Kingdom Come Batman: Bruce Wayne From Earth-22 – Batman Factor
Batman Factor

Kingdom Come Batman: Bruce Wayne From Earth-22

kingdom come batman

Bruce Wayne appears in many different variations as Batman. The DC’s shared multiverse is enough explanation for this occurrence, and after a while, you get used to the idea of many versions of Batman. Some are good, some are villains, and a lot stray in between. One intriguing variation of the Caped Crusader is the Brememberatman from Earth-22; Kingdom Come Batman. 

Part of this intrigue stems from the fact that this Batman is crippled, quite elderly, and has to rely on an exoskeleton to fight crime. It doesn’t take away his prowess as the Dark Knight, but let’s take a look at this take on the iconic character.

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Kingdom Come Batman: Origin

Batman’s biggest secret has always been his alternate identity as Bruce Wayne. While many people are aware of his double identity, it is still very much a secret, not privy to the general public. All that changed when a series of events led to the revelation of his identity as Bruce Wayne to the public. With his identity out in the news, his two lives came crashing into each other. 

But more was to come. The revelation brought Bane and Two-face to Wayne Manor to confront Batman/Bruce Wayne. In the ensuing confrontation, Batman gets overpowered, and the two villains cripple the Masked Detective. They also destroyed Wayne Manor. 

Having lost everything, Batman picked himself up from the rubble and discarded his identity as Bruce Wayne, fully adopting the Batman persona. This was who he had always been inside. From what was left of the Batcave, he began a new lease on his fight against Gotham’s crime, ruling the city with an iron fist.

His strong army of robot warriors aids him called the Bat Knights, and they patrol the streets of Gotham, enforcing Batman’s law. Batman also fights crime with a new exoskeleton. 

Kingdom Come Batman: The Exoskeleton

Most people would sulk in a corner, all defeated if they had been rendered lame. Most people, however, are not Batman. Despite his new and battered disability, he strived to become even stronger. And thus, the Kingdom Come Batman Suit was created. 

Coupled with the fact that he was disabled, his lack of movement in years also held him back. To counter these limitations, he designs the exoskeleton. It allows him engage in various types of combat, from aerial to hand-to-hand, even with his disability and old age.

The exoskeleton is equipped with all the gadgets from the regular suits. Some of these include grappling hooks, shields that protect him from fire, and other elements. There are also lasers, blades, and a flight system that propels him to the sky. 

Perhaps the Bat exoskeleton’s greatest feature is that it enables Batman to walk again as he did before the fight with Bane and Two-face. It also grants Batman superhuman strength levels.

Kingdom Come: The Story

In the main Kingdom Come storyline written by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, the old heroes have retired, and large numbers of metahumans overrun the world. This retirement was brought on by the arrival of a new superhero named Magog, who did not align with the Superheroes’ old way of not killing. 

His methods didn’t see eye to eye with that of the old heroes, and he even went as far as killing the Joker in response to the clown mass murdering the entire staff of the Daily Planet, including Lois Lane. While the heroes did not take his actions lightly, they were forced to concede, as Magog gained the public’s approval despite his brutal approach. 

Superman returnS on Wonder Woman’s request to form a new Justice league that would combat Lex Luthor’s Mankind Liberation Front (a hidden association of villains). Superman asks Batman to join him, but the Caped Crusader refuses, citing that strategy was the way to change things, not force. Batman believed that the Justice League interfering would only make the regular humans resent them and that a different approach must be taken.

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Eventually however, Batman would need to create his own team, tagged the Outsiders, to act as a bridge in the ensuing war. He considered it the only way the world could know true peace, and believed his governance of Gotham to be the ideal way to handle matters. 

Kingdom Come Batman has appeared in the Arrowverse crossover titled Crisis on Infinite Earths played by Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy. It incorporates elements from the Kingdom Come storyline and Crisis on Infinite Earths.