Thomas Wayne
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Thomas Wayne is a fictional character of the Batman series of comic books. Dr. Thomas Wayne was the father of Bruce Wayne, and husband of Martha Wayne, as well as a gifted surgeon, philanthropist and was the inheritor of the Wayne family fortune which was built through industry and real estate by previous generations.
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[edit] Background
Thomas Wayne is seldom shown outside of Bruce Wayne's and Alfred Pennyworth's memories of him, and often through Bruce's dreams and nightmares. He is frequently depicted as looking very much like Bruce Wayne, but sporting a thick moustache.
A notable occurrence in Thomas Wyane's biography was when Bruce fell through a fissure on the Wayne property, into what would one day become the Batcave (sometimes the fissue is replaced with an abandoned well). Thomas Wayne eventually rescued his terrified son from the cave.
Wayne was also The First Batman according to a Silver Age tale of that name where he attacked and defeated hoodlums while dressed like a "Bat-Man" for masquerade ball with flying creatures as a theme. This was recognized as one of the inspirations for Bruce donning the Batman costume. According to the story, Thomas Wayne's actions resulted in Lew Moxon being imprisoned and ordering the murder of Thomas Wayne ten years later. Though this would make Bruce 12-15, the Silver Age Batman tales were known for their inaccuracies. When Batman realizes Moxon ordered his parents killed, he confronts Moxon, who can't remember what he did due to amnesia. When Batman's costume is torn, he wears Thomas Wayne's, which looks very much like the original Bat-costume from 1939. Moxon remembers his crime, believes that he is being attacked by Thomas Wayne's ghost and flees into the streets where he is killed by a truck.
Whilst Bruce seems to have been closer to his mother Martha than his father, he still shares many common attributes with him, including his intellect, cleverness, and brooding over his failures to save people's lives. In many of the modern interpretations of the character, such as those by Frank Miller and Jeph Loeb, Thomas was occasionally very distant or stern towards his son prior to his demise, although his kindness and generosity are unequivocal.
Thomas Wayne was once thought to be the father of Bane, a man who would one day break his son; however, DNA testing proved this to be false, and Bane's real father was recently revealed to be King Snake.
It was revealed to readers in Batman: The Long Halloween that Thomas Wayne saved the life of future crime lord and gangster Carmine Falcone shortly before the Wayne's murder. Falcone's father, Vincent, came to Wayne Manor and begged Thomas to save his dying son, who had been shot in a gangfight by rival gangster Luigi Maroni. Thomas wanted to take the younger Falcone to hospital, but Vincent insisted that nobody know about the shooting, thus causing the surgery to be performed in the dining room with Alfred Pennyworth assisting. After saving Carmine Falcone from death, Thomas was offered a reward or favor from Vincent, but he flatly refused, in that "to a doctor, a patient is a patient." Young Bruce Wayne watched this all in silence from afar. Years later, when Alberto Falcone waged war on Gotham as Holiday, Batman felt his father was partially to blame, for had he let Falcone die, the Holiday killings never would have begun.
[edit] Murder
When exiting a theatre, Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered during a mugging that occurred in front of a young Bruce Wayne. This tragic event shocked Gotham, led to Park Row (the street where it occurred,) being labelled Crime Alley, and most importantly, was the motivation for Bruce one day becoming the Batman.
Due to the many writers who have written Batman stories, and constant references due to the central importance of the murder to the Batman mythos, many of the factors concerning the event have varied.
- Bruce's age has varied, usually between six and ten years old. However, all writers and artists have accepted that he was eight at the time. The film Batman Begins confirms this plothole in terms of continuity.
- The murderer is consistently identified as Joe Chill, though the mythos alternates between versions where Batman finds out and where Batman never finds out. Chill has also alternated between being a mere mugger who randomly selected the wealthy Waynes, and a hitman who murdered them intentionally.
- The reason given for Chill leaving Bruce alive has varied. Sometimes it was because Chill couldn't kill a child, sometimes because Chill heard a policeman's whistle, police siren, or a rapidly approaching policeman. For alternate versions, see Other Media.
- Exactly whether or not Chill was hired to murder the Waynes or if he acted alone is still unknown. An original script draft of Batman had Rupert Thorne hire Chill to assassinate them, because he was running for mayor against Thomas Wayne. Batman Begins has Chill as a down-on-his-luck bum who murders them when Thomas fights back after he attempts to steal Martha's pearls.
- The movie that the Waynes went to see has fluctuated between the 1920 version of The Mark of Zorro starring Douglas Fairbanks and the 1940 version starring Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone. A fictional third version has starred "Tyrone Fairbanks." Begins has the Waynes leaving an opera house showing Mefistofele at the time of the murder.
Consistent elements have included Thomas Wayne being murdered by a pistol, and Martha Wayne's pearl necklace being torn, with the pearls falling into the gutter. In the comic book, the murder took place at at 10:47 p.m., and the Batcave is accessed by Batman through his manor by turning the hands of a grandfather clock to this time.
Thomas and Martha Wayne are notable as two comic book characters who have remained dead; another example is Spider-Man's Uncle Ben, although an alternate version of this character recently appeared.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Batman
In Tim Burton's 1989 blockbuster Batman David Baxt portrayed Thomas Wayne in his lone scene. The Waynes were murdered by Jack Napier, the future Joker, rather than Joe Chill. Napier then pointed the gun at Bruce and asked "Tell me kid, you ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?" Napier quickly abandoned the crime scene when his more apprehensive partner heard the police coming. Martha's pearls falling into the gutter was prominently featured in slow motion. The last words Napier said to young Bruce were darkly ironic: "See you around, kid." Batman learned the real killer's identity years later when the Joker said the same thing to Bruce Wayne when he was about to shoot him in Vicky Vale's apartment.
[edit] Batman Begins
In the 2005 Christopher Nolan film Batman Begins, Dr. Wayne was played by Linus Roache and received more screen time than Baxt did in the Burton film. Wayne was a surgeon at the Gotham City hospital, and of the fifth generation of the Wayne family to live in the Wayne Manor. He was the chairman of Wayne Enterprises until his death, a position that his friend and board member Lucius Fox would get later on after Bruce gained control of the company. Bruce falling into the cave is included in this film. Being one of the most prominent citizens in Gotham, he was trying to change the city into a better place, up until the end of his life.
In this version, he and Martha were murdered at gunpoint by Joe Chill, a petty criminal, after attending a performance of Mefistofele. They left the opera early when Bruce was scared by the bat-like demons that appeared. Martha's pearls are heard falling, but aren't shown. It was shown that he was killed because he was trying to protect his wife, after Chill tried to rip off her necklace. It is revealed in the movie that the deaths of two such prominent citizens encouraged Gotham City's elite to bring it back from the brink of ruination (in the process temporarily foiling a plot to destroy the city by Ra's al Ghul). Dr. Wayne's last words to his son were "Bruce...don't be afraid."
[edit] DC Animated Universe
In the series that began the DC Animated Universe, or DCAU, Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce Wayne's parents are, as in other versions, murdered in Crime Alley. In this version, however, instead of being killed by Jack Napier/Joker or Joe Chill, the Waynes are killed by a total unknown. In fact, in the original series the anonymous killer is never visually shown at all; similarly, the murder is never even mentioned, only alluded to and is instead shown my metaphors, albeit occasionally graphic ones. For example, one nightmare had Batman seeing his parents walking towards a tunnel; he then runs towards them telling them to stop. Even so they enter the tunnel which is revealed to be the barrel of a giant gun. Batman screams as the world is bleached white and a loud shot is heard.
Later series in the DCAU did mention the murder explicitly and even showed the murder. In the Justice League Unlimited episdoe "For the man who has everything," Batman is temporarily trapped by a hallucenogenioc plant called Black Mercy which creates the perfect dream world in which to hold the victim. In the dream world, Batman relives his parent's death but there, his father puts up a good defense against the killer and almost wins. Unfortunately when the Black Mercy Plant is removed, the dream ends with Thomas (and Martha) Wayne being killed all over again, though off screen.
The DCAU also makes use of the rose motif that the Batman and Batman Forever films associate with the murder. In The Animated Series Bruce Wayne leaves roses at the site of his parents' death on the anniversary of the event (as he does in the comic, except that he leaves the roses on their graves). This is parodied in a Simpsons episode when Barney, dressed in black, leaves a rose at the abandoned Duff factory.
[edit] The Batman
In many of the episdoes in the first season of The Batman, Bruce goes over his parents murder in his head. In the fourth season premeire, Bruce tells Alfred, "My parents' murderer was never found."
