- "As a man, I'm flesh and blood, I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol...as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting."
- ―Batman[src]
Batman is the alias and second identity of billionaire Bruce Wayne, son of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Becoming the Dark Knight, he dedicated himself to protect Gotham City.
Having witnessed his parents' death at the hands of a mugger as a child, Bruce traveled the world as an adult to train and understand the criminal mind in order to combat it. Mentored by Ra's al Ghul, Bruce later returned to Gotham and challenged the city's crime lords, employing unusual weapons and tactics as a mysterious black-garbed crusader. Despite being considered an outlaw by the GCPD, Batman defeated Carmine Falcone and The Scarecrow, and later battled against Ra's al Ghul and his plan to have Gotham tear itself apart through fear.
In continuing to shut down Gotham's organized crime, Batman encountered and defeated the most fearsome of his adversaries, The Joker, while losing his love interest Rachel Dawes in the process. His defeat of Harvey "Two-Face" Dent resulted in Batman going into hiding and taking the fall for Two-Face's crimes in order to maintain Dent's status as Gotham's "White Knight". As a result, Batman became a fugitive and Bruce turned into a recluse.
Eight years later, Batman returned to fight the mercenary Bane while entrusting his business and intimacy to Miranda Tate, not knowing that she was actually Talia, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. After gaining the strength to escape imprisonment, Batman returned to defeat Bane and save Gotham from Talia completing her father's work. Faking his death, Bruce passed on his legacy to John Blake and left Gotham to start a relationship with Selina Kyle.
Biography
Batman Begins
Early life
- "Your parents' death was not your fault."
- ―Henri Ducard[src]
Bruce Wayne by his murdered parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne.
When he was eight years old, Bruce Wayne fell into a cave where he encountered a swarm of bats. His father rescued him though Bruce developed a fear of bats; his father later told him that though people fall, they always have the strength to get up. During his childhood he also formulated a friendship with Rachel Dawes.
Late one night at a performance of the opera Mefistofele Bruce got frightened by a scene featuring a bat-like monster, and asks his parents to leave. Outside the theater, Bruce's parents were both killed in a robbery by mugger Joe Chill; Thomas' last words to his son were to not be afraid. Bruce was later found by the police and was comforted by Sergeant James Gordon, and Commissioner Loeb told him they caught Chill. Bruce blamed himself for his parents' murder: had he not been frightened, the Waynes would not have encountered Chill, though the butler Alfred Pennyworth assured him it was no one's fault but Chill's.
Bruce on his travels around the world.
After coming of age, Bruce returned to Gotham City from Princeton University intent on killing Chill, whose prison sentence was being suspended in exchange for testifying against mob boss Carmine Falcone. One of Falcone's henchwomen, however, killed Chill. Bruce told his childhood friend Rachel Dawes about his foiled plan, and she expressed disgust for his blind vengeance without regard for justice. Bruce confronted Falcone, who tells him that he was ignorant of the nature of crime, so Bruce decided to travel the world to understand the criminal mind.
Bruce during his time with the League of Shadows
After nearly seven years, he was eventually detained in Bhutan for theft (ironically of Wayne Enterprises cargo), where he met Henri Ducard. He invites Bruce to join an elite vigilante group, the League of Shadows, led by Ra's al Ghul. Bruce was freed and traveled to a mountaintop to begin his combat training with the League, who - unbeknownst to Bruce - intended to use him to destroy Gotham. Bruce passed all the League's training, overcoming his childhood phobia in the process, but when ordered to execute a criminal and learning of their plan to destroy Gotham, he turned on the League, destroying their headquarters. Ra's al Ghul died and Bruce rescued an unconscious Ducard from the wreckage and left his mentor at a nearby village.
Becoming the Bat
- "I seek … the means to fight injustice. To turn fear against those who prey on the fearful."
- ―Bruce Wayne [src]
Bruce as a vigilante before he became Batman.
Bruce Wayne returned to a Gotham City that is mostly ruled by Falcone and begins plotting a one-man war against the corrupt system. He sought the help of Rachel, now an assistant district attorney, and police sergeant Jim Gordon, who consoled him in the aftermath of his parents' murder. After reestablishing his connections to his father's company, Wayne Enterprises, Bruce was able to acquire, with the help of former board member Lucius Fox, a prototype armored car and an experimental armored suit. He also established a secret base in a cave underneath Wayne Manor.
Batman is sprayed with Dr. Crane's hallucinogen.
In his new Batman costume, he disrupted a drug shipment by Falcone and left the mob boss tied to a searchlight, forming a makeshift Bat-Signal. He also disrupted an assassination attempt on Dawes, leaving her with evidence against a judge on Falcone's payroll. While investigating the "unusual" drugs in the shipment, Batman was stunned by sinister psychopharmacologist Dr. Jonathan Crane, who sprayed him with a powerful hallucinogen. Alfred rescued Bruce, who received an anti-toxin developed by Fox. Crane later poisoned Rachel after showing her that the toxin, which was harmful only in vapor form, was being piped into Gotham's water supply. Batman saved her. The police entered Arkham Asylum and arrested Crane while Batman escaped with Rachel. After administering the antidote to Rachel in the Batcave, he gave her two vials of it for Gordon – one for the detective to inoculate himself, and another to mass-produce for the city's population.
During his birthday party in Wayne Manor, Bruce was confronted by a group of League of Shadows ninjas led by Ducard, who revealed himself to be the real Ra's al Ghul, and that the man killed earlier was a decoy. Ra's, who had been conspiring with Crane, planned to destroy Gotham by distributing the toxin undetected via Gotham's water supply and then vaporizing it with a microwave emitter stolen from Wayne Enterprises. Bruce, tricking his guests into leaving, fought briefly with Ra's while the League of Shadows set fire to Wayne Manor. Bruce escaped the inferno with Alfred's help just as the manor is destroyed.
Batman escapes from the poisoned citizens of Gotham.
Batman arrived at the "Narrows" section of Gotham to aid the police in battling psychotic criminals, including Crane, who the League set free from the asylum. Rachel was confronted by but warded off Crane; Batman rescued Rachel when more criminals went after her. Batman reveals his identity to her while leaving Gordon in control of the Batmobile to stop the elevated train that was being used to transport the vaporizer to the city's central water hub. Batman battled Ra's aboard the train, then escaped just as Gordon toppled the elevated line using the Batmobile's missiles, leaving Ra's to crash to the ground with the train.
- Lieutenant Gordon: “I never said thank you.”
- Batman: “And you'll never have to.”
- ―Batman and Gordon conversing after Gordon unveils the new Bat-Signal.[src]
Batman and Gordon form a trusting alliance.
Following the battle, Batman became a public hero. Bruce gained control of Wayne Enterprises and installed Fox as CEO, firing Earle. However, he was unable to hold onto Rachel, who cannot reconcile her love for Bruce Wayne with his dual life as Batman. Gordon, newly promoted to lieutenant, unveiled a Bat-Signal for Batman. Gordon mentions a criminal who, like Batman, had "a taste for the theatrical", leaving a Joker playing card at his crime scenes. Batman promised to investigate it. As Batman left, Gordon mentions that he hadn't thanked Batman for what he has done. Batman replied that Gordon will never have to, and flew off into the night.
The Dark Knight
- Bruce Wayne: “People are dying Alfred. What would you have me do?”
- Alfred Pennyworth: “Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They'll hate you for it, but that's the point of Batman. He can be the outcast. He can make the choice no one else can make. The right choice.”
- ―Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth[src]
Underground garage
The night that the Joker and his thugs rob a mob-owned bank, multiple Batman impersonators interrupted a meeting between mobsters and the Scarecrow. The real Batman showed up and subdued everyone, but injuries suffered during the confrontation led him to design a new, more versatile suit of armor. Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon contemplated bringing new district attorney Harvey Dent in on their plan to eradicate the mob, and the possibility that Dent will become the hero to the people that Batman could not be. The next day, Bruce Wayne, presumably due to his late night, ended up sleeping during a business proposal from a Chinese mobster account named Lau. He later revealed that he deliberately allowed for Lau to come so he could get a closer look at his numbers, having already suspected that his business methods were dirty. At the same time, Bruce Wayne and Harvey both competed for the love of Rachel Dawes. Lau informed gang leaders that he had taken their money to Hong Kong to prevent the police and the district attorney from seizing it in an imminent bank raid.
Batman glides in Hong Kong, preparing to abduct Lau.
After Batman successfully abducted Lau in Hong Kong and delivered him to the Gotham City police, the mobsters agreed to pay the Joker half of their money in return for killing Batman. When the Joker began killing off public officials, including Commissioner Loeb, despite the best efforts of the police and Batman to stop him, Wayne decided to turn himself in to the police. Before he could do so, Dent publicly admitted to being the Batman to draw the Joker out of hiding for the real Batman to capture. The Joker attempted to kill Dent during transport, but Gordon and Batman intervened in time to stop and arrest him.
Batman interrogating the Joker for Harvey and Rachel's whereabouts
With the Joker in custody, Batman interrogated the Joker until he revealed that Rachel and Dent have been kidnapped and taken to opposite sides of the city, far enough apart that Batman would not have time to save both of them. Batman sped off to save Rachel, while Gordon and the police headed after Dent. Unknown to them, the Joker had switched the locations, sending Batman after Dent and Gordon after Rachel. Batman arrived and rescued Dent just as both buildings exploded, although the left side of Dent's face was burned during the explosion. Gordon did not reach Rachel in time and she died in the explosion. In the hospital, Dent was driven to madness over the loss of Rachel, which he blames on Batman, Gordon and the Joker. The Joker freed Harvey from the hospital and convinced him to exact revenge on the cops, mobsters, Gordon and Batman.
- "I see now what I have to become to stop men like him."
- ―Bruce Wayne [src]
While "Harvey Two-Face" confronted the corrupt cops and the mobsters one by one, flipping a coin to decide their fates, the Joker burned Lau along with the mob's money. The Joker planted explosives on two ferries of evacuees and gave the passengers on board the chance to destroy the opposing vessel, one full of prison convicts and another with civilians, in order to save their own lives. Batman tracked the Joker to an uncompleted skyscraper. Batman prevented the Joker from blowing up the ferries when both vessels' occupants decide they would rather not sacrifice the lives of the passengers in the other vessel for their own.
Following a brief hand-to-hand fight which ended when the Joker pinned Batman in a scaffold, Batman threw the Joker off of the scaffold but saved him by grappling him. The Joker acknowledged that Batman really was incorruptible, but that Dent was not, and that he had unleashed Harvey's madness upon the city. Though Joker lost the fistfight, he would win "the battle for Gotham's soul". Batman found Gordon and his family with Dent at the building where Rachel died. Two-Face proceeded to judge Batman, himself, and Gordon's son through the chance of a coin flip, which he saw as the only fairness left in the world. Two-Face shot Batman in the stomach and judged himself innocent, but before he could determine the boy's fate, Batman tackled him over the side of the building, saving Gordon's son, but injuring his leg in the process.
- "He the hero that Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So, we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight."
- ―Gordon to his son after Batman decides to take the blame for Dent's actions and death.[src]
Batman flees from the police.
As Dent lay dead on the ground, Batman and Gordon decided that the Joker would win if anyone found out about Dent's corruption and madness. Batman convinced Gordon to let him take all the blame for Dent's murders in order to preserve the former district attorney's image as Gotham's hero and give the city hope. As Gordon destroyed the Bat-Signal, a manhunt was issued for Batman.
The Dark Knight Rises
Bruce at the start of The Dark Knight Rises
- Catwoman: “You don't owe these people anymore. You've given them everything.”
- Batman: “Not everything. Not yet.”
- ―Catwoman and Batman[src]
It has been eight years since Bruce Wayne has been Batman; having retired from the crime fighting lifestyle following his decision to take the blame for Harvey Dent's crimes. He has become reclusive for the past three years, rarely leaving Wayne Manor, and has been seen by few people in Gotham city. In addition he rarely has contact with Wayne Enterprises, choosing to leave the operations of the company to Lucius Fox, following a green energy fusion reactor project that was deemed a failure and had depleted most of his fortune. He has developed multiple medical problems in the years since his tenure as the Batman and has been forced to walk with a cane; his leg was injured in the fall off the ledge after rescuing Gordon's son in The Dark Knight.
On the eighth anniversary of the Dent Act, which led to over 1,000 inmates in connection to organized crime being locked up without parole at Blackgate Prison, the celebrations are held at Wayne Manor but Bruce only watches from a distance. As this is happening a maid, later to be revealed as Selina Kyle, is stealing Bruce's mother's pearl necklace from his private quarters. Bruce sneaks up behind her and confronts her, but she overpowers him and escapes with the necklace.
Bruce returns to the Batcave
During an investigation of the safe, Bruce discovers that the real target was his fingerprints and not the necklace. He returns to the Batcave for the first time in years and runs an analysis, only to be confronted by Alfred who asks him to move on with his life, which he hasn't done since he lost Rachel.
Opting to retrieve his mother's pearls, Bruce begins to track the thief via a GPS locator that was planted onto the pearls. He follows her to a gala where he encounters Miranda Tate and later Kyle herself. As he cuts in on her dance, Selina wonders why he didn't call the police. Bruce hints that he has a "powerful friend." She informs him that she only became a thief because she had to, but now she wants a fresh start so she can do what she wants to. Selina assumes that Bruce generally doesn't care about the world, but he counters that she's assuming too much. After she hints of "a storm coming", he takes the pearls back, but Selina is able to steal his car by claiming to be his wife.
Bruce dances with Selina.
Shortly afterward, Wayne is visited by John Blake at Wayne Manor who tells him about the attack on James Gordon, revealing to him that he knows that he's Batman. Blake also lost his parents at a young age, and learned how to hide the anger, similar to putting on a mask. He warns him about another threat known as Bane and asks him again to return as Batman. As Blake leaves, Bruce has Alfred make an appointment with an orthopedic specialist at the same hospital Gordon is at. First, he meets with Lucius Fox regarding Wayne Enterprises, and is shown the Applied Sciences division, which is off the books. After learning that the cartilage in his knees has completely depleted, Bruce uses this opportunity to break into the Commissioner's room with a mask on and Gordon tells him about the underground army Bane is building.
Returning to the cave, Bruce puts on a sophisticated leg brace which returns his ability to walk without a cane. Against Alfred's advice, he dons his cape and cowl again and goes out to Gotham. As this is happening, Bane goes to a stock exchange and uses Bruce's stolen finger prints to place a number of risky investments in his name.
Batman reemerges in Gotham City after eight years.
Bruce now as Batman chases after Bane and his mercenaries; however, he causes more problems with the police force opt to pursue him rather than the criminal as he was still the accused murderer of Harvey Dent. Batman escapes into the Bat, a giant aerial craft made by Lucius Fox, and flies away. He finds Selina Kyle holding John Daggett hostage and sees a group of Bane's thugs making their way towards her to kill her. She and Batman fight off the thugs until Bane himself appears, causing them to flee. Surprised that Batman is the "powerful friend," Selina informs him that she sold Wayne's fingerprints to Daggett. She quietly sneaks away, just like Batman would have.
Bruce goes back to the Batcave and is confronted by Alfred, who now refuses to help him as he's "buried enough members of the Wayne family". Alfred threatens to quit if Bruce doesn't hang up his suit. Bruce retorts by saying he has nothing outside of Batman and that Rachel Dawes, his childhood friend, was going to be his future. Alfred then tells Bruce about the letter to Bruce from Rachel saying that she was going to marry Harvey Dent even if Bruce stopped being Batman and that he burned it to spare Bruce the pain. Bruce becomes angry and accuses Alfred of lying and tells him to leave, to which Alfred does in grief. Awaking the next morning, Bruce is stunned to learn that Alfred is no longer at the manor. Fox meets him there to tell him that not only is Bruce bankrupt, but Wayne Enterprises is losing money fast due to Bane's use of Wayne's fingerprints and that he needs to rely on Miranda Tate now or Daggett will gain control of the company.
Bruce reveals the reactor to Miranda.
They decide to reveal the green energy project to Tate which was, in reality, a fully operational fusion reactor that was capable of powering Gotham for an indefinite period but could easily be converted to a nuclear bomb. Tate agrees to accept guardianship of the Reactor and Wayne, while at a meeting at Wayne Enterprises, is forced to remove himself from the board as he is no longer in a position of leadership over the company. After a brief meeting with Selina regarding Bane, he returns to the Manor to find Tate there waiting. The two share an intercourse before Wayne leaves to find Bane.
Batman vs. Bane.
Exploring the underground tunnels, Batman and Catwoman eventually locate Bane's hideout. Kyle has, however, double-crossed the Batman and locks him in a chamber with Bane himself. Kyle is surprised when Bane reveals Batman's true identity. Batman then starts to fight Bane, clearly losing to his superior strength and the fact that the mask he wears provides him with a drug that allows him to feel little to no pain. Batman still continues to fight and even uses an EMP device to turn off all the lights; however, this has no effect on Bane due his birth and molding in darkness and his undergoing the same training with Ra's al Ghul as Bruce Wayne. Bane quickly finds and beats Batman even further, punching him hard enough to break his mask. To add insult to injury, Bane triggers explosives above them, revealing themselves to be right below Applied Sciences. The League then takes possession of the Tumblers. Finally, Bane breaks Batman's back over his knee Bane orders his men to take Bruce Wayne to the Pit, a prison Bane controls in the Middle East.
Bruce awakes from his unconscious state and finds Bane looking over him, informing him that he is going to complete what Ra's al Ghul started and is going to force Bruce to watch Gotham's destruction. He tells Wayne that he will be kept alive until Gotham's destruction, at which time he will be allowed to die with Bane specifically stating "You have my permission to die" at the time of Gotham's destruction. A doctor, who is also an inmate in the prison, says that he is going to help fix his back and hangs him up until Bruce can learn to stand. Bruce, while doing this, has a vision of Ra's al Ghul who tells him that he has a child and an heir. Bruce believes it to be Bane. Bruce later regains his ability to stand and sees men trying to escape the Pit. He tries to do so himself, but is too weak. He starts training, but continues to fail. While Bruce is resting for his next attempt the doctor that lives next to him tells him the story of how the child became incarcerated in the Pit and later escaped. Bruce realizes, from the story, he must attempt to escape the same way the child did. He tries a final time, remembering his own fall into the cave, and reaches a ledge where all fall. Bats fly out of a hole next to his head and Bruce feels a surge of strength go through him and he leaps off the ledge and grabs hold of the next standing stone. He continues his climb upwards and makes it out of the Pit, dropping a long rope down to give the other prisoners a way to escape.
Bruce makes his final attempt to escape the Pit.
He travels back to Gotham where he finds out that things have gotten much worse. He finds Selina, who saved a child who was being mugged, and tells her that he could help give her the Clean Slate - a device capable of removing all traces of a person from official documents and databases. The device was supposed to be her payment from Daggett, who claimed the software didn't exist. He agrees to give it to her on the condition that he helps him free the cops that have been trapped underneath the city. She reluctantly agrees and Bruce allows himself to be captured in order to locate Fox, who helps him get back his equipment from the Warehouse and a disruptor that will prevent the bomb from detonation. Upon retrieving his gear, Batman goes to the river in order to rescue Commissioner Gordon. Defeating the thugs, he tells Gordon to light a flare and put it on the fuse which leads up to a giant bat shape on the bridge, much to Bane's surprise.
Batman's final confrontation with Bane.
Batman then rescues Blake and they liberate the cops from the sewers. Blake is tasked with evacuating as many people as they can. The freed police start an all out war in the middle of the streets and Batman and Bane confront one another on the steps of Gotham's City Hall. Batman starts to gain the upper hand as he starts punching away at Bane's mask, damaging it to the point it (temporarily) no longer functioned. He saves Miranda who had been taken hostage and interrogates Bane to tell him who has the trigger which will set off the bomb that would destroy the city, paraphrasing Bane's own taunt in the pit. Miranda then appears and stabs Batman between the ribs, before telling him that she is actually Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. She revealed that she was the child who climbed out of the pit and that the man who helped her was Bane who was later rescued by Ra's for saving his daughter. She fixes Bane's mask and Bane straps a rope around Batman's neck. Batman pleads with her not to set off the bomb but she ignores him as she only wanted revenge upon the man and the city that destroyed her father. She presses the trigger, to no avail, as Gordon had gotten the disruptor to the bomb. She leaves to go find the bomb and make sure it detonates, as it is only minutes away from exploding.
Batman's final moments, as he is flying the bomb over the bay.
Bane is about to kill Batman when Selina comes through on the Batpod and shoots Bane, killing him. Batman uses the Bat and flies after Talia while Catwoman goes after the escort tumbler vehicles. After the Tumblers are dealt with, Batman blasts the truck head-on, causing it to crash down on a lower level street. Talia, who is mortally wounded, tells him that she overrode the bomb so that nothing could stop it and flooded the compartment holding the stabilization equipment. Batman realizes that she is telling the truth and that it needs to be taken somewhere safe; realizing the only option is to take the bomb into the Atlantic Ocean. Selina kisses him goodbye and Gordon asks Batman who he is and he tells him by reminding him of the night of his parent's death: "A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulder to let him know that the world hadn't ended." As Gordon realizes the Batman's identity is Bruce Wayne, Batman flies away with the bomb attached to the Bat. The city watches in horror but also joy as Batman flies away with the bomb, making it to a safe distance before the bomb detonates.
Bruce Wayne appears alive and well, accompanied by Selina Kyle.
Following the apparent death of Batman, he is identified as a hero and a statue is erected in his honor in the center of city hall. Meanwhile, at Wayne Manor, a small memorial service is held in Bruce Wayne's honor by the few men that knew the truth of his identity as Batman, made up of Alfred Pennyworth, John Blake, Lucius Fox, and Commisoner Gordon. A short while afterwards, Lucius Fox discovers that the Bat, which had a failing autopilot, had actually been repaired six months prior. Alfred, at a cafe in Florence, recalls his dream he had during Bruce's first disappearance regarding finding him happily at a cafe in Italy with a wife and maybe a couple kids. As Alfred sits he looks around to find Bruce sitting with Selina across the cafe. He smiles and nods at him, as does Bruce, having finally found peace and happiness. Bruce had also passed his legacy to Blake who presumably took over as Batman.
In other media
Batman Begins and The Dark Knight novelizations
In the films' novelizations by Dennis O'Neil, Bruce was trained in back-alley fighting and Kata (Asian Marital Art) before meeting Ra's.
Batman: Gotham Knight
- "I'm willing to put my life on the line to do what I have to. But it has to be mine, no one else's."
- ―Bruce Wayne [src]
The Dark Knight
Bruce Wayne continued to serve justice as the Batman after the events of Batman Begins. There had been reports of people being attacked by an 8-foot-tall reptilian creature. Batman was certain that the Scarecrow's fear toxin was connected with these incidents and began an investigation in the sewers. Batman was suddenly attacked by the monster, Killer Croc, who had been injected with Scarecrow's fear toxin, thus infecting Batman with it. He defeated Croc and made his way deeper into the sewers where he encountered and confronted Scarecrow. He flooded Scarecrow's chamber and escaped with Cardinal O'Fallon, and Scarecrow just barely escaped.
An assassin named Deadshot, who took great pride in his work, was hired to assassinate James Gordon in an attempt to take out Batman. Batman managed to outsmart the assassin, and he realized that there are some criminals he may never understand, and whose lines he would never cross.
In a flashback in Batman: Gotham Knight he took lessons in ignoring pain.
Batman is voiced by Kevin Conroy and Hynden Walch in a younger incarnation.
Abilities
- "You know how to fight six men, we can teach you how to engage six hundred. You know how to disappear, we can teach you to become truly invisible."
- ―Ra's al Ghul training Bruce Wayne[src]
Batman is a highly skilled martial artist having been trained by the League of Shadows and Ra's al Ghul personally in ninjutsu and other martial arts, Batman has achieved such feats as single handedly subduing a swat team and taking out a group of the league of shadows ninjas with minimal injury; even before his training with Ra's al Ghul. Bruce Wayne was able to fight an entire gang of convicts in a prison brawl with the guards locking him in solitary for the other inmates "protection".
Batman is also highly intelligent, being a brilliant detective (known by some as "the world's greatest detective"), and an expert planner. He has proven himself exceptionally good at stealth being able to disappear in the middle of people's sentences and sneaking up on others unexpectedly. With his vast wealth and company Batman has access to some of the world's greatest equipment and technology to improve his performance. Relying on intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, and intimidation in his war on crime, Batman is a force greatly feared by Gotham's underworld.
Personality
- Ra's al Ghul: “Your compassion is a weakness your enemies will not share.”
- Bruce Wayne: “That's why it's so important. It's what separates us from them.”
- ―Ra's al Ghul and Bruce Wayne[src]
Bruce Wayne is very dedicated and determined to his work of crime-fighting, sometimes employing illegal and morally dubious tactics (like torture) but ultimately for the good of Gotham. Despite his dark past and serious work, Bruce has displayed a sense of humor around his butler Alfred and a romantic side around his love-interest Rachel. Although possessing great hate and anger towards criminals, he has proven himself a very caring and selfless person, constantly putting his life on the line to save innocent lives and bringing the most dangerous criminals to justice for society's protection.
Perhaps Bruce's strongest characteristic is his strong moral code to never kill, believing all men deserve a trial and to do so makes him no better than his enemies, because of this he was been noted by the Joker as being "incorruptible". Although he did let Ra's al Ghul die, saying "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you", he has shown compassion for his enemies, such as when he saved his employee Mr. Reese from getting killed, who was just about to sell him out by telling the public he was Batman. Bruce Wayne has also shown himself to have a good deal of faith in people as evidenced in The Dark Knight when he was confident that the people on the ferries wouldn't blow each other up (which they didn't), which is contrast to the Joker believing people to be just as bad as him when under enough pressure.
To the public, Bruce Wayne takes on the facade of an irresponsible, fun-seeking playboy in order to avoid suspicion of his alter-ego, while as Batman he reveals his dark, intimidating personality in the form of a bat (his childhood fear for his enemies to dread) to frighten the criminals he stands against, believing theatricality to help him seem more than a man, but a symbol. Bruce Wayne's ultimate goal is to bring order and justice to Gotham city, as opposed to the Joker who's ultimate goal is to bring chaos and anarchy.
Bases of Operation
Batcave
The Batcave was Batman's base of operations. It was a cave beneath Wayne Manor.
Wayne Manor
Wayne Manor was Bruce Wayne's home. It was destroyed by Ra's al Ghul at the end of Batman Begins, but it was later rebuilt before the events of The Dark Knight Rises.
Penthouse
When Wayne Manor was destroyed, Bruce moved into a penthouse. This was where the Joker first searched for Harvey Dent and, according to Alfred, Bruce doesn't sleep in the Penthouse much.
Warehouse
After Wayne Manor was destroyed, the Batcave cannot be used so Batman moves his operations to the Warehouse.
Batsuit
Batman in the first Batsuit.
The Batsuit is the costume Batman wears to conceal his identity and to frighten criminals. This particular incarnation of the Batsuit is given the most complete description ever seen in a Batman film and possibly the comic books. The suit is derived from Lucius Fox's Research and Development program, within Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences Division. It is described by Fox as a "Nomex survival suit" originally intended for advanced military use, but, with its $300,000 price tag, was considered to be too expensive for the United States Army and military in general. Based on an advanced infantry armor system constructed from Nomex, the first layer of protection is an undersuit with built-in temperature regulators designed to keep the wearer at a comfortable temperature in almost any condition. The second layer of protection consists of armor built over the chest, calves, thighs, arms, and back.
This armor features a kevlar bi-weave that can stop slashing weapons and can also deflect any bullet short of a straight shot impact, and reinforced joints that allow maximum flexibility and mobility. The armor was then coated with a black latex material to dampen Bruce's heat signature, making him difficult to detect with night-vision equipment. Made of a graphite material, the cowl acts as a protective helmet. The cowl's Kevlar lining is supposed to be bulletproof. A manufacturing defect in the graphite used in the production of the first shipment of the cowl's components made its outer shell incapable of withstanding blunt trauma (a flaw Alfred demonstrates to Bruce Wayne using a baseball bat). Batman apparently takes on Falcone and his henchmen at the docks with the defective helmet. The second shipment was supposed to fix this problem. An advanced eavesdropping device is concealed within the cowl's right ear and enables Batman to listen in on conversations from a distance.
Batman was not able to turn his neck in his first batsuit, which was a hindrance to him.
Batman's cape is made of "memory cloth," also developed by Lucius Fox. It is essentially flexible in its normal state, but becomes semi-rigid in a fixed form (Batman's wings in the movie) when an electric current is passed through it from the microcircuits in his right glove. Bruce also adds metal gauntlets with scallops on the forearms, an innovation derived from his experience as a pupil of Ra's al Ghul's organization, the League of Shadows. Mainly used to block against knives or other stabbing weapons, Bruce managed to surprise Ra's by breaking the blade of his ninjaken in multiple places with the gauntlets.
Batman in the second Batsuit.
The Batsuit is changed in the next film The Dark Knight. In this new design, the bodysuit is made of hardened kevlar plates on a titanium-dipped fiber and is broken into multiple pieces of armor over a more flexible bodysuit for greater mobility. As a trade-off, however, the flexible armor leaves Batman more vulnerable to injury from bullets or knifes in favor of increased flexibility and lighter weight. The cowl of the Batsuit, which in previous film incarnations has been attached to the shoulder and neck, is now a separate component inspired by the design of motorcycle helmets, allowing the wearer to freely swivel and move his neck without moving the rest of his upper torso as was characteristic in all the previous cinematic versions of the Batsuit. Also, a strong electric current runs through it that prevents anyone except Bruce Wayne from removing it, further protecting his identity.
In this Batsuit, the iconic blades on the sides of Batman's gauntlets are now retractable and are capable of firing outwards as projectiles. The bat emblem is smaller than the one in Batman Begins and it is more similar to the Batman logo used in the posters.
Furthermore, unlike the Batsuit in Batman Begins, this suit does not have an external 'memory cloth' cape, but, rather, a concealed cape in compartments behind the shoulder blades, which eject, connecting to the suits limbs to provide a hang-glider-like functionality with a bat-motif design.
The second Batsuit also has sonar-vision, where signals emitted by mobile phones are converted into images in a similar way to sonar. In order to view the said images, white lenses fold down from Batman's cowl to cover his eyes. Aesthetically this gives Batman, for the first time in a live action film, the 'white eyed' appearance he is always depicted with in the comic-books and animated series.
Utility Belt
The Utility Belt is a specialized belt Batman wears to equip his crime-fighting gear. The utility belt is a modified climbing harness, with magnetized impact-resistant pouches and canisters attached to the belt at ergonomic points for ease of reach. It carries a magnetic gas-powered grapple gun, an encrypted cell phone, Batarangs, a medical kit, smoke bombs, mini explosives, periscope, remote control for the Batmobile (the Tumbler), mini-cam, money, and other unspecified equipment. Batman removed the belt's shoulder and chest straps because they constricted his movements.
Batarang
A Batarang is a roughly bat-shaped throwing weapon used by Batman. The name is a portmanteau of bat and boomerang. Although Batarangs are named after boomerangs, they are more similar to shurikens, fitting with Batman's training as a ninja. He used one to knock out a light in Batman Begins. In The Dark Knight Rises, Batman uses smaller and sharper Batarangs laced with sedative to pierce the necks of his opponents, and knock them out.
Grappling gun
The grappling gun is a special item Batman uses to scale up or rappel down tall buildings, or swing between Gotham City skyscrapers on successive lines.
Similar to a grappling hook and speargun, the line gun uses a strong clamp attached to a high-tensil wire for scaling surfaces and/or traversing gaps. It can be recovered by releasing the clamp and rewinding the cable. It was based from one that is designed as compact climbing gear for commando units.
It is propelled with compressed air works with a magnetic Enterhaken. The thin climbing cable was tested on a load-carrying capacity of 350 lbs.
High-Frequency Transponder
The special sonic device is an artifact Batman uses to summon bats. When it is not used, it is equipped in the left boot heel. When used at a lower frequency the sound can cause people to have incapacitating headaches.
Vehicles
Gallery
- Batman (Christian Bale)/Gallery
Behind the scenes
- Director Christopher Nolan explained that Bruce Wayne injured his leg in the fall at the end of The Dark Knight in the The Dark Knight Rises "The Journey of Bruce Wayne" special feature. "He has been damaged by his experiences as Batman. Doesn't know how to move on from them. And so very much The Dark Knight Rises deals with the consequences of character's actions. He's physically damaged, he's walking with a cane, he's hurt his leg in the fall that killed Harvey Dent."
- In both The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises' end credits, Christian Bale is only credited with playing Bruce Wayne, and not Batman.
- Although in Latin America, Bruce Wayne's name had been translated into Spanish as "Bruno Díaz" ever since the first comic books, for the dubbing of the Nolan films he was left as "Bruce Wayne".
- This so far the sole Batman franchise where Bruce Wayne finds peace and has a definitive end to his career as Batman.
Appearances
- Nolan films
- Animated