Benjamin Gruener (New Earth)

Judson Caspian is a socialite by day, and a vigilante by night. After losing his wife to a robber in the streets, he becomes The Reaper, who prowls Gotham City during the 1950s, murdering juvenile delinquents by impaling them with a scythe. His murder spree prompts Alan Scott to briefly emerge from retirement to confront him as Green Lantern. Vastly overpowered during an encounter between the two, the Reaper lashes out in a panic with his nunchaku and by happenstance, strikes Green Lantern, whose force-field is vulnerable to the wooden weapons. The Reaper subsequently moves to Europe.

After Caspian returns from Europe he renews his rampage as the Reaper, which brings him into conflict with Batman. After losing a fight with the Reaper, Batman is forced to join forces with Joe Chill, the man who killed his parents. Having been assigned by the Gotham mob to kill both Reaper and Batman when he had finished, Chill hunts the Reaper alongside Batman. After revealing his identity to Chill and putting a gun to his head, Batman's revenge is taken from him by the Reaper, who shoots Chill in the head.

The Reaper engages Batman in a fierce battle, losing; the Dark Knight leaves him hanging from the scaffolding of a building under construction, and unmasks him. Batman, who had intended to marry Caspian's daughter, Rachel, is shocked, and holds out his hand to help the Reaper. However, Caspian, who knows what charges he is up against, tells Batman that he will make a fine successor, and lets go of the ledge, plummeting to his death. After being exposed as the Reaper, Caspian is given a funeral funded by Bruce Wayne, who says that he deserves a peaceful death. Rachel, who was initially unaware of her father's crimes, becomes a nun after Caspian's life as the Reaper is exposed.