Thomas Wayne (
Dr. Thomas Wayne, M.D.) is a fictional character appearing in
American comic books published by
DC Comics, most commonly in the
Batman comic book series. A gifted
physician and philanthropist, Dr. Thomas Wayne is the father of
Bruce Wayne and the husband of
Martha Wayne. He is the inheritor of the Wayne family fortune after Patrick Wayne, which was built through industry and real estate by previous generations. He is first introduced in
Detective Comics #33 (November 1939) in the first exposition of Batman's
origin story. In the story, he and his wife are murdered by a
mugger,
traumatizing yet influencing their son to be Batman.