Wrath is the name of a DC Comics supervillain. He was a member of Batman's rogues gallery, where he served as a sort of Anti-Batman. DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Mike W. Barr, also referred to as Mike Barr, is a notable writer of comic books, mystery novels, and science fiction. ... Michael Golden He is a comic book artist who first rose to prominence in the late 1970s with Marvel Comics Micronauts series. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ...

Publication History

The character was created by Mike W. Barr (writer) and Michael Golden (artist) and made his debut in a story titled "The Player on the Other Side", published in Batman Special # 1 (1984). The story was named after an essay by Aldous Huxley that goes by the same title. Since the story of Wrath appeared in 1984 it is most likely out of continuity nowadays, in particular since it contained some aspects that are quite contradictory to the current version of the Batman-saga (e.g. Leslie Thompkins not knowing about Batman and Bruce Wayne being the same person or James Gordon living in Gotham and serving as a policeman when Batman was just a kid). Mike W. Barr, also referred to as Mike Barr, is a notable writer of comic books, mystery novels, and science fiction. ... Michael Golden He is a comic book artist who first rose to prominence in the late 1970s with Marvel Comics Micronauts series. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Dr. Leslie Thompkins (often spelled Tompkins) is a fictional character from the Batman comic books. ... There have been several notable figures, both real and fictional, named James Gordon. ...

Character History

Wrath's appearance, as well as his origin story and the motives behind his actions, are reminiscent of those of Batman, but with notable differences. The parallels/reversals include: whereas Batman's parents were shot by a mugger in front of him when he was only a kid, Wrath's parents - a couple of burglers - were shot by a young policeman who mistook them for committing a robbery when in fact they were crawling out a window to "skip out" on paying their rent(June 26th); whereas Bruce Wayne dedicated his life to a crusade against crime in reaction to this traumatic experience, Wrath for his part started a campaign of revenge against law and law-enforcers when he had grown up; whereas Bruce Wayne became a vigilante, the burglers' son became a professional assassin (who unlike Batman had no qualms about killing or using firearms); Wrath (like Batman) distinguished himself for perfection and obsession in what he did and used to wear a costumed that was very similar to Batman's (although coloured in crimson and purple with a W-insignia on the chest and cowl). June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... A firearm is a kinetic energy weapon that fires either a single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant. ...

When Wrath - who for years had travelled the world to work as a gun for hire - finally returned to Gotham City to kill the man who had shot his parents - who was no other than James Gordon, Batman's ally and commissioner of the Gotham City Police - a clash with Batman was quite inevitable. In the course of their - for the time being only impersonal - battle of wits Wrath learned of Batman's secret identity as Bruce Wayne and started to attack several of his friends: Alfred had to be hospitalised and Leslie Thompkins was taken hostage by Wrath. Alfred Pennyworth is a fictional supporting character in the DC Comics Batman series. ...

In the end Wrath died when he fell from the roof of a building in Park Row when caught in a fire he himself had started during his showdon with Batman

Wrath remains to be revived in the post-Crisis DC Universe. However, the concept of an Anti-Batman has been picked up, e.g. in the cases of the JLA villain Prometheus or Bane. Cover to the History of the DC Universe trade paperback. ... The Justice League, sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short, is a fictional DC Universe superhero team. ... Prometheus is the name of 2 fictional characters from DC Comics and supervillain. ... Bane is the DC Comics supervillain, and sometimes ally, best known for having broken Batmans back. ...

Writer Tony Bedard has announced that Wrath will be reintroduced in the DC Universe in a 4-part story in Batman Confidential. ^[1]