Wrath (Elliot Caldwell)

The original Wrath was an anti-Batman whose criminal parents are killed by then-rookie policeman James Gordon. As an adult, the Wrath becomes a cop-killer who copies many of Batman's methods. His sidekick, a twisted version of Robin, later took on the mantle of the second Wrath.

Character History
The Wrath II appears first in Batman Confidential #13 (March 2008), and was created by Tony Bedard and Rags Morales. This version retcons his first appearance to a time when a 13-year-old Dick Grayson, who had only recently become Robin, was on an "Educational Holiday" (the original story was published the same year that Grayson became Nightwing) and gives Wrath an all-purple costume. The second Wrath, which Batman is convinced is a copycat from his first appearance, begins murdering police officers visiting Gotham for a convention and breaks in to Grayle Hudson's apartment. After a fight with Batman, during which he confirms he's not the original Wrath, he tells the Dark Knight to investigate Commissioner Gordon's actions on June 26 twenty five years ago—the same night Bruce Wayne's parents died. Gordon's reports for that night have been wiped clean, but Wrath informs Batman that on that night Gordon killed the original Wrath's parents, his father a police officer, while they were robbing a stereo warehouse with him as a lookout. In order to cover up the criminal activity of the officer Gordon was shipped to Chicago and the orphaned boy was sent to an orphanage never to be adopted. Growing to hate cops he became a hitman in hopes of "avenging his parents again and again". In his work he studied Batman, thinking they were kindred spirits, and began training his own "Robin", which went on to become the new Wrath. His real name was revealed to be Elliot Caldwell, an orphaned son who the Wrath trained to be his answer to Batman's Robin. Elliot was one of five orphans who the original Wrath kidnapped and trained, but Elliot was the only one who survived the training. He was stopped by Batman and Nightwing, whose team work and care for each other had broken down Caldwell, who never had the same relationship with his master, and was sent to Blackgate Penitentiary.

In other media
(see Scorn (The Batman)
 * A version of Elliot Caldwell appeared in the recent cartoon "The Batman" as a sidekick to the original Wrath.