| “ | You start with a code. You hang onto it with every self-righteous breath. But then you take one life. Then another, then another, then another. | „ |
| ~ Bruce Wayne to Kate Kane. |
| “ | It's like a wise man once said. 'Battle not with monsters, lest you become a monster.' I've lost track of how many people I've killed. | „ |
| ~ Bruce quoting Friedrich Nietzsche to Kate Kane. |
| “ | Kate, listen to me there is no hope. | „ |
| ~ Bruce's last words to Kate before his death. |
Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman and the "Dark Knight", is a minor antagonist in the Arrowverse crossover; Crisis on Infinite Earths.
This alternate version of Wayne is a vigilante from Earth-99 who spent years protecting the citizens of Gotham City from criminals until he eventually succumbed to his homicidal urges and became a mass murderer who mercilessly executed his enemies as well as any individual that stood in his way.
He was portrayed by the late Kevin Conroy in his first villainous role.
History[]
At some point, Bruce became confined to an exo-skeleton suit after killing his world's Superman, forcing him to retire. During the Anti-Monitor Crisis in 2019, Bruce is visited at Wayne Manor by the Earth-1 version of his cousin Kate Kane and is asked by her to help stop the Anti-Monitor, believing him to be the Paragon of Courage. However when he attempts to kill Kara Danvers he is electrocuted to death by Kate who is revealed as the true Paragon of Courage, not Bruce.
Personality[]
Despite starting with a code never to kill, Bruce ended up taking one life which caused him to become a much darker, pessimistic, and cynical vigilante. As the body count grew, Bruce went from Gotham's savior to terrorizing both citizens and criminals alike having absolutely no regard for the lives that he took. He even kept souvenirs of his deceased enemies in a trophy case merely to boost his ego. When his cousin, Kate Kane was killed Bruce ended up a broken man, uninterested in redeeming himself and believing the world was not worth saving in any universe.
He also harbored a prejudiced attitude towards Kryptonians, as he believed that his world's Superman was a threat purely because his abilities were "beyond those of mortal men", and murdered him out of paranoia. It was these negative attributes that caused Kate Kane of Earth-1 to kill Bruce once he tried to kill Earth-38 Kara Danvers due to her Kryptonian lineage.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Kevin Conroy has voiced Bruce Wayne in various Batman related media over the years starting with shows set within the DC Animated Universe which is referenced several times during his appearance.
- Bruce's Earth is designated as Earth-99 a nod to the 1999 animated series Batman Beyond, which also featured Conroy as an older Bruce Wayne.
- Bruce tells Earth-1 Kate Kane that "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." This is a direct reference to the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series episode "I Am the Night", in which he says the same thing to Dick Grayson.
- Additionally, Danny Elfman's Batman theme that had been used in BTAS can be heard during the episode.
- The Batmobile that can be seen in the Batcave is identical to the one featured in the 1989 Batman movie.
- The exosuit Bruce wears is based off of the one he uses during the Kingdom Come storyline, while his views on Superman are taken from The Dark Knight Falls comic and the DC Extended Universe film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
- This is Kevin Conroy's first and only time portraying a live-action version of Batman.
