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| 3 | %% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them. |
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| 6 | |
| 7 | [[WMG:[[center:[-''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Batman}} Main Character Index]]'''\ |
| 8 | '''Title Character'''\ |
| 9 | [[Characters/BatmanTheCharacter Batman]] ([[Characters/BatmanBruceWayne Bruce Wayne]])\ |
| 10 | '''Allies'''\ |
| 11 | [[Characters/BatmanBatFamily The Bat-Family]] (Characters/{{Batgirl}} | Characters/{{Batwoman}} | [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Jason Todd]] | Characters/{{Robin}}) | '''Extended Bat-Family & Other Supporting Cast''' (Characters/{{Azrael}} | [[Characters/BatmanHuntress Huntress]])\ |
| 12 | '''[[Characters/BatmanRoguesGallery Villains]]'''\ |
| 13 | [[Characters/BatmanBane Bane]] | Characters/{{Catwoman}} ([[Characters/CatwomanSelinaKyle Selina Kyle]]) | [[Characters/BatmanClayface Clayface]] | Characters/HarleyQuinn ([[Characters/HarleyQuinnTheCharacter Harleen Quinzel]]) | [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] | [[Characters/BatmanLadyShiva Lady Shiva]] | [[Characters/BatmanLeagueOfAssassins League of Assassins]] ([[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's Al Ghul]] | [[Characters/BatmanTaliaAlGhul Talia Al Ghul]]) | [[Characters/BatmanMrFreeze Mr. Freeze]] | [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin The Penguin]] | [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]] | [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]] | [[Characters/BatmanTheScarecrow The Scarecrow]] | [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two Face]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart1 A-F]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart2 G-L]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart3 M-R]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart4 S-Z]]\ |
| 14 | '''Spin-Offs'''\ |
| 15 | ''Characters/Batgirl2000'' | ''Characters/BatmanIncorporated'' | ''Characters/DarkNightsMetal'' ([[Characters/DarkNightsMetalTheBatmanWhoLaughs The Batman Who Laughs]]) | ''Characters/IAmBatman'' | ''Characters/{{Nightwing}}'' ([[Characters/NightwingDickGrayson Dick Grayson]]) | ''Characters/{{The Outsiders|DCComics}}'' | ''Characters/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws'' | ''Characters/Robin1993'' ([[Characters/RobinTimDrake Tim Drake]]) | ''Characters/Robin2021'' ([[Characters/RobinDamianWayne Damian Wayne]])-]]]]] |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Batman has built up a large cast of allies over the years. These are his allies that are either considered to be "unofficial" Batfamily members or allies from outside the Batclan. Due to the nature of comic book continuity, currently held identities are in '''bold'''. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | [[Characters/{{Batman}} Back to the main character page]] |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 23 | |
| 24 | !!Extended Batfamily |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[folder:'''Azrael I''' / Batman II]] |
| 27 | !!Azrael I |
| 28 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/azrael_i.png]] |
| 29 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Jean-Paul Valley |
| 30 | |
| 31 | ->''"You have no secrets from me because you have no secrets from God! I am his righteous blade, the last to die, his Angel of Death... I am Azrael!"'' |
| 32 | |
| 33 | Named after the Angel of Death, Jean-Paul Valley was an agent of the Sacred Order of Saint Dumas. Jean-Paul becomes a more independent crime fighter after acting as Batman for a time. |
| 34 | ---- |
| 35 | -> See Characters/{{Azrael}} |
| 36 | [[/folder]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder:Azrael II]] |
| 39 | !!Azrael II |
| 40 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Azrael_Michael_Lane2_1757.png]] |
| 41 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Michael Lane |
| 42 | -> ''"[[BadassBoast I am]] [[LargeHam the]] [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Dark Knight]] of {{God}}! I am '''Azrael'''."'' |
| 43 | -->--'''ComicBook/{{Azrael}} (Michael Lane)''' |
| 44 | |
| 45 | Michael Lane was once a GCPD officer who volunteered to be part of an experiment that would make him and two others into the next Batman should Bruce ever be unable to fulfill his duties. In actuality, the experiment was run by Dr. Simon Hurt, who implanted subliminal messages into the three replacement Batmen. Eventually, Lane was "activated" and became a murderous, flamethrower-wielding Batman and fought the real Batman. He was defeated, and after a failed plan to kill Batman alongside Dr. Hurt, disappeared. |
| 46 | |
| 47 | However, he was later chosen by the Sacred Order of St. Dumas splinter group the Order of Purity to become the new Azrael. Donning the Suit of Sorrows, he was eventually allowed to operate in Gotham. |
| 48 | ---- |
| 49 | -> See Characters/{{Azrael}} |
| 50 | [[/folder]] |
| 51 | |
| 52 | [[folder:'''Catwoman I''']] |
| 53 | !!Catwoman I |
| 54 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CatwomanTrope_1820.jpg]] |
| 55 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Selina Kyle |
| 56 | ->''Meow.'' |
| 57 | |
| 58 | She started out as a run-of-the-mill villain, but Catwoman is known by ninety percent of the world today as Batman's main love interest. As the definition of a "cat burglar", Selina was, in many ways, as much of a dark counterpart to Batman as the Joker was (she's even got an animal theme!). Time after time, she would steal valuable jewels and the like (often items with a cat theme), and time after time, the Dark Knight would put a stop to her. As these "dates" went on, she became more and more infatuated with Batman, an attraction he mostly reciprocates but that he hates to admit. |
| 59 | |
| 60 | Out of all of Batman's love interests, Selina is probably the most supported one, mainly because she's one of the few who can fight. By TheNineties, she had moved out of "supervillain" territory and become more of an anti-heroine. Various origin stories by authors such as Creator/FrankMiller and Ed Brubaker suggest that before she became Catwoman, she was a StreetUrchin who suffered a variety of (often sexually-related) troubles before becoming who she is today. After the nineties, she is a wealthy socialite who steals for the hell of it (and help out the Bat-Family on occasion). |
| 61 | |
| 62 | For a while, Selina went straight, and even had a baby, but soon enough, the reluctance of Franchise/TheDCU to let anybody in the Bat-universe have a happy life returned her to her costumed persona after a tragic event involving B-list villains Angle Man and Film Freak. Additionally, it is revealed that her going straight may have had something to do with Zatanna's magic instead of her own will. Either way, she makes a very effective hero when she wants to be. Her experience, skill, and social influence are second only to Bats himself, and she has no qualms using lethal force to get the job done. |
| 63 | |
| 64 | |
| 65 | See [[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} her page]] for more info. |
| 66 | ---- |
| 67 | [[/folder]] |
| 68 | |
| 69 | [[folder:Catwoman II]] |
| 70 | !!Catwoman II |
| 71 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Catwoman_-_Holly_Robinson_7128.jpg]] |
| 72 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Holly Robinson |
| 73 | |
| 74 | Catwoman's pal Holly Robinson first appeared in ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'' as a child prostitute who lived with Selina Kyle. Later, Holly returned as Selina's GirlFriday in Creator/EdBrubaker's relaunch of the ''Catwoman'' title. Over the course of the series, Holly worked as Catwoman's spy on the streets, learned boxing moves from Wildcat, got a nice girlfriend, and became a den mother to a bunch of street urchins. Holly later became the second Catwoman when Selina temporarily retired. |
| 75 | |
| 76 | After ending her brief stint as a replacement Catwoman, Holly left Gotham and was thrown into the cast of ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis''. Holly spent most of ''Countdown'' in a state of constant {{facepalm}}ing, as she began an OddFriendship with Harley Quinn and tried to make sense of a plot involving fake Amazons and Granny Goodness. Post-''Countdown'', Holly ran away to ComicBookLimbo. |
| 77 | |
| 78 | She was seemingly RetGone'd in the New 52, with some of her role going to Eiko Hasigawa. However, Tom King's "I am Suicide" arc re-establishes her as canon, and she is now a girl who Selina grew up with at an orphanage. |
| 79 | ---- |
| 80 | -> See: Characters/{{Catwoman}}. |
| 81 | [[/folder]] |
| 82 | |
| 83 | [[folder:Catwoman III]] |
| 84 | !!Catwoman III |
| 85 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eiko_hasigawa_002.jpg]] |
| 86 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Eiko Hasigawa |
| 87 | |
| 88 | ->''I'm going to lead the Hasigawas. I'm going to burn Black Mask to the ground. And unless you want to make an enemy, you're not going to get in my way."'' |
| 89 | |
| 90 | The [[MafiaPrincess daughter of a Yakuza family]], introduced in the ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} ongoing, Eiko admired Catwoman as a Robin Hood type of figure. When Selina becomes a mob boss, Eiko decides to take on the mantle herself. |
| 91 | ---- |
| 92 | ->See: Characters/{{Catwoman}}. |
| 93 | [[/folder]] |
| 94 | |
| 95 | [[folder:'''Gotham Girl''']] |
| 96 | !!Gotham Girl |
| 97 | [[quoteright:289:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gotham_girl.png]] |
| 98 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Claire Clover |
| 99 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''DCU: Rebirth'' #1 (July, 2016) |
| 100 | |
| 101 | ->''"Everyone gets scared. But remember, all that means is everyone gets the opportunity to fight that fear. Everyone gets the chance to be '''brave.'''''" |
| 102 | |
| 103 | A young woman from a rich family who were saved by Batman. Claire's brother Hank was inspired by Batman and passed on his obsession to Claire. The two worked in homeless shelters and developing countries before one day undergoing a procedure to attain superpowers. They returned to Gotham, where they help with Batman's war on crime as Gotham and Gotham Girl. |
| 104 | ---- |
| 105 | * AlliterativeName: '''Cl'''aire '''Cl'''over as well as her alias '''G'''otham '''G'''irl. |
| 106 | * AscendedFangirl: Became a fan of Batman thanks to her brother, and now works with Batman. |
| 107 | * BlueIsHeroic: Her original costume was mostly blue, and she was pretty earnest is her idea of being a hero. |
| 108 | * BreakTheCutie: Over the course of Tom King's Rebirth run, Gotham Girl is put through a ''massive'' TraumaCongaLine that culminates in her becoming a mentally unhinged pawn in Bane's master plan to break Batman for good and finally seize Gotham City for himself. |
| 109 | * CastFromLifespan: The Gothams tend to use their powers enough that they're as strong and fast as Superman. This actually shortens their lifespans, and she says if they kept going, they'd only live for two years. However, they can further increase their powers, to the point where Gotham was able to easily defeat the Justice League on his own while Gotham Girl was able to solo and cripple Captain Atom without much exertion. Bruce eventually offers a rehabilitated Claire a permanent cure in the form of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Platinum Kryptonite]] acquired from Superman. By just touching it once, she can now use her abilities to their fullest without the life draining caveat. |
| 110 | * TheDreaded: In the ''City of Bane'' story arc, Gotham Girl is this even more so than Thomas thanks to her [[BewareTheSuperman Kryptonian level superpowers]] in a city turned PoliceState where most costumed individuals are street level at best. This gets to a point where billboards with her face on it are erected to [[BigBrotherIsWatching discourage citizens from breaking the law.]] |
| 111 | * {{Expy}}: WordOfGod confirms she's an intentional one of Supergirl. Her appearance, costume, even her powerset are all evocative of the Girl of Steel. Following her temporary FaceHeelTurn, Claire becomes a EvilCounterpart of Robin complete with a wardrobe change and Flashpoint Thomas Wayne serving as her Batman. |
| 112 | * FlyingBrick: Bruce compares her and Gotham to Superman on more than one occasion. She's actually ''stronger''. |
| 113 | * HappilyMarried: Her narration in the epilogue of "I am Gotham" has her mention that she's married to Duke. |
| 114 | * ImportantHaircut: She cuts her hair extremely short, while talking to her dead brother. It's from then that she becomes ''much'' more unhinged until Batman helps to settle her down while he can find a more permanent solution. Her hair grows back across the later arcs, and her sanity returns as well. |
| 115 | * MagicSkirt |
| 116 | * MinidressOfPower: Wears a very short skirt, sometimes barely long enough to cover her crotch, sometimes long enough to reach halfway down her thighs. |
| 117 | * ModestyShorts: DependingOnTheArtist, she sometimes wears shorts to downplay the above trope. [[AuthorAppeal Obviously]], David Finch, who first drew her, does not draw these. |
| 118 | * MotorMouth: As her sanity continues to decline, Claire tends to have [[TalkingToTheDead vocal discussions with her late brother]] or go on [[CharacterFilibuster introspective ramblings]] reflecting on her current situation. |
| 119 | * PurpleIsPowerful: Her second costume is purple and she's one of the few truly superpowered vigilantes of Gotham. |
| 120 | * SuperPowerLottery: The Clovers got their money's worth. |
| 121 | ** {{Flight}}: Faster than a speeding bullet. |
| 122 | ** HeatVision |
| 123 | ** SuperStrength: More powerful than a locomotive. |
| 124 | ** XRayVision: She calls it "Ultra-Vision", but it works on all frequencies. |
| 125 | * UnskilledButStrong: Has no martial arts experience and is new in the use of her powers. She can also bench press a plane. Bruce says he'll get her proper training so that she can fight crime without relying on her powers. |
| 126 | [[/folder]] |
| 127 | |
| 128 | [[folder:Harold Allnut]] |
| 129 | !!Harold Allnut |
| 130 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b013e1d23af340f17101074bc6bb473b.jpg]] |
| 131 | [[caption-width-right:350:Batman's Chief Mechanic]] |
| 132 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Question'' #33 (December, 1989) |
| 133 | |
| 134 | ->''You are my hero. You would always win...Forgive me.'' |
| 135 | |
| 136 | Harold Allnut was born a mute hunchback. He found his way north to Hub City in ''The Question'' #33 after his parents threw him out of their Gotham City home. |
| 137 | |
| 138 | He later came back to Gotham, where he came to the Penguin's attention. When the criminal learned of Harold's mechanical genius he provided shelter in exchange for Harold creating new devices to be used in the Penguin's criminal activity. Harold's life was threatened whenever he tried to object. Batman fought Penguin's forces several times, eventually discovering and rescuing Harold. |
| 139 | |
| 140 | Grateful, Harold used his skills to help Batman build new gear; eventually maintaining everything from the Batmobile to the Batcave's computer systems. Shortly after Harold came to live in the Batcave, Batman's back was broken during a confrontation with the villain Bane. As Bruce Wayne began his recuperation process, he relinquished the mantle of the Bat to his recently acquired ally, Jean-Paul Valley who was currently serving as the hero Azrael. As Valley slowly spiraled into madness he barred Harold from Batcave. Harold found a secret entrance and worked in secret, ultimately supporting ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, ComicBook/{{Robin}}, and a recovered Wayne as they confronted Valley. |
| 141 | |
| 142 | After the events in ''ComicBook/BatmanCataclysm'', Harold helped reconstruct Gotham. He disappeared during ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', sent away by Alfred. He wasn't seen again until his involvement in the Hush storyline |
| 143 | |
| 144 | During the ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'' storyline, Dr. Tommy Elliot, later revealed to be Hush, used his surgical skills to correct Harold's deformities. To repay him, Harold hid microcircuits inside the Batcave's computer systems. The circuits then transmitted subliminal cues into Batman's mind, throwing the Caped Crusader off balance as Hush pressed forward his plan. Hush eventually killed Harold before he could reveal his identity. As he died, Harold confessed to Batman that he continued to look up to the hero, despite his own betrayal. |
| 145 | |
| 146 | Batman researched and found Harold's full name, Harold Allnut, which he inscribed on his gravestone. |
| 147 | |
| 148 | Often forgotten in modern adaptations. |
| 149 | ---- |
| 150 | * CanineCompanion: He is best buddies with Ace the Bathound. |
| 151 | * DemotedToExtra: Harold appears in just a single issue of ComicBook/TheNew52 timeline, where he still acts as a mechanic for Batman but lives outside of the Batcave. |
| 152 | * DroppedABridgeOnHim: Shows up in one page in the Hush storyline only to get killed off by Hush. |
| 153 | * ForgottenFallenFriend: Rarely mentioned after his murder, though Tim does bitterly bring up his brutal murder when Bruce sends him to try and recruit Hiro Okumura to help build new vehicles. |
| 154 | * GeniusCripple: The poor guy was born a mute hunchback and abandoned by his parents. Nevertheless, he was an incredible technological savant, who helps build a lot of the Bat-family's important gadgets. |
| 155 | * GadgeteerGenius: He was such a good one that the Penguin took interest in him and had him design a machine that can control birds. Later Batman would adopt him and give him a new home in the Batcave, in gratitude he offer his service as his chief mechanic. |
| 156 | * HypercompetentSidekick: Along with his friend Alfred Pennyworth. This is the guy who takes care of the Batcave and fixes and maintains the Batcomputer, Batmobiles, Redbird, and even helps design their costumes. |
| 157 | * IntergenerationalFriendship: Harold is friends with the much younger [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Tim Drake]], they found common ground in their interest in trying to make and test out new gadgets. |
| 158 | * MrFixit: He can and does repair and maintain the Batclan's fleet of vehicles with ease. |
| 159 | * PutOnABus: After the event of No-Man's Land, he left the Batcave in order to help rebuild the city. He pretty much disappears until the Hush Storyline, where he is killed off. |
| 160 | [[/folder]] |
| 161 | |
| 162 | [[folder:Huntress (Pre-Crisis / New 52)]] |
| 163 | !!Huntress (Pre-Crisis / New 52) |
| 164 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-2147067-huntress_profile_9591.jpg]] |
| 165 | [[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/helena_wayne_robin.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see her as Robin]] |
| 166 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Helena Wayne |
| 167 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''All-Star Comics'' #69 (December, 1977) |
| 168 | |
| 169 | ->''" I may have learned how to fight for the law in congress and the courts, but I was born to defend it in the streets."'' |
| 170 | |
| 171 | Batman and Catwoman ''finally'' confessed their love for one another, then got married and had a daughter. The daughter, Helena, had all the benefits of being rich (an excellent education, etc.), was trained by her parents to be an excellent athlete, and joined Dick Grayson's law firm. However, tragedy struck and Selena was blackmailed into donning the Catwoman suit for one more heist, which led to her death. Swearing vengeance on the blackmailer, Helena Wayne became the costumed heroine, the Huntress. No, this was not a badly written fan-fic, this was what happened on Earth-Two, during the pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} era. Even after her father, the Earth-Two Batman, died in battle with a villain after coming out of semi-retirement one last time, she continued crimefighting with Dick Grayson (''still'' going by Robin even though he was well into middle age), and joined the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica. Then ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' happened, and all of the Earth-Two characters "never existed". |
| 172 | |
| 173 | ... until the 'New 52' reboot, where Earth 2 is not the previous Earth-Two. In the New 52 Earth 2, Helena Wayne was trained by her father to be the perfect Robin. Somehow or another, she ended up in the main 52-verse, where she took on the identities of Huntress and Helena Bertinelli. She would eventually return to Earth 2 with her friend Power Girl. |
| 174 | |
| 175 | See [[ComicBook/{{Huntress}} Huntress personal page]] for more info. |
| 176 | |
| 177 | [[/folder]] |
| 178 | |
| 179 | [[folder:'''Nobody II''']] |
| 180 | !!Nobody II |
| 181 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nobody_ii_maya_ducard.jpg]] |
| 182 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Maya Ducard |
| 183 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Robin: Son of Batman'' #1 (August, 2015) |
| 184 | |
| 185 | ->''"He killed the bad guys. Made us ghosts. We only become real when we need to make an impression."'' |
| 186 | |
| 187 | Maya Ducard is the daughter of Morgan Ducard, the first Nobody and a murderous rival of Bruce Wayne's. Raised to be a deadly assassin just like her father, she has never actually taken a life. She accompanied her father on his missions and had the same equipment as him; namely a cloaking device and sonic weapons in her palms. After her father's murder at the hands of Damian Wayne, she is determined to kill him, but ends up helping him on his Year of Atonement quest, ostensibly so she can kill him when he's done. She instead befriends him and turns away from her family's life of villainy, instead becoming a superhero and ally of Damian's. |
| 188 | ---- |
| 189 | * AbusiveParents: She makes no secret of her father's treatment of her. Still, she loved him all the same. |
| 190 | * AmbiguouslyBrown: Her father and grandfather are Ambiguously Brown as well, and we don't know the identity of her mother. She's noticeably lighter skinned than her dad, however. |
| 191 | * BadassNormal: She's not on par with Damian, but she ''is'' a really good fighter, and was trained from birth by her father. |
| 192 | * CoolBigSis: She acts as this to Damian, as much as he hates it. She later adopts this role towards Jon Kent whenever he's around, and ''he'' does like it. |
| 193 | * DaddysLittleVillain: She was groomed to be just like her father, and ''did'' work with him. She just never killed anyone and turns away from that life pretty easily. |
| 194 | * DefectorFromDecadence: She comes from a family of assassins but has a strong moral fiber and turns away from that life. |
| 195 | * InformationBroker: Her dad had this role among DC's assassin characters, and after his death she took up the role. |
| 196 | * {{Invisibility}}: Her most often used gadget. |
| 197 | * TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: She's absolutely giddy to meet Superman and is touched when he compliments her on her choice to turn away from the life of an assassin like Nobody. |
| 198 | * LegacyCharacter: Takes up the Nobody identity after finding out about her father's death. |
| 199 | * MissingMom: We never learn the identity of her mother, but Maya does resolve to find her after moving past Damian's murder of her father. It's implied that Maya's mother is why she didn't turn out like her dad. |
| 200 | * NiceGirl: Despite her family and previous profession, she's actually surprisingly nice to everyone. [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Jon Kent]], himself a NiceGuy, even notes it. |
| 201 | * OutOfFocus: Despite being one of Damian's closest associates in the ''ComicBook/New52'' and ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' continuities, she's rarely ever brought up outside of her debut in ''ComicBook/RobinSonOfBatman'', with her appearance in ''[[ComicBook/SupermanRebirth Superman #10]]'' being a complete surprise. |
| 202 | * RedeemingReplacement: While she keeps her dad's name, her costume is much whiter and she's not villainous. |
| 203 | * SonicStunner: She has blasters in the palms of her suit that can blast various types of sonics. |
| 204 | [[/folder]] |
| 205 | |
| 206 | [[folder:Orpheus (Gavin King)]] |
| 207 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gavinking.jpg]] |
| 208 | |
| 209 | -> ''In mythology, Orpheus went to Hades to rescue his dead wife Eurydice. He failed. Perhaps Gotham City is this Orpheus' version of Hell. I wonder who he's trying to save.'' |
| 210 | --> -- '''Doctor Excess''', ''Batman: Family Vol 1 #3'' |
| 211 | |
| 212 | A Gotham crimefighter with a specialized stealth suit who infiltrates gangs to try and control them from the inside. He has a background in dance and martial arts especially Kung Fu. After graduating from college he traveled the world in a dance troupe where the poverty he saw and losses he suffered inspired him to try and combat crime. He was recruited and trained by a secret organization which gave him his high tech suit and funded his activities in Gotham, his hometown to which he returned to fight crime. |
| 213 | ---- |
| 214 | * BadassLongcoat: His stealth suit has one. |
| 215 | * BadassNormal: No superpowers, just his martial arts training and his stealth suit. |
| 216 | * BlackAndNerdy: In his youth he was picked on and bullied for being a dancer, it's why he started learning Kung Fu which he adapted to quickly seeing it as another form of dance. |
| 217 | * CoolHelmet: Part of his stealth suit. |
| 218 | * DanceBattler: He was a dancer first and has viewed martial arts as an extension of dancing since his youth. |
| 219 | * DependingOnTheArtist: Just how purple is the stealth suit when it's not being used to camouflage? |
| 220 | * ForgottenFallenFriend: He's not mentioned much after his death and does not appear to have a memorial in the Batcave, on the other hand he was largely independent of the Bats and tended to consider anytime they worked together as a favor. |
| 221 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: His superhero name references the Orpheus of myth, whose story is a ''tragedy'' and whose manner of death is not all that dissimilar to Gavin's. |
| 222 | * GoodOldFisticuffs: He rarely fights with any other weapon. |
| 223 | * InvisibilityCloak: His stealth suit operates like an imperfect one. |
| 224 | * KilledOffForReal: In ''Batman: War Games'', specifically ''Batman: Gothan Knights'' #57. |
| 225 | * LetsYouAndHimFight: The first time he and Batman meet they have a misunderstanding which leads to a fight. |
| 226 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 227 | ** Guy with the last name King ends up leading a gang. |
| 228 | ** Orpheus, he returned to Gotham largely for his first love, and it hints at the manner of his death as well. |
| 229 | * TheMole: In the Hill Gang which he took leadership of with Onyx acting as his bodyguard and NumberTwo. |
| 230 | * MyGreatestFailure: How he views his failure to save his friend the Marcus Cooper from Doctor Excess' experiments in time to save his life. |
| 231 | * SlashedThroat: Black Mask kills him this way. |
| 232 | [[/folder]] |
| 233 | |
| 234 | [[folder:'''The Question II''']] |
| 235 | !!The Question II |
| 236 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-The_2nd_Question_2773.jpg]] |
| 237 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Renee Montoya |
| 238 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #475 (March, 1992) |
| 239 | |
| 240 | ->''"Some questions can only be answered with a mask."'' |
| 241 | |
| 242 | Renee Montoya was an officer of the GCPD. She was Harvey Bullock's partner until he was promoted to lieutenant and stayed in Gotham during No Man's Land; it was then that a connection between her and Harvey Dent/Two-Face was first established. After No Man's Land, her new partner is Crispus Allen, a cop from Metropolis. When she is outed due to Two-Face's machinations - Two-Face being in love with her - she is disowned by her family. Renee struggles with anger issues for more than a year until Infinite Crisis breaks and Cris is murdered by DirtyCop Jim Corrigan. She comes close to crossing [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim the line]] once more, and leaves the force. However, [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Victor Sage]] took her in during this stressful time and made her his protégé. |
| 243 | |
| 244 | The events of ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' reveal that she has become [[ComicBook/TheQuestion the new Question]] after the death of Vic Sage, where she saved her friend (and ex), wealthy socialite Kate Kane, the new ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}. |
| 245 | |
| 246 | Renee was missing for the first few years of the ComicBook/New52, but finally returned to the GCPD after having been a member of the BlĂĽdhaven Police Department for five years in-universe. She remained with the GCPD in the ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' era, which also saw Renee rekindling her relationship with Kate Kane and eventually retaking the mantle of The Question. |
| 247 | ---- |
| 248 | * AdaptationalSexuality: She's one of the more famous lesbians in comics, but according to the SeriesBible for ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' she originally joined the force after the death of her husband. |
| 249 | * TheAlcoholic: Renee's alcoholism is a significant part of ''Gotham Central'' and some of ''52'', and becomes particularly bad after [[spoiler:Crispus Allen's murder]]. She eventually becomes TheTeetotaler. |
| 250 | * BattleCouple: She has this a bit with Batwoman, especially around the time two began dating again in the Rebirth era. They've accompanied each other on various missions and fought side-by-side against such villains as Clock King and Black Mask. |
| 251 | * BoxingBattler: Renee was a skilled boxer even before becoming the Question, able to defeat an opponent while she was suffering from broken ribs. |
| 252 | * ButchLesbian |
| 253 | * ByTheBookCop: When partnered with Bullock. She [[CharacterDevelopment changed]]. |
| 254 | * CanonImmigrant: From ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries.'' Also an inversion, as while she was created for the DCAU, when she was brought over to the mainstream continuity her debut appearance was months before ''Batman: The Animated Series'' first aired. |
| 255 | * ComingOutStory: In ''ComicBook/GothamCentral'', she was involuntarily outed by Two-Face, [[StalkerWithACrush who had become obsessed with her since their encounter in]] ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand.'' He mailed pictures of her with her girlfriend to her family and to the Major Crimes Unit, the branch of the Gotham City Police Department where she worked. Captain Maggie Sawyer, Renee's shift commander at the MCU, was already out and attempted to help guide Renee through the initial tribulations, but Renee felt that [[TwoferTokenMinority their circumstances were not comparable]]. Ultimately, [[IhaveNoSon her parents disowned her]], but she was able to find a modicum of acceptance from the cops she worked with. It's later implied that her parents -- or her father at least -- upon cooling down a bit have deeply regretted this disownment, but Renee is by this point understandably unwilling to have anything to do with them even if they are willing to mend fences. |
| 256 | * ClearMyName: The plot of an arc in ''ComicBook/GothamCentral''. She is accused of murder when a criminal she has history with and a private detective hired to follow her are both killed. [[spoiler:She is being set up by her StalkerWithACrush Two-Face, who thinks that by completely ruining her life she will have nowhere to go except into his arms]]. On that occasion, her colleagues try to prove she is innocent, Batman investigates the case, and everybody in the cast is confused (but grateful) when Bruce Wayne pays for her lawyer. [[spoiler: Two-Face eventually has to resort outright kidnapping once the lawyer manages to get her released on bail, since he knows that once she is free she inevitably will be able to find enough evidence to clear herself.]] |
| 257 | * DeadpanSnarker: She's rather sarcastic, particularly after meeting Vic Sage. |
| 258 | * DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler: The murder of her partner Cris Allen.]] |
| 259 | * GibberishOfLove: She has a habit of getting tongue-tied when women flirt with her. Less apparent since she's gotten older, but it still happens initially. |
| 260 | * GoodCopBadCop: She was the Good Cop to Harvey's Bad; partnered with Cris Allen, she played more often the Bad Cop. |
| 261 | * GoodOldFisticuffs: How she lays the hurt on people she feels deserves it. |
| 262 | * GoodScarsEvilScars: Her confrontation with Two-Face left her with a scar running along her right cheekbone and a confrontation with ComicBook/TheFlash villain Dr. Alchemy burned the double Venus symbol into her collarbone. |
| 263 | * HeroicSeductress: She begins doing this in ''[[ComicBook/LoisLane Lois Lane]]'' as a way to keep her cover and get information, though she still only flirts with women. |
| 264 | * LegacyCharacter: During ''52'', she inherits the mantle of the Question. |
| 265 | * InLoveWithYourCarnage: A non-villainous version. There are multiple instances of Renee expressing attraction toward Batwoman while the latter is in the middle of dishing out a beatdown, or else immediately afterward. |
| 266 | * PlatonicLifePartners: With Harvey Bullock. |
| 267 | * PoliceBrutality: Renee's anger issues were what led her to resign from the force. |
| 268 | * [[HeWhoFightsMonsters She Who Fights Monsters]]: The freaks and {{dirty cop}}s have a tendency to attack her personal life; that sort of thing takes a toll. |
| 269 | * TheTeetotaler: Though she's still an alcoholic, Renee gave up drinking for good after ''52''. |
| 270 | * TwoferTokenMinority: Renee is a woman, a Latina, and a lesbian. |
| 271 | * VitriolicBestBuds: She and Harvey Bullock regularly trade sarcastic jabs. |
| 272 | [[/folder]] |
| 273 | |
| 274 | [[folder:'''Talon''']] |
| 275 | !!Talon |
| 276 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_calvinrose_2301.jpg]] |
| 277 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Calvin Rose |
| 278 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Talon'' #0 (November, 2012) |
| 279 | |
| 280 | ->''"There was only one thing left to do... the one thing I'd been trained to do since I was a boy. The only thing I'd ever really known how to do... I had to escape."'' |
| 281 | |
| 282 | A former agent of the [[AncientConspiracy Court of Owls]], escape artist Calvin Rose rebelled against his masters before they gave him their usual ImmortalityInducer. He now fights to bring the Court down once and for all. |
| 283 | ---- |
| 284 | * AbusiveParents: Calvin Rose was eight years old when his father locked him in an old dog kennel and threw away the key. |
| 285 | * BadassNormal: Unlike any other Talons, he wasn't given [[ImmortalityInducer electrum]]. |
| 286 | * DefectorFromDecadence: Calvin Rose is the early 21st Century incarnation of the "Talon", an assassin of the Court of Owls, having escaped from them before being given the immortality-inducing electrum treatment most receive. |
| 287 | * EmpoweredBadassNormal: [[spoiler:By Issue 8, he has been captured, killed, and reanimated with electrum.]] |
| 288 | * EscapeArtist: Calvin is, arguably, the best escape artist in the world. While not showed competing against another escape masters, Calvin showed since a young age talents to find out the best possible ways to get out of every deadly situation with success. |
| 289 | * HealingFactor: Due to the synthesized electrum in his blood, Calvin could recover from bodily injuries at a superhuman rate. |
| 290 | %%* HeelFaceTurn |
| 291 | * MookFaceTurn: Once an assassin for the Court Of Owls. |
| 292 | * UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:To his mentor, former Court of Owls Grandmaster Sebastian Clark... maybe.]] |
| 293 | [[/folder]] |
| 294 | |
| 295 | [[folder:Abuse]] |
| 296 | !!Abuse |
| 297 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Colin_Wilkes_002_7113.jpg]] |
| 298 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Colin Wilkes |
| 299 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics' #847 (October, 2008) |
| 300 | |
| 301 | ->''"I knew I'd never be like Flash or Green Lantern. Not one of the friendly-looking heroes people are happy to see. But even if I looked like a monster, I could still act like a hero."'' |
| 302 | |
| 303 | Colin was a ten year old orphan with a history of claustrophobia, chiroptophobia, abandonment issues, paranoia and violence. He had spent time in several foster homes, and underwent therapy sessions at the Children's Hospital. He was introduced to superheroes by George, a janitor at one of the orphanages he grew up in. He started collecting newspaper clippings, which was everything he had ever owned, along with his teddy bear Rory. |
| 304 | |
| 305 | The Scarecrow abducted Colin and experimented on him with a synthetic Venom, hoping Batman would not fight children. But, realizing that despite Colin's grotesque appearance he was a child at heart, Batman used his Batrope to stick Colin's teddy bear to Crane causing him to attack Scarecrow instead of Batman. In the end, Batman prevented Colin from killing the Scarecrow by cutting his venom lines. Scarecrow was arrested, and Colin was moved to a hospital. |
| 306 | |
| 307 | After the hospital, Colin was placed in St. Aden's Orphanage. He was still suffering from side effects of the Venom-treatment, and when he concentrated, he could activate it, changing into a giant behemoth. He decided to use this nearly indestructible form to fight crime, but knew he didn't look the part. He donned a trench coat and a hat, and ordered custom-made brass knuckle dusters that carried his new name: Abuse. |
| 308 | |
| 309 | Though his first superheroing involved stopping robberies, he later turned to something bigger when he found children's bodies in the river. After investigating Humpty Dumpty's connection, he teamed up with Robin to take down the cause of the bodies: an illegal fighting ring for children, operated by Mr. Zsasz. Robin and Colin took him down, and shut down the operation. As a sign of gratitude, Robin gave Colin the Cycle of Abuse, a trike, because he thought Abuse looked stupid walking with his trench coat. |
| 310 | ---- |
| 311 | * AsTheGoodBookSays: His inner monologue mentions the story of Cain's fate, as well as how he personally took it and applies it. Unsurprising, since his orphanage is run by nuns. |
| 312 | * BadassBiker: Damian buys and builds a bike for Colin as well as a garage to store it in. Part of this was to solidify Colin as a potential ally. [[PetTheDog The other part of this was a simple thank you for helping him.]] |
| 313 | * BadassLongcoat: When in Abuse form. Complete with a fedora. |
| 314 | * BrainsAndBrawn: An argument can be made that he fits either or, with Damian fitting the opposite. |
| 315 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Hasn't been seen since the cancellation of ''Streets of Gotham''. And thanks to the DC reboot, it'll be a miracle if he ever shows up again. He has since gotten cameos in Webcomic/LilGotham which is out of the main continuity. |
| 316 | * ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The closest thing he has to a superhero costume. He even has internal monologue like a gritty noir protagonist, with the twist coming from him being a child. |
| 317 | * DualAgeModes: Transformed he looks like a musclebound adult man. |
| 318 | * HealingFactor: When Damian asked a few days later if Colin was okay from the fight, Colin said "I... Abuse heals quick." It turns out he was mostly wearing all those band-aids because he thought they looked cool. |
| 319 | * HeartwarmingOrphan: With his parents dead and moving from foster home to foster home, he's had to mature quicker than others. It doesn't stop him from being nice to other children and doesn't let his neuroses get him down. |
| 320 | ** However, he was shown in the past to have had more serious issues (fear of abandonment, got into fights a lot) which he has mostly grown out of. |
| 321 | * HulkingOut: Albeit it doesn't require any UnstoppableRage and he's still in full control. |
| 322 | ** He can also do it partially, at first only affecting his leg so it would grow and break a restraint. |
| 323 | ** Mild squick here, since you see all his veins get really big before he grows with them and it looks creepy for the 3 panels before he's fully Abuse. |
| 324 | * MoralityPet: Partially, to Damian. At least to where he convinced him to merely injure Zsasz badly instead of outright killing him. |
| 325 | * PowerFist: Brass knuckles shaped in the form of the word: "[[CallingCard Abuse]]". |
| 326 | * PutOnABus: Did not linger too long before disappearing entirely from the bat stories. |
| 327 | * SecretKeeper: Met Damian as Damian before finding out he was Robin. Damian is probably also this for him. |
| 328 | * SuperStrength: As Abuse, seemingly about to the same levels of Bane when he used Venom. He can at the least deliver enough force to bend steel girders. |
| 329 | * {{Thememobile}}: After their first team-up Damian gifts him a motorcycle for transportation, cheekily calling it the [[{{Pun}} Cycle of Abuse]]. |
| 330 | * WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: Sneaks out at night to fight crime, with the nuns and other kids apparently none the wiser. |
| 331 | * WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Colin suffers from chiroptophobia, which is a fear of bats. Since he winds up fighting (then working with) Batman, this is especially [[{{Irony}} ironic]]. |
| 332 | [[/folder]] |
| 333 | |
| 334 | [[folder:Bat-Mite]] |
| 335 | !!Bat-Mite |
| 336 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Bat-Mite_8171.jpg]] |
| 337 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Unknown |
| 338 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #267 (May, 1959) |
| 339 | |
| 340 | ->''"I'm not an elf! I come from another dimension, where all men are my size! -- I made myself a costume-- and I'm calling myself Bat-Mite!"'' |
| 341 | |
| 342 | Batman's #1 fan, who is actually an imp from the fifth dimension with magic powers. Technically a hero, but he often ends up causing more harm than good. Sometimes gets into fights with Mr. Mxyzptlk, a ComicBook/{{Superman}} villain of the same species. He vanished at the dawn of the more "realistic" [[MediaNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]], but his existence was eventually reestablished in MediaNotes/{{the Modern Age|of Comic Books}} in the ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'' story, "With a Vengeance". However, the state of his existence has been rather ambiguous since his return, with him both being described as a figment of Batman's imagination and an imp from the fifth dimension, which isn't helped by Creator/GrantMorrison saying that imagination is the fifth dimension. However, some appearances have had him appearing whenever Batman loses his grip on reality, so it's entirely possible he appears during those times to mess with him. |
| 343 | ---- |
| 344 | * AnimatedAdaptation: Since he is basically GenreRefugee cartoon character running around in the Bat-verse, it's not surprising that he was made a regular in Creator/{{Filmation}}'s [[WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfBatman 1970's Batman cartoon.]] |
| 345 | * BewareTheSillyOnes: Like Mxyzptlk, he's a funny little man who mainly just annoys a superhero, but as a Fifth Dimensional imp, he's nigh-omnipotent in our three-dimensional universe. In the (admittedly non-canon) ''World's Funnest'', Bat-Mite and Mxyzptlk's petty squabble ends with the entire multiverse destroyed, with even heavy hitter like The Spectre and the New Gods being bugs squashed in their path. When they have enough, they simply restore everything with snaps of their fingers. According to Mxyzptlk in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague2018'', Bat-Mite and him are the two most powerful imps. |
| 346 | * DependingOnTheArtist: His ChestInsignia can be a misshapen bat-insignia, a lightning bolt or an M (likely the first one was the original idea). |
| 347 | * GreatGazoo: While Mr. Mxyzptlk is an enemy of Superman who use his power to create chaos for his fun, Bat-Mite is a gigantic fanboy who honestly wants to help instead of cause trouble. Naturally, Batman finds this even more annoying than if Bat-Mite were just out to get him. Also, Bat-Mite does sometimes knowingly make things harder for Batman, just to see how his hero is going to get out of the situation. |
| 348 | * HumanoidAbomination: Even if he is just a prankster, he still belongs to the same species as Mxyzptlk and is thus still one of these at the core. |
| 349 | * LoonyFan: In Bat-Mite's dimension, the resident imps idolize the heroes of the Batman's dimension and impersonated them, re-enacting their heroic feats and adventures. Bat-Mite's favorite hero was Batman, and thus the imp visited Batman on various occasions, often setting up strange events so that he could see his hero in action. |
| 350 | * MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Two stories by Alan Grant show Bat-Mite appearing to a criminal named Overdog. Both times Batman (who doesn't find Bat-Mite) rationalizes that these were just Overdog's drug-induced hallucinations, but the reader is left wondering... One Grant Morrison story implied that Bat-Mite was simultaneously ''both''. |
| 351 | -->'''Batman:''' So... Are you really a fifth-dimensional imp? Or are you just a figment of my imagination? |
| 352 | -->'''Bat-Mite:''' The fifth dimension ''is'' imagination. |
| 353 | * MiniMe: Due to being a big fan of Batman and always dressing like him, Bat-Mite looks like a smaller, whacky, magical version of The Dark Knight. |
| 354 | * TheOmnipotent: Like all Imps, his fifth-dimensional nature means he's all-powerful in a three-dimensional universe. According to Mxyzptlk in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague2018'', Bat-Mite and him are the two most powerful imps. |
| 355 | * PersonOfMassDestruction: There was a notable story where Bat-Mite and Mxyzptlk fought, which destroyed the entire Multiverse. There was even a scene where Darkseid "found" a paper with the Anti-Life Equation on it that simply said: "Bat-Mite + Mr. Mxyzptlk = Anti-Life". Darkseid promptly laughed himself to death. |
| 356 | * RealityWarper: Bat-Mite has shown the ability to animate inanimate objects, shrink or enlarge both people and objects, levitate same, endow either people or animals with super-powers and grant superpowers at will, making reality his for the bending. |
| 357 | * ShooOutTheClowns: Introduced in the fifties, but vanished (much like Batwoman, Bat-Girl, and Ace the Bat-hound) during MediaNotes/{{the Dark Age|of Comic Books}}. He did eventually reappear with Creator/GrantMorrison's help, though with some {{Cerebus Retcon}}ning. |
| 358 | * UnwantedAssistance: Batman's reaction to Bat-Mite efforts to help him is usually to tell Mite to stop trying to help. |
| 359 | [[/folder]] |
| 360 | |
| 361 | [[folder:The Creeper]] |
| 362 | !!The Creeper |
| 363 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin': https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1631911951056052500 |
| 364 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 365 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b7f742bf_eed1_4dea_9d6e_9668a223d40a.jpeg]] |
| 366 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:The Oni]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/494e62b8_007f_4237_a9c0_0ee6bee317e6.jpeg[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 367 | %% |
| 368 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Jack Ryder |
| 369 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Showcase'' #73 (March, 1968) |
| 370 | |
| 371 | ->''"They call me... Yellow-Skinned Wacky-Man! But I prefer '''the Creeper'''."'' |
| 372 | -->-- '''The Creeper''', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' |
| 373 | |
| 374 | Created by Creator/SteveDitko, the Creeper first appeared in ''"Showcase''" #73 (April, 1968). He went on to star in his own short-lived magazine, suffered a couple of {{retcon}}s and {{revision}}s, and has done some guest appearances, never quite achieving wide popularity. |
| 375 | |
| 376 | The original story tells about Jack Ryder, a Gotham City talk host who tries to save a scientist named Dr. Yatz from mobsters. An attempt to sneak in to the boss' mansion in probably one of the weirdest outfits ever, where Dr. Yatz was held during a masquerade, only got Ryder wounded and saved by Dr. Yatz who implanted him with a device that could make his costume disappear and with a serum that gave him super strength and agility, as well as the power to [[HealingFactor heal almost instantly]]. It's also mentioned that his laughter makes people nervous or is even physically painful. Ryder could activate the suit (and apparently the superpowers, too, since he mentions not being so fast and strong in his normal form) whenever he wanted with a [[HammerSpace button-like object]]. |
| 377 | |
| 378 | Much like Vicki Vale, Jack Ryder is one of Gotham’s most well-known reporters, infamous for his aggressive, truth-seeking nature he displays in his controversial talk show aptly named ''You Are WRONG!'' After researching a famed biochemist named Dr. Yatz and his breakthrough in nanocell technology, Jack sought the doctor out only to find him held captive by a group of mobsters who intended to use his discovery for their own ends. His attempts at rescuing Yatz failed and he was shot in the head, but not before being injected with Yatz’s last sample of nanocells. The cells saved Ryder’s life, granting him a healing factor as well as enhanced agility and strength, turning him into an insane yellow skinned, green haired creature that took to calling itself the Creeper. Although unpredictable and considered deranged even by the standards of the other nutcases who plague Gotham, the Creeper is still moral at his core and fights on the side of good, even becoming an ally of Batman whenever their paths cross. |
| 379 | |
| 380 | Unlike Steve Ditko’s other staple creations like Blue Beetle and the Question, the Creeper never really achieved the spotlight that his fellow heroes had largely due to the number of retcons and inconsistencies that have grown in his origin story over the years (the above story is the newest and most used version in the Post-Crisis continuity so far). Mostly, he’s featured as a supporting character who’s had a number of small appearances in main and alternate canon alike, most notably in the DCAU where he had his own episode in ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as well as cameos in ''Justice League Unlimited''. He was also a member of the sadly short-lived Outsiders, getting some long overdue action during their ''Blackest Night'' arc. |
| 381 | |
| 382 | Depending on the series, Creeper either acts like Ryder or is happily insane. Some versions explain the insanity by stating that he had a drug of some sort in his system at the time he had the device inserted, so the narcotic is recreated along with the costume. |
| 383 | |
| 384 | The Creeper is also remarkable in being pretty much the only character ComicBook/TheJoker [[HorrifyingTheHorror fears]] (barring an encounter with [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Frank Castle]]), which is one ''hell'' of an accomplishment. |
| 385 | |
| 386 | [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No relation]] to the walking green timebombs from ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', or the hunched-over hulk who constantly shouts PAPER from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'', or the monster from ''Film/JeepersCreepers''. |
| 387 | |
| 388 | '''NOTE: Tropes specific for his version from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' go [[Characters/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesAllies here]].''' |
| 389 | ---- |
| 390 | * ActionGirl: Fran definitely wasn't left out when the gang fought against Disruptor's men. |
| 391 | * AdaptationalVillainy: His ComicBook/New52 version is very much demonic, and even gets a VillainEpisode in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' during the ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'' event. As part of DC Rebirth, Jack Ryder appears to be back to his original pre-New 52 version from before. |
| 392 | * AlternateCompanyEquivalent: The Creeper is an artificially enhanced human with a bizarre costume themed around an unsavory creature of folklore created by Steve Ditko. Essentially he's the DC equivalent to [[ComicBook/SpiderMan the Green Goblin]]. ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'' alluded to this by showing the Creeper being impaled by the new Joker while the latter was wearing a Spider-Man costume. |
| 393 | * BrownNote: DependingOnTheWriter, the Creeper's laugh can shatter anything from nerves to bones. |
| 394 | * TheCameo: Aside from his many appearances in the comics as both Jack Ryder and the Creeper alike, he figures into animated continuities as this such as ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' and, most memorably, the DCAU. |
| 395 | ** Jack Ryder's voice can be heard on a radio on VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum, and he appears as a minor supporting character in VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity. One of the tapes unlocked by talking to Quincey in the church makes it clear that the Creeper and Huntress exist. |
| 396 | ** He is also the source of a lot of discoverables in ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'', but he never turns into the Creeper. |
| 397 | * CampStraight: The Creeper has a rather flamboyant personality and outfit, but Ryder's only dated women. |
| 398 | * CrazyEnoughToWork: His insanity gives him the ability to come up with bizarrely irrational but effective plans. He stopped a prison riot a jailbreak at Arkham by inciting a riot between the inmates. |
| 399 | * CreepyGood: The guy is so batshit loco that even ''ComicBook/TheJoker'' considers him a lunatic! The Joker actually ''fears'' him. Let us reiterate that: THE MonsterClown of comics who terrifies millions has nightmares about ''this'' guy. |
| 400 | * DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: When Hush posed as Bruce Wayne in the comics following Batman’s apparent death, Batman's friends and allies displayed a "show of force" to demonstrate how easily they could stop him if he tried anything. Most of them just block his path when he tries to escape ([[ComicBook/TheOutsidersDCComics Katana]] going so far as to hold a sword to his throat), but the Creeper ''picks him up like a doll and throws him across the room''. Later, he's seen in disguise personally babysitting Hush at work. |
| 401 | * DramaticPause: ''I heard you guys worked for, [[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud dramatic pause]], ComicBook/TheJoker!'' |
| 402 | * EveryoneHasStandards: The Joker (yeah, [[ComicBook/TheJoker that one]]) thinks he's uncontrollably insane, and wants the Creeper to get away from him, so it's more like "Even Insanity Has Standards." |
| 403 | * EvilLaugh: The ComicBook/New52 version. |
| 404 | * {{Expy}}: |
| 405 | ** The Creeper's resemblance to Batman foe The Joker (both have green hair, clownlike faces and maniacal laughter) first pointed out in an issue of the latter's own comic book in the 1970's (where the two fought) may have led to the character's reinterpretation as being insane. |
| 406 | ** These days his "Jack Ryder" persona seems to make a growing resemblance in appearance and attitude to tv personalities Creator/StephenColbert or [[Series/TheOReillyFactor Bill O'Reilly]] |
| 407 | * FluffyFashionFeathers: The costume, famously, incorporates a ''giant red feather boa''. |
| 408 | * FullFrontalAssault: Not quite, but close. Part of the reason he's so terrifying to enemies is that he's literally wearing just a thong and booties. |
| 409 | * FunPersonified: Imagine the Joker in one of his wacky phases... ''as a good guy.'' Including the part where [[BewareTheSillyOnes wackiness doesn't mean not being good at what you do]]. |
| 410 | * FutureBadass: A dystopian future that ComicBook/CaptainAtom appears in, during ComicBook/BrightestDay shows The Creeper still alive over 100 years later as a cyborg, and as noted, still insane. |
| 411 | * HappyRain: In one story he ponders how he's always enjoyed being in the rain, and as Ryder even doing news reports during blizzards and typhoons. |
| 412 | * HasAType: At least this is what Ryder's ex [[MistakenForCheating seems to think]]. ''"Switching from blondes to redheads now, you son-of-a--"'' |
| 413 | * HealingFactor: One of the effects of his serum is his ability to heal from any wound he may sustain. |
| 414 | * HellIsThatNoise: His laughter is depicted as this for his enemies, triggering primal fear or even inducing deep psychological problems. |
| 415 | * HeroWithBadPublicity: From his unnatural yellow skin, his molester's outfit (wearing only nothing but green skintight briefs) and his questionable sanity, you wouldn't believe Ryder is actually a benevolent figure. |
| 416 | * ImpracticallyFancyOutfit: In the original comics the costume was actually a full suit, the yellow part being spandex or similar (and it was also the last suit available in the shop), the hair being a wig, and the cape being made from an old rug that the costume shop cashier threw in. It was also recognized to be a costume by some criminals, but since the doctor's device makes the costume stick like glue, trying to pull the wig off with no effect made them realize it to be the "real deal". |
| 417 | * IntrepidReporter: So much that he slips into jerkass territory now and then. He hosts a talk show called ''You Are WRONG!'', not to say anything of the guest stars he has on just for the sake of deliberately antagonizing them. |
| 418 | * InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Jack Ryder spent the good portion of one comic book spontaneously half-transforming into the Creeper without any control. His attempts to make himself scarce in the presence of his co-workers were entertaining. |
| 419 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: In spite of his assholish tendencies with his fellow reporters, he’s shown to genuinely care where it counts when ex-girlfriend Vicki Vale approaches him for advice on whether or not it’s ethical to publish an incriminating story that could ruin someone’s life. |
| 420 | * LargeHam: He purposefully invokes this in his original Ditko incarnation, in order to terrify criminals into submission. [[{{Flanderization}} All subsequent versions]], though, have portrayed the Creeper persona as being [[CloudCuckoolander genuinely out of his gourd]]. |
| 421 | * LaughingMad: Sort of. His wild laughter made criminals extremely paranoid and nearly insane. |
| 422 | * LockingMacGyverInTheStoreCupboard: The very first comic origin. |
| 423 | * TheMadHatter: Creeper isn't just irregularly insane and unpredictable, he ''loves'' being that way. Even when he's ObfuscatingInsanity. |
| 424 | * MagicPants: It is never explained how he always manages to have his trademark striped briefs on when he transforms. {{Hammerspace}} or censorship maybe. |
| 425 | * MaleFrontalNudity: Downplayed but still part of his FullFrontalAssault act. He never gets completely naked but these skintight briefs can't really hide the quite conspicuous large bulge which adds to his intended creepiness. |
| 426 | * MakeMeWannaShout: DependingOnTheWriter, his laugh can range from a deadly sonic weapon to [[TheHyena just plain annoying]]. |
| 427 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: A rare unintentional example. Jack Ryder is a [[Creator/StephenColbert black haired, caucasian reporter,]] who, as noted in the StrawmanPolitical entry, is a left-wing political pundit, with a [[Series/TheColbertReport TV show that parodies right-wing political pundits]]. In a meta-sense, both were supporting characters for [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} someone]] [[Series/TheDailyShow else]], whose popularity rose significantly from one or more TV appearances. Also, Google 'Stephen Colbert smiling', we'll wait. |
| 428 | * ObfuscatingInsanity: In some stories the Creeper is perfectly sane; he only ''acts'' crazy because it scares the crap out of the bad guys. In his origin story the first opponents to see him took one look and assumed anyone dressed like ''that'' had to be insane. Since that meant they were too freaked out to fight him effectively, he decided to run with it. |
| 429 | * OurDemonsAreDifferent: [[spoiler: His Creeper side has been revealed to be demonic in nature.]] |
| 430 | * SlasherSmile: His trademark expression, albeit an often goofier take on the trope. |
| 431 | * PlotHole: Steve Niles's {{Retcon}} explains the change with nanocells, but the fact that Ryder can change to Creeper (who has his own set of "clothes") and back and still have his [[MagicPants normal clothes]] is never explained or even lampshaded. |
| 432 | * RetroactiveLegacy: Of a sort. Creator/VertigoComics' ''Beware the Creeper'' was about a surrealist vigilante wearing a very similar costume in 20s Paris, and was more-or-less set in the DCU in the usual way of Vertigo things ([[ComicBook/{{Starman}} the Shade]] appears, as does a member of the [[ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} Zatara]] family). |
| 433 | * RummageSaleReject: [[http://ifanboy.com/articles/dc-histories-the-creeper/ Literally]]. Ryder put together his costume with ten dollars of leftover costume parts, including a sheepskin rug for a cape. |
| 434 | * SplitPersonality: Suffers from this [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the story]]. |
| 435 | * StrawmanPolitical: In pre-ComicBook/New52 continuity, Jack Ryder was a very outspoken left-wing pundit, whose show was called ''You Are WRONG!'' Though he did start to mellow a bit after becoming the Creeper. |
| 436 | * {{Stripperiffic}}: RareMaleExample. His costume consists of a green speedo, red boots and gloves, and a giant, fluffy red boa. In the 2006 miniseries, the costume naturally grows on his body as another side effect of the nanocell technology with the “boa” resembling some sort of organic, tendon-like [[BodyHorror growth]]. |
| 437 | * SuperSerum: The source of his powers. |
| 438 | * TalkativeLoon: The Creeper is [[MotorMouth not a quiet or reserved individual]], as [[YouFightLikeACow anyone who has tried to fight him will attest]]. |
| 439 | * TerrorHero: Creeper used to pull a scare shtick by pretending he was not human, describing the horrible fates of his enemies, laughing and acting weirdly to make his enemies panic (and loving every minute of it). This worked well enough that he actually managed to make one less hard-boiled guy faint. He even managed to make Scarecrow briefly recoil in fright while visiting him in his cell at Arkham. |
| 440 | * TooKinkyToTorture: Or insane at least, as is found out when he's tortured to test his pain threshold. |
| 441 | * UnderwearOfPower: As part of his {{Stripperiffic}} outfit. |
| 442 | * WallCrawl: One of his usual feats is to be able to climb buildings effortlessly. |
| 443 | * WeatherControlMachine: Dr. Storme's weather rod. |
| 444 | * WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Zigzagged. DependingOnTheWriter, he's either insane because of his power, he's ObfuscatingInsanity or [[PowerBornOfMadness his power ''is'' his craziness]]. |
| 445 | * YoureInsane: Almost all times when doing something with (or near) other heroes and is usually treated with [[InsultBackfire "Yeah... Ain't it cool?"]] Also, need we remind you that the JOKER called him a lunatic? |
| 446 | [[/folder]] |
| 447 | |
| 448 | [[folder:Proxy]] |
| 449 | !!Proxy |
| 450 | [[quoteright:316:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wendy_harris.jpg]] |
| 451 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Wendy Harris |
| 452 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Teen Titans'' Vol. 3 #34 (May, 2006) |
| 453 | |
| 454 | ->''"Did she just... dress the dog?"'' |
| 455 | |
| 456 | Based on the character of Wendy from ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'', Wendy's comic book incarnation is somewhat different. Wendy and her twin brother Marvin ran away from home to fight their father, the supervillain known as the Calculator. They joined the Teen Titans, rebuilding Cyborg together using the knowledge they obtained as young students at MIT. However, a savage attack by Wonderdog left Marvin dead and Wendy comatose. |
| 457 | |
| 458 | Their father tried to use the Anti-Life Equation to save her life, but [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} Oracle]] prevented him from using it. Wendy woke up and discovered that she was paralyzed from the waist down. |
| 459 | |
| 460 | At the start of Stephanie Brown's Batgirl run, Leslie Thompkins encouraged Barbara Gordon to take a mentoring role toward Wendy. Eventually, Barbara let Wendy into the Firewall, Oracle and Batgirl's base of operations. She assisted Stephanie Brown in an Oracle-like role, dubbing herself Proxy. |
| 461 | |
| 462 | Post-Flashpoint, Wendy and Marvin appeared as young children in ''Batgirl and the Birds of Prey'', when they were used as hostages against their father. |
| 463 | ---- |
| 464 | * AmbiguouslyGay: Marvin, Wendy’s hallucination, comments that Barbara is hot. |
| 465 | -->'''Wendy''': I can’t even deal with what that little gem means right now. |
| 466 | * AngstySurvivingTwin: Struggles with survivor's guilt and loneliness after the death of Marvin. |
| 467 | * DarkerAndEdgier: Her new backstory has her and her brother attacked by Wonderdog, whereas in WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}} she and Marvin were happy-go-lucky kid sidekicks alongside Wonderdog. |
| 468 | * HandicappedBadass: In the vein of her mentor, Oracle. |
| 469 | [[/folder]] |
| 470 | |
| 471 | [[folder:Roberta the Girl Wonder]] |
| 472 | !!Roberta |
| 473 | [[quoteright:214:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0968.jpg]] |
| 474 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Mary Wills |
| 475 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' Star-Spangled Comics #103 (April, 1950) |
| 476 | |
| 477 | ->''"Roberta the Girl Wonder at your service! I saw your bat-signal. I'm here to work with Robin!"'' |
| 478 | |
| 479 | Before the batgirls, there was Roberta the Girl Wonder. The very first DistaffCounterpart to Robin, Mary Wills was a high school classmate of the very first Robin, Dick Grayson. She had a crush on Robin, but she was unaware of his true identity. Eventually, she decided to become a superheroine herself, naming herself "Roberta the Girl Wonder". When she and Robin first met, the boy wonder was initially reluctant to work together with this new "girl wonder", but he came around and they started working together. They were a good team and she was a big help to Robin on a few cases, but eventually, Robin discovered her secret identity. Due to his paranoia and fear that she could discover and accidentally leak his own identity, he sabotaged Roberta and then exposed her identity to the public. This forced Mary to quit without ever knowing that it was Robin who sabotaged her. Thus ended the short-lived career of Roberta the Girl Wonder. |
| 480 | ---- |
| 481 | * AscendedFangirl: She started out as just a Robin fangirl, before she decided to step up and become a vigilante in her own right. |
| 482 | * BadassNormal: As expected of Gotham vigilantes. However, she is notable in that from what we can see of her, she seems mostly self-taught, and she even makes her own gadgets too. All without any outside help. |
| 483 | * DistaffCounterpart: To Robin. The very first one, as she made her debut before any of thr Batgirls, even Betty Kane. |
| 484 | * GadgeteerGenius: Implied. Not only did she make her own superheroine outfit without any help, but she also somehow made her own crime-fighting gadgets without any help or funding either. See UtilityBelt below. |
| 485 | * MasterOfDisguise: One of her main talents. In fact, whenever she and Robin worked together, he often asked her to disguise herself and go undercover to help him catch criminals. |
| 486 | * UtilityBelt: Zig-zagged. She had her own belt, but she also had something called the ”crime compact". It was an actual compact that contained various high-tech gadgets to help her on the job. It’s made all the more impressive when you consider that a), she made it on her own without any help or ressources, and b), she made the gadgets fit in there on an even smaller and more compact form than the usual utility belts seen on Bat-family members at the time. |
| 487 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Despite the fact that Mary and Dick were classmates, and that she was in love with Robin, she has not been seen or mentionned since her initial appearance. Her current fate is unknown. |
| 488 | [[/folder]] |
| 489 | |
| 490 | [[folder:Wingman I]] |
| 491 | !!Wingman I |
| 492 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/725213_wingman.jpg]] |
| 493 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Benedict Rundstrom |
| 494 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #65 (June, 1951) |
| 495 | |
| 496 | ->''"I actually came up with the Wingman crimefighting concept about a year before Batman. A whole year. Possibly more."'' |
| 497 | |
| 498 | A European vigilante inspired by Batman, Wingman eventually became quarrelsome with and envious of the Caped Crusader, accusing him of holding his allies back from being Justice League-level heroes. |
| 499 | ---- |
| 500 | * AttentionWhore: He just wants to be famous, and saw the Club of Heroes as a way to become an international superstar. [[spoiler: The fact that the team disbanded before he could become a household name is the main reason for his FaceHeelTurn.]] |
| 501 | %%* BadassNormal |
| 502 | %%* FaceHeelTurn |
| 503 | * FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: He kills Dark Ranger and switches costumes with him, and then sets the corpse on fire in order to make it look like Wingman was the one who'd been murdered.]] |
| 504 | * TheFriendNobodyLikes: None of the other members of the team like him. |
| 505 | * GreenEyedMonster: He makes little effort to hide how jealous he is of Batman. He also claims that he thought up his whole shtick ''before'' Batman. |
| 506 | * ICouldaBeenAContender: His main source of angst. Even Batman agrees, saying that he never would've trained Wingman if he didn't think he had the potential to be great. |
| 507 | * KillAndReplace: [[spoiler: He killed the original Dark Ranger and stole his identity.]] |
| 508 | %%* {{Jerkass}} |
| 509 | * NonSpecificallyForeign: In his first appearance, he was stated to be from a country in Northern Europe, but exactly ''which'' country was never specified. It was revealed to be Sweden by subsequent writers. |
| 510 | * TheResenter: He hates Batman and blames him for the dissolution of the Club of Heroes, as he felt the team could've been his ticket to Justice League-level stardom. |
| 511 | * SmallNameBigEgo: In-universe, he's a very obscure superhero that few people outside of Sweden have ever heard of. Doesn't stop him from acting like he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. |
| 512 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness / YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler: John Mayhew shoots him in the head after he is no longer needed and has been captured by Batman.]] |
| 513 | [[/folder]] |
| 514 | |
| 515 | !!Spyral |
| 516 | [[folder:Spyral as a whole]] |
| 517 | [[quoteright:190:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spyral.PNG]] |
| 518 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman Incorporated'' #4 (April, 2011) |
| 519 | |
| 520 | A UN covert operations agency formed during the Cold War, Spyral is an enigmatic force that gathers oddities, rebels, and rogues to investigate global and political dangers. Originally led by the mysterious Agent Zero, the organization seemingly fell apart after Zero was discovered to actually be former Nazi and supervillain Otto Netz, who was selling its secrets. However in the present day, Spyral was reformed with a new leader and has since become an extremely uneasy ally of sorts to Batman Inc. Both despise the others' methods and have come into conflict on several occasions, but are generally operating towards the same goals. |
| 521 | |
| 522 | After the fall of Leviathan, their leader Matron was somehow removed and their new leader Mister Minos has targeted the secret identities of the Earth's superheroes. The leadership of the organization was unstable for a long time, but eventually they came to be led by Tiger, formerly Agent 1. |
| 523 | ---- |
| 524 | * AcademyOfAdventure: They also run and operate out of the St. Hadrian's School, which is essentially a college for training super spy women. |
| 525 | %%* AmbiguouslyEvil |
| 526 | * AnimalMotif: Spiders; their symbol is a spider-web with an eye in the center. Also, the secret code-word they use to [[spoiler: shut down renegade agents]] is "Tsuchigumo", from a Japanese spider-Yokai. |
| 527 | * FaceHeelTurn: An unsettling number of Spyral agents turn out to actually be double agents of some sort. This includes ''the organization's founder'', [[spoiler: Mister Minos]] and [[spoiler: Agent 8]]. This also extends to their ''employees'', like [[spoiler: Dr. Poppy Ashemore]]! |
| 528 | * TheFaceless: The Hypnos implants their agents use gives off this appearance sometimes, especially when they're seen via recording. |
| 529 | * FemmeFatale: Everyone at St. Hadrian's, the entire curriculum of which is geared towards turning attractive young schoolgirls into efficient, remorseless killers. |
| 530 | * LaserGuidedAmnesia: Two examples: |
| 531 | ** Their Hypnos implants also do ''this''. You'll see their faces... you just will never be able to recall the face after-the-fact. |
| 532 | ** They have a ''mind-wiping satellite''. |
| 533 | * MildlyMilitary: They explicitly prefer recruiting loose cannons and {{Rebellious Rebel}}s rather than drilled-and-disciplined types. This is done specifically to avoid conflicts of interest with the agents' home nations. |
| 534 | * MindControl: The Hypnos can also do this, though with difficulty. |
| 535 | * OrganTheft: Dick Grayson spent part of his time with them tracking down superhuman organs and harvesting them [[spoiler: as part of Minos' plot to create an AllYourPowersCombined monster]]. |
| 536 | * ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming: Seem to like classical mythology references, especially relating to the story of Daedalus and the Labyrinth. This could be MeaningfulName on a couple levels: for one, they're involved in a "labyrinthine" network of espionage and intel, and for another, their chief function seems to be to oppose heroes (a la Theseus). |
| 537 | * TheRival: |
| 538 | ** The organization as a whole is this towards Batman Inc. |
| 539 | ** They also have a bit of secret war going on with DC's other covert groups: Checkmate and S.H.A.D.E. |
| 540 | ** Finally, they seem to get into conflicts with the Fist of Cain a lot. |
| 541 | * SecretSecretKeeper: They eventually become this for the superhero community under Helena Bertenelli's leadership. |
| 542 | -->''Protect the secrets that protect the world.'' |
| 543 | * ShameIfSomethingHappened: [[spoiler: Used this to force Batman Inc. to split up for a time, essentially gathering a force large enough to threaten them. As the Batfamily had just been through a brutal final battle with Leviathan and had lost two members, they decided that it wasn't worth it to try and fight them.]] |
| 544 | * TheUnfettered: Much more willing to get their hands dirty than the Batfamily. This is just one reason the two organizations don't get along. |
| 545 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Have a tendency to do this to agents that betray them in any way. |
| 546 | [[/folder]] |
| 547 | |
| 548 | [[folder:Batwoman I/Agent Zero (Katherine Webb "Kathy" Kane)]] |
| 549 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Katherine_Webb_003_3393.jpg]] |
| 550 | |
| 551 | Before you ask, no, Batwoman was not Batman's wife. Not even in MediaNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} (no matter what that one comic cover on Superdickery.com says). Kathy was, however, designed to be a possible romantic interest for the Dark Knight (mainly to dispel the HoYayShipping between him and Robin), as well as an attempt to cash in on the popularity of ComicBook/{{Superman}}'s "family members", such as ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}. As a rich heiress and a former circus performer, Kathy's life was rather untouched by tragedy, and she mainly became a crimefighter because of her attractions to Batman. Eventually, her niece Betty joined in on the fun as well, as Robin's love interest Bat-Girl. |
| 552 | |
| 553 | Although rather sexist by our standards (she had a utility ''purse''!), Kathy and her niece, the original Bat-Girl, were fairly popular back in the fifties and sixties. So, of course, when MediaNotes/{{the Dark Age|of Comic Books}} ensued, she, her niece, and a handful of other characters were wiped from the Caped Crusader's life (it's actually more complicated than that, as Kathy existed on both Earth-1 and Earth-2, and when ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' is brought into the equation...). It should be noted that unlike Kathy, Bette was able to escape complete erasure by joining the ComicBook/TeenTitans, later becoming Flamebird. |
| 554 | |
| 555 | After ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', she was reintroduced into the Post-Crisis universe by Creator/GrantMorrison as Katherine Kane nee Webb, a wealthy widow with an eye for thrills and dangerous men. At some point during her fling with Batman, she was murdered, though the circumstances of her death were put into scrutiny. It is later revealed that she is "Agent Zero", Spyral's top agent, and that her birth name is Luka Netz, and that she is the daughter of Otto Netz. At the end of Morrison's ''Batman: Incorporated'', it turns out Kathy is indeed very much alive. |
| 556 | |
| 557 | More info on [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Batwoman personal page]]. |
| 558 | ---- |
| 559 | [[/folder]] |
| 560 | |
| 561 | [[folder:Mr. Minos]] |
| 562 | !!Mr. Minos |
| 563 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mr_minos.jpg]] |
| 564 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Hyperion 1.0 |
| 565 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Grayson'' #1 (September, 2014) |
| 566 | |
| 567 | ->''"Mr. Minos. The man with the labyrinth face. It's so delightfully tacky. Very '60s Fleming. It's so fun to play spy."'' |
| 568 | |
| 569 | A Spyral head agent and ally of Dick Grayson who recruited Dick after the events of ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'' left him unable to operate as Nightwing any longer. His face is always obscured through a mask that makes it resemble a spiral, in order to hide his identity. |
| 570 | ---- |
| 571 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: [[spoiler: Loses the Ambiguously part later on.]] |
| 572 | * FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: Upon seeing that the new Agent Zero is going to kill him, he simply asks that he be allowed to say his real name before she does so. [[KickTheDog She refuses]].]] |
| 573 | * TheFaceless: His mask is designed to give him this look. |
| 574 | * FourEyesZeroSoul: While he's not ''completely'' evil, he's certainly willing to do amoral things and is sporting a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. |
| 575 | * TheHandler: For Dick and Matron. |
| 576 | * ProperlyParanoid: Has nanobots that eat any trace of his existence that leave his person all around his office. Turns out, this was a good move, because Dick tries to collect DNA via a lollipop and is unable to. |
| 577 | * SmartPeopleWearGlasses |
| 578 | * TheSpook: Nobody except Spyral's heads and himself know his real name and past. In a rather bitter deconstruction, it's suggested that he actually hates this and desires to known by his true name again. |
| 579 | %%* [[spoiler: TreacherousAdvisor]] |
| 580 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: He wants to expose Spyral's existence and amorality to the media, which could be argued as an admirable goal but the methods he uses are too extreme to root for him.]] |
| 581 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: Attempts to do this to Matron, but fortunately she lives.]] |
| 582 | |
| 583 | [[/folder]] |
| 584 | |
| 585 | [[folder:Agent 1/'''Patron''' (Tiger)]] |
| 586 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tiger_nightwing.png]] |
| 587 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Grayson'' #3 (December, 2014) |
| 588 | |
| 589 | -> ''"Dick Grayson, you're an idiot."'' |
| 590 | |
| 591 | Spyral's top agent and the second begrudging partner to Dick Grayson when he was Agent 37. Eventually ends up leading the organization after Helena Bertinelli leaves the position. |
| 592 | ---- |
| 593 | * TheAce: Spyral's top (non-Agent Zero) agent. |
| 594 | * TheComicallySerious. |
| 595 | * FireForgedFriends: With Dick. Initially hates him, but comes to respect him. |
| 596 | * StraightMan: To Dick. |
| 597 | * VitriolicBestBuds: With Dick Grayson. Over time, "Dick Grayson, you're an idiot" becomes more of a playful thing. |
| 598 | [[/folder]] |
| 599 | |
| 600 | !!Gotham City Police Department |
| 601 | |
| 602 | [[folder:Batman IV (Commissioner James Worthington "Jim" Gordon, Sr.)]] |
| 603 | !!Commissioner James Worthington "Jim" Gordon, Sr. |
| 604 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/JamesGordonGPD_8431.jpg]] |
| 605 | [[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batman_vol_2_45_textless.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see Gordon as Batman]] |
| 606 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' '' Detective Comics'' #27 (May, 1939) |
| 607 | |
| 608 | ->''"No -- Gotham doesn't die -- not on MY watch!"'' |
| 609 | |
| 610 | Probably Batman's only law-abiding ally, Jim Gordon was a rare one - an honest cop in a city so full of corruption that everyone treated him as if ''he'' were corrupt. Though his first meeting with Batman was on shaky terms, he eventually grew to accept that for the time being, Gotham needed the vigilante to keep order. |
| 611 | |
| 612 | Like every other member of Batman's supporting cast, he has suffered many tragedies that would drive any normal man to suicide and/or insanity. The most extreme example came from Creator/AlanMoore[='=]s ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' where he was kidnapped by the Joker and tortured both mentally and physically for hours on end. Almost as mind-shattering was the killing of his second wife by the same man during the ''No Man's Land'' story arc. The implication has been that you kind of have to be a little crazy to try to be an honest cop in Gotham to begin with, and Gordon's success at it has made him tough enough to survive anything the world has thrown at him. |
| 613 | |
| 614 | His battle against crime had taken its toll on him, and he temporarily retired from the police force. He has since returned to his position as Gotham PD Commissioner, and continues to help out Batman as much as he can. |
| 615 | |
| 616 | After the events of ''ComicBook/BatmanEndgame'', he was briefly a GCPD-backed Batman, using his military training and power armour to do the job. After Bruce's return, he goes back to being commissioner. |
| 617 | ---- |
| 618 | * AgeLift: After ''Flashpoint'', he loses a few decades (which just so happens to make him look more like Gary Oldman). He even gets his hair colour back, though ''ComicBook/TheJoker2021'' later retconned that he was dying his hair, on Barbara's advice, and it was still white -- ''ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier'' as a whole aged characters up, and Jim essentially returned to how old he was pre-Flashpoint. |
| 619 | * BadassNormal: With more emphasis on "normal", compared to the Bat-family, that is. He still isn't someone who you want upset with you, however; as he's depicted as a former Army Ranger in some places. On the JustForFun/SuperWeight scale, Gordon is right on the boundary between Muggle and Iron. He needs Batman to handle things which are out of his depth, but he still does as much as he can by himself. In the few imaginary stories where Gordon became Batman's foe, it's been a CurbStompBattle ... in ''Gordon's'' favor. |
| 620 | %%* BenevolentBoss |
| 621 | * BeardOfSorrow: Grows one after being temporarily fired from his Commissioner position for a short arc in the early Eighties. |
| 622 | * ByTheBookCop: |
| 623 | ** His original role, and most of his career as the Commissioner has been ridding the GCPD of {{Corrupt Cop}}s. |
| 624 | ** While he does allow a vigilante to patrol the city, he will absolutely not tolerate said vigilante killing anybody. |
| 625 | ** There's actually a whole set of rules the Bat-Family must abide by in Gotham or else they lose Jim Gordon's cooperation and protection. |
| 626 | ** This puts him at odds post-''ComicBook/BatmanEndgame'': [[spoiler:as the new Batman, he's been ordered to put away vigilantes in Gotham and he's set his sights on both Batgirl and the currently-powerless Superman.]] |
| 627 | * TheCommissionerGordon: He is the TropeNamer and the various media include numerous different versions -- after all, the exact rank and function of any Commissioner Gordon varies depending on how cynical or idealistic the series is. |
| 628 | ** Deconstructed in ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'': Sarah Essen explains that Gordon tried to get a [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere job outside]] Gotham City when No Man's Land was declared, but had been laughed at because he couldn't keep his city safe without the help of a vigilante. She warns the officers to not speak about Batman around him anymore. |
| 629 | ** In the {{Novelization}} of ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'', Gordon's internal monologue states that the second Batman kills someone, he'll be shut down. |
| 630 | ** Deconstructed yet again in the ''Joker'' mini-series set after the events of ''ComicBook/TheJokerWar.'' After loosing his job in the GCPD and burning bridges with Mayor Christopher Nakano's new administration, Gordon becomes haunted by the fact that every single atrocity the Joker has committed (including the crippling of his daughter and the death of his son) is a direct result of his refusal to do anything other than apprehend him in unflinching accordance to the law instead of putting him down when he had the chance, which would have spared countless lives in the process. Because of this, Gordon undertakes OneLastJob to kill the Joker before retiring in peace. |
| 631 | * CoolOldGuy: For the most part. |
| 632 | * AFamilyAffair: Before the {{Retcon}} that he was always Barbara Gordon's father, she discovered evidence that he may have been sleeping with her mother/his sister-in-law, [[MamasBabyPapasMaybe possibly making him her bio-father]]. |
| 633 | * FrameUp: ''Eternal'' begins with Gordon supposedly shooting an unarmed man, followed by sparking a small disaster. It's blatantly obvious to every member of the Bat-Family and all the non-corrupt cops on the force that he was framed, and sure enough he was. |
| 634 | * IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: He gives these speeches to Batman on a regular basis. |
| 635 | * InspectorJavert: He becomes this to the Barbara Gordon Batgirl during her ''New 52'' run, since he thought she'd killed James Junior, which she hadn't. Making it worse, she'd been trying to save Gordon. He thankfully backpedals on this after confessing he always knew who Barbara really was, admitting that he was being unfair in his accusations and he was just lashing out. |
| 636 | * MindRape: The Joker puts him through at least three of these. And he still doesn't crack beyond shooting the clown in the kneecap. The major example in the graphic novel ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' where the Joker brutally tortures him with images of the MonsterClown's torture of his daughter Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl, in an effort to prove that "one bad day" can drive anyone insane. [[spoiler:He fails.]] |
| 637 | * MoralityChain: Gordon has pulled Batman back from the brink of [[KnightTemplar Knight Templardom]] more than once, including [[spoiler:shooting him to keep him from killing the Joker.]] |
| 638 | * MyGreatestFailure: His role in the origin of the [[EvilCounterpart original Wrath]]: on the same night Thomas and Martha Wayne got killed, a rookie Gordon got into a firefight with two crooks with their child watching, which ended with the parents killed in self-defense by Gordon. This, in-turn, led to the kid to grow up to become the original Wrath. The sequel story in ''Batman Confidential'', "Wrath Child", made this worse for Gordon by revealing that the Wrath's father was one of the many {{dirty cop}}s in the GCPD, then-Captain [[ComicBook/BatmanYearOne Gillian Loeb]] covered it up so that it wouldn't bring him and half of the GCPD down, and Loeb forced Gordon to comply with this and a transfer to Chicago for several years by threatening the original Wrath's life. |
| 639 | * OnlySaneMan: Was this for the GCPD during the early years of Batman's career. Arguably still is. |
| 640 | * PoliceAreUseless: In the earlier comics. He gets better in later ones. |
| 641 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He trusts Batman and knows he's doing the right thing. |
| 642 | * RefusalOfTheCall: When asked to become Gotham's new Batman, Gordon is reluctant as all hell, feeling that he shouldn't be a Batman at all. He's still adamant when Bullock tries to convince him, but it's when the two see a potential Batman [[{{Retirony}} showing off his baby boy in a Batman shirt]] that Gordon's finally convinced. |
| 643 | * RemarriedToTheMistress: After ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'' he eventually married Sarah Essen, who in that comic he was having an affair with, once his first marriage broke apart. |
| 644 | * ShoutOut: The armor costume that he wore during DC You was inspired by the manga Appleseed. |
| 645 | * SecretSecretKeeper: Implied. In the comics Batman often agonizes over whether or not he should be officially let in on the secret, and suspects that Gordon is too good of a cop not to have figured it out already. By the end of Scott Snyder's Detective Comics run, it's clear that he knows, when he straight up says to Dick Grayson (who was Batman at the time): "Thank you, on all fronts." |
| 646 | ** In ComicBook/PostCrisis continuity, it's implied he knows right from [[ComicBook/BatmanYearOne the beginning]]. After an unmasked Batman saves Jim's baby, Gordon makes the point that he's [[BlindWithoutEm practically blind without his glasses]] even though he's [[BlatantLies only three feet away]]. |
| 647 | ** As of ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier, it's finally confirmed that Gordon always knew that his daughter Barbara was Batgirl/Oracle and that no costume or amount of digital voice alteration was going to keep him from recognizing his own kid. |
| 648 | * SmokingIsCool: Commissioner Gordon was seen smoking at least once per issue, especially after Creator/FrankMiller's big '80s stories. A heart scare in the mid '90s put an end to that. Specifically, he stopped smoking cigarettes to take up the pipe. The logic has sometimes been {{lampshade|Hanging}}d. |
| 649 | * SmokingIsNotCool: As noted above, he had a heart attack during the 1990s and for a while gave up cigarettes. |
| 650 | * StatusQuoIsGod: Any attempt to remove him from the post of Commissioner will ultimately be undone, with the longest time away from the post being the five year span between ''Officer Down'' and ''Face the Face''. In fact, ''Superheavy'' likewise not only ends with him [[spoiler: quitting]] being Batman after [[spoiler: Bruce's return]], but once again in the role of Commissioner after being fired in ''ComicBook/BatmanEternal''. |
| 651 | * TheStoic: Gordon's developed something of a reputation for holding himself together pretty well. |
| 652 | * SaveTheVillain: He once talked Batman out of killing Joker when Batman believed him to have killed one of his childhood friends. |
| 653 | * TakeUpMySword: After the events of ''ComicBook/BatmanEndgame'', Jim dons a suit of PoweredArmor to become a GCPD-sponsored replacement for the presumed-dead Batman. |
| 654 | %%* TwoFirstNames |
| 655 | [[/folder]] |
| 656 | |
| 657 | [[folder:Harvey Bullock]] |
| 658 | !!Harvey Bullock |
| 659 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-GothamCentralCv22_2422.jpg]] |
| 660 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #441 (July, 1974) |
| 661 | |
| 662 | ->''" Your kind make me puke. The masks and the gimmicks and the games. It's all a joke to you, huh? Foley's knee's ruined and it's all a joke."'' |
| 663 | |
| 664 | Perhaps the most controversial member of the Gotham Police. He was initially sent by the corrupt Hamilton Hill as an UnwittingPawn to drive Commissioner Gordon into a nervous breakdown through his clumsiness and crookedness, but did a HeelFaceTurn after Gordon actually suffered a stroke from one of his pranks, and got his own back on Hamilton Hill. He has a reputation for taking bribes and wrangling Miranda Rights, yet Commissioner Gordon and his partner Renee Montoya trust him unconditionally. Bullock was a "bishop" in the government agency ComicBook/{{Checkmate}}, but eventually returned to Gotham. He was one of the few who stayed in Gotham during No Man's Land. After Jim Gordon retired after being shot during the storyline ''Officer Down'' - when the man who shot him [[OffOnATechnicality walked free]] - Bullock killed the culprit and left the force. He became a PI. |
| 665 | |
| 666 | After ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' and the return of Jim Gordon as Commissioner, Bullock returned to the force as well. |
| 667 | ---- |
| 668 | * AscendedExtra: His first appearance was as a minor character from a Batman comic in the early 70's. He wouldn't appear again until nearly a decade later, and he's been a frequent recurring character since. |
| 669 | * CowboyCop |
| 670 | * DirtyCop: [[DependingOnTheWriter Can be at times]]. Usually he's portrayed as the cop who's not quite clean, but just a ''little'' bit too principled to be out-and-out dirty. |
| 671 | * DonutMessWithACop |
| 672 | * EveryoneHasStandards: He crosses into DirtyCop territory at times, and even then doesn't exactly have the cleanest record. That being said, given that he operates within [[WretchedHive Gotham]], you can bet that there are far worse people than him. |
| 673 | * {{Foil}}: To [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Dan Turpin]]. Turpin is more of a ByTheBookCop, but he's also more aggressive and hardnosed than Bullock. |
| 674 | * GenreRefugee: From looks to disposition, Bullock would be quite at home in a contemporary FilmNoir. As such he sometimes falls OutOfFocus. |
| 675 | * GoodCopBadCop: With Montoya, he was the bad cop. |
| 676 | * HiddenDepths: Harvey is [[TheMovieBuff quite knowledgeable in classic film]]. He also has two cats that he takes care of. One of them is named Sprinkles. |
| 677 | * IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Pulls this one on Renee Montoya before taking the matter into his own hands. |
| 678 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's done a lot of morally questionable things, but he at the very least cares about Gordon and Renee. When push comes to shove, he's one of the only decent cops in the GCPD. |
| 679 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: His reaction after a prank of his inadvertently caused Commissioner Gordon to have a stroke that left him comatose. |
| 680 | * NobleBigotWithABadge: "Noble" may be a stretch. Not entirely loathable, at least. |
| 681 | * PermaStubble |
| 682 | * PlatonicLifePartners: With Renee Montoya. |
| 683 | * PoliceBrutality: Usually of the [[WretchedHive not-entirely-unjustified]] "Maybe the AssholeVictim tripped on the cell-block stairs, Commish" variety. Maybe he'd handle a suspect a little roughly, or indulge in some moderate off-the-books roughing-up, but he's deeply aware of the lines he refuses to cross. |
| 684 | * PrivateDetective: When he was off the force. |
| 685 | * SympatheticMurderer: The police only think he's "helped" the mob get their hands on the man who shot Commissioner Gordon, but they find it hard to hate him for that. |
| 686 | * ThatOneCase: For Harvey, it was a school killing that was later resolved in ''ComicBook/GothamCentral''. |
| 687 | * UndyingLoyalty: To Commissioner Gordon, in most modern books. |
| 688 | * VitriolicBestBuds: He and Renee Montoya often trade sarcastic jabs. |
| 689 | [[/folder]] |
| 690 | |
| 691 | [[folder:Maggie Sawyer]] |
| 692 | !!Maggie Sawyer |
| 693 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maggie_sawyer_dcnu.jpg]] |
| 694 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Superman'' Vol. 2 #4 (April, 1987) |
| 695 | |
| 696 | ->''" Well, we all have our bad habits, don't we? Mine is nicotine... and yours is that psychotic murderer, Nocturna."'' |
| 697 | |
| 698 | A friendly police captain who transferred to Gotham after a fairly long time in the [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Metropolis]] Special Crimes Unit. Though there were initial tensions, Maggie became a central member of the GCPD and eventually entered a committed relationship with Kate Kane, unaware at first that Kate is actually Batwoman. |
| 699 | ---- |
| 700 | * BadassNormal: In Metropolis, she joined the Special Crimes Unit, working in situations that would normally require Superman but without the assistance of the Man of Steel. |
| 701 | * ButchLesbian: She often shifts back and forth between this and {{Bifauxnen}} DependingOnTheArtist. |
| 702 | * IncompatibleOrientation: She was married to a man for a brief time, but pretty quickly realized that she was lesbian and that it just wasn't going to work out. |
| 703 | * LesbianJock: Which was rather impressive for a character to be when it was revealed in 1988. |
| 704 | * PlatonicLifePartners: With Dan Turpin. |
| 705 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: A good example of this was the time Superman's powers were increasing beyond his control leading to a series of accidents. When she arrived just as Superman was about to turn himself in, she cut him off and apologized "for arriving to late to help catch the bad guy" saying that she was "distracted because her friend was sick and needed help." Superman promised her friend would get that help. |
| 706 | %%* StraightGay |
| 707 | * SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: She was already an existing character in her own right, but many fans noted that she was slotted into Batwoman's story after Renee Montoya, Kate's previous badass lesbian cop girlfriend, was PutOnABus. |
| 708 | * TeamMom: Sometimes takes this role for the GCPD. |
| 709 | * {{Transplant}}: Used to be a Superman supporting character, but became a firmly Batman character for a long time, particularly because of her high-profile (out of universe) association with Batwoman. As of ''DC Rebirth'', she went back to Metropolis and appears in the Superman books once again. |
| 710 | [[/folder]] |
| 711 | |
| 712 | [[folder:The Spectre III (Crispus Allen)]] |
| 713 | !!Crispus Allen |
| 714 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crispus_allen_0002.jpg]] |
| 715 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #742 (March, 2000) |
| 716 | |
| 717 | ->''"While you and me and maybe half the M.C.U. know he's rotten... ain't nobody got proof that it's so..."'' |
| 718 | |
| 719 | A GCPD officer and once Renee Montoya's partner on the force, Crispus disapproves of Batman's vigilantism but considers it an unfortunate necessity in Gotham. Thus, he's become a steadfast ally for the Caped Crusader in Gotham's Major Crimes Division and tries to cool the tempers of his more adventurous colleagues. Tragically, Allen was later murdered by the corrupt Jim Corrigan. After his death however, he was chosen to be the new human host of ComicBook/TheSpectre. |
| 720 | ---- |
| 721 | * BackFromTheDead: Sort of. |
| 722 | * GoodCopBadCop: When working with Renee, he was the good cop. |
| 723 | * {{Irony}}: |
| 724 | ** Allen respects Batman, but views Bruce Wayne with withering contempt. |
| 725 | ** Also, his transformation into the third Spectre involved being killed by a man who shares the name of the original Spectre. |
| 726 | * LegacyCharacter: He's the third person to become the Spectre, after Jim Corrigan (the Golden Age one, not his murderer) and Hal Jordan, better known as the Silver Age ComicBook/GreenLantern. |
| 727 | %%* NiceGuy |
| 728 | * OnlySaneMan: For the GCPD, whenever Gordon's not around. |
| 729 | * SkewedPriorities: During a brief appearance at the beginning of ''Infinite Crisis'', he's busy complaining about the situation with Corrigan when there's a nigh-literal apocalypse going on around him, something Renee even points out. |
| 730 | [[/folder]] |
| 731 | |
| 732 | [[folder:Michael Akins]] |
| 733 | !!Michael Akins |
| 734 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/michael_akins_0001.jpg]] |
| 735 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman: Turning Points'' #5 (January, 2001) |
| 736 | |
| 737 | ->''"All right, everyone! The Bat's really got us over the table on this one. He's jeopardized all of our lives and the lives of every good citizen in this city. So from here on out -- forget the rubber bullets. You see anyone in a mask... you shoot to kill."'' |
| 738 | |
| 739 | A skilled police officer transferred from Gateway City and commissioner during a period when Gordon had retired due to injuries. Though strict and distrustful of Batman, Akins is an honorable man who ultimately means well and became an uneasy ally. |
| 740 | ---- |
| 741 | * TheAtoner: His behavior in Gotham is an attempt to atone after a vigilante he allowed to run wild in Gateway City got a child killed. He eventually retired out of shame when an investigation by Bullock revealed that some of Akin's men were on the take from the mobs. |
| 742 | * TheBusCameBack: As part of ''ComicBook/DetectiveComicsRebirth'', Akins returns as Sebastian Hady's successor to the role of Gotham's mayor. |
| 743 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: He disappeared without really any real sign of what happened to him during the ''One Year Later'' TimeSkip for ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' with the only thing known is that Gordon retook the position of Commissioner after Bullock uncovered corruption in the GCPD. |
| 744 | * TheCommissionerGordon: Averted. During his tenure he attempted to break off ties with the Batfamily and even had the batsignal removed from GCPD headquarters. |
| 745 | * TheCynic: He used to be a lot more idealistic, but his experiences in Gateway City caused him to lose this. |
| 746 | %%* DarkAndTroubledPast |
| 747 | %%* JerkWithAHeartOfGold |
| 748 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: In Gateway City he endorsed a rookie superhero, only for said superhero to get himself and a child killed in a botched hostage situation. Akins blames himself for the incident and has never really gotten over it. |
| 749 | %%* TheStoic |
| 750 | [[/folder]] |
| 751 | |
| 752 | [[folder:Sarah Essen-Gordon]] |
| 753 | !!Sarah Essen-Gordon |
| 754 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarah_essen_gordon.jpg]] |
| 755 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #405 (March, 1987) |
| 756 | |
| 757 | ->''"For all you know, the Batman could change on a regular basis-- and you've dealt with five of them. Maybe the only constant has been the costume."'' |
| 758 | |
| 759 | Sarah Essen was originally introduced as a detective and paramour of Jim Gordon in ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'' to illustrate how the job was ruining his personal life. Three years later later Denny O'Neil reintroduced her into regular continuity, though this time Gordon was already divorced. Sarah was a constant presence in the GCPD, and served as a moral and emotional rock for the police and especially Gordon, whose relationship with her progressed naturally until they got married in 1992. |
| 760 | |
| 761 | She was murdered by The Joker at the climax of ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand''. Since the ComicBook/New52 retconned the marriage into non-existence, Sarah's canonicity is unknown. |
| 762 | ---- |
| 763 | * AdaptedOut: Poor Sarah barely gets any mention in adaptations, which mostly depict Gordon as single (or his home life goes unmentioned), or he's still married to Barbara Kean. The fact that their relationship started as an affair is almost never adapted. |
| 764 | * HappilyMarried: To Gordon for a long time. |
| 765 | * KillTheCutie: In what was considered so cruel a moment that even the Joker didn't laugh afterward. It was so shocking, not because Sarah was incredibly popular, but she was always there for almost ten years, and Gordon's reaction was heartbreaking. |
| 766 | * MoralityPet: To Gordon, as shown in ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' for example. |
| 767 | * NumberTwo: To Gordon, arguably even more than Bullock was. |
| 768 | * SatelliteCharacter: While she was shown to be a good cop, most of Sarah's characterization came from her relationship with Gordon. |
| 769 | * SecondLove: After his marriage to Barbara Kean fell apart, his relationship to Sarah Essen lasted many years. |
| 770 | * SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: Sarah had a harder time trusting Batman than Gordon did, and would resent the times Batman's problems would affect the GCPD. |
| 771 | [[/folder]] |
| 772 | |
| 773 | [[folder:Mercedes Stone]] |
| 774 | !!Mercedes Stone |
| 775 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batman_legends_of_the_dark_knight_vol_1_37.jpg]] |
| 776 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' Vol. 1 #37 (September, 1992) |
| 777 | |
| 778 | Mercedes Stone was a rookie GCPD officer who was badly injured in an attempt to quell a riot that had started at an illegal fighting ring, an operation that also left her partner dead. Having brushed off Batman's assistance for the raid, she later sought him out to train her to infiltrate the illegal fighting circuit to take down the Cossack, the fearsome fighter who had killed her partner and put her in the hospital. |
| 779 | ---- |
| 780 | * BloodKnight: Batman notes that she became almost addicted to the "thrill" of fighting. |
| 781 | * FightClubbing: She became a successful underground fighter after being dismissed from the GCPD, in an attempt to get revenge on the Cossack. |
| 782 | * GoneHorriblyRight: The training Stone received from Batman made her a popular fixture in the underground fighting world, as well as giving her a bloodlust that led to her accidentally beating another fighter to death. Before becoming a fighter, she also became more aggressive in her police duties and was eventually suspended for excessive force. |
| 783 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: She's at least a head shorter than Batman, but was still able to shove him around once her training was done. In the underground fight circuit, she regularly knocked out much larger men, and even killed one on accident. |
| 784 | * TookALevelInBadass: After training with Batman, she put on a considerable amount of muscle and became a notable fighter in the underground circuit. |
| 785 | [[/folder]] |
| 786 | |
| 787 | [[folder:Mackenzie 'Hardback' Bock]] |
| 788 | !!Mackenzie 'Hardback' Bock |
| 789 | [[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bock.jpg]] |
| 790 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #681 (January, 1995) |
| 791 | |
| 792 | ->''"I know heroes when I see them. Vanessa. Her dad. Those amazing kids. The national guardsmen. My citizen's brigade. And God help me, even a man like Cobblepot. And me? I'm just a guy doing a job. If the shoes fit, you wear them, or you walk away."''' |
| 793 | |
| 794 | Mackenzie Bock earned the nickname "Hardback" due to his insatiable reading habit. After No Man's Land story arc he was promoted to Captain of OCCB (Organised Crime Unit) in the Gotham City Police Department. He is an extremely capable police officer, although somewhat wary of the vigilante heroes like Batman. Following the retirement of Commissioner James Gordon, Bock received a promotion to Chief of Police. |
| 795 | ---- |
| 796 | * BadassBookworm: A tough-as-nails cop, Bock earned the nickname "Hardback" due to his insatiable reading habit. |
| 797 | * ByTheBookCop: He is an extremely capable police officer, although somewhat wary of the vigilante heroes like Batman. He eventually comes round and sees the value of Batman to Gotham City. |
| 798 | * ScaryBlackMan: A large black man, he is not above using his bulk to intimidate suspects. |
| 799 | [[/folder]] |
| 800 | |
| 801 | [[folder:Other Major Crimes Unit Members]] |
| 802 | !!Other Major Crimes Unit Members |
| 803 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gothamcentral_006_pantry1.jpg]] |
| 804 | |
| 805 | Detectives such as Marcus Driver, Romy Chandler, Josephine "Josie Mac" [=MacDonald=], Vincent Del Arazzio, Sarge Davies, Nelson Crowe, Joely Barlett, and Tommy Burke frequently appear in the LowerDeckEpisode series ''ComicBook/GothamCentral'', but rarely appear outside of it. |
| 806 | ---- |
| 807 | * NoHeroToHisValet: Most of them look at Batman with distrust and frustration despite his ManOfTheCity status, being frustrated about how he rarely communicates with them and can't keep a lid on villains like Joker and Mr. Freeze. |
| 808 | * RememberTheNewGuy: Most of them never appear before the first issue of ''Gotham Central'' (Del Arrazio, Bartlett, [=MacDonald=], civilian worker Stacy, and the OutOfFocus Detective Eric Cohen are among the few exceptions) but are treated as cops who've spent a long time dealing with Batman and his RoguesGallery. |
| 809 | [[/folder]] |
| 810 | |
| 811 | [[folder:Detectives Murphy and Moses]] |
| 812 | !!Detectives Murphy and Moses |
| 813 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moses_and_murphy_01.jpg]] |
| 814 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #674 (May, 1994) |
| 815 | |
| 816 | Two homicide detectives who appear in several issues throughout the nineties. |
| 817 | ---- |
| 818 | * OnlyOneName: Neither detective ever gets a first name. |
| 819 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: They may not normally be the most sensitive and professional guys, but in ''Batgirl'' #37, they are very concerned and professional during an apparent child abduction case and show subdued anger and disgust at the victim's mother's bad parenting. |
| 820 | * TheSlacker: Every time they take a case, they keep their eyes peeled for any sign of the slightest superhero or supervillain connections to what's going on, and the moment they find it, they cheerfully make the Major Crimes Unit take over the case for them. |
| 821 | * ThoseTwoGuys: They are a duo who always appear together and are more notable for their playful, established banter than they are for solving crimes. |
| 822 | [[/folder]] |
| 823 | |
| 824 | [[folder:Stanley Kitch]] |
| 825 | !!Stanley Kitch |
| 826 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stan_kitch1.jpg]] |
| 827 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #596 (January, 1989) |
| 828 | |
| 829 | A former lawyer and sometimes partner of Harvey Bullock. Gordon trusts him enough to let him work with Batman on occasion. He appears in the Post-Crisis era. |
| 830 | ---- |
| 831 | * ByTheBookCop: He respects procedures (to Bullock's annoyance) and doesn't use violence as a first resort. |
| 832 | * EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: He is originally dark-haired but becomes blonde in later appearances. |
| 833 | * GoodIsNotDumb: His ByTheBookCop attitude earns him some ridicule, but he is a keen and resourceful investigator. |
| 834 | [[/folder]] |
| 835 | |
| 836 | [[folder:Billy Pettit]] |
| 837 | !!Billy Pettit |
| 838 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billy_9.jpg]] |
| 839 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Man-Bat'' (Vol 2) #1 (February, 1996) |
| 840 | |
| 841 | A TriggerHappy S.W.A.T. cop best known for his role in ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand''. |
| 842 | ---- |
| 843 | * ColdSniper: He is introduced in a three-part story that he spends trying to take out the mutant Man-Bat with a sniper rifle. Pettit seems to care more about making the kill (and finding out just what Man-Bat is) than ending the crime spree, tries to shoot Man-Bat while he's carrying an innocent woman who could fall to her death if Man-Bat dies, and spends a lot of time yelling at his spotter. |
| 844 | * CrazySurvivalist: He is a swaggering, gun-toting cop who has been hiding caches of ammo throughout the city long before the earthquake that made them come in handy. |
| 845 | * DependingOnTheArtist Different artists give him gray, black, or brown hair in stories set months, weeks, or even days apart. |
| 846 | * RankUp: He is a mere sniper in his debut, but leads the S.W.A.T. team afterward. |
| 847 | * TokenEvilTeammate: Even on his best days he is a BloodKnight, and he spends most of ''No Man's Land'' enforcing law and order with brutal methods before JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and becoming a borderline warlord who will kill anyone who upsets him. |
| 848 | * TriggerHappy: Has a 'shoot first, ask questions later' attitude. |
| 849 | [[/folder]] |
| 850 | |
| 851 | |
| 852 | [[folder:Stan Merkel]] |
| 853 | !!Officer/Watch Commander Stan Merkel |
| 854 | ->''"But isn't there some other way to call him [than with the Bat-signal]?"'' |
| 855 | A partner turned subordinate of Gordon who mainly appears in comics written by Creator/FrankMiller. |
| 856 | ---- |
| 857 | * TheFaceless: Up until his final appearance in ''ComicBook/BatmanDarkVictory'', his face is always obscured by his hat, shadows, or the direction he is facing. This is eliminated in the animated adaptations of some of the stories featuring him. |
| 858 | * FacePalm: In ''Dark Victory'', he puts a hand to his face during an OhCrap moment when he realizes that he's been out celebrating St. Patrick's Day hours later than he'd told his wife he'd be home. |
| 859 | * LanternJawOfJustice: He is a rare honest cop in the early days of Gotham City and once he stops being TheFaceless, he turns out to have a thick chin that sticks out some. |
| 860 | * TheReliableOne; He helps with unglamorous but important jobs like turning on the Bat-Signal or setting up perimeters around apartments with active shooters. He is good at his job and is professional enough to ask TriggerHappy S.W.A.T. Cops not to go in prematurely. |
| 861 | * RankUp: He rises two ranks between his first and last appearances. |
| 862 | [[/folder]] |
| 863 | |
| 864 | [[folder:Harvey Harris]] |
| 865 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #226 (December, 1955) |
| 866 | ->''"First you’ll learn that detective work is no light-hearted game, but a life of hard work, of loneliness…and of danger." '' |
| 867 | A detective under whom Bruce studied as a teenager, he is a [=GCPD=] detective on Earth One and a PrivateDetective from Huntsville, Alabama on New Earth. |
| 868 | ---- |
| 869 | * AlliterativeName: Harvey and Harris both begin with an H. |
| 870 | * BatmanGambit: Pre-Crisis, he pulls such a gambit on the future Batman by having him dial a list of phone numbers for a case and slipping the names of several families he suspects his masked new apprentice may belong to onto the list. He watches Bruce dial each number and picks up on how he is able to call Wayne Manor without pausing to read the number, meaning he already knows it. |
| 871 | * CanonWelding: He is eventually retconned into being the uncle of ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' character Wendy, with his connection to Batman having led to her association with superheroes. |
| 872 | * GeniusBruiser: His deductive abilities don't keep him from being a quick-fisted brawler (and a decent gunman) when the situation calls for it. |
| 873 | * GreatDetective: He is a famous and intelligent detective who commands respect, gets results, and sees through the disguise Bruce uses to apprentice under him in both continuities. |
| 874 | * MentorOccupationalHazard: He imparts valuable lessons to Bruce in multiple continuities, and while he lives to die of natural causes Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis, he is mortally wounded as they fight a killer together. |
| 875 | * MarriedToTheJob: He has little life outside of detective work. |
| 876 | * NiceGuy: He is usually considerate and/or friendly toward everyone but bullies, bigots, and crooks. |
| 877 | * OneSteveLimit: He has the same first name as Two-Face and Harvey Bullock. |
| 878 | * RespectedByTheRespected: Even after Batman achieves the "World's Greatest Detective" title as an adult, he still considers Harvey his superior. |
| 879 | * SecretSecretKeeper: Only at the end of his life does he reveal that he knew his mysterious young student was Bruce Wayne (and, Pre-Crisis, that he knew Bruce grew up to be Batman). |
| 880 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: His appearances in any continuity as of 2023 can be counted on one hand, but he helped make Bruce a GreatDetective (even if he learned about man hunting from other mentors like Henri Ducard) and, Pre-Crisis, is the one who came up with the name Robin when Bruce used the costume during their association. |
| 881 | * TricksterMentor: Post-Crisis, he reveals that Bruce is already a brilliant detective without needing help from him and what Harvey has really been doing throughout their association is helping him improve his discipline and deal with his emotions. |
| 882 | [[/folder]] |
| 883 | !!Love Interests |
| 884 | |
| 885 | [[folder:Julie Madison]] |
| 886 | !!Julie Madison |
| 887 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Julie_Madison_9812.jpg]] |
| 888 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #31 (September, 1939) |
| 889 | |
| 890 | ->''"Bruce, you're not all alone anymore. Not as long as I'm around."'' |
| 891 | |
| 892 | ...the ''other'' oldest love interest, and the first. A [[DamselInDistress kidnapping-prone]] socialite/actress, and Bruce Wayne's fiancee, Julie appeared in the earliest Batman stories in ''Detective Comics'' and remained engaged to Bruce for two years before breaking it off, due to stress from, you know, being kidnapped so often. She then became an actress, then a princess, and then ceased to be of any importance whatsoever. |
| 893 | |
| 894 | She sometimes appears as TheCameo, if ever. Matt Wagner did a fair amount of work with the character in a pair of mini-series, "Batman and the Monster Men" and "Batman and the Mad Monk", set during the [[ComicBook/BatmanYearOne Year One]] era. She made her ComicBook/New52 appearance in ''Batman'' Vol. 2 #30 and plays a heavy role in the "Superheavy" storyline, once more as Bruce's girlfriend. |
| 895 | ---- |
| 896 | * TheArtifact: Probably the only reason anyone occasionally bothers to write her. |
| 897 | * DamselInDistress: She got kidnapped more than once, notably by the Mad Monk, and the stress from it was what led to her and Batman's breakup. |
| 898 | * FirstGirlWins: {{Subverted|Trope}}. Her only real presence for the last several decades has been as an obscure reference and occasionally cameoing in flashbacks as one of the first examples of Bruce forgoing happiness in the name of crime fighting. She returns in the "Superheavy" storyline and Bruce plans on marrying her, but [[spoiler:she sacrifices their chance at happiness so that Batman can return and save Gotham.]] |
| 899 | * ReimaginingTheArtifact: Her return in the "Superheavy" storyline gave her a new design and more story prominence as the girlfriend of the amnesiac Bruce whose romance must tragically be sacrificed in order for Batman to return. |
| 900 | * SinsOfTheFather: During the "Superheavy" storyline, Julie reveals that not only did [[spoiler:she know Bruce was Batman]], but her father [[spoiler:was a gun runner that may have sold the gun that killed Bruce's parents]]. Ultimately, she decides to [[spoiler:"murder" Bruce Wayne, destroying his repaired mind to allow the return of Batman]] so Gotham can be saved [[spoiler:from Bloom.]] |
| 901 | * StageName: After her acting career takes off, the studio changes her name to the more exotic sounding 'Portia Storme'. |
| 902 | [[/folder]] |
| 903 | |
| 904 | [[folder:Selina Kyle (Catwoman)]] |
| 905 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/catwoman_1940s_batman.jpg]] |
| 906 | |
| 907 | ->See Characters/CatwomanSelinaKyle |
| 908 | [[/folder]] |
| 909 | |
| 910 | [[folder:Linda Page]] |
| 911 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linda_page.jpg]] |
| 912 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #5 (March, 1941) |
| 913 | |
| 914 | ->''"Bruce is nice...and I do like him...a lot, but if he were only a little more like Batman.But I guess that's asking too much?"'' |
| 915 | |
| 916 | Even more obscure than Julie Madison, Linda Page was Bruce Wayne's second love interest after Julie broke her engagement off with Bruce. A former socialite, she dedicated her time as a nurse for the elderly, instead of falling into the stereotype that rich women were spoiled and lazy. She dated Bruce for two years, but broke up with him when he would not explain why he seemed to be wooing another woman (trying to reform a disguised Catwoman). |
| 917 | ---- |
| 918 | * CouldntFindAPen: In one story, Linda is kidnapped to tend to a wounded gangster. She manages to write a message on her dressing table in lipstick which Batman finds. |
| 919 | * FieryRedhead: The ''first'' redheaded love interest for Bruce, who finds her spirited attitude attractive. |
| 920 | * HospitalHottie: A FieryRedhead nurse. |
| 921 | * NonIdleRich: Comes from a wealthy family but took up nursing as a career to give her life purpose. |
| 922 | * ShoeSlap: When Linda kidnapped by gangsters who needed a nurse, she aided in her own rescue by clouting one of the crooks over the head with her shoe when Batman and Robin came crashing in. |
| 923 | [[/folder]] |
| 924 | |
| 925 | [[folder:Vicki Vale]] |
| 926 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Vicki_Vale_DCnU_8854.jpg]] |
| 927 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #98 (March, 1956) |
| 928 | |
| 929 | ->''"You puzzle me, Bruce! Sometimes I wonder if you're really the socialite playboy you pretend to be!"'' |
| 930 | |
| 931 | One of Batman's earliest love interests, Vicki Vale is a skilled and determined reporter for the ''Gotham Gazette''. Her typical subject of writing is Batman: she reports on his exploits and occasionally tries to puzzle out his real identity, but she's always foiled. She has a hidden crush on Batman, and less so on Bruce Wayne, creating a LoveTriangle [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle out of two people]], though she sometimes suspects that they're one and the same. If it is unclear, she is essentially Gotham's ComicBook/LoisLane. |
| 932 | |
| 933 | What with being an expy of the ComicBook/{{Superman}} comic books who appeared primarily during Batman's Silver Age, Vicki seldom shows up today. She disappeared in 1963, resurfaced in 1977 (and was promptly forgotten by the editors), and finally resumed love interest status in TheEighties...right before the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths wiped her history from existence. ComicBook/PostCrisis, her appearances are primarily limited to [[TheCameo the occasional cameo]]. She's done better in alternate continuities and media, having featured in ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'', [[Film/Batman1989 the 1989 film]] (in which she was intended to be 1970s love interest Silver St. Cloud, whose name was deemed too silly), and ''[[WesternAnimation/TheBatman The Batman vs Dracula]]''. She also has an {{Expy}} in the form of [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Summer Gleeson]]. |
| 934 | ---- |
| 935 | * AdaptationDyeJob: She's traditionally red-haired in the comics, but is blonde in the 1989 ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}''. This is due to, as noted above, the character originally having intended to be Silver St. Cloud, who is blonde in the comics. This carried over to the version in the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries''. |
| 936 | * AlliterativeName: ''V''icki ''V''ale. |
| 937 | * BrokenBird: In modern comics, she's often shown to be a somewhat shallow tv show host who's jealous of Lois Lane's reputation as a legitimate news reporter and constantly embittered by her ex, Bruce Wayne, every time she has to report the latest gossip of his newest "Wayne Girl". |
| 938 | * CaptainErsatz: Her entire character as a reporter in the center of a TwoPersonLoveTriangle with a superhero is lifted directly from Lois Lane. |
| 939 | * DamselInDistress: When portrayed as the main love interest, she's usually kidnapped or endangered in some way to engineer a rescue from Batman. The straightest example is in the 1989 ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}'', where she's captured by the Joker and taken to the top of the Gotham Cathedral. Nowadays, it's usually because she refuses to stop sticking her nose into Batman's business. |
| 940 | * DemotedToExtra: After the 90s Batman films proved to be of less than stellar quality, Vicki more or less disappeared from all adaptations. When she returned to comics she was a bitter pseudo-reporter, reflecting on her unpopularity. |
| 941 | * RedheadsAreRavishing: She's red-haired and one of the more notable love interests to Batman, though mostly in adaptations outside of the comics. If Catwoman isn't the main love interest, it's often Vicki. |
| 942 | * SecretKeeper: Pieced together the identities of the Bat-family's male members, and has kept it secret. The only reason she keeps the secret is because she can't prove it. |
| 943 | [[/folder]] |
| 944 | |
| 945 | [[folder:Kathy Kane (Batwoman)]] |
| 946 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kathy_kane.jpg]] |
| 947 | |
| 948 | -> See ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} |
| 949 | [[/folder]] |
| 950 | |
| 951 | [[folder:Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy)]] |
| 952 | [[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pamela_isley_2.jpg]] |
| 953 | |
| 954 | Poison Ivy is a villain who often relies on seduction and the manipulation of pheromones to drive men around her to obey. This is no different with Batman, who initially confused the lust and desire caused by Ivy's methods for love. Ivy has a somewhat love/hate relationship with Batman; on some occasions she claims to love him and desires his affection, while on others she is more than willing to kill him. Bruce and Pamela had a brief but genuine romantic relationship after he helped to cure her of her condition, but this came to an end when Pamela seemingly died in an attempt to turn herself back into Poison Ivy. |
| 955 | |
| 956 | -> See Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy |
| 957 | [[/folder]] |
| 958 | |
| 959 | [[folder:Talia al Ghul]] |
| 960 | [[quoteright:169:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/talia_al_ghul_circa_1971.png]] |
| 961 | |
| 962 | -> See Characters/BatmanTaliaAlGhul |
| 963 | [[/folder]] |
| 964 | |
| 965 | [[folder:Silver St. Cloud]] |
| 966 | [[quoteright:316:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silver_st_cloud_8.jpg]] |
| 967 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics '' #470 (June, 1977) |
| 968 | |
| 969 | ->''" I saw you fighting with a madman, straddling a girder in the blinding lightning storm! I love you -- but I couldn't live with that! Never knowing what each night would bring! Never knowing when your luck will run out!"'' |
| 970 | |
| 971 | Silver St. Cloud was a socialite from Gotham City's upper class. She was first introduced to Bruce Wayne during one of his private parties, where sparks flew between them almost at once. However, Silver noticed Bruce's mysterious disappearances and she became suspicious. Silver's suspicions were eventually confirmed when she witnessed the fight between Batman and the recently escaped ComicBook/{{Deadshot}}. After the fight was over, Silver deduced the truth that Batman was Bruce Wayne. After this, Silver talked with Batman, revealing to him her knowledge of the truth and despite their strong feelings for each other, Silver was forced to break up with Batman, as she couldn't stand the thought of losing him because of his crusade. |
| 972 | |
| 973 | Years later, St. Cloud returned to Gotham with her then-fiancé, U.S. Senator Evan Gregory. Gregory was on a political campaign running for Governor, but he ran into some complications when his opponent turned out to be ComicBook/TheJoker. |
| 974 | |
| 975 | St. Cloud and Wayne rekindled their relationship after Gregory's death. St. Cloud now understood Wayne's responsibilities as Batman and was more than content to have him during daytime while Gotham had him at night. Wayne seriously considered giving up the mantle of the bat and settling with St. Cloud for good, especially since a new vigilante, Baphomet, had turned up and impressed both Batman and Robin with his crime-fighting abilities. Wayne finally proposed to Silver and invited Baphomet to his Batcave to formally introduce himself and St. Cloud to Baphomet. However, Baphomet then revealed himself as the villain Onomatopoeia and instantly stabbed St. Cloud. |
| 976 | ---- |
| 977 | * AffectionateNickname: In ''Widening Gyre'', Silver constantly addresses Bruce as 'D.D.' (and, no, it doesn't stand for 'Darknight Detective').[[note]]If you really want to know, apparently the first night they had sex, they reached '''D'''ouble '''D'''igits. Yeah. Thanks for that, Creator/KevinSmith.[[/note]] |
| 978 | * ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Inverted. Silver breaks up with Bruce and leaves Gotham because she cannot bear the thought of him being killed because of his crusade. |
| 979 | * LeftHanging: St. Cloud's apparent death was the cliffhanger ending of the first half of the ''Widening Gyre'' storyline. The second half of Widening Gyre is still forthcoming. |
| 980 | * LoveCannotOvercome: As much as she genuinely loved Bruce, she couldn't handle his crusade as Batman and elected to save herself the pain of potentially watching him die by breaking up with him. |
| 981 | * MsFanservice: Silver was the first of Bruce's {{Love Interest}}s to be shown lounging around in her lingerie. |
| 982 | * SecretKeeper: Deduced Batman's identity and kept it secret; even from Batman himself at first. |
| 983 | * SlashedThroat: Her apparent death in Pre-Flashpoint continuity was via this, courtesy of Onomatopoeia. We never see her actually die, but it is the last we ever saw of her in that continuity. |
| 984 | * SparedByTheAdaptation: She appears alive and well in the "Batman/Elmer Fudd Special". |
| 985 | * SympatheticAdulterer: Of the ''Pay Cheating Unto Normal'' variety. She sleeps with Bruce when she's still with Evan Gregory and feels bad about it afterwards because while she loves Evan, she loves Bruce just that much more and isn't otherwise portrayed as a horrible person in spite of spending a night with Bruce despite being engaged to someone else. |
| 986 | * ThirdOptionLoveInterest: She's one of Bruce's most iconic love interests (especially during the 70s, where Talia had just been introduced and Catwoman had taken a backseat), and probably the closest Bruce has ever come to loving a woman outside of Selina Kyle and Talia al Ghul. He was even willing to give up Batman just to marry her. |
| 987 | [[/folder]] |
| 988 | |
| 989 | [[folder:Julia Remarque]] |
| 990 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/julia_remarque_03.jpg]] |
| 991 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #501 (April, 1981) |
| 992 | |
| 993 | ->''"Yes, I am a woman--the daughter of Mademoiselle Marie!"'' |
| 994 | |
| 995 | In the pre-Crisis continuity, Julia Remarque was born to her mother Mademoiselle Marie of the French resistance. Her father was Alfred Pennyworth, who had been stationed in France during World War II. She has been raised by her mother's friend Jacques Remarque due to her mother's dangerous lifestyle. Eventually, Julia learned that Alfred was her biological father and she travelled to Gotham City to join him. While in Gotham, she also investigated the murder of her adoptive father. After solving the mystery, Julia went to live in Wayne Manor with Alfred, where she met Bruce Wayne and Jason Todd. Julia became a temporary houseguest at Wayne Manor, which created conflict between Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale. A relationship gradually developed between Bruce and Julia. However, the inconsistency of their relationship caused her to lose hope to ever be with Bruce Wayne. |
| 996 | ---- |
| 997 | * FamousAncestor: The daughter of Mademoiselle Marie, the most famous LaResistance leader in Franchise/TheDCU. |
| 998 | * IntrepidReporter: Was a freelance writer for the Gotham Gazette and often worked alongside Vicki Vale. |
| 999 | * RetGone: Vanished from continuity post-Crisis, although a new version eventually turned up in ''ComicBook/BatmanEternal''. |
| 1000 | * RaceLift: The pre-Crisis Julia was the a pale-skinned brunette. The New 52 Julia is dark-skinned and, while he mother's identity has not been established, she appears to have south Asian ancestry. |
| 1001 | [[/folder]] |
| 1002 | |
| 1003 | [[folder:Natalia Knight (Nocturna)]] |
| 1004 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nocturna_reclining.jpg]] |
| 1005 | |
| 1006 | -> See Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart2 |
| 1007 | [[/folder]] |
| 1008 | |
| 1009 | [[folder:Rachel Caspian]] |
| 1010 | [[quoteright:273:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rachel_caspian.jpg]] |
| 1011 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #575 (June, 1987) |
| 1012 | |
| 1013 | ->''"I've seen the real Bruce Wayne...Not the playboy, not the philanthropist...And I can't believe that man would ever do anything he knew to be wrong."'' |
| 1014 | |
| 1015 | Rachel Caspian was the daughter of Judson Caspian and a girlfriend of Bruce Wayne. At an early age, she lost her mother to crime, which prompted her father to become the dreadful vigilante called The Reaper. As an adult, Rachel focused on becoming a nun until she met Bruce Wayne, falling in love with him. They eventually engaged, but unfortunately, her father was exposed as The Reaper after his demise following the confrontation with Batman. Devastated by the news, Rachel decided to atone for the sins of her father and became a Nun in the Sisters of Mercy Order, ending her engagement with Bruce. |
| 1016 | ---- |
| 1017 | * TheAtoner: Rachel decided to atone for the sins of her father and became a Nun in the Sisters of Mercy Order, ending her engagement with Bruce. |
| 1018 | * IHaveYourWife: In ''Full Circle'', Rachel is captured by the new Reaper from Leslie Thompkins' free clinic in an effort to lure Batman to him. |
| 1019 | * MissingMom: At an early age, she lost her mother to crime, which prompted her father to become the dreadful vigilante called The Reaper. |
| 1020 | * TakingTheVeil: Rachel decided to atone for the sins of her father and became a Nun in the Sisters of Mercy Order, ending her engagement with Bruce. |
| 1021 | [[/folder]] |
| 1022 | |
| 1023 | [[folder:Shondra Kinsolving]] |
| 1024 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shondra_kinsolving.jpg]] |
| 1025 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #481 (July, 1992) |
| 1026 | |
| 1027 | ->''"You've got to stop thinking of me as a traditional doctor who believes in some separation of the mind and body."'' |
| 1028 | |
| 1029 | Shondra first met Bruce Wayne when his anxiety and inability to relax prompted him to visit her clinic. She was Bruce's doctor when Bane broke his spine later on, and the two began to develop a romantic relationship. |
| 1030 | ---- |
| 1031 | * CainAndAbel: Shondra is the adopted sister of the psychic assassin Benedict Asp. |
| 1032 | * HealingHands: Shondra Kinsolving possesses the ability to heal major wounds through physical contact. Her powers can even heal what would otherwise be permanent like spinal damage. |
| 1033 | * HospitalHottie: A very good looking doctor. |
| 1034 | [[/folder]] |
| 1035 | |
| 1036 | [[folder:Vesper Fairchild]] |
| 1037 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vesper_fairchild_batman_the_10_cent_adventure1_edited.jpg]] |
| 1038 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #540 (March, 1997) |
| 1039 | |
| 1040 | ->''"Will Gotham have to die before it can live again? Or will we hang on, weather the storm...and save ourselves, save our souls, save our city?"'' |
| 1041 | |
| 1042 | A TV and Radio personality who became romantically involved with billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. She disappeared from Gotham City during the events of No Man's Land, but would rekindle their relationship after the City's reparation. She was eventually killed by David Cain who was acting on orders from Lex Luthor (then President of the United States), to frame Wayne. Her death would lead to Batman briefly abandoning his Bruce Wayne identity. |
| 1043 | ---- |
| 1044 | * CollateralAngst: She was killed by David Cain who was acting on orders from Lex Luthor (then President of the United States), to frame Wayne. |
| 1045 | * KilledOffForReal: Murdered by David Cain. |
| 1046 | [[/folder]] |
| 1047 | |
| 1048 | [[folder:Sasha Bordeaux]] |
| 1049 | [[quoteright:202:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sasha_bordeaux_1.jpg]] |
| 1050 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #751 (December, 2000) |
| 1051 | |
| 1052 | ->''"They destroyed me. They put me on trial. They played that tape, over and over again. They put my face in the papers and on TV... They called me obsessed. They called me your lover. They called me a murderer. Then they put me away. For life. For life, Bruce. And after all of that, you think that I would tell your secret? I NEVER WANTED YOUR SECRET!"'' |
| 1053 | |
| 1054 | Former Secret Service agent Sasha Bordeaux was hired by Lucius Fox of Wayne Enterprises to act as a bodyguard to Bruce Wayne. Though resistant to the idea, Lucius left Bruce with little choice but to accept Sasha. Wayne at first tries to avoid her, but she keeps doing her job. She eventually becomes suspicious and did some searching, where she discovers that Bruce is secretly Batman. Knowing he couldn't fire her because she knew his secret identity, Batman trains her to be his apprentice. During this time, she falls in love with him, even as he insists on having her around while he dated other women. She was framed for Fairchild's murder and later joined Maxwell Lord's Checkmate organization. During ''ComicBook/TheOMACProject'', Bordeaux was turned into a cyborg OMAC, but this incident has since been resolved. While Sasha and Batman kissed near the end of The OMAC Project, their relationship seems to have passed on. |
| 1055 | ---- |
| 1056 | * ActionGirl: Sasha was a former Secret Service agent, and went through intensive physical training to act as Batman's partner. |
| 1057 | * BodyguardCrush: Was Bruce's bodyguard and developed romantic feelings for him. |
| 1058 | * {{Cyborg}}: During ''The OMAC Project'', Bordeaux was turned into a cyborg OMAC. |
| 1059 | * FakingTheDead: After three months time in Blackgate, Sasha's death was faked by agents of Checkmate. |
| 1060 | * SecretKeeper: When David Cain framed Bruce Wayne for the murder of Vesper Fairchild, Sasha was implicated as well. She was convicted of murder before the truth was exposed and sentence to Blackgate. She refused to even take the stand during her trial. Telling the truth would have meant exposing Batman's identity, so she said nothing. |
| 1061 | [[/folder]] |
| 1062 | |
| 1063 | [[folder:Mallory Moxon]] |
| 1064 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mallory_moxon_01.jpg]] |
| 1065 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #591 (July, 2001) |
| 1066 | |
| 1067 | ->''"Well, I have thought about you a lot over the years, Bruce. but, then I guess you never forget your first kiss..."'' |
| 1068 | |
| 1069 | Mallory became involved in Bruce's life when Philo Zeiss wanted revenge on her father, Lew Moxon. Bruce had spent as a child a happy summer with her before his parents were killed. He meets her again years later in a reception to honor Moxon's return to Gotham City. The next night he dines with the Moxons, partly to renew his friendship with Mallory. However, he discovers that Mallory is as much a part of the criminal world as her father. She falls in love with Bruce and is protected by Batman. Mallory was still with her father during Bruce's conviction of being a murderer even though she knew what kind of man her father was. |
| 1070 | ---- |
| 1071 | * AlliterativeName: '''M'''allory '''M'''oxon |
| 1072 | * ChildhoodFriendRomance: Bruce had spent as a child a happy summer with her before his parents were killed. |
| 1073 | * MafiaPrincess: The daughter of Lew Moxon, a mob boss connected to the Wayne murders. |
| 1074 | * TheQueenpin: Mallory is as much a part of the criminal world as her father. |
| 1075 | [[/folder]] |
| 1076 | |
| 1077 | [[folder:Jezebel Jet]] |
| 1078 | [[quoteright:267:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jezebeljet1.jpg]] |
| 1079 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' Batman'' #656 (October, 2006) |
| 1080 | |
| 1081 | ->''"Bruce, they would both be so proud of you if they could see what you've done. How many lives you changed."'' |
| 1082 | |
| 1083 | A wealthy former supermodel of African descent. She is said to own an African province. Like Bruce, she lost her parents at a young age. Though she resisted Bruce's affections at first, she ultimately began a relationship with him. As a result, she discovered that Bruce was Batman just before ''Batman R.I.P.''. Later, she is revealed to be a member of the Black Glove, a villainous organization aimed at defeating Batman. |
| 1084 | ---- |
| 1085 | * AlliterativeName: '''J'''ezebel '''J'''et |
| 1086 | * DecapitationPresentation: Bruce learned that Talia had killed her after she showed him her severed head. |
| 1087 | * KilledOffForReal: Talia Al Ghul wanted to keep Bruce's identity safe, so she sent her League Of Assassins to kill Jezebel Jet. |
| 1088 | * MeaningfulName: She is named Jezebel, after the most famous temptress in the Bible, whose name is now a byword for an evil and scheming woman. |
| 1089 | * LoveInterestTraitor: She is revealed to be a member of the Black Glove, a villainous organization aimed at defeating Batman. |
| 1090 | * StatuesqueStunner: 5'10" and a former supermodel. |
| 1091 | * TornApartByTheMob: She was ripped apart by a flock of Man-Bat Commandos created by Talia. |
| 1092 | * TragicKeepsake: Before dying, Jezebel's mother wrote her a letter from her prison cell while she was on death row, which Jezebel kept close to her at all times since it's the last memory of her mother. |
| 1093 | [[/folder]] |
| 1094 | |
| 1095 | |
| 1096 | [[folder:Bekka]] |
| 1097 | [[quoteright:685:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bekka_6.jpg]] |
| 1098 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''DC Graphic Novel'' #4 (March, 1985) |
| 1099 | ->''"Love. Love for you, my soldiers. But for you, Sinestro, for what we have both done here today, only damnation awaits."'' |
| 1100 | |
| 1101 | Orion's wife, she and Batman had a strong attraction to each other after she rescued him from Darkseid's forces on the planet Tartarus. She was later murdered. |
| 1102 | |
| 1103 | For more information, see [[Characters/NewGodsNewGenesis here]]. |
| 1104 | [[/folder]] |
| 1105 | |
| 1106 | [[folder:Lorna Shore]] |
| 1107 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lornashore11.png]] |
| 1108 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman Confidential'' #7 (September, 2007) |
| 1109 | |
| 1110 | ->''"For a guy who pretends to know nothing about nothing, you sure care a lot about work. You like to cultivate low expectations, don't you?"'' |
| 1111 | |
| 1112 | Lorna Shore worked as a curator at the Gotham Museum of Modern art and briefly dated Bruce Wayne. However, after his first encounter with the Joker and realizing that there will be more enemies like him, Bruce broke off their relationship to protect Lorna. Lorna later left the city, feeling that Gotham is not safe anymore because of Batman and the Joker. |
| 1113 | ---- |
| 1114 | * PutOnABus: Lorna left Gotham City, feeling that Gotham is not safe anymore because of Batman and the Joker. |
| 1115 | * ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: After his first encounter with the Joker and realizing that there will be more enemies like him, Bruce broke off their relationship to protect Lorna. |
| 1116 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Has not been seen since the end of the "Lovers & Madmen" arc in ''Batman Confidential''. |
| 1117 | [[/folder]] |
| 1118 | |
| 1119 | [[folder:Amina Franklin]] |
| 1120 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amina_franklin.jpg]] |
| 1121 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #659 (January, 2007) |
| 1122 | |
| 1123 | A doctor in Leslie Thompkins' clinic in Gotham City, she dated Bruce Wayne for a short time before she ends things with him. A Russian mobster targeted Amina as a means of avenging himself against her allegedly deceased brother Wayne but Batman arrived in time to prevent him from harming Amina. She was killed by her deranged brother Grotesk, who was revealed to be alive. |
| 1124 | ---- |
| 1125 | * HospitalHottie: A very good looking doctor. |
| 1126 | * KilledOffForReal: She was killed by her deranged brother Grotesk. |
| 1127 | * TheMafiya: A Russian mobster targeted Amina as a means of avenging himself against her brother. |
| 1128 | * SiblingMurder: Was killed by her brother Wayne, aka. the supervillain Grotesk. |
| 1129 | [[/folder]] |
| 1130 | |
| 1131 | [[folder:Lt. April Clarkson]] |
| 1132 | [[quoteright:815:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/april_clarkson.jpg]] |
| 1133 | |
| 1134 | A Lieutenant of the Gotham PD, who was against Batman and was taking credit for his work. April was working on the same case as Batman did, searching for the murderous villain, Midnight. During her investigation, she gets a visit from Batman and both are surprised by an unexpected attraction. In his civilian identity, Bruce begins to flirt with April, although being aware that she is working on the same case. She initially rejects him, but he becomes more attracted to her. Batman's attraction towards April is noticed by his closest allies, who warn him to be careful. In the end, April is revealed to be the psychopathic murderer. |
| 1135 | |
| 1136 | For moreinformation, see Midnight under [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart3 Batman: Rogues Gallery (Part 3) ]]. |
| 1137 | [[/folder]] |
| 1138 | |
| 1139 | [[folder:Dawn Golden]] |
| 1140 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dawn_golden_comic_book_characters_photo_u2.jpg]] |
| 1141 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman: The Dark Knight'' #1 (January, 2011) |
| 1142 | |
| 1143 | ->''"I just ran, and when I was taken by Croc, I let it happen. Anything was better than being found by my father."'' |
| 1144 | |
| 1145 | Childhood friend and one-time girlfriend of Bruce Wayne, Dawn Golden was Aleister Golden's only child. Her father was member of a cult that performed dark magic rituals. Dawn's father was cold and distant to her, but he told her that she had a greater purpose. As Dawn reached adulthood, her father fell ill and on his deathbed, he tried to kill her, saying that her greater purpose was to be sacrificed so that he would become Hell's lord on Earth. Dawn escaped and left her father to die. Years later, Dawn would grow into a Gotham socialite. |
| 1146 | ---- |
| 1147 | * ChildhoodFriendRomance: Dawn Golden was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. When they first met, Bruce didn't like Dawn too much, thinking she was cold and mean to him. But the two eventually grew closer, and ended up dating until she apparently broke up with Bruce in college. |
| 1148 | * HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Dawn became a wealthy socialite and developed a self-centered personality. |
| 1149 | * HumanSacrifice: Dawn's destiny was foretold by her father, that she would die so that her father could become lord of hell on Earth. |
| 1150 | * HypnoTrinket: Throughout ''Golden Dawn'', it is implied that Dawn's shallow and self-centered behavior was caused by her amulet. |
| 1151 | * KilledOffForReal: Died at the end of the "Golden Dawn" arc. |
| 1152 | * MeaningfulName: Her name references 'The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn': a secret society devoted to the study and practice of the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. |
| 1153 | * NewOldFlame: Childhood friend and one-time girlfriend of Bruce Wayne, but first appeared in the same story arc in which she died. |
| 1154 | * NotMyDriver: Dawn tells her driver to take her back to her apartment but her driver has been murdered and replaced by the demonic Ragman. Ragman tells Dawn that he has been sent by her father to claim her soul. |
| 1155 | * PunnyName: Her name is a play on 'Golden Dawn' (see MeaningfulName). |
| 1156 | [[/folder]] |
| 1157 | |
| 1158 | [[folder:Jaina "Jai" Hudson (White Rabbit)]] |
| 1159 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jaina_hudson.jpg]] |
| 1160 | |
| 1161 | -> See Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart3 |
| 1162 | [[/folder]] |
| 1163 | |
| 1164 | [[folder:Charlotte Rivers]] |
| 1165 | [[quoteright:223:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/char09.jpg]] |
| 1166 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' Vol. 2 #2 (December, 2011) |
| 1167 | |
| 1168 | ->''" It's probably better Bruce bailed on me, anyway. I won't have to explain my absence tonight. He's not the only one who can disappear on a dime."'' |
| 1169 | |
| 1170 | A TV anchorwoman who was visiting Gotham City to cover gruesome slayings and had a romantic relation with Bruce Wayne. Her twin sister is Jill Hampton, the ClassyCatBurglar known as Chase. |
| 1171 | ---- |
| 1172 | * IntrepidReporter: Is a dedicated news reporter and anchor. |
| 1173 | * ProfessionalsDoItOnDesks: When Bruce was having a business meeting, Charlotte sneaked into his office under the pretense of wanting an interview with him. After making love in his office, Charlotte suggested Bruce to take her on a real date. |
| 1174 | * SeparatedAtBirth: Charlotte has a twin sister named Jill, and the two are daughters of Sebastian Hardy, who would become mayor of Gotham. Although they were separated at birth, they were aware of each other's existence and their relationship as sisters. |
| 1175 | [[/folder]] |
| 1176 | |
| 1177 | [[folder:Mio (Penumbra)]] |
| 1178 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/penumbra_2.png]] |
| 1179 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' Vol. 2 #0 (November, 2012) |
| 1180 | |
| 1181 | ->''"I am called Penumbra. I strike from the shadows. I am one with the shadows."'' |
| 1182 | |
| 1183 | Mio was originally a village girl who lived in a valley near where the legendary Shihan Matsuda lived. She fell in love with his student, Bruce Wayne. One day he invited her to the monastery and she asked him to leave the window open so that she could sneak in. However, she was actually hired by Matsuda's wife who had grown tired of their emotionless marriage. In the ensuing fight, both Mio and the Matsudas are apparently killed. Years later, she is revealed to be alive and working under Ra's al Ghul. Through unknown means, she has learned energy manipulation too. She is sent to destroy a building in Gotham when she is caught by Harper Row. This allows Bruce, who is now going by Batman to find Penumbra and ram into her with the Batplane. She survives but pretends to fall off the building and disappears. As punishment for her failure, she is locked in the dungeons by Ra's to "learn another lesson" |
| 1184 | ---- |
| 1185 | * CastingAShadow: Penumbra is trained in a mystic discipline from India that allows her to manipulate the shadows around her into constructs. |
| 1186 | * MasterSwordsman: She has a great amount of weapons training involving blades, as seen by her ability to cut a bat-rope into pieces in mid-air |
| 1187 | * MultiarmedAndDangerous: Her shadow constructs can include multiple arms, which she uses to fight her opponents. |
| 1188 | * MurderInc: Is a member of the League of Assassins. |
| 1189 | * NewOldFlame: Mio was once considered to be only an assistant of a local blacksmith in the Himalayas. Bruce Wayne, while he was traveling the world to prepare himself for his future role, came across Mio while he was training with a famous, and considered mythical, martial-artist known as Shihan Matsuda. The two became close during Bruce's trips to the blacksmith and began to fall in love. |
| 1190 | [[/folder]] |
| 1191 | |
| 1192 | [[folder:Natalya Trusevich]] |
| 1193 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/natalya_trusevich.jpg]] |
| 1194 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman: The Dark Knight'' Vol. 2 #10 (August, 2012) |
| 1195 | |
| 1196 | ->''"You're selfish, Bruce. As an artist, I understand that. It's good to be selfish in the right ways. you need to protect the thing that fuels you, the things that make you you."'' |
| 1197 | |
| 1198 | A Ukrainian accomplished pianist, and girlfriend to Bruce Wayne. She was killed by Mad Hatter after she refused to reveal Batman's identity, thrown from a helicopter with her body crashing into the Bat-Signal. |
| 1199 | ---- |
| 1200 | * DeathFlight: Thrown from a helicopter by the Mad Hatter, with her body crashing into the Bat-Signal. |
| 1201 | * ElegantClassicalMusician: An extremely attractive concert pianist. |
| 1202 | * KilledOffForReal: She was killed by the Mad Hatter after she refused to reveal Batman's identity. |
| 1203 | [[/folder]] |
| 1204 | |
| 1205 | !!Civilians |
| 1206 | |
| 1207 | [[folder:Thomas Wayne]] |
| 1208 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thomas_wayne.jpg]] |
| 1209 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #33 (November, 1939) |
| 1210 | ->''Sometimes we fall, son. But always remember, Waynes never stay down. We '''rise.''''' |
| 1211 | |
| 1212 | Thomas Wayne was the former CEO of Wayne Enterprises, a surgeon, and father of Bruce Wayne. He was murdered while leaving a theater one night with his family, along with his wife Martha. Generally regarded as a good and honest man, Thomas' death was a signal to Gotham City's criminal underworld that evil could get away with anything, and the city suffered as a result. Bruce and Alfred hold him in near reverent regard, though how loving a father he was depends on the story. |
| 1213 | ---- |
| 1214 | * AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome: In those alternate universes where Thomas survived, Gotham and Bruce are usually better for it. |
| 1215 | * DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Shares this trope with his wife. |
| 1216 | * DependingOnTheWriter: Whether he was a loving father to Bruce. Pretty much every writer tends to write him as such, but every now and then there's someone who writes Thomas as temperamental, or distant, and on ''very'' rare occasions there's hints he was straight-up emotionally abusive. Tom King kept the loving father bit, but added that Thomas was a very "classically dignified" man, who was hard for Bruce to approach. |
| 1217 | * FisherKing: While not the king of Gotham, Thomas was one of its wealthiest and best respected citizens, and the city fell apart when he died. |
| 1218 | * FrameUp: During Grant Morrison's run, evidence suddenly appears claiming Thomas was abusive toward Martha, and frequently cheated on her at orgies. All of which turned out to be lies created by Dr. Hurt. |
| 1219 | * NonIdleRich: Instead of merely enjoying the billions he inherited his father Thomas went out and became a good surgeon. |
| 1220 | * NouveauRiche: DependingOnTheWriter. Under some writers, unlike his wife who comes from a old rich family, Thomas' father made their fortune, making him one of the youngest billionaire families in the city. However, many other versions have the Waynes also come from old money. |
| 1221 | * ThePatriarch: Thomas very much epitomizes the age-old ideal of the strong, stern, loving and authoritative father figure who acts as a great male role model to his young son, complete with a manly mustache. |
| 1222 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: He is often drawn to look exactly like Bruce with a mustache, if even that. |
| 1223 | * TooDumbToLive: Several versions of Batman's origin have it be Thomas' idea to go down that dark, filthy alley rather than just wait for Alfred to show up with the car. Kate Kane's dad is still nursing a grievance that his sister got killed because of it. |
| 1224 | [[/folder]] |
| 1225 | |
| 1226 | [[folder:Martha Wayne (née Kane)]] |
| 1227 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/martha_wayne.jpg]] |
| 1228 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #33 (November, 1939) |
| 1229 | ->''"You don't get heaven, or hell. Do you know the only reward for being Batman? You get to be Batman."'' |
| 1230 | |
| 1231 | Martha Wayne, formerly Martha Kane of the illustrious Kane family, was a philanthropist and mother of Bruce Wayne. She was murdered along with her husband while leaving the theater one night, the mugger Joe Chill specifically demanding the pearl necklace she wore before shooting her. Martha was a well respected socialite in Gotham City and, like her husband, her death was a sign that no one was safe in Gotham and crime ran rampant. Bruce considers her a saint, which by all accounts she was. |
| 1232 | ---- |
| 1233 | * BigScrewedUpFamily: Due to her being a Kane, Martha is related to both Batwomen (the first is her sister in-law by one brother, the second her niece via her younger brother). |
| 1234 | * BlueBlood: The Kanes are one of the Old Gotham Families. |
| 1235 | * DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Shares this trope with her husband, though Bruce has especially fond memories of her. |
| 1236 | * DramaticNecklaceRemoval: The pearl necklace she wore that Joe Chill stole is always shown to be ripped off her neck and scattered. |
| 1237 | * GoodParents: While Thomas can vary from a loving and kind man to strict and cold and everything in between, Martha is pretty much universally depicted as a loving mother to Bruce. |
| 1238 | * NeutralFemale: No version of Martha ever manages to fight off Joe Chill when he comes at her. |
| 1239 | * NonIdleRich: Martha was a philanthropist specializing in helping children. |
| 1240 | * {{Retcon}}: In the earliest origin stories (and for Golden Age Batman specifically), Martha's cause of death was a heart attack from seeing her husband shot. Pretty much every origin story from the '50s onward has it that Joe Chill just shot her as well (though his ''reason'' for doing so also changes - sometimes it's intentional, sometimes he's just spooked by her screaming). |
| 1241 | * {{Tuckerization}}: Martha's maiden name is Kane, as in Bob Kane, Batman's co-creator. |
| 1242 | [[/folder]] |
| 1243 | |
| 1244 | [[folder:Black Mask II (Dr. Jeremiah Arkham)]] |
| 1245 | [[quoteright:251:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jeremiah_arkham.jpg]] |
| 1246 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' #1 (June, 1992) |
| 1247 | ->''" Arkham Asylum is not just any institution for the criminally insane. It's the Ivy League of insanity. A "Harvard" for Psychopaths. Anything not described on the new inventory is contraband. Do not bring these items inside, no matter how small or commonplace they may appear. Bits and pieces do not fall through the cracks here. They fall into the hands of the best, the brightest and the sickest."'' |
| 1248 | |
| 1249 | The long suffering administrator of Arkham Asylum, a position he inherited from his uncle Amadeus Arkham, the founder of the asylum. If there was ever a contest for "Worst Job in Fiction" Dr. Arkham could win it. Dr. Arkham alternates between trying to rehabilitate his patients and merely trying to keep them locked in, both of which he fails at. The stress of trying to keep several superpowered mass murderers imprisoned has left Dr. Arkham a bitter, exhausted mess. |
| 1250 | ---- |
| 1251 | * AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: Downplayed (more in the vein of an otherwise decent parent that makes bad decisions), he is nowhere ''near'' as bad as the parents of his patients, but this was the guy who decided he kept his daughter a secret from the world (to the point where she has [[{{Unperson}} no records]]) and raised her in the confines of the asylum due to his overprotectiveness, as well as too caught up in his work to notice any red flags, in fact ''his patients'' raised her more than him.]] |
| 1252 | * BrainwashedAndCrazy: Jeremiah was once brainwashed into believing he was Black Mask. |
| 1253 | * TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: [[spoiler: You'd think a psychologist would know the importance of socializing children at a young age, but look at what happened to poor Astrid.]] |
| 1254 | * DeadpanSnarker: Probably needs to keep a sense of humor to make it through this kind of work. |
| 1255 | * DependingOnTheArtist: How old he appears varies. Often Dr. Arkham looks to be in his forties, but other times he looks much older. |
| 1256 | * DependingOnTheWriter: He tends to be either a troubled WellIntentionedExtremist who really is trying to help his patients or he's a {{Jerkass}} who is only slightly better than the criminals he's treating. Whether he's AxeCrazy also depends on the storyline. |
| 1257 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: So, Jeremiah, [[spoiler:mind explaining why you decided Astrid should grow up in a notorious BedlamHouse like Arkham Asylum? Being overprotective doesn't really justify it, considering the people who reside there and what happens there every week.]] |
| 1258 | * FriendlyEnemy: The Joker likes (torturing) him at least, probably because he makes it so easy to escape. The other patients seem amused by him too. |
| 1259 | * GoodIsNotNice: |
| 1260 | ** While he does want to make his patients better, his methods in doing so early on could be cruel. |
| 1261 | ** ''ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell'' sees him acting bitter to Warren White, implied in dialogue to be the result of both the Asylum suffering cutbacks and Jeremiah himself personally having his pension affected because of White's scam. |
| 1262 | * ItRunsInTheFamily: It has been established that mental illness is common in the Arkham family. During ''The Last Arkham'', he committed several acts which made the distinction between him and his patients quite hard (including locking Batman up with several of them). [[TurnOutLikeHisFather He even asks himself if he's really mad]]. |
| 1263 | * HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Dr. Arkham's hiring practices could use some work, just look at Harley Quinn. And don't get us started on the brain dead morons he hires as security guards. He is aware of it but he kind of stopped caring. |
| 1264 | * KnightTemplarParent: [[spoiler: Kept his daughter in Arkham due to a well-intended but misguided effort to keep her safe from Gotham.]] |
| 1265 | * ManipulativeBastard: His psychological training came quite handy when dealing with a maniac gunman. |
| 1266 | * MinoredInAsskicking: During the riot in ''ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell'', Jeremiah almost single-handedly stops the inmate riot by shooting Killer Croc with a dart gun and ordering the staff to use the sleeping gas contingency. If it wasn't for the demons showing up he would have taken control of the situation. |
| 1267 | * ParentsAsPeople: [[spoiler: He genuinely loves Astrid, but he was very overprotective and didn't pay enough attention to notice the red flags...granted this probably wouldn't have happened if he didn't think of keeping her in an asylum in the first place, but here we are.]] |
| 1268 | * PsychoPsychologist: See "In the Blood" above and also [[spoiler: when it's revealed that he was actually Black Mask in the aftermath of ''Batman R.I.P.'', thus suffering from a split personality disorder]]. |
| 1269 | * SurroundedByIdiots: Idiots and crazies, he only sees Cash as a competent staff member. Must be hard to find good people to work in this place after all. |
| 1270 | * UnexplainedRecovery: He returned to his position as administrator of Arkham Asylum in-between the Post-Crisis and New 52 continuities, however rather than a CosmicRetcon as is common with reboots, ''ComicBook/NightOfTheOwls'' implies his tenure as Black Mask still happened, but was cured of his insanity off-panel....and it happens again in-between ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily'' and ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''. |
| 1271 | [[/folder]] |
| 1272 | |
| 1273 | [[folder:Aaron Cash]] |
| 1274 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aaron_cash.jpg]] |
| 1275 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Arkham Asylum: Living Hell'' #1 (July, 2003) |
| 1276 | ->''" Come on! You want to act crazy?! I'll knock the crazy right out of you!"'' |
| 1277 | |
| 1278 | Debuting in ''ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell'', Aaron Cash is head of security at Arkham Asylum, and probably the only guard there with two brain cells to rub together. Cash lost his hand during a riot when Killer Croc bit it off and uses a prosthetic hook in place. |
| 1279 | ---- |
| 1280 | * ArchEnemy: Killer Croc is Aaron's since he bit off his hand. Aaron in turn has a wallet made out of Croc's skin. |
| 1281 | * BadassNormal: Some demons tell Aaron that he has the soul of a champion. It's all he needs to hear to wipe the floor with a bunch of inmates. |
| 1282 | * BloodKnight: It's implied Cash enjoys his job to some degree because he can beat up the inmates. Croc may have caused this. |
| 1283 | * {{Expy}}: Aaron Cash is partially based off of [[Literature/PeterPan Captain Hook]]. Like Captain Hook, Cash lost his hand to crocodile (of sorts) and had it replaced with a hook, and now hates that crocodile with a passion. |
| 1284 | * HandicappedBadass: Even though he only has one hand, Cash is still an effective guard. |
| 1285 | * HookHand: Cash lost his hand during a riot when Killer Croc bit it off and uses a prosthetic hook in place. |
| 1286 | * OnlySaneEmployee: [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative The sanest man in Arkham]], with the caveat that, since Cash chooses to stay at Arkham, he can't be ''that'' sane. Dr. Arkham actually convinced him to stay after his accident because he knows Cash enjoys hurting the criminally insane. |
| 1287 | -->'''Arkham:''' You can sit there and be a cripple...or return to a job where it is socially acceptable to cripple others. |
| 1288 | [[/folder]] |
| 1289 | |
| 1290 | [[folder:Henri Ducard]] |
| 1291 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/henri_ducard_dc_comics_batman.jpg]] |
| 1292 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #599 (April, 1989) |
| 1293 | ->''"No man would abandon ten years of dedication and training. No man as driven as Bruce Wayne. But he's a victim by nature. He couldn't pursue his goal--and keep his conscience intact. He'd have to create a new, independent persona--ruthless, implacable...an avenging monster. Bruce Wayne...is Batman."'' |
| 1294 | |
| 1295 | One of Bruce Wayne's mentors during his journey to become a crime fighter. Henri Ducard was created in an unused draft of ''Film/Batman1989'' and would jump to the page when screenwriter Sam Hamm wrote an arc on Detective Comics. One of the greatest manhunters and assassins in the world, Ducard is an amoral man who sells his skills to the highest bidder. This causes considerable tension between him and Bruce. He's the father of Morgan Ducard/Nobody and the grandfather of Maya Ducard/Nobody II. |
| 1296 | ---- |
| 1297 | * AdaptationalVillainy: In ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' thanks to being a CompositeCharacter with Ra's Al Ghul. |
| 1298 | * BrokenPedestal: Bruce lost much of his respect for him after learning about his connections to the criminal underworld. |
| 1299 | * BackForTheDead: Return in ''Baman: The Detective'' miniseries to be killed. |
| 1300 | * CynicalMentor: To Bruce. |
| 1301 | * SecretSecretKeeper: Figured out Batman's identity but kept it to himself |
| 1302 | * SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: Notes cynically that Batman continues to exist because true criminals realize that he distracts the people from the greater crimes by his public battle against lesser crimes. |
| 1303 | [[/folder]] |
| 1304 | |
| 1305 | [[folder:Dr. Leslie Thompkins]] |
| 1306 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lesliethompkins.jpg]] |
| 1307 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Detective Comics'' #457 (March, 1976) |
| 1308 | ->''" When we have the wisdom to use mercy and compassion instead of force -- we human creatures will finally be on the path to perfection." '' |
| 1309 | A pacifistic doctor working out of Gotham's slums and a close friend of the Wayne Family. Over the years Dr. Thompkins has become an invaluable ally for the Batfamily, providing medical aid and expertise whenever possible, though she disapproves of Robin and Spoiler being involved in Batman's ventures. |
| 1310 | ---- |
| 1311 | * ActualPacifist: Refuses to cause any sort of harm to any person. |
| 1312 | * AgeLift: Post-Flashpoint, she appears much, much younger. She looks like she's in her thirties, ''maybe'' very early forties and there's not a grey hair on her head. |
| 1313 | * BadassPacifist: She'll never engage in violence, but that doesn't mean she won't stand up to just about everyone. |
| 1314 | %%* CoolOldLady |
| 1315 | * TheMedic: A pacifistic doctor working out of Gotham's slums and a close friend of the Wayne Family. Over the years Dr. Thompkins has become an invaluable ally for the Batfamily, providing medical aid and expertise whenever possible. |
| 1316 | * TheMentor: Taught Bruce a lot about medical practice, which he's put to good use in his investigations. |
| 1317 | * TeamMom: Her role concerning the Batfamily. |
| 1318 | * WhatTheHellHero: She's chewed out Batman on a few occasions for letting the younger Batfamily members fight crime at their age. |
| 1319 | [[/folder]] |
| 1320 | |
| 1321 | [[folder:Lucius Fox]] |
| 1322 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-1225317-lfox77_7105.jpg]] |
| 1323 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #307 (January, 1979) |
| 1324 | ->''" I'm not doing this for Bruce. I have to stay to protect Richard... and whoever comes after him. This won't end with Robin. Batman is just going to lure more people into this... this cult of yours. And Someone has to be here to protect them."'' |
| 1325 | |
| 1326 | The acting CEO of Wayne Industries: Fox essentially runs the company, since Bruce obviously has other things to occupy his time. He and Bruce are very good friends, and similarly to Jim Gordon it is often implied that he has figured out Bruce's secret. It's later confirmed as he now serves as Batman's MissionControl, as well as his armorer and money-man. |
| 1327 | ---- |
| 1328 | %% |
| 1329 | * BadassFamily: He's the patriarch of a growing one with his youngest son Luke adopting the mantle of Batwing while his estranged eldest son Timothy ended up walking the path to become the Next Batman. And some continuities, his daughter Tiffany grows up to become Batgirl. |
| 1330 | * DeadpanSnarker: To the point where he's one of the few people who could give Alfred himself a run for his money in the snark department. |
| 1331 | * DistressedDude: Many of his appearances involve him getting kidnapped or threatened in some way. This ends up being cruelly deconstructed during the events of ComicBook/TheJokerWar where [[spoiler:being kidnapped, drugged, and physically/psychologically tortured by Punchline results in Lucius resenting Bruce for how being caught up in his crimefighting crusade has routinely resulted in both himself and his family being targeted by psychopaths, significantly straining both their friendship and his faith in costumed heroics as a whole.]] |
| 1332 | * EveryoneHasStandards: The backup story "3 Minutes" reveals that while Lucius genuinely believed that he could help Batman make a difference as his personal Armorer, he had '''major''' reservations about Bruce recruiting the young Dick Grayson in his war against crime as ComicBook/{{Robin}}. During an argument over the matter, Alfred defends Bruce's decision as [[RecruitedFromTheGutter giving the troubled orphan a constructive outlet for his rage so he doesn't end up as something worse]] as well as reaffirm that Bruce would sooner give his own life before Robin is in any real danger. But this justification does very little to dispel Lucius' concerns about being an accomplice to what basically equates to a [[ChildSoldiers Child Soldier]] on the field. In fact, the primary reason why Lucius didn't quit right then and there is because his current position as Armorer would ''at the very least'' enable him to ensure Robin and any other future sidekicks Bruce brings into the fold will be safe. |
| 1333 | * GadgeteerGenius: He's helped invent a lot of Batman's equipment and vehicles. |
| 1334 | * HonestCorporateExecutive: Like Bruce, he is also an equally honest businessman. Bruce hired him because he recognized Lucius's strong business ethics. He is largely responsible from rescuing Wayne Enterprises from ruin and forging it into the multinational corporate giant that it is today. |
| 1335 | * MissionControl: He temporarily served as this for Bruce [[spoiler:after Alfred's death.]] But due to the Joker War putting more federal scrutiny on the finances of Wayne Enterprises, Lucius relented the position as a necessary move to distance himself from both Batman and Bruce Wayne. |
| 1336 | * NiceGuy: He's a pretty approachable person who gives advice to Bruce and others. |
| 1337 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: |
| 1338 | * OutOfFocus: Dips back and forth between a recurring cast member and being an unseen part of the setting. |
| 1339 | * SecretKeeper: After years of it being implied, it was eventually confirmed that not only was Lucius fully aware of Bruce's double life as a superhero vigilante, Bruce outright told Lucius his secret identity during the early years of his life as Batman. Lucius also knows that Dick Grayson is Robin/Nightwing by virtue of having served in a critical role of their crime-fighting campaign since before Dick was ever recruited. |
| 1340 | * TookALevelInJerkass: As a result of the events of ''ComicBook/TheJokerWar'', this has happened to Lucius and his wife Tanya, who both start to lose their faith in superheroes and Lucius himself being more wiling to do what he feels is necessary to keep Gotham safe. He's even taken steps towards potentially turning Gotham into the PoliceState seen in ''ComicBook/DCFutureState''. In a meta-sense, ''ComicBook/TheNextBatmanSecondSon'' reveals that Lucius ''always'' had a darker side to him, [[spoiler:revealing that Lucius wasn't the best father and used an ArmyOfLawyers to dredge up dirt on a man Jace hit with a car to keep Jace out of jail.]] |
| 1341 | [[/folder]] |
| 1342 | |
| 1343 | [[folder:The Mystery Analysts of Gotham City]] |
| 1344 | !!The Mystery Analysts of Gotham City |
| 1345 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ma_line_up.JPG]] |
| 1346 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #164 (June, 1964) |
| 1347 | |
| 1348 | A Pre-Crisis group of detectives (D.A. Danton, Kaye Daye, Art Saddows, Hugh Rankin, Martin Tellerman, and initially Ralph Vern) who include Batman and Commissioner Gordon in their circle and regularly meet to discuss tough mysteries. They appear (whether together or individually) in about twenty issues from 1964 to 1978, before being dropped by the writers as Batman began his transition into a DarkerAndEdgier loner. |
| 1349 | ---- |
| 1350 | * ArcWelding: Kaye Daye was later established as being the aunt of Steve Lombard, the sportscaster at WGBS in the ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' comics. |
| 1351 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: None of them have appeared since 1978, and it's likely they were erased entirely by ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''. |
| 1352 | * ClashingCousins: Kaye's cousin tries to kill her in one story due to resenting how their grandfather favored Kaye and standing to inherit his money if Kaye predeceases her. |
| 1353 | * DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Saddows is a thoughtful and upper class reporter who is always smoking a pipe. |
| 1354 | * EvilOldFolks: Ralph Vern, the oldest member of the group, turns out to have ambitions of committing ThePerfectCrime and eventually acts on them. |
| 1355 | * GeniusBruiser: Rankin is the most quick-fisted group member, but is no fool. He comes up with a BatmanGambit to get ComicBook/ElongatedMan to help him close a case and nearly figures out what Batman looks like under his mask through forensic science. |
| 1356 | * HardBoiledDetective: Hugh Rankin is a street-smart private investigator who is good with his fists but engages in gadgets and trickery when needed. He is one of the only members who is constantly helpful in the field, although it also takes him several issues to prove his worth and be accepted into the club. |
| 1357 | * IntrepidReporter: Art Saddows is a crime beat reporter and one of the more accomplished members of the group. |
| 1358 | * KeepTheReward: Martin Tellerman once saved the life of a millionaire art collector's son and refused to take a reward. The persistent millionaire secretly replaced Martin's copies of famous paintings with the originals (after purchasing them legally), but Tellerman donates them to a museum once he learns the truth. The museum names a wing after him, which is a reward he is willing to accept. |
| 1359 | * MysteryWriterDetective: Kaye Daye writes acclaimed mystery novels and solves crimes. |
| 1360 | * OvershadowedByAwesome: All of them are competent enough, but never seem to solve anything on their own while Batman is around. |
| 1361 | * TheSmurfettePrinciple: Mystery author Kaye Daye is the only woman in the group. |
| 1362 | * SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: While the group itself hasn’t appeared since the Crisis, a similar group of detectives Batman sometimes puts heads together with in tough mysteries does appear Post-Crisis - this time meeting online via aliases. Instead of Gotham residents, this group is mostly composed of other famous DC detectives like Detective Chimp and Ralph Dibny, as well as The Riddler during his brief stint as a crime solving detective. |
| 1363 | [[/folder]] |
| 1364 | |
| 1365 | [[folder:Sergei Alexandrov]] |
| 1366 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman Vol 2'' #22 (September, 2013) |
| 1367 | ->''"Impossible, eh? That is why you sought me out, no? To learn the impossible. And yet, you are so wrapped up in the outcome, in your planning…you are inflexible. You do not allow yourself to make new connections. You do not allow the impossible." '' |
| 1368 | A GadgeteerGenius who Bruce studied under while preparing to become Batman and who later trained other members of the Bat-Family and provided them other aid on at least one occasion in the following decades. |
| 1369 | ---- |
| 1370 | * AdventurerOutfit: He travels worldwide for his work and training projects and often wears a pith helmet. |
| 1371 | * GadgeteerGenius: He is a brilliant inventor whose accomplishments include a swarm of nanobots and prosthetic limbs for his beloved pet monkey. |
| 1372 | * RedHerring: In ''ComicBook/BatmanEternal'', the heroes wonder if he has turned villain when his nanobots are linked to a crime, but it turns out the design was stolen from him. |
| 1373 | * RenownedSelectiveMentor: Eager youths must prove themselves capable of quite a bit before he gives them a chance to enter his SinkOrSwimMentor tutelage. |
| 1374 | * SharpDressedMan: He will always be wearing something stylish and expensive. |
| 1375 | * SinkOrSwimMentor: He locks Bruce beneath the Great Sphinx of Giza and gives him devices that he can use to get out if he has been learning the right lessons from Sergei. He ''probably'' would have let Bruce out eventually if he hadn't been able to get out himself, but indicates that he wouldn't have bothered to continue training him afterward. |
| 1376 | * UnscrupulousHero: He is a former [=KGB=] operative who subjects Bruce (and later his sidekicks) to dangerous SinkOrSwimMentor tactics to test or develop their potential, but he avoids using his skills for evil, is pleased when his pupils reach a new level of understanding, and dotes on his pet monkey. |
| 1377 | [[/folder]] |
| 1378 | |
| 1379 | [[folder:Uncle Phillip]] |
| 1380 | !!Phillip Wayne/Kane |
| 1381 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Batman'' #208 (February, 1969) |
| 1382 | ->''"You don't approve of what I've done with the company?" '' |
| 1383 | |
| 1384 | Bruce's uncle and legal guardian after his parents died. Whether he is Thomas or Martha's brother depends on the continuity. |
| 1385 | ---- |
| 1386 | * AscendedExtra: In each issue of ''ComicBook/BatmanZeroYear'' that features him, he appears in at least three times as many panels as he did in all of his pre-New 52 appearances combined. |
| 1387 | * EveryoneHasStandards: On Prime Earth, he makes weapons at Wayne Enterprises and is coerced into being a {{Mook}} for a gang leader, but he puts more resources behind the divisions, making non-lethal ones. |
| 1388 | * MarriedToTheJob: Pre-Prime Earth, he travels a lot for work and doesn't stop this after Bruce is placed in his care, leaving a lot of Bruce's upbringing to Alfred and a housekeeper (although he does say goodnight to his nephew and ask how he's doing whenever he is home). On Prime Earth, he interacts even less with Bruce until his nephew is an adult, and Bruce left home before getting to know him much. |
| 1389 | * PracticallyDifferentGenerations: Pre-Prime Earth, he is already a white-haired man when Bruce is orphaned, even though his brother Thomas was apparently in early middle age or younger when he died. Averted on Prime Earth, where he is a lot closer to Matha in age. |
| 1390 | * TangledFamilyTree: It is unclear if he is meant to be the father of Van Wayne, Bruce's cousin in a couple of continuities, as no other siblings or cousins of Thomas are mentioned in those continuities, but he doesn't act like he has a son or has ever been married in flashbacks with him and a young Bruce. |
| 1391 | * TragicDream: On Prime Earth, he wanted to be an archaeologist when he was young before business responsibilities took him away from that, and he ended up a forced pawn of criminals. |
| 1392 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: He is murdered when Bruce is young on Prime Earth, but in other continuities, the last time he is shown is when he congratulates Bruce as he graduates from college. |
| 1393 | [[/folder]] |
| 1394 |
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