Year Eight: The Bruce Wayne Story

Year Eight: The Bruce Wayne Story
Picking up where we left off, after Bruce Wayne has spent seven years travlling the world, learning a variety of skills, he eventually decided to return to his home city of Gotham - only to find it as desperate and bleak as it was when he first left.

"Year Eight" follows the twelve months from Bruce's return to Gotham, until he finally realises his destiny and dons the cape and cowl that would dominate the rest of his life, becoming the masked vigilante and hero known as The Batman. Other key plot points in the series include the dawn of the Great War of Gotham, a year-long struggle that would transform the city forever from a thriving (albeit corrupt) metropolis, into the dark and sinister world of costumed vigilantes and psychotic villains that we have all come to know as Gotham City.

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Upon Bruce's return to his home city, he is reunited with his family friends, Dr Leslie Thompkins, a former colleague fo his father's and the person to find Bruce immediately after his parent's murder, and his legal guardian throughout his later childhood, Alfred Pennyworth, a stern, ex military medic with a lifelong duty to his adoptive son. Bruce is initially uncomfortable with returning to Gotham, unable to forget his previous experiences there; suddenly hounded by the Press in regards to his unexplained absence, forcibly reminded of his parent's death, as well as other more traumatic events - Bruce visits the grave of Harvey Harris, his first mentor, for whose death he has always felt responsible, and vows that he will not allow the detective's murder to pass in vain.

Bruce is welcomed reluctantly back into his father's company Wayne Enterprises, by its current CEO Ferris Boyle, eager to use Bruce's fame and status to boost the company's popularity. This is especially important at this point in the company's lifetime, as they are currently in the final months of an ongoing war with a rival company, Sionis Industries, headed by Bruce's childhood friend Roman Sionis.

Bruce learns that the rivalry between the two organisations is due to their competition to win the rights to a large US Military contract to create advanced infantry enhancements, resulting in billions of dollars of revenue and an unprecedented boost in stature. Whilst Wayne Enterprises has developed a variety of armour-based defences and weaponry, Sionis' company has opted for an alternative route, by creating a highly advanced serum that would be able to turn any average troop into an effective "super-soldier" by enhancing their speed, stamina, agility and cognitive operations.

Bruce arranges a meeting with Roman Sionis, to catch up on old times, and to discuss their opposing business ventures. Sionis attends the meeting, feigning to be pleased to see Bruce agan after so many years - however as soon as Bruce has left, he curses his former friend for returning to Gotham alive. It transpires that in Bruce's absence, Sionis has enjoyed the lifestyle of the renowned playboy of Gotham, however Bruce's sudden reappearance has stolen his limelight, and he is bitterly jealous, vowing to defeat Wayne Enterprises in their race for the sought-after military contract.

Sionis orders an emergency meeting of his board, and declares that all of the finances in the company will be directed towards the Research and Development division, in an effort to complete their serum development before Wayne Enterprises can finalise their armour and weaponry creations. Despite many compaints from the Board that will could be catastrophic to the company, Sionis insists that the Military Contract is now their highest priority.

Meanwhile, Bruce comes to realise he is struggling to return back to a so-called normal life; after years travelling the world, enjoying relative anonymity, and experiencing the responsibility of a full-scale war, he now finds it impossible to acclimate to his previous playboy image, and his mundane figurehead leadership role. Alfred (unaware of Bruce's activities over the past seven years) grows increasingly distressed with his behaviour - his insomnia and nocturnal habits causing him to grow agitated and paranoid. Alfred calls in a Psychiatrist to provide Bruce with some much-needed therapy, to help him adjust to his "normal" life. The therapist, a young woman named Dr. Harleen Quinzel, begins sessions with Bruce, and, due to Bruce's education in Psychology, she finds him a mental match for her own, becoming more and more fascinated with him, leading the two to eventually start a brief romance - despite Dr. Quinzel's diagnosis of Bruce as borderline personality disorder, she cannot help feeling atracted to him, stating that she must have "a weakness for dangerous men..".

One day at a garden function at Wayne Manor attended by Gotham's elite social class, Bruce becomes startled by the sound of a champagne cork popping and suffers a severe panic attack. After the guests are ushered away, and Dr Thompkins has tended to him, he is left in bed to rest - however as soon as he is left alone, he leaves his bed to sit on the floor (unable to sit comfortably in a bed after years sleeping on a mountain), and begins to meditate - this being the only source of peace Bruce has in his life. It has become clear that Bruce cannot overcome the trauma of the previous seven years.

Meannwhile, Sionis Industries profits have plummeted due to it's CEO's poor financial strategies. The company is in the brink of bankruptcy, and upon hearing of this, Wayne Enterprises step in with an offer; they will buy out the company, automatically absorbing their Research and Development division, thereby eliminating their competition in the race for the military contract. Roman Sionis is outraged by the offer, instead ordering premature testing of the as-yet un-patented Serum. In order to find a suitable test subject, Sionis orders two of his men to journey to a distant island called Santa Prisca, to find a prison called Peña Duro, where he asserts that the corrupt wardens would easily sell an inmate for the right price. Upon seeing the test rats in the R&D laboratory however, with the side-effect of extreme facial scars and bodily deformities, he instructs them to advise their chosen test subject to wear a mask...

Weeks pass, and Sionis has heard nothing from his men in regards to the chosen test subject. Under immense pressure from his board of directors, Sionis is forced to hand control of the company over to Wayne Enterprises, and to his rival Bruce Wayne. Despite Bruce's apologies for publically humilating him, Sionis swears vengeance on his former friend.



Meanwhile, the City has been swept by the excitement of a dynamic election campaign for a new District Attorney - the current D.A. is an aged politician, and former employee of Rupert Thorne, whereas the new, younger challenger for the position has been emerging more and more victorious in the polls, looking increasingly likely to take the title for himself. The challenger goes by the name of Harvey Dent.

At a celebration gala for a recent poll victory of Dent's, Bruce is re-united with the up-and-coming Lawyer, an old friend from College where the two had studied Law and Criminology together. The two spend some time together discussing the state of Gotham City, and Bruce sees that his old friend Harvey has a fierce passion for righting the wrongs of the current system to establish a new order in the city. Harvey in particular has a dedicated stance against Rupert Thorne, the prominent and corrupt councilman that is widely regarded to hold Gotham in his hands, and whom Dent hold responsible for the current dire state of the city. Dent, a working-class man, notes that the class divide on Gotham City is one of the main problems with the social decay, as whilst men like Thorne remain in control of the City, the rich continue to grow richer whilst the poor grow poorer. Dent strives to remove the gap and introduce equality in Gotham City - at any cost. *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Meanwhile Bruce is growing increasingly agitated with his struggle to adjust to "normal" life - after spending years enduring captivity, torture, battling for his own survival and experiencing a full-scale war because of his actions, he cannot bring himself to suddenly sink back into the mundanity of the Corporate world. He starts spending his sleepless nights riding his motorbike into the city, enjoying the isolation of the dark night and the anonymity of blending in with the shadows in a vast city. Slowly, but surely, an idea has begun to form.

Bruce takes a visit to the Research and Development division of Wayne Enterprises, under the pretence of overseeing the progress on the various prototypes.