Martha Wayne

Martha Wayne (born: Martha Kane)^[2] is a fictional character of the Batman series of comic books, published by DC Comics. She is Bruce Wayne's mother and Dr. Thomas Wayne's wife. When she and her husband are murdered during a holdup, her son swears to avenge their deaths by fighting crime and fulfills this as Batman.^[3]

Background

Martha Wayne first appeared in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939) in a story by Bob Kane and Bill Finger which detailed the origin of Batman. Initially little more than a cipher whose death inspired her heroic son, later comics would expand upon her history.

Born Martha Kane (a maiden name given in homage to co-creator Bob Kane), Martha was the heir to the Kane Chemical fortune and a member of one of Gotham City's wealthiest families. It has been revealed she is related to Kate Kane (Batwoman) in Detective Comics Rebirth issue #934, but no other connection to the other prominent Kanes of Gotham, such as Bette Kane (Flamebird). Despite her Irish-Catholic background, in her youth, Martha had a reputation as a notorious party girl, socialite, and debutante, frequenting all the most prestigious country clubs, night clubs, and soirees. She also had a developed social conscience and often used her family's wealth and status to champion causes and charities.

As revealed in the miniseries Batman: Family by John Francis Moore, Martha's closest friend in those days was the woman Celia Kazantkakis. Both were renowned for their beauty, which caught the attention of a gangster named Denholm. Martha dated Denholm for a time prior to meeting Thomas Wayne, though she was unaware of his true nature at the time. Celia, who had had previous dealings with Denholm, became very protective of her friend and conspired to get this thug out of her life.^[4] In the process it came to light just why Celia was familiar with him. Celia, it turned out, was a criminal herself and had been embezzling money from an orphanage that was one of Martha's charities. She attempted to hide the evidence of this by setting fire to the building but Martha discovered her duplicity. Before Celia departed for her family's home in Greece, Martha threatened to expose her should she ever return to Gotham. Celia would return to Gotham many years later as "Athena", the leader of a criminal cartel. In this guise, she attempted to stage a coup of Wayne Enterprises,^[4] until Batman discovered the true nature of his mother's history with Celia and defeated her.

Shortly after Celia's departure, Martha met and fell in love with prominent physician and philanthropist Dr. Thomas Wayne. They were wed soon after and Martha eventually gave birth to their son Bruce Wayne.

Though mention of Martha's occupation is small, some stories have indicated that, like Bruce, she was unable to allow the crime of Gotham to continue unabated. This version fought against the abuse of Gotham's children and against the trafficking of children around the globe. She headed a covert detection agency with help from Commissioner Gordon and the family butler Alfred—their goals were to stop abuse against children, in the hopes that those children would not grow up to turn into abusers and criminals themselves. Learning of his mother's mission prior to death, Batman gained further inspiration and motive for helping the innocent of Gotham.

Murder

The Wayne family encounters Joe Chill, in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939).

When Bruce Wayne was eight years old, his parents took him to a screening of a Zorro movie at a cinema in Gotham's Park Row. Returning to the car through an alley, they were confronted by a lone gunman, who attempted to steal Martha Wayne's pearl necklace, an anniversary gift from Thomas. In the ensuing struggle, the thief shot both the Waynes dead (later versions of the story claimed that only Thomas was shot and Martha had died of a "shock stroke". This retcon was still later undone). In the wake of this tragedy, Park Row was given the nickname "Crime Alley".

The identity of the Waynes' killer has varied through different versions of the Batman story. Initially, he was said to be the criminal Joe Chill. Later retellings would claim that Chill had been hired by gangster Lew Moxon, an enemy of Thomas Wayne, and told to make the killings look like a robbery. After DC Comics' history-altering Zero Hour series, this interpretation was abandoned in favor of the Waynes' deaths being a random street crime. The killer was thought to have never been caught, adding to the tragedy and universality of Batman's origin. After the further continuity tweaks of the Infinite Crisis miniseries, DC has once again returned to the Joe Chill interpretation.

Since her death, Martha Wayne has only appeared in the Batman series in flashback and in the occasional out-of-body experience or hallucination. Her most significant appearance in this latter category is in the miniseries Batman: Death and the Maidens by Greg Rucka. In this story, Batman ingests an elixir given to him by his enemy Ra's al Ghul, and believes he is having a conversation with his dead parents. Martha is depicted here as a beautiful woman whose face is marred by a bleeding bullet wound, suggesting that Bruce remembers her this way because he has become 'focused' on her death rather than her life, the wound vanishing after she forces him to acknowledge that issue. Martha strongly disapproves of her son's costumed crusade, fearing he has thrown away his chance for happiness, although her husband notes that they disapprove of what being Batman has cost Bruce rather than disapproving of Batman himself. As she and Thomas depart, they assure Bruce that just because the passing of time has lessened his grief does not mean that he no longer cares for them, and, as a result, Bruce is able to accept that he is Batman because he chooses to be, not because he has to be.

In Jeph Loeb's Batman stories, Bruce feels responsible for his parents' murder because he advised Martha to wear the infamous pearl necklace the night she was murdered. Had she not worn it, the mugger might have not killed them, or even have been attracted to them. In Death and the Maidens she claims that the pearls were fakes, and that she wouldn't have worn real ones simply to go to the theater. As this experience may have been merely a hallucination, it is unknown whether or not this is true.

Alleged double life

Another mystery about Martha Wayne's final fate is unveiled in the Batman R.I.P. storyline, where it is revealed that the Kanes hired a detective to prowl about the circumstances of her death, always suspecting that Thomas Wayne married her for her money.

Many years later, the detective hired by the Kanes presents to Commissioner Gordon a dossier describing Martha as a helpless, frail woman hooked on drugs by an abusive husband, who frequently indulged in orgies and extramarital affairs, taking Alfred Pennyworth as her lover. The detective pushes his theory further, disclosing to Gordon a theory about Thomas Wayne ordering the fateful shooting to get revenge over an unfaithful wife and disappearing before being hit by the scandal. The villainous Simon Hurt, head of the Black Glove cabal, bent on getting revenge on Batman, claims to Alfred, taken hostage, to be Thomas Wayne himself, returned to enact his vengeance once again over the unfaithful Martha by ruining her son's life. Alfred disproves this version and questions the truth of the "revelations" about Thomas Wayne.

Simon Hurt is unmasked by Bruce Wayne as Mangrove Pierce, a former impersonator trying to ruin Thomas and Bruce Wayne's lives. Simon implies that Pierce may be another forged identity, but tacitly admits that the stories of Martha's sexual relationship with Alfred and the circumstances of her drug addiction and homicide are clever forgeries designed to break Batman or coerce him to join the Black Glove as a means to silence the rumors about his family.

With Bruce Wayne's and Simon Hurt/Mangrove Pierce's disappearance, the charges are dropped, and Martha's good name is cleared.

In Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader, Martha appears to her son between life and death and guides him to his fate.

The Return of Bruce Wayne

In Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5, the detective hired by the Kanes to investigate Martha Wayne's murder is revealed as Batman himself, turned amnesiac as he leaps through time under Darkseid's Omega Effect. His 'investigations' are influenced by the Black Glove organization as they attempt to use him as a sacrifice in a ritual while planting evidence to frame the Wayne family for debauchery.

Streets of Gotham

In the series Streets of Gotham, Martha Wayne's history as a young woman was revised and elaborated further.

After her father was tricked into a shady investment deal by a mobster named Judson Pierce, which drained the Kane fortune and made him suffer a fatal heart attack, Martha became involved with charity work focusing on Gotham's poorest citizens. One of her main projects was raising support for the free clinic founded in Gotham's slums by doctor Leslie Thompkins.

During an attempt to solicit support from Gotham's elite, she had her first encounter with Thomas Wayne. Aside from being a well-regarded surgeon, Thomas was also an infamous playboy and party animal. He affirmed this reputation by being extremely drunk in public and vomiting on Martha's shoes, causing her to storm off in disgust despite his apologies.

Leslie's clinic also became a new target for Judson Pierce after he deemed it a key point for taking over the surrounding neighborhood. Pierce attempted to prey on Martha's poverty by offering cash to shut the facility down. Martha accepted Pierce's money, but filed it as a donation to keep the clinic running. Enraged, Pierce arranged to have Martha and Leslie assassinated.

Martha met Thomas Wayne a second time after he had Alfred chauffeur him to the clinic so he could apologize again. That same evening though, Pierce's hitmen also decided to make their move. Alfred was able to subdue the assailants, but not before Leslie suffered a minor gunshot wound. While Leslie recovered from her injury, Thomas volunteered to work in the clinic alongside Martha. Thomas became content with the work there and it wasn't long before Thomas and Martha became romantically involved. By the time Leslie returned to work, Thomas became an official sponsor of the clinic and used his vast resources to keep it running. Thomas also distanced himself from his hedonistic past, citing Martha as his inspiration to change.

The New 52

In "The New 52" (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), Martha Wayne is seen as a good, strong-willed mother worried about her child's future and the future of Gotham's children as well. It is revealed that while Bruce was three years-old, Martha was pregnant with a second child named Thomas Wayne Jr. Due to an accident orchestrated by the Court of Owls, the child was born prematurely and supposedly sent to Willowwood Asylum in order to heal. After the murder of Thomas and Martha, the asylum ceased to receive proper funding and the staff started to abuse the children in their care. At some point in time, the Court of Owls offers a child that is possibly Thomas Jr. to become a part of them and he goes up Gotham's ranks with the false-identity of a rich Gotham socialite and mayor candidate, called Lincoln March. Thomas Jr/Lincoln holds Bruce directly responsible for their parents' murders and the life he went through, and has a burning desire for revenge against his brother. Whether Lincoln really is Bruce's brother or a ploy set by the Court of Owls in order to enlist him in their ranks is unresolved, with Bruce acknowledging that the evidence favouring March being Thomas Junior makes sense but certain that his parents would have told him if he had a brother, records stating that Thomas Junior died twelve hours after he was born even if another child was admitted to the orphanage with injuries matching what Thomas Junior would have suffered from.

Other versions

Superman: Red Son

In Mark Millar's Superman: Red Son, Martha and her husband are anti-communist protesters in the Soviet Union. They are executed by the NKVD under Commissar Pyotr Roslov, which leads to their son vowing to overthrow the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Batman: Dark Knight Dynasty

In Batman: Dark Knight Dynasty, Thomas and Martha are saved from death when 'Valentin Sinclair'- really Vandal Savage, a man who has a long-standing interest and admiration for the Wayne family despite the fact that they often end up opposing him when they learn about his plans- scared off Joe Chill, Sinclair becoming a partner in Wayne Enterprises, only for Sinclair to have them killed when they threaten to expose his plan to divert a meteor that gave him his powers back to Earth so that he can study it. Their deaths- triggered by Sinclair's fear-inducing henchman Scarecrone causing them to remember the mugging, driving them to flee Chill by running off their balcony- prompt Bruce to become Batman to investigate, Gordon having written their deaths off as an accident and Bruce unwilling to investigate as himself because of the risk to his new wife, Julie Madison.

Flashpoint

Martha Wayne as the Joker (right) and Thomas Wayne as Batman (left) of the Flashpoint universe. Art by Dave Johnson.

The alternate universe Flashpoint version of Martha Wayne is the Joker and even resembles Heath Ledger's iteration as seen in The Dark Knight. After Bruce Wayne is shot and killed by Joe Chill, Martha is unable to cope with her loss so she cuts open her cheeks to create a faux smile.^[5] As Joker, she is the nemesis of Batman and uses Yo-Yo as a henchman. She kidnaps Harvey Dent's son and daughter. Joker kills James Gordon after she tricks him into shooting Harvey's daughter (disguised as the Joker). After Dent's son and daughter are saved, Batman confronts Joker^[6] about their son's death. He reveals to Martha that there is a way to rewrite history (as Batman has recently met Barry Allen) where their son will live although they will die. Realizing that her son will be Batman, Martha flees in horror, falling to her death in the caverns below Wayne Manor.^[5]

Planetary

In an alternate universe ruled by the tyrannical 'Planetary' organization, Martha and her husband were part of a makeshift 'League of Justice', an underground cell trying to revolt. They were murdered by Elijah Snow.^[7]

Earth One

In the graphic novel Batman: Earth One, Martha's maiden name was Arkham instead of Kane in this alternate continuity. Martha's father was murdered by her mother when she was twelve, leaving her family with a series of scandals; including a rumor of members of the Arkham bloodline would be insane. Martha was a campaign manager of her husband's mayoral campaign against Oswald Cobblepot. Cobblepot had planned to have a corrupt cop, Jacob Weaver, murder Thomas, but a mugger got to her family first and killed both her and her husband, leaving Bruce orphaned.

The New 52: Earth 3

Martha Wayne's Earth 3 counterpart is featured in Forever Evil. In the revised Earth 3 alternate universe of "The New 52", all characters from the mainstream universe have corresponding counterparts albeit these counterparts are either a darker or outright evil version of the character. Martha is the abusive and sadistic mother of Owlman, in contrast to Batman's mother being a kind woman who fought against child abuse and corruption. Martha blames her husband's surgical fetish for the family's huge expenses. Owlman orchestrates his parents' murder with the Alfred of Earth 3. Owlman later wonders why Batman would dedicate his life to his parents' deaths.

DC Comics Bombshells

In the opening of the first issue of the comic DC Comics Bombshells, set in an alternate history 1940, Martha and Thomas Wayne's lives are saved by an already-existing Batwoman, implying that Bruce Wayne will never grow up to become Batman.

In other media

Television

Live action

• Martha Wayne appears on the Fox TV series Gotham, portrayed by actress Brette Taylor. Her and Thomas Wayne's murder is the main focus of the series.^[8]

Animation

• In the animated series The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, Martha Wayne is depicted in a sequence in the episode "The Fear" which was the first depiction of Batman's origin outside of the DC Comics.
• Martha Wayne is referenced in The Batman cartoon series. Martha is murdered with Thomas Wayne after watching the film The Cloaked Rider with her son but the gunman is never caught. In the episode "The Big Chill", Bruce Wayne has a nightmare in which she and Thomas are murdered by Victor Fries. In the episode "Artifacts" (set in the distant future), Martha is believed to have been Batwoman while her husband is Batman and their son is the Red Robin.
• Martha Wayne appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Pat Musick (in "Dawn of the Deadman!") and by Julie Newmar (in "Chill of the Night!"). She appears as a ghost in the episode "Dawn of the Deadman!". The character has a more central role in the episode "Chill of the Night!", where the Phantom Stranger takes Batman back in time to a costume party Martha and Thomas Wayne attended. Batman hugs Martha (dressed in a butterfly-like costume). When Lew Moxon holds Martha hostage, Batman and Thomas team up to fight and defeat the gang of robbers, thus Batman learns new information about his parents' murder.
• Martha Wayne appears in Beware the Batman. In the episode "Monsters", Martha appears in a flashback sequence where she and her husband are shot and killed in front of Bruce Wayne.

DC Animated Universe

• Martha Wayne featured in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Adrienne Barbeau (in "Perchance to Dream"). In this version, Martha and her husband Thomas Wayne are murdered in Crime Alley an unidentified murderer. The murder is only occasionally alluded via nightmares. In the episode "Dreams in Darkness", Batman is drugged with the Scarecrow's fear toxin and sees his parents walking towards a tunnel then runs towards them, telling them to stop. They enter the tunnel, which is revealed to be the barrel of a giant gun, dripping blood. Batman screams as the world is bleached white and a loud shot is heard. In the episode "Two-Face", Batman fails to save the titular villain in a nightmare while his parents also look on. In the episode "Perchance to Dream", Martha is briefly seen alive in the Mad Hatter's dream sequence. The series also makes use of the rose motif that the films Batman and Batman Forever associate with the murder. Bruce Wayne leaves roses at the site of his parents' murder on the event's anniversary (similarly, he leaves roses on their graves in the comics).
• Martha Wayne makes a cameo appearance in Justice League Unlimited. In the episode "For the Man Who Has Everything", Batman experiences an hallucination via an extraterrestrial plant to which Martha and her son watch her husband fighting back against Joe Chill but eventually the true memory returns.

Film

Live action

Batman 1989 Anthology

• Martha Wayne (credited as "Mrs. Wayne") appeared in Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman, portrayed in flashback by Sharon Holm. In this version, she and her husband are killed by Jack Napier / The Joker, when they are ambushed in an alley by the gangster's gang.
• Martha Wayne appeared in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever, played by Eileen Seeley, in a flashback.

The Dark Knight Trilogy

• Martha Wayne appears in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, played by Sara Stewart. In this version, the Waynes are killed by Joe Chill after exiting the opera Mefistofele after the bat-like performers frighten her son due to a strong fear of bats. In Christopher Nolan's second sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, Selina Kyle steals Martha Wayne's pearl necklace which prompts Bruce Wayne to track the thief down. Bruce eventually reclaims his mother's necklace from Selina but this only incites Selina steals Bruce's car in revenge. At the end of the film, the pearls are seen on Selina's neck, implying that Bruce must've given his mother's possession to Selina.

DC Extended Universe

• Martha Wayne is portrayed by Lauren Cohan in the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. During the opening credits, Martha tried to fight the mugger after he shot Thomas to protect Bruce, only to be killed herself. The mugger's gun gets stuck in her pearl neckalace, and it's Recoil damages the necklace. Before dying, her husband (Thomas Wayne) yells out her name after seeing her corpse. When Superman and Batman clash after Lex Luthor frames Superman for bombing a meeting of Congress and then holds his adopted mother Martha Kent hostage as a blackmail tool, Batman spares Superman when the latter asks Batman to "save Martha" due to the memories of his own mother.

Animation

• Martha Wayne is referenced several times in The Batman vs. Dracula alongside Thomas Wayne.
• Martha Wayne appears on the direct-to-DVD animated anthology film Batman: Gotham Knight, voiced by Andrea Romano. She appears in a brief flashback shown in the opening of the final segment "Deadshot" seen screaming before being shot.
• Martha Wayne (as the Flashpoint iteration of Joker) makes a cameo appearance in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, voiced by Grey DeLisle. In the distorted Flashpoint timeline, Martha loses her mind after her child's death; Martha's "Joker smile" was from her son's blood as her sorrow turns into insane laughter. Batman later fights Yo-Yo for the Joker's whereabouts and also compares Eobard Thawne's deranged psychosis to the Joker's insanity.

Video games

• Martha Wayne appear in flashbacks in Batman: The Telltale Series, voiced by Lorri Holt. In the game's continuity, she and her husband Thomas have criminal ties to Carmine Falcone and Hamilton Hill, acting as launderers for the groups money. They seized a lot of their power in Gotham by committing those who stand in their way to Arkham Asylum, injecting them with a psychosis inducing chemical to render them insane. That is what they did to Oswald Cobblepot's mother Esther. Alfred also implies that she bribed the owners of the Monarch Theater to show Bruce's "favorite movie", whenever he wanted to go and see it. When he believes that they have gone too far, Hill hired Joe Chill to assassinate them whilst they returned home from one such trip.

Batman Arkham

Martha Wayne is featured in the Batman Arkham series where she is voiced by Tasia Valenza.

• In Batman: Arkham Asylum, under the Scarecrow's fear toxin influence, Batman experiences flashbacks of his parents' murder. A bench in Arkham Asylum dedicated to Martha (and Thomas Wayne) is the answer to one of the Riddler's riddles which leads to Thomas and Martha's unlockable bio.
• In Batman: Arkham City, the Monarch Theatre (the site the murders) is featured in Arkham City. Behind the building is the chalk outline of Thomas Wayne's and Martha's bodies with a bouquet of flowers and Hugo Strange's tape with a taunting message lying by the outlines. The player has the option of paying his respects by having Batman kneeling by the outlines of both. The chalk outlines lasted for so many years, although it is implied by the message that Strange was the one who staged the scenario to torment Batman. Later while succumbing to the effect of the Joker's poison, Batman has a hallucination outside the League of Assassins' temple in which his mother appeared standing inside a tunnel to come into the light with her.
• She is alluded in Batman: Arkham Origins. Following the Joker's capture at the Royal Hotel, Batman has a vision of Crime Alley which actually shows Thomas Wayne and then Martha being gunned down by a mugger. The site of the Wayne murders can be found in Park Row's Crime Alley behind the Monarch Theatre. Martha's and Thomas's pair chalk outlines are present along with a single rose. During one of Batman's detective missions, the Dark Knight has to investigate the murders of two acquaintances at Crime Alley, only a few feet from his parents' chalk outline. While reconstructing the crime with Detective Vision, if the player watches the Waynes' chalk outlines, their corpses will appear for a brief moment.
• She is alluded once again in Batman: Arkham Knight. First as a hallucination from the Scarecrow's fear toxin and also since "Martha" is Batman's password to activate the Knightfall protocol.

Novels

• In Batman: The Ultimate Evil, Martha Wayne's past is explored; she fought crime in her own way as a social worker trying to protect sexually abused children. The novel suggests this was the motive for the murder of the Wayne couple.

References