Bruce Wayne is born to Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, two very wealthy and charitable Gotham City socialites. Bruce is brought up in Wayne Manor, and leads a happy and privileged existence until the age of eight. The night that changed the lives of Bruce and his family happened when Dr. Thomas Wayne wore the costume of a Batman to a charity costume party and was later taken hostage by a group of thugs looking for a doctor. He was taken to see their boss, bank robber Buzz Bronski, who had been shot and needed the doctor to remove the bullet. Instead, Dr. Wayne attacked the thugs and defeated them. He turned them over to the police, including then-Lieutenant James Gordon. Wayne was going to testified against Bronski, who was going to be convicted and sent away for years. Bronski then plotted to have his revenge against Wayne.
Several weeks later, A family outing to the cinema ended in tragedy for young Bruce Wayne. Walking homeward, Bruce, his father, Thomas, and mother, Martha, accidentally ventured into Gotham City's notorious "Crime Alley" and were accosted by a mugger. Not content merely to rob the wealthy family, the hoodlum Joe Chill shot Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne dead before fleeing into the darkness. As he knelt beside his parent's bodies, Bruce swore to avenge them. After the police arrived, Bruce was comforted by Dr. Leslie Thompkins.
Leslie and Alfred helped arrange matters so that Gotham's Social Services would not take Bruce into care. A few years before John Zatara came to Gotham and befriended the Wayne's, so just after their death Zatara left Gotham City, blaming himself for being unable to stop the orphaning of young Bruce. Eventually, in Europe, Zatara would meet and wed Sindella, who gave birth to their daughter, Zatanna. Sindella seemingly died after giving birth to Zatanna, prompting Zatara to become a depressed drunk. Those who looked after Bruce following his parents' deaths were Leslie Thompkins, Mrs. Chilton - housekeeper of Bruce's uncle, Philip Wayne (who had been appointed Bruce's guardian, but was seldom at home as his work required him to travel quite a bit). Unbeknownst to Bruce but known to his butler, Mrs. Chilton was Joe Chill's mother.
Young Bruce dedicated his life to bringing his parents' killer to justice and waging war against all criminals. He studied and trained hard, and followed the career of a police detective named Harvey Harris. Bruce created a costume (that of the original Robin) to hide his identity and set out to meet Harris. Bruce happened upon a criminal waiting to attack Harris, and managed to thwart the would-be attacker. To repay him, Harris taught Bruce everything about the art of detecting, and gave him the name "Robin". After many talks with Harris, Bruce decides to travel the world and learn how to confront injustice, trains himself in combat and to understand criminal minds.
At age 14, Bruce embarked on a journey that took him to every continent as he sought to learn all the skills he would need to keep his vow. He studied criminology, forensics, and criminal psychology, and learned from man-hunters and martial artists, mastering every fighting style. Bruce Wayne began his global sojourn, attending courses at Cambridge, the Sorbonne, and other European universities. However, he never stayed long and would often drop out after one semester.
The first real teacher Bruce had was Zatara, who was to teach him to become an escape artist and illusionist. Bruce's appearance prompted Zatara to address his alcoholism. While he trained with Zatara, he and his mentor's daughter Zatanna would become very close. After learning from Zatara, Ted Grant would be the next person to teach Bruce. Grant runs the "Wildcat Gym" as a place to help kids on the streets by helping to steer them right by training them to box. After Bruce learns to box and shows Ted that he is a very fast learner, Ted shows Bruce that he is also highly skilled at other martial arts, such as Capoeira, Hapkido, Kickboxing, Krav Maga, and Muay Thai. Which he then teaches to Bruce.
It is during this time with Ted Grant that Bruce meets Harvey Dent for the first time. Both were learning to box under Ted. Harvey Dent is depicted as having had an unhappy childhood; his mentally ill father, Harry, beats him regularly often deciding whether or not to brutalize his son based on a flip of his lucky coin. The abuse instills in Dent his lifelong struggle with free will and his eventual inability to make choices on his own, relying on the coin to make all of his decisions. Dent is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia at a young age but manages to hide his illnesses and thanks to an unyielding work ethic, rises up through the ranks of Gotham City's district attorney's office until, at age 26, he becomes the youngest DA in the city's history.
After training in hand to hand combat Bruce goes to Japan to learn sword fighting, Karate, Judo and Ninjitsu. Bruce enrolled himself in Yoru's dojo for an extended period to learning numerous martial arts. He rose to become one of the dojo's best students. The only other student able to consistently defeat him was Kyodai Ken. Yoru was concerned that Bruce was practicing out of fanaticism and counseled him to learn from his mistakes and turn them to his advantage by pointing out that sometimes losing can be more profitable than winning. Bruce still believed that one slip would be too many and Yoru likely did not know the true purpose of his training. When Kyodai was caught trying to steal an ancient samurai sword it was Bruce who confronted him to which Kyodai challenged him to a death-match. Bruce gladly accepted but the forthcoming fight was broken up by Yoru, who took back the stolen sword and said the punishment was expulsion instead of trial by combat.
Bruce decides to try a different approach to fighting injustice. He associates with criminals to learn their ways and is thrown in a Bhutanese prison by police for theft, ironically of Wayne Enterprises property. After a prison brawl, an enigmatic man who identifies himself as Henri Ducard invites Bruce to join an elite vigilante group, the League of Assassins, under the leadership of Ra's al Ghul. Bruce is freed the next day and travels to the top of a Tibetan mountain to begin his combat training with the League. The League apparently had an inner circle of elite fighters as well as a large number of warriors trained in the martial arts and modern military special forces tactics. Members of the League demonstrated a willingness to die at a word from Ra's. They have included some of the most dangerous assassins in the world including Lady Shiva, Bronze Tiger and Merlyn. For much of its current history, any member who failed in an assassination was in turn targeted by the League. Bruce rejected the League when he was ordered to kill a criminal to prove his commitment to justice and he learned that the League wanted him to lead a mission to destroy Gotham City. The League's base in Tibet was destroyed in the subsequent battle as Wayne fought Ra's al Ghul and left him for dead.
Bruce made his way to the United Kingdom to find a bounty hunter by the name of Jason Blood. Bruce finds Jason in London and offers Jason lots of money to train Bruce how to be as good a manhunter as he is. Blood tells Bruce that he uses magic to find is prey. After a long night of drinking Jason finally agrees to show Bruce a few things but nothing magical. A few months later Jason alongside Bruce are attacked by Morgana Le'Fey. Jason Turns into Etrigan for the first time in front of Bruce and then escapes from Morgana.
Once safely away Jason tells his story; In the waning days of Camelot, Merlin merges his demon familiar Etrigan with a man, Jason Blood, as part of a last-ditch effort to defend the kingdom against Morgana le Fey's assault. Blood had been an ally of le Fey and is bonded to Etrigan as penance. He and Morgana become enemies henceforth. Following the fall of Camelot, Morgana continues to practice her dark arts and retains her youth for many centuries, always seeking more power and a new kingdom to rule. By the 20th century, Merlin has arisen anew and tricks Morgana, causing her to lose her youth and beauty which she had preserved using her magics. She wishes to replenish her youth with Merlin's secrets and that is why she wants them, so they can lead her to Merlin. As Jason and Bruce sit and talk, Morgana is working a spell that will lead her to Etrigan. Once she finds them she bring the amulet of a Lord of Chaos with her to the meeting. Once Morgana catches up with Jason she finds a black cat near by and places the amulet on the cat. Instantly the cat transforms and a portals opens up. Out of the portal comes Klarion. Once fully on this plane, Klarion looks around and at once see's the touch of destiny on Bruce so he takes the childhood form of Bruce. At once a blinding light fills the room and Doctor Fate comes threw his Ankh Teleportation spell. After a hard fought battle Klarion has to retreat with Morgana or face expulsion from this Earth once again. Now that Bruce has meet and fought alongside Doctor Fate, Fate teaches Bruce how to detect certain things about magic without using magic itself.
Bruce Wayne, age 25, returns home from training abroad in martial arts, man-hunting and science for eleven years. His Uncle Philip had pasted away and he was need back home. At this point, Bruce has reavowed to avenge his parents' murder by dedicating his life to fighting crime. Once in Gotham, he bides his time, waiting for the right moment to strike, all the while preparing himself. Bruce attempted to join the FBI, but after learning about its regulations and conduct, Wayne deducted that he would never be able to completely oppose crime while working within the legal system. Later, wearing a ski mask, Bruce thwarts an armored car robbery. However, when Alfred asks how the fight went, Bruce is discouraged that the robbers considered him a clownish vigilante at first, and realizes he needs to adopt a persona that will strike fear into the hearts of wrongdoers.
Bruce discovered a cave by accident when testing the floor of an old barn on the rear of the property and the floor gave way. Upon his initial foray into crime-fighting Wayne used the caves as a sanctum and to store his then-minimal equipment and the only things inside are a small workshop and a storage space for the Batsuit and its accessories, a medical area, and the Batmobile. The entrance and exit for the Batmobile are behind a waterfall. Alfred reveals to Bruce that during the Civil War, the Wayne's used the vast cavern system as part of the Underground Railroad. They discover a hidden Civil War-era mechanical elevator which is still functional and leads to a hidden entrance in the mansion through a secret door behind a grandfather clock which unlocks the secret door when the hands are set to the time that Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered, 10:47 pm. As time went on, Wayne found the place ideal to create a stronghold for his war against crime and has incorporated a plethora of equipment as well as expanding the cave for specific uses.
While he is laying the groundwork for crime-fighting, Bruce is also dating Andrea, and doing things with her such as visiting a future exposition, which contains a car prototype that catches Bruce's eye. He also meets Andrea's father Carl Beaumont, who is a businessman and Arthur Reeves, who worked as Beaumont's legal adviser at the time. In his study, while talking to portraits of his parents, Bruce wonders what his parents really want for him; to avenge their deaths as a crime fighter or to continue the Wayne bloodline by marriage and fathering children? Later, Bruce tells Alfred he has made his choice: he will abandon his crime-fighting career and focus solely on his work at Wayne Enterprises, and has also bought an engagement ring for Andrea. However, Andrea mysteriously leaves Gotham with her father, ending her engagement to Bruce in a Dear John-style letter. Believing that he has lost his only chance of having a normal life, Bruce proceeds with his other choice, to avenge his parents' murder and spare other families his pain. After seeing a bat fly in the night sky, Bruce realizes he has the perfect image of terror for wrongdoers, and finally dons the mask of Batman.
Wayne's tactics to oppose crime as a vigilante at night proved successful leading him to become an urban legend in Gotham City. Wayne's first ally was assistant district attorney Harvey Dent. Most of the Gotham City Police Department was sent in force to capture him. He gained his most powerful ally when he met police Lt. James Gordon, one of the few honest cops on the force. The two developed a working relationship operating outside of the law when they needed to. Gordon tries to clean up G.C.P.D., but on the orders of the corrupt Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, he is threatened by fellow officers.
After reestablishing his connections to his father's company, Wayne Enterprises, Bruce is able to acquire, with the help of former board member Lucius Fox, a prototype armored car and an experimental armored suit. He augments the suit with the League of Assassins armor, and a special cape that can become a rudimentary hang glider. Lucius Fox was a research head and a friend of Dr. Thomas Wayne who was demoted by Wayne Enterprises CEO, William Earle to overseeing the supplies of Wayne Enterprises' aborted research projects and prototypes in the Applied Sciences Division.
Upon returning to the business, Bruce Wayne struck up a fast friendship which allowed him to all but recruit Fox as his armorer for Batman's activities. Lucius and Bruce became friends almost immediately after Bruce returned to the family business. At first, Bruce "worked" with Lucius in the Applied Sciences Division. But, this job was an excuse to gather the equipment Bruce needed to become Batman. Lucius caught onto the fact that Bruce was up to something else entirely and told Bruce that much and not to treat him like an idiot. This impressed Bruce greatly and Lucius allowed Bruce free access to necessary equipment. The trust and friendship between them made Bruce appointed Lucius Fox the company CEO and trusted him with day to day business matters.
One night, when the corrupt city leaders and gangsters like Carmine Falcone gather for a dinner party, Commissioner Loeb explains why Batman is politically advantageous to themselves, assuming he would never bother them; meanwhile, Batman sneaks onto the grounds, puts the guards to sleep and sets up stage lights around the window that comprises one of the dining room walls. He cuts the electricity, throwing the room in darkness, blows a hole in the outside wall and then activates the lights. He gives the men and women a dire warning that he is just as determined to deliver them to justice as well, then leaves. The police try to capture Batman numerous times, but Bruce is too elusive and alert to fall for their traps.
Months pass and Batman overhears the local mafia boss, Carmine Falcone, planning revenge against Gordon. Falcone orders an unsuccessful attempt to kidnap Detective Jim Gordon's family. At the same time Dr. Jonathan Crane uses his position as professor of psychology at Gotham University and as resident psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum to conduct his experiments in fear. Crane smuggles the hallucinogenic chemical ingredient for his "fear gas" into Gotham through the connections of mob boss Carmine Falcone. Falcone virtually runs Gotham City, with the mayor, the city council, Commissioner Gillian Loeb, and Detective Arnold Flass in his pocket.
His power comes under attack with the arrival of the mysterious vigilante Batman. Despite Loeb's desperate attempts to stop him, Batman's attacks on Falcone's organization become even more brazen. Humiliated, Falcone orders Batman killed. Gordon vows to bring him down and his main rival Sal Maroni is encroaching on his territory. Falcone enlists small-time criminal Oswald Cobblepot to help him destroy his enemies.
Oswald Cobblepot first appeared in Gotham City as a skilled thief, sneaking a priceless painting out of the museum by hiding the rolled-up canvas in the handle of his umbrella. Cobblepot later used the canvas as proof of his intellect to Carmine Falcone, which he was then allowed to join. With Cobblepot's help, the mob pulled off a string of ingenious heists, but the mob's leader and the "be-monocled bird" eventually fell out, leading Cobblepot to instigate a turf war between Falcone and Maroni.
Eventually, investigations led by Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, with some secret assistance by Batman, restore law and order to Gotham: Loeb is forced to resign and Falcone's power is put under threat by the new opposition he faces. Falcone blames his nephew Johnny Viti for the foiled plot against Gordon and tries to order a hit; Johnny survives and Falcone finds himself at odds with his sister Carla, the head of the Viti crime family in Chicago. After Loeb resigns, Gordon is promoted to captain of G.C.P.D.'s major crimes unit. Batman's presence in Gotham City generated a new breed of criminals, no longer the simple thugs and gangsters involved in Gotham Organized Crime, but more dynamic personalities.
A gang called the "Red Hood Gang" appears in Gotham City. The Red Hood Gang is started by mob boss Salvatore Valestra to fight this new threat to the Gotham Underworld, called the Batman. Valestra uses his top hit-man Jack Napier to become the Red Hood. Bruce gets involved when the Red Hood Gang plans to sink a pickup truck full of men. During this encounter, it is revealed that the Red Hood Gang's ranks have expanded. It turns out their leader had since begun blackmailing innocent Gotham citizens into joining the group, threatening violence against them if they refused to be his henchmen. They eventually steal an airship belonging to G.C.P.D. and finds the gang used several weapons from Wayne Industries. Bruce discovers that the Red Hood Gang has been doing business with William Earle, who was selling them weapons after being forced to join the gang.
The motivation of the Red Hood Gang comes to light, and it was revealed that they had been inspired by the impact that the murder of Bruce's parents had upon the city. The murders of the famous and beloved Doctor and Mrs. Wayne had made the residents of Gotham fearful, since if even the rich and powerful could be gunned down by a random criminal, no one was safe from being harmed by crime. Embracing nihilism the Red Hood Gang killed, robbed, and caused suffering in order to make the average citizen know their lives are worthless and can and will be murdered at any given moment.
The culmination of the Red Hood Gang's campaign of terror was their plan to take over the Ace Chemical Plant and use its resources to create a flesh-eating bacteria. Mob boss Salvatore Valestra, who has already been targeted by Dent and Gordon, discovers his mistress Alicia is involved with his hit-man Jack Napier. With the help of corrupt police lieutenant Max Eckhardt, Valestra engineers Napier's death in a raid at Ace Chemical Plant. However, Valestra's plan is foiled with the sudden arrival of Captain Gordon, the major crimes unit and SWAT officers, who wants Napier captured alive. In the ensuing shootout, Napier, who has realized he was set up, kills Eckhardt. Batman arrives and, in a struggle, Napier is knocked into a vat of chemicals. Batman escapes and Napier is presumed dead.
The League of Assassins started a large killing spree across Europe, which soon became target of investigation by the Interpol. When the pattern was clear Interpol warned Gotham City's Major Crimes Unit about the next target of the murder trail as a shipping magnate, then located in Gotham. Gordon tried to provide police protection but when refused, he contacted Batman, who thwarted the killing of the magnate and captured the assassin Amba Kadiri. It was during this case, that the League first became aware of Batman's existence and activities.
Batman meets one of his underworld informants atop Gotham's Statue of Justice. The informant says he's been running errands for a mysterious organization, The League of Assassins. He mentions that they are planning a heist of a high-tech weapon and their leader goes by the name "Red Claw". Just then two agents of the League appear and attack. In the fight, the informant is thrown off the statue's head into the sea. Batman overcomes the two agents but before he can interrogate them, they release gas canisters in their masks, sending them both into catatonic states.
Batman appears at the firing range at Gotham Police Headquarters, where Gordon is practicing alone. Batman relates the night's events, then guesses that the target of the planned heist is Wayne Enterprises' new ultrasonic drill, being delivered that night by train. At the rail station, when the drill is unloaded Lucius Fox and the entire security detail is disabled by sleeping gas. As Red Claw's men take the drill, Batman appears and tries to intervene, but is likewise overtaken with the gas. Red Claw then flees with the drill.
Red Claw works with a real estate company, Multigon, to purchase a piece of land in order to have a place to use the which she intends to use the ultrasonic drill to hold Gotham City ransom for one million dollars in gold bullion. While making preparations, Red Claw captures Batman and she reveals to him that she never truly intended to unleash the weapon but wanted to draw out and kill him. Batman escapes and destroys the facility along with the drill.
The Court of Owls is an ancient conspiracy that has controlled Gotham City for centuries. Their legend is told only through whispers and a nursery rhyme that bears their name. The Court of Owls takes notice when billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne announces plans to rebuild and reshape Gotham City for the future. He is sentenced to death...
The End