Bruce Wayne (Absolute Universe)

Bruce Wayne is a civil engineer in Gotham City and the vigilante known to the city's inhabitants as The Batman. During his youth, his father's sacrifice saved him from bearing witness to senseless violence and set him on a path that would culminate in his crusade against crime fourteen years later.

History

Origin

Darkseid created the Absolute Universe to be a world where heroes were the underdogs, and lacked the advantages of their Earth 0 counterparts.^[1] As such, Bruce Wayne was not born into wealth, but rather grew up in a working-class family in the impoverished neighbourhood Crime Alley. His mother was a social worker and his father was a teacher. As a child he attended the elementary school where his father taught and formed a close-knit group of friends with children who would have been his enemies in another life: Waylon, Ozzie, Harvey, Eddie and Selina.

In fifth grade, Bruce won a student engineering competition by designing a mobile, collapsible bridge for use in disaster recovery. The prize was a trip to Gotham Zoo for his whole class, but that day a mass shooter attacked the Zoo. Bruce's father, the teacher chaperoning the trip, got all the students into the bat enclosure and told Bruce to hold the door closed and not open it no matter what he heard. He then tackled the gunman, who was moving towards them, saving the children at the cost of his own life.^[2]

Traumatised by what had happened, Bruce spent his teen years as a juvenile delinquent and dropped out of high school, but eventually decided to strike back at the monsters of the world. He went back to school, got good grades and earned a football scholarship to go to college. He then faked an injury to get out of playing and devoted himself to studying every subject he would need in his mission. After graduation he returned to Gotham and started working as a utilities engineer to become familiar with the hidden tunnels and ducts of the city; then interned at Gotham City Hall to understand the policies that drove the city. He finally took a job as a civil engineer, using the abandoned upper floors of the skyscrapers he helped build as a base.^[2]

The Party Animals

Gotham was terrorised by a gang of wealthy, thrill-seeking nihilists known as the Party Animals. Their horrific crimes traumatised the people of Gotham and raised the murder rate seven-hundred percent. Although Bruce affected not to care, he hunted them as Batman. He somehow learned that an elite intelligence operative named Alfred Pennyworth had come to town with orders to kill him. He trailed Alfred to his base in the city and stole his motorcycle.

When the Party Animals attacked a town meeting, Bruce was ready for them. They were able to shoot the mayor, but he dragged them out of City Hall before they could hurt anyone else. Despite being significantly outnumbered and outgunned he was able to fight them off due to his mastery of multiple martial arts. Eventually their leader called him out and attacked him with a cleaver, but Bruce sliced his hand off with an axe. Terrified, the Party Animals fled, directly into an explosive trap Bruce had laid. Alfred came down and ordered him to surrender, levelling a shotgun directly at his head, but Bruce easily disarmed him and escaped.

The next night, Alfred trailed Bruce to his headquarters in the empty top floor of a skyscraper and told him he was shutting him down. Bruce pulled out Alfred's shotgun and Alfred confidently predicted that Bruce was not going to shoot him, but Bruce shot him right in the face. This did not kill him, however, as Bruce had modified the gun to be non-lethal. Bruce drove off the top of the building on Alfred's motorcycle, revealing that he had known Alfred was following him since he came to Gotham. He glided away to safety on the wings of his cape.^[2]

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

Athletics: Bruce is an incredible athlete and had the potential to become a professional football player before starting his crusade as Batman.^[2]
Demolitions
Genius Level Intellect: Bruce is highly intelligent and knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects. As a child, Bruce was given a test and scored near genius level. As a fifth grader, Bruce won an engineering competition by creating a mobile collapsible bridge. While in college, Bruce studied a number of different subjects, including applied mechanics, chemistry, criminal psychology, military theory, and sociocultural history.^[2]
- Chemistry
- Historiography
- Mechanical Engineering
- Political Science
- Psychology
Firearms: Bruce is skilled with firearms, as displayed when he used Alfred's shotgun after modifying it to be non-lethal.^[2]
Intimidation: Bruce is adept at using fear as a weapon.
Martial Arts: Bruce is a master martial artist, with his fighting style described as his own blend of mixed martial arts, as well as brutal and precise. He is described as a "striker" above all.^[2]
- Boxing^[2]
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu^[2]
- Muay Thai^[2]
Peak Human Condition: Through years of intense training, Bruce has trained his body to the peak of human perfection. His physical strength is borderline superhuman, as he was able to destroy a heavy punching bag during a casual training session.^[2]
Throwing: Bruce can throw a knife with enough precision to incapacitate without hitting any major arteries.^[2]
Weaponry: Bruce is proficient with a variety of weaponry, including knives, and his axe. He has even learned to incorporate the "wings" of his Batsuit as weapon.^[2]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Batsuit: The "wings" of Bruce's suit are bulletproof and based on the collapsible bridge concept he invented as a child. They allow him to glide or can be used as additional limbs to grab, throw and support his weight.
- Utility Belt

Transportation

Batcycle

Weapons

Bat-Axe
Throwing Knives: The "ears" of Bruce's cowl are actually throwing knives.

Notes

Batman was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, first appearing in Detective Comics #27. However, the Absolute Universe version of Batman first appeared in DC All In Special #1 by Scott Snyder and Wes Craig.
Bruce is 24 at the time of the comics, though his birth year is given to be 2004, implying the book is likely set in 2028.^[2]