Though haunted by a vicious temper during his earlier years, Michael Washington Lane has always been a man trying to do the right thing. After his football scholarship at Gotham University
was revoked following an altercation with his coach, Michael joined the Marines. It's during that time that he met his wife Chanté and the two conceived their son Henry Mitchell. After two tours
in Iraq, Lane would join the Gotham Police Department and become part of a special top secret experiment held by the GCPD and the military. The joint-effort was headed up by one Dr. Simon Hurt whose sole
intent was to re-construct both the psychological and physical makings of the Batman and create an army of sleeper-agent replacement Batmen, ready to be called into action should anything
happen to the Dark Knight.
It was then that Lane's picture perfect life took a turn for the worse. After losing their son in a tragic car accident, Michael's wife Chanté took her own life. Then, a few months after joining Hurt's
program, Lane would lose both of his siblings in what appeared to be the act of a murderous Satanic Cult. When his
hidden programming was triggered by Doctor Hurt, Lane was called into action - serving as the 'Third Batman' -
a flame thrower toting madman who once held all of GCPD hostage before torturing the Dark Knight himself for hours. Lane would serve Hurt til the very end, operating the helicopter that carried both Dr. Hurt and the Batman to
what he believes to be their water graves in the depths of the Gotham River. Feeling despondent and seeking contrition, Michael Lane stepped into his local
parish and sat down to confess his sins before God.
Unbeknownst to him however, the priest on the other side of the confession booth is a member of a secret cabal operating within Gotham City called the Order of Purity. After splintering off from the Order of St. Dumas, the Order of Purity has sought protection through it's own version of Azrael. Outfitted in armor constructed out of the melted blades and breastplates of dozens of fallen soldiers and armed with two blazing Swords - the Sword of Sin and the Sword of Salvation, the Azrael served as Death's Dark Knight for the Order for centuries. That is until the armor, otherwise known as the Suit of Sorrows was stolen by Ra's al Ghul and was most recently given to Bruce Wayne as a token of affection from Ra's daughter, Talia. When the opportunity presented itself to retrieve the Suit of Sorrows from Wayne during the fallout of the Black Glove's attack, the Order jumped at it and reclaimed what they feel is rightfully theirs.
As of late however the Order has run into a bit of a problem with their most recent Azrael. Although the wearer of the Suit of Sorrows has always paid a high personal price for donning the cursed armor, this Azrael is already behaving erratically within six weeks of being given the Suit. Seeing Michael Lane as the perfect candidate to replace this Rogue Angel of Death, the priest reports back to his cabal members, each of them highly respected members of the Gotham community, and has them look up more information on Lane. After uncovering his sorted past, the Order of Purity confronts Lane with their offer shortly after he finishes visiting his loved ones graves. Lane barely hesitates to accept the offer, his only request is that someone wipe the Bat-Symbol off of the Suit of Sorrows which Talia had once painted on for Bruce.
Real Name: Michael Washington Lane
Occupation: Police Officer (retired)
Marital Status: Single
Base of Operations:Gotham
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
First Appearance: Batman #666
Created By: Grant Morrison & Fabian Nicieza
POWERS
None
Known Relations:
Chanté Jericho (Coles) Lane (wife - deceased)
Henry Mitchell Lane (son - deceased)
Mitchell Douglas Lane (father - deceased)
Barbara Lane (mother - institutionalized)
Marion Martin Lane (brother - deceased)
Gwendolyn Eliza Lane (sister - deceased)
Jenny Lane (sister in law)
M.J. Lane (nephew)
Tamara Lane (niece)
ABILITIES
Quick Reflexes
Great Strength
WEAPONS
Sword of Sin
Sword of Salvation
Flamethrower (as third Batman)
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