Take it from Batman: when you’ve been the top-selling superhero at DC Comics for over half a century, it can be challenging to keep things completely fresh. It’s for that reason that the publisher saw a complete sales explosion with the release of Absolute Batman, the most ambitious and unexpected story centered on Batman in years. But as James Gunn complains that every Batman story has been told, the comic fans know that the most shocking and risky Bruce Wayne mystery is still waiting to be solved.
Bruce’s Younger Brother, Thomas Wayne Jr., Is Still On The Loose
The Shocking Revelation Could Change Batman Comics Forever
For many fans, the news that Bruce Wayne has a secret younger brother will be shocking news in itself, seeming completely at odds with the image of Thomas and Martha Wayne made famous in the pages of DC Comics. But frankly, that was the point when this storyline was introduced as part of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s “Court of Owls” epic in the New 52 Batman series.
The world-changing secrets were flying at the time, as Bruce learned about the secret society controlling Gotham from the shadows all his life, and their murderous agents who could challenge even the dark knight in battle.
And so it was that one such Talon named “Lincoln March” reflected Bruce’s own double-life, running for mayor during the day, and killing as a Talon agent of the Court by night. But when the truth was fully revealed in Batman #10 (2011), fans were in as much denial as Bruce. “Lincoln” claimed that before he was born, a car accident sent a pregnant Martha Wayne to the hospital in distress. When the child was “born early, born hurt,” it was sent to a premier children’s hospital to be treated in private.
Sadly that hospital slowly became a place of darkness, not healing, when its greatest donors were gunned down in Crime Alley, leaving the abandoned Wayne child to be scooped up and groomed by the Court of Owls. That boy was Thomas Wayne, Jr. the Talon claimed, and Batman was enraged. So enraged, in fact… that it seemed to be more than deception.
Will The Return of Batman’s Younger Brother Ever Happen?
The Talon Could Return With The Court of Owls
The fact is that while many fans would like to dismiss the mystery out of hand, discounted as the ravings of a sadly broken man, the facts and evidence suggest there is at least some truth to the story (and if there is some truth, why would the rest be a fiction?). Multiple plot threads have suggested that Bruce Wayne personally believes this to be likely, if unproven, making it a storyline permanently placed “on hold.”
There is always an outside chance that the plot could be picked up outside of comics, with the tale a tonal fit for Robert Pattinson’s The Batman series, as one example. But until someone decides to take this story all the way to the finish line, it will remain a massive missed opportunity. And one incredible Batman story that has still never “been told.”
- Created By
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Bob Kane, Bill Finger
- Alias
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Bruce Wayne
- Alliance
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Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family
- Race
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Human
- Franchise
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D.C.