'Ariel'
Discussion of Buffy and Angel comics, books, and more. Please don't get into spoilery details in the first week of release.
how old was Bruce when his parents were killed?
Eight.
How old was he when he donned the mantle of the Bat?
Late 20s?
Is it assumed that he was Bruce Wayne up until that point, and then he became Batman and Bruce became the disguise? How did he pull off that switcheroo? I mean, pre-Bats Bruce was very serious and diligent.
The official canon is that Batman was born on the night that Bruce Wayne's parents were killed. Bruce Wayne is just a mask that Batman wears.
The official canon is that Batman was born on the night that Bruce Wayne's parents were killed.
But according to your numbers, he didn't put the suit on for around 20 years. So in that time Bruce Wayne was wandering around accumulating the things that would make Batman. Was he being a flake from then too? How does that mesh with all the book learning he was running around acquiring? Did he suddenly become a himbo? When did he know this would be necessary, to have a cover identity?
From the link above:
As the Waynes' bodies lay still on the cold pavement, young Bruce - then just ten years old - vowed to seek justice and apprehend his parents' vicious killer.
Funded by the Wayne fortune and enabled by the family's loyal valet Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce circumvented the restraints of foster care and embarked on a decade-long worldwide trek to learn all he needed to fulfill his promise. Teachers and mentors on both sides of the law taught Bruce the skills - from little-known martial arts to the latest detective processes - that he would use to hone his body and mind into a living weapon in what would eventually become an unrelenting war on crime.
It was a long-term plan.
It was a long-term plan.
No, I get that. But what I'm asking is -- when did Bruce become a dilettante? Was the overachiever stuff being hidden all this time? How does a 12 year old do that?
Bruce more or less disappeared for ten years. Most of his studying was incognito. When he returned, he could use the cover story that he was off sewing his wild oats.
Most of his studying was incognito.
I have a memory of Bruce at Oxford or Cambridge -- is this an Elseworlds confusion, or a complete fabrication? In fact, wherever I got that, they named another big school, and mentioned investigating more legal ways of fulfilling his mission.
Ita, It's hard to say, having only read the first issue. But Firestorm's always been a composite being, so anything's possible. Also, it's entirely possible that Ronnie's in there somewhere.
Okay -- the second issue raised some questions, and I'll remind myself to ask you them then.
That part of Bruce's life is murky, and subject to the interpretation of different writers. I know that he studied at the FBI Academy at Quantico. Maybe he tried to go legit, but decided that beating up the bad guys was a whole lot more satisfying.