Alter Ego: Bruce Wayne
Occupation: Multimillionaire Industrialist, Playboy, Philanthropist and Crime Fighter
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Thomas Wayne (father; deceased); Martha Wayne (mother; deceased), Philip Wayne (uncle), Jack Wayne (grandfather), Laura Elizabeth Wayne (great-grandmother)
Group Affiliations: Justice Society of America
Base of Operations: Gotham City
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
First Appearance:Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)

BATMAN: Golden Age (Earth 2)

Born c.1917.
Started career in 1939.
First comic book published in 1939.

Bruce Wayne was the son of wealthy parents, and might've grown up to be one of the "idle rich" had it not been for a life shattering tragedy when he was a small boy. Bruce was taking a walk with his parents in Gotham City to stretch their legs after seeing a Valentino movie when they were confronted by a mugger called Joe Chill who murdered Bruce's parents right before his eyes. The shock, anguish, and outrage at the experience boiled in the boy until the day of his parents' funeral, when he solemnly vowed revenge against all criminals.

For many years Bruce trained his mind and body for the task in secret while letting the world think he was a soft aristocrat. When he finally felt that he was ready to make good on his vow, he sat in what had been his father's study trying to figure out exactly how to go about it. "Criminals are a cowardly, superstitious lot" he thought. How could he use that against them? Just then a bat fluttered through the window. That was it! "I shall become a bat!" he resolved.

Dressed in a rather demonic bat-man costume, Bruce began his crime fighting career with great anger and furious vengeance. Criminals who crossed him were quite likely to wind up crippled or even dead. Bruce even used a gun in a few rare instances in his early costumed career. Branded an outlaw vigilante, the Bat-man had to stay one step ahead of the law.

Soon Bruce began to reconsider his approach a bit. This was probably due in part to the fact that Batman got a partner in the form of Dick Grayson, known as Robin, the Boy Wonder. Batman realized that taking life was a bad example for the boy, as well as being just plain wrong. When Bruce and Dick were joined in Wayne manner by the bumbling wannabe detective/ faithful English butler Alfred Pennyworth, it became hard for the Batman to remain a cold-hearted night stalker.

During World War II Batman and Robin stopped various Axis and Nazi plots against America, and became affiliated with the Justice Society of America and recognized as friends of law enforcement. After the war, Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon granted Batman special recognition as a deputized officer of the law. The Caped Crusaders were now appearing in public in the daylight rather than exploding out of the shadows of the night.

Batman had quite a rouge's gallery of recurring criminals to oppose. One of which, the sexy and clever Catwoman (Selena Kyle) turned out to be not all-bad... Even during their conflicts, there was undeniable chemistry between Batman and Catwoman. She eventually reformed, and later Bruce and Selena were married. They had a daughter in the late 1950s and named her Helena.

As he grew older, Bruce started to cut back on his activities as Batman. Robin, now grown-up, was able to handle most of the super-hero needs of Gotham, and Bruce was beginning to turn his attention to more conventional crime fighting. When Jim Gordon retired, Bruce Wayne became the new Police Commissioner.

When a criminal named Bill Jensen acquired superpowers and threatened Gotham City, an aging Bruce donned the cape and cowel to lose his life as Batman while stopping the villain.

Compiled By: FlaBat
Sources:
The Ultimate Guide To The Dark Knight by Scott Beatty
Unofficial DC Guide

Golden Age Batman | Silver Age Batman | Modern Age Batman