DC: Year One
Character Application
Character Name:
Bruce Anthony Wayne Arkham; AKA The Bat-man
Alignment (Hero, Villain, Walking the Line):
Hero
Character Speech Font and Color:
Black Verdana for Bruce, Black Georgia Bold for The Bat-man
Powers and Abilities:
Bruce has no superpowers, but he does have a keen understanding of the criminal mind thanks to his upbringing. From the lunatics he grew up seeing, he learned the fine art of police evasion and breaking the law. His time in juvenile hall left him largely isolated, but he did learn to repurpose items and gave himself skills in engineering. He learned to fight and take a beating, specializing in taking on multiple opponents from a few sympathetic residents of Juvenile Hall. Though unofficial, he gave himself the equivalent of a college education in multiple fields of study through use of library books on topics such as: Psychology, Forensics, Chemistry, Physics, and Engineering. His wealth and resources allow him to gather materials out of reach for most people. At his back at all times is his non-biological brother, Thomas. After such a hard life, unsurprisingly, his sanity is definitely questionable.
Character Origin/Backstory:
Family Ties
The Wayne family has been in Gotham since it's birth. Nathaniel Wayne had been one of the first to begin colonizing the fledgling town. He ruled early Gotham with an iron fist, some swore he was as fierce as the devil himseld, but even he had a fear of the dark. Since birth, he'd been warned about an acestral curse on the Wayne family. There was a belief that all of the firstborn sons would die after falling into the shadow of a bat. A cowardly and superstitious man himself, Nathaniel held a phobia towards bats and killed almost anyone who mentioned one. One night, under a full moon, he disappeared. No one in Gotham would, or possibly could, say what had become of him.
By the time of the Revolutionary war, General Anthony Wayne had proven himself a brilliant strategist and laudable leader. Several decisive victories over the British led to him being cemented in history as a genius. But his frequent breakdowns and rants about 'the shadow of the bat' coming for him earned him the moniker of Mad Anthony. Despite this, his service was appreciated so much that he was gifted an estate in Gotham, Wayne Manor.
The grandson of Anthony Wayne, Darius, lived through the Civil War. Rather than live in fear of bats, rejecting his family legacy because of the shame brought by his ancestors' fear, he took to hunting them for sport. Discovering a cave below his house, he removed as much of the bat population as possible before purposing a space to be used as a part of the underground railroad. His descendants developed several businesses of their own, such as Wayne Financial, Wayne Chemical, Wayne Tech, and Wayne Industries. Finally, they were all unified under a larger entity, Wayne Corp, by Alan Wayne, who died after reading a note that notified him that the Wayne's would soon be a thing of the past, also mocking the ancestral curse.
Inheriting a monumental family legacy, Thomas Wayne took up medical practice as a physician. Because of his wealth, he treated the poor with compassion and sympathy, also providing them with much needed jobs whenever possible. He fell in love with a woman named Martha Kane, whom he married. She birthed a son, who they named Bruce Anthony Wayne, and shortly after another named Thomas Jr.
The Arkham's had also been in Gotham since it's beginning, but they had actually started as distant relatives of the Waynes who'd come to rejoin their family. Despite this, they seemed to clash at every opportunity. While many of the Wayne's were prospering, the Arkhams saw a steady decline upon their arrival. After three generations of sliding away from prominence, the Arkham patriarchs gathered the most powerful men in Gotham, excluding the Waynes, to form the Court of Owls, a secret circle of socialites dedicated to protecting their own wealth, power and pride.
Never a part of the Court, Jeremiah's great great grandfather was Amedeus Arkham, a physician who dedicated himself to treating the mentally ill after witnessing his mother's declining sanity. Opening a healthcare facility he named 'The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane', he strove to better himself. Yet in doing so, he began to grow more like his patients. He murdered his own wife and daughter before claiming that the inmates had escaped. As he sunk into a put of psychosis, he began to share delusions of the ancestral curse of the Wayne Family. The only known living descendant of Amadeus is Jeremiah Arkham, the current heir to the Asylum.
Childhood & Adoption
Raised in Wayne Manor by their parents, with the assistance of their butler, Jarvis Pennyworth, Bruce and Thomas were adventurous young children. They'd rarely be inside, preferring to play out in the garden or the yard, often with the neighbors. Their father had chosen not to tell them about their alleged curse, but Bruce's classmate, Tommy Elliot, did on a bus ride. Scared by stories of their ancestors, Thomas developed a terrible fear of 'the bat'. Hating to see his little brother so scared, Bruce promised to never be afraid. Elliot laughed at them, before Bruce punched him in the nose, resulting in a literal year-long grounding.
When Bruce and Thomas went with their parents to a charity event downtown, they watched as the pair demonstrated a black glide-suit, intended for skydivers. It was named 'The Bat', as a testament to Thomas' disbelief in superstition. From the top of Wayne Tower, they leapt with the intention to land amongst their spectators, but a stray wind tossed them far off course. They landed in Park Row, where they were met with Joe Chill, a stoner under the influence who recognized the Waynes. He shot them, taking every cent they had on their person and gleaning the 'Batsuits', plus their clothes. The Wayne boys weren't allowed to see their parents. But they did anyways, breaking past the police barrier.
Legally, the Waynes were adopted by Jeremiah Arkham, with whom they lived on the Asylum grounds. They were enrolled in various private schools and ultimately ignored. Jeremiah tended to care for them financially and materially out of obligation, hiring the mother of his parent's killer as a caretaker, but he largely neglected them whenever possible.
As a result of not getting the attention he needed, Bruce developed a tendency to misbehave, he was eventually placed in Juvenile Hall for a brief time, during which his only company was a bat in his cell's corner. The other delinquents targeted him because of his status, resulting in him spending a great deal of time alome Whenever he'd go to sleep, the Bat would talk to him in his dreams. At first this scared Bruce, but he eventually grew into it. Even when he got out, he still saw the bat in his dreams, before it told him a secret. "You are not the son of Thomas Wayne, but the offspring of Jeremiah Arkham." Bruce talked to Jeremiah about that dream before Jeremiah went into a laughing fit, confirming the assertion. As it turned out, Jeremiah was Bruce's father while Thomas was, indeed, the son of Thomas Wayne.
The Batman Begins
After he turned eighteen, Bruce was legally given the Wayne family fortune, before taking over for the care of his little brother Thomas. In order to deal with the stress from the Bat, he took on the lifestyle of a playboy billionaire. Fast cars, fast women, and whatever he could waste his money on. For a time he fell into a pit of alcoholism before being forced to go sober by his 'brother'. His lifestyle was very risky and self-destructive for several years until he was taunted by a new message.
Under compulsion from the bat in his dreams, Bruce went out and gathered the necessary materials to engage in a war against the criminals of Gotham. Slowly, he began to stash several vehicles for 'nocturnal' use around the city, to facilitate easier transportation while not sacrificing his identity. He also designed a battlesuit made from various military gear, also incorporating a revisited design of his glidesuit that killed the Waynes, and decorated with aesthetic references to a bat. He reluctantly entrusted his brother Thomas with the responsibility of keeping remote supervision over him while engaging in his nocturnal activities with the intention to support him if he requires assistance as well as keeping in contact through an encrypted channel from Wayne Manor.
Why this character:
I often question why we have this field. Andy put it nicely saying Superman was his religion. If I were to say the same for Batman, that would be putting it mildly. The Batman astonishes and inspires me. In some ways I relate to him and his cast. It's been such a central part of my existence since I was a little kid. But he means as much to me now as ever. In the modern world Batman wouldn't work, cuz NSA. But this isn't the modern world, its the DC Universe, and I'm thankful for that. Scott Snyder: I salute you. Batman: Happy 75th.
What can you bring to the RPG:
A somewhat 'different' take on Batman, especially in regards to his upbringing and personal history. I've got special ideas for his cast that make all the male Robins (except Damian) readily usable, but not in a sidekick position. Storylines I have in mind will revisit concepts that date all the way back to Batman's first year, including my own version of 'The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.' Admittedly, this version was designed for the next resurrection of UDC, but I really want to pu it to use. Everything I have worked out fits in with the 'Year One' focus, marrying old concepts with the newest. This run on 'Batman' would be a toast to his earliest adventures and also a salute to the imaginations of fans.
Sample Post (provide a short post of at least 3 paragraphs and 1 line of dialogue for your character):
A brazen bunch of teenagers were listening to tales drug fueled delusions with immeasurable delight. Cigarette butts carpeted the ground ghey stood on, some still giving a faint orange glow. Five grungy teens with unkept hair posed, each moaning mechanically with amusement. The speaker was a much oldsr man, huge, dark, and strong looking like a railroad tie. Their laid back chatter ended abruptly, shifting to a roar in an instant.
"Sup, ******!"
Comeing their way was a dark haired boy, grungy like the others but with one 'major' difference. He was gay. He had electric blue highlights, just like his sister by his side. He didn't seem feminine in the slightest, but he didn't bother trying to hide hus feelings, meaning he got pummeled. Frequently. One of the group ran up and shoved him into a mailbox before another shoved him to the ground. Then they all started kicking him, the man joining im, laughing.
Then a shadow fell ovrr them all, darkening and shrinking until it dropped on the big man, silencing his laughter. The bullies scattered like roaches before Cullen Row gave a sigh of relief. When he looked up, his reaction matched his sisters. Paralysis. All he could manage was three words.
"What are you?"
"Something you never want," it paused,
"to come for you." Then, it disappeared in a field of fog.
Lily Adler#forthecontent! 📹 (she/her)
DKDetectiveElementary, Dear Robin (he/him)
