Wayne Enterprises (formerly WayneCorp) is a company in the DC Universe. Wayne Enterprises is owned by billionaire Bruce Wayne and run by his business manager Lucius Fox. It was founded by merchant ancestors of the Wayne family in the 17th century as a merchant house. It changed and gradually grew when it was officially erected in the 19th century when Alan Wayne, heir to Solomon Wayne, founded Wayne Shipping and Wayne Chemical. Along with Wayne Manufacturing, which came later, the Industrial Revolution fueled Wayne Enterprises into becoming a major powerhouse. In addition to providing an income for Bruce Wayne, the various activities of the organization help facilitate his Batman activities in Gotham City. Descending from "Mad" Anthony Wayne and his brother, Darius Wayne (a hero of the American Revolution), Charles Arwin Wayne managed the Wayne Family's then-modest fortune by buying cheap property and holding on to it as Gotham Town grew. As a result, upon his death at age fifty-two, Charles left a considerable real-estate fortune in the form of a merchant house which he left to his sons Solomon Zebediah Wayne and Joshua Thomas Wayne; both of whom became prominent citizens of Gotham Town in the late 1850s. Solomon's son of his second wife, Alan Wayne, would marry Catherine Van Derm; a member of the once-wealthy Van Derm family, and together they would have a son named Kenneth Wayne. With Alan spearheading the growth and development of the Gotham Railroads and creating Wayne Shipping, & Wayne Chemicals, and later Wayne Manufacturing, which took great advantage of the Industrial Revolution, Wayne Enterprises became a powerhouse. Kenneth's son, Patrick Morgan Wayne, saw the Wayne legacy through two world wars and built WayneCorp out of the ashes of the Great Depression and later developed WayneTech, whose aircraft plants and shipworks fueled American efforts in the Pacific War. His wife, Laura Elizabeth Wayne, inherited the Wayne fortune at age thirty-seven and became the first Wayne to direct the conglomerate toward ecological responsibility. Patrick and Laura's son, Thomas Wayne, as a doctor and philanthropist, would create and contribute the Wayne Foundation and its various divisions to the conglomerate. While his son, Bruce Wayne, would expand the conglomerate's focus to become a global powerhouse in a wide variety of fields, this diversity allowed him to use the conglomerate's resources for the better-ment of mankind by financing and providing resources for not only his own endeavors, but for the financing of various hero groups such as Young Justice, Teen Titans, Outsiders, Birds of Prey, and the Justice League, as well as combating poverty and disaster-affected areas. Wayne Enterprises is perhaps the only Gotham-based corporation to weather the city's earthquake and year of No Man's Land. The company ensured its continued survival by transferring the burden of its manufacturing to satellite facilities elsewhere. After fierce debate, the American congress reneged the No Man's Land and the ambitious "Billion Dollar Build-Up" Federal Works Project began, teaming LexCorp, STAR Labs, Wayne Enterprises, Wayne Foundation and the US Army Corps of Engineers in rebuilding Gotham from the ground up. Profits earned by Wayne Enterprises during NML were some for the first capital funds applied to the city's eventual rebuilding. Without hesitation, Wayne Enterprises exceeded Lex Luthor's investments in Gotham's future. Wayne Technologies, also known as WayneTech, is the biggest division of Wayne Enterprises. It is involved in the retrieval and research of alien technology. Its main rival is LexCorp. The subsidiary is sometimes used by Batman as a means to acquire new technologies. Other subsidiaries of WayneTech include: Holt Holdings Inc., Wayne Pharmaceuticals, and Wayne Healthcare. Wayne Biotech is the company mostly responsible for the Gotham healthcare system. The company itself is a facility for researching and developing new medical procedures and systems. It also trains and teaches a huge number of people annually. Wayne Chemicals and Wayne Pharmaceuticals work closely with Wayne Biotech to develop medicines for different diseases. The current research at Wayne Biotech is focused on finding the cure for cancer. Since the human genome has already been unlocked, Wayne Biotech is studying cloning to produce organs for future transplants. The company is involved in research into brain surgery methods, the fight against AIDS and HIV, and reconstructive plastic surgery. Batman uses Wayne Biotech as a research tool for finding medical information, patient histories and information on illnesses. Wayne Foods is a little known subsidiary of WayneTech mostly based in Gotham City. It runs farms and cattle ranches in the Midwest United States, and imports beef from Argentina and other countries. Wayne Foods produces specialized products like ecological foods and natural lines with no additives and controlled growing. Batman uses Wayne Foods as a means to keep tabs on the food produce market. In recent times, Wayne Foods has concentrated development efforts on organic produce, as a result of changing fashion and consumer demand. Wayne Shipping owns dozens of freighters and handles three and a half billion tons of freight each month and is used by Batman to gain an inside view on smuggling and drug trafficking. In 1986, Wayne Shipping merged with PAAL Ship Corporation, creating the worlds largest commercial shipping operation for precious metals. The former PAAL CEO, Andreas Milanic, successfully floated Wayne Shipping on the New York Stock Exchange in 1988. The Wayne Family currently owns 57% of the company, with Milanics second son Dragoslav, owning 20% (with the remaining 23% in public ownership). Despite a lack of investment in Wayne Shipping since the merger took place, the company still remains an important player in world ocean transportation. Wayne Steel is one of the oldest steel mills and metal refineries in Gotham and supplies steel for shipbuilding. It also studies and replicates alien technology. This has led to Batman getting priority on technology and alloys for him to study. Wayne Steel's alliance with the US Navy and the government has produced numerous contacts for Wayne Enterprises. WayneYards is responsible for the building of a large number of naval warships, commercial, and private ships and is currently building a Nimitz class aircraft carrier in Gotham. WayneSteel and WayneYards facilities repair a large number of cruisers and destroyers and also has contacts within the upper pylons of the Navy and the global maritime business Wayne Aerospace builds luxurious and exclusive corporate and private jets and airliners. Its experimental aviation branch produces experimental and research planes built for the United States government and NASA. The military aviation branch designs and manufactures jet fighters and helicopters for the US military. The most notable models of these are the W-4 Wraith fighter and the Kestrel attack helicopter. Wayne Aerospace maintains competition with other aerospace corporations like Ferris Air and LexAir. The division maintains facilities and vehicles at Archie Goodwin International Airport. Wayne Chemicals controls Wayne Oil, Wayne Pharmaceuticals and Wayne Botanical. Wayne Chemicals also has a small percentage of ownership in Tyler Chemicals, based in New York City. Wayne Chemicals is primarily a research and development firm. Wayne Oil researches petrochemicals and alternative fuel sources, at one time acquiring Luxor Oil. Wayne Pharmaceuticals is another one of Wayne Chemicals' research and development branches. Wayne Industries is Wayne Enterprises' main research and development division used for industrial purposes. The company studies, researches and develops cleaner, mechanical fission and fusion power plants and also owns many factories and normal labor units, from manufacturing cars to making cloth and so on. Wayne Mining is also a part of Wayne Industries, along with the few power stations the company owns. Wayne Mining mostly produces gold and some precious stones in Africa. Wayne Medical is Wayne Biotech’s sister company but both have different fields of study and work. While Wayne Medical also studies cancer and AIDS with Wayne Biotech, Wayne Medical is focused more on treating illnesses than researching them and maintains and runs many hospitals in Gotham City and helps the Wayne Foundation with the orphanages. Wayne Electronics is a large consortium that manufactures portable radios, stereo and Hi-Fi systems, movie cameras, cameras and electronics, measuring devices, scanners, surveillance equipment, computers and other electronics devices. Its other branches of business include information technology, wired networks, wireless networks and space exploration systems and satellites. It also has contracts with the aerospace, nautical and military industries. When Wayne acquired Kordtronics, it was folded into this division. Wayne Entertainment owns many arenas and stadiums across America, including facilities in both Gotham and Metropolis, leasing out the Sommerset Stadium to the Metropolis Monarchs. Furthermore, Wayne Entertainment has working partnerships with several modeling agencies and multimedia houses and provides a large number of contacts and information. Wayne Entertainment is in direct competition with WGBS (run by Galaxy Communications) and LexCom (run by LexCorp). Those companies, along with other television and movie companies provide the same services as Wayne Entertainment. Through Wayne Entertainment, Batman has contacts in the media and entertainment industries. The Wayne Institute is a think tank for people looking ahead to solve the next generation of problems confronting humankind. Many decisions on future development, particularly in Gotham, goes through this division. Wayne Research Institute is a catch-all research and development division used by Wayne to study issues and technologies that he thought might be helpful in his endeavors. The Wayne Foundation funds scientific research and helps research by providing facilities and training. Through the Wayne Foundation Wayne addresses social problems that encourage crime and assists victims in a way that his Batman persona cannot. The arrangement also provides him with a large network of connections in the world of charities. He finds out about the newest trends and newest arts, but at the same time maintains connections to the streets through the soup kitchens and social services groups, which augments his crime fighting efforts. The Thomas Wayne Foundation is a foundation for medicine and medical help. This foundation gives annual awards for medical breakthroughs and lifelong commitment, similar to the Nobel Foundation. The Thomas Wayne Foundation is also responsible for funding the Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic in Park Row, and the foundation funds and runs dozens of other free clinics all over the city and in other trouble cities like the Blüdhaven. Bruce Wayne's surrogate mother, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, ran the Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic in Crime Alley and governed other Gotham-based clinics until she left Gotham. The Martha Wayne Foundation is a patron foundation and supporter of arts, families, education and tolerance. The foundation supports and helps to run a number of orphanages and free schools, and provides teachers for those who have learning difficulties. Artists can apply for grants from the foundation to help support them in furthering the arts. The foundation sponsors companies like Family Finders Inc. in Gotham. Family Finders is an organization directed at finding lost people and uniting families. The foundation sponsors and runs dozens of soup kitchens within the city.

Batman Incorporated was a global non-profit organization publicly funded by Wayne Enterprises and Bruce Wayne. The group selects vigilantes from across the world to train and supply for crime-fighting purposes while also making them swear oaths. The team was created as a modern reimagining of the Silver Age's Batmen of All Nations which was a Batman-lead team-up of Batman-inspired vigilantes from all over the world. Members:: Gotham Operatives: 1. Batman 2. Nightwing 3. Batwoman 4. Batgirl 5. Red Robin 6. Red Hood Assorted: 1. Bat-Man of China 2. Batwing 3. Clownhunter 4. Dark Ranger 5. Ghost-Maker 6. The Hood 7. Lex Luthor (formerly) 8. Man-of-Bats 9. Raven Red 10. Mister Unknown 11. Batman of Moscow 12. El Gaucho 13. Knight 14. Squire 15. Nightrunner

The Outsiders form in the fictional Eastern European country of Markovia. Batman and Black Lightning have traveled there in order to free the captive Lucius Fox from Baron Bedlam, who has killed the country's king, King Viktor. Geo-Force himself is the prince of the country who gains powers from Markovia's top scientist, Dr. Helga Jace, in order to stop Bedlam. Metamorpho is searching for Dr. Jace in order for the doctor to help him with his powers. Katana arrives in Markovia in order to kill General Karnz, Bedlam's military commander, as vengeance for her family. During the adventure, Batman finds a young amnesiac girl exhibiting light-based powers in the woods, who he dubs Halo. The team bands together and defeats Baron Bedlam and decides to stay together afterwards. They fight such villains as Agent Orange, the Fearsome Five and the Cryonic Man. Recurring foes are the Masters of Disaster (New Wave, Shakedown, Windfall, Heatwave and Coldsnap), who at one point are almost able to kill Black Lightning. Windfall becomes disenchanted with her team and joins the Outsiders. Similar recurring opponents are the Force of July, a group of patriotic metahumans who also regularly came into contact with the Suicide Squad. During this time, Geo-Force's sister Terra dies as a traitor to the Teen Titans. Batman reveals his real identity as Bruce Wayne to the team, although they have already learned it. Eventually, the origin of Halo is revealed, and Emily Briggs (who during a later adventure becomes the superheroine Looker and joins the team) is introduced. Denise Howard, the love interest of Geo-Force also appears for the first time. Baron Bedlam later returns to life. With the assistance of the Masters of Disaster and Soviet forces, he again tries to retake control of Markovia. Batman withholds this information, angering the rest of the team. This eventually leads to Batman disbanding the team and returning to the Justice League. The team nonetheless travels to Markovia, discovering many Markovian military casualties. They are defeated by the Masters and learn that Bedlam has cloned Adolf Hitler. The younger clone commits suicide in horror of the actions his original self perpetrated. The Outsiders become unofficial agents of Markovia, so that they receive Markovian funding. The team moves to Los Angeles, as Geo-Force leaves behind his girlfriend Denise and Looker separates from her husband. The team have moved into a new headquarters in Los Angeles, and once again become involved in an adventure with the Force of July, ending in Moscow. Villains such as the Duke of Oil, and the Soviet superteam the People's Heroes are introduced during this time. The team's adventures take them all over the globe, most notably when the Outsiders' plane is shot down and the team is marooned on a deserted island for three weeks. Tensions rise as Geo-Force tries to resign his leadership and he and Looker give into temptation. Eventually, they are found and are able to leave. Even more troubles arise when a detective is hired to look into Looker's private life (now working as a model under the alias of Lia Briggs), who learns of her actual identity of Emily. The detective tries to blackmail her, but she hypnotizes him, and he leaves. However, he is shortly killed afterwards and Looker is arrested. The Outsiders however are able to clear her name. The Outsiders are reunited with Batman when they band together to fight Eclipso. After the adventure Batman gives them access to a Batcave situated in Los Angeles, and the team is also infiltrated by the clone of Windfall. Meanwhile, Looker and Geo-Force feel guilt over their affair and eventually call it off, and Metamorpho faces his own personal problems with his lover Sapphire Stagg. The clone of Windfall is ultimately killed and the Masters of Disaster are defeated as the real Windfall joins the team. The team also come in contact with the other Los Angeles based team, Infinity, Inc. The team is next involved with the company wide crossover event Millennium, wherein it is revealed that Dr. Jace is an operative of the villainous Manhunters and kidnaps the team. The team, now also joined by the Atomic Knight, are able to free themselves, but Dr. Jace blows up both herself and Metamorpho. Looker is called to return to Abyssia, the origin of her powers, where she must also face the Manhunters. During the course of the adventure, she is drained of much of her power and returns to her normal form. Halo is hit in crossfire, saving Katana's life, and slips into a coma, as Katana vows to look after her. The team is disbanded by Geo-Force as Looker returns to her husband, and Batman has since rejoined the Justice League. Declared a traitor in his native Markovia, Geo-Force is forced to seek the help of old and new Outsiders to battle the vampire lord who controls his country. This is later coupled with the framing of the Outsiders for the slaughter of a Markovian village, and thus the Outsiders are forced into hiding. This fugitive status motivates the Atomic Knight to go after the Outsiders, hoping to bring in his former allies without too much trouble. He's eventually convinced of their innocence and joins them at a later juncture. The new members who join the team in Markovia are the magician Faust, the warsuit-wearing engineer and industrialist Technocrat, and Wylde, a friend of Technocrat's who has been turned into a mountain bear by Faust's uncontrollable magic. During the initial confrontation with the vampires, Looker is apparently killed. Hiding out in Gotham City, the Outsiders take another loss, as both Halo and Technocrat's wife Marissa are killed. This happens during a fight with 'Batman', or rather the man standing in for Bruce Wayne: Jean-Paul Valley. However, Halo's spirit survives in the reanimated body of Marissa. For some time afterwards, Technocrat has trouble accepting that his wife is dead; after all, her body is still walking around but the spirit is that of Halo. Eventually, it turns out that Looker is not dead, but undead. The Outsiders find her and free her from the vampire king's control. After the defeat of the vampires, two teams, (one composed of Geo-Force, Katana and Techonocrat and another composed of the Eradicator, Looker, Halo, Wylde and Faust), claim the name the Outsiders, even though both teams are still considered fugitives for some time, thanks to some questionable tactics by their new members. During this time, the teams learn that Halo's original body has been brought back to life by the Kobra terrorist organization. In control of the body is Violet Harper, the evil woman whose body Halo originally inhabited. She now has abilities similar to Halo's and ends up calling herself Spectra, and joining Strike Force Kobra alongside Dervish and Windfall. Both Kobra and Violet Harper are defeated. The two teams unite to confront Felix Faust, father to the Outsider Faust. During the confrontation, the bear-like Wylde betrays the team when Felix promises to restore his humanity. The team is able to defeat Felix Faust and Wylde eventually becomes an actual bear, without the ability to speak, and locked up in a zoo. The title ends with the clearing of the Outsiders' names and the wedding of Geo-Force and Denise Howard. This new team is put together in the wake of the Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day crossover that dissolves both groups. Arsenal accepts the sponsorship offer of the Optitron corporation and uses the money to buy an enormous bomb shelter that used to belong to a multimillionaire and renovated it to create the group headquarters. He recruits a group of young heroes, the last of them being his friend Nightwing, who joins reluctantly. Instead of functioning in a reactive capacity like most other super-hero teams, Nightwing decides that this group should act as hunters, tracking down super-villains before they can cause problems. Former Outsiders Technocrat and Looker are in close proximity of Breach when he explodes in the Battle of Metropolis. Their fates are unclear. Roy Harper is saved by Superman from Doomsday. Captain Marvel Junior was sent to Earth-S when it was reformed. When New Earth came, he went with other heroes who could fly to fight Superboy-Prime. In the Infinite Crisis hardcover, Freddy joined alongside the other Titans to take down members of the Society who tried to kill Robin. After Infinite Crisis the Outsiders are "officially" no more. Because of the Freedom of Power Treaty, the Outsiders have been operating covertly outside of the United States. Most of the members were presumed dead until a botched mission forces them to reveal their presence. Following the revelation of their continued existence, they are recruited by Checkmate to pursue missions which Checkmate cannot support publicly. Checkmate's assignment as part of the "CheckOut" crossover arc involves dispatching the Outsiders to Oolong Island in China, the scene of World War III the previous year. The mission goes disastrously when Chang Tzu manages to capture Owen Mercer and Checkmate's Black Queen, until both sides are eventually bailed out by Batman. In the aftermath, Nightwing decides to give Batman control of the team once more. Batman holds tryouts to determine who will be on the team in a series of one-shots called Five of a Kind, and angers several members who feel he has no right to remove people already on the team. Captain Boomerang leaves the team for Waller's Suicide Squad and Nightwing decides to take no part in the Outsiders' questionable activities. Katana is chosen as the team's first official member, with the Martian Manhunter, Metamorpho, and Grace as later recruits. Thunder is kicked off the team and Aquaman is rejected as a member because Batman feels he doesn't match up to his predecessor, Orin. Batman then tells the other members that "Whether you like it or not, you're here to save the world. And you're going to be hated for it." After the team's first official mission in Outsiders #50, Catwoman overheard the other recruits' talking about the team being "down by law", and said, "Batman can't possibly start up his own crew of super-crooks without me in it!" Despite being initially turned down, it seems as though Aquaman will also be joining the team, as he appears on several of the upcoming covers. After the 'death' of Batman during Final Crisis, Batman's butler, Alfred, finds a hidden chamber with a computer in it with Batman's last words for Alfred and other members of the Bat-Family. Alfred is asked to lead a new group of Outsiders that have certain characteristics of the Dark Knight since Batman is 'dead.' Alfred finds and recruits: Black Lightning, Halo, Katana, Geo-Force, The Creeper, Metamorpho, and Owlman ( Roy Raymond, Jr.). Alfred tells these heroes that they need to cut ties with their old lives as now they will be in constant front line of battle and gives them the choice of not joining. All the heroes mentioned joins The Outsiders. In "Batman: Leviathan Strikes", Batman forms a new Outsiders team to act as a black-ops team for Batman Inc. The team consists of Halo, Metamorpho, Katana, Freight Train, and Looker and the team is led by Red Robin. But on their first mission, the whole team (except for Red Robin) were caught in an explosion set off by Lord Death Man. In the first issue of the 2012 Batman Inc. series, the team is revealed to have survived the explosion. Allies: 1. Justice League of America 2. Checkmate Enemies: 1. Masters of Disaster 2. Suicide Squad 3. Fearsome Five 4. Felix Faust 5. Baron Bedlam 6. Planet Master

Katherine "Kate" Kane is the second Batwoman. Debuting in 52 #11, she is a member of the Kane family and, through her father, the cousin of Bruce Wayne. Batwoman has headlined her own comic series since 2011 and served as a vital member of the Bat-Family. Katherine Kane came into the world about two minutes after her identical twin sister named Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Gabi Kane, the murder of her mother and sister was the trigger that made her seek justice and later turn into a Batwoman. Renee Montoya's former lover and heiress to one of the (formerly) wealthiest families in Gotham City, owning that which Bruce Wayne's family did not. Renee refers to her as "Katherine the younger" and asks Kate to help find the connection between the Kanes and the address 520 Kane Street. While still upset from their breakup, Kate agrees to help Renee, but punches her after Renee mentions their prior relationship. Renee suggests they once loved each other, and Kate tells her to leave. Not long after that, Batwoman is shown to be observing Montoya from the rooftops as Renee converses with the Question (in his guise as "Charlie") in an alley. Kate meets with Renée and Charlie in Gotham Park and confirms that the warehouse was being leased by Ridge-Ferrick until six weeks ago. Renee refuses to tell Kate what's going on saying that she doesn't owe Kate anything, which shocks Kate and prompts her to tail them as Batwoman. When Renee and the Question break into Ridge-Ferrick's Gotham offices, they are attacked by Whisper A'Daire's shapeshifting minions, and Batwoman arrives to rescue them. Making quick work of two monsters, Batwoman stops Renee from shooting the third, instead kicking the monster out a window. Batwoman informs them the police are coming, asks that she not be mentioned, and leaves. After Renee learns that the Book of Crime, a sacred text of Intergang, contains a prophecy foretelling the brutal murder of the "twice named daughter of Kane," she and the Question return to Gotham. They contact Kate by flashing a Bat-Signal, and the three join forces to avert Intergang's plans. As Kate continues the case, she is joined by Nightwing, who has recently returned to Gotham and becomes infatuated with her. On Christmas Eve, he gives her an 'official' Batarang. She also celebrates Hanukkah with Renee, and the two kiss shortly before Christmas. Intergang realizes that the image of Batwoman in the Crime Bible and the cited "twice-named daughter of Cain" were one and the same, and ransack Kate's apartment, she is kidnapped by Whisper A'Daire and her bodyguard Kyle Abbot with the intention to sacrifice her. Renee finds her, seemingly too late to save her, as during the fight, Kate pulls a knife out of her own chest to stab Bruno Mannheim and then collapses in Renee's arms. Kate survives her wounds after Renee stops the bleeding in time, however, and as she recuperates in her Penthouse, Renée, dressed as the Question, shines the batsignal into her apartment and asks "Are you ready?" One year after the start of 52, the Penguin suggests Batman bring a date to the opening of his club, asking, "Why don't you bring that new Batwoman? I hear she's kind of hot." Batwoman has most recently appeared in Countdown 39. She appears after Renee Montoya confronts Trickster and Pied Piper, having trailed them from Penguin's Iceberg Lounge nightclub. Following the events of Final Crisis and Battle for the Cowl, in which Bruce Wayne has supposedly died and is replaced by Dick Grayson, Kate becomes the lead of Detective Comics from issue 854 onwards. She's seen investigating the arrival of a new leader of the Religion of Crime to Gotham. She briefly meets the new Batman to discuss her findings. Kate demonstrates greater knowledge of the Religion of Crime, and even corrects Batman by saying there's 13 and not 12 covens of the religion in Gotham. Grayson eventually concedes the case to her. Aspects of her personal life are also revealed, including her relationship with her ex-colonel father; serving as Batwoman's ally, whom she addresses as "sir." A past traumatic incident is alluded to which she claims still haunts her. As she vaguely describes the experience, her face is shown superimposed on the page over a restrained girl with a bag over her head. She later tracks down the new leader of the Religion of Crime: an elaborately costumed woman named Alice. Over the course of the conflict that ensues, Batwoman observes that Alice only speaks in quotations from Lewis Carroll; believing herself to be Alice Liddell. Alice denies a connection to the Mad Hatter. While attending a party thrown for the Gotham Police Department, Kate meets with detective Maggie Sawyer, and runs into her own cousin, Bette Kane (better known as the Teen Titans member Flamebird). Kate is apparently unaware of her cousin's vigilante activities, and inadvertently hurts her feelings when she cuts her off in the middle of a conversation to answer her cell phone. While dancing with Maggie, Kate discovers that Alice has kidnapped her father and plans to destroy Gotham by spreading a deadly airborne chemical from a hijacked airplane, thus succeeding where Mannheim failed. Batwoman boards the plane and defeats Alice's subordinates, eventually stopping the plot and rescuing her father in the process. However, Alice is accidentally thrown from the plane, only to be caught by Batwoman. Alice then shocks her by saying that Batwoman has "Our father's eyes," apparently revealing that she is in fact Kate's sister Beth (who was believed to have been killed years ago). With Batwoman stunned by the revelation, Alice stabs her in the wrist with a knife. Batwoman is forced to release her grip, sending Alice to her apparent demise in the river below. In the aftermath of this discovery, Kate locks herself in her crime lab and tries to come to terms with what just happened, while the police struggle in vain to find any sign of Alice's corpse. These scenes are depicted amongst numerous flashback sequences that comprise most of the issue. Throughout them, back story is provided from her childhood that depicts Kate, her twin sister Beth, and their mother being kidnapped. While Kate's father is able to rescue her, it appears as though both her sister and mother have been killed by the time he arrives. In her civilian identity as a socialite, she is acquainted with Bruce Wayne and is friends with a doctor named Mallory, who treats the Question's cancer and later Kate's stab wound. Kate is also Jewish, and celebrated Hanukkah with Renee. Kate has been referred to as "Katherine the Younger," implying a mother of the same name. It is unknown if this is the original Batwoman, Kathy Kane, as Kate also has a stepmother named Catherine. Her father, Col. Kane, is a military man who is aware of her double life and has provided her with training and equipment. Kate has been confirmed as a cousin of Bette Kane (Flamebird). It has also been implied that the villain Alice, leader of the Religion of Crime, is possibly Kate's sister. When the Justice League of America splits up following Bruce Wayne's seeming death and a disastrous confrontation with the Shadow Cabinet, Green Lantern Hal Jordan leads a group of superheroes to Gotham in order to track down the supervillain known as Prometheus. Kate is shown stalking the heroes from the rooftops after they encounter Clayface III. Batwoman later contacts both Leagues at the JLA Watchtower, informing them she encountered and engaged supervillain Delores Winters, who mysteriously collapsed and died right as she was about to be taken into custody. The heroes request that Kate bring the body up to them, but she declines, telling them that she is much too busy due to a rash of criminal uprisings going on in Gotham. The hero Firestorm is then sent to retrieve the corpse from Kate and bring it to the team, who discover that Dolores was forced into fighting by means of a mind control device. In a text piece included in Justice League: Cry for Justice #6, writer James Robinson revealed that Batwoman was initially intended to be part of his new Justice League line-up, but this plan fell apart after Cry For Justice was shortened into a mini-series rather than an on-going title. This explains why Batwoman is present on the cover of the first issue, and why she was initially said to be a member of the team when the book was first announced. Later, Batwoman is kidnapped by cultists and taken to London in order for her to once again be sacrificed. She is sealed within a coffin and taken underground to the last remaining Lazarus Pit in order for the ritual to begin. She is saved by the timely intervention of Dick Grayson and the British superheroes, Knight and Squire. After learning that Grayson plans on placing Bruce Wayne's corpse into the pit in order to revive him, Kate strongly protests, but he simply ignores her. True to Kate's warnings, Bruce (in reality an insane clone created by Darkseid) emerges from the Pit and attacks the heroes. As the battle takes place, the cultists who kidnapped Kate detonate explosives surrounding the Pit, causing a massive cave-in. Grayson discovers Kate, buried alive and with extensive injury to her spine and legs, and tries to help her. Kate is ultimately healed after being placed inside the Pit, and ultimately returns to Gotham with the others. Before leaving to return to her home, Grayson attempts to flirt with Kate by telling her that he has a thing for red-haired crimefighters (a reference to his previous love interests, Barbara Gordon and Starfire). As Batwoman, Kate lacks any superpowers, and instead relies on her martial artistry and Batman-inspired equipment when fighting crime. Skilled Martial Artist: In the ten years since her breakup with Renée Montoya, she has learned to fight and is able to defeat three monsters, as well as spy on Renee and the Question with relative ease. Heiress: Being the heiress of a family whose fortune is comparable to the Waynes, Kate possesses the finances to produce an arsenal of equipment, similar to Batman. This includes a baton-like device which can extend from the center in length and has Bat-shaped attachments at each end. Strength level- Athletic level: Kathy Kane possesses the strength level of a woman her age, size and weight who engages in intensive regular exercise. Equipment- Weapons: Batarangs; Bat-club

Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is Bruce Wayne's valet at Wayne Manor. He knows that Bruce is secretly Batman and aids him. Alfred Pennyworth, after a varied career, was employed as the Wayne family valet when Bruce Wayne's parents were killed. Alfred raised the young orphan and reluctantly aided him in his quest to become Batman. His many skills—ranging from cooking to medicine—make him Batman's staunchest ally, along with a formal demeanor that grounds the Dark Knight and deflects those who might otherwise suspect Batman's true identity. Alfred was originally nearly a completely different Butler character called Alfred Beagle, a retired intelligence agent who followed the deathbed wish of his dying father, Jarvis Beagle, to carry on the tradition of serving the Wayne Family. To that end, Alfred introduced himself to Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson at Wayne Manor and insisted on becoming their butler. Although the pair did not want one, especially since they did not want to jeopardize their secret identities with a servant in the house, they did not have the heart to reject Alfred. That night, Alfred awoke to moaning and followed the sound to the secret door to the staircase to the Batcave and met his would-be employers in their superhero identities (Wayne had been injured while out in the field). As it turned out, the wounds were actually insignificant, but Alfred's care convinced the residents that their butler could be trusted. Since then, Alfred included the support staff duties of the Dynamic Duo on top of his regular tasks. Later, Alfred was reunited with his long-lost daughter, Julia Remarque. This character has yet to appear in the Post-Crisis comics. In the Post-Crisis comics' continuity, he first becomes indentified with the Pennyworth name in Batman #216 (1969). In Batman: Year One it is revealed that Thomas Wayne kept a bell in his private study to summon Alfred, implying he had been serving Bruce his entire life, staying loyal despite his vigilante crusade. At one point, Alfred along with Leslie Thompkins were Bruce's legal guardians following the deaths of his parents. Alfred's history has been modified several times over the years, creating assorted versions. In one such version, Alfred was hired away from the British Royal Family by Bruce's parents, and he virtually raised Bruce after they were murdered. Meanwhile, another version of Alfred's Post-Crisis life was slightly more closely linked to his pre-Crisis counterpart. In this version Alfred was an actor on the English Stage, who agreed to become the Wayne's butler, only so as to honor the dying wish of his father. At the time he begins working for the Wayne's when Bruce was but a young child. After several months, Alfred voices the desire to quit and return home to continue his life as an actor. However, these plans are momentarily forgotten when young Bruce returns home, after getting into a fight with a school bully. Alfred teaches Bruce to handle the bully strategically, rather than using brute force. Following Alfred's advice, Bruce manages to take care of his bully problem. Upon returning home, Bruce requests that Alfred stays, and Alfred agrees without a second thought. Following the Infinite Crisis however it appears that Alfred's history has been merged to combine both his pre and post-Crisis histories. He spent years as a member of the British Guard and later became a member of MI-5 before retiring and taking up his love of acting. Following his father's death, he then became the Wayne Family Butler. Whether or not the rest of his history has remained the same or has been yet again altered has not yet been revealed, although it has been occasionally hinted at. Following the murders of the Wayne Family, Alfred was named Bruce's legal guardian in the will left by Thomas and Martha, however, social services combated the will feeling that Bruce should not be raised by a servant. However, Bruce managed to remain in Alfred's care by, despite his young age, bribing the social service agent into allowing Alfred to raise him. Alfred would later aid Bruce in raising Dick Grayson, Jason Todd and Tim Drake, all of whom would be adopted by Bruce Wayne and become his partner Robin. He also had close friendships with other members of the Bat-Clan including Barbara Gordon and Cassandra Cain (the latter of whom would also be adopted by Bruce prior to his death). Alfred often acts as a father-figure to Bruce, and a grandfather to Dick, Jason, Tim and Cassandra. However, due to his rather cold personality, Bruce Wayne makes sure that at least some degree of the business relationship between the two always exists. He is also highly respected by those heroes who are aware of his existence, including Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the original Teen Titans. Alfred has also been romantically linked to Dr. Leslie Thompkins, though his relationship with her never came to anything beyond occasional dates, particularly after she apparently allowed Stephanie Brown to die from neglect. He also developed feelings for Tim Drake's stepmother, but again, nothing came out of it. During the events of Knightquest, Alfred accompanies Wayne to England and becomes enraged when Wayne insists on endangering his own health while paraplegic. This was the culmination of several weeks of Wayne's self-destructive behavior, and when Wayne returns to Gotham, Alfred remains in England, tendering his resignation. He spends some time vacationing in Antarctica and The Bahamas before returning to England. Dick Grayson tracks him down several months later and convinces him to return to Wayne Manor. In that story, it was revealed he had walked out of his own wedding years earlier. His resourcefulness came to the fore in the No Man's Land storyline, especially in Legends of the Dark Knight #118. Batman is missing for weeks, leaving Alfred alone to watch his city for him. He uses his skills as an actor, storyteller, medic, and spy to survive and collect information on the recently destroyed society. Alfred even uses hand-to-hand combat in a rare one-panel fight sequence between him and a pair of slavers that ends with his rescue by Batman. At a point in which Commissioner Gordon was shot and nearly killed, Alfred took notice that Bruce was behaving increasingly out of sorts. Feeling that Bruce had pushed his entire family as far away as possible, Alfred gave Bruce his resignation and left his employment. Alfred, however, continued to work with the Bat-family, going with Tim to the Brentwood Academy for Boys, working as his butler. Following Bruce being accused of murdering a girlfriend (actually executed by David Cain), Alfred returned to Bruce's employment. In Batman #677, agents of Batman's mysterious enemy the Black Glove attack and beat Alfred in front of Bruce and Jezebel Jet, severely injuring him. In the same issue, a reporter from The Gotham Gazette suggests to Commissioner Gordon that Alfred may be Bruce's biological father and that this may be a reason for the murder of Martha Wayne. Alfred later denies the entire story, agreeing with Bruce that it was a fabrication. Alfred is the last member of the Bat-Family to see Bruce alive, prior to his reported death at the hands of Darkseid. In Batman And The Outsiders Special, Alfred is seen apologizing at the grave's of Thomas and Martha Wayne at the loss of Bruce, commenting that he grieves as a parent, regarding Bruce as his son. Later, a secret panel in Alfred's room opens, the result of a failsafe planted by Bruce in the event of his death. Bruce leaves his one final task, and also gives him an emotional goodbye, telling Alfred he considered him as a father. Alfred then assembled a new team of Outsiders, now under his control, while continuing to serve as the Wayne family butler to Bruce's adopted children: Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain and eventually, Damian Wayne. Even after Bruce was returned, Alfred continued his work at Wayne Manor with Grayson while Bruce spread out as Batman Incorporated. After the timeline is reset, Bruce Wayne is once again working out of Wayne Manor with Alfred as his primary confidante. When the Joker mounts his latest attack against Batman, his first step is to abduct Alfred, prompting concern from the rest of the family that the Joker knows Batman's true identity, but Bruce affirms that the Joker just chose Alfred because of Wayne's connection to Batman Inc. rather than personal knowledge, later confessing to Alfred that he once 'tested' the Joker and confirmed that the Joker is incapable of acknowledging the idea that Batman may have another identity. During a major assault on Batman's life, Alfred is reunited with his long-absent daughter, Julia Pennyworth, an agent of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, when Batman finds her in Hong Kong and takes her back to Wayne Manor for medical treatment after she is stabbed with a samurai sword through the chest by a Chinese gang boss the two were hunting. Although Julia is initially hostile to Alfred, feeling that he has wasted his life going from a soldier to tending to a fop like Bruce Wayne, after Alfred is attacked by Hush and infected with a fear toxin, Julia discovers the Batcave and takes on her father's role to coordinate the Bat-Family's efforts. Alfred is briefly transferred to Arkham before it is attacked as part of the conspiracy, but he manages to survive the explosion and trick Bane into helping him reach an emergency cave Batman had installed under the asylum, the cave's defenses knocking Bane out and allowing Alfred to call for help. When Hush was briefly kept prisoner in the Batcave, he managed to break out of his cell and lock Alfred in it before sabotaging the Bat-Family's equipment via the computer as they fought various villains, including crashing the Batwing with Batman still in it. However, he was swiftly returned to captivity when Alfred escaped the cell and knocked Hush out, Alfred harshly informing Tommy that he was hardly going to be locked up in his own home. When the Joker mounted his final assault, feeling that Batman had 'changed the rules' in their last confrontation, he broke into the Batcave and cut off Alfred's hand. Julia was able to get her father swift medical treatment and he was reported to be in stable condition, but Alfred falls into a deep depression after Bruce's apparent death, even rejecting the idea of having his hand reattached as there was no point without Bruce to serve. However, after Bruce is discovered to be alive but with no memory of who he is or his life as Batman, Alfred tells Bruce everything that had happened in his life up to the point of the creation of Batman, but accepts Bruce's request not to learn any more, hoping that this would give Bruce a chance at a life without pain and the burning desire to be Batman, allowing his life as Bruce Wayne to finally begin. However, when the new villain Mr. Bloom launches a mass attack on Gotham, the amnesic Bruce pieces together enough information to deduce that he was once Batman, and convinces Alfred to subject him to a machine that will theoretically download all of his memories as Batman into his mind. Bruce's original plan was for this machine to be used to create a series of clones of himself that could be programmed to continue his mission, but although the process failed because simulations confirmed that the human mind could not handle Batman's trauma, Bruce comes through the process by having Alfred take him to the point of brain-death and then download his memories onto his blank brain. After Bloom was defeated, Bruce arranged for Alfred have his hand reattached. When the Flashpoint Batman and Bane took over Gotham, they held Alfred hostage as a deterrent to the Bat-Family. However, Damian eventually decided to attempt to stop them. After capturing the teenager, Bane went through with his threat and broke Alfred's neck, killing him. Attributes: 1. Skilled actor 2. Trained in emergency medical techniques 3. Proficient with mechanical and computer systems 4. Expert in domestic sciences 5. Unflappable manner 6. Unlike Batman, perfectly willing to wield firearms during times of crisis Alfred has taken on the role as Bruce Wayne's surrogate father after the death of his parents. Aside from that, Alfred is loyal, intelligent, caring, hardworking, tireless, sometimes sarcastic, wise, brave, bold, protective, kind and fatherly. Despite occasionally worrisome about Bruce's safety, he none the less supports him in his crusade to rid Gotham of crime as Batman and is very resourceful to him. Abilities: Genius Intellect: Alfred is a highly intelligent and resourceful man. Master Physician: Being a former combat medic, Alfred is a highly skilled and versatile physician, with the Wayne family resources, he can make and administer professional medication for the Bat Family's health care. He could provide first aid and suture wounds and remove bullets, perform arthroscopy and other advanced medical procedures to treat grievous injuries. Master Chef: As part of his butler duties, Alfred is a first rate chef, making the most delectable meals from haute cuisine such as gourmet meals for Bruce and social galas hosted at Wayne Manor to street food such as Chili dogs for Jason Todd. Most importantly, Alfred cooked meals in accordance to Bruce's specialized diets for crime fighting, incorporating knowledge of clinical nutrition and nutritional science to support and improve Bruce's health and constitution while still maintaining great taste. Expert Tailor: Alfred is a very skilled tailor, having frequently repaired and maintained many of Bruce Wayne's clothing from his suits, tuxedos to the Batsuit. Alfred's father, Jarvis Pennyworth, had previous served the Wayne family as their butler prior to his employ. His death motivated Alfred to take over the position to the Wayne family. Alfred also has a brother named Wilfred, an accomplished theater actor, and a niece, Daphne. Neither have been involved in his line of work, though have been involved in several of Batman's cases. The Earth-One version of Alfred was at one point romantically linked with Mademoiselle Marie. Through her, Alfred had a daughter, Julia Pennyworth. Unlike her parents, she was initially a journalist, though was involved in several of Batman's cases. During the New 52, Julia was reintroduced as Alfred's daughter with an unnamed woman. Similar to her father, Julia became involved in espionage and military organizations, such as MI6 and Special Reconnaissance Regiment. Like her father, Julia is aware of Batman's dual identity. Since the multiverse's recreation following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Alfred has served as the surrogate/foster father of Bruce Wayne after his parents' murder. Through Batman, he has served as as the surrogate grandfather to the various Robins and Batgirls, including Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain and Damian Wayne. One of Alfred's cousins is one of Europe's most skilled heart surgeons--at Alfred's urging;Batman bodyguarded him from an assassination attempt. Scott Snyder's All-Star Batman series introduced a clone of Alfred called the Dark Knight, created by the Nemesis Program agent Briar. Though more of a genetic template, Alfred arguably serves as the "biological father" of the clone.

Jason Peter Todd first appeared in Batman #357 (1983) and became the second Robin, sidekick to the superhero Batman, when the previous Robin, Dick Grayson went on to star in The New Teen Titans under the moniker of Nightwing. Though originally popular, following a revamping of his origin by Max Allan Collins, the Jason Todd version of Robin was not well received by fans. For 1988's Batman: A Death in the Family story-line, DC Comics held a telephone poll to determine whether or not the character would die at the hands of the Joker, Batman's arch-nemesis. The character was killed off by a vote of 5343–5271. Subsequent Batman stories dealt with Batman's guilt over not being able to prevent Jason's death. However, in 2005's story arc Under the Hood the character was resurrected, eventually becoming the second Red Hood and assuming a new role as an antihero who resembles Batman in many ways, except with a willingness to use lethal force and weapons. Beginning in June 2010, Todd starred in "Red Hood: The Lost Days," a six-issue miniseries that was timed to coincide with the release of the DC animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, which was a movie adaptation of the comic series Under The Hood. The story, written by Judd Winick, concentrated on Jason Todd's lost years of globe-trotting and training after his death and resurrection before his return to Gotham. The initial version of Jason Todd had an origin that was a similar origin to the first Robin, Dick Grayson. Originally, like Grayson, Jason is the son of circus acrobats (the Flying Todds) killed by a criminal (Killer Croc) and is later adopted by Bruce Wayne. Distinguished by his red hair (as opposed to the black hair of Dick Grayson), Todd is unfailingly cheerful, wearing his circus costume to fight crime until Dick Grayson presents him with a Robin costume of his own. At that point, Jason dyes his hair black, and in later stories blossoms under Batman's tutelage. Following the revamp of the Batman mythos due to Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jason Todd is recast as a young street orphan who first encounters the Dark Knight while attempting to steal the tires of the Batmobile. Bruce Wayne sees to it that Jason is placed in a school for troubled youths. Jason earns the mantle of Robin a short while later by helping Batman apprehend a gang of thieves. However, Todd does not wear the Robin costume (an improved version of) until after six months of training. Batman realizes that while Jason doesn't possess Dick Grayson's acrobatic skills, he can become a productive crime-fighter by channeling his rage. He also believes that if he doesn't help the boy, Jason will eventually become part of the "criminal element." Jason also aided Batman while Gotham City was temporarily overrun by Deacon Blackfire. Unlike Dick Grayson or the pre-Crisis Jason, the post-Crisis Jason is impulsive, reckless, and full of rage. Jason Todd was the child of Willis and Catherine Todd, being raised in Gotham City. His father was a petty crook who ended up serving a prison sentence, and even after the sentence was served, his father did not return to the family. That left Jason alone with his drug-addicted mother, who he tried to take care of by ripping off car parts such as tires for cash. Sadly, his mother would soon die of an overdose and he would be left alone. He fended for himself just as he had taken care of his mother before, by continuing to rip off car parts. One night, Jason came across the Batmobile, which was parked in an alley. Batman had recently put new tires on the vehicle but had not replaced the hubcaps with the redesigned ones yet. This created an opportunity that Jason could not pass up. Batman caught him when he had already stolen one of the tires and was coming to take the others. Batman tried to put Jason in a boarding school for troubled kids, but this did not work out for Jason as the owner of the school was actually running a training ground for youthful criminals. Batman instead decides that perhaps the boy's anger could be channeled against criminals as Robin, or else the boy would likely end up a criminal himself. This is how Jason Todd became the second Robin. He was not the acrobat Dick Grayson was, but he was a strong kid with skills from life on Gotham's streets. On their first official mission as Batman and Robin, it was discovered that Jason's father was killed by the criminal Two-Face. Furious at the knowledge and the fact that Batman knew of it, Jason went on a rampage until at last, he confronted Two-Face. Rather than kill Dent, however, Jason mastered his anger and lets Dent be arrested, much to Batman's pride. While Jason soon proved to be one of Batman's most enthusiastic students, he was also the most troubled. Brash and impulsive, Jason's former life on the streets had left him with an ambiguous sense of right and wrong. This often placed Jason in opposition to the values his mentor was trying to teach him. Jason often uses excessive force to subdue criminals. In one adventure, asked to "hold off" villains, Jason instantly takes to firing at them with a gun, despite Batman's abhorrence for firearms. The most dramatic of these moral clashes, however, happened when Jason tracked down Felipe Garzonasa, a foreign national who had raped a young woman and later drove her to suicide. Moments after Jason arrived, Garzonasa plunged to his death from his apartment balcony. While the truth is still unknown, there is a distinct possibility that Jason pushed Felipe off the balcony, thereby breaking Batman's strict code against ever taking a life. Afraid of Jason possibly murdering someone, Batman asks Barbara Gordon, to come out of retirement as Batgirl, and work with Jason on a case, hoping that she might gain a better insight into Jason's behavior. Although the pair work well together, Barbara is unable to deny the darkness in Jason, which she later warns Bruce about. Jason later discovers his mother was not his biological mother and runs away to find the woman who gave birth to him. After following a number of leads, Jason finally tracks his mother, Sheila, to Ethiopia, where she works as an aid worker. While Jason is overjoyed to be reunited with his real mother, he soon discovers that she is being blackmailed by Joker, who is using her to provide him with medical supplies. Sheila herself has been embezzling funds from the agency and as part of the cover-up, she hands her own son, who arrives as Robin, over to the Joker. The Joker brutally beat the boy with a crowbar and then left Jason and Sheila in the warehouse with a time bomb. Sheila and Robin try desperately to get out of the warehouse but are still inside as the bomb goes off. Batman arrives too late to save them and is only able to hold Jason's lifeless body in his arms. The bodies are taken back to Gotham City for burial. For the next decade's worth of stories, Jason's death haunts Batman, who keeps Jason's costume on display in the Batcave. Batman considers this his greatest failure: not properly training Jason in his role as Robin, and failing to protect him from the Joker. In the years to come, he would erect a memorial in the Batcave made from Jason's uniform. Years later, while trying to discover the identity of a mysterious figure plotting against him (who turns out to be Hush), Batman discovers that Robin (Tim Drake) has been kidnapped. When he confronts the kidnapper he discovers, much to his surprise, that the kidnapper is apparently an adult Jason Todd. Batman subdues this mystery "Jason" and discovers that it is Clayface impersonating Jason. It is later revealed that Jason indeed had died at the hands of the Joker, but when Superboy-Prime alters reality from the paradise dimension in which he is trapped (six months after his death), Jason is restored to life and breaks out of his coffin (with his bare hands), walked away from the graveyard (approximately 12 miles) before collapsing and thereafter is hospitalized, as the injuries inflicted by the Joker had not fully healed. After spending a year in a coma and subsequently, as an amnesiac vagrant, he is recognized by a petty criminal who soon informs Talia Head. After some time, Talia restores his health and memory by immersing him in a Lazarus Pit in which her father Ra's is also bathing. It is suggested at that time that exposure to the Pit's energies together with Al-Ghul might have affected Jason's personality. On Talia's advice, Jason determines his death was never avenged and prepares to confront Batman by traveling across the globe in the same path of training as his mentor. When Batman expresses no remorse for sparing the Joker's life after Jason was killed, Jason is further enraged and takes up the mantle of the Red Hood. Shortly after the events of War Games and War Crimes, Jason Todd reappears in Gotham City as the Red Hood, hijacking a shipment of Kryptonite from Black Mask. In the midst of a battle with Batman, Nightwing, and Mr. Freeze, the Red Hood gives them the Kryptonite back, and tells them he has gotten what he truly wanted: a "lay of the land." Shortly afterward, the Red Hood finds the Joker (driven out of Gotham by Hush) and beats him with a crowbar just as the Joker had once beaten Jason. Despite the violent beating, Jason spares the Joker, intending to use him later against Batman. The Red Hood assumes control over several gangs in Gotham City and starts a one-man war against Black Mask's criminal empire. Overall, he strives to cleanse the city of its corruption, such as drug dealing and gang violence, and to kill the Joker in revenge for his own death. Because of his anti-heroic activities, he repeatedly comes to blows with Batman and several of his allies. A Robin mask was found in the Batmobile, which never belonged to Dick or Tim, but it was of the style that Jason wore as Robin. Around this time, Batman discovers that Jason's coffin has always been empty, and he begins to question whether or not Jason had actually died. Despite his return, Jason's Robin costume remains in its memorial display case in the Batcave; when Alfred asked if Bruce wanted the costume removed, Bruce replied that the return of Jason "doesn't change anything at all." Knowing that Tim Drake has not only replaced him as Robin but is reportedly a better Robin than he had been, Jason breaks into Titans Tower to confront Tim. Wearing an altered version of his own Robin costume, Jason quickly immobilizes the other Titans and strikes him down in the Tower's Hall of Fallen Titans. Furious that no memorial statue was made for him (despite his short tenure as a Titan), Jason demands that Tim tell him if he is really as good as Jason has been told. Tim says “Yes” and passes out. As he leaves, Jason tears the 'R' emblem from Tim's chest. In the Epilogue, Jason has apparently developed a grudging respect for his replacement as he states, "I'll admit. He's good." Jason is also left wondering if perhaps he would have been a better Robin and a better person had he had a life like Tim's and friends like the Titans. Jason's return crescendos when he kidnaps the Joker and holds him hostage, luring Batman to Crime Alley, the site of their first meeting. Jason asks Batman why he has not avenged his death by killing the Joker, and Batman tells Jason that he will never cross that line. An enraged Jason explains that even ignoring all the people he's killed and the crippling of Batgirl, he believed that after his death at the hands of the Joker, he'd finally be able to kill him, "doing it because he took me away from you". Despite this, Batman explains that it is not too hard for him to kill the Joker, it would be too easy; he has never once not fantasized about taking the Joker somewhere private and torturing him for maybe weeks before finally killing him, but refuses to go to that place. Jason offers Batman an ultimatum: Jason will kill the Joker unless Batman kills Jason first. Holding the Joker at gunpoint, Jason throws a pistol to Batman and begins to count to three while standing behind the Joker, leaving Batman with only a headshot if he wants to stop Jason pulling the trigger. At the last moment, Batman throws a batarang that cuts down an object and slices Jason's neck. The Joker takes advantage of the situation, detonating nearby explosives that engulf the platform they are on and sending them plunging into the bay. Jason resurfaces one year after the Infinite Crisis patrolling the streets of New York City as a murderous version of Nightwing. Jason shows no intention of giving up the Nightwing persona and continues to taunt Dick Grayson by wearing the costume and suggesting that the two become a crime-fighting team. Grayson refuses to join his side and methods of crime-fighting. Not long after the two Nightwings meet up, Jason is captured and imprisoned by unknown mobsters. Rescued by a reluctant Grayson, the two join forces to defeat the Pierce brothers. Jason leaves New York City and the Nightwing mantle to Grayson, along with a telegram telling Grayson he has returned to normal and still considers them family. Jason appears once more in several issues of Green Arrow alongside Brick as part of a gun-running organization, which brings Batman to Star City. Jason's true motives are shown in the third part as he kidnaps Mia Dearden (Speedy) in an effort to convert her to his side, feeling that they are kindred spirits, cast down by society and at odds with their mentors. The two fight while conversing but when Jason is unsuccessful in his bid to turn Mia, he settles for blowing up her high school. Mia is deeply troubled by what transpired between her and Jason but ultimately decides to stick with Green Arrow. At the start of Countdown, Jason Todd resumes his persona as the Red Hood and rescues a woman from Duela Dent (aka Two Face's Daughter). After a Monitor shoots and kills Duela, he attempts to kill Jason but is stopped by a second Monitor. This second Monitor apologizes to Jason before they both disappear, leaving Jason alone with Duela's body. Later, at Duela's funeral, Jason hides until all of the Teen Titans have left except Donna Troy. Jason tells her what happened the night of Duela's death, and about the dueling Monitors. He knows that both he and Donna Troy have come back from the dead, and wonders which of them is next on the Monitor's hit list. The two are then attacked by the Forerunner, but before she can kill them, the apologetic Monitor stops her, and recruits Jason and Donna for a mission to the Palmerverse (a section of the Nanoverse discovered by Ray Palmer), in an attempt to find Palmer. During the trip, Jason takes it upon himself to name the Monitor "Bob". On Earth-51, Jason meets that world's Batman. It was shown that this version of Batman had begun to use lethal force when his Jason died. Jason Todd of New Earth is then given a new costume and the codename, Red Robin. Earth-51 Batman had originally planned to give those to his Jason, but he died before it was time. During a final confrontation on Earth-51, Batman is killed, much to Jason's fury. After landing on Apokolips and battling against Darkseid's forces, the team returns to New Earth, Jason once again turns his back on life as a costumed hero, and returns to his old ways of dealing with crime. Following Batman's disappearance during the events of Batman R.I.P. Jason begins manipulating the Gang Wars in Gotham, so as to take control of them. Unfortunately, Jason's approach leads to more bloodshed and violence. With both Nightwing and Batman unavailable, it falls to Tim Drake to deal with the mess Jason created. Jason however, asks Tim to join forces with him, though Tim, of course, refuses on the grounds that Jason's methods are too questionable. This leads to a confrontation between Jason and Tim Drake, which is interrupted by the arrival of another Red Robin, whose identity is initially a mystery but later turns out to be Ulysses Armstrong. Due to a combination of Red Robin's involvement and a gun-toting gang member, Jason was shot in the leg and arrested by police. Upon the resolution of the gang war in Gotham, Tim Drake - under a pseudonym visited Jason in prison to give him the Justice League access code to release himself from prison, due primarily to the fact that Tim believes that Jason should be given another chance at redemption. Following his escape, Jason continues on the mend and is summoned by Tim to come to the Batcave, where Batman has left his Last Will and Testament statement for him. After hearing the statement in private, Jason prepares to leave, not revealing what he was told, although he does pause before his old costume and the tattered remains of Batman's. It is later revealed that the message left for Jason was Bruce admitting that of all his failures, Jason was the biggest. Bruce states that he regrets never offering Jason any help or feeling for his obvious emotional hardships, but instead dressing him up as Robin and putting him in constant danger. These words, however, only cause Jason to snap completely, leading to the events of the Battle for the Cowl. Following his escape from prison, Jason apparently decided to put a bid in for the Bat-mantle. He wore a black and grey Batsuit with two handguns, various other weapons, and a mouthplate. He is also living/operating out of an abandoned Gotham subway system. His inner monologue demonstrated that he'd always had a desire to eventually replace Batman, and his displeasure with Batman becoming a public figure, rather than an urban legend. Jason begins his war on crime using lethal tactics and leaving slips of paper saying "I AM BATMAN". After Jason manages to take down a group of thugs, he then escapes only to have Nightwing and Damian Wayne on his tail. Nightwing deduces that the impostor is Jason Todd. After a short quarrel, Damian is shot by Jason. At the same time, Tim Drake begins a search to stop the impostor and dresses as Batman in order to demonstrate how the real Batman would have acted. Tim finds Jason Todd's "Batcave" in a subway station and is saved from a booby trap by Catwoman, who knows Tim is behind the mask. Jason ambushes them, disposing of Catwoman, and then getting into a fight with Tim before impaling him in the chest with a Batarang, exclaiming "One more to go". After questioning himself, following Damian's near death, Nightwing goes forth against Jason, intending to take down Todd once and for all. The pair battle, all the while with Jason claiming that Tim is dead, unaware that Tim survived and was saved by Damian and the Squire. The battle accumulates to Nightwing kicking Jason off a speeding train. When Dick attempted to help Jason, the other man refused and fell to his supposed death, though claiming they would see each other again soon. This allowed Dick to officially assume the mantle of Batman. Jason survived his fall and gave up his claim to Batman's mantle. Dick was Batman now, and Jason set out to become Dick's direct competition. He reworked his Red Hood identity to be more dramatic and attention-grabbing by creating a costume for it, a costume very similar to the original Red Hood outfit the Joker had used. Also, he stopped dying his hair black and allowed it to grow red again with a small gray streak left by his previous exposure to a Lazarus Pit. To complete his transformation, he even found himself a sidekick. This was Scarlet, the daughter of a criminal and the victim of Professor Pyg's practice of mutilation. His intent was for them to become Gotham City's new dynamic duo, supplanting the old one. With his new partner, Jason resumed his brutal and lethal methods of dealing with criminals, but now there was a twist. Using the media and the Internet, he exposed his methods to the public and actively marketed them as the way things should be done. Public opinion was actually at least somewhat in his favor, especially after he showed Batman and Robin protecting Penguin from him and Scarlet. He was able to keep ahead of Batman and Robin, getting to criminals first and evading their attempts to apprehend him. That lasted until he tracked down a criminal who got away from him to finish what he had started. Batman and Robin arrived to stop them, and the two duos fought. The fight went in Jason's favor. Instead of the two heroes capturing him, he captured them, stripped them naked, and locked them out of his way for the time being. His plan was to reveal to the world on a Twitter webcam, the identities of Batman and Robin if the public offered enough attention to it. It was then that Jason and Scarlet were ambushed by an assassin called Flamingo. He took two shots from a sniper's rifle, shattering his helmet. While Batman and Robin escaped from his trap, Todd and Scarlet attempted to combat against Flamingo. However, both of them proved inferior to Flamingo's skills, and it was only with the timely arrival of Batman and Robin that they were not killed. Jason used the Dynamic Duo as a cover, and proceeded to crush Flamingo with a truck, while Damian threw himself in front of an attack to save Scarlet, leaving him crippled. Scarlet escaped, and Jason was again taken into police custody. As he was dragged away, however, he shouted at Dick that if the Lazarus Pits could revive him from the dead (a half-truth), then why hadn't Dick done it for Bruce? Strength: Jason Todd possesses the normal human strength of a 6-foot, 225-pound young man who regularly engages in intensive physical exercise. Jason is capable of lifting over 1000 lbs. Abilities: 1. Lazarus-Enhanced Capabilities 2. Peak Human Conditioning 3. Peak Human Strength 4. Peak Human Speed 5. Peak Human Stamina 6. Peak Human Agility 7. Peak Human Reflexes 8. Peak Human Durability 9. Master Martial Artist 10. Master Marksman 11. Weapon Master 12. Skilled Swordsman 13. Expert Acrobat 14. Genius-Level Intellect 15. Expert Tactician & Strategist 16. Master Detective 17. Expert Computer Hacker 18. Expert Inquisitor 19. Expert Escape Artist 20. Master of Disguise 21. Expert Vehicular Driver 22. Expert Bomb Assembly and Defusal 23. Expert Tracker 24. Expert Leader 25. Occultism 26. Expert Intimidator 27. Indomitable Will 28. Master Spy Red Hood Costume: After his resurrection and return to Gotham, Jason used the guise of Red Hood. The first costume consisted of Jeans, a T-shirt, a Biker Jacket, A domino mask that is held in place by Spirit Gum, and The Red Hood Mask. His mask contains a Radio Transmitter and Receiver as well as Night Vision. He has Gauntlets that contain compartments for his weapons, which are deadlier. His weapons of choice are a pair of customized Jericho 941s, fitted with extra serrations and mini red dot sights, an assortment of shurikens, and a flame dagger, a replica of one of Ra's Al Ghul's weapons. His second costume has the Red Hood Mask, which is still metallic, although it appears to have been modified. He wears a white and Grey costume which also comes with a cape. In the middle of his chest is a Red Skull. He uses lethal force by means of his two red pistols. The third version of the costume is similar to the first with the exceptions of a red bat emblem on the chest, a brown biker jacket, and a more form-fitting mask with Jason's mouth visible and a distinct absence of a domino mask underneath instead he has a mask like his old Robin mask under the hood. Jason's new outfit possesses tech and weapons inside it similar to the Batman Beyond suit. So far shown are glider wings housed in the forearms and a grappling hook with reticle aimer on the left forearm. Jason's helmet or "hood" provides a moderate degree of protection. When a Talon stabbed it with a knife cracking it, Jason was shocked that a knife was able to do that and stated that no knife should be able to crack his hood. Also, Jason used a dosage of Venom while on a mission with Supergirl. His most recent suit consists of the standard biker jacket, jeans, and metallic mask. However, he now wears an armor-like shirt with the red bat emblem. He also modifies his attire with technology regularly, with one suit containing retractable blades along the arms. His most recent suit has a taser powerful enough to stun an Amazon while on a low charge. He also wields pistols that fire normal bullets along with other types of ammo such as sedative injectors and anti-tank rounds. In most, if not all instances, Jason usually carries a firearm with him. He usually only carries dual pistols with him, but will use whatever gun he feels suits his purposes. Transportation: 1. Motorcycle 2. Car 3. Helicopter 4. Boat Weapons: 1. Automatic Handguns 2. Tasers 3. Grenades/Other Explosives 4. Batarangs 5. Electric Wings 6. Knife 7. Twin Blade Katanas 8. All-Blades 9. Crowbar

Richard John "Dick" Grayson was once Batman's first sidekick Robin, before going on to become Nightwing. Once he took up the mantle of Batman when Bruce was thought to be dead, but became Nightwing once again after the events of Flashpoint. After Forever Evil, Dick's identity was revealed to the world and Bruce convinced him to give up being Nightwing to become an agent of Spyral. He was created by artist Bob Kane, writer Bill Finger and by illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940. The youngest in a family of acrobats known as the "Flying Graysons," Dick watched as a mafia boss killed his parents in order to extort money from the circus that employed them (whose name was later revealed to be Tony Zucco). Bruce Wayne, secretly the vigilante Batman, took him in as his legal ward after witnessing their deaths, and eventually as his sidekick, Robin. Throughout Dick's adolescence, Batman and Robin were inseparable. However, as Dick grew older and spent more time as the leader of the Teen Titans, he decided to take on the identity of Nightwing to assert his independence (other teenaged heroes would later fill in the role of Robin). His Nightwing persona was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, and first appeared in Tales of the Teen Titans #44 (July 1984). As Nightwing, Dick led the Teen Titans and later the Outsiders. Following the events of the Zero Hour miniseries, he temporarily replaced Bruce Wayne as Batman, beginning in Robin #0 (October 1994) and extending throughout the Batman: Prodigal storyline. In an eponymous series, launched in 1996 and continuing until 2009, he becomes the protector of Blüdhaven, Gotham's economically troubled neighboring city. Following the destruction of Blüdhaven, at the command of Deathstroke the Terminator, Nightwing relocated to New York. After the events of Batman R.I.P., Dick moved operations to Gotham to protect the city after Bruce's apparent death in Final Crisis. Despite Bruce's will wanting him not to succeed Wayne permanently as Batman, the chaos in Gotham following Batman's disappearance prompts Dick to take up his mentor's identity once again and has returned to operating as the new Batman. His Nightwing mantel would then be passed on to Chris Kent. As Robin, Dick has appeared in most other media adaptations of Batman, most notably the Joel Schumacher films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, where he was portrayed by Chris O'Donnell. The Batman animated series of the 1990s is the first one to portray his evolution into Nightwing. The name "Robin the Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume were inspired by the legendary hero Robin Hood, as well as the famous red-breasted Robin, which continued the "flying animal" motif of Batman. Young Dick Grayson was born on the first day of spring. His mother nicknamed him "little Robin." Little did she know how prophetic this term of endearment would be in her son's life. Also, when he was up on the trapeze, he reminded his mother of a robin. Dick was an eight-year-old circus acrobat, the youngest of a family act called The Flying Graysons of The Haly Circus . Dick joined the act at a very young age, having been trained in acrobatics from birth. Before one appearance in Gotham City, in which The Flying Graysons were the main attraction, they were asked to pose for a photo opportunity with Jack Drake and his family, including their young son, Tim Drake. From that time on Tim's one and only hero in the world was Dick. While on tour in Gotham City, he overheard "Boss" Tony Zucco, a well-known and feared crime lord, threaten the performers unless the circus's owner paid protection money. The owner refused, and that night Dick watched in horror as his parents' high wire snapped, sending his parents hurtling to their deaths, all while many of Gotham's elite watched on. Young Dick felt responsible, because he failed to warn his parents in time. Shortly after the tragedy, shown in Batman: Year Three and Year One Annual: Robin, Dick was placed in an uncaring juvenile services system, on the grounds that social services was full. He got beaten up by a number of the inmates, and he was later sent to a Catholic orphanage. Bruce Wayne rescued Dick by adopting him as his ward, because the boy did not want to replace his deceased father with the billionaire. Frustrated by the lack of attention from his new guardian and the mystery still surrounding his parents' death, Dick snuck out of Wayne Manor one evening to solve the crime on his own - only to stumble into Batman, who was also investigating the murder. After waking up in the Batcave, he is shocked to learn that Bruce is really the Batman. They succeed in revealing Zucco's complicity, but he supposedly dies of a heart attack before his arrest. Seeing a reflection of himself in Dick; that he could temper compassion with a thirst for justice, Batman made the young orphan the offer of a lifetime; the chance to become his crime-fighting partner. Dick chose the name Robin, after the nickname his mother gave him, and his training began. Robin's origin had a typological connection to Batman's in that both witnessed the crime-related deaths of their parents, creating an urge to battle the criminal underworld. This provided a bond and understanding between the two. Bruce taught Dick fighting techniques and detective skills for a grueling 6 months. Finally, Dick had to pass a final test - "the Gauntlet". Dick had to elude the Dark Knight on the streets of Gotham for one night - from sundown to sunrise - without any outside help. Dick succeeded, simultaneously bringing Gotham gangster Joe Minette to justice. Dick took to the streets as Batman's full-fledged partner in crime-fighting: Robin, the Boy Wonder. Dick enjoyed his first year as Robin, regarding the job as an adventure until a confrontation with Two-Face served as a rude awakening for the young hero. Two-Face had captured the new District Attorney and Batman, and had each suspended from a hangman's noose in a 'double gallows death-trap'. Robin, in trying to save the D.A., used a batarang to cut the rope of the noose. It worked, but Robin didn't account for Dent's obsession with the number two—it was a two-fold trap, and the floor gave way, dropping the D.A. into the water, where the man drowned. Robin was unable to prevent his death and received a beating at the hands of Two-Face. A beating witnessed by Batman, still tied up on the platform trying to free himself. Eventually, Batman was able to free himself and apprehend Two-Face. This event, however, scarred the young crime-fighter and haunts him even today. Rather than see Dick be further endangered, Batman "fires" his partner, sidelining the Boy Wonder for a time. Dick continued his adventures with Batman, and began attending college at Hudson University. Robin started to take on solo missions as well, and found himself to be a capable crime-fighter in his own right. Shortly afterward, the mysterious Raven summoned Dick and several other young heroes to form a new group of Titans. Robin again resumed leadership of the Titans, and in doing so moved out of Batman's shadow. When Robin was 17, he was shot in the shoulder by the Joker, and this scared Batman into ending his career for good. Dick realized at that point he had grown up: He no longer relied on Batman and, in fact, he and the Dark Knight disagreed on crime-fighting methodology as Batman used torture and Dick didn't like it. His newfound independence and Titans' duties in New York left less time for his former commitments in Gotham City. He also dropped out of Hudson after only one semester. Dick rediscovered his self-worth among the Teen Titans. Batman, however, was less than pleased. He informed Dick that if he no longer wanted to be his partner, then Dick would have to retire as Robin. Dick left Wayne Manor after this falling out. Helping him through this difficult time was his fellow Titans, including Starfire, a beautiful alien that Dick had fallen in love with. Dick handed over leadership of the Titans to Wonder Girl. Uncertain what to do, he turned to someone he knew would understand: Superman. Very briefly, Dick had considered giving up the whole crime fighting gig; but he couldn't imagine his life any other way. But if he couldn't be Robin, who would he be? Superman had the answer. Long ago on Krypton, a man was cast out by his family - just as Dick had been. He dreamed of a world ruled by justice and set out to protect the helpless of Krypton. His true identity was never revealed. He was known only as Nightwing. The Post-Crisis version of Grayson had him become the first and only Nightwing, with his costume partially inspired by his father, who at one time wore a circus costume that was a variant of colleague Boston Brand's Deadman costume. When all his teammates were captured by Deathstroke the Terminator, and delivered to the HIVE, Dick assumed a new identity of Nightwing and helped to free them, with the help of a new ally (and future Titan), Jericho. Nightwing had finally moved out of the shadow of the Bat, and would lead the Titans through some hard times. Dick endured brainwashing at the hands of Brother Blood, his relationship with Starfire would suffer due to her marriage of state, he would be deeply affected by the fact that Batman trained a new Robin (Jason Todd) only for him to be seemingly killed at the hands of the Joker. Shortly after this, during Batman: Year Three, Dick learned that Tony Zucco, the man who killed his parents, had not actually died but rather passed into a coma. As revealed in Robin: Year One, Batman feared Dick would want the gangster dead, so he "protected" the boy by telling him that Zucco was dead. After spending nearly seven years in prison with good behavior, Zucco applied for parole, in exchange for becoming a state informant of mob activity. His real intentions, however, were to retrieve a ledger containing his secrets. Just as Dick arrived to see him step out of the prison, he was gunned down by an enemy mobster from a helicopter. Despite catching the assassin and getting some closure to his parents' deaths, Dick was upset with Bruce for lying to him and keeping him away. Bruce explained that this was not his intent. Feeling hurt and betrayed, Bruce and Dick would remain at odds with each other, never fully sorting out their strained relationship. While serving with the New Titans, Dick was searched out by an older Tim Drake, who had only one goal on his mind, for Dick to return to Robin. It was Dick's refusal to return that Tim started down the road toward becoming the new Robin. After weeks of persuading and proving his potential, Dick then returned to the Batman to plead Tim's case, with help from Alfred Pennyworth. Due to their arguments and the realization that the Batman needs a Robin, Tim Drake becomes the third Boy Wonder. Soon after, various members of the Titans were abducted by the Wildebeest Society. This event shook up the team in a big way. The group entered into tumultuous times, where members came and went, longtime friends were maimed or destroyed, although Dick persevered through it all, and remained the heart and center of the team. But his relationship with Starfire became strained, and problems in Gotham demanded Dick's attention. Impulsively, Dick proposed marriage to Starfire. The two almost wed, but the ceremony was interrupted by Raven, now reborn as an evil avatar of her father, Trigon. Her brutal attack on Starfire triggered changes in Dick and Kory's relationship. Starfire was implanted with a demon "seed" which causes her to leave Earth and go on a spiritual journey. The two grew apart, and Starfire eventually returned to her home planet of Tamaran. Meanwhile, in Gotham, Bruce Wayne was nearly killed by the villain Bane who had crippled him by breaking his back. Unwilling to force Dick to come back and believing that Dick deserved to be his own man, Bruce opted to give the mantle of Batman to the unstable Jean-Paul Valley, with Tim Drake, the new Robin to guide him. Unfortunately, Jean Paul proved too much for Tim to handle, and Dick returned to help. Dick intervened with Tim Drake, and when Bruce returned to Gotham healed and ready to become Batman again, the three of them along with Catwoman brought Valley down and Bruce re-assumed the mantle of Batman. When Dick returned to the Titans, he found the government had interceded, placing Arsenal (the former Speedy) as leader of the team. Dick stepped aside and left the Titans, concentrating on problems in Gotham City. Still recovering from his broken back, Bruce asked Dick to substitute for him as Batman for a time. Dick accepted. During this time, Dick was able to confront Two-Face and lay some demons to rest. He also established a wonderful partnership with Tim which allowed for their brotherly bond to flourish. Bruce eventually returned to Gotham to reclaim his role as Batman before taking back the mantel. However, Bruce admitted to Dick the reason he had not selected him for the role of Batman originally and for the first time in a long time, Bruce and Dick began to heal their strained relationship. Bruce's respect for Dick was at last obvious. As of the current events surrounding the Infinite Crisis storyline, Nightwing has refused to join his recently resurrected friend Donna Troy as she journeys to New Cronus with several heroes. He has instead adopted a new villainous costume and persona in order to infiltrate Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Supervillains and seemingly attempt to trouble it from the inside. Under Deathstroke's employ, he trained Slade's daughter Rose, the newest Ravager. Deathstroke betrays Nightwing when Blüdhaven is destroyed by the Society. The Society drops the super-villain Chemo on the city, killing 100,000 people. Dick tries to rescue survivors but is overcome by radiation poisoning, only to be rescued by Batman. Nightwing confides that he let the villain Blockbuster die and asks Batman to forgive him. Batman tells him that his forgiveness doesn't matter; Dick has to move beyond Blockbuster's death. Inspired by his mentor, he proposes to Barbara Gordon, who tearfully accepts his proposal with a kiss. Batman then entrusts Nightwing to alert other heroes about the danger that the Crisis poses. Dick flies to Titans Tower, but the only hero who answers his call is Superboy (Conner Kent). Together, they locate and attack Alexander Luthor's tower, the center of the Crisis, only to be repelled by Superboy-Prime. Prime is ready to kill Nightwing when Conner intervenes, sacrificing himself to destroy the tower, ending the destruction of the Universe. Saved by the Justice Society, Nightwing recovers with Barbara at his side. As soon as he's able to walk again, Batman asks him to join him and Robin in retracing Bruce's original journey in becoming the Dark Knight. While Nightwing is hesitant, due to his engagement with Barbara, she encourages him to go and returns his engagement ring so he can make an honest decision for himself. While Barbara feels that it is important he re-discover himself, and until he does they're not yet ready to be married. They part on good terms, though before he departs Dick leaves her an envelope containing a photograph of them as Robin and Batgirl, along with the engagement ring on a chain and a note promising he'll come back to her one day. Soon after his journey with Batman and Robin begins, Nightwing returns to Gotham, following Intergang's trail. He works with the new Batwoman and Renee Montoya to stop Intergang from destroying Gotham, shutting off dozens of fire spewing devices spread across the city. One year later, Dick returned to New York City (his previous home base with the Teen Titans) in order to find out who had been masquerading as Nightwing. The murderous impostor turned out to be the former Robin, Jason Todd. Grayson lead the Outsiders once again, operating undercover and globally. Nightwing followed an armored thief named Raptor, who he suspected was responsible for a series of murders. Later, Raptor himself was murdered in a manner similar to the other victims by an unseen contract killer, who proceeded to bury Grayson alive. Nightwing freed himself, but wondered about the relationship between his experience and a mysterious voice who told him that he was "supposed to be dead". Nightwing was having trouble finding things to keep him busy during the day due to the cast on his right arm. Incapacitated from his injuries, he tried without luck to find jobs and continued to research into the mysterious assassin. At one point Dick agreed to attend a party for Bruce Wayne and their relationship seemed to flourish. Bruce praised Dick for his success on the Raptor case, and also mentioned to look into the Landman Building which hosted ex-Lexcorp scientists; most likely those who worked on the Raptor project. Dick had also continued to keep a close brotherly relationship with Tim Drake, and helped him deal with his many losses during the past year. After dealing with the Raptor issue, New York City was plagued by a villainous duo called Bride and Groom. Nightwing begins pursuit of these two after some grisly murders, including that of the Lorens family (close friends of his after the Raptor incident). Dick grew obsessed with finding them, not knowing how far he was willing to go to take them down. Eventually, he formed a makeshift team with some "villains" to find them. They located them, and after killing some of his "team" Nightwing chased them to a cave, where Bride began a cave-in and the two were trapped there. Some time later, Nightwing disassociated himself from the Outsiders, turning the responsibility of leadership over to his old mentor Batman. He then reunited with his alma mater the Titans after learning about a vicious attack wrought against Cyborg’s impromptu Titans East trainees. Along with Beast Boy, Cyborg, Donna Troy, Flash, Raven, Red Arrow, and Starfire, Dick discovered that the perpetrator behind this attack was the spawn of one of the Titans' deadliest villains – Trigon. Trigon had apparently had other children aside from Raven, who each symbolized the seven deadly sins. Together the Titans managed to defeat the sons of Trigon and again rescue Raven from being turned evil. Afterwars, they agreed to reform their group of Titans. Soon after, Batman became targeted by a group calling themselves the Black Glove. Their attacks became so intense, that they apparently drove Batman insane, and he disappeared, leaving Robin alone to defend the city. Unwilling to allow Tim to deal with everything alone, Dick gave up his life in New York to return to the city and help locate their mentor and keep control. Unfortunately, Nightwing was ambushed by the International Club of Villains. He is later seen in Arkham Asylum, frothing at the mouth and presumably drugged, believed by the staff to be Pierrot Lunaire, a member of the Club. Scheduled for an experimental lobotomy by Arkham himself, he was spared by the ICoV taking hold of the Asylum, eager to use him and Jezebel Jet, Bruce's girlfriend at the time, as bait. Jezebel's capture was revealed to be a red herring, due to her being a part of the Black Glove; as such, Nightwing's lobotomy was still pending, but he managed to escape due to the fact that his capture and Batman's 'insanity' were both parts of an elaborate plan created by Batman to expose the Black Glove. After besting Le Bossu, Dick joined the fray between the Bat-Family, the International Club of Heroes, and the Black Glove itself. Things built up to a final battle between Batman and Doctor Hurt, who battled on a helicopter that exploded, much to the horror of Nightwing and the others. While everyone fears that Batman has died in the explosion, however, Batman survived the crash, and later joined the Justice League during the events of the Final Crisis. Unfortunately Batman was seemingly killed during his final confrontation with the new God, Darkseid, thus leaving Dick, Cassandra Cain, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake once again orphaned. Alfred soon discovered a chamber left by Batman, which contained a holographic projection of his Last Will and Testament and a message for each of his children. In the message left for Dick, Bruce pleads that Dick not take up the mantle of the Batman, due to his belief that Nightwing and Robin can protect the city as they are. Abilities: Peak Human Condition: Due to years of intense and extensive training with Batman, Dick Grayson is at the natural peak of human capability (almost on Batman's level). He has displayed the peak human strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and endurance because of his training at a young age. Peak Human Strength: Nightwing possesses enough strength to break a holographic construct Bane's back, throw a refrigerator and use a bed as a weapon with effort. He had even been able to damage Blockbuster. Dick can easily lift a man with one hand, flip around with a obese grown man on his shoulder with no strain, and throw KGBeast through a concrete wall. His greatest feats of strength were breaking through titanium legs, snap a Superhuman Talon's knee tendons with a single kick, break a steel door off of its hinges and supporting over 1000 lbs of rubble over his head to save people from a burning building. Peak Human Durability: Dick's muscles and bones are more tolerable to damage than average humans, he possessed endurance similar to his mentor and is able to survive attacks from Blockbuster, who possesses Superhuman Strength, and Osiris. He has also survived a shot from a .32 pistol that only grazed to the back of his head and continue fighting. Peak Human Speed: Grayson' speed is at the peak human level, able to keep up with and even surpass his mentor in speed. He has been said to be faster than Batman. He is capable of sprinting speeds of approximately 30 mph. Peak Human Agility: Dick Grayson possesses peak-athlete equilibrium, balance, flexibility, dexterity, and bodily coordination well above than most Olympic-level athletes. He is one of the 3 people able to do a quadruple backflip and one of the world's finest human athlete. His agility also enables him to possess gymnastic and acrobatic prowess, Dick also can survive at heights that would even concern the likes of Superman and Starfire. Peak Human Stamina: He is able to function for up to 4 days straight with no sleep[167] and is capable of holding his breath for 7 minutes from training with Batman. As a teen Dick has been shown to intensely train for approximately 1 hour before the fatigue toxins begin to impair him. Peak Human Reflexes: Dick can evade several attacks to a degree and dodge multiple rapid gunfire bullets at near point blank range. He possesses enough skill to detect a Sniper bullet with concentration. Master Martial Artist: He is a master of several martial arts disciplines with an emphasis on Aikido, Kung Fu, Escrima, Capoeira, Judo, Hapkido, Taekwondo, Jiu-jitsu, Karate, Savate, Sambo, Ninjitsu, Boxing, Krav Maga & Jeet Kune Do. He has effectively combined the martial arts he has mastered into a unique harmonious style that suits his strengths. This makes him one of DCs top tier martial artists. Weapon Proficiency: He has displayed high expertise with various weapons including Shuriken (Wing-Dings and Batarangs), throwing knives, paired staves, and swords. Expert Marksman: Dick is skilled in throwing modified Shuriken (Wing-Dings) to hit thugs at a medium distance, despite occasionally giving them head-starts and even disarm others with his wingdings. He is also skilled with firearms, as he was trained by Batman and Spyral to do so. Master Acrobat: Grayson is a prodigious natural athlete, possessing a peak human level of agility/acrobatic skills. He is generally regarded as the greatest human acrobat in the DC universe. Batman himself is an incredible athlete in agility, but even he gives the advantage in that area over to Nightwing. As he is the only person on Earth who can do the quadruple somersault (formerly one of three, the other two being his parents). Grayson is one of the world's best human acrobat. Stealth Mastery: Due to his training with Batman and his time as a Spyral agent he is a master at stealth, espionage, infiltration, and sabotage. Dick is capable of breaching very high-security facilities with ease and without being detected. Expert Escapologist: Due to his training with Batman, he possess talented skill in escapology. He was able to escape a maze before the Flash could release himself from police handcuffs in an instant before the cop could even notice, and was able to use a Tibetan Mind Technique to escape virtual reality. Skilled Intimidator: He is skilled enough to get Scarecrow, who only fears Batman, to talk and, during his time as Batman, was able to contain a riot in Arkham Asylum. Genius-Level Intellect: Being trained by the Dark Knight himself in various fields, Grayson is shown to have a naturally high level of intelligence, though not as high as Batman's own. He was intelligent enough to build his own "Nightcar", build and program a Tech Glider, and also mentioned he can fool a polygraph. Master Detective: Grayson is a world class detective on par to the likes of Batman. He was able to solve a riddle by the Riddler before Batman himself even figured it out before becoming Robin and has been shown to solve mysteries and cases in a speed that even impresses his mentor. Barbara even commented that he was able to solve 4 cases in "America's Most Wanted" in a single morning and solved a homicide case that went unsolved for 14 years. He was also able to deduce clues Bruce left in the manner that suggested he was traveling through time. Dick also has an advanced degree in forensics. Expert Tactician: Grayson was taught in various fields by Batman and as a result, is a capable tactician. In addition to that, he is skilled in reading the body motions of others, using this skill to aid in defeating multiple armed opponents and anticipate an opponent's next move. Expert Leader: He is also a brilliant and experienced strategist with superlative leadership skills and adept emotional intelligence, having served as leader to the Titans, the Outsiders, and even the Justice League. Additionally, Dick's efforts to remain in contact with other heroes makes him a master at rallying, unifying, and inspiring the superhero community, a skill in which he has surpassed his mentor. Expert Hacker: He is skilled enough to hack into the JLA emergency override codes and hacked an alien Terminal with the use of the Tameranean Language he learn from Starfire. Multilingualism: Dick is of Romany descent and was raised to speak the language. Having had the finest education as Bruce Wayne's ward, he speaks with extreme fluency in English, Spanish, Japanese, German, Russian, French, Swahili, Mandarin, Cantonese and has some knowledge of the alien language of Tamaran. Indomitable Will: Like his mentor, Grayson has a very strong will. He is able to resist Scarecrow's potent fear toxins, resist and overcome mind control from Brother Blood and the Groom. He was even a candidate to succeed the Green Lantern, Abin Sur. Equipment Nightwing Suit: Nightwing had four versions of his costume. Each suit was made of a version of the Nomex fire-resistant, triple-weave Kevlar-lined material. It is an excellent protection against damage, and it's also electrically insulated. Instead of a black cape for stlthing, the suit is light sensitive, darkening when there is more light in the area. The original costume was mostly blue with light blue gloves and boots. The second was more advanced with a dark blue hue and gold boots and gloves, and trimmings on the neck. Nightwing's latest suit returns to the blue and black design. The logo is now slimmer and has a bird head. The logo wraps around his chest, around her shoulders and back. The boots now have a light blue trim. The newest costume appears to be the same basic design of the third, except the blue portions have been changed to red, and he now has spikes on the gauntlets similar to Batman's. Nightwing's costume is tailored specifically to his unique style of crime-fighting. As such, his costume has fewer body-armor inlays than Batman's, anticipating a decreased need for shock-absorption and an increased capacity for motion. ("Move more, get hit less.") A caveat of this configuration can be exploited by capable fighters who are both fast and strong, such as Superman. Should Nightwing need to engage an enemy who is capable of exploiting this weakness, he has supplemental body-armor overlays which he can attach to his gauntlets, mask, shoulders, and boots. Recently he has begun using Nightwing Mask: The mask, in the form of his symbol, is fixed in place with spirit gum, and includes a built-in radio transmitter/receiver and Starlight night-vision goggles. His gauntlets and boots each contain eight compartments in which he can store items. They have a self-destruct feature built into them, similar to the ones in Batman's utility belt, and, as another security measure (especially when the hero is unconscious), the suit contains a one-use-only taser charge, which automatically emits a high-voltage electrical shock when someone attempts to tamper with either the boots or gauntlets. Nightwing Gauntlets: Each gauntlet's sections can contain a wide array of equipment, such as sonic or smoke pellets, modified batarangs ("Wing-Dings"), knockout gas capsules and throwing tracers. The right gauntlet is also equipped with a 100,000-volt stun gun.

Tim Drake was little more than a toddler when he attended the circus with his parents. In order to ease his wife's concerns that the circus might frighten Tim, Jack Drake asked to take a picture with the Flying Graysons, who were the starring act. It was here that Tim first met Dick Grayson, who offered Tim special attention, and even promised to dedicate his performance to the toddler. Soon after, Tim and his family bore witness to the murder of Dick's parents John and Mary, alongside Bruce Wayne. As his parents rushed him out of the circus tent, Tim managed to catch sight of the mysterious Batman consoling Dick. Feeling sorry for Dick, Jack and Janet sent him a copy of the photo they had taken prior to the murder. A few years later at the age of nine, Tim saw footage of Batman and Robin apprehending the Penguin. Robin performed a quadruple somersault, a rare maneuver that only a Flying Grayson could do. After learning Grayson was the ward of Bruce Wayne, he came to the conclusion that Grayson was Robin and that of course Wayne was Batman. Tim continued to follow the adventures of the Dynamic Duo, as well as Grayson's becoming Nightwing and Jason Todd succeeding him as Robin. After Jason's death, Timothy began to take notice of a drastic and almost psychotic change in Batman's behaviour, in which he became convinced that Batman needed a Robin to maintain his sanity. When Nightwing left the Titans for a short time in order to find himself, Tim followed him and after helping Dick solve a mystery at Haly's Circus, was able to convince Dick that Batman needed help. However, where Dick intended to help Batman as Nightwing, Tim remained convinced that Batman needed Robin more. Dick ignored these pleas and raced off to help his mentor, only for both Dick and Bruce to be captured by Two-Face. Realizing that his idols were in danger, Tim donned the costume of Robin, at only thirteen years old and with the help of Alfred Pennyworth, was able to rescue them. Batman, although extremely reluctant, accepted Tim as the new Robin on a trial basis after being convinced by the boy, as well as Dick and Alfred. He was trained over several months, first by Alfred, then Batman, and finally Nightwing before ever being allowed to wear the costume again or go into the field. Unfortunately, just prior to completing his training, the ruthless Obeah Man later captured Tim's parents during a trip to the Caribbean. The Obeah man intended to sacrifice them, but Batman arrived to their rescue. Unfortunately, Janet and Jack both drank water laced with poison, and Janet died, while Jack was left in a coma. Batman began to reconsider Tim for the role of Robin, due to his fear that Tim was now motivated by anger, just as Jason had been. Tim, however, became more driven by his desire to do what was right, rather than petty revenge. After later saving Batman and Vicki Vale and defeating the Scarecrow, Bruce at last bestowed upon Tim the mantle of Robin, as well as a new costume. Despite finally getting his heart's desire, Tim had his doubts about becoming the new Robin, but Bruce told him that he had every confidence in him to be his new partner. He also confided in him that he was looking for someone with smarts, not just guts, and Tim had that and more. All that was necessary was that Tim go through intensive training before taking to the streets in Gotham. This would involve a tour overseas, helping Tim understand who he was in addition to learning how to be a great fighter. His first stop would be Paris, where he would learn from Rahul Lama, a Chinese martial arts master. In Paris, Tim crossed paths with some thugs working for King Snake, who was himself being shadowed by Lady Shiva. Shiva actually joined with Robin and a man named Clyde Rawlins (who wanted revenge against Snake for the death of his family) to help take down King Snake's heroin trafficking in the area. Not that Shiva was opposed to it for any moral sake, she simply wished to learn for herself if King Snake was truly as dangerous as rumors made him out to be—a good challenge for her talents. Together they discovered that King Snake was interested in more than just drugs—he was going into the chemical weapons industry, manufacturing his own bubonic plague. They followed the trail to Hong Kong. While there, Shiva trained with Robin some more, and here he first acquired his collapsible fighting staff. King Snake's plan was actually to unleash his plague into Hong Kong so as to leave it a rotting cesspool before the Chinese reclaimed it from the British. The team split up when they breached his lair. Clyde found him first and was quickly killed by Snake. Robin managed to defeat him, but refused to kill him when Shiva ordered him to. He returned to Gotham, ready to take his place alongside the Batman. Tim distinguished himself from Jason Todd by being far more reserved in temperament and from Dick Grayson by being more of a detective and less of a great acrobat. Whereas Dick had been brought up from a very early age to be acrobatic, Tim had to work hard for it. He proved himself more than capable of holding his own in a fight though. However, Batman did have strict orders with Tim—whenever he came across a known killer (such as Joker, Two-Face) he was supposed to withdraw and summon help. Unfortunately, Tim was not quite able to follow Batman's orders, and during one of his first solo-periods in Gotham without Batman, he found himself confronting Jason Todd's killer, the Joker. Having recently escaped from Arkham, Joker managed to use a hacker to cause the city to digitally self-destruct. Forced to handle the situation alone, Robin was made to confront the Joker who became infuriated at the sight of him, thinking that he had actually failed to kill the previous Robin. Upon realizing that this was a new Boy Wonder, Joker swore to kill this one, just as he had done Jason. Unfortunately for Joker, Tim proved more intelligent than Joker thought, and he was soon defeated and returned to Arkham, where he claimed that Robin was his, and his alone to kill. Around this time, Jack Drake came out of his coma, and with some manipulation from Tim, purchased a home right next door to Wayne Manor. This allowed Tim to continue his work as Robin, while also staying close to his father. Unfortunately for Tim, following the loss of his wife and his near-death, Jack's priorities had shifted. Where before he was more concerned with business than his son, Jack now wanted to develop a closer relationship with Tim. Unfortunately, Jack became more and more resentful at Tim and Bruce's close relationship and the fact that Tim would constantly disappear and seem to avoid spending time with him. Soon after, the Russian Mob began cracking down against the King Snake's organization, and once again Robin found himself stuck in the middle. Batman had ordered Tim to stay clear of it, but Tim found himself inadvertently disobeying his orders, upon meeting a young Russian girl named Ariana, whose father had been murdered by the KGBeast. With the aid of Huntress, Robin managed to defeat the King Snake, the Beast, and rescue Ariana who was forced to work in a drug sweatshop after being captured. Ariana would later move in with her aunt and uncle, and then be transferred to Tim's high school where they would soon start dating. Around the this time, the Cluemaster was released from jail, supposedly cured of his need to leave clues for people to track his crimes. However, clues still managed to appear all over the city, causing Batman and Robin to become confused by the supposed odd behavior of Arthur Brown. While attempting to stop Cluemaster, Robin noticed a girl in a purple costume leaving the scene. Assuming that she was an accomplice, Tim took chase and not only caught the girl, but unmasked her, revealing a teenage blond girl. The girl escaped by using Tim's surprise and striking him down with a broken brick. After a quick investigation, Tim realized the girl was Cluemaster's daughter Stephanie Brown, who was not working with her father, but trying to stop him. Calling herself Spoiler, Steph teamed up with Batman and Robin and stopped her father. Tim was in Gotham City when Bane broke open Arkham Asylum, unleashing nearly every inmate into the city, and was the first to suggest to Batman that Bane was responsible. He set out with the Batman at first, and initially they had some good progress, busting up the Mad Hatter's tea party and bringing in a half dozen or so thugs along with him. They got separated, however, as Robin decided to pursue Bird, one of Bane's lackeys, while Batman went after Victor Zsasz. Robin was briefly captured by Bane and Killer Croc, but managed to escape. He then did some detective work regarding Firefly, but a physically and emotionally drained Batman ordered him to stay put in the lair while he took on Firefly by himself. He did, however, get some action when Riddler held a live TV show hostage (although he had a fake bomb) and helped apprehend him. Tim was with Alfred and Jean-Paul Valley when Bane broke Batman's back and threw him from a rooftop in downtown Gotham. They acquired an ambulance and took Bruce back to the Batcave (despite Tim's initial protestations that he should go to a hospital). He contacted Jim Gordon to get some medicine Bruce needed. After that, there was nothing he could do but wait and pray alongside Alfred. Thankfully, Bruce did not die, though when he awoke he was psychologically scarred, as his defeat from Bane on top of months of exhaustion was a major blow to him mentally (in addition to his broken back). Tim could barely stand to watch his mentor so shattered, but he stayed the course, helping Alfred recruit Dr. Shondra Kinsolving to be his personal physician and smashing up the Porsche to explain how Bruce Wayne could have sustained such injuries. Once Bruce was feeling in better spirits, Tim went to talk to him about the escalating violence and gang war in Gotham—someone would have to step in for Bruce until he could recover. Bruce turned down Tim's suggestion to get Nightwing, reasoning that he was his own man now with his own responsibilities, which left the task to Azrael, Jean Paul Valley. Tim gave him the costume and taught him a few of Batman's tricks. Bruce's condition was particularly heartbreaking for Tim, given that his own father was still paralyzed (although Jack had been making remarkable progress; while still wheelchair bound, he had much more feeling and could move his arms a lot better). Robin went out with the new Batman (sometimes referred to by fans as "Az-Bats") on patrol and was dismayed when Jean Paul kept getting more and more aggressive, pushing the edge when it came to defeating criminals. Robin kept trying to remind Jean Paul that there was more to being Batman than just the costume, but Jean Paul had quickly lost himself in his role. Meanwhile, Bruce surmised that since Bane had guessed his secret identity, he may have guessed Tim's, and went to the Drake's manor—too late, for Jack Drake was kidnapped just before he got there. Tim found out that his father was missing when he finally went home (after Jean Paul made it clear that he would not take directions from him). Bruce and Alfred had left Gotham to go search for Jack Drake and Shondra Kinsolving (who had also been taken). Tim kept up the pretense that his father had planned his trip. Tim felt shut out of the team and the Cave by the time Nightwing dropped by. Tim filled him in on the situation, saying that he blamed himself partly for Jean Paul's behavior, as it had been he who had designed his original costume, which was very similar to a villain Bruce had recently defeated. That, combined with "the system", a kind of brainwashing Azrael had undergone, might have been the cause of his recklessness. Nightwing told him not to blame himself. He also admitted he was surprised Bruce hadn't asked him to fill in while he was injured. Robin showed up when Bane and Jean Paul had their second sparring and managed to save the passengers of an elevated train while Az-Bats took down Bane. Much to Tim's relief, Jean Paul did not kill Bane and for a moment considered that perhaps Jean Paul was a worthy successor. During the Genesis crisis, Robin was unable to save a hood who tried to kill him from drowning. Feeling depressed, Robin nevertheless had to head for the front-lines—this time literally. Armstrong was back, this time as the adviser to Ali Ben Khadir, a claimant to the throne of the Karoccan Emirate. His rival was being backed by Qurac. With Nightwing's help and a Waynetech jet, Robin went over to the war-torn country (the conflict was escalating with the appearance of more mercenaries on either side, such as Deadline (whom Robin managed to easily take down). Nightwing managed to stop two armies from clashing outside the capital while Robin penetrated Armstrong's lair. He found that Armstrong and his employer had had a falling out, so the boy was arrested and Robin withdrew. Robin had Nightwing drop him off in France, saying that lately he'd been feeling lost and decided he needed to step back for a while. He thought Paris was the right place to start, since his training had never really ended there. Knowing that Rahul Llama was dead, Tim decided to train in the course of the Iron Master, although he remained in his identity as Robin. He stopped a former student from stealing from the master and also met a girl named Dava Sborscs. The girl was there to learn a single move to add to her arsenal of lethal moves. She wanted to be able to fight in the war that was destroying her native country of Transbelvia. After she left, Lady Shiva arrived looking for her. Robin had to withdraw, leaving the Iron Master to fight her alone, and she killed him. King Snake was also involved again, this time selling weapons to Transbelvia. Robin went after Dava to warn her about Shiva. Back in Gotham, Jack Drake, Ariana, and Spoiler were all wondering what had happened to Tim. Robin found Dava, a rebel fighting against the oppressive regime, and she has a secret—a special chemical called Aramilla that allows her to move at super-speed. Together, they easily took down some military thugs—but then Shiva turned up. Not willing to step aside and let her murder Dava, Robin attacked. Not even Shiva could stand up to Robin moving at super-speed. Losing control, Robin beat her to death—just in time for King Snake to saunter in. While Dava fought King Snake and his minions, Robin performed CPR and managed to revive Shiva—unfortunately, she had absorbed some of the Aramilla, and at super-speed she took down all of King Snake's men and went after him herself. Robin left them to fight each other and brought an injured Dava to safety. But the war continued, and Robin decided it was finally time to return home. Unfortunately, on the flight home, Gotham City was struck by the Cataclysm, a massive earthquake that leveled most of the city. Robin joined with Batman and the rest of the "family," overwhelmed at the near total destruction of the entire city. There was little that Robin could do in such chaos, and Batman had him stay out of most of the city. Luckily, the Drake home, in one of the outer neighboring communities, suffered only minor damages and they were able to repair it. During the Aftershock, Ariana and Stephanie were both staying in a shelter with their families. Stephanie asked Robin to retrieve her costume, worried someone would steal it and learn her secret. Cluemaster was waiting there, but Robin took him down and turned him in to the National Guard. Unable to be with Ariana for a long period of time, Robin began spending more and more time with Spoiler, causing Robin to realize that he did care for her. However, before taking their new relationship too far, Tim decided that he to break things off with Ariana rather than keep leading her on (the pair had been allowed to date again shortly before). Fortunately, Ariana felt exactly the same way about a breakup, although stating it was because they were too young to be so serious. Tim would later run into Ariana during an awkward meeting upon Tim's later return from Keystone City. At this same time, Robin also became one of the charter members of Young Justice alongside Superboy and Impulse. Despite Superboy's protests, Robin immediately became the team's unofficial leader, due primarily because of his training from Batman. Robin and Spoiler got along well—she didn't pry any about his real identity, and he could share being Robin with her. However, after their first real date, Steph told him that she was pregnant. Robin was not the guilty party (he was not even a suspect)--she was actually about two months along—but he stood by her. Disguised as Alvin Draper, he went to Lamaze classes and told her that she had to give up being Spoiler until after the baby was born. Later, Robin had to save his friends Ives and Hudson from Steeljacket. At school, a friend of Tim's was found dead in the woods and two bullies were suspected of killing him. While Tim initially believed they were innocent, he soon found evidence of their guilt, which lead to their arrest. With all of Gotham in ruins, Jack Drake decided the family should relocate from Gotham Heights for a while. He decided to move to Keystone City along with Dana, who was transferred there. When they arrived, Robin teamed up with the Flash (Wally West) to take on the Riddler and Captain Boomerang. They also got some help from Superman to stop a bomb threat. While they were in Keystone, Stephanie went into labor (earlier than expected) and needed a C-section. Flash got Robin back to Gotham in time for him to come to the hospital and see her before the baby was born just as he promised her. The baby (later revealed to be a girl) was born and Stephanie gave the child up for adoption as planned. Jack was furious with his son for apparently running home to Gotham—but admitted that he had hated Keystone and that he wanted to come back. Robin even managed help Shotgun Smith take down three monstrous thugs who held hostage an emergency room. Now that he had returned, it was time for Robin to help with No Man's Land. Recalled to Gotham City by Batman, Robin and Nightwing had to crawl through an extensive system of tunnels and underground chambers, as the bridges were all down and patrols kept them from going over the river. They had a tussle with Tommy Mangles and Gearhead, but Nightwing easily defeated them and got into the city. Robin was depressed by what he saw—despair and desperation, people fighting to just survive. Batman put Robin to work immediately, ordering him to track down a cache of food from an old shelter. Robin found it—and discovered the Ratcatcher there. Robin had to flee the Ratcatcher and his legions of rats—though a combination of rat bites and exposure to sewage gave him a fever. He managed to stay it off with some antibiotics he brought, and was found by a group of children known as the Wolflings, including a kid Robin knew from his school who was calling himself Aragoth. The Wolflings decided to find the stores, and Robin was too sick to follow them at first. The kids found it, but unfortunately so did the Ratcatcher—and so did Mister Freeze. Robin managed to defeat both Freeze and Ratcatcher, arranging for them to be arrested. Batman was impressed with Robin's actions. Robin did not have much time to recover, however, as he knew Batman and the others were fighting for their lives. Robin was captured by Killer Croc, who was planning an all out battle with Penguin and his police allies. Alfred helped free Robin and he rallied with Bullock and Penguin to defeat Croc. He then had to make the hard decision to call his father and tell him that he was in Gotham—and there was no way out. Jack made a lot of noise, and Washington took notice. Federal agents were ordered to stage a rescue. Tim was told to come to Grant Park to be pulled out. The rescue site turned into a firefight, but Tim was successfully lifted out with some help from the new Batgirl. Jack decided to enlist his son in Brentwood Academy, a private high school not too far from home. Because of all his absences, Jack also insisted that Tim board at the school. His first roommate was Ali Ben Khadir, the religious leader of a small country called Dhabar. Ali had a bodyguard, Zugir. Thankfully, Bruce assigned Alfred to be his personal valet for the rest of the semester. Tim decided life at the school wasn't so bad—he still got to see Spoiler and created a new hi-tech skateboard. There were some people who had been transformed into Man-Bat like creatures that warranted investigating. With help from Nightwing, he learned that the bats were Kirk and Francine Langstrom and their child. He had to ask Jason Bard for help. Bard had been entrusted with a serum by Man-Bat years ago. The serum worked on the parents, but the child was born in his condition. Much like Dick Grayson, Tim Drake has allied himself with the other superheroes in his age demographic. He mostly worked with only the Gotham City heroes, but on occasion joins forces with heroes such as Superman, the Flash, Superboy (who became Tim's best friend) and Impulse. During one adventure where a pre-teen boy was given god-like powers, Robin, Superboy and Impulse joined forces to defeat him. The boys work so well together that they created their own team of heroes called Young Justice. Robin acted as the leader of the team (with Red Tornado acting as team mentor) until the Imperiex War. Due to the team's age, the then President Lex Luthor refused to let teen heroes on the frontline of the war. As such, Young Justice was forced to play the role of a space mobile medical team, collecting injured heroes. During one of their missions, the group crashed onto Apokolips, where they would later be captured and tortured. Robin discovered during those events that over half the team, Superboy, Wonder Girl, Impulse and Cissie King-Jones (formerly Arrowette), no longer trusted him. The cause of the new mistrust came after the Justice League discovered that Batman kept contingency plans on them in case they ever went rogue. As a result, the younger heroes begin to wonder if Robin, who had still not revealed his true identity and kept most of himself hidden, might also have plans to defeat or even kill them. Secret, who has deep feelings for Robin, along with new members Empress and Lil' Lobo, however, remained trusting of Robin and side with him. Still, feeling hurt and unable to be a proper leader when only half the team trusted him, as well as strained by assorted other problems in his personal life, Robin quit the team temporarily. Tim rejoined the team after having to go up against Bedlam a second time, during which his secret identity is revealed to his teammates. However, upon his return the team refused to give him back the mantle of leader, and decided instead to elect their leader this time around. Tim lost to Wonder Girl, however the team continued to look at Tim as its tactical expert, aiding Wonder Girl, in leadership, similar to Batman's own position in the JLA. Unwilling to quit Young Justice a second time, Tim takes on the identity of "Mister Sarcastic" at a point where Young Justice agree to be become reality TV stars. Soon after, Secret is turned evil by Darkseid and it is Tim (not Robin) who manages to save the world by reminding Greta of her humanity. Soon after Young Justice and the Titans were approached by a company offering to support their super-heroic teams. Before anything could happen however, the team was attacked by a cyborg from the future, who then turned on a robotic Superman in an effort to save itself. The Superman Robot was out of control and while trying to shut it down, Donna Troy and Omen were murdered. Young Justice disbanded soon after, as did the Titans, both of who felt broken following the losses of Donna and Lilith. Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy brought Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl and Impulse (later known as Kid Flash) together to form the new Teen Titans. While Cyborg took the lead, Robin was often seen as the leader of the younger members, even going against the direct orders of the elder Titans. In the "Titans Tomorrow" storyline, Tim encountered his future self in the identity of Batman after his mentor died in a crisis. This future happened despite his repeated statement that he did not want to be the next Batman, and is rather content being Robin. In this timeline, Tim was now the leader of the future Titans with himself as Batman. After Bruce Wayne's death, Tim has the Titans take control of the entire West Coast. He orders any rebellions to be put down by Dark Raven absorbing the people's free will and hope. He even hunts down most of Batman's Rogue's gallery and kills them with the handgun that was used to kill Thomas and Martha Wayne. As he explained to his younger self, "It took me years to do it." He even began a relationship with Bettie Kane, who became his partner, Batwoman. He later killed her during an argument; wracked with guilt, he makes a deal with Ra's al Ghul to restore her using the Lazarus Pit. Once revived, however, she joined the Titans East (led by an older version of Cyborg) and opposed him and his team. His latest victim before the younger Teen Titans show up was Duela Dent, the Joker's daughter, whom he apparently murdered out of revenge for the death of assorted people including Cassandra Cain and Alfred Pennyworth. Abilties: Martial Arts Master: Tim has been trained by Batman and assorted other martial artist in a wide assortment of martial arts disciplines. Although he has not mastered near as many fighting styles as his mentors, he has managed to use the training given to be considered a highly skilled combatant. He is very proficient in the use of the Bo staff. Escapologist: Batman and Nightwing have trained Red Robin to be skilled in escaping from any trap, lock or captivity, ranging from the most simplistic of handcuffs to the most elaborate of cages. Gifted Intellect: His naturally high intellect allows him to excel in computer science and more importantly as a skilled detective. Further more, Tim apparently has a firm grasp of assorted scientific techniques including biology, engineering and genetics, which he has been shown to use in his attempts at re-cloning Superboy. Batman states that Tim could potentially be smarter and better than himself. The Batman has trained him in many disciplines, such as forensic, criminology, acrobatics, stealth, disguise, and escapology. Master Detective: Tim is highly analytical, able to perceive and interpret the most minor of clues. His skills were so advanced that at the age of 13 he was able to deduce the identities of Batman and Robin. Master Tactician and Strategist: Tim is a brilliant and experienced strategist with impressive leadership skills, having served as leader to the Teen Titans, Young Justice, and even being placed in charge of the rescue efforts of Blüdhaven by Superman, following the attack made by Deathstroke and his fellow villains. In recent times, he has managed to orchestrate the unified control of the Gotham Street Gangs, thus reducing the threats they pose to the city. Red Robin Costume: With Damian now assuming the role as the fifth Robin, Tim adopted the full uniform of Red Robin. This costume seems to contain a mixture of both Tim's old Robin uniforms, as well as Batman's. The uniform is comprised of black leggings and boots, a red tunic similar to that of Dick Grayson's old Robin tunic, though lacking the 'R' emblem. He wears a utility belt, again similar to the one worn by Dick Grayson while as Robin, only of a slightly larger size. He then has a chest harness, that is connected by the Red Robin symbol. Finally, he wears a black cowl and cape. Rather than using throwing stars or batarangs like before, Tim now uses Red Robin throwing disks. He does, however, continue to use his collapsible bo-staff as his primary weapon. Red Robin Costume 2: With a few minor alterations by Alfred, Tim begins patrolling with a new version of the Red Robin costume. The hip-flaps are replaced with a more streamlined look and the heavy leather is replaced (or at least lessened). Tim returns to a utility belt more like his previous Robin costume (arguably more Batman-esque, as well, ditching the thin rod-canisters in favour of the metal, square "pouch"-style). It seems, if the cover of Red Robin 13 is anything to go off of, that Tim has developed a sort of Red Robin-branded batarang of his own to replace the throwing disks. Transportation: Tim's first vehicle was the Redbird car. It is capable of morphing between a highly armored combat-vehicle and a normal-looking car. As both Robin and Red Robin, Tim has driven different versions of a Robin-themed motorcycle. With the disappearance of Batman, Robin has also begun using the Batmobile. Robin Weapons: "R" shurikens, Batarangs, extendible staff given to him by Lady Shiva. He also often uses a sling. Red Robin Weapons: Red Robin emblem throwing disks, collapsible bo-staff, grappling hooks.

Stephanie Brown is the Spoiler. She also briefly served as a Robin for the Bat-Family and later assumed the mantle of Batgirl. Stephanie was born the daughter of the Cluemaster, one of Gotham City's third-rate villains. Stephanie's father spent most of her childhood in prison or away from the family, and though he claimed to be "rehabilitated upon his return to Gotham", Stephanie was furious to discover that he was actually returning to crime without his need to leave clues behind. She decided something needed to be done. Stephanie tailored a costume for herself, and called herself the Spoiler. She knew where her father was hiding out, found out his plans, and left clues so that the police and Batman could stop him. Robin III tracked her down, and she joined in on the capturing of Cluemaster. She also became attracted to Robin, and it annoyed her that he knew her identity but she did not know his. During the events of "Knightquest", Cluemaster broke out of prison, along with Czonk and The Electrocutioner. Stephanie learned of the breakout on the news. Her mother, suffering from depression, was struggling with an addiction to painkillers. Steph decided to don her Spoiler outfit and go after her dad. She ran into Robin, and he let her work with him, although they got separated. Spoiler helped Robin out and he gave her a kiss in thanks. Before she could find out if she would see him again, the police arrived and they had to part ways. Stephanie was kidnapped shortly thereafter by the Gully Carson gang, working with Cluemaster, who was still behind bars. Cluemaster got the idea to use her as insurance, but when the Carson gang withheld his part of the cut, he contacted Batman and Robin and told them that he had been forced to orchestrate their schemes because they were holding his daughter. Batman located the Carson's lair and Robin freed Stephanie. She insisted on getting her costume and going with him to bring down the rest of the gang--against Batman's objection. They were successful, and Stephanie decided to pay her dad a little visit in prison. She also made her attraction to the Boy Wonder very clear. Czonk, who had started calling himself "The Baffler"(he actually baffled no one) knew Stephanie's identity due to Cluemaster's blabbing. Stephanie and Tim were caught with their guard down and tied up inside a skyscraper that was set for dynamite demolition. They managed to survive this experience, although Stephanie commented she'd be washing cement dust out of her hair for weeks. Spoiler next bumped into Robin when he was teamed up with the Green Arrow (Connor Hawke) to take down a street gang selling guns. She told him that she didn't think it was fair that he got to have all the fun, so she was going to become the Spoiler more often. She insisted on coming with the two of them as they took down the gang, flirting with Robin as usual. There was no time for that, however, when they went after the real leaders of the gang the following night, as Robin was enraged over the death of a fellow student, Karl Ranck. Steph went to the funeral, unaware that Robin was there (with his girlfriend) in his civilian identity. That night, Spoiler met up with Robin, telling him that she was going to be Spoiler more often, and would help him go against the boy who shot Ranck. They were in over their heads however, but thankfully Batman turned up, saved their necks and ordered Stephanie to go home. Batman had NOT witnessed Stephanie pulling Tim off a gun dealer---it was he, not she, who had "lost it" in the field. During a point in which Tim and his then-girlfriend Ariana were unable to see each other, he and Stephanie grew even closer. He soon came to realize that his feelings for Stephanie had grown into something more, and after breaking up with Ariana, began dating Stephanie. Unfortunately, because he needed to maintain the Bat-Family secrecy, Robin was unable to reveal his true identity to Spoiler. At first, she seemed more than happy with this arrangement. Unfortunately for Stephanie, she found out she was pregnant by an ex-boyfriend who had left Gotham City during the Cataclysm. Tim, in his cover identity Alvin Draper, took Stephanie to Lamaze classes, and the two became even closer. Unfortunately Robin was moved temporarily to Keystone City (which is Flash's city) during the last few months of her pregnancy. He however returned to her when she was giving birth. With Tim's help, she was able to deal with giving her child up for adoption. Although a painful experience, she felt it best to give her daughter a chance at a better life. Soon afterwards, Tim was sent away to boarding school by his father, and the two were forced into a long distance relationship, made even more complicated by the fact she still didn't know his real name. During his time away, Robin became friends with a girl named Star. One night, after seeing her go into an alley with some suspicious-looking people, Robin decided to follow her in costume. He ran into Stephanie, also on patrol, and she followed him as he tracked down Star to a gang meeting that erupted in a violent shootout. He managed to save Star, but Stephanie became convinced that he was cheating on her, and refused to see him for a time. Shortly after this, Robin disappeared from Gotham for several days (he was off in Tibet on a secret mission), and in his absence Spoiler realized that she still wanted to be with him. Batman approached Spoiler and offered to train her. He also told her Tim's real name, and this betrayal drove a wedge in between him and Robin for a while, as well as causing trouble for Stephanie and Tim. Spoiler began to train with Batman, and also the Birds of Prey (although they were a bit more reluctant). Stephanie also began a friendship with Batgirl who helped train her in-exchange for reading lessons. Stephanie and Tim, as she now knew him, reconciled. Even after Batman - having decided that she wasn't really hero material told her to hang up her costume and the Birds stopped mentoring her, she still patrolled with Robin, as well as went on regular dates. When the US Government came to Stephanie and her mother, and told her that the Cluemaster had died in service of his country in the Suicide Squad, Stephanie was shocked. She cut off ties with Tim and went on a crime-fighting rampage, hunting down the Riddler, her father's former associate, to try to get a better idea of who he had been in life. Eventually, she made peace with his memory, and she and Tim rekindled their relationship. Stephanie has also revealed that when she was a child, her babysitter had attempted to rape her. This man died of an apparent drug overdose eight days after she told her father what had happened. Whether or not he had killed him was one of the questions she had to resign herself to never being able to answer. When his father discovered his secret identity, Tim was told to hang up his cape, and he did. He was forced to live a normal life for a time. During one day after school, Stephanie attempted to surprise Tim with a visit. Unfortunately as she arrived, she caught a female classmate of Tim's attempting to put the moves on him. Assuming yet again that Tim was being unfaithful, Steph broke off ties with Tim and angrily decided to put her attention elsewhere. Creating a homemade Robin costume, Stephanie sneaked into the Batcave and demanded that Batman train her as the new Robin. Despite his past belief that Stephanie was an inept crime fighter, Batman accepted her, put her through several months of intensive training and made her a costume with the same modifications as Tim's. As Robin she patrolled with Batman, and for a time seemed like a capable replacement for Tim. Unfortunately, for disobeying his orders on two missions, Batman later stripped her of the costume and told her that she was done being a hero because he couldn't trust her in the field. In an effort to prove her worth to Batman, Stephanie stole one of his long-range plans for dealing with the entirety of Gotham's criminal underworld. Since this plan was predicated on the involvement of "Matches Malone" (who she did not know was actually one of Batman's alter egos), it quickly spun out of control. The result was a citywide gang war (Batman: War Games), in which Stephanie was captured by the Black Mask, who tortured her to get information about Batman. Although she escaped and made her way to Leslie Thompkins's clinic, she had been severely injured by the villain, and died in a hospital bed as Batman sat beside her. Batman later found evidence that vital medical treatment that could have saved Spoiler's life had been denied by his longtime trusted ally, Leslie Thompkins, who had fled to Africa in shame. When confronted by Batman, Thompkins, in tears, claimed that she willfully withheld treatment to Spoiler in the hopes that Batman would see the violence he caused and give up his mantle. Batman has personally exiled Leslie from the United States, informing her that if she ever returns he will make sure she is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. A Spoiler has recently appeared within the pages of Gotham Underground. Although her identity has yet to be concretely revealed, it has been shown that she has blonde hair, and knows Tim Drake's secret identity. This has led to a lot of confusion on his part. As recently revealed (Robin-Spoiler Special) Stephanie Brown did not die in the above-mentioned adventure, but was severely wounded to the point of death. Stephanie survived and accompanied Dr. Thompkins to Africa where she worked as a missionary during her recovery. After recovering, Stephanie returned to the United States and took up her former identity as Spoiler and has resumed her friendship with Drake after announcing her return to her mother. Stephanie has also enrolled in the same school with Drake under an assumed name to prevent those criminals who think her already dead to prevent them from resuming their attacks on her in her real name. Stephanie has graduated from high school, is a student at Gotham University, and is living with her mother still. Cassandra Cain has become disillusioned following Bruce Wayne's apparent death and gives Stephanie the Batgirl costume. After operating as the new Batgirl in Cain's costume, Stephanie is confronted by Barbara Gordon, who was notified of her activities by Dick Grayson. Barbara tried to reason with Stephanie to get her out of her vigilante activities, as she still sees Stephanie as an impetuous youth along with still remembering her role in causing a city-wide gang war and her near-death experience at Black Mask's hands. However, a new type of recreational drug is hitting the streets of Gotham known as "Thrill," which they discover was manufactured by the Scarecrow and Black Mask. Both women find themselves needing each other to stop this drug trade. Stephanie eventually confront and defeated Scarecrow, which impresses Barbara and shows that she now has the maturity for the responsibility with actions and remarks of capable of facing her fear and failures, and allows her to continue on as Batgirl. Barbara later takes a job as an assistant professor at Stephanie's school in order to continue to keep in contact with her. Barbara also handed Stephanie an unused costume which was designed for her to replace Cassandra's tattered costume. Stephanie appears in the Batman Inc. double issue Leviathan Strikes. When the issue came out however, the decision to have it take place prior to Flashpoint resulted in the issue being Stephanie's final appearance as Batgirl. Stephanie reappears in Batman #28 once again under the identity of the Spoiler. She is a major player Batman Eternal, which highlights her origins as Spoiler in response to discovering her father's supervillain identity and plans for the city. As Spoiler, she posts her father's plans in the internet, defeats her father, and assists Batman from the shadows as a group of villains attempt to destroy Gotham City. Once her father's campaign against Batman is foiled, her mother fled the city, leaving Stephanie alone in Gotham. However, Harper Row and her brother Cullen invited her to live with them. Stephanie sought out training from Selina Kyle after their confrontation in Batman Eternal, but found a sensei in Eiko Hasigawa, the second Catwoman, instead. When Eiko took bloody revenge on the crime families of Gotham for her father's death, Stephanie attempted to help Selina by warning her. In doing so, she incurred the wrath of the Hasigawa family, but was rescued by Batgirl (Barbara Gordon). Over the next few months, as Gotham dealt with the absence of Batman, Stephanie aided Batgirl in keeping Burnside safe, and assisted Dick Grayson against the human trafficker Mother. Before her New Earth self was erased from existence, she was taken to Convergence with Tim Drake and Cassandra Cain. Once Batman returned in the fight against Mr. Bloom, he discovered that a mysterious force was watching vigilantes in Gotham, one of them being Spoiler. He formed a team with Batwoman including Red Robin (Tim Drake), Orphan (Cassandra Cain), Clayface (Basil Karlo), and Stephanie. During this time, Stephanie and Tim started dating. Powers: Like the rest of the Batman family, Spoiler has no superhuman powers. However, during Gotham Underground the Penguin gave her an unknown device which allowed her to become completely invisible. According to Tim Drake, this "ability" was achieved through stolen technology. According to Batgirl writer Bryan Q. Miller, the ability to become invisible has not been incorporated into Stephanie's new identity as Batgirl. Abilities: Excellent stealth abilities, exceptional acrobatic and hand-to-hand combat abilities which were later honed by training with Batman. Strength: Average strength for a teenage girl in good physical condition. Weakness: Stephanie suffers the same weakness of any normal human without super-powers such as illness, injury and the ability to die. As Spoiler, Stephanie carried a belt similar to that used by other Gotham vigilantes containing a grappling hook, tracking devices, and various other crime-fighting paraphernalia. During Gotham Underground the Penguin gave her an unknown device which allowed her to become completely invisible. According to Tim Drake, this "ability" was achieved through stolen technology. After Stephanie took on the Batgirl identity, Barbara Gordon designed a new costume for Stephanie more in line with the rest of the Bat-family's. It is equipped with armor and insulation against ballistic, flame, and electrical attacks. Stephanie's Batsuit also carries a wireless relay within the cowl, permitting her to remain in contact with Barbara. The suit also allows Barbara to monitors Stephanie's vital signs. Stephanie now also uses a collapsible bo staff, similar to the one that Tim Drake uses and implied that she has been trained by Drake and Cassandra Cain in using it before assuming the Batgirl mantle. Weapons: Spoiler: Batarangs, grappling hook, gas bombs, laser torch, invisibility device. Batgirl: Batarangs, grappling hook, gas bombs, laser torch, collapsible bo-staff Vehicles: Batgirl: Her motorcycle, the Ricochet, and her car, the Compact.

Damian Wayne is the only biological son of Bruce Wayne and Talia, the only grandson of Ra's al Ghul. The character was created by Mike W. Barr, and first appeared in Batman: Son of the Demon (1987). Due to Damian spending his gestation in a laboratory, he was raised by his mother, Talia, until he was 10, at which point she left him in the care of his father, Bruce, who had not been aware of his son's existence until that point in time. Damian is violent and self-important, and was trained by the League of Assassins, learning to kill at a young age. After the events of Batman R.I.P. and Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Damian has taken up the identity of Robin, becoming the fifth and current person to use the Boy Wonder's identity. He worked with Dick Grayson, who replaced Bruce as Batman. Morrison's Batman #666 (2007) depicts a future wherein Damian has become Batman. In Batman Incorporated #8, Damian is killed by his clone, The Heretic, but he is soon resurrected with temporary super-powers. Bruce Wayne was not aware of Damian's existence for a considerable time. Genetically perfected and grown in an artificial womb, Damian was intended to be a formidable warrior. He was raised by Talia and the League of Assassins. He becomes a talented martial artist by the time he is a pre-teen; at which point Talia reveals Damian's existence to his father, Bruce and leaves him in Bruce's custody in an effort to disrupt his work. Precocious, spoiled and violent, Damian battles Tim Drake/Robin; who he wants to replace as his father, Bruce's sidekick and sucker punches him off the T-Rex of the Batcave. Grounded by Bruce, he escapes, dons a version of the Robin suit that is comprised of Jason Todd's old tunic and assorted League of Assassin gear, and gets into a fight with and decapitates the villainous Spook. Although misguided and malicious, Damian seems to genuinely want to aid his father, Bruce in his war against crime. Eventually, Bruce confronts Talia, but both Talia and Damian are soon caught in an explosion. They survive the explosion, but a badly injured Damian requires transplants of harvested organs; which his mother, Talia orders her physicians to carry out. He made a full recovery. Talia takes Damian to the Australian Outback where he is tutored in the secret history of his grandfather, Ra's al Ghul. Talia is unaware that a former servant of Ra's, named White Ghost, plans to use Damian as a shell for the soul of Ra's to return to Earth. This process would of course; kill Damian. Talia is able to save her son from his fate at the last minute. However, Ra's is still able to return, as a rotting, undead corpse, still needing Damian to stabilize his form. Damian flees to alert Bruce, but he is still pursued by his evil grandfather. Upon entering Wayne Manor, Damian attempts to relay to Robin the fact that Ra's has returned. However, Robin suspicious of Damian's intentions, does not believe his story and begins a fist fight. Damian flees and encounters Alfred. Before he can effectively relay his news he is attacked by Robin; who perceives Damian's attempt to help a tripping Alfred as an attack and renews their battle. As they fight, members of the League of Assassins approach the manor with the intention of killing all others within and bringing Damian back to Ra's alive. Damian and Tim fight side-by-side against Ra's and his minions. However, their collaboration is hindered by their very different philosophies of battle, not to mention their strong dislike - even hatred - towards each other. Damian is willing to betray Tim at any moment for his own safety. Ra's captures the two and tells Batman that he will use one of them for his own body. Batman offers his own body instead. Ra's refuses the offer, feeling that he needs someone of a younger age. Batman offers a third alternative; "fountain of essence", which contains the qualities of a Lazarus Pit. Batman and Ra's go in search of the fountain, leaving Tim, Damian, Nightwing, Alfred, and Talia to battle the Sensei. Damian leaves his mother and Tim to an unknown fate, while he goes off to be with his father. Unfortunately, he ends up captured by Ra's and nearly loses his life. Batman and the others manage to save him, and Talia takes her son and escapes. Soon after these events, Talia and Damian take up residence in one of the League of Assassin's many bases, where Talia continues to monitor Batman's activities, such as his relationship with a woman named Jezebel Jet. Meanwhile, Damian continues to train under the eye of the archer-villain Merlyn. Both Damian and Talia become concerned when they catch wind that a group known as the Black Glove is targeting Batman. The pair of them fly back to Gotham, where they save Commissioner Gordon from a booby-trapped Wayne Manor and ask to pool their resources. Damian meanwhile steals a Batmobile with Alfred in order to rush to Batman's side. Damian, uncaring of basically everyone, runs an ambulance off the road, unaware that he had taken out the Joker as a result. Alfred admonishes the boy, who threatens to kill him in response. Once they arrive at Arkham, they learn that Batman is again missing in action. Although Batman survived the events of R.I.P., he would later be killed by Darkseid during the events of the Final Crisis. Damian apparently decides to stay in Gotham following his father's supposed death, and takes up residence with Alfred and his adopted brothers Nightwing and Robin. While joy riding in the Batmobile one night, he is attacked by a group of villains. Oddly enough, Damian's previously cruel and aggressive behavior is replaced with a more childlike and fearful persona (going so far as to call for his mother when attacked by Killer Croc and Poison Ivy). He is saved however by Nightwing, but unfortunately, the pair of them end up being attacked by a new gun toting Batman revealed to be Jason Todd. While in pursuit of Jason, Damian is shot point-blank in the chest, and rushed to the Batcave by Nightwing and the Birds of Prey. Despite his intensive injuries, Damian refused to be sidelined and almost attacks Alfred in order to help Dick battle Jason. Alfred however, does not stop Damian, but instead encourages him to pull his own weight, and even offers Damian the old Robin tunic that he once stole and asks that the Squire help Damian. Together, the pair locate and rescue an injured Tim Drake from nearly being killed in the explosion. Following a final confrontation with Jason Todd, Dick Grayson finally accepts the mantle of Batman. Unfortunately, much to Tim's shock, Dick does not continue to take him on as Robin. Stating that Tim is more of an equal and an ally rather than a protégé, Dick instead offers the mantle of Robin to Damian, who he feels needs proper training to ensure they don't run the risk of seeing him turn into a killer. Damian, of course, revels in the fact that he has usurped Tim's previous role. Feeling betrayed and infuriated, Tim punches Damian, leaves, and takes on the mantle previously worn by Jason Todd: Red Robin. During their first week as partners, Damian proves himself to be a much different Robin than Tim or Dick were, though somewhat similar to Jason Todd. Argumentative and arrogant, Damian often disputes with Dick and undermines his authority as Batman, even going so far as to claim that he might not be worthy of the Batman mantle. Damian expresses a strong willingness to take over the Batman identity himself if Dick is not "up to it." He makes it known that he has no respect for Grayson, and tells him that he needs to earn it. It is later revealed that Damian has begun to visit his father's former friend and enemy Thomas Elliot, also known as Hush, in the prison at the top of Wayne Tower. Dick and Tim put him in and engage him in chess games. Damian claims that these visits are purely out of his curiosity to find out why Hush would alter his appearance to that of Bruce Wayne's. But Hush suspects that the visits are Damian's form of grieving for Bruce and a way to "spend time with your old man." After leaving the Bat Family, having been usurped of his position of Robin to his dismay, Tim takes on the mantle of Red Robin and begins searching the globe for Bruce Wayne, who he feels is still alive. After his first fight alongside Dick, Damian gets upset with Grayson and goes looking for the villain Professor Pyg himself. The Professor captures him, or rather, is led to believe so by Damian, who is in complete control of the situation, waiting for the right moment to make his move. Despite his good intentions, however, Damian is still overpowered by a large number of Dollotrons. Bent on catching Pyg, he is saved only by the timely intervention of Dick Grayson. While pursuing Pyg, he overlooks an earlier promise he had made to Sasha (a promise to save her and take her to safety), the only Dollotron who has an intact personality. As a result, the young girl's sanity is bent by her traumatic ordeal and disfigurement, ripe for the Red Hood to sway to his side, as her opposite number in the Red Hood battle against crime After Bruce's skull was taken from his grave, Damian and Dick decide to bring the rest of his skeleton, along with those of Damian's paternal grandparents, to the their base beneath Wayne Tower. Damian is quite shaken by the sight of the bones of his family. On the way to the cave, Dick's body is possessed by Deadman, whom Damian lashes out at in confusion. Deadman then possesses and leaves Damian's body, subsequently passing his knowledge of the attack of the Black Lanterns onto him. The two heroes then prepare for the Black Lantern's assault on Gotham. After raiding the Army Reserve National Guard Armory, Dick, Damian, and the arriving Tim Drake, are able to save Commissioner Gordon, Oracle, and the surviving police officers at Gotham Central from the reanimated versions of the original Dark Knight's deceased rogue gallery members. However, they then find themselves having a horrific encounter with Batman and the Red Robin's parents - the Flying Graysons and Jack and Janet Drake - reanimated as Black Lanterns. Dick eventually orders Damian through their comm-links to send one of his Wingers with Mr. Freeze's gun, which he complies and Grayson uses the weapon to cryogenically suspend himself and Tim, forcing the Black Lanterns to retreat as they are unable to read any sign of life of them. Deadman later revives the former Boy Wonders. After Blackest Night, Dick Grayson and Damian went to track down Jason Todd/the Red Hood. Jason is shot twice by a new villain called the Flamingo, who begins to overpower him, even when Batman and Robin arrive, although Damian is critically injured by Flamingo. Sasha, now as the Red Hood's sidekick Scarlet, manages to cut Flamingo's face open, allowing Jason to kill him. Dick realizes that Damian is paralyzed from the waist down, but will recover due to his mother's influence and ability to replace Damian's damaged organs with harvested ones. Commissioner Gordon arrives and arrests Jason, who asks Dick why Talia al Ghul had not tried resurrecting the real Batman in the Lazarus Pit. Taking Jason's suggestion into consideration, Dick and Damian enlist the aid of England's Squire and Knight to help him locate a Lazarus Pit. After saving the Pearly Prince from destroying London, Dick believes that the Pearly King can give him information on the location of the Lazarus Pit. Pearly refuses to, however, the Knight has already located the pit. After arriving at the Pit, they fight King Coal's men, who were already taken down by Knight. They encounter Batwoman, who tells them Coal's men planned to sacrifice her to a new god of crime that is supposed to rise on that night. Dick remarks that there is no god of evil in the Pit, only the "real" Batman. The charred body of Bruce Wayne is reanimated and rises from the Pit, but is unable to speak and begins attacking all that he sees. Dick sees that this being's rage is murderous, which conclusively proves that the body could not be Bruce Wayne's, but instead a maddened clone. The corpse of "Batman" is in fact that of a perfect clone of Bruce Wayne that was created by Darkseid during the Final Crisis. Most of the clones were euthanized due to them being driven insane from the genetically inherited trauma of Bruce Wayne, but Darkseid claimed one perfect clone of Batman could be useful to him. The dead clone is in fact the body recovered by Superman in the climax of Final Crisis after Darkseid sent the real Bruce Wayne, alive and well, into the distant past with his Omega Sanction. Outside, King Coal sets off explosions that cause the cave to implode around everyone. The Batman clone escapes and flies to Gotham City while Dick and a severely injured Batwoman are separated from Knight and Squire. Injured and paralyzed, Batwoman realizes that Dick is the new Batman and tells him that she is dying, but has a plan. Knight and Squire finally get to them but Dick claims that Batwoman has died. However, they do succeed in resurrecting the heroine in the Lazarus Pit. Meanwhile in Gotham, Alfred Pennyworth discovers Bruce Wayne's body appears to be missing. Extremely worried, he meets a wheelchair bound Damian, returning from his spinal reconstruction. Alfred informs Damian that Dick has taken the body. Damian looks into Dick's files and finds the plan for resurrecting the original Batman by use of a Lazarus Pit. At that moment, the door opens and the Bat-Clone beats Alfred and hurls him aside, and confronts Damian. Being unsure of who he was seeing, Damian simply asks, "Father...?" The Clone Batman is fended off by Alfred and an injured Damian, who is convinced it is not, in fact, his father. Damian lures the clone onto a patch of gasoline and ignites it, but the clone continues his attack. Dick takes a plane suborbital, and is able to make it to Gotham in 25 minutes—just in time to catch Damian, who has been cast off the top of Wayne Towers by the Cloned Batman. The cloned Batman is decaying, and Batwoman and Dick defeat it. Back in the Batcave, Dick apologizes for taking the mission on his own, stating that he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. He then states that Tim Drake was right, Bruce Wayne must still be alive. With the new-found knowledge that the corpse that Superman had recovered in Final Crisis and later was used in Blackest Night is not the corpse of Bruce Wayne, and that Bruce may truly be alive, Dick Grayson obtains information from the Justice League of America that the "Omega Effect" Darkseid used on Batman may have sent him back through time, and Tim Drake is convinced Bruce is using clues in the past to help his protégés and Alfred recover him. Talia al Ghul, meanwhile, is upset that Damian wants to stay with Dick Grayson. Alfred discovers a new lair in the Batcave, while dismantling booby traps set up by The Black Glove, and discovers portraits of Bruce's patrilineage. A "Bat" theme is recurring in many of these portraits, causing Damian Wayne to suspect that if his father is truly in the past, one of the ancestors in the portrait may be Bruce himself. Suddenly, Damian unwillingly attempts to behead Dick Grayson. It is revealed that Talia Al Ghul had been controlling Damian via a device attached into his reconstructed spine. He then flees into a cemetery, where he meets Oberon Sexton, a best-selling author and "amateur" detective, who has supposedly been blackmailed into attempting an assassination attempt of Batman. Sexton goes to Wayne Manor, where he helps Damian Wayne fight several assassins who have been sent to kill him. Damian deduces that Sexton is not really British, but is faking his accent. He asks Sexton if he is really Bruce Wayne. Sexton denies this, saying he is worried that Wayne is the target of a serial killer, but he does say he is not really who he seems. Then, Damian is once again taken control of, this time by Slade Wilson under the instruction of Talia, who attempts to use him to kill Dick. Damian manages to warn Dick, and Dick incapacitates him and uses an electrical charge to shock Slade out of Damian's body. The two travel to Talia's secret fortress, where she threatens to disown Damian if he does not give up being Robin. To back her threat up, she introduces Damian to a clone of him. The clone is an exact replica except for the fact that he is ten years younger than him. Although hurt by his mother's words, Damian refuses to give up the Robin mantle, and meets back up with Dick, who was confronting Slade. The two return to Batcave, where they along with Alfred discover a Bat Totem that seems to confirm that Bruce Wayne really is trapped in the past. With this information, Dick goes to confront Sexton, who is under police protection. Sexton then reveals himself to be Joker. Damian tortures the villain by savagely beating him with a crowbar in order to get information, considering it to be self-defense since the Joker planned to attack him. However, the Clown Prince of Crime's apparent helplessness is revealed to be another ruse and he incapacitates Damian with his hidden Joker venom. The villain intends to use Damian and Dick in his fight against their common enemies: the Black Glove. Help arrives in the form of the original Batman. After Bruce Wayne helps Dick and Damian defeat the Black Glove and the Joker, Wayne accepts his son in additions of his role as Robin. Despite Bruce's parental responsibilities to Damian, he decides that he prefers Damian to continue working with Dick (who maintains the Batman mantle and whom Bruce sees as a positive role model for his son) rather than being with himself primarily, due to his plans with Batman Inc.. Batman #666 (2007) features an adult Damian Wayne as Batman. He takes on the mantle after he is unable to save Batman from being killed. This Batman is darker than his father, more willing to injure and kill opponents if he judges it necessary to do so. He also has a pet cat he calls Alfred. He seems to have developed a rivalry with Commissioner Barbara Gordon (who strongly condemns his actions, claiming that he killed someone close to her) and possesses some form of supernatural ability; most visibly, the ability to heal catastrophic wounds in moments. It is implied that, in this possible future, Damian made a literal deal with the Devil: his soul in exchange for the immortality and healing abilities he felt he needed to protect Gotham. Damian states he knew he could not match his predecessors, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, but makes up for it by "cheating" as he calls it. By setting up booby traps throughout the city (mostly prominent buildings), Damian turned Gotham itself into a weapon. Even further into this future in Batman #700 (2010) he battles Two-Face-Two and rescues a young Terry McGinnis from him. Years later, Damian is seen mentoring Terry; who takes the mantle of Batman. In Superman/Batman #75, Damian appears with Conner Kent; who is now Superman. Unlike Damian's father and the original Superman, Conner is apparently completely at odds with the new Dark Knight; due to his disapproval of Damian's violent approaches as Batman. In Issue #80, it also shows Damian as Batman and another Superman of the future. During the Flashpoint event, Professor Zoom creates an alternate timeline that removes the Flash while destroying his own legacy. In this version of history, Bruce Wayne dies instead of Thomas Wayne and Damian is never born. Eventually they find a way to repair the timeline from this dystopia, but Pandora alters the DC Universe even further. In this new timeline, Bruce Wayne and Damian patrol Gotham City as Batman and Robin for the first time together. They struggle with the exploration of their father-son dynamic, as Bruce tries to become a more positive role model. Trying to instill trust and compassion in Damian, he buys him a dog named Titus. They're targeted by the assassin NoBody, a son of Bruce's former mentor Henri Ducard who believes that the super-hero crusade is insane and all criminals must be murdered. Taking advantage of Robin's brutal nature as a trained killer, he tries to convince the young vigilante to switch sides and join his cause. Damian later kills NoBody with his bare hands. Pulling the trigger, the gun is found to be unloaded. NoBody returns to his hideout with Damian and the diplomat, interrogating the man before deciding to kill him by dunking him in a tank of acid. Damian objects to this, attacking Morgan, but is quickly overpowered. He reveals that he had been leading Morgan on the whole time, making note of his R symbol's GPS tracker and radio transmitter that he had been using to broadcast their location to his father the whole time. Enraged by the betrayal, Morgan begins to slowly torture Damian, describing the acts to Batman as he makes his way to the boat they are on. Before Morgan can kill the boy, Batman drives through the side of the ship and begins battle. He ultimately defeats Morgan, only stopping from killing the man after the realization that Damian is still watching what is happening. As they begin to leave, Morgan taunts Damian, saying he will return some day to kill the both of them, further angering Damian by provoking him to kill him. Ultimately, Robin decides to end the man's life, apologizing to his father for killing once again. They return to Wayne Manor, injured. Damian is severely injured, and is cared for by Alfred. When Alfred voices concern for Bruce's wounds, Bruce snaps at Alfred and demands he focus on Damian. In attempt to show Damian he cares, Bruce leaves recordings he made while searching for him. Damian listens to all of them. For the first time ever, Bruce shines light upon his father's den. Damian asks him what he is doing, and he responds finishing what he started: getting rid of the darkness. Bruce acknowledges that he wanted to kill Morgan in London after he shot him, and for what Morgan did to Damian. He explains that for years he has held back to urge to kill, even though it would make it much easier. But he made a promise to himself to never kill and to live by certain principles. Damian tries to understand, saying he wants to be like Bruce, and has "always wanted to be like [him]..." establishing the father-son bond they had seldom felt before. Damian describes it as "And here I thought we didn't like each other." But Bruce describes it as "We don't understand each other." Damian asks Bruce to not give up on him, and Bruce says he has no intention to. Bruce wants Damian to feel like a true son, and decides to engage in regular household activities together. Damian is confused as to what they could do, but after a moment of thought, Bruce says something mundane, which turns out to be fetch with their newly-named dog Titus. After a fun game of fetch, Damian, Bruce, and Alfred notice the Bat-signal in the sky, and despite Alfred's wishes, they run off into the night. During the Night of the Owls, Batman is preoccupied with the court of owls, and it is up to Damian to stop one of the Talons from killing Major General Benjamin Burrows. Without Bruce's help, Damian must protect Burrows and his squad from the Talon. Robin assumes leader of the squad, and gives them orders as to how to survive. They question him, and even attack in hopes to secure him, but after he has proven his skills, they listen to him. The Talon has Burrows at the tip of his sword, but Robin lassos him to a branch and decapitates him with a sword. Burrows asks if it's really dead, and Robin replies "That thing died a long time ago, General." In Batman Incorporated #8, Damian is killed by his clone, The Heretic, during a Leviathan invasion of Wayne Tower. Shortly before his death Damian has a heart to heart talk with Nightwing. It has been revealed that Ra's has stolen his body from Wayne Manors graveyard as well as producing multiple clones of Damian to use in his war against Batman. Damian's body is taken by Darkseid minion Glorious Godrey to their hellish world of Apokolips. Batman wanting to find a way for his boy to live again, follows them there with the rest of the Bat-family, he and Darkseid have a face off with the Dark Knight in his "Hell Bat" suit After defeating Doomsday, Batman and the others returned to the Batcave using a Boom Tube. Batman uses the Chaos Shard to heal Damian. The shard revives Damian and also temporarily gives the resurrected boy wonder new super powers too. After Damian's father, Bruce's apparent death, Damian falls in with the Teen Titans and acts as the leader for the group. He also befriends Superman's son, Jonathan Kent/Superboy and form the Super Sons together. Damian also comes into conflict with his grandfather and cousin, Marla. After his father proposes to Catwoman, he gradually accepts Batman's romance with his mother is over. When Bane takes over Gotham City, Damian seemingly ignores his warnings to try to rescue Alfred Pennyworth. However, he is defeated by the Flashpoint Batman and subsequently captured. In response, Bane kills Alfred and takes Damian in his place. It turns out that Bruce had ordered Damian to go to Gotham and get himself captured, as part of Bruce's plan to take out Bane and Thomas. Bruce hadn't counted on Alfred lying about having escaped from Bane before sending Damian though. Damian lets the other members of his family into the manor to fight Thomas, but they lose. They are later freed after Batman and Catwoman defeat Thomas. After the incident, Damian forsakes his father's codes and begins killing criminals again. After attempting to kill KGBeast for what he did to Grayson, he is confronted by both Batman and the Teen Titans. After the fight, Damian decides to abandon the Robin identity and leaves a note to his former teammates, providing them with coordinates to Nightwing to join the Titans. Though Batman attempts to convince him to return home, Damian refuses, leaving both him and Gotham City behind. Damian Wayne has claimed he is "light-years ahead of all the past Robins in skill and training". Damian was trained by his mother and the League of Assassins to be a Killer. He no longer kills but will kill if necessary unlike Batman. Damian has said he knows as many martial arts as Batman. In Batman and Robin, Damian's mother has several medical staff members on standby in case Damian is hurt; she has cloned organs for him in case he loses any vital ones. Master Martial Artist: He is an exceptional martial artist, trained by the League of Assassins. He has said to know as many martial arts as Batman. Master Assassin: Due to the extreme training from his mother (Talia) and grandfather (Ras Al Ghul) has the skills and stealth of that of an extremely trained assassin Strength: Damian possesses all the strength of a normal human male who engages in intense regular exercise. Peak Human Hearing: Damian has exceptional hearing. He is the only Robin ever allowed to fight with a hood, since he proved he could fight without seeing anything. He beat up his opponents just by listening to how they moved. Stealth: Due to his small size he may be the stealthest Robin. Acrobatics: Damian is very acrobatic due to training with the League of Assassins. Genius-level Intelligence: Damian has an IQ that matches Batman's. Drawing: Damian got the gift of Drawing. He painted a family portrait and in his first period as Robin he sketched a lot. Weaknesses: Damian possesses all the weakness of a normal human male (though he's been trained to resist them for longer than most pre-adult human males). Damian also has a killer instinct; though he can control it, it's still a great weakness. Equipment: Katana sword, batarangs, grappling hooks, brass knuckles with spikes, domino mask with assorted lenses for various situations. Transportation: Jacked-Batmobile. Weapons: Many in his training as an active assassin.

Duke Thomas is a vigilante and a member of the Bat-Family. He joined the We Are Robin movement and became one of hundreds of civilian teenagers to don the Robin R and fight for their city. Eventually, he would leave the movement and join the Batman Family as the vigilante called The Signal. When the terrorist known as Riddler shut off all the power in Gotham City, the madman challenged the city to get smart or die by natural selection during what would later be called the Zero Year. Riddler told the city that if anyone could ask him a riddle that he couldn't answer, he would restore power to Gotham. Duke, who was a confident student at the time, began to train his mind with brain teasers in anticipation of accepting the Riddler's challenge. Duke and Bruce Wayne met for the first time when the Thomas family rescued the unconscious billionaire when Hurricane Rene began its rampage on Gotham simultaneously during the Riddler's plot. Thanking Duke for his kindness, Wayne departed to take on the Riddler himself. Several years later, Joker returned to Gotham with an endgame for Batman in mind. Figuring out the vigilante's secret identity, the Joker kidnapped Duke and his family and planned to recreate Bruce Wayne's parents' murders right in front of him using the Thomas family. Batman managed to rescue Duke from the murderer, but Duke's parents succumbed to the mind controlling gas Joker had released. After the events of Batman: Endgame, Duke was placed into the foster system. He became desperate to find his parents after it became apparent that the authorities were not making any progress in locating them. During his time in foster care, he went from an excellent student to having a heavy police file because of all of the fights he got into. Because of this, his temporary foster parent, Raymond Mendez, sent him back into the system. Leslie Thompkins was placed in charge of his social case and tried to keep him from getting into trouble by reassuring him that the police were still looking for his parents and would find them. In the meantime, she asked him to stop picking fights and try to be respectful to his foster parents. She then placed him with Joanne and Roy Dawson, after telling him that police had found some of the Joker's toxin victims wandering in the sewer system. Joanne showed Duke around the dirty apartment, telling Duke that he would need to babysit the other kids and clean the bathroom. Then she left him alone for a few minutes to organize his things into a drawer in the bedroom. Feeling guilty about letting Dr. Thompkins down, Duke climbed out the window and left the apartment behind in order to go search for his parents in the sewers. As he made his way to the sewers, he thought about his mother and how she was so clean in every part of his life. It made him sad to imagine her wandering the sewers because he knew that that meant she was extremely far gone on the Joker's toxin. While in the sewers looking for his parents, Duke accidentally stumbled into an underground meeting of homeless people who had created a small city. There he overheard their plan to bomb different landmarks in Gotham, starting with the Hall of Records. Just after hearing this, he was discovered and attacked. Luckily, this was also when the Robins joined the fight to save him. Together with the robins, Duke fought his way out of the sewers, only to lose consciousness after a blow to the head. When police came, the other robins were ordered by the mysterious "Nest" to abandon him and run. Reluctantly they did as they were told. Duke awoke inside a police interrogation room. There a skinny man with facial hair and dark glasses asked him what he was willing to do in order to find his parents. When Duke expressed confusion and told the man that that was the police's job, the man left the room. After waiting and then getting frustrated, Duke tried the door handle only to find it unlocked. When he stepped out of the interrogation room, he realized that he was not in a police station at all, but actually inside an abandoned warehouse. This was when he discovered the red biker jacket with a yellow R on the breast, atop a motorcycle. Inside the jacket, he found a cellphone. The cellphone in his new jacket instructed him to go to a new location where he met the robins who had saved him earlier. Together they found the bombs Duke had heard about, beneath the Hall of Record. Using instructions sent to their phones from a mysterious sender called the Nest, they were able to disable one of the bombs. The second bomb proved more difficult, however, as it was on a subway train track and they had to jump out of the way of trains every few moments. Finally, the Nest instructed them to get on the next train and leave the second bomb there. However, one of the robins, Troy, refused to leave. Determined that he could disable the bomb himself, he stayed behind alone. As the others rode away, he was caught in the blast and killed instantly. After one of the robins was implicated in the shooting of a police officer and a robber in a convenience store, the We Are Robin movement comes under fire by the public. This leads to a member of the city council, Councilwoman Noctua, implementing the Robin Laws. The Robin Laws made it illegal for anyone in Gotham to wear robin paraphernalia and encouraged police to stop and detain anyone who might be a Robin. Once Bruce Wayne returned to the mantle of Batman after he had previously lost his memory, the Bat offered Duke a position as his new protege, which the boy accepted under the condition that he not become just another Robin. Handing him a yellow suit instead, Batman agreed to teach him as something else. Beginning their training together in what Alfred Pennyworth called the "Cursed Wheel", Batman taught Duke the basics of becoming a professional vigilante by first following a string of murders committed by Victor Zsasz. Though Duke was injured in the process, he learned an important lesson about the psychology of criminals and who he was as a hero. The "wheel" was forced to turn faster, according to Alfred, when Duke was thrust into a real adventure after Two-Face's return. Having heard a rumor of a cure that could fix him, Two-Face simultaneously fought and befriended Batman and Duke as they tried to locate the cure together, with a hoard of assassins on their tail. Once the adventure ended, Duke was commended for his actions in his first real mission. Continuing his training under the Cursed Wheel program, Batman and Duke tried to investigate how the Riddler was managing to terrorize the city from his cell in Arkham to celebrate the anniversary of the Zero Year. Following the clues, Duke discovered that the Riddler had secretly allied himself with Duke's former friend and the original Mister Bloom - Daryl Gutierrez, Daryl being the conduit for Riddler's schemes. Together, Duke and Batman saw that the two villains were stopped. While Batman investigated the mysteries of Nth Metal, Duke and Hal Jordan attempted to decode the clues that the Bat had collected and stored in the Batcave, only to discover that Bruce had captured and hidden the Joker there too. Accidentally freeing the madman, the Joker revealed he knew more about the mystery and that he knew that Duke was actually a metahuman before vanishing from the cave entirely. After studying under Batman for over a year, Batman gave Duke an upgraded Batsuit and the Hatch, his own full stocked secret base, as a present for completing his training. Newly graduated from sidekick to full time hero. Duke took the codename "The Signal" and reunited with his former Robin gang members, Riko Sheridan and Izzy Ortiz, to aid him in his new role as Gotham's daylight protector of. For his first solo mission, The Signal had the solve the mystery of "the dail" and the dead metahuman bodies suddenly appearing throughout Gotham. This led to a confrontation with The Null, an escaped metahuman from "Juvie Arkham", which pointed him to the Arkham Juvenile Detention Center. Using his Ghost Vision, Signal infiltrate Juvie Arkham, which had been being used to house metahuman delinquents, but walked straight into an ambush. luckily, Detective Alex Aisi arrived just in time to help Signal make a narrow escape. The Signal and Detective Aisi to compare notes, and he uses his photokinetic sight to discover trace amounts of Nth metal embedded in the skin of the metahumans. The metal, and the metahuman bodies, were reacting to both Duke and something in the air; the sunlight. noticing a strange solar pattern radiating from the Gotham Proper housing project, they theorized someone is using Gotham Proper to create metahumans using sunlight. Duke returns to the Batcave to bring his new theory to Batman when the bat-computer a villain calling himself Gnomon. He unleashes innumerable metahumans, all chanting Duke's name, to wreak havoc on the city. Gnomon created the metahumans for Duke and demands he join him. Batman and The Signal head out to stop the villain. When they arrive on the scene the Bat Family are spread thin. The duo split up and Duke makes his way to confront Gnomon on the solar observatory at Gotham Proper. When face to face Gnomon reveals his plans. He reveals that he is an immortal being and that years ago Duke's mother, Elaine, fled to Gotham to hide Duke from him; he is Duke's biological father. Signal's metahuman powers can sense can sense that everything Gnomon says is true, due to their genetic connection, but he summons the strength to stop Gnomon anyway. Signal is initially outmatch but, with some surprise assistance from Detective Aisi, he's able to subdue Gnomon and survive his first day. The next day, after a breakfast with the Bat Family, Bruce congratulates Duke on a successful first day. Duke then goes to see his still jokerized mother, hoping to get some answers to no avail. Duke then meets up with Detective Aisi to start a new day as the Signal. The villain Karma lured Duke into a trap, blowing up a building and killing a civilian in the process. This attack left Duke in critical condition and kicked off a series of terroristic attacks by the villain to demoralize Batman. Seeing the villain wants to isolate him from his allies, Batman re-formed The Outsiders and, fearing he might compromise the team, conceded leadership of the group to Black Lightning. Enlisting the help of Katana, Cassandra Cain, and a recovered Duke, the Outsiders took down Karma and officially forming the newest iteration of The Outsiders. Still traumatized from the Karma attack, Duke and the Outsiders find themselves in a proxy war between Batman and Ra's al Ghul over the metahuman Sofia Ramos. Ra's Al Gul manipulates the Outsiders in order to keep them busy and disrupt their teamwork, planting the cyborg Kaliber in their ranks in order to get to Sofia and plotting to recruit both Duke and Cassandra. With Katana and Black Lightning preoccupied by Sofia Ramos and Kaliber, Duke was captured by Ra's' acolyte, Ishmael, who has the ability to steal metahuman powers and vitality or evolve and change metahuman powers. Ishmael and Ra's, seeing potential in Duke, sent Ishmael to evolve Duke's powers for Ra's ends. Tortured, chained, and beaten by Ishmael, Duke's powers are modified from being light-based to manipulating darkness. Cassandra Cain tracks down Ishmael, defeating him in single combat, and rescuing her partner. Duke tells her he is no longer able to see the light and all he can see is darkness. Following the transformation of his powers, Duke defied Batman's instruction and starting going out with Cassandra to test his new abilities on the streets of Gotham. After Kaliber's ousting, and Sofia and Lady Shiva joining the team, Shiva took Duke under her wing and took over guidance of his and Cassandra's training from Katana. The Outsiders eventually re-group and defeat Ra's before pairing off and going their separate ways. Duke is seen taking to Lady Shiva about the duality of his new abilities, feeling his light powers coming back, before meeting up with Cassandra to head back to Gotham. Batman is proud to see Duke and the rest of the Batfamily pushing beyond their limits fight against The Darkest Knight and his forces, during the events of Death Metal. Powers: Metahuman Physiology: Duke is a metahuman with the photokinetic ability to absorb, redistribute, and manipulate both light and darkness. Duke's powers come from the metagene, a genetic variation caused by naturally occurring traces of Nth metal in the bloodstream. Duke inherited this genetic trait from both parents, Elaine Thomas and Gnomon, and his powers are photokinetic in nature. His powers were originally limited to manipulating the way he processes light, but have since evolved to manipulate light and darkness more abstractly. Gnomon claims Duke has his "infinite blood", implying Duke may potentially be immortal. Photokinesis:. Duke's powers are photokinetic in nature. Due to the photokinetic nature of his abilities his eyes possess a superior sensory array that can detect variations in light invisible to the naked eye. He can process light faster than humanly possible and can even track the movement of light. Duke can also manipulate light and manipulate the way he processes light for a variety of visual tasks. Ghost Vision: Duke's most notable ability is what he calls his "Ghost Vision", the ability to perceive the "ghosts" of where light has been or will be. By seeing the "ghost" of where light has been, Duke can look a few minutes into the past to see the history of a given area. By sensing the "ghost" of where light will be, Duke can look a few seconds into the future to see danger before it happens. X-Ray Vision: Duke can see through walls, ceilings, smoke and most other materials. Telescopic Vision: Duke can focus his vision to see things at great distance, even at high speeds. Microscopic Vision: Duke can see extremely small objects down to the subdermal level. Cosmic Perception: Duke can perceive the entirety of Electromagnetic Spectrum and perceive light beyond the known spectrum. Duke can even perceive light across dimensional and temporal boundaries, into the history of a previous universe, under the right conditions. Light Bending: Duke powers can be used to manipulate light to illuminate himself, and reflective surfaces, or to achieve complete invisibility. Umbrakinesis: Having experienced the touch of Ishmael, Duke's photokinetic powers "evolved" to include the ability to command, absorb, and redistribute darkness. He describes the ability as "behaving like a tide" that pushes and pulls shadows. Shadow Absorption: Duke can pull shadows toward and into himself to reveal more light in his vicinity. Darkness Generation: Duke can expel shadows from himself, enveloping everything in a wave of darkness. He can also charge up the darkness he generates before sending it at an opponent. Shadow Bending Duke can shape and manipulate shadow like a physical object. Shadow Traversal: Duke can move though shadows and darkness to traverse distances quickly and discretely. he can also use this ability on his allies to safely retreat or to perform coordinated attacks. Photo-Umbrakinesis: Duke can combine his light and darkness powers. Envisioning a path, Duke can then travel through light and shadow simultaneously to follow it. While traversing through light and shadow, everything around him appears to stand still. Power Amplification: Metahumans in Duke's presence react on a cellular level and their powers begin to increase. We see this while examining Null's blood cells and it's later confirmed by Gnomon; however, it is unclear how much he affects their actual powers. Healing Factor: it has been discovered that Duke's powers allow him to heal rapidly in dire situations Abilities: Creative Writing: Duke shows potential as a writer, with a talent specifically for poetry, although he'd never admit it. Indomitable Will: Duke's proven himself to be an exceptionally strong-willed individual. During the events of Robin War, Duke was the one to face off against a rogue Damian Wayne and, despite Damian's best efforts, refused to go down until he convinced Damian to fight alongside him and the Robins. Duke was also able to create a complex construct of Batman's machine using a power ring loaned to him by Hal Jordan on his first try. Genius Level Intellect: Duke has been shown to be exceptionally intelligent even from a young age, having trained his mind as a child to challenge the Riddler. Duke was exceptional enough to go on to qualify as a finalist for the Gotham Genius grant at the age of 12. While his academic performance did not match his potential in his later school years, Duke's sharp mind and intelligence made him a natural fit for detective work, able to figure out the identities of Alfred Pennyworth as "The Nest", Dick Grayson as Agent 37 Bruce Wayne as Batman and Damian as Robin. Polymath: as a protégé of Batman, Duke is a skilled detective with a diverse skillset, capable of forensic investigation, observation, inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning of the highest caliber. Through Batman's "Cursed Wheel" program Duke learned all of the fundamental skills Bruce Wayne studied in order to become Batman, such as Escapology, Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, Criminal Science, Mathematics, Physics, etc. and has also studied records of every contingency plan and personal insight created by Batman throughout his years as a vigilante. Leadership: greatest asset is his ability to lead. Over the years Duke has developed into a charisma leader who is able to easily gain the trust of others and inspire loyalty from those that follow his cause. Duke's ability to rally and coordinate people under his command makes him an formidable field commander. Under his leadership, Duke's faction of the Robin gang were the driving force behind the We Are Robin movement. Batman also recognizes Duke's leadership abilities and has trained Duke for Justice League-level leadership. Duke has been known to take the lead even when working with more experienced heroes like the Batgirls, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown, and Red Robin, Tim Drake. Martial Arts: Duke has had multiple martial arts instructors and has become a seasoned combatant over his career as a hero. He demonstrated a natural skill for fighting prior to his vigilante career, able to take on multiple opponents at once without any training. During the Robin War, he and the rest of the We are Robin gang received a crash course in combat and tactics from the "original Robins": Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne. He went on to receive formal martial arts training from Batman as well as training from Red Hood, Black Lightning, Katana and was even briefly mentored by Lady Shiva. Duke also trains with Cassandra Cain on a regular basis. Enhanced Combat Perception: His precognition and enhanced visual senses make him uniquely perceptive in a fight, able to react to attacks faster than normally possible, detect weak points, and slow down his perception to catch flying projectiles. Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced) Tae Kwon Do Umbrakinetic Combat: Duke can incorporate his command over shadows with his martial arts to augment his melee combat. Eskrima Stick Fighting Equiptment: Signal Armor: After training with Batman, Duke was given an upgraded version of his costume. The new suit is a slightly heavier plated version of his previous suit with some technological updates. The suit has a reflective bat insignia that can blind or confuse an enemy as well as change color depending on lighting. His suit also has a built-in defensive electrical grid and a stealth mode that render him totally invisible. Transportation: Signal-cycle: Originally a yellow version of Batman's batcycle, Duke has upgraded to a more streamlined motorcycle that can also cloak itself with Duke's suit; rendering it completely invisible. Weapon: Bat-chat Sticks: Duke's primary weapon of choice are a pair of modified Esckrima sticks that connect to function as nunchaku. The sticks come with spring loaded hatchet blades that allow them to be used as slashing weapons or as a grapple hook.

Catwoman is a cat-themed criminal from Gotham City and one of Batman's most-well known enemies. Selina Kyle is often portrayed as a thief and cat burglar with divided loyalties. Her criminal activities are often tempered by a reluctant altruism, making her an inconstant villain and occasional ally to Batman. She regularly eludes capture by the Dark Knight and maintains a complicated relationship which frequently fluctuates between flirtatious to romantic. From 2002's Hush storyline, Catwoman has often been depicted as an anti-hero and one of Batman's closest allies. Several characters have also taken up the role in addition to Kyle, including Holly Robinson and Eiko Hasigawa. First appearing in Batman #1 in Spring 1940 as "The Cat", Catwoman has appeared frequently in comics since her debut. Her role has often fluctuated between villainess and anti-hero, with several stints as a hero alongside Batman. Since the 1950s, Catwoman has often been depicted as one of Batman's main love-interests, though this has also been shared with other characters in different eras. From the 1990s, she has also starred in her own comic series, with other works also featuring her as a central character. Catwoman has also appeared in various Batman media, beginning from the 1960s Batman series and including a theatrical film that featured a new identity of Patience Phillips. Catwoman is considered one of Batman's most important characters, with her depictions varying from one of his most dangerous arch-villain to central ally and love-interest. The original and most widely known Catwoman, Selina Kyle, first appeared in Batman #1 (Spring 1940) in which she was known as The Cat. As an adversary of Batman, she was a whip-carrying burglar with a taste for high stake thefts. Modern writers have attributed her activities and costumed identity as a response to a history of abuse. Since the 1990s, Catwoman has been featured in an eponymous series that cast her as an anti-heroine rather than a supervillainess. The character has been one of Batman's most enduring love interests. A popular figure, Catwoman has been featured in most media adaptations related to Batman. Actresses Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt introduced her to a large audience on the 1960s Batman television series. Michelle Pfeiffer portrayed the character in 1992's popular film Batman Returns. Halle Berry starred in a stand-alone Catwoman film in 2004, though the film features a title character bearing little resemblance to the comic book character. Anne Hathaway portrayed the character in the third installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. Catwoman is #51 on Wizard magazine's "100 Greatest Villains of All Time" list, #11 on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time" list, and #20 on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes". Batman #62 revealed that Catwoman (after a blow to the head jogged her memory) is an amnesiac flight attendant who had turned to crime after suffering a prior blow to the head during a plane crash she survived (although in the final issue of The Brave and the Bold, she admits that she made up the amnesia story because she wanted a way out of the past life of crime). She winds up reforming and stays on the straight and narrow for several years, helping out Batman in Batman #65 and #69, until Selina decides to return to a life of crime in Detective Comics #203. Selina appears again as a criminal in Batman #84 and Detective Comics #211, her final appearance for many years (until 1966). In the 1970s comics, a series of stories taking place on Earth-Two (the parallel Earth that was retroactively declared as the home of DC's Golden Age characters) reveal that on that world, Selina reformed in the 1950s (after the events of Batman #69) and had married Bruce Wayne; soon afterwards, she gave birth to the couple's only child, Helena Wayne (the Huntress). In The Brave and the Bold #197, the Golden Age origin of Catwoman given in Batman #62 is elaborated on, after Selina revealed that she never actually had amnesia. It was revealed that Selina Kyle had been the wife of an abusive man, and eventually decided to leave her husband. However, her husband had kept her jewelry in his private vault, and she had to break into it to retrieve the jewelry. Selina enjoyed this experience so much she decided to become a professional costumed cat burglar, and thus began a career that would repeatedly lead to her encountering the Batman. The Earth-Two/Golden Age Selina Kyle eventually dies in the late 1970s after being blackmailed by a criminal into going into action again as Catwoman (as shown in DC Super-Stars #17). Catwoman's first Silver Age appearance was in Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #70 (November 1966); afterwards, she continued to make appearances across the various Batman comics. Several stories in the 1970s featured Catwoman committing murder, something that neither the Earth-One nor Earth-Two versions of her would ever do; this version of Catwoman was assigned to the alternate world of Earth-B, an alternate Earth that included stories that couldn't be considered canonical on Earth-One or Earth-Two. A revision in Catwoman's origin, and the introduction of the modern version of the character, came in 1986 when writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli published Batman: Year One, a revision of Batman’s origin. In the course of the story, the origin of Catwoman was also re-envisioned. Selina Kyle is reintroduced as a cat-loving prostitute/dominatrix who is inspired to become a costumed cat burglar when she sees Batman in action. In this story, Holly Robinson is introduced as Selina's roommate, a young runaway and prostitute Kyle has taken in. The 1989 Catwoman limited series (collected in trade paperback form as Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper) by writer Mindy Newell and artist J.J. Birch expanded on Miller's Year One origin. Her Sister's Keeper explores Selina's early life as a prostitute and the start of her career as Catwoman. This is a dark and tragic period which culminates with Selina's former pimp Stan abducting and violently abusing her sister Maggie. Selina kills Stan to save her sister, and is able to do so with impunity. Catwoman also appears in the Knightfall saga, where she is approached by Bane's henchmen while robbing a house. Bane asks her to work for him, but she refuses, giving as her reason that Bane broke Batman. Later in the story, she boards a plane with Bruce Wayne to fly to Santa Prisca. She next appears in the KnightQuest saga. Batman: Dark Victory, the sequel to The Long Halloween, implies that Catwoman suspects she is the long-lost illegitimate daughter of Carmine Falcone, although she finds no definitive proof of this. Selina's connection to the Falcone family is further explored in the miniseries Catwoman: When in Rome. Though more circumstantial evidence is added to the theory of Selina's Falcone heritage, no definitive proof is provided. Portions of Her Sister's Keeper and the Year One origin conceived by Frank Miller remain canonical to Catwoman’s origin, while other portions have been dropped over the years. It has been implied that Her Sister's Keeper was rendered non-canonical by the events of Zero Hour, and subsequent writers have rejected Miller's choice to make the post-Crisis Catwoman a prostitute. In an attempt to harmonize the various versions, some writers have posited that Catwoman, early in her career, pretended to be a prostitute in order to scam lonely men and rob them. However, characters associated with Catwoman's past as a prostitute have remained a part of her supporting cast. Holly, from Batman: Year One, and her sister Maggie (from Her Sister's Keeper) have appeared regularly in the Catwoman series. Selina is the older of two sisters (Maggie being the younger) born to Brian and Maria Kyle. Catwoman v.1 #0, which provides details about Selina's childhood, neglects Maggie's existence. Maria Kyle was a distant parent who preferred to spend her time with cats, and committed suicide when Selina was very young. Brian Kyle, a drunken layabout angry at his wife for killing herself, disliked Selina for resembling her mother and eventually drank himself to death. Selina took to the streets for a time before being caught and sent first to an orphanage, then Juvenile Hall (Catwoman v.1 #0), "where Selina began to see how hard the world could really be" (Catwoman Secret Files and Origins). Maggie's fate at this point in the time-line is not alluded to. However, when Ed Brubaker re-introduced her into the comic, he implied that Maggie may have directly entered an orphanage and promptly been adopted. When she was thirteen, Selina discovered that the Hall's administrator was embezzling funds and confronted her. In an attempt to cover up the illegal activities, the administrator put Selina in a bag and dropped her in a river to drown (like a cat). Selina was able to escape (Catwoman v.1 #0) and return to the orphanage where she stole documents exposing the administrator's corruption and sent them to the authorities. She also took the opportunity to steal enough money to live on before going back to the streets. When the money she stole from the corrupt orphanage administrator ran out, Selina found herself in "Alleytown - a network of cobblestone streets that form a small borough between the East End and Old Gotham" (Catwoman v.2 #12). Selina was taken in by "Mama Fortuna", the elderly leader of a gang of young thieves, and was taught how to steal. Fortuna treated her students like slaves, keeping their earnings for herself. Selina eventually ran away, accompanied by her friend Sylvia. However, the two had difficulty surviving on their own, and in desperation tried to support themselves by working as child prostitutes. Sylvia attracted at least one client; Selina apparently never did. The two drifted apart afterwards, with Sylvia blaming Selina for her negative experiences; she hated Selina for not inquiring about what had happened to her at the hands of her abusive first client. In the Catwoman: Year One story (Catwoman Annual #2, 1988), Selina (now an adult) achieved some success as a thief. Following a disastrous burglary, however, she accepted an offer to "lay low" by posing as a dominatrix in the employ of a pimp named Stan. Their plan was to trick men into divulging information that might be used in future crimes. According to this storyline, Selina trained under the Armless Master of Gotham, receiving education in martial arts and culture. During this time, Catwoman was given her trademark cat-o-nine tails whip by a client, which Selina kept as a trophy of her time posing as a hooker. In 1993, following the success of Batman Returns and Selina Kyle’s prominent role in that film, Catwoman was given her first ongoing comic book series. This series, written by an assortment of writers but primarily penciled by Jim Balent, generally depicted the character as an international thief (and occasional bounty hunter) with an ambiguous moral code. Storylines included her adoption of teenage runaway, and erstwhile sidekick, Arizona; aiding the criminal Bane whom she later betrayed to Azrael; fighting and being hunted Christina Chiles (a.k.a. Cyber Cat); and a stint as a reluctant government operative. The series also fleshed out more of her origin, revealing her beginnings as a young thief, her difficult period in juvenile incarceration, and the training she received from superhero Ted (Wildcat) Grant. Moving to New York, Selina becomes corporate vice president then CEO of Randolf Industries, a mafia-influenced company, through blackmail. Her plans to use this position to run for mayor are ruined when the Trickster inadvertently connected Kyle to her Catwoman alter ego. Selina then returns to Gotham City, which at this time is in the midst of the No Man's Land storyline. As Catwoman, she assists Batman against Lex Luthor in the reconstruction of the city. After being arrested by Commissioner Gordon, she escapes from prison. Later that year during the Officer Down storyline in the Batman titles, Catwoman is initially the chief suspect. Although later cleared, she displays increasingly erratic behavior throughout the story. Soon afterwards she disappears and is believed to have been killed by the assassin Deathstroke, ending her series at #94. Catwoman then appears in a series of backup stories in Detective Comics #759 - #762. In a backup storyline Trail of the Catwoman, by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Darwyn Cooke, private detective Slam Bradley attempts to find out what really happened to Selina Kyle. This storyline leads in to the newest Catwoman series in late 2001 (written by Brubaker initially with Cooke, later joined by artist Cameron Stewart). In this series, Selina Kyle, joined by new supporting cast members Holly and Slam Bradley (a character from the early Golden Age DC Comics), becomes protector of the residents of Gotham’s East End, while still carrying out an ambitious career as a cat burglar. This series met with critical and fan acclaim, especially for its first 25 issues. During the Hush storyline (Batman #608-#619), Batman and Catwoman briefly work together and had a romantic relationship, during which he reveals his true identity to her. At the end, he breaks off their relationship when he suspects that it has been manipulated by the villain Hush. This was the second time that Batman's true identity was shown to be known to her. In an early 80's story line Selina and Bruce had developed a relationship. The concluding story featured a closing panel in which she refers to Batman as "Bruce." A change in editorial team at that point, however, brought a swift end to that story line and, apparently, all that transpired during the arc. When Catwoman appeared again, no mention whatsoever was ever made of the notion that she had apparently figured out who Batman actually is. In the JLA story arc Crisis of Conscience, Catwoman fights alongside Batman and the League against the old Secret Society, of which she had once briefly been a member. Catwoman appears in Gail Simone's "Sensei and Student" story-arc in Birds of Prey. She is part of a group sent to rescue a U.S. senator from the Eurasian assassin Cheshire; during the mission, she saves Lady Shiva, who was bound and gagged in the trunk of a car wired with explosives by Chesire. Catwoman appears to be completely reformed, and her love for Batman true (although brash and unpredictable). However, she has learned her reformation was the result of a mindwipe by Zatanna, a procedure known to deeply affect and, in at least one case, physically incapacitate its victims. Zatanna gives no reason for her actions, but in a flashback it is shown that she had acted with the consent and aid of five of the seven JLA members who had helped her mindwipe Dr. Light and Batman. Catwoman's response to this revelation is unequivocal: she pitched Zatanna out a window (Zatanna survives the fall). Afterwards, she is seen covering her bed with past versions of her Catwoman costume. Still unbalanced and uncertain of herself in issue #52 (the last issue before the jump to One Year Later), Selina is forced to decide whether to kill a supervillain. The Black Mask, in an attempt to "improve himself," threatens the most important people in Selina's life, from Slam Bradley to Holly. The criminal had learned Selina's identity through his earlier alliance with Selina's childhood friend Sylvia, who still harbored a grudge against Selina. Still thinking that Selina adheres to a strict no-kill rule, Black Mask is caught by surprise when Selina shoots him in the head. Following the events of Infinite Crisis, the DC Universe jumps forward in time. "One Year Later" Selina Kyle is no longer Catwoman, has left the East End, and has given birth to a daughter named Helena (whose father is initially unknown). Holly Robinson takes over as the new Catwoman while Selina, living under the alias Irena Dubrovna, turns her attention to caring for her daughter (Selina's alias was inspired by the name of the main character in the 1942 film Cat People). Though she takes her role as a new mother quite seriously, Selina dons the costume for a run through the East End some days after Helena's birth. Having understandably gained a few pounds, Selina finds that her costume is now a tighter fit. In addition, she is easily distracted by a common criminal. Although the situation is defused through Holly's opportune arrival, the sight of two Catwomen active simultaneously in the city is caught on video. Selina returns home from her adventure to find that the mysterious movie aficionado Film Freak has deduced her alias, joined with Angle Man, and grabbed Helena. After rescuing her daughter, Selina convinces Zatanna to mind-wipe Film Freak and Angle Man (whom she had bound and gagged with duct tape after beating them brutally) in order to preserve her secret identity. Following the procedure, Angle Man turns himself in to the authorities; Film Freak, however, embarks upon a murderous rampage. Ted Grant informs Selina that Holly has been arrested for the murder of Black Mask; Selina infiltrates the police station and frees Holly. Finally defeating Film Freak, Selina returns home to find that Slam Bradley has deduced that Helena is the daughter of his son Sam Bradley Jr., and therefore his granddaughter. Batman asks Catwoman to infiltrate the violent tribe of Bana Amazons during The Amazons Attack! crossover. Posing as a criminal, Selina gains the Bana's trust and thwarts a terror attack aimed at causing mass casualties in Gotham City. Selina questions whether she should be raising a daughter when her life as Catwoman has already proven to be such a danger to the child. After enlisting Batman's help in faking the death of both herself and her daughter, Selina puts Helena up for adoption. A month after Helena is placed with a new family, Catwoman asks Zatanna to erase her memories of Helena and change her mind back to a criminal mentality. Zatanna refuses, judging for herself that such an act would be cruel to both mother and daughter. She tells Selina that she could never reverse Selina's mindset, since she was on the path to becoming a hero on her own. Believing she can no longer function as a criminal, Selina has since decided to become one of Batman's Outsiders. She quickly quit however and was replaced by Batgirl. In Salvation Run #2, Catwoman was exiled to the Prison Planet by Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad. During the events of Final Crisis, Batman is seemingly killed. He is replaced by Nightwing, Dick Grayson. When the new Batman takes back control of Gotham City, Catwoman remains despondent at the loss of Bruce Wayne. While contemplating her loss, and her unexplained physical weakness despite being fully recovered from her physical heart trauma, she rescues two bystanders from a new supervillain-wannabe who calls himself Boneblaster. However, her physical weakness becomes obvious when she fails to fight Boneblaster effectively. Before Boneblaster can cause her permanent harm, she is rescued by the sudden appearance of Poison Ivy. Concerned at how weak Catwoman had become, Ivy takes Selina to where she'd been staying, the home of the Riddler. Selina discovered that Ivy had apparently seduced and drugged the Riddler with her plant pheromones, keeping him in a vegetative state. She also discovered that Ivy had similarly taken Harley Quinn into her new sanctuary. Selina then offered the idea that all three of them stay together to better survive in the new Gotham City. Before accepting Selina's idea, Ivy secretly paid a visit to Zatanna through her plants, to find out if she had anything to do with Selina's weakness. Zatanna suggested that the weakness was likely psychological in nature. But before Ivy and Selina can discuss the matter any further, Boneblaster returns and tries to once more make a name for himself by attacking Ivy, Harley and Selina. While Ivy and Harley distract him, Selina ends Boneblaster's threat by shorting out his gauntlets with a live electrical conduit, deducing that the villain had yet to get used to the technology, and had failed to properly insulate his gloves. As a result of the fight, Edward Nigma's apartment is wrecked. Selina then obtains an abandoned animal shelter as their new home from a man calling himself The Broker. Ivy and Harley move in, but before Ivy makes a final acceptance of Selina's offer, she surprises Selina and drugs her with truth serum-like spores. While Selina falls into a stupor, Ivy says that she wants total honesty between all of them if they are to trust one another. She then asks Selina to reveal the identity of the original Batman. Selina, using a mental discipline taught to her by Talia al Ghul, avoids the interrogation and gives Ivy and Harley a fabricated story about there being multiple Batmen over the years, and that she's had a personal relationship with more than one of them. Ivy and Harley accept this answer for the moment, and Ivy tries to make amends by growing all manner of exotic fruits for Selina. Meanwhile, Harley goes shopping. Later, Selina receives a message on her phone from Edward Nigma (Riddler) which shows Harley posing with Bruce Wayne. Knowing that the real Bruce is dead, and that the man with Harley is really Thomas Elliot (Hush), Selina takes Ivy to the restaurant where the picture was taken. She is shocked to see a Harlequin doll at the table, its head stabbed through with a knife. Harley's phone is next to it. Together Selina and Ivy manage to rescue Harley from Elliot, but not before having to deal with an old associate of the Joker's who is posing as Joker trying to kill Harley for taking his place. Together the girls manage to stop the faux Joker and move in together. Although Bruce is gone, Selina continues to keep close ties to his family, spending Christmas Eve with Dick Grayson and Alfred Pennyworth (and to a lesser extent Damian). Dick and Selina share a toast to their family who were not with them that year (Bruce, Tim, Holly, Helena, Ivy and Harley). During the events of Blackest Night, Selina is attacked by Black Mask after he has been reborn as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. After he tells her that he plans on getting an emotional response before killing her, Selina steals a car and heads to the mental institution where Maggie Kyle is held, believing Black Mask is coming for her. Black Mask attacks the institution, and somehow awakens Maggie from her coma. Selina arrives in time to help her sister flee into the sewers. While on the run, Maggie angrily tells Selina that she ruined both of their lives the day she decided to become Catwoman. Devastated by her sister's statement, Selina fails to realize they have both been heading for a trap. Just as Black Mask is about to gouge Maggie's eyes out and shove them down Selina's throat, Harley and Ivy arrive and defeat the Black Lantern by trapping him in the stomach of a man-eating plant. Selina is helped to her feet by her friends, who tell her that Maggie has fled the scene. The next day, the staff members of the mental institution are shown discussing Maggie's escape, also mentioning that a nun that works at the hospital had been found beaten and stripped of her uniform. Maggie is then shown in the depths of the Gotham City sewers clad in the bloodied nun robes, muttering about her plan to kill Catwoman in order to free Selina's soul. Now calling herself Sister Zero, Maggie attempts to kill Selina, but ultimately flees after being defeated by the Sirens. She is last seen going over her options, now realizing that she cannot murder her own sister, and therefore must personally exorcise the "cat demon" from within Selina's body. In the follow-up to The Return of Bruce Wayne, the Sirens help Zatanna put out a massive fire at a local park near their home, only for them to be ambushed by a creature made of mud. After being dragged underneath the soil by the creature, Catwoman awakens tied up and gagged on the floor of a dark room, and is quickly forced into an illusion by her unseen captors. Back in reality, Talia reveals to the Sirens that just a few hours prior, an unknown benefactor had offered up a massive reward to whoever could kidnap and deliver Catwoman to him, with the hopes that he could penetrate her mind and learn Batman's secret identity. Before the knowledge can be ripped from her mind, Selina's captors (revealed to be Shrike and a new villain named Senpai), are eventually defeated by the other Sirens. Once Selina is freed, Talia orders Zatanna to wipe Bruce's identity from her memory, reasoning that her kidnapping has proved that the knowledge is too dangerous for her to handle. The two women initially restrain Selina and attempt to remove the knowledge from her, but Zatanna refuses at the last moment and ends up fighting Talia in order to protect Selina. Talia tries to kill Selina before vanishing, but she survives and ultimately reunites with Bruce, who had recently returned to the present. After stealing the contents of a safe belonging to the Falcone crime family, Selina returns home to find Kitrina Falcone, a teenaged escape artist and Carmine Falcone's long lost daughter, breaking into her room. She attacks and subdues Kitrina, who tells Selina that she had unknowingly stolen a map that details the location of the new Black Mask's underground bunker. Realizing that she could use the map to capture Black Mask and claim the 50 million dollar bounty on his head, Selina leaves Kitrina bound in a locked room so that she can keep the map for herself. She later calls Batman to her house in order to turn the would-be thief over to the police, but discovers that Kitrina had managed to free herself and steal back the map. This impresses Selina, who mentions that she had tied up the child using an "inescapable" knot that Bruce had shown her years earlier. Following a massive battle with Black Mask and his henchmen (which ends with neither woman being able to claim the bounty), Selina agrees to take on Kitrina as her new sidekick, Catgirl. Once Bruce Wayne returns from his time in the past, he establishes Batman Incorporated, a global team of Batmen. Selina accompanies him on a mission to break into Doctor Sivana's armory, and later travels with him to Tokyo in order to recruit a Japanese representative for Batman Incorporated. After the DC Universe's history was rewritten by the Flash and Doctor Manhattan, Catwoman's past was changed. According to the timeline, Selina was the daughter of Rex Calabrese who was placed into foster care after his arrest. She also had a brother called Aiden Mason, who she lost contact with after they were place into care. Growing up on in Oliver's Group Home, she and the other residents were taught to steal objects in order to continue living there. Years later, she was caught whilst attempting to burgle someone's residence. Rather than be charged, Selina was instead inducted into a second chance program that helped those growing up in poverty. After a year working for the mayor, Selina used her position to track her brother and learn what had happened to him. However, she was discovered and thrown off City Hall's roof by an unknown party. Miraculously, Selina survived the fall and was revived by a gang of cats. Convinced she must have been someone important if an attempt had been made on her life, she once again became a burglar operating and adopted the identity Catwoman. Similarly, her relationship with Batman changed to occasional flings rather than a romantic relationship and she was not know or care about his identity. Powers and Abilities: Master Acrobat: Selina is a gifted and accomplished athlete, with heightened acrobatic prowess. Her feats have been so amazing, one could argue that her athletic ability is somewhat superhuman. Master Martial Artist: She was trained by the Armless Master in martial arts and by Wildcat in boxing and street-fighting. She is a dangerous, clever and resourceful fighter, known for precise, agile attacks and speedy getaways. Her formidable hand-to-hand combat skills are augmented by her cat-like speed, agility, reflexes, balance, and flexibility. Catwoman has mastered the following martial arts styles; Boxing, Kickboxing, Capoeira, Taekwondo, Hapkido, Jujutsu, Dragon Style Kung Fu and Karate. Stealth: Selina is as stealthy as any large cat. She has easily been able to sneak up on large groups of people and even other vigilantes on patrol. She shows marked prowess in this ability while she's on the prowl for her next job. Master Thief: Selina is a master thief, known throughout Gotham City for her burglary of cat-themed objects and/or gems and jewels of the highest quality. Hardly one to knock over a bank, Catwoman would rather break into the chairman's office and take his personal documents. Disguise: To pull off her many capers, Catwoman resorts to disguises and aliases. She once posed as an old lady in order to steal a valuable piece of jewelry while on a cruise ship. Later, she posed as a night club goer in order to get acquainted with its owners and return later to rob them. Feline Empathy: Catwoman has a strong affinity for cats. Feline species tend to flock to her, accepting her almost immediately, recognizing somehow that she is not an enemy but a friend. This allows her to calm injured cats, train them, befriend them, and form strong bonds with them. These animals will even sometimes come to her defense when she is attacked. This has proved most beneficial, especially when it has involved big cats. Equipment: 1. Catwoman Costume 2. Goggles 3. Claws 4. Whip 5. Bolas 6. Caltrops

Barbara "Barb/Babs" Gordon is a superheroine and member of the Bat-Family. Created by William Dozier, Julius Schartz, Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino, she is the daughter of Commissioner James Gordon and an ally of Batman and Dick Grayson. From 1967 to 1988, she operated as the superheroine Batgirl, serving as the second character to use the identity. Barbara continued to operate, though was forced into retirement due to her crippling during Batman: The Killing Joke. From 1989 to 2011, Barbara operated as the data broker Oracle, using her skills in Information Technology to help both the Batman Family and other superheroes. Under the identity, she was a member and leader of the superhero team Birds of Prey. Barbara returned to the Batgirl identity during 2011's The New 52, headlining both the fourth and fifth volumes of the Batgirl comic series, and various Birds of Prey titles. Following 2020s, she was reintegrated into the Oracle role, serving as a supporting character to Batman and a main character in the Batgirls comic series. As Batgirl, Barbara Gordon has been described as one of the most popular characters to appear during the Silver Age of Comic Books. She also became a pop culture icon due to her appearances in the 1960s Batman television series and continued media exposure. During the early 1970s, the character was also used as an advocate for women's rights. However, her treatment in The Killing Joke has often come under criticism, often being cited as an infamous example of "fridging" female characters. However, her development as Oracle by John Ostrander and Kim Yale in the aftermath has often been praised. Barbara Gordon is the most-often adapted version of Batgirl in media relating to the Batman franchise, including films, television, animation and video games. Due to this, she is often the character most heavily associated with the Batgirl identity. In most continuities, Barbara is the daughter of James Gordon, the Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department and longtime ally of Batman. She also has brothers Anthony and James Jr.. During the Post-Crisis continuities, Barbara was reimagined as James' niece, her actual father being his brother Roger and her mother being a woman named Thelma. This was due to the then-recent creation of Barbara Eileen Gordon and retrofit the name descrepancy into continuity. However, some issues imply that she was conceived in an affair between James and Thelma. Following DC's second Flashpoint event, Barbara was the daughter of Barbara Eileen, thus named after her mother much akin to J.J. Gordon. Barbara Gordon has been romantically linked to Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing. At a young age they shared their passion as Robin and Batgirl. Nightwing was shocked and disturbed to learn of the effects of the Killing Joke, resulting in Barbara's paralysis. After the events of No Man's Land, the two fall in love. Before Infinite Crisis, Nightwing drops to one knee and proposes. Barbara tearfully accepts. During the Crisis, Grayson was shocked by raw energy, and was taken into care of Barbara's arms. When Batman asks Nightwing to help him rediscover himself, Dick is hesitant due to his engagement to Barbara. She allows him to go, telling him they were not ready for marriage. Dick sends her engagement ring with a picture of them as Robin and Batgirl, promising to return to her when the time is right. Both show genuine romantic affection towards the other, though not as a couple anymore. Grayson is rejoining the JLA with Starfire, however a recent issue of Titans stated that Dick has moved on of his past relationship with her. Barbara's father has start trying to set her up with a hotshot young detective who've just transferred from Coast City, Nicholas Gage, although he's apparently more interested in the newest Batgirl (Stephanie Brown) along with the fact that Barbara senses he keeps secrets despite being a supposedly honest police officer. Another brief romance was with Jason Bard, her ex-fiancee. When Grayson left Gotham and rejoined Koriand'r, Babs found comfort in the young man's arms. The relationship fizzled and the engagement was cancelled. In a Birds of Prey comic book, the two are reunited on a mission. However, this does not last as Babs shoves him out of her life once again in favor of Grayson. In the New 52, Grayson and Babs have never officially dated, though it is clear they both seem to have feelings for each other. Powers and abilities: Martial Arts: According to the character's fictional biography, Barbara Gordon took numerous self-defense classes in judo and karate prior to her tenure as Batgirl and is described as being a "star athlete". She has been trained in Boxing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Jujitsu, Dragon Style Kung Fu and Escrima. Following the events of The Killing Joke, Barbara Gordon continued to train in the martial arts as Oracle, despite being paralyzed from the waist down. She has extensive skills with escrima fighting sticks, small firearms and batarangs; she customarily keeps a pair of escrima sticks stored in the armrests of her wheelchair as a contingency. Technological skill: Prior to the character's career as a vigilante, Barbara Gordon developed many technological skills, including vast knowledge of computers and electronics, expert skills as a hacker, and graduate training in library sciences. Gordon is also written as having a genius-level intellect and naturally possessing a photographic memory. Like Batman, Barbara Gordon originally used a wide variety of computer electronics and gadgets during her early adventures as Batgirl. These included an infrared scanner built into the cowl of her costume, various bat-inspired weaponry and the "Batgirl Cycle." According to Gail Simone, Oracle maintains control over the twelve technologically advanced satellites that were created by Lex Luthor during his tenure as President of the United States. Information broker: Oracle places her considerable skills and knowledge at the disposal of many of the DC universe's heroes. She is a skilled hacker, capable of retrieving and dispersing information from private satellites, military installations, government files, and the properties of Lex Luthor. Batman, himself a genius with a wide knowledge base and access to vast information resources, routinely consults Oracle for assistance. Editor Julius Schwartz claimed that when planning the new Batgirl's comic book debut, he had considered the character to be a vehicle that might attract a female viewership to the Batman television series of the sixties. When producers William Dozier and Howie Horowitz saw rough concept artwork by artist Carmine Infantino during a visit to DC offices, they optioned the character in a bid to help sell a third season to the ABC television network. Actress Yvonne Craig portrayed the character in the show's third season. When interviewed on his involvement with creating Batgirl, Infantino states- Batgirl came up in the mid-’60s. The “Batman” TV producer called Julie and said Catwoman was a hit, could we come up with more female characters? Julie called me and asked me to do that. I came up with Batgirl, Poison Ivy and one I called the Grey Fox, which Julie didn’t like as much. Bob Kane had a Bat-Girl for about three stories in the ’50s, but she had nothing to do with a bat. She was like a pesky girl version of Robin. I knew we could do a lot better, so Julie and I came up with the real Batgirl, who was so popular she almost got her own TV show. Barbara Gordon and alter ego Batgirl debuted in Detective Comics #359 (cover-dated 1967, although the comic was actually released in late 1966) as the daughter of Gotham City's Police Commissioner James Gordon. Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl had been preceded by an earlier Bat-Girl character, which was depicted as niece and sidekick to Batwoman. Gordon exceeded these earlier figures in popularity, and readers requested for her to appear in other titles. In an open letter to readership in Detective Comics #417 (1971), DC responded to the fan-based acclaim and criticism of the new character. I'd like to say a few words about the reaction some readers have to Batgirl. These are readers who remember Batwoman and the other Bat-girls from year's back... They were there because romance seemed to be needed in Batman's life. But thanks to the big change and a foresighted editor, these hapless females are gone for good. In their place stands a girl who is a capable crime-fighter, a far cry from Batwoman who constantly had to be rescued from Batman. Following the comic book debut of Barbara Gordon, Yvonne Craig also promoted the comic book incarnation of her character. The actress was featured in photo shoots reading her “favorite comic of all time,” "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl." While actress Yvonne Craig as Batgirl appeared every week in the new season of Batman, DC Comics featured Batgirl on several covers of Detective Comics, often overshadowing Batman and Robin in order to promote the new heroine. On the cover of Detective Comics #369, Batgirl argues with Batman over whose sidekick Robin should be. Batgirl became a lighthearted departure from the tortured characters of Batman and Robin, each depicted as fighting crime to avenge the death of their parents. Gordon's motivation for crime fighting was written as being completely altruistic and, unlike Batwoman and Bat-Girl, independent of a male superhero. In her civilian identity, Dr. Barbara Gordon Ph.D. is not only depicted as an independent woman with a doctorate in library science, she is head of Gotham City public library; "presumably one of the largest public libraries in the DC Comics version of reality." The character's civilian career as a library professional, coupled with her alter-ego as a crime-fighter is considered to be symbolic of the women's empowerment movement of the 1960s. Batgirl continued to appear in DC Comics publications throughout the late sixties and seventies as a supporting character in Detective Comics, in addition to guest appearances in various titles such as Justice League of America, World's Finest Comics, The Brave and the Bold, Action Comics and Superman. The character was also given a starring role in DC's Batman Family comic book which debuted in 1975. The original Robin Dick Grayson became her partner in the series and the two were frequently referred to as the "Dynamic Duo: Batgirl & Robin." Although this series ended after three years of publication, Batgirl continued to appear in back up stories published in Detective Comics until DC officially retired the heroine in the one-shot comic Batgirl Special #1 (1988). Although permanently retired, Barbara Gordon's incarnation as Batgirl remains one of the most popular and high profile characters of the Silver Age of Comic Books. As the years went on, however, Barbara found her role as Batgirl less and less fulfilling, and she eventually more or less retired. That's when The Joker showed up at her house, shooting and paralyzing her and when he kidnapped her Uncle Jim. Batman rescued Jim Gordon, but 19-year-old Barbara Gordon's career as a crime fighter was over. She spent a month in a deep depression. During the early eighties, Batman editors sporadically put Batgirl into retirement; the character resumed her role for special cases. In 1988, Alan Moore discussed writing The Killing Joke with editor Len Wein, and the two agreed that Barbara Gordon, currently in retirement, was disposable enough for the character’s career to come to a permanent end. Although events in The Killing Joke exert a great impact on the character, the story has little to do with Gordon. She is deployed as a plot device to cement the Joker’s vendetta against Commissioner Gordon and Batman. Critical reception of The Killing Joke has been mixed — while some commentators have been appalled by the treatment of Barbara Gordon, others have regarded The Killing Joke as one of the greatest Batman stories of all time. Despite Moore's writing, Valerie D'Orazio, a former editor at Acclaim Comics and DC Comics has denounced the book, citing "It doesn't take the perspective of a woman into account. It doesn't take into account that some women might be so very disgusted with the book [and] what happens to Barbara Gordon in it." In response, Laura Hudson, Senior editor of Comic Foundry Magazine comments, "You’re supposed to be disgusted with what happens to Barbara Gordon...because it’s disgusting...As a woman and as an adult, I can deal with fictional characters performing reprehensible acts towards women... When they’re used not gratuitously but for a purpose, as I believe they were in The Killing Joke, that's exactly what they're supposed to do." The Joker’s aggravated assault of Barbara Gordon has become a classic example of Women in Refrigerators syndrome, in which “severe injury or death of a female comic book character [occurs] as a means to antagonize a male superhero.” Following the release of the graphic novel, comic book editor and writer Kim Yale discussed how distasteful she found the treatment of Barbara Gordon with her husband, fellow comic writer John Ostrander. Rather than allow the character to fall into obscurity, the two decided to revive her as a character living with a disability. Recognizing she could no longer be the kind of superhero she had been, she instead devoted all her time to developing one of the world's most complex and powerful computer systems and set to work accumulating information, renaming herself "Oracle." Blessed with a photographic memory, Barbara reads dozens of the world's top newspapers and magazines daily. She's also constantly gathering information from other, less public sources, such as the CIA's mainframe, not to mention the data networks of the FBI, NSA and Interpol (all without their knowledge or consent). Oracle has proven an absolutely invaluable resource to the Batman and his allies, as well as countless other superheroes, few of whom know anything about the person behind the name. Oracle has formed an alliance with fellow heroes Black Canary and The Huntress to aid those in need. Together, they are the Birds of Prey, combining their unique abilities and skills in the war against crime and terror. Both Yale and Ostrander would oversee the development of Barbara Gordon's new persona as Oracle for the next several years. The character made her first comic book appearance as Oracle in Suicide Squad #23, anonymously offering her services to the government's Task Force X. In the following two years, Oracle, under pen of Ostrander and Yale, made guest appearances in various DC titles until her identity was revealed to be Barbara Gordon in Suicide Squad #38 (1990) and she officially becomes a member of the Squad in issue #48 following an invitation from fictional government agent Amanda Waller. In 1992, Dennis O’Neil gave Barbara Gordon’s Oracle a starring role in Batman: Sword of Azrael #1, where she became Batman’s sole source of information. This newly forged partnership established Oracle’s status as Batman's intellectual equal. The success of Chuck Dixon’s Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey (1996) lead to the comic series Birds of Prey starring the two title characters. Kim Yale and John Ostrander tell the origin of Oracle in "Oracle: Year One," a story arc contained in Batman Chronicles #5. Since the launch of Birds of Prey, the Oracle character has become a high-profile figure in the DC Comics universe - moving beyond her ties to the Batman Family and forging alliances with groups such as the Justice League of America. Gail Simone took over as writer of Birds of Prey with issue #56, taking the series in a "Bold New Direction!" In an interview with Columnist Jennifer Contino, Simone explains her fondness of Barbara Gordon: Kim Yale and John Ostrander picked up the character and made her into a brilliant master computer operator and one of the most fascinating characters in comics. From there, Chuck Dixon did wonderful things with her in his Birds of Prey run...She’s fantastic because even just sitting in a chair in a dark room by herself, she’s tremendously compelling. The DCU without her would be a much less interesting place. Throughout the course of the character's history, Barbara Gordon's intelligence has been one of the character's defining attributes. According to BusinessWeek, Oracle is listed as one of the top ten most intelligent fictional superheroes appearing in American comics and is the only female character to appear on the list. Barbara Gordon's classic Batgirl costume was designed by artist Carmine Infantino. In her original adventures during the Silver Age of Comics, Batgirl is depicted as a librarian by day, and a spirited crime-fighter by night. In her debut story, while driving to a costume ball dressed as a female version of Batman, Barbara Gordon intervenes in a kidnapping attempt on Bruce Wayne by the villainous Killer Moth, attracting the Dark Knight's attention and leading to a crime-fighting career. After a handful of guest appearances in Batman stories, she was given her own back-up strip in Detective Comics. The character was fleshed out considerably, with the shy, mousy, bookworm version of Barbara Gordon giving way to a more modern, confident character. Devoid of her plain-Jane glasses and hair bun, Barbara dates a succession of boyfriends, including Vietnam-veteran-turned-private-investigator Jason Bard. In addition to her appearances in both Detective Comics and Batman, Batgirl made a guest appearance in World's Finest Comics #169 (1967) where she met Superman, Supergirl, Bat-Mite, and Mxyzptlk for the first time. She also fights alongside the Justice League of America against the villainous Queen Bee. Supergirl and Batgirl encounter again in Adventure Comics #381 (1969) when both heroines separately investigate a female criminal gang. Her back-up stories appear sporadically in Detective Comics until the mid-1970s. Although she occasionally partners with Robin, she more frequently works with Jason Bard, a Vietnam War veteran with a chronic knee injury who becomes a private detective. Bard is a romantic interest of Barbara's, as well. Batgirl reveals her secret identity to her father (who had already discovered it on his own), and serves as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. She moves to Washington, D.C., intending to give up her career as Batgirl and in June 1972, appeared in a story entitled "Batgirl's Last Case." Editor Julius Schwartz brought her back a year later in Superman #268 (1973), in which she has a blind date with Clark Kent, establishing their friendship, and fights alongside Superman. Batgirl and Superman team up twice more, in Superman #279 and DC Comics Presents #19. Batgirl also guest-starred in other Superman related titles such as #453 of Adventure Comics, and in Superman Family #171, where she teams with Supergirl. In 1975, DC created the Batman Family comic book, which ran for 20 issues. Batgirl was one of the main features in the book, frequently teaming with Robin. Batgirl meets Batwoman in Batman Family #10, when the retired superheroine returns to crime-fighting. The two fight Killer Moth and The Cavalier, and learn about each other's secret identities. When Batman Family ended at issue #20, stories featuring these characters were merged with Detective Comics, beginning with issue #481 in 1979, and Batgirl continued her adventures there. Even after the "Batman Family" feature left Detective Comics, Batgirl continued to appear in the back-up stories through issue #519 (October 1982). Crisis on Infinite Earths, a limited mini-series published in 1985, was written in order to reduce the complex history of DC Comics to a single continuity. Although Batgirl is a featured character, her role is relatively small- she delivers Supergirl's eulogy at the conclusion of the story. The conclusion of Crisis on Infinite Earths changed DC Universe continuity in many ways. Following the reboot, Barbara Gordon is born to Roger and Thelma Gordon, and she is Jim Gordon's niece/adopted daughter in current canon. Post-Crisis, Supergirl does not arrive on Earth until Gordon has established herself as Oracle; many adventures she shared with Batgirl are now retroactively described as having been experienced by Power Girl. In Secret Origins #20: Batgirl and the Golden Age Dr. Mid-Nite (1987), Barbara Gordon's origin is rebooted by author Barbara Randal. Within the storyline, Gordon recounts the series of events that lead to her career as Batgirl, including her first encounter with Batman as a child, studying martial arts under the tutelage of a sensei, memorizing maps and blue prints of the city, excelling in academics in order to skip grades and pushing herself to become a star athlete. The Modern Age of Comic Books had significant changes to the comic book industry as characters became darker and psychologically complex, abandoning the light-hearted themes of earlier ages. After her back-up series of stories ended, Barbara Gordon continued to be Batgirl, but increasingly felt inconsequential in a world filled with super-powered heroes. After capturing the Commorant in Batgirl Special #1 (1988), Gordon retires her Batgirl persona. In Batman: The Killing Joke (1988), the Joker shoots Barbara, intending to drive her father James Gordon into madness. The bullet severs her spine, permanently paralyzing her from the waist down. Gordon is grief-stricken upon learning the extent of her injuries, as is her ally and off-on again lover Dick Grayson, the original Robin currently known as Nightwing. Initially, Gordon's paralysis plunges her into a state of reactive depression. However, she soon realizes that her aptitude for and training in information sciences have provided her with tremendous skills that could be deployed to fight crime. In a world increasingly centered on technology and information, she possesses a genius-level intellect; photographic memory; deep knowledge of computers and electronics; expert skills as a hacker; and graduate training in library sciences. One night, Gordon has a dream in which an all-knowing woman (similar to Oracle at Delphi of Greek mythology) has her own face, it's then that she adopts "Oracle" as her codename. She serves as an information broker, gathering and disseminating intelligence to law enforcement organizations and members of the superhero community. In "Oracle: Year One," Oracle also trains under the tutelage of Richard Dragon, one of DC's premier martial artists, to engage in combat (using eskrima) from her wheelchair. She develops her upper-body strength and targeting skills with both firearms and batarangs. In her second appearance as a hacker in the DC Comics universe, Oracle is featured in the 12-issue mini-series The Hacker Files (1993). In 2003, comic book authors Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon revised Barbara Gordon’s origin with the mini-series Batgirl: Year One Gordon is a highly gifted child having graduated from high school early, but initially desires to join law enforcement as opposed to vigilantism in the previous origin myths. Following her paralysis and recovery from depression, Oracle founds the Birds of Prey, a team of female heroes, whom she employs as agents and extended members of the Batman team. After her unsuccessful partnership with Power Girl, Oracle later joins forces with the superheroine Black Canary. During Chuck Dixon's crossover series Hunt for Oracle, Barbara Gordon and Dinah Lance meet in person and establish a long-term friendship. They form the nucleus of the Birds of Prey organization. While Oracle serves as the basic head of operations, Black Canary becomes her full-time employee and field agent. During the 2004 cross-over event War Games, Black Mask commandeers Oracle's computers and satellites and engages in a fight to the death with Batman. In order to prevent Batman from killing his adversary, Oracle initiates the Clock Tower's self-destruct sequence, provoking Batman to rescue her rather than continue the battle. This results in the destruction of Gordon's home and headquarters in the clock tower. Subsequently, Oracle decides to move on, and leaves Gotham City altogether. She cuts her ties with Batman, and after a temporary world trip with her team, relocates to Metropolis. In the events comprising Gail Simone's Birds of Prey: Between Dark and Dawn (2005), and Birds of Prey: The Battle Within (2005), Oracle is possessed by arch-villain Brainiac, an artificial intelligence entity, in order to become a biological being. Although Oracle overpowers Brainiac and expels him from her body, the advanced virus delivered by him remains despite his absence. The virus steadily causes cybernetic attachments to sprout all over her body. Oracle develops cyberpathic powers that allow her to psychically interact with computer information systems. Although she loses these abilities after the virus is rendered dormant following an operation by Doctor Mid-Nite, she discovers she can move her toes. However, this proves to be short-lived; Gordon remains paralyzed. During the company wide cross-over Infinite Crisis (2005), Oracle teams with the Martian Manhunter in Metropolis to coordinate a counterstrike to the Secret Society's global jailbreak. The renewed romance between Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson is also cut short by the Infinite Crisis storyline. When DC continuity jumps forward one year after the events of Infinite Crisis, Oracle and her team continue to work in Metropolis. Oracle works with Batman, although not on a regular basis as before. Oracle continues to lead the Birds of Prey, and expands the ranks of the operation. In Birds of Prey #99, Black Canary leaves the team and The Huntress becomes the team's de facto field leader, while Big Barda has been brought in as the group's heavy-hitter alongside a larger, rotating roster; Oracle also makes an attempt to reforge her alliance with Power Girl, however, when Oracle invites her to rejoin the team, she replies that she'll do so "when Hell freezes over." In "Whitewater," Gail Simone's final story arc on Birds of Prey (2007), Oracle and her team struggle for power with Spy Smasher, a government agent who has taken over the Birds of Prey organization. Eventually, Spy Smasher is forced to admit her defeat and returns control of the Birds of Prey organization to Oracle. At the conclusion of the arc, Oracle also adopts Misfit into the Birds of Prey. In Countdown (2007), Oracle dispatches the Question and Batwoman to capture Trickster and Piper following their role in the murder of the Flash. She struggles to keep the identities of the world's heroes from being stolen and coordinates the response to a global crisis engineered by the Calculator, a villainous hacker and information broker. In issue #5 of the comic book series The All-New Booster Gold (2007), the title hero is given the mission of traveling back in time in order to prevent "a tragedy that he discovers never should've happened — the Joker shooting and paralyzing Barbara Gordon, Batgirl." Although Booster Gold makes several attempts to prevent the events which took place in Batman: The Killing Joke, he ultimately fails and Barbara Gordon's chronological history remains unchanged. After the events of Flashpoint, Barbara Gordon has recovered from her injuries by the hands of Joker, and has returned to the streets as Batgirl. One of her nights back in action as Batgirl has her stopping a trio of crooks attempting to murder a couple. The fight almost turns sour when one of the crooks launches himself and her out the window. Thankfully, the couple rescued the two before they could fall (though Barbara had to correct them as they accidentally called her Batwoman). The next morning, despite James Gordon's parental protests, Barbara moves away from home, moving in with another girl with a more independent streak. However, the settling in had to wait - there was an attack at a hospital where the criminal she had stopped earlier was staying at. Arriving at the scene, she found herself confronting a murderer known as The Mirror, whose modus operandi was to kill people who survived major accidents. Barbara attempted to stop him from taking the man's life, but she found herself paralyzed when he aimed his gun at her gut, allowing him to launch the man out the window. The police officer there opted to brand her a murderer for not being able to stop him. After she reclaimed the Batgirl mantle, Barbara handed over the reigns of the Birds of Prey to Black Canary. When Dinah formed a new team of Birds, Barbara initially declined membership, though agreed to be a part-time member as of issue 6. After the Joker War, Barbara retires as Batgirl and adopts the Oracle persona once again. With Alfred killed by Bane, she takes over as Batman's main support and helps investigate criminals.

Cassandra Cain is a member of the Bat-Family as a protégé and adoptive daughter of Batman. The daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, she was raised to become the greatest weapon for the League of Assassins. However, horrified from her first killing, she fled to the Batman family for protection. Becoming the fourth claimant of the Batgirl identity, she helped him and Tim Drake protect Gotham. Cassandra has also used other identities, including Black Bat and Orphan. Cassandra Cain was conceived and trained from birth with the intention of creating the perfect bodyguard for Ra's al Ghul. After many unsuccessful attempts to train children from birth in martial arts to make them inculcate it like a native language (the most successful being the abandoned child The Mad Dog), David Cain, a member of al Ghul's League of Assassins, decided the right genes were necessary to create this "One Who Is All". Cain searched for the perfect mother for this child, finding her in the Wu-San sisters of Detroit, who practiced martial arts with each other nearly every moment of their childhood in a type of sister's language. Cain sympathized with the younger sister, Sandra, when he noticed that she held back out of love for Carolyn. To "help" Sandra reach her full potential, Cain murdered Carolyn, then lured Sandra into an ambush by the League of Assassins, where he defeated her. Cain spared Sandra from death on the condition that she bear his child, and leave her for him to raise. Awed by the potential heights she could reach in her physical talents now that Carolyn was gone, Sandra agreed to Cain's bargain in order that she might go on to become the unstoppable force of nature known as Lady Shiva: creator and destroyer. Shiva's hope for her child was that she might one day grow to be the one force that could stop her reign of destruction. Trained by her father, assassin David Cain, to be the ultimate martial artist and assassin, Cassandra was not taught to speak. Instead, the parts of her brain normally used for speech were trained so she could read other people's movements and body language and predict, with uncanny accuracy, their next move. This ability lives up to her namesake; Cassandra in Greek mythology had the gift of seeing into the future, but was cursed so that nobody would ever believe her predictions. This closely relates to her capability of 'seeing' her opponents' next move at the cost of being (initially) unable to speak. This also caused her brain to develop learning functions different from most, a form of dyslexia that hampers her ability to read and write. When she was 8 years old, Cain decided his experiment had progressed far enough for him to test Cassandra's abilities in the real world, and took her to kill a businessman. At the time, Cassandra had no idea what she was doing and believed it was only a game (an interpretation in keeping with her own reaction to what happened, and matching the interpretation of Alfred Pennyworth, an expert on children who saw a tape of events). After striking a deathblow, she "read" the target as he died, and saw death as he saw it. "Terror and then... nothing". In addition to scarring her emotionally, she realized murder, like Cain's profession, was wrong, and she ran away from her father. After spending the next nine years homeless, beating herself up mentally over what she'd done, Cassandra came to be one of Oracle's agents in the No Man's Land Gotham City. After proving herself by saving Commissioner Gordon's life, she was given the Batgirl costume with the approval of both Batman and Oracle. She became Barbara's ward. Batman eventually learned about Cassandra's past when Cain transmitted a video he had made of the murder to the Batcave, but Batman nevertheless continued to accept Cassandra after she took several bullets to save the life of a hired assassin, proving her devotion to protecting human life. In 2000, Cassandra became the first Batgirl to get her own ongoing self-titled comic book series (the Barbara Gordon Batgirl having been featured in a couple of one-shot releases). A telepath "rewired" her brain to think with words and understand English (although speaking properly took longer, and she still could not read or write) at the cost of her ability to predict and read people. This left her unable to defend herself in a fight, as that part of her style relied completely on her ability to read moves, not the "strategies, patterns, and tricks" employed by Batman and most other martial artists. Fearing that she would meet a fate similar to former Robin Jason Todd, Batman refused to let Cassandra wear the Batgirl costume and patrol the city until she could learn adequate defensive skills, which he estimated would take at least a year of work. She soon discovered that assassin Lady Shiva could read people like she used to be able to, and asked her to reteach her. Lady Shiva accepted, on the condition that in a year they would have a duel to the death. Knowing that she would never kill again and would most assuredly lose, but preferring to be "perfect for a year" rather than "mediocre for a lifetime", Cassandra accepted and Lady Shiva retaught her in a night. One year later, Cassandra kept the appointment - and died within minutes. Then Shiva restarted her heart, having realized that Cassandra "wanted" to die (although not why), and wishing for a fight Cassandra would try to win. In the ensuing battle, Cassandra realized that Shiva had her own death wish, and defeated her, although she spared Shiva's life. Batman regards Cassandra very highly. During War Games, he relied heavily on her to help control the violence of the gang war in Gotham City. Following War Games, Batgirl moved to Blüdhaven with Tim Drake (the third Robin) at Batman's suggestion and with his financial support (Nightwing had been injured during the crisis, and the Gotham City Police Department had declared all costumed heroes illegal). There, Deathstroke took on a contract from the Penguin to kill Batgirl and decided to let his daughter Rose (the current Ravager) do the job instead. Cassandra beat Rose by playing on her emotions to leave her open for a critical strike, giving Deathstroke no choice but to get her medical attention. During all this, Cassandra started developing friendships and even a very short lived relationship with a boy named Zero. Unfortunately, her friends would all later be killed in the Blüdhaven disaster. During this time, Cassandra also went undercover for Batman in the Justice League Elite, working under Sister Superior sister of the deceased Manchester Black- and assorted anti-heroes as a superhuman 'black ops' team, working to track down and eliminate metahuman threats to the populace before they went public, masquerading as an assassin named Kasumi. During this time, she worked with Batman's old fellow JLA members Green Arrow and Flash, and formed a certain bond with Coldcast, who was the first person she revealed her real identity to. Although he was subsequently accused of murder, she and the rest of the team soon realised that he had been manipulated by renegade Elite member Menagerie, who was also being manipulated by the spirit of Manchester Black as he tried to drive his sister to destroy London. As the JLA fell, the Elite, united by the spirit of the deceased Manitou Raven, freed Vera and vanquished Black, although the team disbanded after this last mission. Cassandra gathered evidence that indicated that Shiva could have been her mother, and sought out Shiva to confirm this. After being proclaimed by Nyssa al Ghul as the "One Who Is All", the students of the League of Assassins split their allegiances, half following Shiva and the others Cassandra. In the ensuing confrontation, Cassandra was mortally wounded by her "adoptive brother" The Mad Dog while heroically saving one of the students under her leadership. Shiva revived Cassandra in the Lazarus Pit, then answered Cassandra's questions on her parentage. When Cassandra asked Shiva if she had killed more people since their last battle and Shiva said that she had, Cassandra asked if she would ever stop. Shiva responded "It's why I had you," and Cassandra agreed to fight her to the death once more. In an evenly matched battle, Cassandra managed to break Shiva's neck, paralyzing her. She appeared ready to place Shiva in the Lazarus Pit, but Shiva pleaded with her not to do so. In response, Cassandra impaled Shiva on a hook hanging over the pit, apparently killing her. Although Cassandra's intent regarding this action is unclear, whether to kill her or let her fall into the pit and be revived, it has been confirmed that Shiva is alive in One Year Later. Cassandra then abandoned the identity of Batgirl and returned to her life as a wanderer. 52: World War III Deathstroke approaches Cassandra and preys on her desire for a loving father as well as her feelings of abandonment. Following the events in Infinite Crisis, Cassandra was left behind while Batman, Robin, and Nightwing left for their year long trip and Harvey Dent was charged with protecting Gotham instead of her. One Year Later "One Year Later": Cassandra Cain. Art by Freddie E. Williams II. Cassandra took on the role of a villain by becoming the head of the League of Assassins following the One Year Later continuity jump, as established in Robin #150 (2006). She has used her position as head of the League to draw in Tim Drake, the third Robin, as an ally. She began killing former students of her father, David Cain whom she deemed unworthy and used Robin to free David and reunite with him. She then urged Robin to kill David, and join her in leading the assassins, but when Robin refused, she shot her father herself. She and Tim then eventually engaged in a final battle where she maintained the upper hand. The fight came to an abrupt end, however, when an explosive device detonated, leading Cassandra and Robin to flee in different directions. Robin returned to find David missing, and all the ninjas' necks snapped. Tim manages to record the conversation he had with Cassandra, using it as evidence to clear his name with the police. Unfortunately it would also brand Cassandra as a murderer. Cassandra also recently appeared in Supergirl #14, battling the title character, (Kara Zor-El), in her role as leader of the League of Assassins. She is hired by an unknown figure (later revealed to be the supervillain Dark Angel) to kill Supergirl, and attempts to do so by kidnapping Supergirl's friend, Captain Boomerang. Supergirl arrives at the League's Tibetan headquarters to confront Cassandra, previously unaware of the kidnapping. Cassandra, in her Batgirl identity, attacks Supergirl, wielding twin swords that emit red sun energy, which sapped away Supergirl's powers. Just as Cassandra prepares to deliver the killing blow, Kara mysteriously extrudes crystals from her body which wound Cassandra. What happened to Cassandra following this particular story was not explained. This story is shown to follow Robin One Year Later, as in Supergirl #14 there is a file in the Batcomputer titled 'Cassandra Cain & the League of Assassins', showing this takes place after she battled Robin. In Teen Titans vol. 3 #44, it revealed that Cassandra battled Supergirl first, before attacking Teen Titans with the Titans East. Cassandra also reappears in Robin, having done some business with Dodge, a wanna-be superhero with teleportation powers, who was injured and put into a coma when he interfered on one of Robin's cases. Having awoken, Dodge seeks revenge against Robin and is approached by Cassandra to steal a drug which gives humans metahuman strength for her, in exchange for money. After Dodge leaves, Cassandra and a mysterious ally (possibly Deathstroke), make plans to use the package Dodge delivered, to create an army. Whether this takes place before or after her battle with Supergirl or the Titans East storyline is unknown. Cassandra makes another appearance, when she murders the corrupt businessman who has been producing the meta-drug and who Robin was unfortunately unable to take down legally. From a distant rooftop, Cassandra quietly tells him "you're welcome Tim." Cassandra is also on the roster of Titans East and is once again wearing the Batgirl costume. Cassandra remained in the role of a villain, under the command of Titans East's leader, Deathstroke. It is revealed in Teen Titans vol. 3 #43, that she is being drugged by Deathstroke. In issue #44, after a rematch with the Ravager and a brief confrontation with Robin, Robin injects a counter serum (prepared in case Deathstroke regains control of his daughter again) to Cassandra. She apparently regains control over herself, with a desire of revenge by killing Deathstroke for violating her like Ravager and Terra before her. In Issue #45, Cassandra is allied with the Teen Titans (to which Miss Martian comments that she is more in control of herself now), and faces Slade, Match, and other former Titans East teammates, before being subdued by Risk. Soon after, Cyborg, Raven, and Duela Dent summon former Titans Nightwing, Donna Troy, Beast Boy, and Flash (Bart Allen), who joins in against Slade's team. Batgirl attempts to kill Deathstroke, but is stopped and knocked unconscious by Nightwing, who demands that Slade face the courts. Unfortunately, Deathstroke escapes from the Titans with the help of Inertia, and after the battle is over, Batgirl and Duela Dent both vanish without a word. After a long absence, Cassandra Cain retakes the Batgirl mantle joining the Outsiders at Batman's request at the end of Batman and the Outsiders #2. Cassie has moved into the Outsider's apartment, but has not shown much desire to interact with her teammates socially. Almost immediately after asking Batgirl to join, Batman also offers membership to Green Arrow who is furious to learn that the former leader of the League of Assassins is on the team as well. While on a mission, Green Arrow and Batgirl battle one another, and end up gaining an unusual sort of respect for one another. Prior to the events of Batman R.I.P Cassandra moves into Wayne Manor and attempts to re assimilate with the Bat-family. However she continues with the desire to kill her father and Deathstroke for what they did to her. She uses the Batcomputer to locate them but is attacked by Nightwing, who claims she cannot be trusted. Robin and Batman give her the benefit of the doubt. While searching for Cain's base, Cassandra discovers a mystery woman who is revealed to be Batgirl's half-sister, who rebelled against Cain. This half-sister had tried to kill Cain many times without success. They pool their resources together but are caught by Ravager. The three women agree to work together and continue the search for their fathers. They eventually find a training school run by Cain and Deathstroke that is filled with more of Cassandra's "sisters." During the fight that follows, they discover that Deathstroke has rigged the building to blow. Cassandra places listening devices at the school and learns that the intended use of the training school girls was to "cripple the meta-hero community," leading Cassandra to believe Oracle is the target of the plot. Cassandra races to Platinum Heights, Oracle's new base of operations, and locates Cain on an opposite rooftop with a sniper rifle in his hand. Cassandra engages in one-on-one combat, breaking his hand and sending him over a ledge. Cain holds on for a few minutes before losing his grip. Cassandra attempts to save him and sees that he has only fallen to a ledge a few feet below, where he is detained by Batman, who had followed her to Platinum Heights. Because she tried to save Cain, Batman accepts her into his family again and states he will officially begin the process to adopt and make her his daughter. Soon after Cassandra becomes Wayne's legal daughter, Batman disappears during the events of Batman R.I.P. As a result of his disappearance the Outsiders have been left in disarray with the loss of their leader. Batgirl, believing that Batman brought her in as a contingency, takes command of the team, while they attempt to locate Batman. During his absence, the rivalry that began between Nightwing and Batgirl reached its climax, leading to a fight between the pair. Alfred however arrived and broke up the argument, reminding them both that Gotham needed both of them to keep things together. Following this, Nightwing and Batgirl have at last appeared to have put aside their differences. Batman was reported to be supposedly killed during an encounter with Darkseid, thus leaving Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, Jason Todd and Tim Drake orphaned once more. Without Batman present, Batgirl leaves the Outsiders, who are taken over by Alfred. Batgirl however continues working with the Outsiders, along with a host of other heroes in protecting Gotham, which has exploded into chaos following the loss of Batman. Several months after Batman's death, Cassandra began to find herself disillusioned with her life as Batgirl. Having already lost yet another father in her life, particularly one that she had a much better relationship than with Cain, Cassandra began to question why she continued to fight. After teaming-up with Spoiler one night, Cassandra then handed over the mantle of Batgirl to Stephanie, and vanished. Tim Drake is revealed to have been in regular contact with her, implying that she is now an anonymous agent to Batman. Following Bruce Wayne's public announcement about his intention to create a global team of Batmen, Tim visits Cassandra in Hong Kong, where she has been acting as an anonymous vigilante. He attempts to persuade Cassandra to return to Gotham now that things have returned to normal, but she refuses, saying that Stephanie needs the Batgirl role more than she does. Just before departing, Tim gives Cassandra a copy of her old costume and tells her that if she chooses to stay and fight crime in Hong Kong, he hopes she will do it while wearing a Bat-symbol. In Grant Morrison's Batman Inc. series, it is revealed that Cassandra has taken Tim up on his offer and joined up with Bruce's new group, now wearing a heavily modified costume that uses her original outfit as a base. She now uses the name of Black Bat, and is shown contacting Bruce after bringing down a heroin-smuggling operation in Hong Kong. Cassandra's next appearance was in the first issue of the Gates of Gotham series, a new supervillain named the Architect destroys three Gotham bridges with the help of explosives smuggled from Hong Kong, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians. Feeling guilty over her failure to stop the explosives from leaving China, Cassandra returns to Gotham and partners with Red Robin, Dick Grayson, and Damian Wayne (the new Robin) to bring the Architect to justice. During a stakeout at Oswald Cobblepot's night club, Cassandra is mocked and berated by Damian, who tells her that he is a better hero and that Bruce likely sent her to Hong Kong as a demotion. Despite Damian's hostility toward her, Cassandra ultimately saves his life after pulling him out of the club mere seconds before it is destroyed by a bomb. After Dick discovers that the Architect plans to flood Gotham and kill thousands of civilians, Cassandra and Damian work together to dispose of the explosives that were supposed to sink the city. Once the Architect is defeated and captured, Cassandra implies that she intends to stay in Gotham rather than return to Hong Kong. Cassandra later infiltrates a tournament for hired killers and rescues Red Robin, who had been captured and was about to be raped by the sister of Ra's al Ghul. After rescuing Tim, Cassandra apparently kills him with a katana, thus winning the tournament for herself. It is later revealed that she had merely faked Red Robin's death in order to allow him to escape. The two then travel to Hong Kong in order to catch a 10-year old assassin known as the Cricket, but are easily defeated. Just as Cassandra and Tim fall into unconsciousness, the Cricket vows to face them again someday, and tells them that he hopes they will put up a better fight next time. After the Flashpoint restarted the DC Universe, Cassandra was gone from the DC Universe. She only reappeared in Batman & Robin: Eternal with a slightly altered origin story. Revealed in the course of Batman & Robin Eternal, here she supports Dick Grayson and the Robins in the fight against mother, a super villain who wanted to turn all children in the world into assassins. It turns out that Cassandra is responsible for the death of Harper Rows aka Bluebird. In the end after a big fight both mother and David Cain died. Cassandra then joins Batman, calling himself Orphan from then on. Cass joined the Gotham Knights with a group consisting of the best of Red Robin (Tim Drake), Spoiler (Stephanie Brown), Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley), Batwing (Lucas Fox) and a purged Clayface (Basil Karlo) led by Batman and Batwoman (Kate Kane). Together they fought against opponents like the colony, a militant group that took advantage of the myth of Batman for their purposes. Along the way, Cass is confronted with her real-life mother, Lady Shiva (DC Comics). In time, Cass befriended Clayface, who helped Lean speak better. However, the friendship ended tragically when Clayface's Brutal Monster side was brought forth by the victim syndicate, Batwoman was forced to seemingly kill Clayface, leading to a split in the team. While Cass, Steph and Tim stayed with Batman in Gotham City. Joined Azrael and Batwing Batwoman who had now taken over the management of the colony. For a long time Cass didn't think she was a good person because of her actions, but that would change during the battle against Ulysses Arstrong, Brother Eye and his army of OMCs. Cass and Stephanie found out about another universe where both were Batgirls. After the win, the Gotham Knights disbanded. And Cass moved in with Leslie Thompkins and there she met Barbara Gordon who wanted to help teach her to speak and read better. A few months later, Cassandra joined Batman's new founding team, the Outsiders. The team consisted of Katana (DC Comics), Black Lightning (DC Comics) and Batman's newest ally, Signal. The Outsiders' first mission was to rescue a young woman named Sofia Barrera from the hands of Ras la Ghul. Cass was again confronted with her mother Lady Shiva. However, Ra's big plans were to destroy the world economy with the help of an extraterrestrial artifact. However, Lady Shiva betrayed Ras and support the Ousiders in battle, leaving no opportunity to manipulate Cass into joining her. But Cass again stood up to her mother's mind games. After the fight with Ras, the Outsiders disbanded. Cass returned to Gotham. While the Joker War raged through the streets of Gotham, residents lived in fear of the marauding Joker gangs. Cass and Steph decided to give symbols of hope to the people there. They put down the names Orphan and Spoiler and claimed the title Batgirl for themselves. Cain worked as part of the Birds of Prey during the Dawn of DC event. Together, they tried to avert Barbara Gordon's foretold death. In Birds of Prey Vol 5 6, she is confirmed to still be the adoptive daughter of Batman in the current canon. With Lady Shiva either dead or missing, Cassandra followed clues left behind in Shiva's diary to rural Montana, where it is revealed she has a half-brother;now a teenager and apparently the result of a union between Shiva and The Bronze Tiger. The Tiger,guilty over his part in Cassandra's sadistic training,is determined to keep his son out of the danger limelight. Her costume as Batgirl was composed of black skin-tight leather. Her mask covers all of her head with the exception of the eyes, which were darkened, and symbolic stitches surround the mouth of the mask. Instead of Barbara's yellow bat-logo, Cassandra had a hollow, yellow-rimmed one. This costume was originally created and worn by the Huntress in the early stages of "No Man's Land". Like the other members of the Bat-Clan, Cassandra also wore a yellow pouched utility belt, which contained grappling hooks, batarangs, mini-explosives, tracking devices, a hand-held computer, binoculars, plasti-cuffs, and smoke pellets. However, Cassandra rarely used any of these devices during her career as Batgirl. As Black Bat, Cassandra wears a modified version of her Batgirl costume, with a pointed domino mask similar to Huntress, a tattered looking cape, and instead of gloves she wraps her hands in bandages, similar to Ted Grant, Wildcat As Orphan, Cassandra wore her Batgirl mask (without the ears) under a black-and-gold hood. She also wore an armored black uniform with gold accents. Orphan also briefly wore a prototype of one of Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl costumes, a primarily black suit with a gold bat emblem stretching across her shoulders. She added a black ninja-styled mask to conceal the lower half of her face. Titans East showed some slight differences in Cassandra's costume, such as a yellow interior to her cape, as well as a classic "capsule" utility belt as opposed to the pouches. However, in Teen Titans #43, the once hollow bat-symbol appears to have been filled in and her cape is once again completely black, and there is a new line of stitching going up the forehead of her cowl that was not there on previous costumes. This particular version of the costume may only be the a result of the artist's interpretation, as her appearances in Supergirl and Outsiders had Cassandra in her standard Batgirl costume. Cassandra Cain has arguably the most prestigious training of any martial artist in the DC Universe. As a child, Cassandra received intensive training by her father, along with several other members of the League of Assassins, including Bronze Tiger, Merlyn the archer, and a series of instructors hired by Cain, including Alpha. Upon taking the mantle of Batgirl, she was trained further by Batman, Oracle, Black Canary, and then by Lady Shiva, and has received supplementary instruction from Onyx. She was also very briefly trained in detective methods by Tim Drake during their time in Blüdhaven. In Batgirl #14 the writer, Kelley Puckett, places Cassandra in a position within the story in which her skills are analyzed by a group of government experts. Through this panel, the creative team reveal to the reader that the character is written as having no metagene. Her genetic status was felt to be incompatible with her recorded abilities by one of the experts, however, who stated: "Her individual moves are borderline human. It's her aggregate speed that's metahuman. Look -- humans can throw a 100 miles-per-hour fastball, smash concrete blocks with their heads, and run 4.2 forties. What they can't do is all of that at once. It's not so much physical as... as mentally impossible. Too much to coordinate." As a side effect of Cain's abusive training, Cassandra's brain developed learning functions different from most. Having been brought up by Cain deliberately without speech, the communication centers of her brain learned body language instead of spoken or written language. Thus, she originally had as much trouble learning spoken and written language as a normal individual would have in learning body language. Although she was able to learn some very basic things ("no," "yes," "me") the same way a normal person can learn to recognize smiles and frowns, it took a telepath rewiring her brain to teach her to speak and understand English. Even then, she only spoke with extreme difficulty (very falteringly, short sentences with long pauses, frequently using the wrong words, etc.). The unusual way in which she was raised resulted in a form of dyslexia that hampers her ability to read and write. In Batgirl #67 Oracle performed a number of tests on Cassandra, determining the severity of the problem: “ "The language centers of your brain are all over both hemispheres. Not centralized like with most people. When you try to read or write, your brain doesn't know how to keep it cohesive." ” This, however, may have been retconned. In Robin #149 it is revealed that both Cassandra and Tim Drake had been taught by Batman how to communicate using Navajo code, a code requiring that its user be able to speak English and Navajo, as well as be able to read and write in both languages. Since she had apparently learned this code from Batman, she would have had to possess these skills during her time as Batgirl. However, in light of the fact that her new ability with the written word is seen only once, and is not referenced again, this may have simply been a mistake and not a retcon.

The Bat-Family is a network of crimefighters who operate in and around Gotham City. Nearly all members trained directly under Bruce Wayne. These include the Birds of Prey who operate out of the Clock Tower and the the Belfry. The group usually are seen interacting with one another and assisting in each other's cases in their respective series. When a new vigilante emerges in the city Batman deduces their identity relatively quickly. Although some members occasionally resent Batman’s intrusion into their lives, all respect him as a legend within the superhero community and rarely challenge his authority. Most of the members also have a strong rapport with the Dark Knight due to their long and close relationships with him over the years, and consider him a close friend as well as ally. In a 2002 storyline in which Bruce Wayne, Batman’s secret identity, is accused of murder, Batman's friends gather to prove his innocence. It has also been implied through Batman's history that this network serves as a surrogate family for Batman and keeps him from slipping too far into his ruthless vigilante persona. Members: 1. Bruce Wayne / Batman (leader) 2. Cassandra Cain / Orphan / Batgirl 3. Claire Clover / Gotham Girl 4. Barbara Gordon / Batgirl / Oracle 5. Selina Kyle / Catwoman 6. Helena Bertinelli / Huntress 7. Julia Pennyworth 8. Duke Thomas / Robin / Lark / The Signal 9. Damian Wayne / Robin 10. Stephanie Brown / Spoiler / Batgirl 11. Henry "Hank" Clover Jr. / Gotham (deceased) 12. Timothy "Tim" Drake / Robin / Red Robin 13. Richard "Dick" Grayson / Robin / Nightwing / Batman / Agent 37 14. Lucas "Luke" Fox / Batwing 15. Katherine "Kate" Kane / Batwoman 16. Basil Karlo / Clayface (retired after faking his own death) 17. Alfred Pennyworth 18. Harper Row / Bluebird (retired) 19. Jason Todd / Robin / Red Hood 20. Jean-Paul Valley / Azrael 21. David Zavimbe / Batwings 22. Minhkhoa "Khoa" Khan / Ghost-Maker 23. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn 24. Ace the Dog / Bat-Hound 25. Haley the Dog / Bitewing 26. Titus / Bat-Hound 27. Alfred the Cat 28. Bat-Cow 29. Jerry the Turkey 30. Lucy the Monkey 31. Goliath 32. Wiggles the Dragon 33. Jarro / Robin

The Batcave is the secret headquarters of Batman and the extended Bat-Family, consisting of a series of subterranean caves beneath Wayne Manor. The most prominent tool in the Batcave is its famous Central Computer Console, used daily by Batman to research and solve crimes. Discovered and used long before by Bruce Wayne's ancestors as a storehouse as well as a means of transporting escaped slaves during the Civil War era, Wayne himself rediscovered them when he fell through a dilapidated well on his estate. Much like Superman's Fortress of Solitude, the Batcave serves as a place of privacy and tranquility where Batman can be himself. Upon his initial foray into crime-fighting, Wayne used the caves as a sanctum and to store his then-minimal equipment. 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. The cave is accessible in several ways. It can be reached through a secret door in Wayne Manor itself, which is located in the main study, behind a grandfather clock. The panel unlocks when the hands of the clock are set to the time that Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered: 10:48. Alternately, the study entrance has been shown to be behind a bookcase which slides to the side when a secret button is pushed, revealing the "Bat-Poles," which allow Bruce Wayne and his ward to change into their Batman and Robin costumes en route as they slide down to the cave. There is also an entrance under Bruce Wayne's chair in his office in Wayne Enterprises, as shown in Batman Forever. In Batman Begins the cave is accessible through a secret door disguised as part of a large display case and unlocked by pressing a sequence of keys on the nearby piano. Another secret entrance, covered by a hologram or a camouflaged door, allows access to a service road for the Batmobile. Another alternate entrance is a dry well- which was actually the hole that Bruce fell into when he originally discovered the cave as a child- highlighted especially during the Knightfall storyline. At one point, Tim Drake and Dick Grayson use the dry well to get into the cave, which they had been locked out of by Jean-Paul Valley during his time as Batman, with Bruce using it himself during his final confrontation with Valley to force Valley to remove his armour in the confined space. The Batcave serves as Batman's command center, where he monitors all crisis points in Gotham and the world. All variations of the Batcave are linked up the Dupin supercomputer system. The cave's centerpiece is a large monitor and keyboard console. Dupin's specs are on par with any of those used by leading national security agencies; it permits global surveillance and also connects to a massive information network as well as storing vast amounts of information, both on Batman's foes and his allies. A series of satellite link-ups allows easy access to Batman's information network anywhere in the globe. The systems are protected against unauthorized access, and any attempt to breach this security immediately sends an alert to Batman or Oracle. Despite the power of Batman's computers, the JLA Watchtower is known to have more powerful computers (composed of Kryptonian, Thanagarian and Martian technology), and Batman does occasionally use them if he feels his computers are not up to the task; on occasion, he also consults Oracle for assistance. It is usually operated by Alfred Pennyworth while the Bat-Family are out on a mission. The Batcave also has a collection of ancient armor due to Batman's study of military history. It includes outfits worn by European Knights, Desert nomads, and Samurai warriors throughout the centuries. Additionally, the cave contains state of the art facilities such as: crime lab, various specialized laboratories, mechanized workshops, personal gymnasium, a vast library, parking, docking and hangar space (as appropriate) for his various vehicles as well as separate exits for the various types, trophies of past cases, a large bat colony, and a Justice League teleporter. It also has medical facilities as well as various areas used in training exercises for Batman and his allies. The cave houses Batman's vast array of specialized vehicles, foremost being the famous Batmobile in all its incarnations (mostly for nostalgia as well as for contingencies, as all are serviceable and in excellent working condition). Batman keeps a fleet of regular cars of various models and utility vehicles such as an ambulance as well when the Batmobile would be too conspicuous for a mission. Other vehicles within the complex include various motorcycles, and various air and watercraft such as The Batplane, a single occupant supersonic jet. Another vehicle found in the Batcave is the subway rocket, first used during the time when Jean Paul Valley was substituting for Bruce Wayne after Bane had broken his back. It let Batman get into Gotham City very fast, and could electronically clear a path via the Gotham Rail system. The cave is sometimes powered by a nuclear reactor, but most often by a hydro-electric generator. Batman later incorporated safeguards against earthquakes and even nuclear catastrophe, outfitting the cave as a virtual bomb shelter or an enhanced panic room. It is rumored that the world's last Lazarus Pit was constructed inside the Batcave, although the validity of this claim is suspect. Memorabilia: Three memorabilia items often seen in the cave are a defunct full-size mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex, an equally large U.S. penny and a Joker playing card. The T. Rex comes from an adventure on "Dinosaur Island"; the penny was originally a trophy from Batman's encounter with a penny-obsessed villain named the Penny Plunderer. Other "keepsakes" in the cave include Two-Face's original coin, Deathstroke's sword, the shroud of the Mad Monk, a collection of Penguin's deadly umbrellas, a Joker laughing fish, one of Harley Quinn's popguns, a Scarface dummy, Bane's mask and Venom tank, Mad Hatter's top hat, the Red Hood's domed helmet and original costume, Maxie Zeus's lightning weapon, and an over-sized collection of bowling ten-pins. There is also a glass case display of Jason Todd's Robin costume as a memorial to him, with the epitaph "A Good Soldier." Barbara Gordon's Batgirl costume also remains on display. Following his death at the hands of The Heretic, Damian Wayne's costume always remains on display.

Wayne Manor is the stately residence of billionaire Bruce Wayne, secretly Batman. Under all the expensive china and bookcases, it also serves to hide the massive underground cave used as Batman's base of operations, the Batcave. The Wayne family has owned the property since the 19th century, but construction was abandoned after Joshua Wayne died. Jonah Hex held criminal cabals on the grounds. Alan Wayne decided to fully construct a mansion on the acreage. While playing on the property, Bruce fell through rotting wood covering an old well that drew water from the cave. Injured and feeling vulnerable, he was quickly frightened by the bats that had been sleeping there. This was a highly traumatic for Bruce Wayne, he was only comforted by his mother Martha after Dr. Thomas Wayne scolded him for being foolish. When Bruce first returned to the mansion, he kept his small crime lab in his father's study. After the Window Bat appeared to him there he decided it was time to return to the cave he fell into as a child. After exploring the cave with Alfred he realized it was the perfect place to hide his vigilante equipment. Bruce Wayne decided to vacate the property after his ward left for college. Bruce and Alfred moved into a penthouse apartment on top of the Wayne Foundation Building in the heart of the city, which also included a secret sub-basement acting as a Batcave. Wayne returned to his ancestral home in 1982 (Detective Comics #513) over a decade later. During the events of Batman: Cataclysm a massive earthquake struck Gotham City, the epicenter of which was less than a mile from Wayne Manor. The mansion was seriously damaged, as was the cave network beneath. The ground beneath the mansion shifted significantly, and actually revealed the Batcave below. The original Manor was damaged beyond repair, forcing Bruce Wayne to redesign the Manor along with the Batcave. The new Manor is a veritable fortress, a pastiche of Gothic architecture combined with features of castellated architecture. Solar panels are installed in the new Manor, providing environmentally-friendly electricity generation for the complex. It also includes a heliport for commercial helicopters. Following the events of Arkham Asylum's collapse in Batman Eternal #29, Wayne Manor was donated by Bruce Wayne to replace the institution in Arkham Manor #1. After reconstruction, the Manor was renamed "Arkham Manor" and began housing the Arkham Inmates. The doctors note that Arkham Manor is even more secure than the original Asylum. The entrance to the Batcave was sealed off with a wall of cement to prevent anyone from discovering or accessing the Batcave. Bruce Wayne has extensive library and spends much his spare time here to collect his thoughts. This is where a large bat flew threw a window, inspiring his bat-uniform. The Manor grounds include an extensive subterranean cave system that Bruce Wayne discovered as a boy and later used as his base of operations as Batman, the Batcave. The method used to access it has varied across the different storylines in the comics, movies, and shows. In the comic books, it is typically accessible from a hidden door in Wayne Manor's study behind a non-functioning grandfather clock, which opens to a descending staircase when the hands on said clock are turned to 10:47 p.m., the time Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed. The grounds also include a large hill that was partially hollowed out for Batman's aerial vehicles, and there is also an underground river system that is large enough to accommodate docking space for the Batboat and has a large opening for the boat and has a water fall. The Bat-Plane was originally kept underground and was brought to the surface by a winch apparatus,

Park Row, later called Crime Alley, is a historical landmark in Gotham City and was rather infamous for being the location where Bruce Wayne's parents Thomas and Martha were murdered, which started off Bruce's career as Batman. The area on the northern Gotham island that now comprises Park Row and the Bowery was originally called Logerquist's Acres in the 17th century. Gotham City's founder Captain Jon Logerquist maintained farmland here in the years before his death. However, Logerquist's farmstead was eventually burned by British forces when he refused to pay his taxes. According to an urban legend in Gotham City, the area is cursed and the ghost of Logerquist still lingers in the Bowery and Park Row. This story persists to this day, even though occult investigator Dr. Terrence Thirteen has claimed to have debunked the myth. Originally a ghetto street in downtown Gotham, Park Row gained its glory after thirty years. The glamour of its heyday was changed to poverty, and the street was commonly referred to as Crime Alley. One of the first residents was Leslie Thompkins, who lived there from the start. The Park Row Tragedy, as the newspapers called it, was a pivotal point in the life of Bruce Wayne. A robber named Joe Chill murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of their eight year old son, Bruce after they had left the Monarch Theatre. Chill was first arrested the very same night after he murdered Thomas and Martha after he fled the scene. While the GCPD investigated, Dr. Leslie Thompkins looked after young Bruce, and the two remained friends after. Bruce Wayne used his influence to keep the street preserved during the rebuilding of Gotham, and made it the only part of the present-day Gotham City that remained. Bruce visited Crime Alley and placed flowers on the ground where his parents were shot. Roland Daggett, director of the Daggett Development Corporation, considered Crime Alley a breeding ground for crime, and tried endlessly to get it demolished and replaced with a mini-mall. As the legal roads proved unsuccessful, Daggett sent his henchmen to evict the residents, and hired Nitro to place explosives on an old gas pipe. The plan was, however, thwarted by Batman. Only several already condemned planned demolition buildings were destroyed, while the SRO Hotel, where there were still people, remained undamaged. Crime Alley was the location where Batman first met Jason Todd, when he attempted to steal the tires from the Batmobile. That was also where Dr. Leslie Thompkins maintained her clinic, and where Batman battled Superman in Frank Miller's graphic novel, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Park Row was also part of Arkham City, and the memory flashdrive that Catwoman stole before she was captured by Two-Face contained information on Crime Alley, or rather, Park Row.

Gotham City is the hometown of Batman and the Bat-Family. Though it first appeared in Detective Comics #27, it was first identified by Bill Finger in Batman #4 (Winter 1940). Often depicted to be on the East Seaboard of the United States, Gotham has changed depiction, including with the city geography and architecture. From the Bronze Age of Comics, Gotham's politics has often been depicted as having heavy ties to organized crime and corruption. Gotham itself has become a major location in the DC Universe, with many characters like Superman, Swamp Thing, Green Lanterns and the JLA visiting the city on occasions. In Swamp Thing #52, Alan Moore established that Gotham City was founded in 1635 by Captain Jon Logerquist.[1] Other writers have generally followed this backstory for Gotham City. According to the regular version of this story, Jon Logerquist was a Swedish mercenary who served the Swedish Empire during the Thirty Years' War and fought in the Battle of Nördlingen in Swabia. In order to flee the religious wars that were raging throughout Europe, Logerquist and a small group of colonists decided to pursue a new life in North America, where they established a settlement on the East Coast in 1635. Captain Logerquist named the territory Fort Adolphus after Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, who had died in the Battle of Lützen a few years earlier. Fort Adolphus along with New Netherland was later ceded to the British in 1674 and English General Adam Howe took over as governor. Howe then renamed the settlement Gotham City. To an extent, this mirrors the history of many American cities that changed hands over the course of time. During the American Revolutionary War, Gotham City was the site of a major battle and rumors held it to be the site of various occult rites. Shadowpact #5 by Bill Willingham expands upon Gotham's occult heritage by depicting a being who has slept for 40,000 years beneath the land upon which Gotham City was built. Strega, the being's servant, says that the "dark and often cursed character" of the city was influenced by the being who now uses the name "Doctor Gotham." Many storylines have added more events to Gotham's history, and at the same time affecting the city and its people greatly. Perhaps the greatest in impact was a long set of serial storylines, which started with Ra's Al Ghul releasing a debilitating virus called the "Clench" during the "Contagion" storyline. As that arc wrapped the city was beginning to recover only to suffer an earthquake described as being 7.6 on the Richter Scale in "Cataclysm". This resulted in the federal government cutting Gotham off from the rest of the United States in "No Man's Land." This trio of storylines allowed writers the freedom to redefine the nature and mood of the city. The result suggested a harder city with a more resilient, resourceful, and cynical populace; a more dramatic and varied architecture; and more writing possibilities by attributing new locales to the rebuilding of the city. Before Detective Comics #48, Batman's adventures were said to happen in New York City. Gotham is known to be architecturally modeled after New York City, but with exaggerated elements of the styles and derives its name from a sobriquet for that real world city, first popularized by the author Washington Irving in his satirical work Salmagundi (1807). Prior to that the term "Gotham" had been used to refer to places with foolish inhabitants since as early as the mid-15th century. The existence of Gotham, Nottinghamshire in the DC Universe was acknowledged in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #206 (and again in 52 #27), although the connection between two names within the DCU has not been fully explained. In a story titled 'Cityscape' in Batman Chronicles #6 it is revealed that Gotham was initially built for the purpose of housing the criminally insane, and Robin reads a journal that tells of how Gotham got its name; "I even have a name for it. We could call it 'Gotham' after a village in England - where, according to common belief, all are bereft of their wits. The name "Gotham City" is generally associated with Batman and DC Comics, although it also appears in the first Mr. Scarlet story by France Herron and Jack Kirby from Wow Comics #1. Kirby historian Greg Theakston notes that this was published December 13, 1940, shortly before Detective Comics #48 was published. In terms of atmosphere, Batman writer and editor Dennis O'Neil has said that, figuratively, "Batman's Gotham City is Manhattan below Fourteenth Street at eleven minutes past midnight on the coldest night in November." Gotham City's atmosphere took on a lighter tone in the comics of the 1950s and part of the 1960s, similar to the tone of Batman stories of that era. However, by the early 1970s the tone of the city, as well as that of the stories, had become grittier. In recent decades, the portrayal of Gotham has been as a dark and foreboding place rife with crime, grime, and corruption. Different artists have depicted Gotham in different ways. But they often base their interpretations on various real architectural periods and styles, with exaggerated characteristics, such as massively multi-tiered flying buttresses on cathedrals, or the huge Art Deco and Art Nouveau statuary seen in Tim Burton's movie version. Within the Batman mythos, the person cited as being influential in promoting the unique architecture of Gotham City during the pre-American Civil War era was Judge Solomon Wayne, Bruce Wayne's ancestor. His campaign to reform Gotham came to a head when he met a young architect named Cyrus Pinkney. Wayne commissioned Pinkney to design and to build the first "Gotham Style" structures in what became as the center of the city's financial district. The "Gotham Style" idea of the writers matches parts of the Gothic Revival in style and timing. In a 1992 storyline, a man obsessed with Pinkney's architecture blew up several Gotham buildings in order to reveal the Pinkney structures they had hidden; the editorial purpose behind this was to transform the city depicted in the comics to resemble the designs created by Nigel Phelps for the 1989 Batman film. After "No Man's Land", Lex Luthor took the challenge of rebuilding Gotham City after the events of "Cataclysm". Gotham's old Art-deco and Gothic structures were replaced with modern glass skyscrapers and buildings. A common theme in stories set in Gotham is the rampant and recurring corruption within the city's civil authorities and infrastructure, most notably within the Gotham City Police Department. During stories set early in Batman's career (most notably "Batman: Year One"), Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb was depicted as having his hands in many pockets. However, Batman found evidence for conspiracy charges, forcing Loeb to resign his position. Later stories depicted subsequent commissioners as also being corruptible, or open to various forms of influence. In other stories, Batman has had to take on crooked cops, either acting in collusion with supervillains, working for the mob, or on their own. Later stories, featuring James Gordon as the new Commissioner, show the two characters often uniting to purge corruption from the force. Gordon was the commissioner for about 9 to 10 years of continuity, then retired, handing the police force over to his replacement, Commissioner Akins. Recent stories have returned Gordon to the position of Commissioner. Gotham has a wide variety of sports teams; like their baseball teams, the Gotham Knights and the Gotham Griffins, their basketball team, the Gotham Guardsmen, their football team the Gotham Wildcats and their ice hockey team, the Gotham Blades. The Gotham Knights baseball team colors are black and gold like the Knights football team. The Griffins team colors are dark green and white. In The Dark Knight Rises directed by Christopher Nolan, several Pittsburgh Steelers players portray the fictional Gotham City football team, the Gotham Rogues. In The Batman, there is a different, or possibly an additional, basketball team called the Gotham Gators. Gotham City's geography, like other fictional cities' geographies in the DC Universe, has varied over the decades, because of changing writers, editors and storylines. At various times the depiction has Gotham on the shores of "Lake Gotham". The majority of appearances, however, place Gotham on the eastern coast of the United States. Maps shown in various comics have depicted the city in different places. Many of the maps directly use Manhattan, Vancouver, and other real coastlines as their basis, while others are completely original. One map showing Gotham City in relation to Metropolis, the home of Superman, published in New Adventures of Superboy #22 (October 1981), placed Gotham City and Metropolis on opposite sides of a large bay. In Swamp Thing vol. 2, #53 (October 1986) the geography of Rhode Island was the basis of another map of Gotham City. The current definitive maps of Gotham City are those based on the ones produced for the "No Man's Land" story arc. The distance between Gotham City and Metropolis has varied over the years, ranging everywhere from being hundreds of miles apart to being twin cities on opposite sides of a large bay. Blüdhaven, a city that for several years was home to Nightwing, is located near Gotham City. Additionally, the Seven Soldiers of Victory series Klarion the Witch Boy, calls New York City the "Cinderella City", referring to nearby Metropolis and Gotham as its "ugly step-sisters". One older theory was proposed by Mark Gruenwald, who later went on to be a major writer/editor at Marvel Comics, and published in the 1970s in the DC house fanzine, The Amazing World of DC Comics in an issue dedicated to the Justice League. Gruenwald suggested that Gotham City is located somewhere in the state of New Jersey while Metropolis is located in close vicinity to Washington, D.C. Man-Bat #3 refers to Gotham City being in the Central Time Zone. In Nightwing #153, when Dick Grayson moved back to Gotham City from New York City via commuter train, it was revealed that the travel time by train was six hours, while the same trip via air shuttle between the two cities was only 40 minutes. According to the Planetary/Batman one-shot, a Gotham City also exists in the Wildstorm universe. It is similar to its DC Universecounterpart, but is not usually home to costumed vigilantes. In Captain Atom: Armageddon Gotham City does not exist in the Wildstorm universe. The Atlas of the DC Universe, published in 1990 by Mayfair Games Inc. as a supplement to the DC Heroes role-playing game (under license from DC Comics), places Gotham City in southern New Jersey (and Metropolis in Delaware). This source, never officially recognized by DC Comics, has since been contradicted with regards to other locations. A Gotham City driver's licence shown in Batman: Shadow of the Bat annual #1, contains the line "Gotham City, NJ", placing Gotham City in New Jersey. Detective Comics #503 (June 1983) includes several references suggesting Gotham City is in or near New Jersey. A location on the Jersey Shore is described as "twenty miles north of Gotham." Robin and Batgirl drive from a "secret New Jersey airfield" to Gotham City and then drive on the "Hudson County Highway." Hudson County is the name of an actual New Jersey county. Many comic book series and characters are set in Gotham. The most notable characters are Batman and Robin. Some of the most prominent characters directly connected to Batman whose adventures are set in Gotham are Nightwing, Huntress, Barbara Gordon and most recently Batwoman. Other DC characters have also depicted to be living in Gotham, including Jason Blood, Ragman, The Question, Plastic Man, Zatara and Zatanna, and Tommy Monaghan, the anti-hero Hitman. The superhero teams Section 8 and the Justice Society of America are also shown operating in Gotham City. Within the DC Universe continuity, Batman is not the first hero in Gotham. Stories featuring Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, set before and during World War II depict Scott living in Gotham, and later depictions[5] show him running his Gotham Broadcasting Corporation. Additionally, the Justice Society of America and the Golden Age Black Canary have been depicted as operating in Gotham. Black Canary's daughter, the Modern Age Black Canary, is based in Gotham through much of the Birds of Prey series. Arella (formerly Angela Roth), a supporting character in Teen Titans and mother of Titan member Raven, is shown in flashback to have resided in Gotham City as a teenager. Apart from Gotham's superhero residents, the residents of the city feature in a back-up series in Detective Comics called "Tales of Gotham City" and in two limited series called Gotham Nights. Additionally, the Gotham City Police Department is the focus of the series Gotham Central. Ace Chemical Processing Plant — The factory where a costumed criminal named the Red Hood fell into a vat of chemicals and became the Joker, in Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke. Amusement Mile — An amusement park in Gotham, lined with ferriswheels, rollercoasters, and other attractions typical of a theme park. Blackgate Penitentiary — The city’s main prison, located on Blackgate Isle. Batman: The Long Halloween suggests that it was preceded by Gotham Penitentiary. The Bowery — Described in the comics as Gotham City's worst neighborhood. Bordered by Crime Alley to the north, The Bowery is home to Crown Point, a smaller inner-district ridden with crime, homelessness, and prostitution. Brentwood Academy — A privately run high school once attended by Tim Drake during Chuck Dixon's tenure as writer of Robin vol. 2. Burnley — A district located north of Sprang River that is connected with Mercey Island via the Schwartz Bypass. Named for writer Jack Burnley. The Cauldron — An area known for organized crime. The Irish Mob runs most of The Cauldron and it is home to some of the most prestigious hitmen in the city, per Hitman by Garth Ennis and John McCrea. The Clocktower — A tower in central Gotham which at one time contained the secret headquarters of Barbara Gordon, for her activities as Oracle. The "War Games" storyline shows the destruction of the Clocktower. Chinatown — Gotham's primary Asian district. Crime Alley — A small side street, located in the East End, formally "Park Row." It is a dangerous, crime-infested area. This is where Joe Chill killed Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of their young son, Bruce, after the family had visited a cinema. In addition, this is the location where Batman first met Jason Todd, when the youth attempted to steal the tires from the Batmobile. This is also where Doctor Leslie Thompkins maintains her clinic, and where Batman battles Superman in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Diamond District — An area run by the Penguin during the No Man's Land series. East End — An underdeveloped part of Gotham laden with poverty, crime, prostitution, and the circulation of illegal drugs. Some writers occasionally blend the East End together with Crime Alley as a single area in the city. In the Catwoman series, especially volume 3, Catwoman takes an active interest in protecting this area. Falcone Penthouse — This was the home of Carmine Falcone before Two-Face killed him. This was also the place where Batman first encountered Catwoman, and first faced Two-Face, all of this in Batman: The Long Halloween. Fashion District — An area run by the Penguin during the No Man's Land series. Finnigan's — A bar popular with uniformed police officers in Gotham. Gotham County High School — A public high school once attended by Tim Drake. Gotham Docks — This is the city's harbor. Among other stories, the harbor figures in Batman: The Long Halloween as the place the coroner's body is found. Gotham Heights — An affluent area also known as "Bristol" and/or "Crest Hill", due to mutual proximity of the three neighborhoods. This is where Wayne Manor is located. Gotham Square — A central area of the city resembling New York City's Times Square. Gotham Village — In 1970s comics this was a bohemian area, based on New York City's Greenwich Village. Grand Avenue — The city's main theatre district based on New York City's Broadway. The Iceberg Lounge — A nightclub in the city center operated by the Penguin. Killinger's Department Store — A large department store similar to Macy's in New York. Mercey Island — An island in the northern part of Gotham City that is home to Arkham Asylum and the D'Angelo Sewage Treatment Plant. Monarch Playing Card Co. — The playing card factory adjacent to Ace Chemical Processing that the Red Hood was attempting to rob before encountering the Batman and fleeing. My Alibi — An underworld bar in the city center. The Narrows — A run-down part of Gotham City that is located on a small island surrounded by the Finger River. The Gotham Narrows were originally created for the Nolanverse, but later incorporated into the regular comic continuity during the New 52 era. New Town- An area in which during the No Man's Land series, was the district operated by the Ventriloquist and his puppet Scarface. Old Gotham — The Gotham district more well known for the location of Oracle's Clock Tower and the GCPD headquarters. Park Row— The place where the Solomon Wayne Courthouse is located. Plant Factory — The place where Batman first fought Poison Ivy during his first year of operation. It apparently burned to the ground by the end of the battle. Robinson Park — The city’s main park. During "No Man's Land," Poison Ivy claimed this area as her own. Named for 1940s Batman artist and Joker co-creator Jerry Robinson. The Stacked Deck — A seedy nightclub where the most notorious criminals in Gotham go to hide out sometimes. The Statue of Justice — Also known as "Lady Gotham," this is a monument situated off shore of the city and modeled loosely on the Statue of Liberty in New York. It varies in that the figure has a blindfold over her eyes, and a sword and scales in her outstretched hands. Slaughter Swamp — Just outside Gotham, this swamp 'birthed' Solomon Grundy, a frequent villain to Alan Scott. Sullivan Island — A small island off the coast of Old Gotham that is connected with Downtown Gotham City via two bridges. It is sometimes also known as Elsa Island. Tricorner — An island at the southwest corner of Gotham City. It is home to the Tricorner Yards. Toxic Acres — An abandoned neighborhood of newly built houses, unsuitable for habitation due to its proximity to a toxic waste dump. To prevent illness, those entering or staying in the area need to use gas masks or take antivenin. At one-time Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn used the area as a hideout. Wayne Manor — Also referred to as "Wayne Mansion" or "Stately Wayne Manor," this is the mansion estate of Bruce Wayne, and the location of the Batcave. Wayne Tower — This is the headquarters of Wayne Enterprises, located at the corner of Finger and Broome Streets. Named for comic creators Bill Finger and John Broome.

Batman is a crimefighter operating in Gotham City, he serves as its protector, using the symbol of a bat to strike fear into the hearts of criminals. Unlike other superheroes, Batman is often depicted to lack any "superpowers", instead using lifelong training and equipment to fight crime. His secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a rich playboy and philanthropist who swore to fight crime after witnessing his parents' brutal murder. He has served as a member of various teams, including the Justice League, the Justice Society of America, and the Outsiders. Batman is also the founder and leader of various teams, including the Bat-Family, Batmen of All Nations and Batman Incorporated. He also goes by numerous nicknames, including "The Dark Knight", "the Caped Crusader", "World's Greatest Detective" and the "Defender of Gotham". Bruce Wayne is born to Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha Kane, two very wealthy and charitable socialites from Gotham City. Bruce was brought up in the wealthy splendor of Wayne Manor and leads a happy and privileged existence until roughly the age of eight. While returning home one night, his parents were killed by a small-time criminal named Joe Chill. After the incident, Bruce swears an oath to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents' lives. As he grows up, Bruce engages in intense intellectual and physical training. He also travels abroad, training in various martial arts, fields of science, criminology, and detective skills. After returning to Gotham, Bruce realizes that these skills alone would not be enough. "Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot", Wayne remarks, "so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible..." As if responding to his desires, a bat suddenly flies through the window, inspiring Bruce to assume the persona of Batman. In the early strips, Batman's career as a vigilante initially earns him the ire of the police. He initially operates alone, using only street contacts and circumstantial allies in his investigations. Batman also comes into conflict with various criminals, including a mad scientist Doctor Death, a vampire called the Monk, and a criminal mastermind Professor Hugo Strange. During this period Wayne was engaged to actress Julie Madison, though this is called off after several encounters with the serial killer Clayface. After witnessing the murders of circus acrobats called the Flying Graysons, Wayne takes in the couple's son Dick Grayson. The boy quickly joined him in his crusade as his sidekick Robin to help capture the criminal responsible for his parents' murder. Shortly afterward, Batman comes into contact with costumed criminals like Joker and Catwoman, who begin taking over the criminal underworld in Gotham. Batman also becomes a founding member of the Justice Society of America, although he, like Superman, is an honorary member and thus only participates occasionally. Batman's relationship with the law thaws quickly, and he is made an honorary member of the Gotham City Police Department by its commissioner, James Gordon. During this time, butler Alfred Pennyworth arrives at Wayne Manor and after deducing the Dynamic Duo's secret identities joins their service. During 1956, the main continuity for DC moved to Earth-One after the introduction of the second Flash, Barry Allen. Though Batman's past and adventures remain the same, many elements are reinterpreted, including his upbringing by uncle Philip Wayne and a history operating as the original Robin whilst under the guidance of Harvey Harris. Despite these, Batman and Robin retain similar tones to their late-Golden Age stories, though begin taking on enemies and criminals who utilize more fantastical gimmicks or advanced inventions. During it, the duo adopt a pet called Ace, who joins their crusade as "Bat-Hound", and begins receiving help from fellow vigilante Batwoman. This, along with additions of Bat-Mite and Bat-Girl, lead to the formation of the Bat-Family. Batman meets and regularly works with other heroes during the Silver Age, most notably Superman, whom he began regularly working alongside in a series of team-ups in World's Finest Comics, starting in 1954 and continuing through the series' cancellation in 1986. Batman and Superman are usually depicted as close friends. Batman becomes a founding member of the Justice League of America, appearing in its first story in 1960s Brave and the Bold #28. In the 1970s and 1980s, Brave and the Bold became a Batman title, in which Batman teams up with a different DC Universe superhero each month. In 1969, Dick Grayson attends college as part of DC Comics' effort to revise the Batman comics. Additionally, Batman also moves from Wayne Manor into a penthouse apartment atop the Wayne Foundation building in downtown Gotham City, in order to be closer to Gotham City's crime. Batman spends the 1970s and early 1980s mainly working solo, with occasional team-ups with Robin and/or Batgirl. Batman's adventures also become somewhat darker and more grim during this period, depicting increasingly violent crimes, including the first appearance (since the early Golden Age) of an insane, murderous Joker, and the arrival of Ra's Al Ghul. In the 1980s, Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing. In the final issue of Brave and the Bold in 1983, Batman quits the Justice League and forms a new group called the Outsiders. He serves as the team's leader until Batman and the Outsiders #32 (1986) and the comic subsequently changed its title. After the 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC Comics rebooted the stories of some major characters in an attempt at updating them for contemporary audiences. Frank Miller retold Batman's origin in the storyline Year One from Batman #404-407, which emphasizes a grittier tone in the character. Though the Earth-Two Batman is erased from history, many stories of Batman's Silver Age/Earth-One career (along with an amount of Golden Age ones) remain canonical in the post-Crisis universe, with his origins remaining the same in essence, despite alteration. For example, Gotham's police are mostly corrupt, setting up further need for Batman's existence. While Dick Grayson's past remains much the same, the history of Jason Todd, the second Robin, is altered, turning the boy into the orphan son of a petty crook, who tries to steal the tires from the Batmobile. Also removed is the guardian Phillip Wayne, leaving young Bruce to be raised by Alfred. Additionally, Batman is no longer a founding member of the Justice League of America, although he becomes leader for a short time of a new incarnation of the team launched in 1987. To help fill in the revised back story for Batman following Crisis, DC launched a new Batman title called Legends of the Dark Knight in 1989 and has published various miniseries and one-shot stories since then that largely take place during the "Year One" period. Various stories from Jeph Loeb and Matt Wagner also touch upon this era. In 1988's "Batman: A Death in the Family" storyline from Batman #426-429 Jason Todd, the second Robin, is killed by the Joker. Subsequently, Batman takes an even darker, often excessive approach to his crime-fighting. Batman works solo until the decade's close, when Tim Drake becomes the new Robin. In 2005 writers resurrected the Jason Todd character and pitted him against his former mentor. Many of the major Batman storylines since the 1990s have been inter-title crossovers that run for a number of issues. In 1993, the same year that DC published the "Death of Superman" storyline, the publisher released the "Knightfall" storyline. In the storyline's first phase, the new villain Bane paralyzes Batman, leading Wayne to ask Azrael to take on the role. After the end of "Knightfall", the storylines split in two directions, following both the Azrael-Batman's adventures, and Bruce Wayne's quest to become Batman once more. The story arcs realign in "KnightsEnd", as Azrael becomes increasingly violent and is defeated by a healed Bruce Wayne. Wayne hands the Batman mantle to Dick Grayson (then Nightwing) for an interim period, while Wayne trains to return to his role as Batman. 1994's company-wide crossover Zero Hour changes aspects of DC continuity again, including those of Batman. Noteworthy among these changes is that the general populace and the criminal element now considers Batman an urban legend rather than a known force. Similarly, the Waynes' killer is never caught or identified, effectively removing Joe Chill from the new continuity, rendering stories such as "Year Two" non-canon. Batman once again becomes a member of the Justice League during Grant Morrison's 1996 relaunch of the series, titled JLA. While Batman contributes greatly to many of the team's successes, the Justice League is largely uninvolved as Batman and Gotham City face catastrophe in the decade's closing crossover arc. In 1998's "Cataclysm" storyline, Gotham City is devastated by an earthquake. Deprived of many of his technological resources, Batman fights to reclaim the city from legions of gangs during 1999's "No Man's Land." While Lex Luthor rebuilds Gotham at the end of the "No Man's Land" storyline, he then frames Bruce Wayne for murder in the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" and "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive" story arcs; Wayne is eventually acquitted. DC's 2005 limited series Identity Crisis, reveals that JLA member Zatanna had edited Batman's memories, leading to his deep loss of trust in the rest of the superhero community. Batman later creates the Brother I satellite surveillance system to watch over the other heroes. Its eventual co-opting by Maxwell Lord is one of the main events that leads to the Infinite Crisis miniseries, which again restructures DC continuity. In Infinite Crisis, #7, Alexander Luthor, Jr. mentions that in the newly-rewritten history of the "New Earth", created in the previous issue, the murderer of Martha and Thomas Wayne - again, Joe Chill - was captured, thus undoing the retcon created after Zero Hour. Batman and a team of superheroes destroy Brother Eye and the OMACs. Following Infinite Crisis, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Tim Drake retrace the steps Bruce had taken when he originally left Gotham City, to "rebuild Batman". In the "Face the Face" storyline, Batman and Robin return to Gotham City after their year-long absence. At the end of the story arc, Bruce adopts Tim as his son. The follow-up story arc in Batman, "Batman & Son", introduces Damian Wayne, who is Batman's son with Talia al Ghul. Batman, along with Superman and Wonder Woman, reforms the Justice League in the new Justice League of America series, and is leading the newest incarnation of the Outsiders. Batman was involved in a battle with Dr. Simon Hurt and the "Black Glove," a criminal organization dedicated to corrupting virtue, as they attempted to destroy Batman and everything for which he stands. Using a mixture of physical and psychological attacks, the Black Glove tests Batman's resolve, forcing him to temporarily adopt the crazed persona of the "Batman of Zur-En-Arrh." He is then led to Arkham Asylum to face the Joker. Seemingly defeated, Batman is buried alive by the Black Glove, a group that includes Bruce Wayne's girlfriend, Jezebel Jet, who has betrayed him. With the assistance of Robin and Nightwing, he turns the tables on his foes. In a final confrontation with Dr. Hurt, Batman is caught in a helicopter crash. The storyline concludes with both Batman's fate and the true identity of Dr. Hurt still up in the air. Hurt himself repeatedly claimed to be Thomas Wayne throughout the story, while Batman apparently believed him to be Mangrove Pierce, a crazed actor. In Final Crisis #6, Batman confronts Darkseid in the villain's bunker. He states that he will make an exception to his "no firearms" rule and shoots Darkseid using the bullet that killed Orion and hits Darkseid. As Darkseid dies he fires the Omega Sanction (which traps its victim's soul in a series of alternate lives, each worse than the one before it), from his eyes, and hits Batman. Before the Omega Sanction hits Batman he silently says, "Gotcha". It is unknown if ' Batman knew Darkseid shot the Omega sanction or he knew it was coming and accepted his fate. (Morrison notes that Batman's use of the gun is symbolic as “the root of the Batman mythos is the gun and the bullet that created Batman. So, Batman himself is finally standing there to complete that big mythical circle and to have the image of Batman up against the actual personification of evil and now he's got the gun and he's got the bullet. It seemed to me to work.") At the close of the penultimate issue in the series, Superman returns to Earth from the 31st century, where he was given access to the reality-altering Miracle Machine by Brainiac 5 of the Legion of Super-Heroes. In a fit of desperate rage, Superman attacks Darkseid's bunker, finding Batman's charred corpse within. The Dark Knight is seemingly dead. However, the Omega Sanction does not kill its victims: instead, it sends their consciousness traveling through parallel worlds, and at the conclusion of Final Crisis, it is made clear that this is the fate that has befallen the still-living Batman, as he watches the passing of Anthro in the distant past. For the most part, Batman's family and friends come to believe that Bruce Wayne is indeed dead. The only exception to this is Bruce's adopted son Tim Drake, who believes firmly that Bruce is still alive. After having the Robin identity taken from him by Dick Grayson, the new Batman, and giving it to Bruce's son, Damian, Tim takes on the identity of Red Robin, and begins searching the world for signs that Bruce Wayne is still alive. While searching in Baghdad, Tim finds a wall painting of the Bat emblem that was painted by Bruce upon the passing of Anthro. Tim realizes that Bruce is not dead, but rather lost in time. In Blackest Night, the villain Black Hand is seen digging up Bruce Wayne's body, stealing his skull, and recruiting it into the Black Lantern Corps. Deadman, whose body has also become a Black Lantern, rushes to aid the new Batman and Robin, along with Red Robin against the Gotham villains who have been reanimated as Black Lanterns, as well as their own family members. The skull was briefly reanimated as a Black Lantern, reconstructing a body in the process by Black Hand's lord, Nekron, to move against the Justice League and the Titans. After the Black Lantern Batman created several black power rings to attach to and kill the majority of the Justice League, the skull was returned to normal after Nekron explained it served its purpose as an emotional tether. Nekron also referred to the skull as "Bruce Wayne", knowing that the body was not authentic. In Batman and Robin's third storyline, "Blackest Knight," it is revealed that the body left behind at the end of Final Crisis #6 was actually a clone created from a failed attempt by Darkseid to amass an army of Batmen. Because of this, the skull that was used by the Black Lantern Corps and reanimated by Nekron was a fake. Dick Grayson, thinking it was Bruce Wayne's real body, attempted to resurrect it in a Lazarus Pit only to be met with a fierce, mindless combatant. He then realized the truth about the body. It is revealed in the Final Crisis that Bruce Wayne is not dead, but in fact, lost in time and amnesiac. Maintaining a presence in Gotham, Bruce would be sent to Paleolithic era, the Puritan witch-hunting era, the 17 century, the Wild West days, the years he grew up in, and finally the far future. During these travels, Bruce fights an early Vandal Savage, investigates a murder under the guise of a witch-hunter, fights the dreaded pirate Blackbeard, and arranged the meeting of his ancestors Alan Wayne and Catherin Van Derm. During these encounters, Bruce was chased by Darkseid's Hyper-Adapter, which had been sent following him as a fallback plan to wipe out the present-day Earth. After an encounter with the Black Glove in the days following his parents' murder, Bruce gained access to Professor Carter Nichols' time machine and used it to travel to the End of the Universe. Upon arrival, Bruce's memories returned to him, during which he realized Darkseid had simply used his Omega Beams to banish him through time intentionally. Each time jump built up Omega Energy that would have destroyed Earth when he returned to the present day. Having mitigated the plan with the time jump, Bruce was rescued by Superman, Rip Hunter, Green Lantern, and Tim (now using the alias Red Robin). Merging with both the Hyper-Adapter and the robotic Architects, he returns within the Time Bubble so that the Justice League can remove the creature and throw it into the time stream. To remove the Omega Energy, Bruce goes into a medically induced coma. During this, he is offered a chance to embrace the Anti-Life Equation by Darkseid, though he refuses. Upon waking, Bruce decides to not only return to Gotham but to spread Batman's operations outside of Gotham City. Upon his return, Bruce Wayne goes public with the news that he has been funding his crusade the entire time, though does not inform Gotham that he is Batman. Sharing the identity with Dick (who had taken it whilst he was "dead"), Batman sets out to create a worldwide crime-fighting organization known as Batman Incorporated. The idea behind the organization is that each country or region will have its own specific Batman that will be funded by Bruce Wayne and his business empire. After a confrontation with the Legion of Doom, Batman learned that a legion of assassins had been sent to Gotham and were targeting Catwoman, Penguin, and Riddler. After defeating most of the group, he learned that they and the Joker had been involved with a master criminal called the Designer. Believed dead after a meeting gone wrong, Batman learned that he'd planned schemes for the villains that had been abandoned after his death. Whilst Catwoman attempted to stop her plans to steal his fortune, Batman defeated Deathstroke and stopped Riddler's scheme. Tracking down "the Designer", Batman realized too late that these were actually a larger scheme by the Joker to steal his fortune and turn it against him. As Joker used the acquired resources to wage an endless war against Gotham's civil citizens and law enforcement organizations, Batman confronted his new sidekick Punchline, during which he was injected with a new toxin. Joker also used the Designer's gas to resurrect the bodies of all his victims, using them to attack him. Physically and mentally drained from the fight, Batman was rescued by Harley Quinn, who helped him purge Punchline's toxins from his body. Whilst recovering, Bruce resolved to become a better Batman by living within and operating within Gotham, rather than outside of it. After subduing Punchline, Batman contacted the rest of the Bat Family to help defeat Joker's forces. In the aftermath of Joker's attacks, Batman donated his fortune to Lucius Fox and his family. He later abandoned Wayne Manor to set up operations within Gotham's Fort Graye neighborhood. During his early days, Batman learned that a Joker survivor called Bao Pham had become the murderous vigilante Clownhunter and that his former friend Ghost-Maker. After confronting the duo, he managed to convince them to help operate in Gotham City. Sometime later, Batman learned from the Teen Titans that Damian had begun killing criminals. After stopping him from killing KGBeast, his son abandoned the Robin identity and left Gotham. Following the Infinite Frontier event, Batman learns of a new criminal conspiracy led by the Scarecrow, leading him to seek out the Unsanity Collective. However, his focus on these lead to the Magistrate and Simon Saint to take over the city, using Peacekeepers to take over law enforcement. With the help of the Batman Family, the Dark Knight is able to defeat Scarecrow and disband the organization. In the aftermath, he helps clear the names of Batman Incorporated after they are implicated in a murder, during which he learns Lex Luthor has become their financer. After defeating both him and the Abyss, Batman gives the team's leadership to Ghost-Maker and helps foil an escape from Arkham Tower. He also reconnects with Damian and Talia whilst solving Ra's al Ghul's murder by a Deathstroke impersonator. After being framed for murder by the Penguin, Batman comes into conflict with the robot Failsafe: a countermeasure created by the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh following the Tower of Babel incident. During their final confrontation, Batman is transported to an alternate reality ruled by Red Mask, an alternate version of the Joker who has been experimenting with the multiverse. Since this reality's Bruce Wayne died, he becomes the "Bat-Man" of this reality to overthrow Red Mask's regime, working alongside alternate versions of allies such as Alfred and Selina. Batman also loses his right hand during a fight with an alternate Ghost-Maker. After overthrowing Red Mask's regime, Batman chases after him in the Multiverse and defeats him with the assistance of other versions of himself. After being recovered by Tim, Batman helps the Justice League defeat Insomnia, though the effects place him into a coma due to the amount of stress on his body. After awakening from it, he come into conflict with Catwoman due to her usage of criminals to steal from Gotham's wealthy and reduce white-collar crime. Batman, in most of his incarnations, is a dark and brooding hero with a personal vendetta against crime and injustice. Psychologically traumatized by the death of his parents, Batman has sworn to rid Gotham from the criminal elements that took his parents away from him. He is extremely pessimistic and suspicious, which often makes it difficult for him to trust people other than Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Lucius Fox, the Robins, or the Batgirls. Despite this, Batman has proved to have a great love for humanity, which was instilled by his parents. His father was a doctor, while his mother was a crusader against child abuse. Indeed, Batman's oath of vengeance is tempered with the greater ideal of justice. He refrains from killing, as he feels this would not make him any better than the criminals he fights. He is also a very prominent member of the Justice League and the founder of the Outsiders. To protect his secret identity, Batman has constructed a fake persona he can use in his civilian identity. To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is a self-absorbed, irresponsible playboy and philanthropist. Only his closest allies know that this attitude is just an act. It's implied that he also considers Batman his true identity and that his civilian identity was essentially an alter ego as a result of having to watch his parents be gunned down. Throughout the years, Bruce Wayne's family has often changed, with members either appearing, being added, and retconned both in and out of continuity. Despite this, it is widely regarded that he has two different families: the biological Wayne Family and the surrogate Bat-Family. The two most important figures of the Wayne family are Bruce's parents Thomas and Martha Wayne, whose murder served as the main factor that inspired activities as Batman. However, their charitable activities has also inspired him to use him to continue such causes, often to ensure he can improve the living conditions of Gotham's citizens. Several other members of the Wayne Family have also appeared over the years, such as his uncle Philip Wayne, aunt Agatha Wayne, various cousins such as Van Wayne, and propertied brothers like Thomas Wayne, Jr. and Lincoln March. The Waynes also share a vast history with Gotham City and the wider world of the DC Universe. Though his mother, Bruce's maternal family includes the Kanes, whose members have included various members tied to Gotham's past. After DC's restructuring in the Post-Crisis continuities, Alfred Pennyworth's relationship has changed from serving just as his butler to also being Bruce's surrogate father and legal guardian. Through this, Bruce has become linked to the Pennyworth family, including Alfred's daughter Julia. Likewise, the Batman Family itself is widely considered part of Batman's surrogate family, Bruce adopted and served as a paternal figure to several members of the Batman family (such as Dick Grayson, Lance Bruner, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake, and Duke Thomas) or tied to him via family relations (Kathy Kane, Bette Kane and Kate Kane). Among his protégés are Barbara Gordon, Helena Bertinelli, Stephanie Brown, Carrie Kelley, Hank Clover and Claire Clover. Through relationships with several women, Bruce has had children, notably Helena Wayne, Echo, Bruce Wayne, Jr. and Aion (with Selina Kyle / Catwoman) and Tallant Wayne, Damian Wayne and Athanasia (with Talia). Sometimes this is due to scientific methods, such as the Damian clone, Heretic, and (in some continuities) Terry McGinnis / Batman Beyond and his brother Matt. Many of his children have also started crime-fighting activities, often alongside him or when he is unable to assume the identity of Batman. Some continuities also stated that Bruce will have descendants through them or through other children, many of whom will become Batmen or Batwomen of the future.