Bruce Wayne

Bruce Wayne is the billionaire son of Thomas and Martha Wayne and CEO of Wayne Enterprises. He is also the secret identity of the crime-fighting Vigilante known as the Batman.

Bruce Wayne was raised in the fictional city of Gotham where has parents owned Wayne Enterprises, employing some 170,000 people. When Bruce was a young boy he witnessed the tragic murder of his parents, by the criminal Joe Chill, late one night after leaving a theater (where the movie "Zorro" was playing). He was put in the custody of the Wayne family butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce grew up enraged and traumatized by his parents death. Years later when Wayne was in his early 20's, he took to crime fighting as a way to deal with his anger, as well as avenge his parents. One evening whilst brooding over his inability to intimidate criminals, a bat came flying through the window of his study at stately Wayne Manor. This event sparked the idea of donning a frightening bat-like costume. The concept of a bat-themed suit resonated with Bruce due to his childhood fear of bats and the memory of his father wearing a bat costume to a masquerade party.

Bruce Wayne has appeared as Batman in comic books, graphic novels, novels. cartoon series, television series, animated films, and feature films since his creation in 1939 by cartoonists Bob Kane and Bill Finger.