C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A LBATMAN & ROBIN
BRUCE WAYNE & DICK GRAYSON ♦ BUSINESSMAN & STUDENT ♦ GOTHAM CITY ♦ BAT-CLAN
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C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:
"Why isn’t anyone just whelmed?"
Bruce was born into Gotham City royalty, the Wayne family. They family had for a long time been members of the Court of Owls, a society of the rich elite of America. Based out of Gotham City, the Court had long shaped the city into their vision of a land with a ruling class. Bruce’s father Thomas did not agree with this and left the Court, investing his considerable wealth into helping the slums of Gotham. The Court did not take this lightly and demanded he be killed.
When Bruce was ten years old, he and his parents took a trip to the poorer part of Gotham to see a screening of a classic Zorro film. After the movie finished they went to the parking lot behind the theatre. There they were accosted by a man with a gun, demanding their money. While Thomas was reaching for his money, the mugger twitched, firing a lethal shot at Bruce’s father. In the ensuing confusion Bruce’s mother was also shot, as the mugger ran away. Bruce stood beside the bodies of his parents until the police arrived.
The now orphan Bruce was taken into the care of Alfred Pennyworth, a friend of the Waynes. Bruce grew to hate Gotham and criminals as he angrily lived out his teenage years. Upon graduating high school Bruce couldn’t take it anymore and left Gotham. From there he travelled the world, living recklessly. A year into his travels Bruce ended up in a prison in Russia. There he met a man named Henri Ducard who saw something in the angry youth. Henri offered a better way to focus his rage. Bruce accepted.
Henri Ducard took Bruce to a hidden monastery in Tibet. There he was made an initiate of the League of Shadows, an ancient order that was bound to destroy the sinful. Henri personally trained Bruce, teaching him many forgotten skills. It was during this training that Bruce learnt of the Court of the Owls, and that they had hired the mugger to kill his parents. This shook Bruce’s worldview as he had believed criminals needed to be eliminated. After a few years Bruce was given an exam to become a full fledged member of the League. He easily passed all of the initial tasks and made it to the final challenge. He had to execute a criminal. Bruce refused. Ducard urged him to reconsider but Bruce was adamant about not killing and decided to leave the League. Ducard let him leave but claimed that he would return one day.
Bruce then returned to Gotham to find his father’s company Wayne Enterprises now owned by Derek Powers. However Wayne Technologies was still owned by Lucius Fox, a friend of Thomas Wayne, who gave Bruce a job on their board of directors. But the true reason he had returned to Gotham was to destroy the Court of Owls. With the help of Alfred, Bruce became the Dark Knight, and began attacking members of the Court.
It was in these initial months that the bombing of Haly’s Circus happened. An enemy of the Court was in the audience, so they faked a terrorist attack to kill him. The parents of Dick Grayson, stars of Haly’s Circus, were killed in the explosion. Dick wanted revenge and began looking for the bombers. With his genius level intellect and investigative skills he became aware of the Court of Owls and their involvement. That was also how he met the Dark Knight. Together they were able to defeat the leaders of the Gotham branch of the Court.
After this Bruce began fostering Dick and sent him to school at the prestigious Gotham Academy, the same school Bruce attended. However they decided that there was still things to fix in Gotham City and began patrolling the city and fighting crime. To that end they adopted the identities of Batman and Robin.
C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:
So I want to focus on the dynamic duo, and gradually build into the rest of the Bat family. As for inspiration I’m drawing from all over, comics, cartoons, and movies. I want the scale to start small, focusing on Gotham, before going too crazy with things like the Justice League or Titans. Initially the story will be about the relationship between Bruce and Dick and what motivates them to fight crime.
Bruce will focus on living up to his parents and honouring their memory. To that end he will focus a lot on fighting the Court of Owls and just generally making Gotham a better place. His relationship with Alfred will be unique as he was essentially a giant dick to him the whole time they lived together.
Dick will be the more optimistic of the pair. While he does want revenge against the Court, he isn’t consumed about it like Bruce. While Bruce is more about living up to his parents, Dick will be more about living his best life like his parents would want.
Villain wise it would start out with mostly non-powered ones. It will be a long while before Bruce is skilled enough to take on someone like Superman. While I do love the whole unapologetically insane villains, I would like to spotlight how society, specifically Gotham City, shaped them.
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:
Supporting Cast:
Alfred Pennyworth is a former member of the British secret service who met Thomas Wayne many years ago. The two became close and Alfred was even named Bruce’s godfather. Alfred didn’t see much of Bruce as he was always busy with MI:6. When Alfred learnt of the death of Thomas Wayne, he rushed over to Gotham. It was then that he decided to take Bruce in, resigning from MI:6. Bruce was distant and moody, but Alfred did his best to care for him. After Bruce left Gotham, Alfred remained at Wayne Manor, caring for the old building. AS the years past Alfred thought of leaving but decided he must stay for Bruce. When Bruce finally returned he apologized to Alfred for how horrible he was as a youth. He also included him in his plans to fight the Court of Owls. After Dick Grayson moved in Alfred went back into parent mode. Since then he has been a confidant and ally of Batman and Robin.
Lucius Fox is a brilliant technician personally hired by Thomas Wayne to work for Wayne Technologies. Through the years he rose up in the ranks, eventually becoming head of the company after the murder of the Waynes. Over the years he has tried to keep the company how Thomas Wayne would have wanted it. After Bruce returned to Gotham Lucius gave him a job. Since then he has become a confidant of Batman, supplying him with his gear.
Leslie Thompkins is a doctor that works out of the slums of Gotham. She was good friends with the Waynes, and helped with their rejuvenation of the city. Following their murders she continued to help the people of the slums, eventually opening the Martha Wayne Clinic. After Batman first appeared on the scene she began working with him, giving him information, so that he may clean up the streets.
Jim Gordon was a police officer originally from Chicago. He decided to move to Gotham after his daughter was accepted at Gotham Academy. After serving with the GCPD for under a year Jim was offered the position of police commissioner after the last one was implicated in a crime by the Batman. He accepted and now has a tense relationship with the vigilantes of Gotham City.
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