History
Estate of the Wayne Family, lived in by many of Batman's closest allies and family.
Earth-Two
Bruce Wayne bought the household right before he started operating as Batman. After he purchased the house, the place became known as the "Wayne Mansion".[1]
The Wayne residence was a simple house located on "224 Park Dr.";[2] on the suburbs of Gotham City.[3] Originally, Bruce Wayne used Wayne Manor as his secret base of operations. Using a secret entrance, he would enter a concealed crime lab where he prepared his arsenal for the cases he had to solve.[4]
There was also a hidden passage underneath Wayne Manor wich connected to a seemingly abandoned barn, where Batman kept the Batplane.[5] In order to open the sliding panel to enter the secret passage, it was needed to move an ornamental shield from the wall.[6]
Some time later, Batman built a special hidden room inside Wayne Manor, where he would collect memorabilia from some of his solved cases. This room was only accessible through a six-inch-thick steel door with a combination lock.[7]
Wayne Manor had its own security measures, which included a silent alarm directly connected to Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson's bedrooms, in case there was any intruder.[6]
Not long after this, Bruce developed his secret underground shelter which he called the Batcave. He used this place to hide his Bat-vehicles and he also moved his secret laboratory and gym from the main house to the underground cave. The secret entrance to the cave was concealed inside Wayne Manor and there was also an alarm connected to the main house in case there was any unwanted person inside the Batcave.[8] As Batman's collection of crime trophies increased, the Hall of Trophies wasn't large enough to keep them all and he also moved it to the Batcave, changing its name to Trophy Room.[9]
Wayne Manor was then connected to the Batcave through a large staircase. The secret entrance in the house was concealed behind a grandfather clock. Soon, a criminal who escaped from prison broke into Wayne Manor and found the secret entrance leading to the Batcave, but Batman and Robin were able to defeat him.[10]
Earth-One
Wayne Manor was the main residence of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, who were secretly Batman and Robin. Similar to the Earth-Two counterpart, there was a staircase that connected Wayne Manor to Batman and Robin's secret hideout, the Batcave. However, Bruce decided to upgrade the entrance to the cave and he built an elevator that connected both places and was concealed behind a secret panel in Wayne Manor.[11] All access to Wayne Manor was covered by an electric-eye alarm-system controlled from a sliding panel located in the Library.[12]
Dick Grayson eventually moved out of Wayne Manor in order to attend Hudson University. For this reason, the house became too large for just Alfred and Bruce and they decided to move out of Wayne Manor and settle in the Wayne Foundation Penthouse.[13]
Abandoned Haven
Wayne Manor was left abandoned for a long time, until a crazed Ubu, Ra's al Ghul's faithful servant, broke into the mansion, seeking revenge against Batman and started to destroy everything. He tossed furniture out through windows, killed men by pushing them off the rooftop and almost killed Alfred (who was investigating the mysterious acts of vandalism) with a vicious attack on the staircase railing. This started the rumor of "The Monster of Wayne Manor". The Gotham City Police Department started investigating the place and Batman was forced to keep close at all time, to prevent them from finding the secret entrance to the Batcave. When the police left the place for Batman to work alone, Ubu emerged from the cave and the final confrontation took place in the stately manor. After a brief struggle, Batman kicked Ubu, who impaled himself in the splintered railing, ending his life immediately.[14]
Later, Alfred organized a surprise birthday party for Bruce at Wayne Manor and perpared the place alongside Commissioner Gordon, which proved to be a bad idea since the keen eyes of Gordon found enough evidence to suspect the truth about Bruce and his secret.[15] After this, Wayne Manor was mostly used for ceremonies and events organized by Bruce Wayne or the Wayne Fundation.[16]
On certain occasion, the Gentleman Ghost started using Wayne Manor as his private retreat after having taken control of Alfred. When Batman learned of the Ghost's activities, he saved Alfred and forced the supernatural foe out of the Manor, but ultimately failed to capture him.[17]
New Earth
The construction of Wayne Manor started in the 19th century, but it was left unfinished as the place was considered to be haunted after the death of Joshua Wayne in the caves beneath the manor.[18] The ruins were often used by gunslinger Jonah Hex as a meeting point until the place was claimed back and the construction was finished by Alan Wayne.[19]
Knightfall
Main article: Batman: Knightfall
After Bane figured out Batman's secret identity, he managed to break inside Wayne Manor, knocked Alfred unconscious and waited for Bruce to arrive.[20] When Bruce arrived, the fight began and Bane destroyed great part of the living room before taking the fight to the batcave.[21] After this, some of Bruce’s private rooms were turned into a medical center with high technology equipment to treat Bruce’s injuries.[22]
Wayne Manor abandoned and vandalized
When Bruce and Alfred left the US looking for Dr. Kinsolving, Jean-Paul Valley was left in charge and he assumed the role of Batman. However, due to his mental contraption, he assumed Batman's identity as a crusade and sealed off every entrance to the Batcave, including the secret entrance behind the grandfather clock.[23] Wayne Manor was left inhabitated for months and it became the perfect building for kids and teenagers to vandalize. After a few weeks, there was no window of the house that remained unbroken.[24]
When Bruce recovered from his injuries and returned to Gotham, he learned the truth about Jean-Paul's actions and he burst into the Batcave by tearing down the brick wall that was placed to seal off the secret entrance to the cave.[25] Afterwards, Bruce and Jean-Paul confronted each other in the Manor, causing some minor damages before moving the battle to the Batcave.[26]
Batman R.I.P.
Main articles: Batman: Heart of Hush and Batman R.I.P.
Wayne Manor was attacked by Hush after he changed his face to look identical to Bruce Wayne. Once inside the manor, Hush tried to kill Alfred, but he was stopped by Batman's timely arrival.[27] When the Black Glove invaded the Batcave, they used Wayne Manor as a trap to capture Commissioner Gordon.[28] However, he was eventually saved by the League of Assassins who broke into the Manor, looking for Bruce Wayne.[29]
Since Batman's apparent death, the Manor has been nearly abandoned and been left in shambles. Green Arrow went to the place to investigate and learned the hard truth about Batman's fate. Oliver started drinking some of Bruce's liquor when Superman arrived to investigate as well.[30]
After his return, Bruce Wayne started using it again as his main residence.
Points of Interest
Residents
Known residents
- Wayne Family
- Alfred Pennyworth
- Damian Wayne
- Dick Grayson
- Jason Todd
- Tim Drake
- Harold Allnut
- Jean-Paul Valley
- Leslie Thompkins
- Ace the Bat-Hound
- Harriet Cooper
Notes
- The Wayne Manor from Earth-Two was worth fifty thousand dollars ($50.000).[31]
Trivia
- The model used for Wayne Manor from the 1989 movie Batman was placed on display at Planet Hollywood in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
See Also
Links and References
- ↑ Detective Comics #205
- ↑ Detective Comics #185
- ↑ Detective Comics #72
- ↑ Detective Comics #33
- ↑ Batman #3
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Batman #16
- ↑ Batman #12
- ↑ Detective Comics #83
- ↑ Detective Comics #137
- ↑ Batman #48
- ↑ Batman #164
- ↑ Batman #216
- ↑ Batman #217
- ↑ Detective Comics #438
- ↑ Batman Family #11
- ↑ Batman #297
- ↑ Batman #310
- ↑ Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #3
- ↑ Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #4
- ↑ Detective Comics #663
- ↑ Batman #497
- ↑ Batman #498
- ↑ Batman #503
- ↑ Detective Comics #671
- ↑ Robin (Volume 4) #7
- ↑ Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #63
- ↑ Detective Comics #850
- ↑ Batman #679
- ↑ Batman #680
- ↑ Batman and the Outsiders Vol 2 11
- ↑ Detective Comics #223