Rebirth Era (Post-“Superman Reborn”) Chronology[1][2]
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1980
–FLASHBACK: From All-Star Batman #11—and referenced in Flash Vol. 5 #21, Batman Vol. 3 #22, and Deathstroke Vol. 4 #30, Batman Vol. 3 #53, The Batman Who Laughs #1-3, Detective Comics #1000 Part 6, Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 #10 (Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 Print Edition #5), Strange Love Adventures #1 Part 6, Batman: One Bad Day – Clayface #1, The Penguin #7, Birds of Prey Vol. 5 #8, and Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #18 Part 1.[3] February.[4][5] Bruce Wayne is born to billionaires Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne in Gotham City. Thomas is a gifted medical surgeon (non-specialized general surgery).[6] Both he and Martha run the mega-conglomerate known as Wayne Enterprises/WayneCorp (formerly known as Wayne Company). (Wayne Enterprises is the parent corporation for subsidiaries: WayneTech, Wayne Industries, and The Thomas and Martha Wayne Foundation (aka Wayne Foundation). WayneTech and Wayne Industries have shared controlling interests in tech, R&D, finance, manufacturing, energy, airlines, real estate, construction, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, and wineries. WayneTech specifically owns hotels, factories, refineries, hospitals, banks, and chemical plants all over the world. The Wayne Foundation is involved in charity, philanthropy, social activism, the arts, and medical care.) Bruce is raised by the Waynes and their trusted butler Jarvis Pennyworth at the palatial Wayne Manor Estate, located in the secluded Crest Hill neighborhood of Bristol Township, in the outskirts of Gotham City. (The Waynes employ various other maids and butlers, but Jarvis is in charge of the household.) Since Bruce’s dad is a practicing Christian and his mom is a secular/non-religious Jew, Bruce will be raised primarily in the Christian faith. He will attend church every Sunday with his dad, beginning now. Martha will never go with them. Because of their mixed Christian and Jewish background, the Waynes will celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah each year.[7] All-Star Batman #11 seems to place Bruce’s birth shortly before the Falklands War. This implies he was born in 1981, but the reference is vague enough that it could really also be 1980. The Batman Who Laughs #1 confirms that, by the year 2019, Bruce is either in his late 30s or early 40s. In order to give enough room for his eventual training, it makes sense to go with the earlier birthdate (1980).
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1029. February. New parents Thomas and Martha Wayne pose for a picture with their newborn baby Bruce.
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1981
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #83. Jarvis’ polymathic son Alfred Pennyworth—a soldier, MI6 secret agent, theater actor, mechanic, and gourmet chef—visits him in the States, meeting the Waynes. Alfred is present when baby Bruce takes his first steps, walking right into Alfred’s arms.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1018. December. Baby Bruce attends his first Annual Wayne Foundation Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration, during which his mom and dad perform ceremonial duties. Bruce will attend every tree lighting for many years to come, and as he gets older he will come to love the experience of attending very deeply. We won’t see these celebrations on our timeline ahead, but we can imagine them happening joyously for years to come every December (at least until tragedy befalls the Wayne Family).
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1982
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #74, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #4, and Batman Vol. 3 #83. A cosseted Bruce enters toddlerhood by developing into a timorous, timid little boy—quiet in nature, afraid of the dark, and terrified of scary stories. Like his mother, the sullen Bruce will act very cautious when in public. He will retain all of these traits well into adolescence. When alone with family at home, though, Bruce will always come out of his shell a bit more, having the capability to be very smiley, happy, and filled with joy and curiosity alike.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Urban Legends #21 Part 4. Bruce’s parents take him to a Major League Baseball game. Someone snaps a photo of them in the stands, which they develop, frame, and hang up in Wayne Manor.
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1983
–REFERENCE: In All-Star Batman #11, Dark Nights: Metal #2, and Batman: Lost #1.[8] February—Bruce has recently turned three-years-old. The centuries-old illuminati group known as The Court of Owls causes Jarvis Pennyworth to get into a car accident while transporting a pregnant Martha Wayne. Both Jarvis and Martha survive the crash, but Martha loses the baby, whom she was going to name Thomas Wayne Jr. (Super-villain Lincoln March will later claim that he is Thomas Wayne Jr, having actually survived and lived a secret life away from the Waynes at Willowwood Asylum. Of course, there is no way of verifying whether or not March’s claims are true. All we know is that Martha was pregnant and got in a crash—and there was no baby to speak of following the tragic incident.) Note that the Court of Owls involved in Jarvis and Martha’s accident is merely the local Gotham chapter of the greater international network known as The Parliament of Owls. Within the Parliament of Owls there are many Courts (including The Court of Eagles) located in major cities across the globe. Also note that the Parliament/Court of Owls is the contemporary evolution of what was once known as The Judas Tribe, an ancient Hath-Set-worshipping cult, which itself has origins in an otherworldly mirror reality. The Judas Tribe still exists in the form of a handful of semi-immortal high priests, collectively known as The Strigydae, who work for and worship Barbatos—demon god of the Dark Multiverse.[9] (The Dark Multiverse is the evil mirror version of the local Multiverse, containing various Negative Universes within.) The Judas Tribe itself has origins connected to the Hath-Set-led Bat Tribe, which existed as far back as 3300 BCE and was an evolution of the Miagani Tribe, which formed as a direct result of a time-displaced Batman appearing in 38,000 BCE. Barbatos has been waiting since 38,000 BCE for the birth of Bruce Wayne, whom he knows will one day become Batman. Barbatos has carefully guided his minions—first the Bat Tribe, then Judas Tribe/Strigydae, then Parliament/Court of Owls—for over 40,000 years, manipulating certain events while biding his time. Ever since the Parliament/Court of Owls’ inception, Barbatos has been orchestrating their every move. Now that Bruce is a toddler, Barbatos and his minions secretly watch the child from the shadows. The Strigydae—in league with the Court of Owls—hope to eventually initiate their “Mantling” ritual upon an adult Bruce to achieve Barbatos’ very nefarious goals in the future. These villains will continue to monitor and sometimes manipulate certain aspects of Bruce’s life, moving forward on our timeline—although, these actions won’t be specifically listed. We’ll get into more details of Barbatos’ plan much further down the line.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #1. Bruce sees his doctor dad rush off after getting a phone call about a medical emergency. While we won’t see it listed on our timeline ahead, Dr. Thomas Wayne will often get many emergency calls causing him to rush off at a moment’s notice. Bruce will get used to his dad frequently departing on cases.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 Annual #4. Young Bruce learns to ski. He will ski on-and-off as a hobby, moving forward, and will become highly skilled at skiing by the time he reaches adulthood.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #23, Detective Comics #983, Batman Vol. 3 #85, Batman Vol. 3 #92, Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Spectacular Part 10, Batman: Black and White Vol. 5 #5 Part 5, and Batman and Robin: Year One #3. A young Bruce poses with his parents for a series of professional photographs and painted portraits, both with his family and solo. Most of these get framed, and Bruce will keep and cherish all of them long into adulthood.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1074. Bruce’s mom and dad begin taking him to Morton’s, a candy and ice cream shop on the boardwalk. Bruce and his family will visit there often, moving forward. And Bruce’s favorite treat will be a banana fudge sundae with chocolate syrup.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #3 Part 1. Bruce has already been to at least one baseball game in person, but, now that he’s old enough to truly understand the sport, Martha Wayne officially introduces baseball into his life. Martha is a huge fan, and Bruce quickly comes to love baseball just as much as she does. Moving forward, they will often watch baseball on TV together while Thomas is busy at work.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #10. Bruce begins responding to his mother’s “I love you” by singing back “I love you” in return. He will do this often, moving forward.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Urban Legends #20 Part 4. Bruce is introduced to his parents’ close friends, the Nielsens (Sterling Nielsen, Anna Nielsen, and young daughter Liza Nielsen). Bruce and Liza hit it off. While we won’t see it on our timeline below, Bruce and Liza will often play together at Wayne Manor. They will remain friends into adulthood.
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1984
–FLASHBACK: In Batman Vol. 3 #29—and also referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #29. Martha Wayne tells Bruce, “When all is lost, have dinner—a traditional nine course French dinner.” (Jarvis is a culinary master that can deliver such a dinner.) Martha’s staid motto is that the Art of Eating, when done right, can save one’s soul. Young Bruce scoffs at this seemingly ridiculous bourgeois ideology, but a nine course French dinner is had nevertheless. And wouldn’t you know it? After fancily filling his belly, Bruce will feel tip-top. Moving forward on our timeline, Bruce will often roll eyes at his mom’s haute-cuisine-solves-everything mantra, but, he will find comfort in his mom’s idea, the food, and company kept in the years to come.
–REFERENCE: In The Penguin #9. The Wayne family donates money to open a new day care center, which is christened with Martha’s name. Bruce is on hand for the grand opening ceremony of the Martha Wayne Day Care Center, which will guarantee—in perpetuity—free day care for certain approved applicants.
–FLASHBACK: From All-Star Batman #14—and also referenced in All-Star Batman #11-14, Batman Vol. 3 #29, Dark Nights: Metal #2, Super Sons #10 Part 2, Batman & The Signal #2, Detective Comics #994, The Batman Who Laughs #1, and Batman Vol. 3 Annual #4. February. Jarvis Pennyworth dies under mysterious circumstances. (Jarvis is attacked by the Court of Owls in his garden house living quarters on the edge of the Wayne property. An assassin sets fire to the structure, burning it to the ground along with his body.) Shortly thereafter, Jarvis’ son Alfred Pennyworth, having quit the army and left MI6, moves into Wayne Manor to replace his father as butler of the estate. Alfred is the quintessential courtly butler, a consummate professional when it comes to maintaining a wealthy estate. With the ring of a bell, he will always come post-haste, eager to serve his “masters.” Upon moving into Wayne Manor, Alfred meets a four-year-old Bruce. (Alfred technically met Bruce once before when Bruce was not even one yet.) Like his pop before him, Alfred will care-for and help raise Bruce, who will trustingly confide in Alfred every aspect of his life, moving forward. Alfred will also continue his father’s work by cooking nine-course French dinners for the Waynes and various party guests. (Alfred will continue to, on occasion, cook nine course French meals for Bruce long into his adulthood.) Alfred’s moral code and values (and his ardor for dramaturgical arts) will rub off on young Bruce over the years. (NOTES: According to panels in Scott Snyder’s All-Star Batman #11 and Peter Tomasi’s Detective Comics #1030, Alfred is twenty-two years older than Bruce. Also, Snyder originally implies—in 2017’s All-Star Batman #12—that Alfred joins the Waynes when Bruce is seven or eight-years-old, yet the author contradicts himself in 2018’s The Batman Who Laughs #1, telling us that Alfred is already around when Bruce is four-years-old. I guess go with the latter. I dunno. Whatever.)
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #83. Bruce plays Cops and Robbers with Alfred. They will play this game often, moving forward. Bruce will always choose to play the role of the robber. And Alfred will always indulge little Bruce, playing with him for hours upon hours at a time.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #147. Bruce accompanies mom, dad, and Alfred to the family cabin in the woods, a place that Thomas built with his own hands years ago. There, Thomas and Martha do a bit of role reversal, cooking for Alfred instead of the other way around. While we won’t see it on our timeline ahead, Bruce, Thomas, Martha, and Alfred will visit the cabin whenever they want to escape the trappings of Wayne Manor, and they’ll always engage in this role reversal, much to the joy of everyone. We’ll simply have to imagine these cabin trips happening sporadically (and invisibly) throughout the chronology, moving forward.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: Black and White Vol. 5 # 4 Part 4. Alfred teaches Bruce how to play chess. While unseen on our timeline ahead, they will play quite often, for decades to come.
–REFERENCE: In DC’s Spring Breakout! #1 Part 2. Spring. For the first time in his life, Bruce attends the Annual Wayne Spring Ball with his parents. The event is held every year at Wayne Manor. Bruce dances with his mom, which he will do for years to come.
–REFERENCE: From Batman: Urban Legends #19 Part 5. Alfred teaches Bruce how to play Scrabble. While unseen on our timeline ahead, they will play quite often. Alfred will usually win, even long into Bruce’s adulthood.
–FLASHBACK: From The Batman Who Laughs #1. Summer. A jovial four-year-old Bruce plays with mom, dad, and Alfred on the front lawn of Wayne Manor. Bruce will cherish this memory for the rest of his life, eventually recalling it as his first ever childhood memory.
–REFERENCE: In Batman vs Robin #3. Bruce learns that Alfred despises oolong tea. He hates the stuff!
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #2 Part 4. While Alfred cooks in the kitchen, Bruce dips his finger into a boiling stew, instantly burning it. Bruce’s mom and dad comfort him.
–REFERENCE: In Batgirls #13. Bruce explores the palatial Wayne Manor. Notably, he finds a hidden séance room—as some old Gotham mansions are wont to have. It’s also possible his dad shows it to him. Bruce will explore Wayne Manor for years to come.
–REFERENCE: In Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #3. Late October—Halloween weekend. While Bruce has learned about fine dining from his mom, she hasn’t exactly instilled a healthy attitude when it comes to enjoying junk every once in a while. In fact, little Bruce gets influenced by his mom’s overbearing culinary concepts that it causes him to become obsessed, finical, and singleminded in regard to nutrition—so much so that he’ll often deprive himself of sweets and sugar, moving forward. On Halloween, poor Bruce begins what will be a very sad yearly tradition of eating one piece of candy in the silent solitude of his darkened closet. We won’t see this annual habit ahead on our timeline, but we can imagine it occurring every pre-adult Hallow’s Eve onward. Let Them Live! #3 also tells us that, in spite of this quiet candy-champing quirk, Bruce celebrates every Halloween in costume, but he will stop once his parents are killed.
–REFERENCE: In Nightwing Vol. 4 #29. Thomas Wayne wears a bat-costume at a Wayne Manor masquerade ball. The costume leaves quite an impression upon young Bruce. During the party, bullet-riddled gangster Lew Moxon shows up, begging Dr. Wayne for help. (Moxon is the head of the notorious Moxon Mob crime family.) Bruce’s father expertly saves Moxon’s life but immediately sells him out to the cops.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #2 Part 4. Naughty Bruce, ever getting into trouble, hurts himself, earning a laceration that results in a permanent scar. Alfred tends to the boy.
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1985
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Three Jokers #1.[10] The brand new Gotham Aquarium is founded by the Waynes. Bruce visits the new aquarium. He will visit the aquarium often, although we’ll simply have to imagine those trips below.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #149. Bruce’s mom begins the habit of sneaking him treats after midnight. Moving forward, she will do this every now and again in an effort to spoil the boy.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The World Part 3. Bruce jokingly flexes his muscles while posing for a picture with his parents. The photo gets developed and will remain with Bruce as a prized possession long into his adulthood.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1027 Part 12. February. Bruce celebrates his fifth birthday. Alfred sets out his presents the night prior to his actual birthday, but Thomas and Martha tell Bruce he isn’t allowed to touch them until the sun comes up the next morning. This tradition, including the opening-gifts-at-sun-up rule, will carry forward for years to come. We won’t include all of Bruce’s birthdays on our timeline ahead (only certain ones), but he’ll definitely celebrate every year.
–REFERENCE: In Batman vs Robin #1 and Batman and Robin: Year One #3. Bruce and Alfred pose together for a series of photographs. The pictures are developed, framed, and wind up on both the fireplace mantel and hung up on the wall inside Wayne Manor.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #53. Bruce, as he’s always done, attends Sunday church with his dad. His dad tells him all the stories of the Bible and will continue to do so, moving forward.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics Annual #2 (2019).[11] A murderous costumed vigilante known as The Reaper makes his presence known in Gotham, violently killing criminals left-and-right. Bruce’s dad, who loathes the Reaper, tells him all the news stories and rumors surrounding the skull-faced vigilante, scaring Bruce to no end. Bruce will hear countless stories about the Reaper until the Reaper’s retirement a few years from now. Unknown to all, the Reaper is Judson Caspian, an old family acquaintance of Thomas Wayne’s whose wife has just recently been murdered. Bruce meets Judson and his young daughter Rachel Caspian for the first time. Bruce will have moderate interactions with Judson and Rachel until they move to Europe in a few years’ time.
–REFERENCE: In The Batman Who Laughs #3. Bruce’s dad tells him how he always really wanted to be a neurosurgeon but wound up going into general surgery instead. Despite this, Thomas has always been intrigued by neuro-medicine. Thomas tells Bruce it can’t be a coincidence that the same part of the brain that conceives visual planning is also responsible for making us feel content.
–REFERENCE: In Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #15. Bruce catches his dad journaling and drawing sketches, noticing that his dad is very secretive about his journals and sketchbooks. Thomas will remain very secretive about his journaling and sketching for the rest of his life. Moving ahead, sprinkled throughout the chronology, we can imagine Bruce taking notice of his dad’s clandestine nature when it comes to his private books.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #57 and Batman: Urban Legends #8 Part 1—and referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #74, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #4, Batman Vol. 3 #85, and Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #15. Thomas begins a nightly routine of reading to Bruce before bedtime (mostly fairy tales), after which Bruce snuggles up with his favorite stuffed animals and goes to sleep. Sometimes Thomas, as most fathers do, will sit with Bruce until he slumbers. Bruce especially loves stories that feature horses. However, Bruce’s favorite is “The Animals and the Pit,” a grim-dark Russian folk-tale by Alexander Afanasyev. Despite the dark nature of this tale, Bruce will often ask his dad to read him this story before bedtime. Bruce will often scream and cry for his father to read and re-read this story at night. Even when Bruce falls asleep, sometimes in his father’s lap, if he wakes, he will scream and cry for the story to be read. The reason little Bruce feels a need to hear this horror story over and over is because he, deep down, hopes that his dad will make up a happy ending. Of course, Thomas doesn’t know this, and never will.
–REFERENCE: In DC’s Spring Breakout! #1 Part 2. Spring. Bruce attends the Annual Wayne Spring Ball with his parents.
–REFERENCE: In The Batman Who Laughs #4-5. Bruce rides the Gotham subway with his dad. Before they board, Thomas tells Bruce all about the transit system, the subway tokens, and the history of Gotham, specifically about the Native American tribes of the Miagani that first settled the area. There is an old Miagani saying about happiness as “seeing the world through the eyes of children.” This saying, which is even written in latin on Gotham’s subway tokens, will resonate with Bruce for the rest of his life.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1017. Thomas and Martha Wayne enter into new humanist ventures across the city and adjacent areas, specifically opening new Wayne Enterprises-sponsored orphanages. Bruce accompanies his mom to several openings, but Bruce hates going, citing that the orphans make him sad. After a chat with mom, Bruce joins his parents for the opening of the Martha Wayne Orphanage. Through his mom’s eyes, Bruce is able to see things from a more positive perspective.
–REFERENCE: In Dark Nights: Death Metal #1. Thomas takes Bruce to visit a local park. They will go there often, moving forward (which we will have to imagine on our timeline below). Bruce learns to play baseball and how to ride a bike in the park. Thomas tells Bruce that the park is the site of a famous Revolutionary War conflict between British troops and American freedom fighters known as The Dead Bats. After a long and drawn-out battle, the Dead Bats were slaughtered and buried in shallow graves in what is now the site of the park.
–REFERENCE: In Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #2. Bruce takes notice that his mom uses a special mixture of eucalyptus, cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme to ward off bats that are native to the area. The bats that are particularly pesky live in a cave system that exists underneath the Wayne Manor grounds. (This cave, of course, will one day become the Batcave.)
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #22 and The Batman Who Laughs #3. Bruce falls into a cave underneath the Wayne Manor grounds. In the cave, Bruce is swarmed by bats. (As mentioned above, this cave will one day become the Batcave.) Thomas rescues Bruce by lowering down a rope and offering words of encouragement, telling his son to visualize himself climbing out so he won’t be scared. From this moment onward, Bruce begins thinking of his dad’s views on planning, happiness, and self-visualization. He begins applying these concepts to his own actions. These concepts, especially the planning part, will resonate with Bruce for the rest of his life.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #961. Bruce meets Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who will remain a close friend for decades and become a mother-figure to him.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Kings of Fear #4. A smiling Bruce plays with his dad and rides on his shoulders.
–REFERENCE: In The Brave and The Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman #3-5 and New Year’s Evil #1 Part 7. Bruce gets an Irish nanny named Dora, who will work for the Waynes for a short while. She will tell Bruce many Irish and Scottish folktales, fairytales, and myths, and tell him all about the cantrips of the Faerie Folk. Bruce also learns about some Irish-American history, specifically about an eccentric Gaelic cult—known as “The Gotham Druids”—that existed in Gotham years ago.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #959. While Bruce’s dad finishes a late shift, Bruce’s mom takes Bruce to the top of the hospital. She gives him words of inspiration and shows him the city lights from high above, noting each visible neighborhood. For the next few years, Martha will often take Bruce atop the hospital (although we’ll have to imagine these occurrences scattered invisibly below). Young Bruce will familiarize himself with the location, look, and vibe of many Gotham neighborhoods, growing to truly love the city in which he resides.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #982. A new subway line is planned in Gotham, but due to bureaucratic red tape it will never get finished. Bruce, despite being a young boy, will pay attention to this infrastructural failure with keen interest. For the rest of his life, Bruce will be very interested in urban planning, transportation, and all things city-related in this vein.
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1986
–FLASHBACK: From Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #3—and referenced in Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #3 and Batgirls #13. Five-year-old Bruce visits the Willoughby Z Tchalgadjieff Antiquarian Library for the first time, instantly falling in love with the place and the staff. He will visit the Tchalgadjieff Antiquarian Library quite often, moving forward. In fact, Bruce will go to the library almost every single evening after school to read anything he can get his hands upon (and when he is a bit older, to do his homework). Bruce will learn a lot about Gotham’s history from items in the library. His favorites in the collection are a 16th century illustrated Latin text about bats and a 17th century anatomy manuscript, both of which he will peruse with endless fascination. Bruce also becomes aware of and learns about the library’s grotesque collection of anthropodermic bibliopegy—books bound in human skin. Bruce also quickly meets the library’s many interesting patrons and employees, including bookbinder CJ Greenwood, librarian Mrs. Hostetler, and librarian Carl Székely. Székely dazzles Bruce’s imagination by telling him about his private collection—a sheaf of letters written by famous serial killers. Despite having a generally pusillanimous temperament, Bruce begs Székely to see the letters, and will beg for the next ten years, to no avail. We’ll have to simply imagine Bruce’s near daily visits to the fantastic library, moving forward. For the rest of his life, Bruce will be extremely bookish, soaking up as much literature as he can and growing his vast personal collection. Notably, Bruce will collect many books on the occult.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Dark Patterns #1. Bookish Bruce begins reading his dad’s medical books. He will do so for many years to come.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1027 Part 12. February. Bruce’s sixth birthday is upon us. Alfred, as he does every year, sets out Bruce’s presents the night before his actual birthday. Bruce, as per his father’s rule, isn’t allowed to touch them until morning comes. However, naughty little Bruce can’t help himself. At 3 AM, he sneaks downstairs to open one of his gifts—a book called The Guide to Amazing Adventures for Young Men. In the morning, Bruce’s parents scold him. Thomas teaches his son a valuable lesson about not taking anything for granted, telling Bruce that “there’s nothing a man has that can’t be taken away.” Martha later tells Bruce that she got him the Guide to Amazing Adventures book because she thinks he “needs to get out more.”
–REFERENCE: In DC’s Spring Breakout! #1 Part 2. Spring. Bruce attends the Annual Wayne Spring Ball with his parents.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1033 and Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #3—and referenced in All-Star Batman #10, All-Star Batman #13, Batman: Prelude to the Wedding Part 2 – Nightwing vs Hush #1, and Detective Comics #1032-1033. Being the only kid not intimidated by the Wayne fortune (due to his own family’s vast fortune), young Tommy Elliot approaches Bruce in school and befriends him. (Tommy’s mom and dad are famous but troubled couple, Roger Elliot and Marla Elliot.) Bruce and Tommy quickly become best friends, hanging out often at Wayne Manor where the boys bond over their shared interest of strategy board games. (Detective Comics #1032 shows a framed photo of Bruce and Tommy hanging out from around this era.) The Elliot and Wayne families begin spending time together as well. Bruce also accompanies Tommy and his family to the Elliots’ beach house in the Florida Keys. Sadly, Bruce watches as a deep rage grows within Tommy, who hates his neglectful parents and begins to jealously resent Bruce for having such a loving mom and dad. Eventually, with confused hate in his heart, Tommy secretly severs the brake line of his parents’ car, causing an accident that kills his father and permanently injures his mother. (Thomas is able to perform life-saving surgery on Marla, although she is left paralyzed from the waist down.) Bruce likely attends Roger’s funeral.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #958-960 and Batman: The Knight #7. Bruce goes on unspecified travels with his parents, during which time he befriends young Zatanna Zatara, daughter of stage magicians (and secret legit magick users) Giovanni “John” Zatara and Sindella Zatara, who are on tour. John and Sindella are old friends of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Bruce will hang with the Zataras every so often (although invisibly on our timeline), moving forward. Note that these hangouts will not be in Gotham—we are not told the details of where Bruce and Zatanna see each other, but we can presume that they see each other in random cities where the Zataras are on tour.
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1987
–REFERENCE: In All-Star Batman #14 and Detective Comics #1027 Part 5. Bruce sees a Zorro movie and becomes obsessed. His parents purchase a Zorro costume and toy sword, which Bruce will wear and play with quite often. Bruce also gets Zorro toys and hangs a Zorro poster in his bedroom.
–REFERENCE: In Adventures of the Super Sons #9. Bruce takes a liking to classic film Westerns, which is certainly in-line with his love of Zorro and horses. As a result, Bruce’s favorite actor, long into adulthood, will be Gary Cooper. Bruce will be a cinephile, in general, for the rest of his life.
–FLASHBACK: From Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 #15 (Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 Print Edition #8). Bruce plays with Alfred, sword-dueling him in one of the Wayne Manor living rooms.
–REFERENCE: In DC’s Spring Breakout! #1 Part 2. Spring. Bruce attends the Annual Wayne Spring Ball with his parents.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #95. Thomas Wayne takes his son Bruce to one of his favorite repertory cinema houses, the Monarch Theater—located in Gotham’s Park Row District. Bruce and his dad will visit the theater regularly, becoming acquainted with its unnamed owner and doorman Stanley. (We’ll only see one final tragic night at this theater on our Early Years section ahead, but we should imagine plenty of happy evenings at the Monarch for Bruce and his dad, sprinkled invisibly throughout the next few years to come.)
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #44, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #4, Detective Comics #1030, and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #14. Bruce begins riding horses. Alfred teaches him how to ride. At first, Bruce is terrified of the intimidating steed, even going so far as to cry in fear. But Alfred helps guide him past his trepidation. Bruce chooses what will become his favorite horse. Bruce will become an expert equestrian in the future. Bruce also begins playing polo. He will play polo long into adulthood, although we’ll simply have to imagine him meeting teammates and competing in matches on our timeline ahead.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1074. As they always do, Thomas takes Bruce to Morton’s for ice cream. This time, Thomas tells Bruce that his dad (Bruce’s grandfather) used to take him (Thomas) to Morton’s when he was a boy. Thomas also talks about the legacy of Wayne Enterprises and the value of tradition.
–FLASHBACK: From Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 #15 (Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 Print Edition #8). Bruce watches TV while Alfred reads a book.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #15 Part 4. Bruce begins watching old sci-fi movies with his dad. They’ll watch old sci-fi movies together sporadically, moving forward.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman/Superman Vol. 2 #15—and referenced in Batman/Superman Vol. 2 #15. Winter. With a big snowstorm raging outside, Bruce wants to go out and play, but Alfred refuses to let him, citing that the boy has studies of which to attend. Alfred also tells Bruce that he doesn’t want to go out in the snow for fear of getting his butler tuxedo wet.
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1988
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #975 and Detective Comics #978. Bruce’s uncle (US Army Colonel Jacob “Jake” Kane) and aunt (Gabrielle “Gabi” Kane) give birth to twin girls (Katherine Rebecca “Kate” Kane and Elizabeth “Beth” Kane). Young Bruce is introduced to his baby cousins. Over the years to follow, especially as the twins grow older, Bruce will spend some time with Kate and Beth. However, the rest of Martha’s Kane clan, including Jake and Gabi, have long been estranged from the Waynes. This will severely limit the amount of time Bruce spends with his cousins, aunt, and uncle. Thus, he won’t get to know them super well. (Jake, Gabi, and the girls will soon move to Brussels, Belgium, only adding to the estrangement.) Notably, Martha is completely estranged from her other brothers Nathan Kane and Philip Kane (also sometimes spelled “Phillip”).[12] Due to the nature of the estrangement, Bruce will rarely interact with his uncles and won’t get to know them very well. Furthermore, Bruce will only meet his grandparents on the Kane side of the family, Elizabeth “Betsy” Kane and Roderick Kane, at his parents’ funeral. Other living Kane relatives, as referenced in the image of a mausoleum in DC Pride 2023 #1 Part 6, are Francis Kane (who will die in 2007 at age 42), Anna Kane-Grant (who will die in 1999 at age 25), Jeremiah Kane (who will die in 2016 at age 68), and Kieron Kane (who will die in 2014 at age 25). DC Pride 2023 #1 Part 6’s mausoleum also shows graves for a Katherine Kane (who will die in 2013 at age 79) and a Philip Kane (who already died in 1983 at age 43). Obviously, this Katherine and Philip do not correspond with the Katherine (neither Katherine Rebecca Kane nor Katherine Webb-Kane) or the Philip with whom we are familiar, so either their associated dates and ages are incorrect or there is yet another Katherine and yet another Philip in the Kane clan. Of course, if the Katherine and Philip listed in DC Pride 2023 #1 Part 6 are bogus, then the other names could be bogus as well. Suffice to say, no matter how many other Kanes are out there (and no matter how canonical we hold the DC Pride 2023 #1 Part 6 mausoleum), the Waynes are estranged from the Kanes at this juncture, meaning there will be little to no engagement between the families, now and moving forward.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1090. Smalltime crook Joe Chill gets in a car accident with his pregnant seventeen-year-old girlfriend Evelyn Scott. Both Chill and Evelyn go into the hospital care of Dr. Thomas Wayne, who saves both their lives. While Chill remains comatose, Evelyn delivers a baby girl but begs Thomas to tell Chill that the baby died, fearing that the abusive Chill will hurt them both. Martha helps Evelyn and the baby, who gets named Scarlett Martha Scott, to go into the protection of a Wayne Enterprises-owned shelter. Later, at Wayne Manor, Martha questions whether or not Thomas should have saved the life of a domestic abuser like Chill. Martha, Thomas, and Alfred catch Bruce eavesdropping from the landing. Thomas tells Bruce that we can never know how one’s life—even filled with past misdeeds—will turn out in the future, assuring him that it was right to save Chill. We can assume that Bruce meets Evelyn and baby Scarlett. A couple days later, and enraged Chill wakes up and causes a ruckus at the hospital. Thomas discharges him.
–REFERENCE: In All-Star Batman #12. February. Recently turned eight-year-old Bruce sees a show about spelunking and attempts to imitate by rope-ascending to the ceiling and then rappelling down from a chandelier. This results in a bad scapular injury that will leave a permanent scar and require weeks of bedrest. During this time, Alfred reads to Bruce Robinson Crusoe, which the boy comes to love (except for the ending). Note that this item incorrectly says that Alfred has just moved in with the Waynes.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 Annual #3. Bruce’s mom or dad snaps a picture of Alfred playing with Bruce. Alfred will frame this picture and keep it for decades to come.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #36, Batman Vol. 3 #54, and Detective Comics #993. Alfred, in addition to cooking gourmet meals, begins making his specialty snack—mini cucumber sandwiches—for the Waynes. At first Bruce refuses to eat the sandwiches, but his dad, who loves them, tells him to give them a try. Reluctantly, Bruce tries them and thinks they are disgusting. Despite this, Alfred will make these sandwiches for Bruce every week. Bruce will soon grow to love them and will eat them (with the crusts cut off) long into his adulthood.
–REFERENCE: In Deathstroke Vol. 4 #31 and Batman: Off-World #4. Bruce poses for another series of family photographs with his mom and dad. These photos, developed and framed, will stay in Bruce’s possession for the rest of his life.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #68, Detective Comics #1027 Part 7, Gotham City: Year One #6, and Batman Vol. 3 #138. Bruce learns the detailed history of his family tree, including the histories of each ancestor’s portraits hung up in Wayne Manor. Bruce’s parents also tell him who painted each portrait. Bruce gains an intimate knowledge of all the familial ephemera in the stately mansion. He also learns about his paternal grandfather’s Odyssey venture, a project that collected famous objets d’art in the late 1930s in an effort to protect them from falling into Nazi hands. The works were stored on a liner called Odyssey, which sunk under mysterious circumstances in 1937. The disappearance of the Odyssey has always been and continues to remain one of history’s greatest mysteries. Thomas and Martha continue to fund yearly salvage missions in an effort to find the sunken ship and the lost artistic treasures. Wayne Enterprises will run these yearly salvage missions long into Bruce’s adulthood. Notably, in the Modern Age and in Detective Comics #1027 Part 7 (by Marv Wolfman), Bruce’s paternal grandfather is named Patrick Wayne. However, writer Tom King retcons this in Gotham City: Year One, changing his name to Richard Bruce Wayne. It’s possible that grandpa has a longer name that mashes up the two, like Richard Bruce Patrick Wayne, but that’s just a simple fanwank.[13]
–REFERENCE: In DC’s Spring Breakout! #1 Part 2. Spring. Bruce attends the Annual Wayne Spring Ball with his parents.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1027 Part 7. Bruce watches and becomes a fan of private-eye Roy Raymond‘s TV show Impossible But True.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1027 Part 5. Bruce begins watching scary movies with his dad, which results in him having nightmares. After a particularly spooky flick, Bruce has trouble sleeping, so his mom comforts him. Bruce asks if ghosts are real, to which Martha gives a very motherly answer.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics 2021 Annual. Bruce goes out for ice cream with his mom and dad. Afterward, the Waynes are attacked by a disturbed man named Peter Faust, who has just killed two people a nearby clinic. When Faust’s arm is severed by broken glass, Thomas does all he can to save his life. Bruce waits up all night for his dad to come back home. Thomas tells Bruce that he saved Faust because it’s his job to save all lives, no matter who they are. The next day, Thomas visits Faust at the hospital. Bruce meets Faust’s young son, Pete Faust Jr. Shortly afterward, Faust escapes from his hospital bed and kills two more people before being caught and jailed in Arkham Asylum. (Arkham Asylum is Gotham’s primary prison for the criminally insane.)
–FLASHBACK: From Year of the Villain: Black Mask #1. Thomas and Martha Wayne befriend the owners of Janus Cosmetics, husband and wife Richard Sionis and Mrs. Sionis. The Sionises have a son, Roman Sionis, who is around Bruce’s age. Bruce and Roman become quick friends, hanging out on several occasions when their parents’ spend time together. On one of their hangouts, a troubled Roman (who is secretly being abused by his parents) shows off his mask collection to Bruce.
–FLASHBACK: From Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #3. Bruce again visits the Willoughby Z Tchalgadjieff Antiquarian Library.
–REFERENCE: In Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #14. Bruce meets and befriends one of his father’s protégés, Kahndaqi doctoral student Malik Bashar. Bruce will remain friends with Malik long into his adulthood. While we won’t see it on our timeline ahead, we must imagine Bruce and Malik hanging out and communicating with one another fairly regularly for decades to come.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: One Bad Day – Two-Face #1. Bruce’s father tells him that the possibility of good and evil exists within all people.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1041. Bruce’s father tells him, “The real monsters of the world are men without reason, men who only know the truth, men who only see one answer.” This exemplum will stick with Bruce long into his adulthood.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #987. Bruce watches his parents lovingly embrace one another. His mom wears her favorite pearl necklace.
–FLASHBACK: From Trinity Vol. 2 #16, Doomsday Clock #2, Deathstroke Vol. 4 #31, Batman Vol. 3 #47, Batman Vol. 3 #53, Suicide Squad Vol. 5 #43, Batman Giant #1, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #3, Batman Vol. 3 #97, Detective Comics #994-995, Detective Comics #1000 Part 5, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III #3, Dial H for Hero #5, Year of the Villain: Black Mask #1, Batman: Pennyworth RIP #1, Batman: Three Jokers #1-2, Batman: Black and White Vol. 5 #1 Part 2, Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Multiverse Who Laughs #1 Part 1, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #5, Are You Afraid of Darkseid? #1, Batman Vol. 3 #124, the 2nd feature to Batman Vol. 3 #128, the 2nd feature to Batman Vol. 3 #129, Batman: The Knight #10, Batman: Urban Legends #23 Part 4, Detective Comics #1070, Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU #5, Batman: The Brave and the Bold Vol. 2 #2 Part 4, Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #4 Part 4, Detective Comics #1074-1075, the second feature to Detective Comics #1075, Nightwing Vol. 4 #111, Absolute Power: Origins #1, and Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #18 Part 1—and referenced in Flash Vol. 5 #21-22, All-Star Batman #10, Batman Vol. 3 #24, Batman Vol. 3 #45, Batman Vol. 3 #52, Batman Vol. 3 #63, Batman Vol. 3 #96, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #2 Part 1 Conclusion, Batman Beyond Vol. 8 #7,[14] Detective Comics #975, Detective Comics #984-987, Detective Comics #994-995, Detective Comics Annual #2 (2019), Batman: Kings of Fear #2-4, The Batman Who Laughs #2, Batman and The Outsiders Vol. 3 #4, Batman/Superman Vol. 2 #1, Justice League Vol. 4 #51-52, Nightwing Vol. 4 #78, Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 #16 (Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 Print Edition #8), Gotham City Villains: 100-Page Anniversary Giant #1 Part 2, Batman: The Knight #1 Part 2, Batman: The Knight #6, Batman/Spawn, Detective Comics #1069, Batman: Urban Legends #7 Part 1, Wonder Woman #800, Knight Terrors: Batman #1-2, Batman Vol. 3 #138, the fourth feature to Detective Comics #1076, Batman Vol. 3 #140, Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #13 Part 4, and the second feature to Batman Vol. 3 #150. September 21.[15] Eight-year-old Bruce’s parents are brutally murdered.[16] This iconic moment will forever traumatize the boy and eventually shape the justice-fueled vigilantism of his eventual costumed alter-ego. Thanks to Rebirth Era ridiculousness, however, the story isn’t as cut and dry as it once was. Here’s our synopsis. Thomas and Martha Wayne take Bruce to see the 1940 film The Mark of Zorro at the Monarch Theater (also spelled “Theatre”) on Park Row. (Note that Trinity Vol. 2 #16 incorrectly, anachronistically, and hilariously shows The MASK of Zorro on the marquee instead.) As the movie nears its climax, several time-travelers from the future of the alternate “Bat-point timeline”—Booster Gold, Skeets (who immediately gets destroyed), and an adult Bruce Wayne—arrive atop the theater’s roof. Booster, hoping to restore the correct timeline, has to undo a past mistake in which he previously went back in time and saved the Waynes from being murdered. (You just can’t mess with time like that. The Waynes, unfortunately, must die.) As the primary timeline versions of Booster Gold and Skeets also arrive from the future, the Waynes leave the cinema. Thomas remarks that “they’d probably throw someone like Zorro in Arkham.” On the rooftops above, Bat-point Booster is accidentally gunned to death by Bat-point Bruce. Hearing the gunfire above and wanting to avoid it, the Waynes decide to go down a gloomy Park Row alley (aka Crime Alley).[17] Of course, this leads the Waynes directly to Joe Chill, who murders Thomas and Martha before young Bruce’s horrified eyes. Bruce fixates on Chill’s gun, memorizing every detail of it. Martha dies in Bruce’s arms. The time of the murder is exactly 10:48 PM. Barbatos, as he always has been and will be, is present. Following the murders, Chill immediately goes on the lam. For the rest of his life, Bruce will be able to recall, in great detail, every moment of this horrific moment. From the roof above, Bat-point Bruce also watches the murder of his parents as it unfolds before his younger self. Distraught, Bat-point Bruce commits suicide. With the timeline rebooted to its correct state—with Thomas and Martha dying on Crime Alley—Booster Gold and Skeets return to the future, hauling with them the time-anomalous Bat-point corpses from the rooftop. Notably, a time-traveling Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel) and an alternate universe Harley Quinn also secretly bear witness to the murders. (There are a lot of time-travelers present for this momentous occasion.) A shell-shocked Bruce takes a pearl from his mother’s necklace, which Chill was trying to steal. He will keep this pearl, regarding it as priceless, long into adulthood. (The rest of the necklace will go missing.) Bruce waits by the side of his parents’ bodies for ninety minutes before a police officer stumbles upon them. Both Leslie Thompkins and Gotham City Police Department Officer Jim Gordon are soon on the scene and they both try (and fail) to provide some comfort to Bruce. (Gordon is a beat cop that will soon move to Chicago. He’ll return to Gotham at the start of Year One.) Some titles show Alfred picking-up Bruce and taking him home while others show Gordon bringing Bruce home to Alfred at Wayne Manor. Therefore, we must assume that Alfred picks-up Bruce first and shortly thereafter accompanies him to the police station, after which Gordon then brings Bruce back home. Seeing Bruce is catatonic with grief, Alfred stays by his side the whole night through. Despite having living relatives on the Kane side of the family (notably his two uncles and Aunt Gabi), the orphaned Bruce is left in the primary guardianship of Alfred. This is partly due to the fact that the Kanes have long been estranged from the Waynes. Dr. Leslie will also care for Bruce time-to-time as well. For days, Bruce doesn’t say a word, although his body speaks volumes by continuously shaking. Alfred cares for Bruce, offering him the kindest affirmations he can muster. Eventually, Bruce’s body calms and he responds by squeezing Alfred’s hand. Unknown to both, Barbatos continues his subtle influence over Bruce. Soon after, a funeral is held in a church, during which Alfred gives a distressed Bruce a pep talk. After that, the Waynes are buried in a family cemetery adjacent to Wayne Manor. Bruce gets a future plot placed next to his parents’ graves.[18] The Kanes, the Sionises, and others are in attendance at the funeral. Bruce stops believing in God and won’t ever return to the church after this. (Although, there will be many times ahead in his life where he will quietly wish he was still a God-fearing Christian like his dad was.) Funny enough, the god of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic (Abrahamic) religions—also known as “The Source,” “The Presence,” “The Hand of the Light,” “The White Hand of Creation,” “The Great Hand of Creation,” “The Voice,” “The Lord,” “Allah” in Arabic, or “YHWH,” “Jehovah,” or “Elohim” in Hebrew—is very real in the DCU, along with hundreds, if not thousands, of gods from various other faiths. Alfred—with the support of Leslie—begins the tough challenge of raising a troubled boy that has lost everything. A bummed-out Bruce pushes-back immediately, always wanting to be alone and brood in his room. Alfred and Leslie, in an effort to help Bruce overcome his demons, push back, urging him to play and go outside. Moving forward, Alfred and Leslie will (understandably) be a bit supercilious, constantly telling Bruce what to do for the next decade-plus. While Bruce will rarely follow their advice, he will always listen. Alfred and Leslie will become Bruce’s loving surrogate parents, and Bruce will quickly come to see both of them that way too. Alfred and Leslie will be more influential in shaping Bruce’s life than anyone, both now and decades into his adulthood (and both as Bruce and Batman). Not long after the funeral of the Waynes, a will reading his held. Bruce’s uncle Philip Kane takes full control of Wayne Enterprises, but everything else—a vast fortune, multiple properties across the globe (including Wayne Manor), a couple Learjets, a Gulfstream, a yacht, and a small fleet of cars—goes to young Bruce. Alfred, who quietly receives billions of dollars of Wayne Industries stock of his own, retains power of attorney over Bruce’s estate until the boy is of age. Also of note: Lew Moxon is accused of being involved in the killings of Thomas and Martha Wayne, as revenge for Thomas having sent him to jail. However, with no evidence linking him or his cronies to the crime, the Moxon connection is quickly ruled out.
–FLASHBACK: From Strange Love Adventures #1 Part 6. Presumably after some police questioning pertaining to his parents’ murder case, Bruce returns home, accompanied by Jim Gordon. Alfred tucks the sad boy into bed. (It’s possible that writer Devin Grayson meant for this scene to be directly after the Wayne murders, but Alfred was notified to pick up Bruce directly after the murders, so this scene actually works much better here, with this interpretation.)
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1090. Bruce begins obsessively thinking whether or not there was any way he could have saved his parents’ lives in Crime Alley. He’ll think about this, replaying the moment over and over for decades to come.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Beyond Vol. 8 #7, Batman Vol. 3 #104, and Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #2 Part 4—and referenced in Detective Comics #1075 and Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #13 Part 4. Alfred accompanies young Bruce to the cemetery in the pouring rain. Bruce plaintively grieves by the side of his parents’ graves. Bruce swears an oath—vowing to avenge his parents one day.
–REFERENCE: In Flash Vol. 5 #21, Dark Days: The Casting #1, Dark Nights: Metal #1-2, Batman: Lost #1, and Detective Comics #978—originally told in Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5. Alfred takes a saddened Bruce on a trip outside of Gotham to help clear the boy’s mind. Meanwhile, an amnesiac adult Bruce from the 21st century appears in Gotham thanks to Darkseid’s time-displacing Omega Sanction. Adult Bruce gets involved in film noir-esque family-related intrigue, specifically a sinister plot hatched by the criminal organization known as The Black Glove—which includes members Simon Hurt, John Mayhew, Carter Nichols, Marsha Lamarr, and others. While the amnesiac Bruce, manipulated into joining the Black Glove, waits in the wings, Marsha meets with Roderick and Betsy Kane, delivering them slanderous information about Martha and Thomas Wayne. Roderick doesn’t believe a word of it, but, thanks to the heinous actions of Hurt, the elderly Kane patriarch is in an iron lung, in which he will spend the rest of his life. (Note that Betsy will die a couple years after this item, while Roderick will hang onto life until 2012—as referenced in DC Pride 2023 #1 Part 6. Bruce will not attend either of their funerals.) In the vespertine hours, a confused Bruce is forced into taking part in an occult demon-summoning séance held by the Black Glove. The ritual will supposedly summon the demon Barbatos. (Hurt has long mistaken Darkseid’s Hyper-Adapter for the real Barbatos.) When Nichols betrays the Black Glove during the ritual, Bruce is able to use his Omega energy to activate a prototype time machine of Nichols’ own design, escaping to 100 Billion CE aka Vanishing Point, mere moments before the total destruction of the universe and the literal End of Time. Note that Hurt is actually Bruce’s great(x5) Uncle Thomas Wayne, endowed with quasi-immortality from a similar occult ritual performed in 1765. During the 1756 ritual, Hurt believed he had come into contact with Barbatos, hence his desire to do so again here. However, Hurt had actually mistakenly come into contact with the defeated Hyper-Adapter as it was falling backward through time. Although, unknown to Hurt, the real Barbatos was watching and manipulating everything, using Hurt and company to initiate the first rites of his own “Mantling” ritual. After all the Black Glove chaos ends, young Bruce returns home to Gotham with Alfred, having no clue any of the wild stuff even went down while they were away.
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1989
–FLASHBACK: From Strange Love Adventures #1 Part 6. Much to Alfred’s surprise, Bruce gives all the other Wayne Manor house staff (which includes several maids and butlers) their pink slips. It’ll just be Bruce and Alfred alone in the big house, moving forward.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Giant #2. A tearful Bruce once again visits his parents’ graves.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1076 and Batman: City of Madness #2. Alfred gives a tearful Bruce a fatherly embrace.
–REFERENCE: In Nightwing Vol. 4 #111. Bruce begins having trouble sleeping, unable to do so unless Alfred sits by his side until he drifts into slumber. Alfred will spend countless bedtimes sitting by Bruce’s side.
–FLASHBACK: From DC’s Spring Breakout! #1 Part 2. Spring. Note that Bruce’s adult narration places this item a mere month after his parents’ deaths, but this item is specifically a springtime event, so it must be seven-ish months after the tragedy, not one month. Alfred makes Bruce attend the 20th Annual Wayne Spring Ball, which is an event held in memoriam of his parents. Bruce doesn’t want to dance, but kindhearted professional ballerina Nora Fields takes him in her arms. They dance together and, for a moment, Bruce feels his sorrows recede. Having cheered Bruce up a little bit, the sylphlike Nora parts ways with him to join her fiancé, promising scientist Dr. Victor Fries. While this Spring Ball was a positive experience for Bruce, there’s no guarantee that he’ll attend again in coming years. Therefore, we won’t see another Spring Ball listed on our chronology for another twenty years. Nevertheless, rest assured, even without Bruce, Alfred will diligently host this event every year, moving forward.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Urban Legends #20 Part 4. Bruce begins having a recurring nightmare in which he is trapped in a locked hallway, unable to escape. He’ll have this dream for years to come.
–REFERENCE: In Batman/Spawn. Alfred asks Bruce how he is doing, to which Bruce tells him, “I’m fine.” This is the start of a trend. Bruce will always say this line for many decades to come.
–FLASHBACK: From Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #3. Bruce, as he always does, visits the Tchalgadjieff Antiquarian Library, only he now notices a novel “haunted look” in the eyes of kindly librarian Mrs. Hostetler. Bruce assumes Mrs. Hostetler now shows this countenance to him due to the great tragedy that has befallen his family. In actuality, Mrs. Hostetler’s nervous condition has been exacerbated by the unnerving daily presence of creepy bookbinder CJ Greenwood.
–REFERENCE: In Batman/Superman Vol. 2 #7. Bruce swears he can still smell his mom’s perfume inside Wayne Manor despite her being gone. He will have this olfactory sensation for decades to come.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #83. Bruce and Alfred pose for a portrait painting. This portrait gets hung up in Wayne Manor.
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1990
–REFERENCE: In Mother Panic/Batman Special #1. Gotham socialite Rebecca Paige meets young Bruce and notes how tragically sad he is, having gone through so much trauma.
–REFERENCE: In Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #12. Bruce’s depression continues. He tells Alfred he doesn’t care to make any new friends anymore, neither does he care if anyone likes him.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #35, Batman Vol. 3 #69, Batman Vol. 3 #83, and Batman Vol. 3 #85. A depressed ten-year-old Bruce attempts suicide by slashing his wrists. After recovering, Alfred keeps a close eye upon Bruce, terribly worried that he will try to hurt himself again. Alfred watches in secret as Bruce holds a knife to his wrists once again, this time in his parents’ bedroom. However, Bruce has a change of heart, instead conducting a ceremonial oath by candlelight, during which he re-vows to war against all criminals in an effort to avenge his parents.
–FLASHBACK: From Absolute Power: Origins #1. By his bedside (this time by electric lamplight instead of candlelight), Bruce again re-vows to avenge his parents’ deaths. It’s possible this item is closely attached to (or directly follows) the previous vow-making session.
–REFERENCE: In All-Star Batman #10—originally told in All-Star Batman #1-5 (“MY OWN WORST ENEMY”). Following his suicide attempt, a disheartened Bruce is sent to live in a hospital for troubled youth, The Arkham Home, in Innsmouth, Massachusetts. Bruce only stays there for a couple months before returning to Alfred’s care at Wayne Manor, but he meets and befriends a young Harvey Dent during this time.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #975 and Wonder Woman #800. Bruce begins having nightmares about his parents’ deaths. He also begins having “good dreams” where he violently hunts down and kills the man responsible for murdering them. These nightmares and dreams will occur (almost every single night) for Bruce for years to come, long into his adulthood.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. A depressed and confused Bruce, feeling intense loss, begins pushing his new guardian, Alfred, away with one hand while simultaneously reaching out to keep the relationship legitimate. Eventually, Bruce will come to accept Alfred as his new father-figure.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: One Bad Day – Clayface #1. Bruce becomes enamored with a superhero adventure TV show called The Gray Ghost, starring Simon Trent. The character of the Gray Ghost will stick with Bruce for decades to come, influencing his actions.
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1991
–FLASHBACK: From Deathstroke Vol. 4 #35. Bruce reasserts his vow to avenge his parents deaths, beginning training by spelunking down into the caverns beneath Wayne Manor and navigating the bat-filled terrain while blindfolded. Alfred is not happy about this at all when he finds out, but Bruce will go down into the caves frequently, moving forward.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman/Spawn. Bruce gets in a fight at school. This will be the start of a trend.
–Batman: The Knight #1 Part 1
Despite Bruce befriending acquaintances Dana Dunlop and Sydney at Gotham Academy, Bruce continues getting in a lot of fights. After one too many fights (some bad enough to involve the police), a fed-up Alfred removes all the books from the Wayne Manor library, saying that Bruce will have to earn each book one-by-one as a reward for good behavior. After getting tormented by bullies, Bruce plots revenge (using botanical poisoning learned from a Jason Woodrue book). Bruce will spend most of the school year at Gotham Academy fighting bullies, specifically a boy named Mitch Shannon.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1033. Bruce plays baseball against Tommy Elliot, outmatching him. Thus begins the reoccurrence of Bruce consistently one-upping poor Tommy, with whom he also attends school. While we won’t see this oneupmanship on our timeline below (and much of it will likely be in Tommy’s jealous head anyway), we can imagine awkward interactions littered throughout the next few years of our chronology.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #995. Dr. Leslie Thompkins takes Bruce to her clinic. There, Bruce learns that there are many positive ways to make the world a better place. With strong admiration, he watches Leslie helping people and then helps her with a clothing drive and food drive. Bruce will often help Leslie perform charitable acts, moving forward.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. Bruce begins drawing and illustrating as a hobby. He will become quite a decent artist.
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1992
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. A car bomb—intended to kill young Bruce—explodes prematurely, destroying a a vehicle that he and Alfred were supposed to be inside. GCPD Detective Catherine Podolsky works the case. The attempt upon Bruce’s life makes headline news, but the mystery assassin isn’t caught. (SPOILER: Detective Podolsky is actually Tommy Elliot’s half-sister, Catherine Elliot. She is covering up for the mystery assassin—none other than a young Tommy Elliot himself.)
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. Bruce begins taking martial arts classes.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics Annual #3 (2020) Part 1. Spring. On school break, Alfred takes a twelve-year-old Bruce on a long road trip from Gotham to Chicago to Arizona, following the old Route 66 on the latter half of the journey. Alfred lets Bruce drive the car for a bit once they pass Missouri.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1029 and Batman Vol. 3 #127. Early summer. In a graduation cap and gown, Bruce poses for a picture with Alfred. Since Bruce won’t graduate high school (and he’s currently only twelve-years-old), this has to be a junior high graduation ceremony at Gotham Academy. The photograph will get developed and framed for Wayne Manor.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. After a martial arts class, another car bomb—again intended to kill young Bruce—explodes prematurely, just before Alfred and Bruce are set to enter their car. The mystery assassin remains at-large. As before, Detective Catherine Podolsky works the case to cover for her little half-brother Tommy. Detective Podolsky (aka Catherine Elliot) will conveniently be on the scene to investigate all the future assassination attempts upon Bruce’s life. Yes, there will be more!
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: City of Madness #2. Bruce begins taking boxing lessons from Alfred.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #960. Bruce shows an early aptitude for all things crime-fighting related, learning how to use a lock-pick.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. While visiting a carnival, the recurring mystery assassin (Tommy Elliot) shoots at Bruce, but Alfred saves Bruce’s life. The would-be killer once again escapes scot-free without being identified.
–FLASHBACK: From Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #3. Christmas. Bruce again visits one of his favorite places—the Willoughby Z Tchalgadjieff Antiquarian Library.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #967 and Detective Comics #978. Mary Elizabeth “Bette” Kane is born to Bruce’s uncle Philip and an unnamed partner.[19] Bruce meets his new baby cousin Bette. It’s highly likely that they won’t have many interactions with each other, moving forward. Baby Bette will eventually grow up to become the original Bat-Girl (and a few other superheroes after that too).
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1993
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. The mysterious attempts upon Bruce’s life (by Tommy Elliot) continue, as Alfred discovers poison laced into the Wayne Manor vegetable garden.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. The mysterious attempts upon Bruce’s life (by Tommy Elliot) continue, as Bruce’s favorite horse, manipulated by the would-be killer, goes wild and nearly throws Bruce to his death.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #995. Bruce, Alfred, and Leslie help serve food to the homeless at a soup kitchen.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: Black and White Vol. 5 # 4 Part 4. Alfred and Bruce play chess.
–FLASHBACK: From Wonder Twins #1. September to October. Bruce takes a liking to and begins listening to The Bee Gees. Shortly thereafter, Bruce begins 9th grade at the fancy private Robinson High School. He quickly forms a crush on a girl that sits next to him in English class, Becky Muldoon. Bruce spends a lot of his school days daydreaming about her. Early in the first semester, he writes a love song about her—in the style of the Bee Gees, no less. His teacher, mistaking it for a poetry assignment, reads it to the entire class, embarrassing Bruce terribly and earning him the unfortunate nickname of “Bee Gee” for the rest of his freshman year.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1027 Part 5 and Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #1 Part 2. Bruce begins golfing, excelling at the sport. He will golf for the rest of his life. In Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #1 Part 2, Bruce mentions golfing at Gotham Prep. Based on the conversation, this could be disinformation, but, if we take it as gospel, this simply means that, despite never actually attending Gotham Prep, he takes golf lessons there (or joins their team).
–REFERENCE: In Flash Vol. 5 #21. Teenage Bruce tries to recover the gun that was used to murder his parents, but he is unable to find it. Note that Flash Vol. 5 #21 says that Bruce never recovers the gun or at least implies that he doesn’t get it until after “The Button” arc in Year 15. However, thanks to a big Kevin Smith retcon in Detective Comics #1000 Part 2, this is altered. Batman does indeed get his parents’ murder weapon, sometime in the middle of Year 5.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. Bruce learns how to scuba dive, posing for a photo with all his gear on. Before one of his lessons, Bruce’s mystery assassin (Tommy Elliot) strikes again, mixing nitrogen into his oxygen tank. Bruce barely survives but makes it to the surface alive.
–REFERENCE: In Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #7. Bruce learns fencing.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Detective #1. Alfred takes thirteen-year-old Bruce on a trip to the West Pennine Moors in Lancashire, England.
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1994
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. Despite being only thirteen-years-old, rich boy Bruce begins learning how to fly planes. During one of his initial lessons, the engines explode and the landing wheels malfunction—courtesy of Bruce’s recurring would-be mystery assassin (Tommy Elliot). Bruce and his teacher (possibly Alfred) miraculously manage to land the plane safely.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1030. Bruce’s mystery assassin (Tommy Elliot) tries one final time to kill the teen, this time by tossing a molotov cocktail into Wayne Manor. Bruce survives. After this, the mystery assassin disappears, and the threats on Bruce’s life stop.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #959 and Batman: The Knight #7. Bruce and Zatanna share a brief but very intense teenage romance, going so far as to profess love to one another. This affair happens outside of Gotham. We are not told the location of this event, but we can presume that it occurs in one of the random cities where the Zataras are on tour. Zatanna teaches Bruce some sleight of hand tricks during this period.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 Annual #2 Part 1 Conclusion, Harley Quinn Vol. 3 #58, and Detective Comics #1010. Bruce begins closely following the Gotham Knights Major League Baseball team. He will remain a lifelong fan. In general, Bruce loves baseball. He will even follow Japanese baseball too. And he will also study stats and history, becoming an expert baseball historian. (Note that Gotham also has a Gotham Knights NFL football team, so the city doesn’t seem to be very creative when it comes to sports nicknames.)
–REFERENCE: In Justice League Vol. 3 #41. Bruce reads Sir Thomas Malory’s histories about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Note that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are real life characters that existed on our timeline.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #2. Bruce reads about the famous Parisian cat burglar known as The Gray Shadow.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #92. Bruce begins doing puzzles, riddles, crosswords, and other math and logic games. He will be come a genius at just about any brainteaser that exists.
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1995
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #975. January. Bruce’s younger twin cousins (Kate Kane and Beth Kane) and his aunt (Gabi Kane) are kidnapped and held for ransom in Brussels, Belgium. (Batwoman: Rebirth #1 says that this event occurs when the twins are twelve-years-old, but, thanks to retcons in Detective Comics #975, it occurs when they are younger—around seven-years-old instead.) Bruce’s uncle (Jake Kane), a military colonel working with NATO, leads a rescue mission, but it gets botched. Horrific tragedy befalls the Wayne-Kane Family yet again. Kate is saved, but Gabi is killed and Beth goes missing. (Beth will later be incorrectly presumed dead.) Shortly thereafter, a funeral is held for Gabi. Bruce and Alfred attend. At the funeral, Kate asks Bruce is the pain of loss will ever go away. Bruce responds, saying that it hasn’t for him and that he has dreams of killing their killer. Kate tells Bruce that they should actually kill the men responsible. (Bruce’s uncles—Philip and Nathan—are likely in attendance at Gabi’s funeral. Note that Uncle Nathan probably dies at some point near the end of this Early Years section, but it is highly unlikely that Bruce attends his funeral. Also note that, prior to his death, Uncle Nathan will marry the much younger Kathy Webb, who will one day become Bat-Woman and become romantically involved with Bruce.)
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1022 and Detective Comics #1068. Bruce and Harvey Dent befriend the twin McKillen sisters (Erin McKillen and Shannon McKillen). Erin and Shannon’s parents are the heads of the notorious mafia clan known as the McKillen Mob aka McKillen Gang. Bruce becomes briefly romantically involved with both sisters.
–REFERENCE: In Dark Nights: Death Metal #7. Bruce learns how to play bass guitar.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #86 and Batman Vol. 3 #94. Bruce begins a habit of doodling elaborate city skylines—usually on napkins or scraps of paper. When Alfred notices this trend, he calls them Bruce’s “Little Gothams,” thinking they are idealized versions of the city. Bruce will doodle fantastic “Little Gothams” for years and years to come. Unknown to Alfred, these doodles don’t represent an idealized version of Gotham, but instead symbolize Bruce’s dark designs for avenging his parents’ murders.
—[20]
–REFERENCE: In Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #3. Bruce spends $685,000 to purchase his favorite book in the Tchalgadjieff Library collection, a 16th century illustrated Latin text about bats.
–REFERENCE: In the second feature to Detective Comics #1046. Bruce reads and enjoys the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: Black and White Vol. 5 # 4 Part 4. Alfred and Bruce play chess.
–FLASHBACK: From Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #3. When Tchalgadjieff librarian Carl Székely stops coming to work, Bruce—now a sophomore in high school—suspects something must be wrong. After hours, Bruce breaks into the Tchalgadjieff Library and rifles through Székely’s office, discovering a suicide note in which Székely apologies for murdering his whole family. Bruce tries to stop the murder-suicide from occurring, but sadly there’s nothing he can do at this point. Unknown to all, creepy bookbinder CJ Greenwood had been slowly poisoning poor Székely’s mind, pointing him down this dark path of carnage and bloodshed.
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1996
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #985 and Batman: Urban Legends #23 Part 4. February. Alfred teaches Bruce how to drive a car. Upon turning sixteen-years-old, Bruce gets his driver’s license. With access to his family’s large collection of vehicles (including various sports cars collected in the Wayne Manor garage), Bruce quickly becomes an expert driver. For the rest of his life, he’ll drive these cars from time to time. We can also assume that Bruce will continue the family tradition of collecting cars, moving forward.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 Annual #4. Spring to early summer. Bruce begins dating co-ed Adrienne Williams. However, Bruce decides he wants to end high school early and leave Gotham to travel the globe on a lengthy training adventure. Bruce and Adrienne attend the prom together, sharing what is Bruce’s first kiss. Afterward, Bruce strolls with Adrienne, telling her that he’s breaking up with her because he’ll be leaving. The heartbroken couple parts ways. (The school year ends and Bruce stays broken up with poor Adrienne—but he postpones his departure from Gotham until next year.)
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Urban Legends #18 Part 3. In addition to collecting books and cars, Bruce begins collecting rare etchings and other pieces of artwork.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Merciless #1. Bruce—now a junior in high school—meets and dates Julie Madison. (This item reflects the version of Bruce and Julie’s relationship first referenced in and shown via flashback from Batman Vol. 2 #30.)
–REFERENCE: In Batman Secret Files: The Signal #1. Bruce begins journaling about his experiences, theoretical crime-fighting concepts, and wartime contingency plans. Bruce will journal and plan for the rest of his life, digitizing all of his notes and entries along the way. Eventually, the theories will form into actionable plans.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #94. Bruce seeks out legendary master detective Cassander Wycliffe Baker, but he’s gone completely off the radar and can’t be found, having been forced into seclusion after being bested by the super-villain known as The Designer. Catching a whiff of Bruce, Baker turns the tables on the teen and begins secretly trailing him. Baker will follow Bruce for years.
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1997
–REFERENCE: In Bane: Conquest #2, Bane: Conquest #9-11, All-Star Batman #12, Deathstroke Vol. 4 #30, Harley Loves Joker #2, The Brave and The Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman #4, Batman Giant #2, Event Leviathan #6, Detective Comics #1019, Batman: The World Part 8, and Batman: The World Part 9, Batman: The World Part 10, Batman: The World Part 12, Batman: The Knight #4-5, the second feature to All-Star Batman #10, and Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #16. Bruce begins studying world mythology and many different speaking languages. He will eventually become fluent in various tongues, including Mandarin, Shanghainese, Spanish, Portuguese, Dari (Persian), Latin, Gaelic, French, Icelandic, Turkish, Polish, Korean, Indonesian, Russian, Serbian (with multiple dialects), and the argot of the Ancient Sea People. Bruce also learns American sign language.[21]
–REFERENCE: In Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #15. Bruce reviews and organizes some of his father’s important documents, including his journals, sketchbooks, and more. Bruce will cherish these items and keep them safe long into adulthood.
–Batman: The Knight #1 Part 2
Bruce begins dating Dana Dunlop. Because Bruce is having recurring nightmares (specifically about his parents deaths and an ominous suit of medieval armor), Dana refers him to her psychologist Dr. Hugo Strange. Bruce spends six weeks undergoing talk therapy and hypnotherapy with Dr. Strange. During this time, Bruce intensifies gymnastics and MMA training, while growing closer to Dana. Bruce (soon to be a high school senior) applies to Gotham University and tells Dana he wants to be a cop, at which she scoffs. (The scene of Dana scoffing at his idea to become a cop is also shown via flashback from Batman: The Knight #9 Part 1.) Later, Bruce ditches school to conduct his own scientific studies. Dana gives him a hard time about it, but Bruce notes that his family has already donated a ton of money to the school, so it doesn’t matter what he does. Bruce also begins competing in illegal underground MMA fights. One of these competitions gets raided, which results in Bruce getting arrested and bailed out by a disappointed Alfred. When Bruce realizes that Dr. Strange has been brainwashing Dana to steal her money, he calls the cops, who arrest the doctor. (These charges likely don’t stick since we’ll see Dr. Strange practicing again.) Before Strange is taken away, Bruce tells him that he (Bruce) is going away for a while. The real training is about to begin. (Note that, during their final session, Strange says that Bruce’s parents died “over ten years ago,” but this is false. They died eight years ago.)
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #10 Part 2. Bruce poses for a photo with Dana Dunlop. The photo is developed, framed, and put on display in Wayne Manor.
–FLASHBACK: From Strange Love Adventures #1 Part 6—and referenced in All-Star Batman #11, Detective Comics #959-960, Detective Comics #996, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #2 Part 2, Batman Vol. 3 #53, DC New Talent Showcase 2018 #1 Part 1, The Batman Who Laughs #2, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #4, Batman Vol. 3 #103, Batman: The Knight #3, and Batman: The Knight #7. At seventeen-years-old, without bothering to tell Alfred, Bruce ends high school early (opting to skip his senior year), leaving Gotham to go on a long training adventure all over the globe. (Batman: Gotham Nights Vol. 3 #20 tells us that Bruce travels abroad for five years, which jibes with his departure at age sixteen, prior to his senior year. Furthermore, Tom King’s Batman run mentions that Bruce is already training abroad at age sixteen, and while King’s specific reference is admittedly dubious, it does still point to a timeline where Bruce goes abroad before age eighteen. Additionally, while Batman: The Knight has Bruce leaving at some point after a school year ends, it doesn’t specify that it is his senior year, hence giving us the narrative leverage we need for Bruce to depart after his junior year.) First stop for Bruce is Paris. For the duration of most of his training, Bruce will remain incommunicado, even with Alfred. Notably, Zatanna will try to phone Bruce many times over the course of the next few years, but Bruce will ignore all her attempts at contact. One of the primary motivators for Bruce’s training, besides wanting to defeat evil and avenge his parents’ murders, is knowing that the more steps he takes to push himself, the more lives he can eventually save. This concept will stay with (and haunt) Bruce for the rest of his life. He will forever be pushing himself to be the quintessential warrior—to be stronger, smarter, faster, better. And he will spend a lot of his financial inheritance to be able to train with various masters all over the world. Bruce’s initial training in Paris likely includes: gymnastics; acrobatics; tightrope walking; weightlifting; rock climbing; and learning how to operate boats and submarines.
–Batman: The Knight #2-3
September. It’s been two weeks since Bruce left Gotham for Paris. Still in the City of Lights, Bruce trains with a world class fencer, but, at the end of two weeks, Bruce soundly defeats him. Bruce also reads about how to make explosives. Bruce then confronts the infamous cat burglar known as the Gray Shadow (Lucie Chesson). Shortly thereafter, Bruce begins training with her in the art of thievery. After a few lessons, Bruce joins Lucie to rob the mansion of oil executive Hubert Glonet, but he takes a police bullet in his leg. Back at their HQ, Lucie strips Bruce down (and also herself for some reason) and sews up his wound, leading to a sexually charged moment where Bruce leans in and kisses Lucie. She tells Bruce he’s much too young for her. After all, Bruce is merely sixteen and she is in her thirties (at the earliest). Bruce and Lucie are then accosted by private detective/bounty hunter Henri Ducard, who had been hired by Alfred to locate Bruce. Ducard sees some loot from the Glonet heist (human teeth), which tips him off to the fact that Glonet is a serial killer known as The Foundling. (Ducard had been working closely with Detective Frappier of the Paris Police Force on the Foundling case.) Bruce and Lucie join with Ducard to work the Foundling case, but, thanks to a boneheaded rookie move by Bruce, Ducard winds up getting shot in the belly by an informant. Bruce and Lucie continue the investigation on their own while Ducard goes into hospital care. Eventually, Bruce takes down Glonet solo. Afterward, Bruce phones Alfred, telling him everything via voicemail. Bruce and Lucie then part ways, with Bruce saying he is considering asking Ducard to train him. (Bruce will eventually train with Ducard, but not quite yet.)
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #6. Bruce travels to Mongolia to train with a pastoralist of a nomadic tribe. She teaches Bruce how to read the environment and feel the subtle shifts in the earth and temperature.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #94. Bruce travels to Namibia to learn how to control the speed of his heartbeat. This item occurs specifically before Bruce trains with the Ducards in Paris.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #94, Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 #1, and Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 #5. Bruce travels to Japan to study the art of the katana from sensei Takashi Nakata and his devotees known collectively as the Kinjo Clan. This item occurs specifically before Bruce trains with the Ducards in Paris.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: The Detective #3—and referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #24, The Batman Who Laughs #1, Detective Comics #996, Detective Comics #1027 Part 10, Batman: The Detective #3, and Batman Vol. 3 #94. October to late December. In Paris, Bruce—now carrying handcuffs with him wherever he goes—trails Henri Ducard, hoping to train with him. Outside the Louvre, Bruce helps Henri apprehend a fugitive on behalf of Interpol, which leads to Henri agreeing to train him (for a hefty price, of course). (Note that Batman: The Detective #3 shows this sequence as Bruce meeting Henri for the first time. However, this has been retconned by Batman: The Knight #1-3, which showed their first meeting earlier.) Bruce trains with Henri, helping him bring in many bounties. During this time, Henri teaches Bruce fieldcraft techniques, bounty hunting methodology, criminology, criminal psychology, crime scene investigation, and forensics. Henri also introduces Bruce to his son Morgan Ducard, who joins them on missions. During training with the Ducards, Bruce gets badly burned on his chest, resulting in a permanent scar. This is one of the first of many permanent scars that will mark Bruce’s body over the course of his career of adventure. Also during his training with the gun-loving Ducards, Bruce earns their derision for refusing to use firearms. (Bruce is an excellent marksman, but he simply refuses to propitiate the vicious Ducards in this regard.) While training with the Ducards, as referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #94 and Detective Comics #1027 Part 10, Bruce also learns: various forms of combat; stealth techniques; spy-craft; metal forging; how to fly planes, helicopters, hang-gliders, and rockets; how to skydive, parachute, HALO jump, base-jump, and free-jump. As referenced in Batman: The Knight #4, Henri advises Bruce to use a fake name and gives him a list of masters under which he should study once he finishes training with him. First on this list is Japanese sensei Takibi Kirigi, a master in ninjutsu and karate (and unknown to Bruce, a trainer for the League of Assassins). After three months of training with the Ducards, Bruce goes on a solo bounty hunting mission but gets captured by his target. Henri rescues Bruce, shooting the target dead. Angered by the lethal maneuver, Bruce fights Henri, who takes down the teen, official ending their training. Bruce will keep semi-tabs on the Ducards for decades to come. He will run into Henri every so often, although not all of these encounters will be documented on our timeline ahead.
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1998
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #94. Early January. Having recently finished training with the Ducards and still in Paris, Bruce finally tracks down another Parisian, infamous master detective Cassander Wycliffe Baker. Baker stuns Bruce by revealing that he’s been following him, even showing him a creepy room filled with Bruce’s “Little Gotham” doodles, which have been collected over the years. Bruce begs Baker to act as what he hopes will be his final tutor, but Baker says he’ll teach him only one lesson—how to lose. Baker rejects Bruce, sending him away.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #4. January to February. Bruce begins searching for Takibi Kirigi’s hidden dojang. It’ll take him two months to find it.
–FLASHBACK: From the second feature to Batman Vol. 3 #150. February. Bruce turns eighteen-years-old and briefly returns to Gotham to officially inherit his trust fund. While in Gotham, Bruce purchases the Sims Firearms company (the company that made the gun that Joe Chill used to kill his parents). Bruce shuts down Sims and arranges for its employees to get jobs at Wayne Enterprises. Bruce then has the entire Sims building torn down.
–Batman: The Knight #4
February to December. In March, Bruce finally finds Takibi Kirigi’s dojang in the North Korean Paektu-San Mountains. Upon arrival, Bruce is beaten mercilessly by the sensei’s students for several days in a row and left in the cold. Eventually, the stalwart Bruce—going by “Jack”—is given entry, becoming one of Kirigi’s trainees. (Note that a flashback from Detective Comics #1000 Part 6 shows Bruce first gaining access to Kirigi’s temple, although it shows a panel lifted from the original Kirigi story from the Modern Age, Detective Comics #431, in which Bruce is allowed to enter the dojang unmolested. Obviously, the Detective Comics #1000 Part 6 panel should show a starved and bloody Bruce finally barely getting past the front door.) Bruce quickly makes friends with fifteen-year-old student Anton (real name Minhkhoa “Khoa” Khan). Bruce will train at the dojang for the rest of the year, learning martial arts, meditation, ninjutsu, and nitōjutsu. (Kirigi is a master in ninjutsu and karate, but, since a reference in Batman vs Robin #4 tells us that Batman knows Taekwondo and Kirigi is headquartered in Korea, it is very likely that Bruce also learns Taekwondo from him. Notably, as also referenced in Batman vs Robin #4, at some point Bruce learns the “nine ways to take down an opponent,” six of which are non-fatal but require breaking bones. It might be Kirigi, who delivers these lessons too.) Every night after training, Bruce and Anton spend time together, growing closer. Anton learns a little bit about Bruce’s life, quest, and motivations. As kindred spirits, they have a similar drive. Bruce’s training with Kirigi is also shown via Batman Vol. 3 #104, although the latter flashback mistakenly conflates Bruce and Anton’s ultimate friendship-break-up with this training session, showing them getting into a bloody fight. (It’s possible that Bruce and Anton get into a bloody fight during training during their time with Kirigi, but they certainly will remain close friends for now. More on this once we reach Batman: The Knight #6.) At some point while training with Kirigi, Bruce learns how to catch an arrow that is shot from a bow (as referenced in Batman: The Knight #6). Bruce and Anton also learn morse code (as referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #110). Bruce also tells Anton about his training with the Mongolian pastoralist, two which Anton responds by making fun of him mercilessly (as also referenced in Batman: The Knight #6). Bruce also likes to make fun of Anton as well (as referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #103). When Kirigi accepts a group of aggressively violent new students into his school, Bruce bests one of them in combat but privately shares his concerns about the new batch of trainees with Anton. When Kirigi tells his students that they will soon learn dim mak, a lethal palm strike technique also known as “the touch of death,” Bruce decides it is time to move on. Bruce says goodbye to Anton and leaves only to be stopped by Kirigi, who reveals that he knows his real name. Kirigi bids Bruce farewell, telling him that the new batch of students are “assassins-in-training sent to him by a benefactor” (i.e. League of Assassins trainees sent by their leader Ra’s al Ghul). (Ra’s al Ghul aka “The Ghoul’s Head aka “The Demon’s Head” is an immortal international terrorist. Sometimes his name is also spelled-out with random macrons, like “Rā’s al Ghūl” or “Ra’s al Ghūl.”) Before Bruce can leave the mountain, he is attacked by the assassins-in-training. Thanks to help from Anton, Bruce defeats them. Bruce and Anton then leave together. Note that neither Bruce nor Anton hear the name “Ra’s al ghul” and they have no clue to the identity of the mysterious “benefactor of assassins.”
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1999
–Batman: The Knight #5
Early January to early March. Bruce and Anton follow Henri Ducard’s master list to Moscow, hoping to meet with Avery Oblonsky, a high ranking member of the FSB (Federal’naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti aka Federal Security Service), who is an expert in disguise. After poking around, Bruce and Anton are arrested and thrown in jail where they are tortured for two weeks straight. Eventually, Avery releases them and takes them under her wing, showing them her “cave” and all her disguise tech. Avery reveals Bruce’s true identity to Anton. Immediately, Avery begins teaching Bruce and Anton everything she knows about espionage and spycraft. Bruce and Anton go on several spy missions and training ops under their teacher’s watchful eye. Everything is a competition between the two. The pansexual Anton is much better at the art of seduction than Bruce, which gives the former a constant advantage. On a special mission, the trainees are tasked with getting two Americans charged with possession of marijuana out of Russian jail. Anton simply bribes the cops, who let them go. The next special mission is to gain access to an office inside the US Embassy during a gala and retrieve a book containing a list of SVR (Sluzhba vneshney razvedki Rossiyskoy Federatsii aka Foreign Intelligence Service) safe houses. Bruce and Anton are in a heated competition yet again, but (as usual) Anton gets the book before Bruce can. Later, though, Bruce pretends to flirt with Anton, who lets his guard down, allowing Bruce to pickpocket the book from him. Avery tells Bruce and Anton they are ready for masks. While not actually shown in this issue, Bruce and Anton train with masks for an undetermined but short amount of time.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: Urban Legends #11 Part 2 and Batman: Urban Legends #12 Part 2. Early March. Growing closer as friends every day, Anton tells Bruce his real name, Minhkhoa “Khoa” Khan, while also adopting the new moniker of The Ghost-Maker. (He will go by both “Anton” and “The Ghost-Maker” interchangeably for years to come.) In in the snowy mountains of India, Bruce and the Ghost-Maker train with a tracker named Koyta, helping him bust opium distributors and gun runners. They are soon joined by assassin-in-training Rhea Sinha, who will one day be known as “Wight Witch.” Rhea and the Ghost-Maker form a romantic bond. (The narrative of Batman: Urban Legends #11-12, while generally vague, implies a slightly older Bruce and Ghost-Maker undertaking a somewhat lengthier training period in India, but this item must go here, fitting into the extremely tight space between Batman: The Knight #5 and Batman: The Knight #6.)
–Batman: The Knight #6
Early March to Mid April. Avery Oblonsky sends Bruce and the Ghost-Maker to find master marksman Luka Jungo (aka The Swiss Mark) in British Columbia. Jungo trains them in archery for weeks. One night, Jungo tells his students a story about a time when he was working as a government hitman and had no choice but to gun down the innocent wife and child of his target when they got in the way. Jungo says he will teach Bruce and the Ghost-Maker how to shoot guns, but he makes them promise they will never use them against human beings. The gun training lasts weeks. Eventually, having worked with his students for months, Jungo comes to regard the Ghost-Maker as a psychopath that enjoys guns a little too much. Not so coincidentally, as referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #103-104, a difference in values has begun to push Bruce and the Ghost-Maker apart, although Bruce still regards him as a best friend. Fearing that he’s created a potential killing machine, Jungo confronts the Ghost-Maker and points a gun at him. Panicked, Bruce disarms Jungo to help his friend. The Ghost-Maker, living up to his moniker, immediately shoots Jungo dead. This leads to a fistfight between the Ghost-Maker and Bruce. The Ghost-Maker kayos Bruce and departs, leaving him heartbroken, friendless, and alone. (A flashback from Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 #2 also details this entire Luka Jungo training session. A flashback from Batman Vol. 3 #104 shows what is supposed to be the friend-ending fight between Bruce and the Ghost-Maker, but it has some errors that were spawned thanks to retcons from Batman: The Knight. First off, the flashback from Batman Vol. 3 #104 seems to be attached to their earlier Kirigi training, which obviously cannot be the case. Furthermore, Bruce’s future narration in regard to this break-up states that the Ghost-Maker turns on Bruce upon learning he is driven by the loss of family instead a thirst for power. While this difference is definitely a major factor in their divide and separation, Bruce has already shared his values with the Ghost-Maker a while ago, so it’s definitely not a new revelation to the latter.)
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 Annual #2 Part 2, Justice League Vol. 3 #38, Batman Vol. 3 #75, and Batman Vol. 3 #81. Mid April to August. Bruce travels to a snowy remote wilderness (likely the Himalayas) to train with a master called The Memory of the Mountain, learning to encode his own senses onto his mind. (Writer Tom King has an elderly Bruce say he was sixteen when he trained with the Memory of the Mountain for a full year, but this contradicts Batman: The Knight. The youngest Bruce can be at this juncture is eighteen-going-on-nineteen. And it won’t be close to a full year—more like four months.) During this tenure with the Memory of the Mountain, Bruce will often steal cigarettes for his chain-smoking master, learning how to disguise himself in order to do so. Justice League Vol. 3 #38 makes mention that Batman can withstand/ignore intense pain or temperature via sheer will power and state of mind. It is likely that Bruce first learns this trick with the Memory of the Mountain. It is also likely that he will enhance this ability through training for the rest of his life. Batman Vol. 3 #81 also implies that the Memory of the Mountain teaches Bruce the secret “language of combat,” wherein which one can communicate or send messages via fighting. Eventually, Bruce finishes his training with the Memory of the Mountain, having now exceeded his master.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Detective #4, Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #1, Batman Beyond: Neo-Gothic #5, and Poison Ivy #25. In addition to learning how to control his heart rate, Bruce also learns how to control his metabolism, allowing him to block the spread of many types of poison within his own body. Similarly, Bruce learns about various poisons, toxicology, and botany. Bruce also develops a habit of cautiously examining any beverages that he is given, making sure that they haven’t been tainted in any way. He will do this for decades to come, even around those that close to him.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #15-16—and referenced in Batman: The Knight #7 and Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #14-16. Bruce—under the pseudonym “Young Jack”—briefly trains in London with retired Scotland Yard detective Atticus Blye. Blye, Bruce, and other students (including Katherine Lautrec) deal with the serial killer known as Memento, whose MO is to re-create death scenes from history. The Memento murders quickly become a worldwide news story. While studying the scene of some murders, Blye reveals that Memento had dosed his victims with a rare hallucinogenic drug called Gravedigger’s Poppy, which was first synthesized by Gotham cult leader Nicodemus Crowe a hundred years prior. Bruce learns all about the drug. Evenually, Memento is arrested and jailed. Soon after, the serial killer dies in prison, although there are many that doubt his actual fate, delving into various conspiracy theories. (In Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #15, Bruce says, “I studied in London for a short while after my parents died. I wasn’t much older than [a 16-year-old Damian].” This dialogue makes it potentially seem like Bruce’s London stint should go earlier, but, since the verbiage is still fairly open to interpretation and Batman: The Knight #7 implies that London goes after Moscow, I’ve placed the London jaunt here. Also, writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson is clearly filling in the London gap from Batman: The Knight with this Memento story. Batman: The Knight artist Carmine Di Giandomenico even does the art for the Memento flashbacks.)
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #104. Bruce briefly trains in boxing with former world heavyweight champion and current costumed-vigilante Wildcat (Ted Grant). Wildcat is also a member of the Justice Society of America (JSA), a team of semi-immortal superheroes that has existed since the 1940s.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #139—originally told in Detective Comics #226 and Detective Comics Annual #2. Bruce travels to Huntsville, Alabama to briefly train with famous detective Harvey Harris.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Beyond: Neo-Year #3. Gotham suffers a large earthquake. It’s unknown if Bruce returns home to help out, but it’s entirely likely. Note that this reference (writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing mentioning Gotham’s “Earthquake of 1999”) is probably meant to be a cute nod at the “Cataclysm” and “No Man’s Land” story arcs, published in 1998-1999. Of course, in our current continuity, these arcs happened much later than that. As such, we must simple assume that there was another earthquake in 1999.
–REFERENCE: In Task Force Z #4. Bruce learns the art of forgery and familiarizes himself with signatures of high-ranking government officials.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Urban Legends #19 Part 5. Bruce begins studying zoology, in which he will naturally eventually become an expert.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #11 Part 5. Bruce begins studying pathology and virology.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Urban Legends #21 Part 4. Bruce begins studying clinical psychiatry.
–REFERENCE: In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #18. Bruce begins studying dialectology.
–FLASHBACK: From Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU #5. Bruce begins martial arts training that involves kicking through fully grown trees.
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2000
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #996. Bruce travels to Gila, New Mexico to learn the art of escapology with costumed-showman and master escape artist Mr. Miracle (Thaddeus Brown). Bruce will remain friends with Brown for the rest of his life.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #7. Bruce trains in Istanbul.
–Batman: The Knight #7
Bruce travels to New York City to visit the Zataras. John and Zatanna have moved to NYC following the recent death of Sindella (John’s wife and Zatanna’s mom). John has stopped touring as a stage magician and has taken to heavy drinking. Upon arrival, Bruce asks if he can train with John in escapology. Bruce catches up with John and shows him how skilled he already is at escapology, freeing himself from an underwater deathtrap while simultaneously breaking a record for holding one’s breath. Bruce (although still only nineteen-years-old) and John hit up a bar, with an abstemious Bruce secretly chugging ginger-ale instead of booze. (Bruce will use this fake-drunk dissipation act for decades to come.) An excited Zatanna then goes on a date with Bruce. Zatanna scolds him for ignoring her calls for the past few years. Bruce shows Zatanna that his sleight of hand tricks have improved a little bit. While walking the city streets, Bruce and Zatanna come across a dead body that is glowing with demonic energy. The duo returns to John to find him drunkenly fending off a pesky demon called Shantoz, who emits the very same energy. Bruce is shocked to learn that magick is actually real! Bruce tells the Zataras of his life’s mission, demanding to learn the art of magick from them. Soon afterward, Bruce steals a book entitled Speaking to the Dead from Zatanna’s library. Bruce quietly ruminates about how he hasn’t let anyone into his life the way he has with Zatanna, at least not since the Ghost-Maker. Zatanna and Bruce then conduct a special occult ritual, using Bruce as bait for Shantoz. (As per reference in Harley Quinn Vol. 4 #29, moving forward, Bruce will conduct many occult rituals in his life, most of which will require a sacrifice—something material, physical, emotional, or spiritual. We’ll definitely see some of these rituals on our timeline, but we’ll also have to imagine some of them happening sporadically, attached to non-specific/non-listed cases.) Sure enough, following the ritual, Shantoz arrives to challenge Bruce. John arrives just in time to send the demon back to Hell. John decides to get sober and accepts a residency in Las Vegas. As the Zataras prepare for their move out West, Bruce tells them he will be continuing his training elsewhere. Bruce and Zatanna profess their love to one another before parting ways. Bruce then meets up with John, returning Speaking to the Dead to him. John tells Bruce stories about his parents.
–REFERENCE: In Superman Vol. 4 #25, Nightwing Vol. 4 #24, and Robins #4. Bruce learns how to use a variety of weapons, including boomerangs, shurikens, and slings. Bruce also begins teaching himself to use his surroundings to his advantage while in combat—to use any item within reach as a weapon.
–REFERENCE: In The Batman Who Laughs #2. While training abroad in an unknown location, Bruce hears the locals cite the heart as the location where happiness is located. While he won’t take much note of it now, Bruce, in his travels, will eventually be struck by how many different cultures cite something similar in regard to the heart and happiness.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Secret Files #1 Part 4. While training abroad, Bruce learns hunting skills, tracking skills, and archery.
–REFERENCE: In All-Star Batman #10-11, Detective Comics #958-959, Detective Comics #978, Detective Comics #1024, Nightwing Vol. 4 #24, Dark Days: The Forge #1, Superman Vol. 4 #37, Trinity Vol. 2 #14-15, Deathstroke Vol. 4 #34-35, Harley Quinn 25th Anniversary Special #1 Part 4, Harley Quinn Vol. 3 #57, Heroes in Crisis #2, The Batman Who Laughs #7, Detective Comics Annual #3 (2020) Part 1, Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point #1, Detective Comics #1066, Batman Vol. 3 #130, and Batman: Dark Patterns #1. Already an autodidactic polymath, Bruce begins studying all forms of science—from chemistry, pharmacognosy, and pharmacology to geophysics, biology, and medicine (and pretty much everything else imaginable). He will study all sciences for the rest of his life, eventually becoming a doyen in multiple fields. Relatedly, Bruce learns emergency first aid, begins studying and all there is to know about the human anatomy, and even learns how to do both basic and speciality surgical procedures. Bruce begins studying explosives engineering and how to defuse all manner of bombs. Also relatedly, Bruce begins learning physics, petrophysics, astrophysics, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, robotics, data systems analysis, code-breaking, hacking, carpentry, construction, architecture, industrial design, modern and historic hoplology, addiction science, and auto mechanics—just to name a few! Bruce will keep up-to-date on all these topics for the rest of his life.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #80 and Black Adam #5. In addition to the sciences, Bruce begins what will become a deep-dive lifelong study of the arts, including philosophy and history.
–REFERENCE: In Nightwing Vol. 4 #24, Heroes in Crisis #2, Detective Comics #994, and Detective Comics #1000 Part 1. Bruce begins studying the advanced jurisprudence, police methodology, and fingerprinting. Already well-versed in human anatomy, medicine, and various surgical procedures, Bruce begins learning how to conduct autopsies. He will obsessively study his parents’ murders for years to come.
–REFERENCE: In Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2 and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #2. Bruce, already studying various scholarly pursuits, adds Chinese history, Chinese archeology, and Chinese mythology to his curriculum vitae. He will study these interests for his entire life.
–REFERENCE: In Justice League of America Vol. 5 #8 and Superman Vol. 4 #25. Batman begins studying body language and facial micro-expressions, learning the ability to “read” someone to tell if they are lying or not.
–REFERENCE: In All-Star Batman #12, Dark Nights: Metal #1, and Trinity Vol. 2 #17. Bruce studies military personnel, materiel, and tactics, familiarizing himself with all types of naval, land, and air methods of warfare. He also studies military history from all throughout time and all over the world. As part of his education, Bruce visits at least one aviation museum.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1028. Bruce learns how to read lips.
–REFERENCE: In Dark Days: The Forge #1. Bruce, while training abroad, meets and befriends tech-savvy businessman Lucius Fox. Note that—as per reference in I am Batman #17—Lucius currently works for Wayne Enterprises, where he has worked for the past ten years.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #53. Having now achieved Olympic-level athleticism, Bruce continues his gymnastics training. He also travels to an unknown locale (likely Northern Europe, the Himalayas, North Korea, Patagonia, Canada, or the North Atlantic) to practice some of the most dangerous ice climbing on the planet.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #959-961—and referenced in Detective Comics #959-960, Trinity Vol. 2 #17, and Justice League Dark Vol. 2 #12. Bruce travels to Las Vegas to see the Zataras. In Vegas, Bruce again asks the Zataras to train him in the art of magick. Despite knowing full well that magick is real, Bruce has only had one prior experience with it (with the Zataras, as seen in Batman: The Knight #7) and still claims that he “doesn’t even really believe.” Okay, Bruce, whatever.[22] John Zatara tells Bruce that he must master the minor tricks of prestidigitation before he can learn magick proper. Bruce immediately begins studying, but he is terrible even at the rudiments. While practicing sleight of hand, Bruce chats with a seventeen-year-old Zatanna. (Zatanna says she was seventeen in Detective Comics #960, but she contradicts herself and says fifteen in Detective Comics #961. Since Bruce is twenty-years-old and both he and Zatanna are relatively close in age, let’s go with seventeen—soon to be eighteen—for the latter’s age. In any case, it’s hard for me to recall my teenage years with clarity too.) Despite Zatanna’s guidance, Bruce is unable to master legerdemain. Later, Zatanna takes Bruce through a portal and gives Bruce a tour of her father’s magick collection. She performs some spells before showing him the ancient Gnosis Sphere (aka “The God Machine”), with which one can communicate with the dead or obtain answers to unanswerable questions. Bruce is curious, but he and Zatanna are interrupted by a returning John, who is in the middle of a meeting with Ra’s al Ghul, who is trying to recruit him into the League of Assassins! An angry John scolds Zatanna for showing Bruce the dangerous Gnosis Sphere. John then immediately mind-wipes Bruce, making him forget he ever saw it! On the way out, a dazed and confused Bruce accidentally bumps into Ra’s al Ghul, although they are not introduced and Bruce takes no real notice of him. Ultimately, Bruce studies with the Zataras for a bit, but he never masters the true art of magick. The main knowledge Bruce obtains from this venture is learning about a few simple items that can ward off certain dark spells. Notably, Bruce asks John deep questions about the power of magick, learning to fear what magick could do to the universe if fully unleashed.
–FLASHBACK: From Superman Vol. 6 #16—and referenced in Superman Vol. 6 #16. Bruce continues training with the Zataras, during which time Bruce teaches Zatanna some martial arts.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #104. Bruce continues training with the Zataras. John Zatara teaches Bruce more about the art of escapology.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #998, Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight #1, and Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #13 Part 4. Bruce continues training with the Zataras. He adopts the mantra “criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot,” which he will keep firmly in mind for the rest of his life. While wrapping-up his training with the Zataras, Bruce is told about the ancient demon Etrigan, who has a symbiotic relationship and is bonded with the immortal mage, Jason Blood. After leaving the Zataras, Bruce immediately seeks out Jason Blood, finding him at his curio shop. Jason continues Bruce’s schooling on the occult, although Bruce never meets Jason’s demonic alter ego. Bruce learns all about demonology, magick sigils, fear tactics, pseudo-science, and more.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: Urban Legends #11 Part 1, Batman: Urban Legends #14 Part 1, and Batman: Urban Legends #16 Part 1—and referenced in Batman: Urban Legends #12 Part 1, Batman: Urban Legends #15 Part 1, and Batman: The Knight #7. Bruce continues training with the Zataras. Bruce’s on-again-off-again romance with Zatanna blossoms into something even more serious than before. Bruce and Zatanna perform a bonding spell, which is meant to mentally connect the couple. The ritual works, causing them to telepathically link. However, it also alters a ley line, opening a dark gateway into the spirit realm, through which evil forces attempt to emerge. Bruce and Zatanna are barely able to close the portal. Afterward, Bruce and Zatanna come up with a special shared code word, “reviver,” which is supposed to signal to the other that they must stop, listen, and help, no matter what. Zatanna also reveals that, for their grave error, she and Bruce will have to join together every few years to perform an occult ritual to keep the demons at bay. Due to the nature of the ritual, Bruce and Zatanna will feel each other’s emotions for the next few months. Uncomfortable with this shared feeling, Bruce ends his training with the Zataras. (Every time Bruce and Zatanna will conduct their ritual in the future, they will go through this months-long shared emotional connection, during which time an uncomfortable Bruce will always distance himself from her.) Bruce begins studying how to fix their occult error, and he will do so in vain for decades to come. For the rest of his life, Bruce will regard magick very negatively. Moving forward, Bruce’s relationship with Zatanna will also suffer because of this.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: The Knight #8. While training in Metropolis, Bruce is attacked by the Ghost-Maker, who debuts a flashy new outfit, complete with a mask directly modeled off of a mask worn by Skyspider. Bruce hasn’t met Skyspider yet, but he will also train with her down the road. Note that, according to Batman’s dialogue in Batman Vol. 3 #103, the Ghost-Maker is unable to defeat Bruce in direct combat once the latter turns twenty, meaning (if we take his words at face value) that the Ghost-Maker won’t get the better of Bruce moving forward. Also note that Batman: The Knight #8 implies Bruce will have subsequent clashes with the Ghost-Maker in Dublin, Metrolopis, and Morocco (in that order). However, thanks to references and flashbacks in other comics, the order (as reflected on our timeline ahead) will actually be Metropolis, then, Morocco, then Dublin.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: The Knight #8—and referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #102 and Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 #2. Bruce trains in Morocco with a master named Ouahbi, learning that the Ghost-Maker has recently studied under him as well. Ouahbi quickly stopped teaching the Ghost-Maker upon learning of his psychopathic tendencies. The Ghost-Maker returns and gets in a confrontation with Ouahbi, who attacks him. Acting in self-defense, the Ghost-Maker kills Ouahbi, who dies in Bruce’s arms. (The details of this item are sketchy and vague. It’s highly unlikely that Bruce and the Ghost-Maker had put aside differences and were training under Ouahbi together, so we must assume that Ouahbi was training both men at the same general time but separately.) Bruce vows to avenge Ouabi.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #102 and Batman: The Knight #8—and referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #100 Epilogue and Batman Vol. 3 #103. Shortly following Ouahbi’s murder, Bruce travels to Dublin, Ireland with hopes of learning knife-play and combat knife-fighting from wanted killer Tommy Tivane. In Dublin, the Ghost-Maker interrupts Bruce’s plans. An annoyed Tivane disparagingly refers to Bruce and the Ghost-Maker as teenagers. (While the Ghost-Maker is seventeen-years-old, Bruce is actually twenty.) Bruce and the Ghost-Maker share heated words about Ouahbi’s murder, which leads to another rough brawl between the two.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #103. September 21—the anniversary of the deaths of Bruce’s parents. Bruce trains with the Desert Kings in the Gobi Desert. While wandering through the sands, Bruce pauses to silently meditate on his own. While doing so, he is approached by his rival, the Ghost-Maker, who reveals that he also trained with the Desert Kings the prior summer. Bruce and the Ghost-Maker sword-duel, with Bruce getting the better of his opponent. Ironically, Bruce tells the Ghost-Maker that he won’t need a secret identity or mask to wage war against crime once he returns to Gotham. Ha!
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1000 Part 6. Bruce travels to the Himalayas to continue his training. While in Lhasa, Tibet, Bruce is mugged by some kids that are League of Assassins trainees, including Tan Lujun. They beat him up and steal his wallet.
–REFERENCE: In the second feature to Batman Vol. 3 #122 and Batman: Killing Time #3. Bruce trains in combat under David Cain aka David Kane. Bruce leaves after discovering that his teacher wants him to become a killer.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1027 Part 1 and Knight Terrors: Batman #1. Bruce travels to the hidden city of Nanda Parbat in the Himalayas. There he trains with monks and yogi masters, learning breathing techniques and how to control his heart rate. Bruce learns how to slow his heart rate so that he appears to be dead. Bruce also studies in the caves of Nanda Parbat, learning how to isolate his fears.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Black and White Vol. 5 #5 Part 5 and Batman Vol. 3 #125 Intro. Possibly linked to the previous item, Bruce learns various deep meditation techniques, which he will employ for the rest of his life. Bruce also learns to control his dreams and how to lucid dream. (He will later claim that he only dreams when he chooses to, usually doing so to help solve mysteries or problems. While it’s true that Bruce will often control his subconscious via lucid dreams moving forward, it’s a straight up lie that he only has dreams that are under his direct control.) We must also imagine Bruce lucid dreaming sprinkled throughout our chronology ahead for decades to come.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Killing Time #3. Bruce trains with kung fu master Richard Dragon.
–REFERENCE: In Doomsday Clock #5—originally told in Batman Confidential #50-54. Bruce trains in China, where he trails serial killer Huairen. The killer fatally wounds Bruce, but he’s saved by a metahuman named Ri. Bruce joins Ri’s super-team known as The Zhuguan, which features other members Guanxi, Dao, and Sudu. As a member of the Zhuguan, Bruce drinks from a magickal elixir that grants him temporary invisibility powers. Calling himself “Hei An Wushuh” (aka “The Dark Knight”), Bruce helps take down Huairen.
–REFERENCE: In Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 #6 (Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 Print Edition #3). Bruce (likely in China) trains in So Chan’s drunken boxing and fa jin.
–REFERENCE: In the second feature to Batman Vol. 3 #122—originally told in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #52-53 and Batman: Shadow of the Bat #0. Bruce travels to the Tangula Shan Mountains near the border of China and Tibet to learn the secrets of Taoism (and hang-gliding) under the Chinese monk-priestess Shao-La. Bruce helps Shao-La deal with her rivals H’sein Tsan (aka H’sein-Tan) and Dragon, after which Bruce trains in martial arts with H’sein Tsan and Dragon.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #139—originally told in the second feature to Batman Vol. 2 #22. In Afghanistan, Bruce begins training with Russian escape artist and military inventor Sergei Alexandrov. Bruce’s training with Alexandrov ends in Giza, Egypt.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #124—and referenced in Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Spectacular Part 1 and Absolute Power: Origins #1. International headlines are made when Joe Chill, the man who killed Bruce’s parents, is arrested and confesses to having killed the Waynes as a solo act. Chill winds up in Blackgate Penitentiary. While the homicidal mugging is legitimately not connected to any greater conspiracy or mob activity, many believe the opposite to be true and even consider the case to still be open.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman 2022 Annual. A masked Bruce fights masked bank robbers in Spain. He is joined by his ex-friend and current rival, the Ghost-Maker. Bruce calls the Ghost-Maker by his real name “Khoa.” As usual, they argue about crimefighting methodology while competitively taking down the robbers.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #140 and Outsiders Vol. 5 #3. While Bruce doesn’t have eidetic memory, he does begin training his mind in order to have stronger than normal recall ability. As a part of this ongoing training (which will last for his entire lifetime), Bruce envisions a “memory palace”—a series of visuals tied to memories of familiar settings, mostly Wayne Manor when he was a child. This “memory palace” will grow and mutate over the many years to come, helping Bruce to remember things more clearly while working investigations.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #8, Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 #1, and Batman Vol. 3 #139—originally told in the second feature to Batman Vol. 2 #21. Bruce trains in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, learning to drive with stuntman Don Miguel. While driving, the Ghost-Maker cuts Bruce’s brake lines.
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2001
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #8. Bruce trains in Mexico. While Bruce fights jaguars, the Ghost-Maker doses him with psilocybin.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 #1 and Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 #3. Bruce trains in the jungles of Suriname with Frank Oates.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 #1. Bruce returns to Hedley, British Columbia, Canada to learn how to makes explosives and smoke bombs from Dr. Shannon Lentz.
–REFERENCE: In Batman vs Robin #4 and Batman Vol. 3 #139. Bruce begins training in Muay Thai, likely in Thailand.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #139. In Bhutran, Bruce studies with the venerable Rhana Bhutra.
–REFERENCE: In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #6. Bruce begins training in trapeze and aerial arts. He will do so for years to come.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 #1—originally told in the second feature to Batman Vol. 2 #23. Bruce travels north of Harstad, Norway to train with a “death cult fight club” led by a warrior woman known as The Queen.
–REFERENCE: In Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight #1 and Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight #3. Presumably while still in the Scandinavian region, Bruce meets the Norse demigod Santa Claus aka Kris Kringle and his magickal reindeer—Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, and Cupid. (Dunder and Blixem are never shown or referenced.) Bruce trains with Santa Claus and goes on a few short adventures with him.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #9 Part 2. Bruce travels to Bialya where he learns how to synthesize special herbal healing serums using local graveolens. He will carry these serums with him at all times for the duration of his training time abroad.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: The Knight #8. Bruce travels to Joshimath, India where he studies body-healing meditation. Under the tutelage of master Baba Tomar, Bruce achieves total serenity.
–Batman: The Knight #8
Bruce travels to Shanghai, China to train with a masked stuntwoman named Qui, who goes by the moniker Skyspider. She teaches Bruce how to effortlessly scale tall buildings and swing from rooftop to rooftop using grappling guns and wires. As they practice their technique, the Ghost-Maker cuts Bruce’s line, nearly killing him. Qui tells Bruce that she has recently trained a man named Anton (the Ghost-Maker). Bruce realizes that the Ghost-Maker has directly modeled his mask off of Skyspider’s. Shortly thereafter, Bruce reads a paper about how to reshape the human mind by “nomadic academic” and supposed world’s smartest man, Dr. Daniel Captio. Hoping that Captio will be his final teacher, Bruce visits him at his isolated castle in an undisclosed location. Captio offers to teach Bruce how to become a scary “dark knight”—a perfect stone cold weapon against any foe. Meditation training begins immediately, and in less than two weeks, Bruce learns to block out most pain and makes significant gains in being able to rewrite his own emotions at will. (As referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #143 and shown via flashback from Batman Vol. 3 #146 and Batman Vol. 3 #148, Captio also teaches Bruce how to create sub-conscious alter-personas, although Bruce decides not to actually create them at this time. Captio also secretly implants into Bruce’s psyche the post-hypnotic trigger word “arkho tenenbrous,” which will not only summon to the surface any future dominant alternate persona that Bruce may have within his mind, but also cause said persona to stop at nothing to seek out and protect Captio himself. Captio also secretly implants into Bruce’s psyche the post-hypnotic trigger word “vespertilio expergiscimini,” which will cause Bruce to seize up.) Shortly thereafter, Bruce’s training ends with one final mind game. To see how he will react, Captio shows Bruce photos of a murdered Alfred and Dana Dunlop. The photos are fake, but Bruce can’t tell and goes into a panic. This final test, however, is interrupted. The Ghost-Maker, badly injured, enters the room, warning Bruce that a killer assassin has wounded him and is coming for him next. Outside Captio’s castle, the assassin in question—Harris Zuma aka The Still—attacks Bruce. They fight on the rainswept cliffs with Bruce eventually gaining the upper hand. The Still tells Bruce that he was sent by his master Ra’s al Ghul to test both he and the Ghost-Maker. Satisfied, the Still invites Bruce and the Ghost-Maker to train with Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins in the Crystal Hills outside of Abu Dhabi. After the Still leaves, Bruce returns to the castle to punch Captio in the face and give medical attention to the Ghost-Maker. (This scene is also shown via flashback from Batman Vol. 3 #143.) In the morning, Bruce and the Ghost-Maker form a truce and depart for Abu Dhabi together.
–Batman: The Knight #9 Part 1
Picking up directly from Batman: The Knight #8, Bruce and the Ghost-Maker do some research about the United Arab Emirates. After shaking down some folks in the city, the boys head into the desert in search of Ra’s al Ghul. Progress is stalled when their sabotaged jeep explodes, leaving them to camp in the middle of the barren wasteland. Half a day’s hike later, Bruce and the Ghost-Maker enter the den of the League of Assassins—a self-sustaining eco-palace known as Lazarus City. Ra’s al Ghul greets the visitors, introducing them to his daughter, the beautiful and intelligent Talia al Ghul.[23] (Ra’s al Ghul, also known as “The Demon’s Head,” desires to cleanse the planet using any eco-fascistic means necessary. He has stayed alive for centuries due to the life-extending powers of bathing in the magickal Lazarus Pits. Lazarus Pit liquid also has the dangerous tendency to imbue people with rage and lust for power. Ra’s al Ghul has long dominated the global underworld by using an army of ninja assassins, evil scientists, and cult-like followers.) Bruce and the Ghost-Maker accept Ra’s al Ghul’s invitation to train with the League of Assassins. Talia shows them to their quarters, referring to them as “twenty-somethings.” Bruce is twenty-one-years-old, but the Ghost-Maker is only nineteen-years-old. Training begins immediately with both Ra’s al Ghul and Talia as teachers. (As referenced in Detective Comics #1064, Bruce learns that Talia’s personal symbol/crest is the image of a jackal’s head.) Training continues for several weeks. (Bruce’s training with Ra’s al Ghul is also referenced in Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #11.)
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: Killing Time #4. This item is said to occur seven years prior to Batman: Killing Time #4 (although, Killing Time #3 says five years prior). However, both five years and seven years are incorrect as this flashback actually occurs only three years prior.[24] Picking up directly from Batman: The Knight #9 Part 1, Bruce and the Ghost-Maker continue training with Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins, moving from the Arabian desert to the Himalayas. Ra’s al Ghul continues to be impressed by Bruce’s talent and skill, deeming him worthy of being his heir. While fighting against multiple opponents, Bruce is viewed by Ra’s al Ghul and The Help, who is visiting for a brief spell. Bruce does not meet the latter. (The Help is a legendary assassin and cleaner, now 70-years-old but still one of the deadliest men on the planet. As one of Ra’s al Ghul’s biological children, the Help was once considered by Ra’s al Ghul to be his top student and heir, but he left the fold long ago. The Help himself has trained Henri Ducard, Ted Grant, Richard Dragon, and David Cain. Recently, the Help trained a twelve-year-old Dinah Drake.)
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: Killing Time #3. This item is said to occur five years prior to Batman: Killing Time #3 (although, Killing Time #4 says seven years prior). However, both five years and seven years are incorrect as this flashback actually occurs only three years prior. This flashback also says that it is February, but we should also ignore that specificity. Picking up shortly after the flashback from Batman: Killing Time #4, Bruce and the Ghost-Maker continue training with the League of Assassins in the Himalayas, although Bruce has become a bit weary of his mentor. Ra’s al Ghul and Bruce train one-on-one, dueling with swords. As they swashbuckle, Ra’s al Ghul tells Bruce he knows that he will soon leave him. Bruce denies it. Later, Ra’s al Ghul gifts Bruce one of his most prized possessions—the mystic Eye of Athena (now known as the Eye of Christ), a small stone artifact that dates back to Ancient Greece. Ra’s al Ghul obtained this item in 1873.
–Batman: The Knight #9 Part 2
Picking up directly from the prior Batman: Killing Time #3 flashback, Bruce and the Ghost-Maker return to Lazarus City in the Crystal Hills of the Arabian desert, continuing one more week of training with Ra’s al Ghul, who begins calling Bruce the “chosen one.” Ra’s al Ghul and Bruce again duel with swords, with the former stabbing the latter in his side. Ra’s al Ghul and Talia are surprised to witness an unfazed Bruce heal his wound with special herbs and then stitch himself up. Afterward, Talia checks in on Bruce, flirting with him. Later, the Ghost-Maker spies on the League of Assassins arsenal, which includes several WMDs. Later still, Ra’s al Ghul orders Bruce to fight the Ghost-Maker to the death, with the winner set to receive the prize of replacing the Still as Ra’s al Ghul’s new second in command.
–Batman: The Knight #10 Part 1
Picking up directly from Batman: The Knight #9 Part 2, Bruce and the Ghost-Maker fight one another for the right to replace the Still as Ra’s al Ghul’s new second in command. Bruce defeats the Ghost-Maker, who secretly tells him about the League of Assassins stockpile of WMDs. Ra’s al Ghul renames the victorious Bruce “The Demon’s Heart.” Bruce swears an oath to Ra’s al Ghul, but it’s a ruse. Bruce’s new plan, having heard about the WMDs, is to bring down the League of Assassins from within. Unaware of his scheme, Talia continues to shower Bruce with romantic affection. Meanwhile, the Still and the Ghost-Maker leave the Crystal Hills. Bruce spends a few nights sabotaging the missiles. After another one-on-one sparring session, Ra’s al Ghul shows Bruce his arsenal, telling him that he will use it to create other Lazarus Cities around the globe. Bruce shocks his master by destroying the arsenal and burning down the entire Crystal Hills compound. Ra’s al Ghul and Bruce do battle once more, but Talia interrupts, stabbing Bruce in through the chest. The Ghost-Maker returns to save Bruce, leaving him on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: Killing Time #3. This item is said to occur five years prior to Batman: Killing Time #3 (although, Killing Time #4 says seven years prior). However, both five years and seven years are incorrect as this flashback actually occurs only two years prior. This flashback also says that it is February 18, but we should also ignore that specificity. One week has passed since the flashback from Batman: Killing Time #4. Picking up directly from Batman: The Knight #10 Part 1, having left Ra’s al Ghul, Talia, and the Ghost-Maker behind, Bruce travels East. On a snowy hillside, Bruce considers throwing away the Eye of Christ but ultimately keeps it.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #139—originally told in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1-5 (“SHAMAN”). Bruce travels to Alaska to train with bounty hunter/survivalist Willy Doggett. While Bruce and Doggett track the killer Thomas Woodley, Doggett is murdered and Bruce is rescued by members of a native tribe.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 3 #105 and DC: Love is a Battlefield #1 Part 1. Bruce makes one final stop in Argentina to complete his training. Presumably, amidst his brief training, Bruce also learns how to tango and ballroom dance.[25] Afterward, Bruce charters a flight with plans to return to Gotham. At the airport, Bruce is approached by his frenemy, the Ghost-Maker, who tells him he isn’t ready to wage a war against crime. The Ghost-Maker tries to sell Bruce on the idea of joining him and continuing their training, after which they can take down international crime. But their ideals are completely different. Bruce rejects the Ghost-Maker’s offer, telling him that he never wants to see him again.
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<<< Rebirth Era Intro <<< ||| >>> Rebirth Era Year 1 >>>
- [1]COLLIN COLSHER: Some very important rules before we get going with the Rebirth Era chronology. As before, flashbacks are included in a specific way. If a flashback is first revealed—let’s say in Bat Year 15, hypothetically—the flashback may or may not be mentioned in Bat Year 15, but the actual events that occur in said flashback will be placed one the timeline exactly when they originally occurred through bullets listed as “flashback.” Similarly, story references will be listed as unnumbered bullet “references.” Therefore, any “references” or “flashbacks” occur chronologically at the spot where they are situated on the timeline. Any character names (or group names) highlighted in red denote the first appearance of a reoccurring character (or group). Some of these red items may appear only once in the Bat-verse but appear elsewhere throughout the DCU, which is why they have been highlighted as well.
One more thing. As stated elsewhere on the website, just about everyone eats, shits, sleeps, brushes their teeth, watches TV, goes to the office, schedules appointments in advance, and celebrates birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions. Believe it or not, Batman does all these things too. He’s human just like you and me! However, this kind of mundane everyday stuff won’t be on our timeline. Usually, anyway.↩
- [2]COLLIN COLSHER: What is the rule when it comes to addressing retcons while building our timeline? Can narrative be canonized piecemeal from within a single comic? And how do we know a retcon when we see one? My timeline-building methodology doesn’t generally involve picking and choosing pieces of individual comics. Typically, a full issue is either canon or it isn’t. The only time pieces of a single comic get added are via reference (or the occasional dreaded out-and-out retcon). It’s up to the reader to make things fit into the greater puzzle—either by fanwank or caveat citing a retcon/irreconcilable difference. It’s certainly not inch-perfect science—and I’m sure I break my own rules every now and again. But I really try not to. Later issues can retcon pieces of prior issues i.e. the Modern Age example of The Man Who Laughs (2005) retconning the end of Miller’s “Year One” (1987). But prior issues trumping later issues doesn’t usually happen. An exception to this rule would apply to retcons from later published material that is quasi-canonical in nature i.e. supplemental material, novelizations, or other opuscula. Here’s the big thing to remember: Not everything contradictory that is written later is meant to be a retcon. Some writers simply make mistakes! It’s up to the reader to determine what is a retcon versus what is a continuity error. In this way, we have a loophole to all of our aforementioned edicts. It’s an exacting process determining what is or isn’t a retcon, and, as said before, it certainly isn’t a precise science with hard rules. Thus, we get caveats that say what needs to be ignored. Honestly, the continuity game is a mug’s game. As stated above, the idea is simply to come up with the best (most sensible) reading order. In my practice, I’ve tried to do this while simultaneously providing detailed explanations into my thinking.↩
- [3]COLLIN COLSHER: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight was a long-running Modern Age series featuring a mix of in-continuity and out-of-continuity tales. Legends of the Dark Knight (sans Batman in the title) was a non-canon New 52 series that consisted of 88 digital format stories that were released from 2012 through 2015. (The first 24 stories of the New 52’s Legends of the Dark Knight were eventually collected in 12 renumbered print issues.) The Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era’s Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 (now canon) is the second volume of the New 52 series. Like its predecessor, it was originally released in digital format only with subsequent later (re)print (re)releases changing numbering.↩
- [4]COLLIN COLSHER: In Brandon Thomas’ Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 #10 (Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 Print Edition #5) (2021), Batman specifically says that his birthday is October 7. The only other instance of Bruce being born in October comes from The Batman, an animated series that ran from 2004 to 2008. It’s possible that Thomas is referencing this. The only other mention of Bruce’s birthday in any Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era comic comes from Tom King’s Wonder Woman Vol. 6 #7 (2024), which tells us he was born in February. Bruce being born in February reflects his classic birth month from the Silver/Bronze Age and Modern Age. Not only does this hold more weight than a reference to a short-lived animated show, but King also certainly holds more weight as an architect of the mythos than Thomas. As such, February is Bruce’s official birth month.↩
- [5]COLLIN COLSHER: Depending on the chronology to which you subscribe, the ages of DC’s characters will fluctuate and don’t hold fast to an exact mathematical science, especially since there are so many contradictory references and time gets retconned so much in the comics. Age tends to be the most subjective part of canon, with many characters—especially younger ones—having a wide range of possible birth years as opposed to one solidly definitive birthday. Despite this, the Batman Chronology Project prides itself on building timelines while keeping the aging of characters specifically in mind. There are plenty of online chronologies that are mere reading orders—and then there are chronologies (like this one) that take into account seasons, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays (i.e. undeniable markers of the passage of time). Doing this—especially for many characters all at once across a serialized shared universe written by many authors—is a challenge, but it remains at the heart of the Batman Chronology Project. Therefore, with confidence, the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era birth-years of major players are as follows:
Bruce Wayne – born in 1980
Alfred Pennyworth – born around 1958
Jim Gordon – born around 1970
Selina Kyle – born in 1983
Dick Grayson – born in 1990
Helena Bertinelli – born around 1990
Barbara Gordon – born in 1991
Bette Kane – born in 1992
Jason Todd – born in the mid 1990s
Tim Drake – born in 1998
Stephanie Brown – born in 1997
Cassie Cain – born in 2002
Talia al Ghul – born in 1986
Kate Kane – born in 1988
Kathy Kane – born in the late 1970s
Damian Wayne – born in 2007↩ - [6]JACK JAMES: Tom King’s Gotham City: Year One (2023) initiates what will be but one of several continuity nightmares, seemingly establishing that Thomas Wayne was born in either 1961 or 1962. This means, if we take Bruce as being born in the 1980 to 1982 range, Thomas would’ve been anywhere from eighteen to twenty-years-old when Bruce was born, which obviously doesn’t make any sense. If we try to make Thomas older when he had Bruce, Bruce would’ve been born in somewhere in the range of 1987 to 1990, which also makes zero sense. Therefore, we have the following options—Gotham City: Year One is not canon, Gotham City: Year One is canon and Bruce is much younger than we currently have him (which feels ridiculous), or Gotham City: Year One is canon but takes place in 1951, not 1961.
COLLIN COLSHER: Retconning Gotham City: Year One to occur in 1951 instead of 1961 feels like the best course of action, especially since thirty years of age is the real world American minimum that someone could conceivably become a surgeon. However, in the world of the DCU, we often see genius people becoming doctors much younger, so that technically gives us another option—a Doogie Howser-esque start to Thomas medical career. If that’s too much to swallow, then Thomas’ birth in the early 60s is surely a mistake, and it should be in the early 50s, or at the very latest, at some point in the mid 1950s.↩
- [7]DEFINITIVEWILLG (WILL GILLIES) / COLLIN COLSHER: Martha Wayne, along with the Kane side Bruce’s family, are Jewish (secular, not orthodox). There are a few articles whizzing about the net regarding the religious affiliation of the Waynes and Kanes, but there’s also a little reference in a story that says Martha made the best Kielbasa in Gotham. So maybe the Kanes could be descended from Polish Jews? It’s certainly an interesting thought, although nothing is ever specifically stated in the comics. While Bruce was raised on his father’s side as an Episcopalian Catholic (according to comicbookreligion.com), technically he could be considered Jewish as well, especially since his Kane relatives (Martha, Jake, Kate, Beth, Philip, and Bette) are all Jewish. Orthodox Judaism practices matrilineal descent and considers it self-evident, holding that anyone with a Jewish mother also has irrevocable Jewish status; that even were such a Jew to convert to another religion, that person would still be considered Jewish by Jewish Law. It’s one of those “from a certain point of view” kinds of things. In any case, as revealed in The Penguin #7 (2024), the Bruce and his parents celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah, so the impact of both Christianity and Judiasm were present in his life.↩
- [8]COLLIN COLSHER: Batman: Lost is canon, featuring Batman having a hallucinatory trip. While most of the story is basically an intense fever dream, it does wink and nod at various points of Bruce’s life. As such, Batman: Lost can and should be used as a reference for various important (and some much less important) events of Bruce’s life. But, due to its aforementioned dreamlike nature, we may not be able to trust all of the nitty-gritty details that can be gleaned from the Batman: Lost. Make of that what you will, moving ahead.↩
- [9]COLLIN COLSHER: As referenced in James Tynion IV’s Justice League Vol. 4 #22, Barbatos (along with Perpetua, Monitor Mar Novu, Anti-Monitor Mobius, and World Forger Alpheus) have lived through all of DC’s reboots. Thus, due to his existence on an untouchable cosmic plane, the same incarnation of Barbatos has been around since the beginning.↩
- [10]COLLIN COLSHER: Note that Geoff Johns’ Batman: Three Jokers is a Black Label title, which generally means that canonicity could go either way. Introduced as a replacement for the defunct Vertigo line in 2018, Black Label’s intention was to exist as a mature/Rated-R (or sometimes NC-17) version of Vertigo or Legends of the Dark Knight, which would feature a mix of in-continuity or out-of-continuity works. With Black Label, creators are not beholden to any continuity. However, DC doesn’t say whether or not a Black Label title is canon or non-canon, so interpretation of the narrative (including and up to seeing how it connects to the timeline) is required to ascertain continuity status. Because Black Label means writers can do whatever they want, put simply, some Black Label books are canon while others are not. Some writers choose to go afield while others stay within the bounds of continuity. Others likely unwittingly stay within the bounds of continuity while not even realizing it. Black Label titles can be non-canon for various reasons, most notably due to clearly taking place on an alternate Earth (Batman: Last Knight on Earth, Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, etc), being a movie tie-in (Riddler: Year One), or because a creator/publisher specifically states that it’s out-of-continuity (Batman/Catwoman, Batman & Joker: The Deadly Duo, etc).
Specifically regarding Three Jokers, this is without-a-doubt the most complicated Black Label title when it comes to continuity. As revealed in a 2024 Popverse interview, Chip Zdarsky (along with editor Ben Abernathy), in their 2023-2024 Batman run, attempted to reference Goeff Johns’ concept of the three Jokers (as introduced in 2016’s Justice League Vol. 2 #50 and reemphasized in DCU Rebirth #1), but not the actual Three Jokers series itself. However, even though Zdarsky technically only references Justice League Vol. 2 #50, in which Batman first learns about the existence of the three Jokers (sans any detail), the level of specificity provided in Batman Vol. 3 #142-144 directly nods to Three Jokers (the series) no matter how you spin it. Plus Justice League Vol. 2 #50 and DCU Rebirth #1 are both New 52 releases, meaning the only legit Rebirth/Infinite Frontier reference to the three Jokers comes from Three Jokers itself. Therefore, Three Jokers should still be canon.
Here is a list of Black Label titles that feature some version of Batman but are non-canon:
–Batman: Damned
–Batman: Last Knight on Earth
–Batman: Curse of the White Knight
–Harleen
–Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity
–Joker: Killer Smile
–Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child
–Wonder Woman: Dead Earth
–Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey
–Batman: The Smile Killer
–Batman/Catwoman
–Batman: Reptilian
–Suicide Squad: Get Joker
–Batman vs Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham
–Batman: The Imposter
–Catwoman: Lonely City
–The Other History of the DC Universe
–Suicide Squad: Blaze
–Riddler: Year One
–Danger Street
–Batman & Joker: The Deadly Duo
–Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham
–The Bat-Man: First Knight
–The Boy Wonder
–Batman: Full Moon
–Zatanna: Bring Down the House
–Plastic Man No More!
↩ - [11]COLLIN COLSHER: In late 2016, Detective Comics returned to its original legacy numbering, ending Vol. 2 and going back to where Vol. 1 left off with ‘tec #934. However, someone at the DC offices didn’t seem to realize that this return to legacy numbering should also have affected the Annuals as well. Thus, instead of returning to where things left off (with Annual #13), they simply did a new Annual #1. This effectively made two versions of ‘tec Annual #1—one released in 1988 and one released in 2018. Originally, I labeled the 2018 Annual #1 as Detective Comics Vol. 3 Annual #1, but there is no Detective Comics Vol. 3, so that’s wrong. Similarly, DC put out a second Annual #2 and second Annual #3 in 2019 and 2020, respectively, doubling the originals from 1989 and 1990. Several other comics websites also reacted to the weird repeat Annuals with confusion or by looking for a fix. The DC Database, for example, lists the new comics as Annual 2018, Annual 2019, and Annual 2020. Since DC lists them as Annual #1, Annual #2, and Annual #3, I’ve done a hybrid of sorts, listing them as Annual #1 (2018), Annual #2 (2019), and Annual #3 (2020).↩
- [12]COLLIN COLSHER: In the New 52, it was implied (although not officially confirmed) that Martha had four siblings—Nathan, Philip, Jacob, and an unnamed fourth person. However, the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era’s Detective Comics #978 strongly implies that Martha has only three siblings, removing that pesky unnamed fourth member of the family. There’s still a lot of debate about this, but most folks online—notably on Reddit—seem to concur that the unnamed sibling has been retconned away.↩
- [13]COLLIN COLSHER: Tom King’s Gotham City: Year One #6 (2023) heavily implies that Slam Bradley is Bruce’s biological grandfather, revealing that he slept with Bruce’s paternal grandmother (Constance Wayne) nine months prior to the birth of Bruce’s dad, Thomas Wayne. King delivers further evidence as well. At the time of Thomas’ conception, Constance is also said to have not been sexually active with her husband (Richard Bruce Wayne), plus she asks Slam to act as father figure to Thomas following Richard’s death. It’s up to your own personal headcanon on how you want to field this major revelation. Don’t forget King’s track record is extremely shaky. King has often said in interviews that he struggles writing continuity comics with other creators. (In truth, he seems to struggle in general, often contradicting his very own other stories.) In an Off Panel podcast interview in 2022, King acknowledged how many of his titles seem slightly (or sometimes majorly) out-of-synch with canon, stating: “I don’t think of any of my books as being out of continuity. I think of them—like [Marvel’s] Daredevil: Born Again [by Frank Miller, 1986]. You do not see Born Again immediately reflected in Avengers. You don’t see Captain America all sad about the flag in Avengers #250 or whatever it was, the next day. But that had happened, right?” Basically, King writes the way he wants to write, with little to no regard for the input of others, previous story points, or prior characterization, with the idea that later creators might canonize some version of his works (if they want to). To say the very least, it’s a very rough, and somewhat selfish, way of writing in a shared universe.↩
- [14]COLLIN COLSHER: Batman Beyond Vol. 8 began publication in 2016, and Batman Beyond Vol. 7 began publication in 2015. According to some sources, the prior two volumes—Vol. 5 and Vol. 6 (2012-2014)—are not official volumes because they collect digital-first material under the series names Batman Beyond Unlimited and Batman Beyond Universe, respectively. Thus, those sources, taking into consideration the alternate series names, list them separately by referring to Vol. 8 as Vol. 7 (and Vol. 7 as Vol. 6) instead. However, I have chosen to regard Unlimited and Universe as Volumes 5 and 6. Correspondingly, the Batman Beyond notes below will start with Volume 8.↩
- [15]COLLIN COLSHER: As stated definitively by creators Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly in Outsiders Vol. 5 #3 (2024), Thomas and Martha Wayne are killed on September 21. The only other Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era comics from which we can glean information regarding the time period of the Wayne murders are Todd McFarlane’s Batman/Spawn (2022), which incorrectly tells us that the Waynes are killed on the 26th (exact month not given), and Thomas Krajewski’s DC’s Spring Breakout! #1 Part 2 (2024), which says the Waynes were killed in springtime. Lanzing and Kelly’s specificity trumps both McFarlane’s and Krajewski’s lack thereof. (In Batman/Spawn, McFarlane seems to misguidedly reference the Silver Age date of the Wayne tragedy, which is June 26th.) Note that any seasonal depictions in any comics that contradict the September 21st date should be ignored. Just like in the New 52, we know for certain that the Waynes were killed at 10:48 PM, as referenced in Tom King’s Batman Vol. 3 #63 (2019).↩
- [16]COLLIN COLSHER: How do we know Bruce’s age when his parents are murdered in the Rebirth Era? First of all, there are two contradictory camps in the DCU—one that thinks Bruce’s folks kicked the bucket when he was eight-years-old and the other that thinks they perished when he was ten-years-old. Here’s the breakdown.
James Tynion’s Detective Comics #943 (a New 52 issue with “Rebirth” trade-dressing released in 2016) tells us that Bruce was eight; Peter Tomasi’s Detective Comics #995 (2019) states outright, via Leslie Thompkins dialogue, that Bruce was eight; Tynion’s Batman Vol. 3 #105 (2021) has Bruce say that his parents died when he was eight; Marc Guggenheim’s Batman: Gotham Nights Vol. 3 #20 (2020) points toward eight by saying that Bruce’s training abroad spanned only five years; Chip Zdarsky’s Batman: The Knight #1 (2022) has straightforward nods toward Bruce having been eight (showing Bruce in his senior year of high school before leaving to train abroad, plus comments by Hugo Strange); Joey Esposito’s Batman: Urban Legends #21 Part 4 (2023) gives a definitive eight; Tom Taylor’s Detective Comics #1090 gives another definitive eight; and the “released by DC and likely meant to be official” but 100% non-canonical DC Book: A Vast and Vibrant Multiverse Simply Explained (2021) by Stephen Wiacek, which also says eight. Scott Snyder’s All-Star Batman #3 (another New 52 issue with “Rebirth” trade-dressing released in 2016) depicts the first meeting of a young Bruce Wayne and young Harvey Dent. This scene occurs shortly after Bruce’s parents have been murdered. The boys are drawn (by John Romita) as if they look to be eight to ten-years-old.
Tom King’s Batman Vol. 3 #35 (2018) implies that he was ten, having Selina Kyle say that Bruce made a vow to avenge his parents at that age. (Emphasis on “implies.” Just because Bruce makes the vow at age ten, doesn’t necessarily mean that his folks didn’t die a couple years earlier.) King’s Batman Vol. 3 #20 (a New 52 issue with “Rebirth” trade-dressing released in 2017) also similarly implies that Bruce was ten at the time. As does King’s Batman Vol. 3 #12 (a New 52 issue with “Rebirth” trade-dressing released in 2017), which reveals that a ten-year-old Bruce attempted suicide at some point following his parents’ passing. King’s Batman Vol. 3 #52 (2018) specifically and unequivocally tells us—straight from Bruce’s mouth—that he was ten when his folks perished. In Batman: Urban Legends #20 Part 4, Joey Esposito has Batman’s internal monologue say that he was lamenting the loss of his parents at ten years of age. But, as listed above, Esposito erases all doubt in his follow-up (Batman: Urban Legends #21 Part 4), definitively saying the murders happened at age eight.
What does it all add up to? First, all the New 52 with “Rebirth” trade-dressing items listed above should be regarded as merely quasi-canonical references because they were published prior to the post-“Superman Reborn” reboot. Keep that in mind when weighing value. Also keep in mind whether or not something is implied or specifically stated. The latter obviously has more weight. Tynion delivers a vague implied answer—and also quasi-canonical—of eight. Tomasi delivers a canonical eight. Tynion returns with a more definitive eight. As does Esposito. Zdarsky and Guggenheim give us mostly straightforward eights, which we’ll both call definitive. And Wiacek gives us another eight, although it’s from a book outside of legitimate canon. King gives us an official ten plus four vague implied tens, only one of which is officially from the Rebirth Era—making two out of the latter three merely quasi-canonical. Snyder gives us a vague answer—again quasi-canonical—that could be read as either eight or ten.
The final tally for eight is eight total: five canon definitive, one quasi-canon implied, and one non-canon—coming from six different sources (Tynion, Tomasi, Guggenheim, Zdarsky, Esposito, and Wiacek). The final tally for ten is four total: one canon definitive, one canon implied, and two quasi-canon implied—much of which comes from a single source (King). And there’s one that goes either way (Snyder). The eights have it by a score of eight to four.
Here’s the breakdown for Bruce’s age at the time of his parents’ deaths for every publication era. In the Golden Age, nine; Silver Age, twelve; Modern Age, eight; New 52, ten; and Rebirth Era, eight.↩
- [17]COLLIN COLSHER: In previous continuities, the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne led to this Park Row alley being renamed Crime Alley. However, Tom King’s Gotham City: Year One #4 reveals a different history for the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era. In the early 1950s, private eye Slam Bradley brutally assaults Gotham City Police Commissioner Huff in the alley, thus giving it a new nickname forever more. Note that King’s narrative places this occurrence in 1961, but that doesn’t jibe with our timeline whatsoever, so it must have occurred in the early 1950s instead.↩
- [18]COLLIN COLSHER: The Wayne graves are sometimes shown to have one shared tombstone while other times they are shown to have individual tombstones. This sepulchral situation always differs depending on the artist. Also, a minority of creators (notably Joshua Williamson, Tom King, and Tini Howard) incorrectly place the Wayne burial site at a public cemetery in the city. This contradicts the majority of other stories—notably written by Scott Snyder, Scott Lobdell, Peter Tomasi, Warren Ellis, Greg Rucka, Chip Zdarsky, and Ram V—which confirm that the Waynes are interred in the private cemetery adjacent to the Wayne Manor property. Essentially, the Wayne burial site has been shown to be at a public cemetery in the city three times whereas it has been shown to be attached to Wayne Manor nine times (twice by both Ram V and Zdarsky), hence the reason for going with the latter.↩
- [19]COLLIN COLSHER: As stated in an above footnote, in the New 52, Martha seemed to (debatably) have four siblings—Philip, Jacob, Nathan, and an unnamed person, who is the parent of Bette. However, in the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era, it is strongly implied that Martha only has three siblings, not four. Notably, Detective Comics #978 says that the Kane siblings are Martha, Philip, Jacob, and Nathan. Thus, if we take this as gospel, it makes sense for Philip to be the father of Bette. Philip being Bette’s dad has never been 100% officially confirmed, but it makes sense, and much of the internet agrees. However, because Bette will eventually be Kathy Webb-Kane’s sidekick, she becomes curiously and undeniably connected to Kathy’s husband Nathan. Is it possible that Bette is the child of Nathan’s partner that came before Kathy? Maybe, but, since the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era (unlike the New 52) doesn’t contain narrative that pushes back against the idea of Philip being Bette’s dad, I’m going with the latter.↩
- [20]COLLIN COLSHER: Batman: Gotham Nights Vol. 3 #15 features a flashback that shows a teenage Bruce Wayne meeting a teenage Selina Kyle at a police precinct. Both teens have been arrested—Bruce for drunk and disorderly and Selina for larceny. Since neither Bruce nor Selina will ever mention this important meeting in the future, despite near constant harping about their first meeting (was it on on the street or on a boat?), there’s no way this can be canon. Imagine Tom King’s Batman and Catwoman arguing about a street, a boat, and a police station too. No thank you. As such, all of Batman: Gotham Nights Vol. 3 #15 is out-of-continuity. Any argument that this could be canon because they were young enough to forget this meeting is invalid because the cops and Alfred say Bruce’s name multiple times.↩
- [21]COLLIN COLSHER: Bruce speaks Portuguese in Bane: Conquest #2 and Harley Loves Joker #2; Dari and Latin in Bane: Conquest #2; French in Bane: Conquest #9-11, Shanghainese in Batman: The Knight #8, Mandarin in Deathstroke Vol. 4 #30; the argot of the Ancient Sea People in All-Star Batman #12; Gaelic in The Brave and The Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman #4; Icelandic in Detective Comics #1019; American sign language in Batman Giant #2, Event Leviathan #6, and Batman Vol. 3 #143; Turkish in Batman: The World Part 8, Polish in Batman: The World Part 9, Spanish in Batman: The World Part 10, and Korean in Batman: The World Part 12 and Batman: The Knight #4; Indonesian in Batman Vol. 3 #118.; Russian in Batman: The Knight #4, the second feature to All-Star Batman #10, and Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #16; and Serbian (with multiple dialects) in Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #16.↩
- [22]COLLIN COLSHER: Switching around the order of the Zatara training sessions (i.e. placing Batman: The Knight #7 after this Detective Comics #959-961 flashback instead of prior to it) would solve the seemingly large continuity snarl of Bruce claiming he doesn’t believe in magick even though he’s already seen/studied it firsthand. However, doing a swap would cause other just-as-big snarls. First off, The Knight #7 gives the implication that it’s Bruce’s first time seeing Zatanna in years (she says he hasn’t answered his calls in years, and the scene is built like a momentous reunion). So, placing another Zatara item shortly prior to The Knight #7 wouldn’t make sense in that regard. Secondly, while the Zataras are touring performers that never really stay in one place for very long, The Knight #7 tells us that they’ve settled in NYC following the death of family matriarch Sindella. And at the end of The Knight #7, they move to Las Vegas. The Detective Comics #959-961 flashback occurs in Vegas, which nods toward The Knight #7 preceding it. I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that John Zatara does mind-wipe Bruce toward the conclusion of the Detective Comics #959-961 flashback, which one could fanwank as an explanation why Bruce might no longer believe in magick, thus giving credence to the swapped order of the Zatara sessions. However, the mind-wipe in question is to erase a specific thing, not everything he’d learned in total. Overall, I’d chalk up Bruce’s odd incongruous comment to writers simply not being aware of each other’s stories and stepping on each other’s toes.↩
- [23]COLLIN COLSHER: According to Talia’s Arabic familial history (and creator Denny O’Neil’s original intention), Talia does not have a last name. However, the Westernized version of her full name, while incorrect in Arabic, is “Talia al Ghul.” Since cultural lexicon basically trumps O’Neil’s intention, the use of “Talia al Ghul” (with surname) is acceptable grammar—and has been accepted by a majority of writers since the early 1990s—even though it’s technically wrong. Some might fight you on that, but I certainly don’t have the energy to engage in the debate. Hell, in the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era, Batman himself refers to Talia as “Talia al Ghul,” so there you go.↩
- [24]DYLAN HALL / COLLIN COLSHER: In Batman: Killing Time, writer Tom King includes a framing story detailing the long history of the Eye of Athena artifact (which will eventually come to be known as the Eye of Christ). This history begins around 1157 BCE, which King says is roughly 3000 years prior to present day. This, of course, is incredibly incorrect. 3000 years after 1157 BCE would be the mid 19th century, not close to present day at all. Furthermore, according to Killing Time #1, “Day 2” of the story’s main narrative supposedly occurs on March 5, but “Day 2” is incorrectly labeled as March 4 throughout issues #2 and 3. In later issues, there are also other date captions that change randomly despite referencing the same day. This all speaks to the fact that we should take King’s specific dates or “year priors” with a grain of salt. His dates and years simply cannot be trusted.↩
- [25]DIEGO BARCELO / COLLIN COLSHER: Writer James Tynion gives us the neat easter egg of Bruce’s final training stop being Argentina (in Batman Vol. 3 #105). At a time prior to Gaucho’s existence as a public superhero, Argentina likely can’t offer anything useful in regard to combat arts (aside from maybe traditional Creole knife fighting). However, there could perhaps be some academic knowledge to glean from certain professionals that may reside there. It’s also possible that Tynion is referencing Bruce learning the strictly Argentinian “Tango of Death,” as seen in the Modern Age’s Batman Incorporated #3. In regard to the “Tango de la Muerte,” Batman Incorporated #4 originally shows what can be interpreted as Batwoman teaching Batman the “Tango de la Muerte” during one of their early team-ups. This means that, in the Modern Age, Bruce did not learn the “Tango de la Muerte” during his salad days abroad. However, things could be different in the Rebirth Era, so anything is possible, especially since Christos Gage’s Love is a Battlefield #1 Part 1 shows Bruce and Selina doing the tango (the non-death version), which functions as the reference to Bruce’s learning of ballroom dance here and now.↩
you seriously need to stop including non canon things like doomsday clock and the batman’s grave. Neither of those are of main continuity. While doomsday clock DOES take place on the same earth it’s an alternate history. Nothing in main continuity connects to doomsday clock. And by the way. The new 52 is still canon. Rebirth is not separate. Superman reborn’s history clearly shows its still canon.
Hi, Leonard. I strongly encourage discourse on my site. It is what fuels this site. I connect with many folks on the comments section here, via email, and on facebook—and I constantly make changes and corrections based upon recommendations and suggestions. The site constantly changes for the better this way—and, in this way, a myriad of voices get to contribute too. Some of these voices are extremely passionate—and I love that because, hell, I am too! Maybe I’m misreading the tone of your comment, but it sounds less like passion and more like you got up on the wrong side of the bed today. My comment section isn’t a vitriolic YouTube wall or a 4Chan message board, so please try to have some decorum. Nevertheless, I hear you, and I welcome conversation about the important things you are addressing. As such, I’ll try my best to address them now.
Plenty of things connect to Doomsday Clock. It was only recently that DC higher ups decided to muddy that water. And Scott Snyder still says that “everything will make sense” once Death Metal comes out, specifically in relation to Doomsday Clock. I’m not so sure, but, anyway, we’ll see in a few months, I suppose, when the inevitable reboot comes. And if you look at Doomsday Clock on my timeline, you’ll clearly see that I have it in a holding place—a sort of limbo, if you will—until it gets sorted out. But, yeah, it’s still on my timeline because it was 100% canon until quite recently. It very well may remain so in the end, but as I said, we shall see. In any case, it does connect to a lot of things on the main line, so DC should tread carefully with this one.
Continuity is a tough game and Batman’s Grave is a tough one in particular. There are things that hint at it being non-canon, but they are minor quibbles. There are actually more things hinting at non-canonicity in Tom King’s Batman and Scott Snyder’s JL, but those we cannot question—see what I mean about continuity being tough? Once Batman’s Grave wraps, we’ll be able to see the bigger picture. I might take Batman’s Grave off my timeline—maybe so, maybe not. I might even do it based upon your recommendation here! All depends. I’m not married to any particular mini-series, including this Batman’s Grave. If it doesn’t fit in the end, then it’ll go bye-bye. Question though: Has anyone from DC specifically said it was non-canon? If they have, I’ve missed that.
Overall, I think maybe you and I have different perspectives—which is totally fine, totally okay! I think it speaks to the disjointed nature of the current line (meaning DC’s main line since 2011). The reason I have the New 52 separate (even though it’s history is included within the Rebirth timeline—which you can clearly see on my chronology) is because it really has major differences—notably a 5-6-year timeline vs a 12-13-year timeline, among other things. Could I have treated Rebirth like a soft Zero Hour-style relaunch, peppering my timeline with caveats and asterisks? Maybe. But I think it’s different than that, and different enough that it warranted a wholly separate approach. All the big occurrences of the New 52 have been neatly folded into the Rebirth timeline, much akin to how all the big Golden, Silver, and Bronze occurrences were tucked into the Modern Age timeline. Hope that makes sense.
Wanted to hear your take on this since I didn’t see it in your modern day section (or maybe I just missed it). Does Dark Victory and Batgirl/Robin Year 1 work together? I’m working on collecting a semi-cohesive timeline of trade paperbacks, but I’m not sure on whether to get Robin Year 1 or not.
Robin: Year One goes after Dark Victory concludes (with some caveats).
First, a flashback from Robin: Year One #2 shows the scene of Harvey Dent getting acid thrown in his face, but it contains visual continuity errors and text dialogue errors that are enough to warrant its non-canonical status. While the flashback must be ignored, the issue itself, along with the series, is canon (again, with minor caveats). Chuck Dixon originally wrote this story so that it spanned the course of many months, starting in September. However, due to Sliding-Time and compression, this cannot be the case. If we turn a blind eye to certain unimportant topical items in Robin: Year One, a legitimate alternate interpretation of the narrative delivers a story that spans a mere month or two, starting in mid December instead of September. (Dixon’s original narrative intention was to have this arc begin in September, but due to compression and Sliding-Time, we are definitely in mid December when it begins. This means not only is Dick starting school midyear, but he’s also starting mere days before holiday vacation. I guess, Bruce wants him to meet his new classmates before the break?)
Batgirl: Year One by Scotty Beatty/Chuck Dixon/Marcos Martin (2003) has some really interesting Batgirl information and background in it, but to place it contradictory-free in its entirety into any legit chronology would be impossible. The first three issues of the nine-issue series (Batgirl: Year One #1-3) re-show Batgirl’s debut encounter with Killer Moth, which happens at Bristol Country Club, the host of the policeman’s ball masquerade. It’s not necessarily wrong, but it’s one of many versions of her public debut. Batgirl: Year One #1-3 is definitely non-canon, though, for a few other reasons.
First, Babs has already graduated from college. Wrong. Second, Gordon is still a captain. Wrong. Third, the Teen Titans already exist. Wrong. Fourth, right after her debut encounter with Killer Moth, not only does Moth escape, but both Batman and Robin meet Batgirl as well. Double wrong. Issue #5 is non-canon because Gordon is still a captain and we see an incorrect version of Garfield Lynn’s debut as Firefly. Issue #7 is non-canon because it shows the JLA using the satellite HQ, which they wouldn’t have yet.
So, to re-iterate, Robin: Year One is canon and can co-exist with Dark Victory. Batgirl: Year One is half-canon, taking things case-by-case/issue-by-issue.
Doomsday clock was certainly intended to be in continuity, that it published late kinda messed this up ( tgat and bendises lsh) but it’s description of what manhattan did to the timeliness is utterly cannon
Hey man, I figured it’d be better to go through here than Facebook.
But yeah, I dunno, I understand the rationale surrounding making Bruce become Batman at 20, but something about the fact that he left the city at 16, and then became Batman at 20 just seems a little bit too ridiculous to me (granted, this is comic books after all, but most Batman stories imply his training was far longer than that, heck, pre-Flashpoint it took him 12 years of training till he became Batman, and this version pretty much has the same skillset as that one)
While it’s probably impossible to cram it together so it has the 12 years of training that pre-Flashpoint gave him (which to be honest is my preferred version as it kinda hammers home how obsessive he is) , I do think perhaps there’s a way to extend the period of time this version of Bruce trained.
In The Batman Who Laughs #1, I read it and it seems to imply Bruce is younger than 42 or 43, so this leaves us in a range in which he can be late 30s yes, but also early 40s.
I’m not aware if there’s any comic that specifically mentions Bruce leaving Gotham for his intense training at sixteen, so perhaps that can be changed so he leaves Gotham at 14 (like he’s done in previous versions) or 15? The fact that he went to a high school prom can be explained by well, he’s a genius and perhaps he advanced quickly on his grades. So this would give him like 6-7 years of training which matches the New 52 version.
There’s also perhaps moving the dates up a lil bit, make it so he became Batman at 23 (like in pre-Crisis, which would kinda match with how much Tom King loves to reference aspects of that version in this Batman), which would make it so that Bruce becomes Batman in 2005, and modern continuity takes place in 2023, I dunno if that matches tho and maybe could create complications, but even then maybe 2004 or 2003.
Also, maybe my math sucks but in the Year Zero page you put that he’s turning 21 in 2002, which… how? He was born in 1982 haha.
Although… reading All-Star Batman, the only real reference to Bruce being born that year was two panels, one in which Alfred is in Falklands and another in which Alfred’s father is holding a baby Bruce. The panel is vague enough so that it could conceivably be a 1 year old Bruce, so that could make it so Buce could be born in 1981.
So maybe… my suggestion would be, either move Bruce’s birthdate to 1981, move the time he started training to 14 years old, have him become Batman in 2003 at the age of 22, or do a combination of all of them which would make Bruce 40 at the time of The Batman Who Laughs which is Year 17, still keeping in-line with that reference. So Bruce would’ve trained for roughly 8 years, which is more in-line with the other versions of Batman that this continuity has kinda merged together, in fact it’d kinda be the mid point between Pre-Flashpoint “12 years of training” and New 52 “7 years of training”.
I should also add, with the solution I proposed in that last paragraph, modern continuity in Year 18 would only be extended to 2021. I think it fits quite nicely.
Hey Jack! Hope you are doing well. I’ll bite on this one. First off, yes my math was wrong, making Bruce even younger at his start as Batman… which does feel a bit off. BWL #1 shows that Bruce could be as old as 41yo in 2019 (although, I think we can still fix things and have him be 39yo). You are correct about All-Star #11 as it shows that Bruce was born BEFORE Falklands. (Falklands War started in April 1982, so I think we can push his birth to 1980 easily.) And Tom King says that Bruce trains with the Memory of the Mountain for a full year at age 16, which I took to mean that he started at age 16. However, I suppose it’s possible that he left earlier.
Prom can be fanwanked… freshman can go to prom if they want to, right? Rebirth tends to reflect the New 52 in a lot of ways, so seven years does seem to make sense. I’ll juggle some things around.
“Note that Martha is not religious, and will never attend church with them.”
This may match up with Martha Kane’s Jewish roots, as a biological aunt to Kate Kane, who whilst not orthodox certainly identifies herself as Jewish.
There are a few articles whizzing about the net somewhere, but there’s also a little reference in a story that says Martha Wayne made the best Kielbasa in Gotham. So, could the Kanes be descended from Polish Jews?
YES, forgot about Batwoman’s Judiasm. The Kanes COULD be Jewish, which would help explain her lack of Church attendance. Thanks a million for bringing this up! I’ll definitely add a note and give you credit.
Interestingly, if Martha was indeed Jewish and even sparsely attended synagogue, Bruce could have easily identified himself as Jewish. But, in this scenario, it would seem that his father’s Christianity filled the role of religion in the strongly secular gap that Martha left for the boy anyway.
Although, we are never told for certain where Kate’s Judaism comes from. Is Jake Kane Jewish? Or did he simply marry a Jewish woman? This gives cause for speculation that Martha isn’t Jewish. The Waynes and Kanes seem like big-time WASPs, after all. But, you never know. And it is fun to think about!
Regarding the multiple languages that Bruce speaks, I was wondering where it’s shown that he speaks French and Spanish, in what specific issues does he display these languages?
Batman, while undercover as the French assassin Crow, speaking French in Bane: Conquest #9-11. He also speaks fluent Portuguese in both Bane: Conquest #2 and Harley Loves Joker #2, which means that he is likely fluent in Spanish as well since they share a lexical similarity of almost 90%.
Something you might want to add from Batman Vol 3 #1 is that on Bruce’s tenth birthday, he asked Alfred for a katana, but instead he got him wakizashi because it seemed safer and because of this it caused Bruce to start having trust issues well into his Batman career.
You should add in something about Bruce’s ability to perform autopsies, a good example of this is in Heroes in Crisis #2.
I have autopsies listed in the Salad Days section, based upon some later issues. I will, however, add Heroes in Crisis, since it is an earlier reference than the ones I already have listed. Thanks!
Dear Collin, I just read Batman #105. Here, Bruce leaves Argentina and travels to Gotham City. Ghost Maker says he “has finished his training”. Should we add it here, or should we stick with the historical fact that Ducard was his last teacher?
About Argentina, I really love that Tynion gave us that unexpected easter egg. I would like to share an innocent thought about this:
I don’t think Argentina can offer anything useful to Bruce, at that time when Gaucho did not exist. Except perhaps academic knowledge from certain professionals. About the combat arts, I would say nothing. My first thought was “Ok, here he learned The Tango of Death that we saw in Batman INC v1 #3”. Anyway, it’s just a modest opinion (and probably wrong)
Hey Diego, I was a tad nonplussed upon seeing that Argentina thing, but then I immediately dismissed it by imagining Bruce’s flight having a layover in Argentina before going back to the States. Now that you are forcing me to face this head-on, that makes no sense haha. Also, Bruce probably would have a private non-stop flight from wherever he was coming from.
Since the Rebirth Era only has references to Ducard (do any of them even specifically say that Ducard was last anymore?), I guess Argentina is the new last stop! And your guess is as good as mine as to what Bruce does in Argentina.
In regard to the Tango del Muerte, I was under the impression from Batman Inc #4 that Batwoman teaches Batman the Tango del Muerte during their early team-up days—meaning that Bruce doesn’t learn that during his salad days. However, things could be different in the Rebirth Era.
Wow, Collin ! Thank you very much for including me in reference number 10 ! also with an improved text. It’s the first time I’ve won that HONOR. I will keep it as a souvenir. I owe you ALL my knowledge about the Batman chronology, especially in the New52 era !
Hey, a very minor correction: Tango del Muerte is grammaticaly incorrect, as “muerte” is a grammatically feminine word in spanish. It should be “Tango de la Muerte”.
Thanks, Rcn. Morrison wrote “Tango del Muerte” specifically in the comic! But after a quick google search, a lot of folks online have corrected Morrison for this very mistake. I’ll make the correction here too. Thanks, again.
Hi Collin, I am a big fan of your work. Wasn’t Bruce 8 when his parents were murdered?
James Tynion and Peter Tomasi have both said 8. Tom King has said 10. Scott Snyder has been vague, but seemingly leaned both ways in a non-committal way. In the New 52, Bruce was definitively 10.
What does it mean? It means that there are two answers that have been given. King has said 10 more than anyone else (and much more loudly), so I’ve gone with that. Now, should the “8” voices begin to take over, I’ll likely make a switch.
Something that you might want to add is how in Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 2 #10 Bruce’s birthday is stated to be October 7th. I know that you place his birthday in February based on past incarnations like the silver age, but I thought you might want to add something concrete.
Already made this change! Thanks, Jon. Yes, this is the only solid reference to a specific birthdate in the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era, so for now it stands as canon!
I might be missing something obvious, but where in Batman the Merciless is Julie Madison referenced?
I just got that it’s supposed to be from the carvings on the walls that reference Zero Year. I think this could benefit from a “originally told in Batman Vol.2 #30”, Collin.
Fair enough! Will do 🙂
Out of curiosity, why do you have Bruce as leaving when he’s 16, rather than leaving at 18 and returning at 25, as is standard?
After all, he’s seemingly leaving during his senior year of HS in The Knight.
Tom King, of course. (I’m beginning to think that large chunks of TK’s stuff is non-canon. He contradicts… like everything. Even himself.) And I wouldn’t necessarily say Bruce leaving at 18 is standard. In the Modern Age, there are sources that have him leaving at 14.
In a few months, I’m going to take a big deep dive into Tom King’s oeuvre and really decide what works and what doesn’t because it’s a mess.
Note, though, that Scott Snyder has implied that Bruce becomes Batman at age 21, harkening back to his Silver Age roots. Batman: Gotham Nights Vol. 3 #20 says that Bruce is training abroad for five years. Putting it all together (including TK’s stuff), it paints the picture I have in place at the moment. Should any comics shake up this picture (including The Knight), then we’ll reexamine.
Just read The Knight #4. Yeah, there’s no way that Bruce can spend his sixteenth year with the Memory of the Mountain, as King says. Gonna have to shuffle things around.
Re: Batman: The Knight #7. Bruce is seen in a bar with John Zatara and he is supposedly drinking alcohol until Zatanna reveals that it is ginger ale. So, shouldn’t he be at least 21 by that point?
There are still three issues of The Knight to go, so depending on what happens, I want to give a buffer. It’s not too wild to think that the burgeoning master spy Bruce Wayne couldn’t get into a bar at age 19-20 (which is where I currently have the scene), but if the story takes us right to Bruce returning to Gotham, then maybe I’ll give it a slide one year later.
In Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1, it’s revealed that during his travels Bruce spent time learning how to cook at Le Cordon Bleu. I know that during his early years as Batman Bruce is a terrible cook, especially since he’s had Alfred cooking his meals for him since he was a child, as seen when he can’t even toast a crumpet in Batman Vol. 3 Annual 3. But it still seems like it would make sense to add since now that Alfred’s dead and Bruce is learning to do certain things for himself now that he’s in a brownstone.
Hey Riverdog, the Le Cordon Bleu line was a joke, he didn’t actually study there. And in terms of Bruce learning to fend for (and tend to) himself, that’s been pretty well covered in other books already—notably Detective Comics #1018 and Detective Comics Annual #3 (2020). But thanks!
In Batman: The Knight #8, Bruce is shown to be capable of speaking Shanghainese while training with Skyspider in Shanghai. Just thought you should add this to Bruce’s list of languages.
Hi Frank, good catch. Thanks!
Gotham City: Year One introduces an additional nightmare in regards Bruce’s age.
It established seemingly that Thomas Wayne was born in 1961-62. Which means, if we take Bruce as being born in 1980-1982, he’d be anywhere from 18-20 years old when he had him which obviously doesn’t make any sense. But if we try to make Thomas older when he had Bruce, Bruce would’ve been born in 1987-1990 which makes zero sense at all.
Either Gotham City: Year One is not canon, Bruce is much younger than we currently have him (which feels ridiculous) or Gotham City Year One is canon but it takes place in 1951, not 1961.
Yeah, that didn’t quite dawn on me at the time of reading. 1950s make a lot more sense. 30-years-old is the like real world American minimum that someone could conceivably become a surgeon. However, in the world of the DCU, we often see genius people becoming doctors much younger. I’d say that specifically placing Thomas’ birth in the early 60s is a mistake, and it should be in the early 50s, or at the very latest some point in the 1950s. This is Tom King, so it’s probably just lack of forethought.
In regards to the item of Bruce and Khoa on the mountains of India, couldn’t that have happened before Batman: The Knight #5, before they trained with Avery? That way Bruce’s calm demeanor towards Khoa could be explained.
Hey Jack! I have this India training where I have it simply because it seemed to me the first time that Anton began going by the name “Ghost-Maker,” but he isn’t wearing his Skyspider mask yet, so it’s possible it could go earlier. Batman: The Knight doesn’t even ever refer to Anton as Ghost-Maker (I don’t think?), so it’s possible he was using his real name and sometimes going by Ghost-Maker for a while prior to where I have it. Also, the art is vague, but Anton looked to be a bit older, which affected my placement as well. However, this item is clearly meant to go before the big Luka Jungo fallout, so I’ll try to move it.
Hmmm, actually. This is the big reason. Anton doesn’t learn Bruce’s real name until Batman: The Knight #5. Yet, in the India scenes, Anton and Bruce know each other’s names. So this item has to occur after Batman: The Knight #5 but before the end of Batman: The Knight #6. Not sure if it’ll fit. Honestly, this story was obviously written without Batman: The Knight in mind, which is why it doesn’t jibe. I’ll see what can be done. Maybe it can be squeezed in between Oblonsky and Jungo?
I think you should add Russian to Bruce’s list of languages. In Batman: The Knight #5, while Bruce doesn’t speak Russian directly, it’s implied during his thought process that he is limiting himself strictly to English in order to not give away too much information to the Russian authorities. I also find it hard to believe that Bruce would spend several months in Russia training under Avery without even attempting to learn any Russian, unlike what he was doing when he was training in every other foregin country up to this point. Such as him learning French in Paris while training under Lucie. There’s also the fact that Khoa has learned to speak fluent Russian by this point. Given Bruce and Khoa’s competitive nature regarding their training, it seems unlikely that this wouldn’t apply to how many languages each of them can learn.
Hey Frank, I think you are right. Also, while it’s not explicitly made clear that he speaks Russian in the Myasnik arc (the second feature to All-Star Batman #10-14), there’s probably no way he assumes the identity of a Russian man to infiltrate the Russian mob in Russia without speaking Russian. Thanks!
I think Bette Kane should be a bit older. Dick Grayson was born in 1990 according to the timeline. If Bette was the original Batgirl/Bat-Girl, she should probably be within around two years of Dick’s age IMO. Seven years younger definitely feels off.
Hi Jason! I think you are right. I’ll make this change.
Hi, uhhh, Bette’s father isn’t Phillip, it’s actually the only only of Martha’s four brothers who we don’t know their name (Philip, Jacob, Nathan, and ???)
Hey Elio, in the New 52, it’s made clear that Martha has four siblings, and the unnamed one is the father of Bette. However, in the Rebirth Era and beyond it is strongly implied that Martha only has three siblings. Notably, Detective Comics #978 says that the Kane siblings are Martha, Philip, Jacob, and Nathan. Thus, if we take this as gospel, it would make sense for Philip to be the father of Bette.
However, I will dig deeper into this one to see if I can’t find out more information. Thanks!
Hey Collin. Uncle Philip makes a strange comment in Batman #21: “[Martha] knew me well enough to understand I’d make a terrible father.” There is otherwise no hint whatsoever of him having or not having children. Snyder seems to be painting him as a childless man. Notably, Bette doesn’t seem too broken up about Philip’s death in her one-page appearance at his funeral in Batwoman #25, and no one gives her the condolences you might expect if her father had just died.
In Batman Incorporated #4, Nathan is said to be the oldest child and dies at 47, seven years after meeting Kathy when she was 25, and Kathy’s becoming Batwoman seems to take place not too long after his death, putting her at about 32. In Batman #682, she claims to have “almost a decade of life experience” on Bruce. (?) No matter what, we’re obviously a few years into the timeline by the time Batwoman comes on the scene.
In the script for Batman #21 included in the Zero Year Director’s Cut, Scott Snyder says he envisions Uncle Philip to be in his late 50s. The problem is, this would make him older than Nathan, who (in the pre-New 52 timeline) should still be alive and kicking in Batman’s first year. Plus, if Nathan *was* only 47 when he died, it would seemingly put Martha in her late 20s (at best) when she dies, which seems extraordinarily young… long story short, Snyder and the New 52 Bat-office may not have been playing nice with Morrison’s version of the Kane family timeline.
Why do I say all this? Well, Betty is obviously not Jacob’s daughter, the New 52 implies Philip is childless, and it would make little sense for her to be Nathan’s; although, it’s technically not impossible and could explain how she got close to Kathy. Otherwise, we may have to say Betty is a more distant branch on the family tree and may not actually be a daughter of the four Kane kids or Bruce’s first cousin.
(Also, *is* there an explicit reference in the New 52 to Betty’s father being a brother of Martha’s? I don’t recall.)
I wish Morrison had worked Betty into the story more than her one-panel appearance in Batman Inc. #4. Maybe she was the product of a prior marriage or relationship of Nathan’s, and they end up estranged and he disowns her? This could be why Kathy inherits everything, and gets called her “aunt” rather than stepmother. Interestingly in Batwoman #25, Kate doesn’t mention Nathan among the Kanes who have died in recent years, before wondering if there’s a curse on the family. I wonder if Marc Andreyko was purposely invoking the Curse of Kane that Morrison plays with. At any rate this seems to support Nathan still being alive at this point.
All good points, Tip! it all speaks to the fact that the mystery remains and has yet to be addressed or cleared up by any writers yet. While I think the answer is inconclusive (due to lack of information), I think that what you’ve said is important though, and def worth mentioning on the site.
I will say though, in the end the nitty gritty of what you are referencing in your notes here is connected to the New 52 specifically and not the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era. So in that regard, we have a bit of a blank slate where the characterization of Philip (and therefore his relationship) to Bette is more undefined. So he could more likely be her dad in current canon as opposed to former canon.
But again, one day someone’ll surely come along and put all this to rest. Hopefully sooner rather than later!
Uh oh. In the latest issue of Wonder Woman, Tom King states Bruce’s birthday happens in February.
Yah, just read that. I’m going to make that change today. He’s only the second person to say Bruce’s birthday. The other being Brandon Thomas in 2021’s LOTDK Vol. 2 print version #5, who said October. And Thomas’ reference point for October seems to be the 2004-2008 The Batman animated series. King’s Feb is classic Silver/Bronze Age, which def trumps The Batman‘s October. Plus, King def trumps Thomas in terms of authorial weight.
Guess who’s now in your Rebirth comments asking asinine questions 🤣
Gotham City: Year One is all extended flashbacks and stuff, but does it have a specific placement on Batman’s side of things? Apparently he appears in the final issue in some capacity?
Hi Mike! The whole series is framed around Slam telling Batman the story. Slam is around ninety-four years old (and dies after telling his tale), so I have it in the future section in 2026.
Thank you! Bizarre that the earliest story is a flashback from one of the final moments but there’s a fun bit of symbolism to that