Batman

Batman's History

Bruce Wayne was orphaned as a child when he witnessed his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, brutally gunned down in a random mugging. He made a solemn vow at their grave that he would commit his life towards bringing wrongdoers to justice. After the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Bruce Wayne became the legal ward of the family butler Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred and he lived at the family estate in Gotham City known as Wayne Manor.

Bruce Wayne drew upon the influences of others in order to create what would one day become his dual identity as Batman. One of his earliest inspirations was taken from a character from old movie serials known as the Gray Ghost. Little did Bruce know that he would one day meet his childhood hero.

Bruce eventually left Gotham in order to train to fulfill his mission. He spent three months training with John Zatara and his daughter, Zatanna, in the art of escape.He also trained in martial arts under the tutelage of Master Yoru in Japan. Here he formed a rivalry with fellow student, Kyodai Ken, who after being banished for attempting to steal Yoru's prized sword, swore vengeance on Bruce.

As a young man, Bruce Wayne had already mastered several martial arts forms. He had discovered an immense cavern beneath Wayne Manor, and Alfred and he began furnishing it as a secret crime laboratory. In short order, Bruce began operating as a street-level vigilante, donning a black ski-mask and going out into the night to foil crimes. Though he was marginally successful, Bruce grew frustrated by the fact that his foes were not afraid of him. He realized that he would need something else in order to inspire terror into the hearts of Gotham's underworld.

During this time, Bruce met and fell in love with a woman named Andrea Beaumont. He even considered abandoning his crusade for justice to devote himself to her, but he was haunted by the memory of his slain parents. Bruce proposed to Andrea, who readily accepted. Unfortunately, as Bruce would later learn, her father, Carl Beaumont, had borrowed money from Sal Valestra and his mob gang (including a young Jack Napier) Andrea chose to flee with her father overseas, and sent the ring back to Bruce with a letter not telling the real reasons. Heartbroken, Bruce Wayne committed himself entirely towards fighting crime. However, he had yet to develop the means by which to intimidate his adversaries.

A few nights later, Bruce Wayne was in his father's study mourning the loss of his parents when a bat crashed through the study window. Inspired by this incident, Bruce realized that he would garb himself in the visage of a bat... and thus, the Batman was born.