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Recent issues of Detective Comics have introduced Mister Worth, a new Batman villain who is a dark reflection of how the Wayne Family could have been.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Detective Comics #1038 by Mariko Tamaki, Viktor Bogdanovic, Daniel Henriques, Aditya Bidikar Meghan Fitzmartin, Karl Mostert, Jordie Bellaire & Rob Leigh, on sale now.
There’s plenty of old money in Gotham that the wealthy elite has held onto for years. While some families have been at the forefront, such as the Waynes or Cobblepots, others have chosen to funnel their money away from the spotlight. As the other founding families of Gotham fell more into obscurity, another family rose to power. The Worth family made their fortune through construction and their patriarch has already challenged both Batman and Bruce Wayne.
Roland Worth was first introduced in Detective Comics #1035 by Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora. Worth’s daughter Sarah had been abducted, but luckily Batman was on the case. Unfortunately for the Dark Knight, the GCPD was also hot on Sarah’s trail and discovered her body just as Batman was observed on the scene. While Batman escaped the police pursuit, he was immediately made the top suspect in Sarah Worth’s murder.
Driven by his rage and grief, Worth went on to use his resources to launch an all-out attack on Gotham City’s institutions. Roland made a scene at his daughter’s funeral where he promised vengeance for his daughter’s death. As the hours passed, Worth became increasingly threatening towards Mayor Nakano. After yet another murder, Bruce Wayne was brought in for questioning in consideration of the fact that Worth’s daughter and the most recent victim lived close to Wayne. Worth heard that Wayne had been brought in but felt that justice would not be served and took action into his own hands.
Worth used his connections to empty the precinct that Wayne was being held in. After the department had been evacuated, Worth blasted a rocket that leveled the building. Bruce survived the collapse relatively unharmed and plead his innocence to Worth who refused to believe him. This led Bruce to the solitude of the sewers where he could change into Batman.
Even against the arsenal of the Dark Knight, Worth proved to be a challenge. He was a behemoth of a man who pulled no punches. As they fought, Worth shot rockets at Batman. This created an extremely dangerous scenario that progressively destroyed the entire area. The fight finally came to a halt when Lady Clayface appeared in the form of Roland’s deceased daughter. Batman used this opportunity to apprehend Worth and took him to the local precinct. He would not stay imprisoned long as he was immediately released and gave a press conference stating that he was going to kill both Batman and Bruce Wayne.
Roland Worth is the personification of another path that Bruce or another member of the Wayne family could have taken to avenge Thomas and Martha. Worth is reported to have old money and quite a bit of it from his construction business. Although Bruce elected to use his resources differently from Worth, the events of a recent storyline demonstrate that the Waynes and Roland Worth are not so different.
Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert, and Sandra Hope’s Flashpoint #1 introduced a world where Bruce Wayne was killed in the alley instead of his parents. In his own form of justice, Bruce’s father Thomas sought out Joe Chill and beat him to death. Thomas then returned to his wife to inform her that their son’s murderer was dead. Martha had been so distraught by Bruce’s death that she cut a new smile into her face which was the beginning of her descent to madness. Martha would go on to be that universe’s Joker while Thomas Wayne became a much more violent Batman.
Although Roland Worth is the chaotic opposite of Bruce Wayne, he stands to be an extremely difficult adversary to the Dark Knight. Worth’s reputation in Gotham greatly exceeds anything that Bruce is accustomed to. Worth has already started to turn the media against both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Regardless of his business connections and alleged criminal entanglements, Worth is sure to have an ear throughout Gotham on the hunt for the Bat. With hulking strength and an immense amount of wealth, Worth provides a new challenge for Batman as he fights someone else who is using extreme acts of violence to cope with their grief.
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