Bruce Wayne, also known as The Pacman, is the 27-year-old protagonist of the Batman elseworld The Pacman - Gotham Turning Japanese.
In this continuity, Bruce is not known as Batman but rather as The Pacman, and wears a yellow, Pac-Man-based costume. He fights for the anti-Japanese resistance movement Icy Mistral, led by Oswald "the Penguin" Cobblepot.
Backstory[]
Bruce Wayne descends from a rich American family of businessmen whose industries were confiscated by the Japanese noble family Tojo after the Nazis won WW2.
Bruce is the son of Thomas Wayne, the former Regent of Gosamu. He was strongly influenced by Thomas' dream of a world where Japanese people and non-Japanese could live in harmony. He grew up as a servant at the Tojo palace in Gosamu, and the personal retainer of prince Hiromu Tojo.
He and Hiromu had a personal attachment to each other, sharing a passion for anime, manga and video games (especially Pokémon). At that time, Bruce dreamed to become a professional Pokémon cosplayer, which Hiromu helped him to become. The two were always together at various anime conventions around the Nippon Beikoku (how the US are called now that they're a Japanese colony).
Bruce and Hiromu's friendship only became stronger as time went on, until Hiromu, whose "friendship" was actually a lesbian crush that he'd been harboring for months, came out as bisexual to him. Bruce kept that secret as if his life depended on it, knowing it'd be a great dishonor, however, whenever Hiromu asked him whether or not he was ready to kill him, Bruce replied he never was.
This all changed at 16, when Hiromu had his guard Yon Samui, wearing a Pac-Man helmet, kill Thomas Wayne in front of Bruce. Bruce could not blame Hiromu, not even then, so that evening Hiromu invited Bruce to dinner and offered him his parents made into gyoza, then, after Bruce appreciated the gyoza, Hiromu told him everything and gave him a gun, asking him whether or not he had found the courage to kill him.
Bruce tried to shoot Hiromu, but was hesitant to pull the trigger until he finally decided to fire, thinking of his father. after seeing the blood come from Hiromu's stomach but Hiromu not being dead, however, Bruce ran off, not yet ready to face capital execution in order to cover for Hiromu.
Running off, Bruce was found by Icy Mistral fighters, who took him in and introduced him to Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot, the leader and financial backer of the resistance movement. The Penguin gave him a new home, called the Pac-Cave, and accepted him into his ranks.
Story[]
As an Icy Mistral fighter, Bruce became known as The Pacman and was one of the few Icy Mistral fighters not to be Japanophobic.
Soon he became friends with a street boy named Aomaru Kano, who he adopted and introduced to the Penguin, giving Aomaru a secret identity as a Chinese-American boy named Dick Grayson, a name Bruce himself made up due to Kano sounding like "cunt" (and as such Dick) and Aomaru sounding like "blue son" (and as such Grayson) in order to avoid the Penguin from realizing his Japanese origins. Bruce gave Aomaru the nickname Fletchling, as in a Pokémon that looks like a robin.
He also forged connections with Japanese Kempeitai police member Jin van Goran, who was hiding anti-Hiromu feelings, and his otaku daughter Kiyomi van Goran.
Personality[]
Bruce feels strongly for Hiromu: on one hand, he was aware Hiromu had a lesbian crush on him and as such realizes how tormented his childhood friend was; on the other hand, he despises Hiromu's murder of Thomas Wayne and wants revenge against him and to destroy his manga-themed crime empire.
Bruce collects Pokémon toys as a memento of his past as a childhood friend of Hiromu. His favorite toy is a Pikachu on which he had painted a bloody red wound on the stomach, a memento of the wound he inflicted on Hiromu.
Bruce chose to wear a Pac-Man helmet instead of a Pokémon costume due to a Pac-Man helmet being worn by his father's assassin, and him believing to have murdered Hiromu's future by awakening his hidden bisexuality.
Bruce hates guns due to having used one to shoot Hiromu, and as such is remembered of Hiromu bleeding whenever he holds one. Despite this, Bruce lacks a no-kill rule and he kills (and even eats) the ones he deems Ghosts. This is because he explicitly wants Hiromu, and himself alongside him, dead, due to his debt with the prince (however, the Penguin saves Bruce and Fletchling and Gamer Girl help him overcome his depression).
Bruce strongly believes in a future where Japanese people and "Ghosts" (Caucasians) can live in peace. Bruce only kills Japanese people (which he deems Ghosts due to his remembrance of what the term meant to Hiromu), but he doesn't kill the Japanese people who believe in his dream, and deems them "Nofashi" ("not fascists") in order to distinguish them from the people he sees as killable.
Abilities[]
Bruce Wayne is skilled in kickboxing, which is enhanced by the heavy gauntlets and shoes of his Pac-Man-like costume.
He uses his costume's "mouth" to bite those he deems "Ghosts" and kill them. His costume also allows him to turn into a ball and roll so fast that he can keep up with a racing car. He can even roll on walls using magnets or bounce into enemies, easily breaking concrete, kevlar, or even steel. He can also reflect bullet with his gauntlets' electromagnetic shields.
He carries with him a supply of Power Pellets, capsules of Venom which make him stronger and berserk for an hour but damage his sanity. He uses them when he wants to kill or when he's pitted alongside particularly strong enemies. He also carries with him grenades and explosives to toss at enemies.
He's also a skilled infiltrator, a good hacker and a clever detective, in fact his main strength lies in his intelligence and his ability to always plan for everything.
Trivia[]
- This Bruce Wayne is 27 at the start of his crimefighting career. The only Bruce as young as him is the one from The Batman 2022, who is in his early 30s.