Owlman (comics)
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Owlman is a fictional character who appears in stories published by DC Comics. He is a supervillain created as an evil counterpart to Batman, and is a member of the criminal organization, the Crime Syndicate of America. Owlman first appeared in Justice League of America #29 in 1964.
[edit] Pre-Crisis
In his original pre-Crisis appearances, the Crime Syndicate (and Owlman) lived on the parallel Earth of "Earth-Three." Like the rest of the pre-Crisis Crime Syndicate, Owlman perished during the Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries at the hands of the Anti-Monitor.
[edit] Post Crisis
Owlman was revived (along with his teammates) in the late 1990s for modern DC continuity in the novel JLA: Earth 2. In the novel, it was stated that the modern Owlman and his cohorts came from the antimatter universe's Earth that contained most of the pre-Crisis elements of Earth-Three.
As established in JLA: Earth 2, Owlman's divergence from Batman began in his childhood. In most mainstream DC universes, Batman's genesis occurred when young Bruce Wayne was witness to the murder of his parents, Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, and was inspired to devote his life to fighting crime. In the antimatter universe however, Bruce had a brother named Thomas Wayne Jr. Bruce was killed along with his mother by a policeman when Thomas Jr. refused to accompany him for questioning. Thomas Jr. escaped the crime scene with the hoodlum Joe Chill, whom he considered his hero and grew up to become Owlman. Equipping himself with a utility belt containing technology and weapons similar to those used by Batman along with possessing a high intellect (devoted to crime rather than serving the law), Owlman became a master criminal and an ally to Boss Gordon (the antimatter Earth's version of James Gordon). Later he learned that his father Thomas Wayne Sr. was still alive and had become the chief of police in their world's version of Gotham City, gathering a cadre of police officers who did not give in to the rampant corruption which infested their version of Earth. Owlman blames his father for the deaths of his mother and brother and it is strongly hinted that the main purpose to his criminal career is to punish his father.
In some of the pre-Crisis appearances the Earth-Three Owlman also had the ability to briefly control other people's minds, though it is unclear how he acquired this ability. In JLA: Earth 2, Alexander Luthor, Earth-Two's heroic version of Lex Luthor, makes a reference to Owlman's "drug-enhanced" cerebral cortex, although this version of Owlman does not demonstrate any superhuman powers. Presumably, Owlman merely uses some sort of drug to enhance his mental capacity.
[edit] DC Animated Cameo
In Batman: Gotham Adventures issue 10 and 14, Harley Quinn is free from Arkham Asylum and decides to write a romance novel. Joker escapes and looks at Harley's scripts and discovers that the book is not a tell all book but a "Harley Quinn" Romance Novel titled "Masks of Love", about the adventures of Punchinello and Owlman, who is based on Batman.
