War for the Wayne family to become a true enterprise. As importers of trade goods, the Waynes become central to a conflict between the British Empire and the thirteen colonies of New England. The brothers Anthony Wayne and Darius Wayne were split on the issue when it came to war but ultimately agreed when they saw the brutality of the British Empire: it was here where they discovered a Lenape cavern called Takhwìkàmën which they used to mount a safe place to strategize against the British. This would be the future site of the Batcave. After the war ended in their favor the Wayne brothers were granted the plot of land that was placed above and near Takhwìkàmën and Wayne Manor was born.
Takhwìkàmën was a prospect of the Wayne resistance once again when Joshua Wayne used the cave as a way to lead the slaves to the north; part of an underground railroad. He came at odds when his brother, Solomon Wayne found out—who happened to be a maker and enforcer of law. Joshua and Solomon got into an argument and a gun went off killing Joshua Wayne in the process. Solomon never speaks of this and lives outside of Wayne Manor for some time due to the reminder of his brother. He swears to his brother’s grave to redeem himself while he looks down on him from heaven. Solomon’s son Alan took hold of the business opportunities during the industrial revolution and founded a Chemicals & Hazards department to the Wayne shipping company—thus starting its day as an Enterprise. The son of Alan Wayne, Phillip, serves in the Spanish-American war during this time and is killed; he bears no children.
The family from there has a varied history with business and development; always keeping in mind of the lessons taught by their ancestors.
Early Life - 1983-2009
Bruce Wayne was the heir to two distinct people of Gotham City, New Jersey – Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane. Wayne was an ethical businessman and proprietor of Wayne Enterprises, a company that was in a constant battle for dominance against Queen Industries. Thomas Wayne had no interest in a corporate war when the city of Gotham continued to dive into corruption, anarchy, and filth; making it his mission in life to give as much as he took, the businessman founded the Wayne Foundation. The Wayne Foundation was Thomas’ sub-organization that handled charities around the poverty-stricken and those who needed rehabilitation – it was here where Paul Quinzel, Alfred Pennyworth, and Martha Kane met Thomas. The four became quick friends and together with their places in Gotham society became driven to make it better. Thomas Wayne would end up marrying Martha within the next three years of meeting her.
Bruce Wayne for the most part had a good and privileged childhood, although on a vacation to Oceania an incident with a group of bats terrified the young boy for quite some time – something he would never forget through his life experiences. However, tragedy hit the Wayne family when Bruce witnessed the murder of his parents at the hands of Cyrus Gold and Joe Chill; the two staging the “robbery” to put an end to Thomas Wayne’s invasive mission to clear Gotham of poverty & crime. Bruce was left there only as the appearance of a rookie police officer named Harvey Bullock arrived on the scene. This would be the makings of Bruce Wayne as he is today. With Thomas & Martha Wayne dead, Bruce Wayne had few options and during the reading of Thomas Wayne’s Last Will and Testament he discovered the Wayne Estate in a surprising move would not be left to the Kane family of which Bruce had been connected to through his mother but rather Alfred Pennyworth. A security contractor for Wayne Enterprises and several other companies; Alfred had since his initial meeting of Thomas Wayne gone from the best in 20th century security to a socialite in what seemed like an instant and this sealed the deal. Alfred’s friendship with Thomas led to his acquisition of Wayne Manor and the guardianship of young Bruce Wayne. This Will of Thomas Wayne infuriated Martha Wayne’s brother Jacob Kane; and splintered the family even more—a thing that a young Bruce Wayne did not need.
Bruce’s friendship with his cousins Katherine and Elizabeth grew distant and when Bruce became more aggressive and detached with every year until he was eventually sent to military school; specifically the Samuel Lane Military Academy for Youths. This is where Bruce Wayne met Lane’s daughter, Lois Lane; and learned his discipline that he would later learn to centralize in his mission as Batman. At the age of eighteen, Bruce opted out of the academic school despite what it had taught him for a more personal goal: prepare himself for his war on crime. With the discipline he had received at the military school he now realized to center himself on a goal. By the age of twenty-four, Bruce Wayne’s applied intelligence and eidetic memory became evident as the young man held half-a-dozen degrees including ones in criminology, psychology, economics, biology, and chemistry. The intellect was featured in an article by Lois Lane that served as her big break at the Daily Planet. Lois Lane had tracked down her former classmate at her father's academy and Bruce gladly spoke about his supposed plans for the future on record. The billionaire was asked when he would be returning to Gotham to take hold of his company to which he responded that he’d “like to experience the world before I take on the challenge of investing my time into my father’s company, Edward Nashton is doing an excellent job in my stead. There’s a whole world to discover out there.”
After his formal education ended Bruce then looked to the east; and he left for the eastern hemisphere to learn pursuits of the body. Bruce traveled the world learning from a variety of men and women in his pursuit to obtain the skills to become a spirit of justice on Gotham City including Ted Grant, Harvey Harris, Santiago Vargas, Giovanni Zatara, and Paul Kirk. This inspiration never teetered but it didn’t take until Bruce Wayne met the one man that would change his life: David Cain – Cain found Bruce on one of his missions to discipline himself but after a run-in with criminal individuals in Bangkok it triggered something in the self-destructive (but skilled) Bruce Wayne. Bruce was at the end of his ropes as he found himself being tortured after weeks of attacking drug lords in Bangkok. That was when he was found by David Cain, a man who had actually been sent to destroy the cartels himself as a member of the League of Shadows. He took Bruce in as a potential candidate before the leader of the group that at the time ran its organization out of Bialya: Henri Ducard.
Thus began a year of Bruce’s life that he would never forget. The League of Shadows was a strict and rigid order of like-minded people who mastered the art of martial arts, espionage, and sabotage in order to repair the world through quiet violence. This was explained to Bruce so that he could be twisted to understand and agree to their methods. However, in the beginning the order while demanding never put toward ideas of ruthlessness to the point where they cared not about innocent lives. After months of rigorous training he found himself attached to the leader of the organization’s daughter named Talia Ducard. It wasn’t until things got out of hand on a mission in Qurac where Talia was killed before Bruce’s eyes which sent him into a violent rage where he nearly killed those responsible—something that reminded him of the murder of his parents which truly and deeply terrified him. He left the League of Shadows sometime later realizing he couldn’t follow their code as Henri Ducard fashioned himself as “The Demon’s Head” and revealed the chaotic nature of the league where the world must be cleansed to bring anew better world. Talia’s death had made Henri maddened and Bruce acted out as his first attack against his former mentor—as the sanctuary was set ablaze. Bruce returned to Gotham believing he had made sure Ducard’s plans would never come to fruition.
The Bat's Crusade - 2009
Returning to Gotham in the middle of summer, Bruce Wayne was welcomed back to the excitement of the press and the presence of his former guardian who had kept up his parent’s manor in his absence. Initially Bruce did not seek to take ownership or even a role in Wayne Enterprises as he revealed a bombastic playboy alter ego that he revealed as his supposed personality claiming that his time traveling had made him see the world for what it was: a playground. This of course was a ruse that he had been developing since his first years at the very first university he went to as returning to Gotham was always in his plans. In deep talks with Alfred he explained to his longtime guardian how thankful he was for the direction Alfred put him in and told Alfred of his experiences with the League of Shadows amongst his travels. Reestablishing his connection with Gotham in a big show Bruce set up the first large charity drive for the Wayne Foundation since a few months prior to his parent’s death; whilst he was compared to the likes of Jeremiah Arkham by journalist Victoria Vale of the Gotham Gazette, the intent was to do good work while appearing to be the fool he wanted people to believe he was.
With his personality cemented, not more than a month later he decided to use his specific brand of skills to physically confront the criminal underbelly of Gotham which resulted in a variety of failures in the following weeks. These failures were brushed off by Bruce as he found himself confused why his training was not working until Alfred made a comment about how the criminals would not fear him in such a state as his near-death encounters had proven. It wasn’t until a documentary that Bruce caught on a late night about bats that triggered something in Bruce as he began going through his father’s old journals. Using the journals knowledge he moved to speak with Wayne Enterprises affiliate Lucius Fox, the founder of a technological firm called FoxTech Incorporated. Purchasing failed prototypes from Lucius Fox, Bruce felt he was ready and re-purposed them as he situated a base of operations out of Takhwìkàmën—a place underneath Wayne Manor that he had discovered due to a text written by one of his ancestors from the 19th century. His crusade was ready to truly begin.
The criminal underworld stood no chance for the collective skills and methods that Bruce would put into his arsenal as he revealed himself to them as The Batman. Dismissed as a hackneyed urban legend it seemed Bruce’s years of espionage, stealth, and sabotage have played out as he begin sorting out who was to be trusted in the city and how to bring the rest of them to justice. Using an identity he created called Matches Malone he initially infiltrates the criminal lifeblood on the days where he isn’t attacking it directly as Batman. As his crusade hits the criminal underworld hard he begins to work on his social personification as he begins to date Julie Madison during this time. But it’s only a passing guise as Julie is just another piece to the Bruce Wanye billionaire playboy guise. In time as Batman Bruce begins to feed information to the uncorrupt police officers of the city such as Detective Helena Bertinelli. The crusade becomes ever the more apparent as unwinnable cases for the office of the district attorney soon find themselves obtaining reliable witnesses and testimonies against Carmine Falcone and his mobster administration despite his ties to the then political players in the city such as Police Commissioner Gillian Loeb and Mayor Hamilton Hill. However it becomes apparent that the Falcone’s refuse to lose their empire as they target the district attorney to spook him which results in the death of his wife, Gilda Dent. The chaos however seems to only encourage Harvey Dent to show Falcone that no amount of life threats will allow him to continue being in charge of Gotham. Carmine is tried for several charges and is inducted a prisoner in Blackgate Prison for life.
Gotham Rising - 2010
What happened next, some would say was inevitable as the presence of the ‘superhero’ was met with its antithesis—the ‘supervillain’. Much like in other cities around the world, Gotham’s underbelly revealed its madness to fight the righteousness of the Dark Knight. As the clock revealed a new year so did it reveal The Joker who took it into his capable hands to give a declaration back at Batman that there was nothing he could do to stop the chaos that would follow. It was here at the Gotham City Fairgrounds where The Joker revealed himself as he creates an event that would shake Gotham—the Haly’s Circus Massacre. Individuals like Gillian Loeb lose their life during this event. The massacre was random and unpredictable, something Bruce soon discovered as he found himself on patrol on the opposite end of the city. The Batman would arrive at the chaos only to realize that The Joker had disappeared without a trace into the January darkness as if he had never existed in the first place. This is Bruce’s first true failure and he holds it with him for the rest of his life. Days later, Batman is approached by The Tarantula of neighboring Bludhaven who asks for his help directly as Bludhaven soon faces a cataclysmic situation as a prototype weapon developed by Wayne Enterprises has somehow gotten into the hands of the leader of the Blockbuster Gang who intends to use it to wipe out a margin of the city to get rid of his rivals—the Red Hood Gang in the process. By the time they arrive at Bludhaven the Blockbuster Gang has lured the Red Hood Gang into a trap where they had been prepping the device. The device is stopped from going off, but a police sniper takes out several gang members including the leader of the Red Hood Gang—Willis Todd. Bruce returns to Gotham witnessing what kind of chaos that could be created, he questions who could have sold such a weapon to a street gang from his father’s company? He decides he needed to take a public role in his father’s company if such actions were going on behind his back. He begins a lengthy but cautious investigation into the matter.
In the resulting months, as if following the Joker’s madness comes a wave of criminals who intend to use Gotham as their playground. The first of these happenings is with the psychopathic Niccolai Tepes who reveals his intentions with Gotham as he believes himself to be a “vampire” and fashions himself as what the Gotham Gazette refers to as “The Monk” due to the religious imagery surrounding his cult. This begins a race against time as he announces his next target: Zatanna Zatara—a girl who happens to be the daughter of one of Bruce’s former mentors making the case all the more imperative. Tepes’ obsession with Zatanna ends with the appearance of Batman and he is taken to Arkham Asylum as an end result.
Following his battle with The Monk, Batman then has to deal with a psychopathic scientist named Karl Hellfern only weeks later. Hellfern’s intent is much more grandiose than Tepes as Batman soon comes to realize as the mad doctor attempts to use an experimental poison to extort money from the Gotham high society with the help of his assistant. Julie Madison is poisoned during the investigation and soon it becomes another race against time. Guilty of Julie being involved in the mess he soon discovers Hellfern’s identity and is upon his doorstep where he makes short work of him and his plans. As the work of the Batman continues to spread so does his reputation due to articles springing up from the Gotham Gazette which glorifies the vigilante as he protects the city from villain after villain. The next threat erupts almost on call on the streets of Gotham as a police officer named Adrian Wentworth has a mental breakdown and finds himself murdering a sales clerk immediately after sexually assaulting her. This begins a string of repeated crimes as the former police officer loses his mind. As Bruce attempts to figure out his pattern the media taunts the serial rapists with a press report that calls him “Sick Nick” which leads him to go further into his own depraved criminal actions. It comes to a point when Marcie Cooper witnesses the murder of her father but not before Nick makes it apparent that he’s content with making the teenaged girl watch him violate her mother. Batman arrives at the last second and curses that his abilities and transportation have stunted him from making such a crime not occur. Marcie becomes obsessed with the chaos of Gotham and becomes unhinged—she is admitted into Arkham Asylum months later.
With three psychopaths emerging out of nowhere Batman decides to ask a professional for his views on what was happening to Gotham so in the darkness of the night he reveals himself to Doctor Paul Quinzel, the director of Arkham Asylum. This begins a sort of confidential relationship with the Asylum between Batman and Dr. Quinzel who is oddly all the eager to help him in his understanding of crime to prevent it, but not before trying to psycho-analyze the Dark Knight first. While his leads of the instability of The Monk, Dr. Hellfern, and Officer Wentworth lead to dead ends it seems that somebody in the city was creating such monsters or so he begins to believe.
After months of hard detective work Bruce discovers that none other than Edward Nashton is responsible for the criminal activities of Wayne Enterprises. Bruce puts forward effort to bring Nashton down after securing the safety of his company. In the following weeks Nashton's luck goes south as his own business firm suffers a strike by the police from a supposed tip-off from the Dark Knight to Detective Bertinelli. Nashton is to be sentenced to prison. This event becomes a catalyst as Stephanie Nashton, Edward's teenaged daughter becomes obsessed with who Batman is.
December exploited a truth to Bruce as all of the ties to one case he had been working for as it happens that Yuri Dimitrov’s criminal activity links to a concerning foreign element in the city which turns out after a period to be the League of Shadows who have apparently survived Bruce’s attack on them when he was a member. The investigation explodes come Christmas Eve when Henri Ducard reveals to Bruce that he had indeed survived and he because of such treachery by Bruce intended to use Gotham as the blueprint for his new world but not before dealing the same punishment to Bruce that he had received at his hands and the penthouse he was throwing his party at is filled with a deadly nerve toxin—in the aftermath he is rescued by a man called Wesley Dodds who gives an antidote to those infected. Dodd’s reveals to Bruce that he’s been following a trail of strange chemicals, thefts at ACE chemicals, and other such things for several months and believes that Ra’s al Ghul intends to make Gotham suffocate on the toxin through the water supply or controlled infections of some sort. It is later revealed that Dodds is the vigilante detective known as “The Sandman”. In the end the two work together and foil the League of Shadows plot.
Dawn of Justice - 2011
Bruce had speculated the day would come when a threat with such power would emerge in their world where he would have to work together with other like-minded heroes though he never thought it would come down from the dark corners of outer space. This antagonist would be known as Star’ro, a parasitic alien that intended to use Earth as its breeding ground whilst it fed on the sentient life of the world. Despite being at a disadvantage, Bruce takes to his prototype ‘Batwing’ to respond to the threat which would occupy his primary concern for months as the governments of the world were overwhelmed by the force of the alien. Eventually, an alien named J’onn J’onzz reached out to Bruce and soon the caped crusader found himself fighting alongside with the other heroes of the world: Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Hawkgirl, and J’onn who likened himself as the Martian Manhunter. Through their combined strength and intelligence Star’ro found itself defeated. Superman realizing the scope of what they could do together suggests forming a “Justice League” to combat threats of this scale which at the time Batman seems indifferent towards but offers them his aid if they need it. Following the case, Bruce Discovers an experimental artificial intelligence project that was scrapped called “Oracle” which he systematically re-activates and ties into his main computer in his ambiguous batcave hidden deep underneath Wayne Manor. The intelligence is tied to a branch file on a WayneTech satellite is able to detect planetary collisions and synergize with traffic cameras throughout the United States and especially Gotham. He understands this was an unfinished project that went under the radar due to the sketchiness of the legalities of the software. Knowing himself to use it for properly he adds it to his arsenal.
Not too long after this occurrence, it came to a point where the League of Shadows began to plot against Batman once again as a political activist named Olivia Ortega began vocalizing a civil protest against the politics of Gotham City which created a large group of civilians to amass at Robinson Park. The police carefully watching over the rally knew not of the Leagues intentions as a gunshot erupted in the darkness from the gun of a police officer. However, this was all changed due to an interruption by Batman as the officer who did the crime turned out to be a disguised assassin by the name of Deadshot. With cooperation, the scene avoided a potential riot at Robinson Park.
For the rest of the year, Batman focused on once again derailing Gotham City’s organized crime and continued his war on corruption. This threw him in the crosshairs of Rupert Thorne amongst many other criminals of his caliber as the Bat’s presence whilst illusive seemed to become a constant hindrance to their actions especially with Batman’s new intelligence system through Oracle. However this all came to a standstill when the Joker reappeared for the first time since his appearance on New Year’s Day back in 2010. This event redirected Batman’s focus as the Joker called out the “supposed” Batman on public television which he hijacked in the late hours of night. Challenging Batman to reveal himself or be responsible for more deaths, Bruce found himself in peculiar situation where he attempted to find and defeat the Joker before he could disappear which almost succeeded until Joker put the lives of Gotham General Hospital at risk warning Batman he could catch him and let innocent people die or he could ignore him and stop the bombs from going off—Bruce picked the latter and The Joker much like before disappeared into the darkness.
Injustice For All - 2012
Tragedy struck hard to the Quinzel family as Doctor Paul Quinzel was murdered after picking up his young daughter one fateful day in early summer. Harleen had been spending time with her friend Pamela Isley until her father decided to take some time clearing up his schedule to spend time with his daughter like he used to—they he and his wife had done when she was little. As a car accident occurs several cars ahead during the confusion a gunman surfaces from the traffic jam firing a full clip into the driver’s side window. Harleen in the passenger’s side is injured whilst her father chokes on his last breath. The crime resonates with the chaos of Gotham and Harleen is left alone in this world. Alfred and Bruce reflect on the Quinzel family whilst Bruce feels this could be all directly tied back to his role as Batman as Paul Quinzel helped him on several cases throughout the previous years. Taking a personal responsibility Bruce adopts Harleen as his ward.
Bruce could see in every step that Harleen made that she was much like he was—her obsession and distaste for the city had exploded in a tiny moment and the only thing that seemed to keep her comforted was that The Batman was out there doing the city good. Afraid of what would follow next Bruce took a precaution through his own gut feeling and began to train Harleen in his own brand of self-defense that he had created through his years of martial arts instruction all over the world. Eventually through this he sat the aggressive wounded girl down and she became the first person after Alfred to reveal his identity to—his identity of Batman. The training continued, moving from martial arts to bettering her perception and investigative skills as he prepared her for something that didn’t occur him until it was too late to step back – he was creating a shadow of himself; another masked vigilante. When Alfred confronts him with this it leads into an argument that ends poorly as Alfred and Bruce came to a bitter standstill until the two wards speak for themselves; breaking up the fight and defusing the entire conflict. Despite this Alfred begins to start perhaps thinking Bruce’s obsession is going over certain boundaries he can’t approve of. In spite of this he still continues to support Bruce as The Batman, even with the tampering and training of the young Harleen.
Sometime afterwards, a string of murders hits a movie studio that are producing an adaption of the horror novel called “The Terror”. Directed by Bryan Haly, the film took some liberties with the source material which ended with a falling out with the author of the novel Basil Karlo. As an act of revenge and sabotage Karlo donned the “Clayface” persona from his book and began killing off vital members of the plot starting with the actor who was the lead actresses love interest—a role that wasn’t in the book. Cast members such as Rita Farr and Daphne Pennyworth become terrified as the police find themselves stumped. It is only due to the appearance of The Batman that the culprit is discovered, defeated, and sent to Blackgate Prison.
Then came the first organized group of villains that the Justice League found themselves contending against, they called themselves “Injustice Gang” as an ironic counter to the Justice Leagues own name – led by the former protégé of Professor Ted Knight named Justin Ballantine who took up the alias of Libra in an organized attempt to test his prototype weapon—the Trans-mortifier, a device with theoretical flawless energy with limitless capabilities. The first battle in a chain of conflicts that lasted a year began on the outskirts of Metropolis as Libra intended to see how much nuclear energy the trans-mortifier could absorb and “redistribute”. This caused a near meltdown at the power plant in question. The members of the “Injustice Gang” who were little more than paid mercenaries to bodyguard the project prepared to contend with The Justice League. This wouldn’t be the first battle Libra and his Injustice Gang would lose. As the Justice League contended with rogues galleries and the Injustice Gang, the anti-superhero programs (like H.I.V.E and C.A.D.M.U.S) began to see their projects finally breathe into fruition.
Nearing the end of the year on Halloween, the Joker reveals himself once again as he intends to use the holiday as he ignites a bomb scare by leaking information to the Gotham Gazette that thirty-seven bombs will go off anywhere between one hour to twenty-four hours. A televised journalist announces this to the public and stirs a panic in which the Joker hijacks a local news channel to announce he will be holding a “sort of party” at Robinson Park where he intends to burn a variety of cash at large amount to celebrate the “end of Gotham”. Batman pushes himself as he finds and disables each of the bombs. The Joker is gone by the time all of the bombs are found and disabled—as if he continues to mock Batman himself with his games.
As the Joker reveals his madness, another force prowls the streets of Gotham City as the north end of the city is attacked brutally by an attack that is initially credited to Batman as the “unionized” coalition of pimps and crooks begin to be violently purged from the streets that left them as corpses or as unrecognizable pulps. This becomes a case for The Batman over the last neck of the year as he finds himself at odds with a woman in a stylized outfit designed after a cat motif. It astounds him how his influence is spreading as this Catwoman shows her idolization for the dark knight. This would not be the first of his dances with Catwoman and for a time the murders stop but not before she reveals herself to the criminal underworld as she claims this part of Gotham City for herself—declaring the prostitutes and poverty stricken are under her protection. The next time he would meet Catwoman would be as she steals from various penthouses to fund her support for her people. Batman coins her as a “Robin Hood-type” which she finds very accurate and amusing.
Knights of Gotham - 2013
As New Year’s Day passes by, Batman finds himself in a strange situation as Oracle reports a meteorite’s collision with Earth which he requests Superman to respond to immediately through the Oracle network which has been adopted by the Justice League as an open method of communication between the heroes and to observe threats. At this point the founding blocks of “The Justice League” are set in stone though Batman adamantly only offers his aid feeling distant about being a ‘face’ of such a group. As this happens a blatant abduction of Mayor Hamilton Hill by a young anarchist named Anarky who is apparently inspired by the Joker’s ravings last Halloween who confronts Batman through telephone to tell him that the anarchy will come. Attempting to reason with the youth and find the mayor, the conversation ends with a gunshot—a gunshot that reveals the death of Hamilton Hill the next morning when he is found on the streets of the east end of Gotham. To only make matters worse, Nora Fries dons the alias of “The Freeze” whilst Firefly continues to bring up a string of arsons on several banks and credit unions in Gotham. Feeling overwhelmed Batman realizes it’s time to unveil Batgirl and bring her along on patrols and investigative cases. The two defeat all three villains and bring a cohesive crime-fighting detail to Gotham. The highly publicized homicide case of Mayor the mayor hits the news and the butterfly effect comes reeling as the two politicians (Oswald Cobblepot and Jean-Paul Valley Jr.) voice their concern and begin campaigning early to help push themselves into the seat of power. Until the election, Alderman Charles Chesterfield reigns as mayor incumbent of Gotham. Throughout the year it seems Valley is taking the conservative vote and Cobblepot the liberal vote. In a surprising turnout Jean-Paul Valley Jr. becomes the next mayor of Gotham City.
As the two patrolled Gotham, Bruce keeps tabs on the events that have conspired in the new year as new vigilantes have surfaced as he is left with a decision—keep an eye on them and allow them to operate or disallow their meddling in Gotham’s affairs. Realizing he is his own man he decides upon the former as he continues to operate. Such vigilantes he becomes concerned with include: a teenaged girl who has started working with Tarantula in Bludhaven by the name of Nightshade, a female caught up in a crime war in Gotham’s Robbinsville as she wields psionic powers as The Looker, a sword-wielding female declaring war on the Golden Dragons in Gotham’s Chinatown as she becomes known as Katana, a mysterious and religious cloaked figure named Azrael who has appeared in southeastern Gotham, and an old friend of Bruce’s named Zatanna Zatara who has taken on the identity of Primak in the upper east side. Bruce feels these… outsiders would come in handy in the near future.
Nothing further would occur until fall of that year when the Circus of Strange rolled into down at the Gotham Fairgrounds - the site of a massacre of a similar circus three years earlier. The circus, under the guise of Haly's friendly replacement, lured innocents to their show where chaos soon ensued as three of the lead showcases began to murder the guests. Batman & Batgirl soon arrived on scene - revealing themselves for the first time in broad daylight and took down the apparent circus freaks. However, the Joker emerged and revealed himself as the true ringmaster of the Circus, along with his mutated accomplice, Killer Croc. A savage and difficult fight raged on between the giant crocodile-man and the two Bat-themed vigilantes. After a grueling battle which left both Batman and Batgirl injured, and the Joker seriously beaten, all of the psychopathic murderers were arrested by the GCPD. This fight would prove the existence of Batman (and now Batgirl) to the public, any doubt that was left in Gotham would be gone.
Shadows Among Us - 2014
At a New Year’s party at the Kane Estate, Bruce Wayne discovers his cousin and childhood friend—Katherine Kane—has been released from the military and has returned home to Gotham. The two talk at length as Harleen enjoys the company of one of her closest friends, Katherine and Bruce’s cousin named Bette Kane. When the party ends the two return to Wayne Manor and gear up for the first patrol of 2014. Throughout the week following a new enemy for the Batfamily debuts—Killer Moth. A con man and thief with a murderous motif named Cameron van Cleer, Killer Moth attempts to rob and murder Bette Kane’s mother. The attempt is foiled by Batman but not before injuring Batgirl due to his surprisingly capable martial arts. Batman ponders if he inspired the villain as he is taken by the police—only to escape them due to the aid an unknown accomplice that was accounted for. Killer Moth leaves Gotham.
SUPPORTING CAST
Alfred Pennyworth:
Bruce's most trusted mentor and friend. A former British military officer who turned to security consulting when he moved to the United States in the mid-seventies. Pennyworth became situated in Gotham City where he met Thomas Wayne at a fundraiser where the two started up a friendship. The British professional's firm personality and unfaltering morals became the traits that made Thomas pick him as his most trusted confidant and the guardian of his son in case of his demise. Alfred’s wife bore a child named Julia who has proven herself as an acknowledged attorney before she was elected as Gotham’s ADA. Alfred is currently widowed, losing his wife years ago to cancer, and despite his misgivings aids Bruce in his guise as Batman.
Harleen Quinzel:
Bruce’s ward, and his first sidekick known as ‘Batgirl’. Bred from Gotham high society, Harleen was the daughter of Paul Quinzel and Dini Quinzel; the former being a renowned professor of psychology as well as the previous director at the Arkham Asylum, the latter being a successful businesswoman who worked out of Wayne Enterprises. Whilst her mother died when Harleen was young it wasn’t until she was a teenager when she would lose her father as well. Paul Quinzel was caught in a traffic jam when a lone gunman fired blindly into the automobile—killing Paul and injuring Harleen in the process. Harleen was systematically put into the care of Bruce Wayne and soon discovered his identity as Batman. Harleen continues to go to Gotham Academy where her friends Pamela Isley, Artemis Crock, and Bette Kane also attend.
James Gordon:
Captain James Gordon is a police officer with a detailed history through Gotham and is married to an accountant named Barbara Eileen; they have two children (James and Barbara). James Gordon initially believed Batman was a 'urban legend' made up by criminals to mock the police force's integrity. When Batman revealed he had been working with the likes of Helena Bertinelli James slowly began to see that the tolerance of the Dark Knight was something he would need to deal with and reluctantly began to work with him.
Helena Bertinelli:
Detective of GCPD, Helena Bertinelli was the first and only police detective that Batman trusted due to her background being relatively passionate against the Gotham Crime Families due to her parents death by one of the said families. Using her as his informant inside GCPD as well as his only lawful contact she has become very useful.
Lucius Fox:
A genius inventor and founder of FoxTech Incorporated with longtime investor Jack Drake, Lucius is a middle-aged man with three children (Tiffany Fox - 16, Timothy Fox - 14, Tamara Fox - 11) that is the central support of Batman and his crusade to get Gotham on the right track. A former R&D scientist with backgrounds in both STAR Labs and WayneTech, Lucius has done well for himself.
The Sandman:
A scientist, inventor, and detective; Wesley Dodds is one of Batman's trusted allies when he has a bio-terrorist plot or needs a well-developed counter-agent to a gas or toxin. In his civilian guise he a professor of chemistry at the University of Gotham.
The Tarantula:
Secretly John Law, the Spider of Bludhaven is it's sworn protector and an ally of Batman. Cooperating with Batman on many occasions, the Tarantula has been a constant since he debuted in 2010. Unlike the Batman however his resources are limited and has only recently been allowed access to Batman's "Oracle" network.
Julia Pennyworth:
The ADA of Gotham City and the daughter of Alfred Pennyworth. She knew Bruce in passing and thinks little of him; Batman on the other hand she sees as a "means to an end" and has cooperated with him before.
Daphne Pennyworth:
Julia's cousin through Alfred's brother named Wilfred, she is an actress who came to Gotham for a career in the movie industry motivated to get her start in Gotham City.
Zatanna Zatara:
Daughter of Giovanni Zatara, the man who trained Bruce in escapology. Bruce previously was friendly with Zatanna though due to Bruce's hectic desire to train intently until he truly returned to Gotham the to-be relationship never went anywhere. Back in 2010, Batman encountered Zatanna as she was a potential sacrifice for The Monk; a scheme he stopped. Bruce has since created a dossier for Zatanna as she proves as a useful ally in Gotham. Her vigilante alias is known as Primak.
Dr. Bradford Thorne:
A brilliant surgeon who is the brother of Rupert Thorne, a member of the criminal underworld of Gotham. Thorne secretly does jobs for his brothers organization as a "crime doctor" but is actually morally sound. He was once quite friendly with Thomas Wayne and in recent years has become the Director of Medicine at Gotham General.
Jeremiah Arkham:
Heir to Arkham Enterprises and one of the richest men in Gotham City. Renowned as a "billionaire playboy" everything Jeremiah does is in excess, he likes his pleasures plentiful and vast. Despite such debauchery he has somehow maintained a relationship with Magdalene Kyle who he shows some semblance of affection toward.
Magdalene Kyle:
A doctor of psychology that operates out of Arkham Asylum and the "second-in-command" of the Asylum so to speak. She's treated and rehabilitated many clinical patients such as Margaret Pye. She is currently in a relationship with Jeremiah Arkham despite his lifestyle.
Catwoman:
Secretly sisters Holly Robinson and Jennifer Robinson, gothamites that liberated the north end of Gotham from the previously controlled independent prostitution factions that included several pimps, drug dealers, and thugs. Word has reached of this Catwoman's mark on Gotham as several criminals in the north have turned up down the river dead. The lack of police support in north Gotham lends it to be a pretty hard to secure place so it leaves it in the hands of this Catwoman who had taken up residence there. The former prostitutes carry on with their lives independently as the Catwoman protects their person and their way of life. The other crime families of Gotham have nicknamed this Catwoman's coven as "The Black Cat".
Vikki Vale:
A journalist and reporter for the Gotham Gazette and the GCN television station that covers televised news. The majority of Batman's articles and reports have been from Vale's hands.
ROGUES GALLERY
The Joker & The Circus of Strange:
The leader of the Circus of Strange and the engineer of the Haly’s Circus Massacre, The Joker is an unnamed anarchist with a vast array of skills and a sense of unpredictability thus making the most skilled detectives and psychologists unable to follow his criminal pattern or psychological profile. The Joker is skilled in demolitions, firearms, close quarters combat, and is surprisingly deductive in nature. Nothing is known about him and his “story” changes as often as he tells it. He is the antithesis to Bruce's Batman. He is currently occupying the most secure cell in Arkham Asylum alongside his former cohorts of the Circus of Strange: Killer Croc, Professor Pyg, and Mister Toad.
Ra’s al Ghul:
Formerly known as Henri Ducard, Ra's al Ghul is the leader of the League of Shadows; a splinter group from the Illuminati who believe in a violent repair of the world, a natural chaos to counter a corrupt controlled world. The transformation into 'the Demon's Head' has left Henri insane and highly disturbed as such the Lazerus Pit brings nothing back in the manner they came in. Bitter with Bruce's attempt to destroy his order and the first death of his daughter Talia.
Victor Absonus:
A relatively new foe for the Dark Knight, Victor Absonus is secretly the Director of Psychology at Arkham Asylum named Hugo Strange. He is responsible for killing Paul Quinzel, creating psychopathic villains that are obsessed with Batman such as William Mallory, and is known internationally as a award-winning author of science ranging from psychology, general theory, and biology.
Sensei:
The illusive leader of the League of Assassins and the primary broker of “the best assassins in the world” has yet to debut in Gotham, but he is a rumored rival and colleague of Henri Ducard as per the League of Shadows archives that Batman had once read. The Sensei is described as a quiet mastermind of asian descent.
David Cain:
The man who brought Bruce into the League of Shadows and one of his mentors. David Cain is an obedient martial artist and marksman who served in several wars before being discovered by Henri Ducard several decades ago. In addition to a ruthless demeanor that serves the league he also shares a relationship with his comrade, Sandra Wu-San, who birthed his daughter who he named Cassandra.
The Freeze:
Doctor Nora Fries is a former employee of the Gotham branch of Stagg Industries where she and her husband worked until an accident involving a cyrokinetic generator in their research lab exploded. The head of the branch of the company, Randall Stagg, refused to help them when Victor fell into a cyrogenic sickness. Determined to save her husband she puts together a 'freeze ray' based on her and her husband's prototype blueprints and uses it to threaten Randall Stagg and take the money she needed to make sure her husband didn't perish by force. She was defeated by Batman and Batgirl.
Bane:
Bruce's replacement in the League of Shadows and a clever tactician as well as biochemist. Developing an adrenaline stimulant that he named “Venom”, the drug is shot directly into the bloodstream which overcharges the body with micro-steroids and phencyclidine traces. Effects of this compound includes accelerated strength, heightened reflexes, and a degree of supposed metahuman endurance all two-to-three times the peak of a human of their size can yield.
Edward Nashton:
A former majority shareholder of Wayne Enterprises until it was discovered that the over-analytic genius was using his pull in Wayne Enterprises to support a budding criminal motif. In the end the Batman revealed to Detective Helena Bertenelli that Nashton was fronting a massive money laundering scheme and following a police raid Nashton found himself in Stonegate Penitentiary. It is unsure if he’s going to become the Riddler or not.
Stephanie Nashton:
Not the only Nashton struck by the arrest, Edward’s fourteen year old daughter, a math genius with a high IQ started asking questions to herself about how convenient it was for the police to bring down her father. Believing The Batman to have framed her father she began to become obsessive in discovering the identity of anything or anyone connected to the illusive vigilante. It was truly an enigma that had to be solved.
Black Mask:
The newest criminal mastermind of the Gotham-Bludhaven area, Black Mask controls the False Face Syndicate; a drug cartel that is muscling in on the weakened Red Hood Gang, the aggressive Blockbuster Gang, and even the Gotham Crime Families. Secretly Roman Sionis of Sionis Industries, a childhood friend of one Bruce Wayne. To keep out of the Bat’s sight Black Mask attempts to do most of his business out of downtown Bludhaven… for now.
The Looking Glass:
An off-beat nightclub owned by Jervis Tetch, the self-styled Mad Hatter. Jervis Tetch was a former psychologist and medium that worked for Arkham Asylum in his youth. Tetch's abilities diving into mentally ill minds while effective only made himself more unhinged until he quit his profession and opened a club that catered to the eccentrics and free spirits of Gotham. The Looking Glass whilst a nightclub is also a guise for Tetch's personal cult where he has used his power to manipulate others into being like him or loving him and by extensions his club. This separated into two factions: his personal harem and his personal protectors.
Two Face:
There is no information about this legacy name at this time.
The Penguin:
Secretly Oswald Cobblepott, a british-born politican and businessman. As The Penguin he operates as a loanshark and information broker as he takes hold of Gotham.
The Scarecrow:
There is no information about this legacy name at this time.
Peter Grogan:
The corrupt police commissioner in-charge of the Gotham Police force currently.
Killer Moth:
A dual identity of Drury Walker the encompasses a con man named Cameron van Cleer who is known as a professional con man and thief who kills the victims he robs, leaving a dead moth on their corpse. Drury Walker lives out of Bludhaven under the guise of a CEO who runs Walker Industries of which owns ACE Chemicals. Batman stopped him from killing Bethany Kane but for some reason the police lost Killer Moth when he was in transit for questioning. Even Batman is nto aware of his identity as Drury Walker.
Clayface:
Also known as Basil Karlo, an acclaimed horror novelist who tried to stop the film production of his novel, “The Terror” but was ultimately stopped by The Batman. He is currently residing in Blackgate Prison for first degree murder.
Deadshot:
Known internationally as the "deadliest shot in the world", Floyd Lawton was hired by the League of Shadows to incite a riot by killing activist Olivia Ortega. The job was to make it appear as if the city officials were attempting to silence Ortega at her riot at Robinson Park andwhich ultimately failed due to intervention by Batman. Lawton was apprehended by officials and is now residing in Blackgate Prison.
Firefly:
A former mob cleaner by the name of Garfield Lynns, Firefly is a paid criminal who specializes in arson. He was stopped by Batman when he began a spree of arsons upon Gotham-owned banks and credit unions as he attempted to use fire damage as a cover to lift money from the vaults. He currently resides in Blackgate Prison.
Anarky:
A twenty-one year old anarchist and former college student named Lonnie Machin, Anarky served as a violent catalyst to the events that sprung up a series of political murders including Mayor Hamilton Hill. Defeated by Batman with support from Batgirl he now resides in Arkham Asylum due to his mental psychosis and obsessive compulsive personality.
The Monk:
Niccolai Tepes was a villain Batman faced who believed he was a vampire and is currently in the criminally ill ward of Arkham Asylum.
Sick Nick:
Adrian Wentworth was a member of the Gotham City Police Department who became mentally ill and become known for his string of rape-murders in 2010, he is currently held in Arkham Asylum's criminally ill ward.
Wrath:
William Mallory is a psychopathic inventor who is obsessed with the Batman due to a compulsive fascination with Batman's inventions or so he was told by Hugo Strange who made him into Wrath.
Harlequin:
There is no information about this legacy name at this time.
The Falcones:
Nicknamed “The Roman Empire” the Falcone crime family at one point was the strongest syndicate of crime dating back to Prohibition in the 1930s. Carmine Falcone served as the boss of the family until his imprisonment to Blackgate Prison. Currently Mario Falcone runs the family with Tony Zucco.
The Mandragoras:
Nicknamed “The Great White” the Mandragora crime family is as ruthless as it is senseless. Defeating the Bertenelli’s in the 1990s granted the boss of the family, Stefano Mandragora a lot of leeway in the Bludhaven and Gotham game.
The Dimitrovs:
Nicknamed “The Slavs” the Dimitrovs are Russians, Serbians, Poles, and Hungarians with a taste for blood. Masters of “information gathering” these eastern thugs moved into Gotham around 2004 and have stayed as a pretty intimidating force.
The Valestras:
Nicknamed “The Sicilians” the Valestras are like a smaller more rabid version of The Falcones and actually served them as a co-family until Carmine Falcone was arrested and they started an independent streak once more. They are currently at war with the Falcones and are lead by Salvatore Valestra with consultation by their hitter; Carlton Duquesne.
The Thornes:
Nicknamed “The Germans” the Thornes are an organization that prefer intelligence and coercion over brute force. Led by Rupert Thorne the family formerly were part of The Roman Empire serving as the backing pool that corrupted the Gotham Police force over thirty years ago though it began very slowly. Now once again independent, it's trying to keep itself from losing it's control of the law and politics which is fading fast. With the current Commissioner Peter Grogan in their control.
The Blockbuster Gang:
Led by Roland Desmond, the Blockbuster Gang is one of the central sources of street crime in the city of Bludhaven which includes drugs and weapon trafficking as well as several extortion rackets. They are especially known for their aggressive unfaltering brutality which had previously been kept in check by the Red Hood Gang who believed the Blockbuster Gang was nothing more than a bunch of drug-addled thugs who enjoy hurting people to fit their own depraved sense of enjoyment.
The Red Hood Gang:
Currently led by Thaddeus Ryerstad, the Red Hood Gang was formerly the strongest criminal force in Bludhaven and the only one that kept the Blockbuster Gang in check. Since the death of the former leader, the Red Hood Gang has become weak and scattered. Ryerstad’s organization of the gang doesn’t help much as he’s begun to follow a similar motif as the Blockbuster Gang in a sense of chaotic antagonistic behavior. When the gang was led by Willis Todd the motorcycle gang believed in giving the people of the city a peace of mind as the police became more and more corrupt. Whilst they dealt drugs, they never partaken in them or sold them to children and they believed in a strict code of honor.
LOCATIONS & COMPANIES
Blackgate Prison
Blackgate Prison is Gotham-Bludhaven's maximum security prison.
Stonegate Prison
Stonegate Prison is Gotham-Bludhaven's minimum security prison.
The Asylum for the Mentally & Criminally Insane
Nicknamed the "Arkham Asylum" after it's founder, Amadeus Arkham who started the institution in the early 20th century. It is separated into two wings: the voluntary wing and the criminal wing. In it's most recent history it has had two Director who have run the facility namely Paul Quinzel and Hugo Strange. Psychologist Magdalene Kyle works directly under the director of the facility.
The Gotham Academy for Higher Learning and the Arts
Nicknamed the "Gotham Academy" and often shortened down to as GAHLA, the academy is a preparatory private school that is highly prestigious. The Gotham high society educate their children here, although in recent years a scholarship program has admitted special cases who don't fit the financial criteria. The academy runs grades 2-12 with advanced courses and distinct extracurricular activities (such as archery, gymnastics, etc.).
The University of Gotham
The ivy league university of the Gotham-Bludhaven residents was established in 1901 by the Kane family, originally named Kane College it was systematically renamed in 1948. It serves with highly sought after psychology courses, business courses, and the liberal arts.
FoxTech Incorporated
Founded by Lucius Fox with financial backing from Jack Drake, FoxTech Incorporated has been an affiliate of Wayne Enterprises for the last ten years primarily focused in technological innovations and Gotham industry. A good portion of security systems in the Gotham-Bludhaven area are designed at FoxTech. Their main competitor is Star Labs, an affiliate of Queen Industries.
ACE Chemicals:
The core asset of Bludhaven owned Walker Industries, ACE Chemicals is a chemical processing and transportation company that deals in a variety of industries. A branch of the company often works closely with Professor Hugo Strange and other scientists in chemical advancements. It's R&D head is Doctor Marc Legrande.
Stagg Industries-Gotham:
The Gotham branch of Stagg Industries is another competitor to Wayne Enterprises and is known for it's previous employment of Victor & Nora Fries. It is currently repairing damage done to their facilities due to heavy frost damage.
Arkham Enterprises:
Founded in 1962 by a entrepreneur in the Arkham family, Arkham Enterprises specializes itself as a real estate empire that owns several high revenue businesses such as Marcielios, Tobacconists Club, the Burton & Associates Investment Firm, the High Towers Casino, and Club Vesuvius. The current business head is Jeremiah Arkham.
Peak Human Conditioning: Through intense training and treatments, Batman represents the pinnacle of human physical prowess.
Martial Arts: Bruce is well trained in multiple martial arts, the core of his fighting method include jujitsu, aikido, boxing, karate, ninjitsu, boxing, and krav maga.
Stealth: His Ninjutsu training has made him a master at stealth and capable of breaching high security facilities without being detected.
Genius Level Intellect: Batman is a brilliant, virtually peerless, detective, strategist, scientist, tactician, and commander; he is widely regarded as one of the keenest analytical minds on the planet. Given his lack of superpowers, he often uses cunning and planning to outwit his foes, rather than simply "out-fighting" them.
Eidetic Memory: Bruce has the unique ability to have total recall of his memory and can remember anything in great detail. He is said to have a "Photographic" Memory due to the way he processes information.
Disguise: Has mastered the art of disguise. Batman has many aliases he uses to infiltrate the underworld or just to go undercover in public situations though the most notable identity is that of Matches Malone.
Tactical Analysis: Bruce has a deductive and analytic mind which goes into his detective work. He was jokingly referred to by Green Lantern as The World's Greatest Detective.
Specialized Equipment: Bruce has reverse engineered WayneTech and FoxTech equipment to create batarangs, vehicles, security technology, the batclaw, a grappling gun, and over two dozen other technologies in his time as Batman.
A theoretical team comprised of Batman's closest local allies in Gotham which are also used as relief support when needed.
Sandman
Azrael
Black Canary
Looker
Katana
Primak
Crime Factions of Gotham MAP
Member
Dae
mickilennial
ArkmageddonCat
Captain Uni
Lemons
Kuro
Asura