Comic Personalities
ACE (the Bat-hound) was a brave brown dog first owned by engraver John Wilker and later by Bruce Wayne. Ace's costume consisted of a tight fitting black mask. The dog was rescued by Batman and Robin as he was drowning in a river. They put an ad in the newspaper to find his owner. No one answered the ad, so Batman kept him at the Batcave for the time being. One night, as Batman and Robin responded to a police call, the dog came with them. Robin covered up the Ace's forehead markings (which could reveal his identity) with a black mask and put a small bat-insignia on Ace's collar. Ace came to be a valuable asset after helping to capture an escape convict. The dog received its name when the criminal screamed "Leggo you--you bat-hound!"
Alfred Pennyworth is the loyal English servant that has been Bruce Wayne's butler for over five decades. Alfred is the only one who knows the true identity of both Batman and Robin, he is trusted by them to keep that a secret. Born, raised, and educated in England, Alfred traveled to the US after his father, Jarvis (at the time Bruce Wayne's butler), passed away. Alfred had been interested in theater, but his father had asked him to take his place if anything happened to him. He is more than a butler--he mends their costumes, serves meals, washes and irons, keeps the Batcave clean, and helps to conceal the identity of the caped crusaders.
Batgirl (actually Barbara Gordon), was once the head librarian of the Gotham City Public Library. She later became a congress woman. She is a colleague of Batman and Robin, although they do not know her true identity. She is trained very well in both judo and karate, and uses the knowledge for crime fighting. while wearing her Batgirl costume to the Policemen's Masquerade Ball, which she made for the occasion, she sees that Bruce Wayne is in trouble and decides to help. After saving his life, she is excited at the thrill of risking her own life. She decides to help keep Gotham City safe by keeping crime off the streets.
Batman, the costumed crime fighter who fights the forces of evil dwelling in Gotham, is Bruce Wayne in disguise. Batman chooses to fight crime without guns, using gadgets (most from his utility belt) and martial arts instead. Batman was forced into the crime fighting career
after watching his parents brutally murdered in an alley early in his life (1924). After many years of pain and mourning, in 1939
he decides that it is time to devote his life to fighting crime. After seeing a huge bat fly by his window he thought his costume
should look like a bat, to strike fear into a criminal's mind. As the years went on, Batman would meet up with all types of
crazed, psychotic individuals, some of which became his greatest enemies. The Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, and Mr.
Freeze are just a few of them. He also adopted an orphaned boy named Dick Grayson who's parents were murdered. Soon
enough, Dick Grayson caught the crime fighting bug and donned the name "Robin."
Bat-Mite is a mischievous mite from another dimension who wants to help Batman and Robin, but usually causes harm. While trying to help the crime fighters, he forces them to develop their skill more. Bat-Mite sees himself as Batman's greatest fan, although they have called him a "pest" and a "gremlin". All of Bat-Mite's powers are unknown, but are similar to that of Mr. Mxyzptlk. He can make himself visible and invisible at any time, make inanimate objects come to life, shrink or enlarge people and objects, levitate people or objects, and give people or animals special powers. He uses magic to help Batman and Robin, but usually ends up making things worse.
Catwoman is an arch enemy of Gotham whose equipment, costumes, and crime are based on a feline theme. Selina Kyle, who later became Catwoman, was an airline stewardess who turned toward crime after a disastrous airline crash. She lost her memory in the crash and was left with amnesia for more than a decade. It is at this time that she began her crime spree. She started as a jewel thief and it wasn't until later that she associated her crimes with felines. In December of 1950, she returns to her life as Selina Kyle after an accidental blow to her head which restored her memory. She became an owner of a tiny pet shop. When seeing a newspaper article of her "many defeats" by Batman, she once again turned to a life of crime.
James W. Gordon was born on January 5, 1900. He graduated from law school on June 6, 1924, and married Mrs. Gordon in 1926. He started as a rookie policeman and in 1931 received the rank of lieutenant for his devotion and skill in crime solving. He does not know the true identity of Batman and would rather keep it that way as long as Batman is helping to fight crime. Gordon is Batman's closest friend and usually confers with him when problems arise.
Joe Chill is the person responsible for killing Bruce Wayne's parents and the person who made Batman who he is (despite how the movies portray the Joker as killing Wayne's parents). Thomas Wayne and his wife were walking along with their son, Bruce, on their way home from a movie. A unidentified gunman leaped from the shadows announcing a holdup and reached for the necklace around Martha's neck. When Thomas tried to stop the crime from happening, the gunman (Joe Chill) shot him dead with one bullet. He then shot the screaming Martha and faded into the night. In June of 1948, exactly twenty-four years after the death of Thomas and Martha, Chill is shot to death by a group of hoodlums seeking vengeance (for a bad deal).
Early on, the Joker was a cold-blooded murderer. He killed more than half a dozen men in spring of 1940 alone, although he would not kill anyone else again until the 1970's. The Joker has been one of Batman's greatest villains, and on many attempts tries to unmask Batman. Even when he gets his chance to know the true identity of Batman, he feels that he would rather have fun matching wits with this mysterious crime fighter. The Joker left calling cards in the form of a joker playing card early in his crime career. The Joker is known to announce crimes in advance, and either leave clues or broadcast via television/radio. He believes that anyone can pull a surprise crime, but it takes the Joker to pull off one that is announced. The Joker was once a laboratory worker who decides to turn to crime and steals $1,000,000, and then retire. He called himself the "Red Hood, " and stole without getting caught by Batman or the police for quite a while. Red Hood continued until one night, right after reaching his goal of $1,000,000, when he was cornered against Batman and Robin on a factory's catwalk. The Red hood dove into a chemical catch basin in order to avoid capture, which gave him the chalk white face, green hair, and red lips. He decided that the accident would make people fear him and so named himself the Joker.
The Mad Hatter (Jervis Tech), is a clever villain who always tries to outwit Batman and Robin. He was the first to successfully nab Batman's cowl. He sprayed the Dark Knight with a substance that caused the cowl to become very radioactive when Batman entered a building where atomic experiments were performed. Just after Jervis Tech had added the cowl to his collection of hats, Batman and Robin found his hideout. They had used the geiger counter in the Bat-utility belt and followed the Mad Hatter's radioactive trail.
The Penguin, like the Joker, started his career as a cold-blooded murderer. He had liked birds, and so associates his crimes with them. His umbrellas are also one of his trademarks, and he has used them to escape capture by Batman many times. The umbrellas have lethal weapons and gadgets on them which help the Penguin commit his crimes. He considers each crime a work of art and feels perfection is needed. He decides to join a gang and to show his criminal worthiness must steal some valuable paintings from a public art exhibition. When the gang boss asked him his name he said "Why not call me the Penguin?" The Penguin has chosen bird shops or umbrella stores as his hideout in many occasions. He is known for his pudgy body, his waddle and bird-like laugh.
The Riddler is a criminal mastermind who use of riddles to announce crimes keeps Batman on his toes. Edward Nigma, as a young boy, became known as a puzzle expert by his friends. He won a contest in school that required him to put a jigsaw puzzle together the fastest. The night before, he opened the teachers desk draw and took a picture of the puzzle so he could memorize the pieces. He was the first person to put the puzzle together the following day; his cheating unknown to everyone. When he was an adult, he operated a puzzle booth at a carnival were the customer would
compete against him. If the customer won, he got a cash prize, but if he lost, he paid a fee. Edward Nigma soon tired of the small money he was making at the carnival and decided to commit puzzle crimes. He wore a green costume and became known as the Riddler.
Robin is Batman's partner in crime fighting and has his own costume and gadgets. Dick Grayson, as a young boy, was part of the Flying Graysons, a husband and wife team of circus and trapeze artists. His parents, John and Mary Grayson, were murdered early on in his life. Batman adopted young Grayson and gave him a home. The costume he wears consists of a matching green shirt and shorts, a black mask, gloves, and boots that come up a little above the ankles. Around his waist is a utility belt with a gold buckle, which is similar to Batman's in function, but not in design. The utility belt consists of a two-way transistor radio, with the microphone speaker hidden inside the buckle, and pouches concealing other gadgets. Robin has aided Batman countless times over the years and has always been a good friend.
The Scarecrow, Jonathan Crane, uses the psychology of terror to commit his crimes. He had been a college professor, until he was dismissed from the university for his lecture on fear (he shattered a flower pot with an automatic pistol). One day he overheard some of the other teachers talking about his clothes and laughing about how he spends all his money on books. "The fools!" snarls Crane angrily. "Do they think I would give up my precious books just to buy clothes? Bah! They think I'm queer and look like a scarecrow--a scarecrow! They judge human values by money--if I had money they'd respect me - and I could buy more books! Yes--if I only had money---lots of money--" And so his criminal career started.
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