Rupert Thorne

Last updated
Rupert Thorne
Rupert Thorne (circa 1977).png
Rupert Thorne as depicted in Detective Comics #469 (May 1977). Art by Walt Simonson (penciller), Al Milgrom (inker), and Jerry Serpe (colorist).
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Detective Comics #469 (May 1977)
Created by Steve Englehart (writer)
Walt Simonson (artist)
In-story information
Species Human

Rupert Thorne is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a crime boss and enemy of Batman.

Contents

Thorne has made several appearances in animated DC media, such as Batman: The Animated Series , in which he is voiced by John Vernon, and the DC Universe animated series Creature Commandos , voiced by Benjamin Byron Davis.

Publication history

Created by Steve Englehart and Walter Simonson, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #469. [1]

Fictional character biography

Thorne is introduced as a corrupt politician with extensive ties to organized crime and ambitions of becoming a crime boss in his own right. Doctor Phosphorus blackmails him with evidence of his crimes into turning the city against Batman. After Phosphorus is defeated, Thorne decides not to waste the opportunity and persuades his fellow city councilors to declare Batman an outlaw. He attempts to gain complete control of Gotham City by running for Mayor but fails.

Thorne is one of three criminals (the other two being the Penguin and the Joker) who make a bid at Hugo Strange's secret auction for Batman's secret identity. He kidnaps and tortures Strange to force him to divulge it rather than risk losing the auction. Strange resists, however, and apparently dies in the process. After disposing of his body, Thorne is haunted by eerie sounds and visions of Strange. [2]

After failing in his campaign against Batman and spending some time in hiding, he secretly returns to Gotham. [3] He gets the corrupt Hamilton Hill elected as mayor and orders him to fire Police Commissioner James Gordon in favor of Peter Pauling, who is on Thorne's payroll. Thorne finally identifies Bruce Wayne as Batman after acquiring photos of him changing into his costume from reporter Vicki Vale. Thorne then hires Deadshot to kill Wayne. [4] Deadshot is unsuccessful, but before Thorne can deal with the problem, he begins to succumb to Strange's manipulations; the professor is revealed to have faked his death while using elaborate special-effects devices to simulate ghostly encounters. Thorne becomes paranoid, convinced that Hill and Pauling are plotting against him and trying to drive him insane. He shoots Pauling dead but is eventually apprehended by Batman and brought to justice. [5]

Decades later, Thorne returns in Detective Comics #825 (November 2006). He is serving a lengthy prison sentence in Blackgate Penitentiary when a vengeful Doctor Phosphorus unsuccessfully attempts to kill him. [6]

In Batman: Three Jokers , Thorne is shown to still be incarcerated at Blackgate when Batman visits Joe Chill. [7]

Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Rupert Thorne appears in Gotham by Gaslight . This version is a respected member of Gotham's city council who later becomes interim mayor in the aftermath of Jack the Ripper's killing spree.

In other media

Television

Film

Video games

Miscellaneous

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Gordon (character)</span> Fictional character in the DC Universe

James W. "Jim" Gordon Sr. is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane as an ally of Batman, the character debuted in the first panel of Detective Comics #27, Batman's first appearance, making him the first Batman supporting character ever to be introduced.

Deadshot is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by David Vern Reed and Lew Schwartz, based on a concept from Batman co-creator Bob Kane, the character made his first appearance in Batman #59. The introduction story features Deadshot using standard firearms while wearing a tuxedo, top hat, and simple domino mask. The character was not seen again until twenty-nine years later when writer Steve Englehart along with artists Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin retooled him in Detective Comics (vol.1) #474 (1979), now presenting him with customized wrist-mounted guns and a unique mask featuring a multi-use lens over his right eye. Since then, he has been a recurring character in Batman comics. Since 1986, Deadshot has also been frequently portrayed in comics books featuring the Suicide Squad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugo Strange</span> Fictional comic book supervillain

Hugo Strange is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character is one of Batman's first recurring villains, and was also one of the first to discover his secret identity. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #36.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventriloquist (character)</span> Comics character

The Ventriloquist is the name of multiple supervillains appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics. All of the Ventriloquist's versions are enemies of Batman, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmine Falcone</span> Fictional DC Comics character

Carmine Falcone is a villain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, portrayed as a powerful mob boss, an enemy of Batman, and an acquaintance of the Wayne family. He has also been sometimes depicted as the illegitimate father of Catwoman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Mask (character)</span> Comic book supervillain

Black Mask is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake, the character debuted in Batman #386. He is commonly depicted as a brutal and ruthless crime lord in Gotham City who has a fixation with masks and derives sadistic pleasure from the act of torture. Black Mask is one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Chill</span> Comics character

Joe Chill is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #33. In Batman's origin story, Joe Chill is the mugger who murders young Bruce Wayne's parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne. The murder traumatizes Bruce, inspiring his vow to avenge their deaths by fighting crime in Gotham City as the vigilante Batman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Bullock (character)</span> Fictional DC Comics character

Harvey Bullock is a fictional detective appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #441 and was created by Archie Goodwin and Howard Chaykin. In animation, he appeared throughout the DC Animated Universe, voiced by Robert Costanzo. He debuted in live-action in 2014 on Fox's television series Gotham, portrayed by Donal Logue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy Quilt</span> Comics character

Crazy-Quilt is the name of several characters in DC Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefly (DC Comics)</span> Supervillain created by DC Comics

Firefly is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by France Herron and Dick Sprang, he made his debut in Detective Comics #184. Initially portrayed as a criminal who utilized lighting effects to commit robberies, Firefly was later reimagined as a sociopathic pyromaniac with an obsessive compulsion to start fires following Crisis on Infinite Earths' reboot of the DC Universe in the 1980s. This darker depiction of the character has since endured as one of the superhero Batman's most recurring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his central rogues gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ratcatcher (comics)</span> DC Comics character

The Ratcatcher is a character appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of Batman. He belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up the Dark Knight's rogues gallery. Once an actual rat-catcher in Gotham City, Flannegan sank into a life of crime. Calling himself the Ratcatcher because of his special ability to communicate with and train rats, Flannegan has used his minions to plague Gotham on more than one occasion by unleashing hordes of the vermin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Phosphorus</span> Fictional DC Comics supervillain

Doctor Phosphorus is a supervillain who has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. Primarily an enemy of Batman, the villain exists in DC's main shared universe, known as the DC Universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Wayne</span> Comics character

Dr. Thomas Wayne, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the father of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and husband of Martha Wayne as well as the paternal grandfather of Damian Wayne. Wayne was introduced in Detective Comics #33, the first exposition of Batman's origin story. A gifted surgeon and philanthropist to Gotham City, Wayne inherited the Wayne family fortune after Patrick Wayne. When Wayne and his wife are murdered in a street mugging, Bruce is inspired to fight crime in Gotham as the vigilante Batman.

Anthony Zucco is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in Detective Comics #38, Zucco is a mobster responsible for murdering the parents of Dick Grayson, which leads to Grayson's adoption by Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman and becoming the latter's sidekick and original Robin and Nightwing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver St. Cloud</span> Comics character

Silver St. Cloud is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the vigilante Batman. The character debuted in Detective Comics #470 and was created by Steve Englehart and Walt Simonson. Silver St. Cloud is typically depicted as a romantic interest of Bruce Wayne.

Hamilton Hill is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the former Mayor of Gotham City and an adversary of Batman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-Face in other media</span> Fictional character Two-Face in media

The character Two-Face was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics #66. However, he did not appear outside comics until half a century later in Batman: The Animated Series. Two-Face has since been substantially adapted from the comics into various forms of media, such as feature films, television series and video games. Two-Face has been voiced by Richard Moll in the DC Animated Universe, Troy Baker in the Batman: Arkham series, Billy Dee Williams in The Lego Batman Movie, and William Shatner in Batman vs. Two-Face. His live-action portrayals include Billy Dee Williams in Batman (1989), Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever, Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight, Harry Lawtey in Joker: Folie à Deux, and Nicholas D'Agosto in the television series Gotham. In 2009, Two-Face was ranked #12 on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time.

References

  1. ↑ Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 349. ISBN   9780345501066.
  2. ↑ Detective Comics #469-#479 (May 1977 - September–October 1978). DC Comics.
  3. ↑ Detective Comics #507 (October 1981). DC Comics.
  4. ↑ "5 Batman Villains We Have Yet To See In The Movies". pulpinterest.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ↑ Batman #354 (December 1982). DC Comics.
  6. ↑ Detective Comics #825 (January 2007). DC Comics.
  7. ↑ Batman: Three Jokers #2. DC Comics.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Rupert Thorne Voices (Batman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 27, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  9. ↑ Flook, Ray (October 20, 2024). "Creature Commandos: Benjamin Byron Davis Voicing Rupert Thorne". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  10. ↑ Mankiewicz, Tom (1983-06-20). "The Batman" (TXT). www.scifiscripts.com.
  11. ↑ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.