The Waynes: Middle Class

[Legendary Legacy]

Saw this scenario brought up while browsing another forum.

How far could Bruce have actually taken his war on crime if his family had been middle-class citizens as opposed to multi-billionairs? What would young Bruce do if he didn't have an endless supply of money to pay for things like-


-An armored, high-tech super car
-An enormous, top-of-the-line super computer
-Fancy battle armor with all the gadgets and accessories that come with it
-A giant, underground cave to hide his stuff and conduct his business in secret
-A twenty-year long trip around the world to learn how to be a martial artist, ninja, escape artist, detective, etc, from the various masters of the trade
-The world's greatest butler


Not only would Bruce have to find some other way of acquiring all the different things he might need to help him fight crime while still saving enough money for food, rent, etc, but he would also have to be able to hold down a day job in order to continue feeding and supporting himself. A job that he would actually have to go to every day instead of just showing up every once in a while to keep up appearances.

Keep in mind that the premise of this only works if Bruce remains in the middle-class throughout the story, which means-


-No being adopted by or marrying into a rich family
-No coming into money through inheritance or life insurance
-No making tons of money through stocks and investments
-No winning the lottery


I'd really like to see something like this play out, just to see what someone does with the character once the 'money can buy anything' option is taken away. Does he take a somewhat Robin Hood-esque route of stealing from criminals and mobsters to help fund his own project? Does he seek out other superheroes in hopes of getting some kind of help from them? Does he not even bother with the whole superhero route at all and simply join the police department?

By the way, if something like this has already been done, please link me to it.

 

[wingthesword]

He might have taken up Ra's Al Ghul on his offer to join him?

 

[DhampyrX2]

Faulty premise. He would still have ended up a multimillionaire, if not billionaire, considering he would recognize the need for cash and would still have his genius-level intellect. He might start his crusade a couple of years later after starting to amass wealth, and he would not have to adhere to the same public image, but nothing else changes.

 

[TC_Hazard]

Who is Daredevil?

In any case, guy still goes around the world, albeit not on first class or legally.

Lack of funds really hurts his operation, and the lack of Alfred to talk sense into him when he needs it really, really hurts Bruce.

You end up with a less effective, more unbalanced Bruce, who may or may not have the resources to even take care of one extra kid (Robin).

 

[Emerald Oracle]

Would not this be similar to the modern interpretation of Man-of-Bats and Raven Red? I mean, they were explicitly Batman on a Budget when they showed up in Batman Inc awhile back. Gratned that may be EVEN LESS money than you are positing here, but it's a start.

 

[zeebee1]

If he's not rich he's probably not going to be able to afford the travel expenses necessary to learn from the world's best martial artists.

 

[Prince Charon]

Faulty premise. He would still have ended up a multimillionaire, if not billionaire, considering he would recognize the need for cash and would still have his genius-level intellect. He might start his crusade a couple of years later after starting to amass wealth, and he would not have to adhere to the same public image, but nothing else changes.

Yeah, pretty much this. If his intelligence is toned down, and/or he's just really unlucky with money, it's plausible that he'd be stuck at middle class, but that would look more than a little contrived (not necessarily be contrived, but it would take a lot of effort to make people believe it.

 

[crazyfoxdemon]

If he's not rich he's probably not going to be able to afford the travel expenses necessary to learn from the world's best martial artists.

There are a lot of ways to travel on a budget. I've done a few of them. And even less funds are required if you're traveling and crossing borders semi illegally and working when you get into said countries.

I think it would be better to have Alfred in there somewhere. Not as a butler obviously, but as a confidant and someone Bruce looks to. Maybe an orphanage caretaker from where he went after his parent's died?

 

[byakuryuu]

Who is Daredevil?

In any case, guy still goes around the world, albeit not on first class or legally.

Lack of funds really hurts his operation, and the lack of Alfred to talk sense into him when he needs it really, really hurts Bruce.

You end up with a less effective, more unbalanced Bruce, who may or may not have the resources to even take care of one extra kid (Robin).

Didn't the Nolan-verse settle the "travel" issue? He was literally penniless when he went for his walk around Asia and Africa. You'll probably have a Batman that relies more on guile than force. A lack of resources could only make his crusade more poignant.

 

[TC_Hazard]

Who is Daredevil?

In any case, guy still goes around the world, albeit not on first class or legally.

Lack of funds really hurts his operation, and the lack of Alfred to talk sense into him when he needs it really, really hurts Bruce.

You end up with a less effective, more unbalanced Bruce, who may or may not have the resources to even take care of one extra kid (Robin).

Didn't the Nolan-verse settle the "travel" issue? He was literally penniless when he went for his walk around Asia and Africa. You'll probably have a Batman that relies more on guile than force. A lack of resources could only make his crusade more poignant.

When did I say he wouldn't travel around the world?

Also, Nolan verse sucks... well, that's a bit unfair. Everything after the first movie sucks. Except Batman's voice. That's bad all the time.

 

[byakuryuu]

Huh. I thought the Dark Knight Saga was probably one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time. Even as an adaptation, I'd push it to be just behind the Godfather and the Lord of the Rings trilogies.

 

[TC_Hazard]

Huh. I thought the Dark Knight Saga was probably one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time. Even as an adaptation, I'd push it to be just behind the Godfather and the Lord of the Rings trilogies.

I put it in the wasted hours of my life category.

Begins was okay. Dark Knight was mediocre, because it's every other horrible Joker story ever. Rises is an okay-ish time waster, I guess, though still pretty dumb.