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Wrath (comics)

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The Wrath
Wrath as depicted in Batman Special #1 (June 1984). Art by Michael Golden.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearance(Wrath I)
Batman Special #1
(June 1984)
(Wrath II)
Batman Confidential #13 (March 2008)
Created by(Wrath I)
Mike W. Barr (writer)
Michael Golden (artist)
(Wrath II)
Tony Bedard (writer)
Rags Morales (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego(Wrath I) Unknown
(Wrath II) Elliot Caldwell
SpeciesHuman

The Wrath is the name of two fictional supervillains published by DC Comics. The original Wrath debuted in Batman Special #1 (1984), and was created by Mike W. Barr and Michael Golden,[1] who served as a criminal foil personality to the superhero Batman, after the creation of Killer Moth (in 1951) and prior to the creations of the villains Prometheus (in 1998) and Hush (in 2003), all serving the same purpose. The second Wrath debuted in Batman Confidential #13 (March 2008), and was created by Tony Bedard and Rags Morales.

Publication history

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Wrath's debut story was titled "The Player on the Other Side", published in Batman Special #1 (1984). The title was based on the essay "A Liberal Education and Where to Find It" by Thomas Henry Huxley (although mistakenly attributed to Aldous Huxley by Bruce Wayne). It is also a reference to the Ellery Queen novel of the same name, as the story's author, Mike W. Barr, is a renowned Queen enthusiast.

A Post-Infinite Crisis legacy version of the Wrath debuted in the pages of Batman Confidential #13 in a story arc written by Tony Bedard, with Elliott Caldwell, the 'student' of the original Wrath, taking on his mentor's mantle.

Fictional character biography

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The original Wrath

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The original Wrath as depicted in Batman Special #1 (June 1984). Art by Michael Golden.

The first Wrath is the son of burglars who Jim Gordon killed on the same day as Batman's parents, leading him to dedicate himself to revenge against the law.[2][3] Wrath attacks Alfred Pennyworth and kidnaps Leslie Thompkins before being killed in battle with Batman.[4]

Elliot Caldwell

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Elliot Caldwell / Wrath as depicted in Batman Confidential #15 (May 2008). Art by Rags Morales.

Elliot Caldwell is an orphan who Wrath trained to be his successor, serving a role akin to Robin.[4][5][6] He battles Batman before being defeated and sent to Blackgate Penitentiary.

The New 52

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The New 52 introduces a new incarnation of Wrath who merges elements of the previous two Wraths, having the origin of the first and the name of the second. This version is the CEO of Caldwell Tech and a sociopathic killer who is served by Scorn soldiers. Batman defeats Wrath and has him imprisoned in Blackgate Penitentiary, where he allies with Emperor Blackgate.[7][8][9]

In other media

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  • Wrath and Scorn appear in The Batman episode "The End of the Batman", voiced by Christopher Gorham and Daryl Sabara respectively.[10][11] This version of the duo are respectively William and Andrew Mallory, the children of thieves whose imprisonment motivated them to become Wrath and Scorn to help criminals under the belief that they have a right to make a living as much as innocents do. They discover and intend to expose Batman and Robin's secret identities before the Joker incapacitates them with his venom.
  • Wrath and Scorn appear as character summons in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 328. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ^ Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 378. ISBN 9780345501066.
  3. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 199. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
  4. ^ a b Tony Bedard (w), Rags Morales (p), Mark Farmer (i). "Wrath Child Part II". Batman Confidential #15 (May 2008). DC Comics.
  5. ^ Tony Bedard (w), Rags Morales (p), Mark Farmer (i). "Wrath Child Part I" Batman Confidential, vol. 1, no. 13 (March 2008). DC Comics.
  6. ^ Tony Bedard (w), Rags Morales (p), Mark Farmer (i). "Wrath Child Part II" Batman Confidential, vol. 1, no. 14 (April 2008). DC Comics.
  7. ^ Detective Comics (vol. 2) #22 (September 2013)
  8. ^ Detective Comics (vol. 2) #23 (October 2013)
  9. ^ Detective Comics (vol. 2) #24 (December 2013)
  10. ^ "Wrath / William Mallory Voice - The Batman (TV Show)". 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.
  11. ^ "Scorn / Andy Mallory Voice - The Batman (TV Show)". 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.
  12. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
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