Name: Batman
Universe: Earth-1
Alter Ego: Bruce Wayne
Occupation: Millionaire Socialite, Chairman of the Board of Wayne Enterprises and the Wayne Foundation
Marital Status: Single
Group Affiliation: Ex-member of the Justice League of America, current leader of the Outsiders
Base of Operations: Gotham City
Known Relatives: Thomas and Martha Wayne (parents, deceased), Philip Wayne (uncle, deceased), Lord Elwood Wayne (uncle, deceased)
Height: 6 ft. 2 in.
Weight: 210 lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
First Appearance: Superman #76

History:
Raised in a loving environment by his parents, young Bruce Wayne one day admired a bat-costume his father had designed to wear to a party. This memory would prove invaluable to him in later years.

One night several months later, while walking home from the theater with his parents through the area which would soon come to be known as Crime Alley, young Bruce watched helplessly as Thomas and Martha Wayne were confronted by a seeming street thug named Joe Chill, who demanded Mrs. Wayne’s jewelry, then gunned the Waynes down in cold blood when Thomas defied him. In point of fact, Chill was acting under orders from gangster Lew Moxon, who was seeking vengeance against Thomas Wayne for testimony which had sent Moxon to prison.

Now an orphan, Bruce Wayne was placed in the care of his Uncle Philip. Since Philip Wayne was a world-traveler, Bruce spent his formative years under the guidance of Philip’s housekeeper, the kindly Mrs. Chilton (who was secretly Joe Chill’s mother, a fact Bruce has never learned).

Traumatized by his parents’ murder, and swearing at their graves to avenge their death by waging war against all criminals, Bruce Wayne spent the next years training himself to physical and intellectual perfection. To this end he served an apprenticeship under one Harvey Harris, then considered to be the world’s foremost detective.

Realizing at law school that he would be hampered constantly by laws that seemed to help criminals more than their victims, Wayne decided to seek his own solution to the problems of crime in the streets.

One night several weeks later, while sitting in the den of his ancestral home, Wayne Manor, the now-grown Bruce was startled by a large black bat that suddenly flew in through his open window. This was the omen Bruce had been waiting for. Reasoning that criminals were a superstitious, cowardly lot, Bruce took the inspiration of the bat (and his subconscious memories of his father’s costume years before) to design a costume which would strike fear in the hearts of evildoers everywhere. Thus was born a weird figure of the shadows…a dark avenger of evil…The Batman!

Thought at first to be an outlaw himself, the Caped Crusader ultimately confronted, and was finally deputized by, Police Commissioner James W. Gordon.

Several years later Wayne took in young Dick Grayson, whose circus performer parents had also been murdered by criminals. As the last of the Flying Graysons, Dick had the necessary skills to become the Batman’s partner. Dick was given the costume Wayne himself had worn as a youngster when he studied with Harvey Harris, and thus became the first Robin, the Boy Wonder.

For a time Wayne abandoned his playboy image and devoted himself to running Wayne Enterprises, as well as the prestigious Wayne Foundation, which he built into one of the world’s foremost philanthropic organizations. He later relinquished his day-to-day involvement with both organizations to more fully devote his time to his duties as the Batman.

Recently Waynehas become the guardian of young Jason Todd, another circus performer, whose parents were murdered by the villainous Croc. Todd has since become the new Robin, learning the art of crimefighting as he works side-by-side with the greatest crimefighter of all.

The Batman has recently formed a team called the Outsiders and is working to train them. This is as a result of his resignation from the Justice League in a philosophical dispute over justice and the law.

Powers:
An incomparable athlete, far beyond Olympic level, the Batman is also a master of all known forms of physical combat, an unparalleled strategist and tactician, an expert in the art of disguise, and has been called by some the world’s greatest escape artist. His reasoning and deductive abilities are second to none.

The weapons in his arsenal against crime include items in the utility belt he wears around his waist, the sleek Batmobile, the Batplane, and the one-man Whirly-bat.