Owlman is an alternate, evil version of Batman often hailing from Earth-3 where all traditional heroes are villains and vice versa.
Variants[]
Earth One[]
Main Article: Dick Grayson
The first usage of the moniker Owlman came in Batman Vol 1 107 in the April of 1957. In this story, Dick Grayson is exposed to an alien gas brought to Earth by Superman. As a result, Dick spontaneously aged into an adult body and took up the new moniker of, "Owlman" who fought villains known as The Daredevils before returning to normal.
Earth Three[]
Main Article: Owlman (Earth-Three)
The original super-villain Owlman came from the partially reversed reality of Earth-Three where all heroes were villains and all villains were heroes. He was a man born with enhanced intelligence and low-level telepathy which he used an owl-shaped helmet to enhance. Using his skills he would invent a variety of owl-themed gadgets and become a member of the Crime Syndicate.
After conquering their America, the Crime Syndicate became discontent with having no worthy adversaries and as such travelled to Earth One in-order to fight their heroic counterparts in the Justice League.
Qward[]
Main Article: Owl-Man (Qward)
Post-Crisis[]
Thomas Wayne Jr.[]
Main Article: Thomas Wayne, Jr.
Hailing from the anti-matter universe, this incarnation of Owlman was named Thomas Wayne Jr.. Thomas Jr. was the eldest son both to Thomas and Martha Wayne, in addition to being the elder brother of that Earth's Bruce Wayne. One night while walking down Crime Alley, Thomas would witness his mother and brother all be shot dead by a mugger.
With his newfound inheritance, Thomas Jr spent years training with the goal of controlling the crime in Gotham by conquering the criminal-underworld under the alias of, "Owlman" with the help of crime-boss Jim Gordon. Meanwhile, Owlman's father who had survived the event went about becoming the new commissioner of the GCPD and was dedicated to hunting down and killing Owlman.
Roy Raymond Jr.[]
Main Article: Roy Raymond Jr.
New 52[]
Earth 3[]
Main Article: Thomas Wayne, Jr.
Prime Earth[]
Main Article: Lincoln March
The Thomas Wayne Jr. incarnation of Owlman was once again reimagined for the New 52 albeit as a character within mainstream continuity. It is however left ambiguous as to if this Owlman is truly Thomas Wayne Jr. or simply a pretender.
On this earth, Thomas Wayne Jr. would have been the second son born to Thomas and Martha Wayne had it not been for a car-accident which caused Martha to have a miscarriage. It is implied that this accident might have been arranged by the aristocratic secret-society known as the Court of Owls which has an ancient feud with the Wayne family.
"Lincoln March" is the assumed-name of an orphan who believes himself to be the adult Thomas Wayne Jr.. According to him, Thomas Jr was born following the car-accident but was born prematurely and as a result suffered from intense paralysis throughout his childhood. Allegedly, Martha had Thomas grow up in the WIllowood Orphanage under a fake name to protect him from being killed by the Court of Owls. Throughout his childhood, "Thomas" would frequently be visited by Martha until her death at the hands of Joe Chill.
Following the death of the Waynes, "Thomas Jr" would be found out and taken in by the Court of Owls to be groomed as both an operative in their never-ending quest for power, and as a trained Talon assassin. He would be given the moniker of Lincoln March (a name taken from the streets Lincoln and March where Martha's car crash occurred) and he would be given the persona of a philanthropist in-charge of March Ventures.
It is from this where the scepticism regarding Owlman's position as Thomas Wayne Jr. culminate. It is incredibly likely that the Court of Owls manipulated the sickly boy with a semi-fabricated story to make him believe that he was Thomas Wayne Jr. as a grab for power at their rivals in the Wayne Family. The doubt in his story is furthered by Martha having visited many of the orphans of Willowood frequently as part of the Wayne Foundation's charity and the pin which Owlman received from her being identical to those held by all the orphans of the orphanage.
Court of Owls[]
The Court of Owls was inspired by the mythology surrounding Owlman. Their assassins are known as Talons as an allusion to Owlman's sidekick of the same name.
In other media[]
- Lord Batman (Justice Lords)
- Owlman (Batman: The Brave and the Bold)
- Owlman (Crisis on Two Earths)
Trivia[]
- The Thomas Wayne, Jr. depiction of Owlman parallels the villain the Boomerang Killer who was Bruce Wayne's secret older-brother Thomas Wayne, Jr..