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"You can't have both happiness and the truth. You have to choose. I beg of you, my son, please, choose happiness. Unless you feel a calling. A true calling."
—Thomas Wayne in his letter to Bruce[src]


Thomas Wayne was the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. He was the father of Bruce Wayne and the husband of Martha Wayne. After leaving from a musical with his family, Thomas along with Martha were murdered by a masked assailant.

Biography[]

Pinewood Farms[]

Thomas was part of a cricket team alongside Hugo Strange. When Thomas discovered about inhumane experiments going on at a program known as Pinewood Farms, he had it shut down and put one of the subjects Karen Jennings into hiding. After that he formed a sort of father-daughter bond with Karen and bought her a music box. He was due to meet her just before he and his wife's murder.[2]

Secret lair[]

At an unknown point in time, Thomas made a secret lair under Wayne Manor, and used it as his secret workplace, allowing no one in his study while he was in the process of using it, playing opera music for hours.[3] Thomas Wayne possessed a Kevlar vest with a bullet hole in it. In the case of his death, Thomas left a letter in his lair explaining that the need for the secret workplace was because that becoming a father had made him want to be a better man, and he began investigating Wayne Enterprises. Refraining from leaving Bruce too much fatherly advice, Thomas explained to Bruce that one couldn't have both happiness and the truth and that one had to choose. Though he begged of Bruce to choose happiness, unless in the circumstance, Bruce felt a true calling.[4]

Wayne Plaza[]

Planning the construction of a new tall building named Wayne Plaza, Thomas hired skilled engineer Xander Wilde to work on the project. Wayne once met with Wilde at his hideout in the Gotham Woods to finalize the plans.[5]

Meeting with Xander Wilde's Twin[]

Two months before the death of Martha and Thomas Wayne, the entire Wayne family was enjoying a night out at a circus. As they were watching a performance by the local siamese singers, an unknown teenager knocked into Thomas Wayne. The teenager snapped at Thomas to which he was chided by Martha for his apparent carelessness. The teenager then insulted them, which prompted another chiding from Martha. After Alfred's reply seemingly garnered nothing but a creepy smile from the teen, Bruce then reminded him that the act of being rude wasn't funny. The teenager then challenged this remark by referring to Bruce by name and questioning the degree of privilege that was afforded to him. His mother then made an appearance, pulling the teen into a trailer marked with a sign that said: Snake Charmer. Alfred then criticized the mother's behavior while Bruce remarked how the teen seemed to be creepy.

Death[]

In the weeks leading up to his death, he learned that Strange had re-started the Pinewood Farms project, now called Indian Hill. Instead of being funded by Thomas, the new project was funded by the secret society of Gotham socialites called The Court of Owls. When Strange discovered that Thomas was onto his latest scheme, he decided to have him killed. Hugo, using the codename "Philosopher", contacted a casino owner and mercenary leader called The Lady in order to facilitate the assassination. The Lady gave killing contract to Matches Malone. After leaving from a popular musical.[6] and taking a shortcut through an alley, the Waynes and their son Bruce were mugged by Malone to give the appearance of a random attack. Although both Thomas and Martha gave the mugger what he wanted without any trouble, Malone killed them both in front of their son Bruce, before running off.[7] The Ruling Council of The Court of Owls condoned the assassination and assured their control over Wayne Enterprises and Indian Hill.

Legacy[]

"Your father was a good man."
"I know. But even good men have secrets.
"
Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne[src]

Bruce began to look into Thomas and Martha's death, and detective Jim Gordon vowed that he would solve the case.

"Your father was a true stoic. He kept his best self hidden."
Lucius Fox to Bruce Wayne[src]


When confronted by Sid Bunderslaw, Bruce Wayne was told that Thomas and his mother had kept quiet about the illegal activities at Wayne Enterprises. Before being let out of Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox told Bruce that his father was a very guarded man, and kept his true self-hidden.[8]

Two years after the death of Thomas and his wife, Martha, Bruce tracked down the killer who was revealed to be hitman Patrick Malone. Bruce thought against killing Malone and walked away, and Malone subsequently committed suicide with a gunshot to the head. Although the killer was identified, Jim planned to still find out who put out the hit.[9]

Appearances[]

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Novels


Notes[]

  • In DC Comics, the character of Thomas Wayne was created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson and Gardner Fox. He first appears in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939), in the first exposition of Batman's origin story.
  • Thomas is featured as a main character in the prequel tie-in book Gotham: Dawn of Darkness, which takes place two months prior to the murder of him and his wife in the series pilot.
  • According to the Gotham newspaper, Thomas and Martha's time of death is 11:13 pm, unlike in the comics, where their time of death is 10:47 pm.
  • Thomas and Martha were killed in June.[10][11]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Jason Starr(writer) (January 31, 2017). Gotham: Dawn of Darkness. Titan Books.
  2. Cutter, Perry Rebecca (writer) & Scott, Oz (director) (April 11, 2016). "Wrath of the Villains: Into the Woods". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 17. FOX.
  3. "All Happy Families Are Alike"
  4. Heller, Bruno (writer) & Cannon, Danny (director) (September 21, 2015). "Rise of the Villains: Damned If You Do...". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 1. FOX.
  5. Lilien, Steven & Wynbrandt, Bryan (writer) & Vrvilo, Maja (director) (April 5, 2018) "A Dark Knight: Mandatory Brunch Meeting" Gotham. Season 4. Episode 17.
  6. Waynes Shot Dead in Alley - Gotham Chronicle
  7. Heller, Bruno (writer) & Cannon, Danny (director) ( September 22, 2014). "Pilot". Gotham. Season 1. Episode 1. FOX.
  8. Harper, Jordan (writer) & Edwards, Paul A. (director) (April 27, 2015). "The Anvil or the Hammer". Gotham. Season 1. Episode 21. FOX.
  9. Behring, John (writer) & Harper, Jordan (director) (March 14, 2016). "Wrath of the Villains: This Ball of Mud and Meanness". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 14. FOX.
  10. Hull, Robert & Brown-Mostyn, Megan (writers) & Stephens, John (director) (April 18, 2016). "Wrath of the Villains: Pinewood". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 18. FOX.
  11. Chun, Tze (writer) & Stephens, John (director) (Febuary 21, 2019) "Legend of the Dark Knight: Ace Chemicals" Gotham. Season 5. Episode 7.
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