Plot armor but it’s Bruce Wayne’s wealth.
Bruce is one of the richest men in the world. Bruce does not want to be one of the richest men in world.
He starts by implementing high starting salaries and full health care coverages for all levels at Wayne Enterprises. This in vastly improves retention and worker productivity, and WE profits soar. He increases PTO, grants generous parental and family leave, funds diversity initiatives, boosts salaries again. WE is ranked “#1 worker-friendly corporation”, and productively and profits soar again.
Ok, so clearly investing his workers isn’t the profit-destroying doomed strategy his peers claim it is. Bruce is going to keep doing it obviously (his next initiative is to ensure all part-time and contractors get the same benefits and pay as full time employees), but he is going to have to find a different way to dump his money.
But you know what else is supposed to be prohibitively expensive? Green and ethical initiatives. Yes, Bruce can do that. He creates and fund a 10 year plan to covert all Wayne facilities to renewable energy. He overhauls all factories to employ the best environmentally friendly practices and technologies. He cuts contracts with all suppliers that engage in unethical employment practices and pays for other to upgrade their equipment and facilities to meet WE’s new environmental and safety requirements. He spares no expense.
Yeah, Wayne Enterprises is so successful that they spin off an entire new business arm focused on helping other companies convert to environmentally friendly and safe practices like they did in an efficient, cost effective, successful way.
Admittedly, investing in his own company was probably never going to be the best way to get rid of his wealth. He slashes his own salary to a pittance (god knows he has more money than he could possibly know what to do with already) and keeps investing the profits back into the workers, and WE keeps responding with nearly terrifying success.
So WE is a no-go, and Bruce now has numerous angry billionaires on his back because they’ve been claiming all these measures he’s implementing are too expensive to justify for decades and they’re finding it a little hard to keep the wool over everyone’s eyes when Idiot Softheart Bruice Wayne has money spilling out his ears. BUT Bruce can invest in Gotham. That’ll go well, right?
Gotham’s infrastructure is the OSHA anti-Christ and even what little is up to code is constantly getting destroyed by Rogue attacks. Surely THAT will be a money sink.
Except the only non-corrupt employer in Gotham city is….Wayne Enterprises. Or contractors or companies or businesses that somehow, in some way or other, feed back to WE. Paying wholesale for improvement to Gotham’s infrastructure somehow increases WE’s profits.
Bruce funds a full system overhaul of Gotham hospital (it’s not his fault the best administrative system software is WE—he looked), he sets up foundations and trusts for shelters, free clinics, schools, meal plans, day care, literally anything he can think of.
Gotham continues to be a shithole. Bruce Wayne continues to be richer than god against his Batman-ingrained will.
Oh, and Bruice Wayne is no longer viewed as solely a spoiled idiot nepo baby. The public responds by investing in WE and anything else he owns, and stop doing this, please.
Bruce sets up a foundation to pay the college tuition of every Gotham citizen who applies. It’s so successful that within 10 years, donations from previous recipients more than cover incoming need, and Bruce can’t even donate to his own charity.
But by this time, Bruce has children. If he can’t get rid of his wealth, he can at least distribute it, right?
Except Dick Grayson absolutely refuses to receive any of his money, won’t touch his trust fund, and in fact has never been so successful and creative with his hacking skills as he is in dumping the money BACK on Bruce. Jason died and won’t legally resurrect to take his trust fund. Tim has his own inherited wealth, refuses to inherit more, and in fact happily joins forces with Dick to hack accounts and return whatever money he tries to give them. Cass has no concept of monetary wealth and gives him panicked, overwhelmed eyes whenever he so much as implies offering more than $100 at once. Damian is showing worrying signs of following in his precious Richard’s footsteps, and Babs barely allows him to fund tech for the Clocktower. At least Steph lets him pay for her tuition and uses his credit card to buy unholy amounts of Batburger. But that is hardly a drop in the ocean of Bruce’s wealth. And she won’t even accept a trust fund of only one million.
Jason wins for best-worst child though because he currently runs a very lucrative crime empire. And although he pours the vast, vast majority of his profits back into Crime Alley, whenever he gets a little too rich for his tastes, he dumps the money on Bruce. At this point, Bruce almost wishes he was being used for money laundering because then he’s at least not have the money.
So children—generous, kindhearted, stubborn till the day they die the little shits, children—are also out.
Bruce was funding the Justice League. But then finances were leaked, and the public had an outcry over one man holding so much sway over the world’s superheroes (nevermind Bruce is one of those superheroes—but the public can’t know that). So Bruce had to do some fancy PR trickery, concede to a policy of not receiving a majority of funds from one individual, and significantly decrease his contributions because no one could match his donations.
At his wits end, Bruce hires a team of accounts to search through every crinkle and crevice of tax law to find what loopholes or shortcuts can be avoided in order to pay his damn taxes to the MAX.
The results are horrifying. According to the strictest definition of the law, the government owes him money.
Bruce burns the report, buries any evidence as deeply as he can, and organizes a foundation to lobby for FAR higher taxation of the upper class.
All this, and Wayne Enterprises is happily chugging along, churning profit, expanding into new markets, growing in the stock market, and trying to force the credit and proportionate compensation on their increasingly horrified CEO.
Bruce Wayne is one of the richest men in the world. Bruce Wayne will never not be one of the richest men in the world.
But by GOD is he trying.
I had a Terry’s Chocolate Orange once in an airport 10 years ago (they’re very hard to come by in the US, I’ve never seen them sold anywhere else) and I think about it everyday.
Man I just realized that there will come a time where this feeling of happiness that comes with fandom stuff will fade, not disappear, never disappear. Just deminish.
Other things will become important and this fun thing will just slowly calm and relax into nostalgia.
Now this isn’t true for everything. I could even go back to that thing that gave me joy and relive it. But there is always the possibility. So why should I focus on the negative things when I could create and experience positive ones. Make those times I look back on happy rather than nerve wracking.
I should create a place that a future me would be proud of.
I’m accepting this as canon in my head. If I ever get around to actually writing the fan comics I have in mind, expect Brucie Wayne shenanigans.
The thought that Brucie Wayne and Batman being two completely separate entities that Bruce can code switch between has consumed me especially with the idea that he mixes the two together on occasion to fuck with people
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*Batman and Superman searching a dressing room*
Superman: What about this thing, it looks suspicious?
Batman *full Batman voice*: That’s an eyelash curler darling
~~~~~~~~
*OG JLA revealing identities to newbies*
Green Arrow: Your turn Bats, who are you?
Batman having decided to fuck with him walking up to him cocking his hip putting one hand on his chest and in full Brucie Wayne mode: C’mon Ollie-Dollie you know who I am. We dated 💕
Green Arrow (internally): Modem noise
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recently revealed identities with Clark and Brucie being at the same party
Brucie: oh howdy 🤠 cowboy, fancy meeting you at this shindig
Clark *flustered* (internally): he can’t be Batman he can’t be Batman he can’t be Batman…
~~~~~~~~~
*Bruce getting a call during a JLA meeting*
Brucie: Oh! hello dear, yes of course I’m coming to your party I’ll see you later 😘
Batman: Our security measures need to be increased due to the number of criminals currently attempting to follow heroes to their base of operations
JLA *experiencing whiplash*: what.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*undercover Brucie and members of the JLA at a party*
Bruce *pretending to be drunk wandering over to the flash*: excuse moi but can I get your attention for just a momento😊
Flash *completely disconnecting Bruce and bats*: yeah uh sure sir are you alright
Batman *quiet but deep Batman voice*: there’s an assassin in the rafters
Ok so in the new World’s Finest comics Clark gets a sidekick!!! His name is David or Boy Thunder
Ok so I noticed this a while ago but I think David’s costume might be based off of Nova
Am I crazy? Idk it looks similar!
Listen, I’m convinced you could put Barry’s name and a copy pasta down afterwards and it would sound like a Reverse Flash monologue. Or just any meme.
Thawne: “Barry! What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I’m the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my words. You think you can get away with saying shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You’re fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little “clever” comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your tongue. You didn’t, and now you’re paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit all over you and you will drown in it. You’re fucking dead, kiddo.”
Barry: “…”
I need people to understand how crazy it was that Tim just knew about Bruce not being dead. He had like no concrete evidence he just saw a picture and did some basic background checking and decided ah yes Bruce is alive. Like what?! It took Alfred and Dick so much more search before getting concrete evidence and allowing themselves even a sliver of hope and Tim was like “I have little evidence of this but I know this is a cosmic truth.” Like what the hell?! That’s so funny?! Idk I just love this.
Not the greatest, it was from memory and I was drawing on a hand out but this is what I mean. Only wet cat man. I will never be free.
Help my default way of drawing Bruce is the wet cat version of him from fear state and future state.
I’ve tried to draw cleaned up versions of Bruce but they just never look right. What do I do?! Literally if I try to draw Bruce this is what comes to mind.
I’m also going to make Elseworlds and Aus for my own au. I feel like this might be going too far but I don’t care.
There’s one where Lex Luthor becomes president and manages to propagandize people into fighting against the heroes. I want Bruce, Kara, Donna, Wally, and Dinah to be some of the few left standing and they are pissed. They have a plan to go to a different universe and use their Lazarus pits because their own universe doesn’t have any left. (They go to main au maybe idk)
I have another where it’s just Superman after being alone after outliving the world goes universe hopping cause he’s lonely.
I have so many ideas!!!
Martian Manhunter was sad when they couldn’t do a Oreo flavor, so he got the closest equivalent. Cookies and cream, like one of those creamy lollipops and an old store.
Aquaman has to have a sea salt flavored one. Maybe a sea salt caramel or something similar. Idk but it just fits and it gives him a slight taste of home.
I’ll add more later, gotta get dressed.
Justice League Lollipop
They would all have their logos (or closest equivalent)
Wonder Woman’s is something sweet but sort of rare when it comes to lollipops. I’m thinking maybe simple honey or maybe an ice cream flavored lollipop by her request. Strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla swirl!
Superman’s is a classic flavor and I feel like his would be red of some kind. Cherry! Maybe it’s just cherry or maybe they spice it up with cola cherry. I feel like the iconic superman needs an iconic flavor. (Also I feel like cherry would just be Clark’s favorite in general)
Batman’s is a little ridiculous. I want it to be something silly, like black currant. He only agreed to this cause the others wanted to and all the proceeds were going to charities. So he chose black currant or maybe just black berry. (I wanna lean black currant and blame Alfred for it) (black currant isn’t bad, I like it, it’s just feels over the top for a lollipop)
Green Lantern won a bet with Green Arrow and got green apple for his. It fits his theming. Poor Ollie got stuck with lime. He hates lime.
Black Canary doesn’t really have a logo so hers is just a lollipop in the shape of her head. She decided to go lemon because she loves lemon flavored candy (sour heads!!!) and she’d match with Ollie. Win win scenario.
Flash had to be something super sweet. He probably had a million ideas for this so he had to settle with one… he chose strawberry lemonade with a hint of spice. Yeah this is insanity on a stick but he loves them! He has the watchtower stocked up all the time.
This is getting really long I’ll continue in another post.