Batman is the superhero protector of Gotham City , a tortured, brooding vigilante dressed as a bat who fights against evil and strikes fear into the hearts of criminals everywhere. In his public identity, he is Bruce Wayne , a billionaire industrialist and notorious playboy. Although he has no superhuman abilities, he is one of the world's smartest men and greatest fighters. His physical prowess, technical ingenuity, and tactical thinking make him an incredibly dangerous opponent.
He was also a founding member of the Justice League. Main article: Batman Origins. Bruce Wayne was born to wealthy physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha , who were themselves members of the prestigious Wayne and Kane families of Gotham City , respectively. However, because of her intent to find a school for the underprivileged in Gotham, she was targeted by the manipulative Court of Owls , who arranged for her to have a car accident.
She and Bruce survived, but the accident forced Martha into premature labor, and the baby was lost. While on vacation to forget about these events, the Wayne Family butler, Jarvis Pennyworth was killed by one of the Court of Owls' Talons. A letter he'd written to his son Alfred , warning him away from the beleaguered Wayne family, was never delivered. As such, Alfred - who had been an actor at the Globe Theatre at the time [3] and a military medic before that, traveled to Gotham City to take up his father's place, serving the Waynes as butler.
As he grew older, his family's reputation made Bruce restless, and he began sneaking out of school to visit Gotham City, where he wouldn't be so easily recognized. En route back to the station , Bruce witnessed Jim accepting a trench coat as a bribe from a tailor โ though neither realized it was a bribe at the time โ but Bruce would remember it as an indicator of Jim's character. When the Waynes were walking home after the movie, a mugger named Joe Chill attempted to rob them at gunpoint, and panicked, shooting both Thomas and Martha dead.
Following his parents' deaths, Bruce attempted to commit suicide with a razor blade. However, just before he went through with it, he realized that this wasn't what his parents would want, and it was at that moment Bruce vowed to spend the rest of his life warring on crime.
