| Batman | |
|---|---|
 Muhammad as Batman, as depicted inI Am Batman #15 (November 2022). Art by Jeff Spokes. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | As Timothy Fox: Batman #313 (April 1979) |
| Created by | Len Wein Irv Novick |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Terrible Trio Batman Family New York City Police Department Power Company |
| Partnerships | Katana Tiffany Fox The Signal |
| Notable aliases | The Vulture |
| Abilities | |
Timothy "Jace" Fox is a fictional superhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. Created byLen Wein andIrv Novick, he first appeared inBatman #313 (1979) as one of the sons ofLucius Fox, an associate of Bruce Wayne who manages Wayne Enterprises and supplies equipment for Wayne's double life as Batman. After years of absence, the character reemerged during theInfinite Frontier relaunch with a rebooted origin as well as starring in theI Am Batman comic series.[1]
The current version of the character is a former hedonistic playboy whose irresponsible lifestyle led to a hit-and-run killing. When his father uses his wealth to suppress his culpability and ships him to military school, Tim's relationship with his family is strained. After graduating school and becoming an adult, Tim secretly spent his time as a covertmercenary, trained byKatana and other mentors under the nameJace before returning to Gotham, where tensions between himself and his family continue.[2] Learning of his father's involvement with Batman, he adopts theBatman mantle and later begins operating in New York City while reconciling his relationship with his family. As Batman, Jace Fox differs from the original in his more restrained approach to crime-fighting and how his identity as anAfrican-American influences his outlook and perception as a vigilante.[3]
The character first appeared inBatman #313 in 1979, created by writerLen Wein and artistIrv Novick. A minor character initially, the character appeared less than ten times prior to his reemergence. In 2020, the character would be reinterpreted under the name "Jace Fox" and was provided with a new origin during theInfinite Frontier initiative, appearing as the new Batman incarnation as part of theFuture State event.[1] In October of 2021, the character would be the star in theI Am Batman ongoing comic series, following the character adopting the Batman mantle. The character's status quo being in New York City was announced shortly after, slated to take place in the sixth issue of the series.[4]
"Jace’s origin is completely different. He was the one who inflicted damage on a family. He was the one who shattered a family. He was the one who literally ran from responsibility. And he realizes he has a responsibility, not just to fight crime, but to inspire people to do better. To inspire them as a person, certainly to inspire them as a young Black person. To be part of the solution and not just wait for the system, because the system too often fails, but to have a moral compass, because he saw what happens when justice is, in his opinion, perverted by his father, who had all the means in the world to put his thumb on the scales of justice."
— John Ridley[3]
While discussing the character's status quo in relocating to New York City, Ridley explained the series was intended to focus on a Batman story with a character whose ties were to the Fox family. While Luke Fox's character was considered for the exploration, Ridley believed Tim to be a better fit due to Luke's character being established; it would have required reconceptualizing Luke to fit a new direction. Ridley believed that Jace also represented the discord within the Fox family in the narrative already being estranged from prior stories. He wanted to build off of those previous stories. Ridley intended for Jace's origin and approach to be different from one another. Original Batman operates using fear to make villains feel the same kind of fear he had when witnessing his parents' death. Jace was the individual who caused rifts in his family due to evading responsibility thanks to his father's wealth and influence within the criminal justice system. He seeks to both own up to his faults and ultimately inspire others (including African Americans) to do the right thing rather than wait for the criminal justice system to address moral failings.[3]
Ridley also intended for Jace's methods to include a reluctance in how he uses his wealth to fight crime, the character having witnessed how it can obstruct justice. He also operates with a different level of restraint which makes him more compliant with local law enforcement's methods.[3] In theI am Batman series, the character is deputized as part of local law enforcement by the mayor.[5]
Timothy Fox was the son ofWayne Enterprises CEOLucius Fox. The two fell out due to Wayne's competitor Gregorian Falstaff, who fabricated evidence thatBruce Wayne was a slumlord. Protesting his father and his business, Tim joined a gang led by his friend Ron Watkins, who was secretly an employee of Falstaff. After learning the truth about Watkins and Falstaff, he left the gang and made up with his father.[6]
Later on, Tim fell in with the criminal group,The Terrible Trio, taking on the identity of The Vulture and attempting to rob guests of Bruce Wayne's penthouse, but was subdued and captured by Batman.[7]
After years of absence, Fox returned under DC'sInfinite Frontier relaunch.[8] In his rebooted origin, Tim, due to his family's immense wealth, became a hedonistic playboy, indulging in a jet set life of non-stop partying and promiscuous affairs.
On the night before his seventeenth birthday, an angry Tim stormed out of his party after a failed attempt to seduce a girl who had caught his eye. While driving on the phone with another girl, Tim failed to notice a man crossing the street, ramming into him with his car. Tim went to check on the man, who was terribly injured, and, despite the man's pleas, Tim ran away to his father. Lucius hired a team of lawyers and private investigators to protect his son from the legal consequences. It was discovered that the victim was an alcoholic domestic abuser, and the team made the case that he was too drunk to notice the traffic light change. When Tim protested his father's actions, he was shipped off to military school.[9] After a decade abroad being trained by multiple teachers, including that ofKatana, Timothy, now going by his nom de guerre of "Jace", returned home as his father inherited the Wayne Family's fortune. His return home briefly upended the family, with his sister Tamara falling into a coma, his brotherLuke refusing to acknowledge him, and his sister Tiffany becoming estranged from Luke. Eventually, Jace discovered one of Bruce Wayne's old Batsuits in an abandoned area in Wayne Enterprises.[2]
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(October 2022) |
Jace officially takes up the mantle of Batman,[10] choosing to appropriate the Dark Knight's identity under the notion that his father and Bruce Wayne were corrupt. Subsequent skirmishes with the Magistrate led him to reconcile with Lucius, moving toNew York City where Tamara would undergo her recovery.[11] His arrival in New York resulted in him being forced to join theNYPD's Special Crimes Unit, nicknamed "Strike Force Bat", by Mayor Villanueva.[5] He soon after faces off against Manray, his first villain, in an encounter that ends with Batman being forced to run, much to his embarrassment.[12] Their next fight ends with Batman finally gaining the upper hand, though it sets off his tumultuous relationship with other NYPD officers.[13]
The new Superman asked for Batman's help amidst thedeath of hisfather and theJustice League, seeking to form a new one, though Batman rebuffed him, not wanting to end up like his dead predecessor.[14]
The Question came to New York City, seeking Batman's help with solving the murder ofAnarky. Their investigation led them to discover that, although Anarky had been shot by a kid named Morris Caulfield, the lethal wounds had already been inflicted by someone else. They were able to solve the mystery, apprehending a group of radicals named The Rest of Us, with the Question passing on her mantle to Hadiyah, a friend of Batman's. However, Tiffany Fox had recently donned her own vigilante outfit, seeking to help a friend, and briefly fought with members of Strike Force Bat. Looking into the recent encounter, Batman was attacked bySinestro, who manipulated his sense of reality to make him believe he'd murdered an officer.[15]
Being quickly defeated by Sinestro, Jace resolved to face his fears, going to confront him directly. Though Sinestro employed numerous constructs to whittle down the new Batman's hope, handing him a ring to end his own life, Batman used the ring to defeat him before Pariah retrieved him through a portal. Recognizing that Superman needed a Batman, he traveled to theHall of Justice, where the heroes andDeathstroke's forces were having their final battle.[16]
Arriving at the Hall of Justice with multiple other heroes, Batman worked withMr. Terrific to alterPariah's Anti-Matter Cannon, whileYara Flor used her lasso to distract him, and Superman held off his Dark Army. Batman successfully altered the machine, using it to defeat Pariah, and then joined the other heroes in the final battle, along with the returned Justice League.[17]
Amidst the killing of Tanya Fox's assistant, Lucius Fox came home to New York City. After a period of turmoil involving his biological mother Elena Aiko being kidnapped, and the circumstances of Jace's birth coming to light, the Fox Family was fractured. Despite this, Tiffany became an official partner of Batman's, and Hadiyah came into her own as the hero Nobody.[18]
In the midst of facing down a group of thugs in New York City,the Signal jumped into the fight. Unfamiliar to the specific teamwork fighting style that the Bat-Family used, Batman was annoyed and initially rebuffed the Signal's attempted introduction after the fight. However, the two quickly bonded over their shared struggles and became friends.[19]
After defeating the villain Geppetto and his zombies in New York City, Batman was contacted by the Signal for assistance in finding the murderer of his cousin Aaron. However, when they met, the Signal had broughtJosiah Power,Vixen, andBlack Lightning, the members of the newly reformedPower Company. The team was headquartered in downtown Atlanta, and dedicated to fighting against the anti-metahuman hate spurred on by the Sons of Liberty followingAmanda Waller'sstruggle against the superhero community. Despite continually refusing Josiah and Black Lightning's offers to join, Batman conducted his own investigation of the murder. He later coordinated with Vixen and the Signal after they foiled the Sons of Liberty's attempt to kidnap Aaron's friend, Aki. Finding the killer, Agent Liberty, the Dark Knight defeated him alone. Batman would resolve to help metahumans, joining with the Power Company in order to protect their communities.[20]
Similar to Batman and other human crime-fighters in Gotham, Fox possessed no inherent superpowers but is skilled in hand-to-hand combat due to both his military training and mentorship under Katana. Furthermore, despite the character's view that both Luke and Lucius are geniuses, Jace also possessed a high level of intelligence within his own right. Jace also demonstrated a strong will from enduring experiences in a Markovian secret prison and Sinestro's yellow power ring, a trait credited to making him worthy of the Batman mantle.[21] Supplied by his friend Vol, Jace has aBatsuit designed withNon-Newtonian fluid, allowing his armor to be powerful but lightweight.[10]
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Future State: The Next Batman | Future State: The Next Batman #1-4 and material fromFuture State: Dark Detective #1-3,Future State: Nightwing #1-2 | June 2021 | 978-1779510648 |
| Batman byJohn Ridley The Deluxe Edition | Future State: The Next Batman #1-4 and material fromBatman Black and White (vol. 5) #1,Batman: The Joker War Zone #1 | June 2021 | 978-1779511263 |
| The Next Batman: Second Son | The Next Batman: Second Son #1-4 (original published online asThe Next Batman: Second Son chapters #1-13) | September 2021 | 978-1779513601 |
| I Am Batman Vol. 1 | I Am Batman #0-5 | August 2022 | 978-1779516619 |
| I Am Batman Vol. 2 | I Am Batman #6-10 | March 2023 | 978-1779519979 |
| I Am Batman Vol. 3 | I Am Batman #11-18 | September 2023 | 978-1779520548 |
