Expert: Mark Harmon - 6/27/2008

Question
"Hi Mark -

I asked this question of another expert but haven't gotten a response yet after five days.  So, I thought I'd ask you!

Has it ever been revealed who raised Bruce Wayne after his parents were killed and before he began his self taught crusade to become the Batman?

My thought was that Alfred pretty much raised him, but I haven't seen anything in print that confirms that.

Also, who raised Daredevil after his father was killed?  We know his mother abandoned him and Jack shortly after Matt was born, has she ever resurfaced and do we know what happened to her?

Finally, can Green Lantern's ring generate wavelengths of radiation similar to Kryptonite?  I.E. could he go toe-to-toe with Superman and weaken him by generating similar wavelengths of radiation with his ring?

Any speculation would be appreciated, thanks!

D. -"


Answer
Hi Deran,

Good questions.  I'll try my best to answer.  Batman's origin has been retold and even altered on several occasions.  My recollection though is that Alfred is the person who raised him.  I can't pinpoint a specific storyline or series where I read that but I'm thinking it explained in a series from the early 1980s titled the Untold Legend of Batman.

The period in Matt's life after his fathers death and before he became Daredevil is pretty sketchy as far as I understand it.  Obviously he trained himself to be a superior athlete and fighter, but who raised him has not been mentioned as far as I can recall.  Although the character Stick helped Matt develop his senses/skills, I think he was more involved in Matt's life before his father died and then later on when the character Elektra was introduced.  I haven't seen anything further about his mother.

As for your last question, sadly I'm not really knowledgeable about extent of the ring's powers. However, my understanding is that the wearer of the ring is only limited by their imagination, so my guess would be that a creative GL could figure that out...but that's just my guess.

Hope this helps.  Was fun.

- Mark