Lucius Fox

This article is about the comic book character. For the British heavy metal drummer, see Lucas Fox. For the baseball player, see Lucius Fox (baseball).
Lucius Fox

Lucius Fox as he appears in Red Robin #7 (February, 2010); art by Marcus To.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Batman #307 (January 1979)
Created by Len Wein
John Calnan
In-story information
Full name Lucius Fox
Supporting character of Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Robin (various)
Notable aliases Wayne Enterprises

Lucius Fox is a fictional character appearing American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with Batman. As a supporting character, he acts as Bruce Wayne's business manager at Wayne Enterprises who unknowingly runs the business interests that supply Batman's equipment needs as well as financing his operations.[1] The character is traditionally depicted as being unaware that Bruce Wayne is Batman.

Lucius Fox has been featured in various media adaptions, most notably portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the Christopher Nolan's Batman: The Dark Knight Trilogy films, and portrayed by Chris Chalk as a younger Lucius Fox in Gotham.

Publication history

Lucius Fox was created by John Calnan and first appeared in Batman #307 (January 1979).[2]

Fictional character biography

As CEO and President of Wayne Enterprises and the Wayne Foundation, Lucius Fox is one of Bruce Wayne's closest allies. He is an experienced businessman, entrepreneur, and inventor who unknowingly runs the business interests that supply weapons, gadgets, vehicles, and armor for Bruce Wayne to use when he fights crime as the vigilante Batman. The character is depicted as being unaware that Bruce Wayne is Batman.

Business career

Lucius Fox is regarded as having the "Midas Touch", an ability to turn failing businesses into successful conglomerates, and is consequently a highly sought-after businessman throughout the corporate world. Fox is called in to the failing Wayne Enterprises and brings a balance to both Bruce Wayne's private and business finances.[1] In Batman Confidential, he is shown heading the project that produced the prototype that would become the Batwing. He also manages the particulars of the Wayne Foundation while Bruce dictates the organization's general policies. Since then, Fox has been approached time and time again by other companies seeking his expertise. After overcoming the original challenge of returning Wayne Enterprises to its former glory, Fox has elected to stay, having been given an unparalleled freedom in the company.

In Batman: Haunted Knight, it is explained that a young Bruce Wayne rescued Lucius Fox from muggers in Paris. Later, Fox asked him if he wants to start a foundation for charity, to which Bruce agrees many years later, deciding that not all of his money has to go to crime fighting.

Bruce Wayne, as Batman, originally forms the Outsiders in order to rescue Fox from Baron Bedlam.[3] When Fox later suffers a stroke, Bruce makes sure that Fox gets the best care possible and supports him and his family.

Family life

With his wife Tanya, Lucius has several children, all introduced in the comics at different stages over the years. Fox's daughter Tam is introduced in Red Robin.[4] Her father sends her to personally locate Tim Drake, only to discover his secret identity as Red Robin and become involved in his conflicts with the League of Assassins. For a time it was believed Fox was dead, but this was a ruse to help combat his enemies.[5] It is believed that learning Drake's secrets has led Tam Fox to realize that Bruce Wayne is Batman. However, she apparently did not report her findings to her father.

Fox's youngest daughter, Tiffany, was first shown in Batman (vol.1) #308 (1979), but was not substantially explored until The New 52 reboot, which reintroduced her along with her siblings in Batwing #22. The alternative future story shown in Batgirl: Futures End (2014) shows Tiffany grows up to be a gifted protege of Barbara Gordon, becoming one of several women to use the Batgirl moniker, with a pink-accented Batsuit.

Prior to The New 52, Lucius had a son named Timothy whose occasional delinquency embarrassed his father. In the New 52 continuity, his son is named Lucas "Luke" Fox, an intellectual prodigy and mixed martial artist who, unbeknownst to his father, was selected and trained by Bruce Wayne to become the vigilante known as Batwing using a high-tech Batsuit designed by his father. Both Luke and his predecessor as Batwing, David Zavimbe, are agents of the international crime-fighting organization Batman Incorporated.

After Bruce Wayne announces his public support for Batman Inc., Fox becomes active supplying him with the company's resources and research prototypes.[6]

Alternative versions

Anti-Matter Universe

An alternate version of Fox is shown in the Antimatter universe (which resides with the Crime Syndicate). In this universe, Fox is a white gang boss who has the backing of the CSA, in return for spreading fear in Gotham City and snitching for Owlman.[7]

Batman Beyond

In the comic book series Batman Beyond, Lucius' son, Lucius Fox Jr. serves as a supporting character. He merged his company, Foxteca, with Wayne Enterprises as Wayne Incorporated, and becomes Wayne's business partner.[8]

Batman: Earth One

Main article: Batman: Earth One

In the graphic novel Batman: Earth One, by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, Fox is a 22-year-old intern at Wayne Medical, hoping to develop an advance prosthetic for his 5-year-old niece. After repairing Bruce Wayne's grapnel, he deduces that Batman is the billionaire after seeing the vigilante using the same climbing gear on the news. Believing that Wayne's crusade is for noble intentions, Fox accepts his role as an equipment developer for Batman and begins making some batarangs for him afterwards.[9] As of Volume Two, Fox is promoted as head of Wayne Enterprises's Research and Development; he provides Wayne an armored Batsuit and is tasked to build the Batmobile.[10]

Convergence

During the Convergence storyline, Pre-Crisis Gotham City is trapped under a mysterious dome. Fox allies himself with the visiting Superman and Supergirl, who had been depowered. With assistance from S.T.A.R. Labs, the trio rebuild the Phantom Zone projector in a somewhat successful effort to break through the dome and help the trapped citizens of Gotham. Their efforts are threatened by the Phantom Zone criminals and an invading homicidal simian army.[11]

In other media

Animated Television

Lucius Fox in The Batman.

DC Animated Universe

Main article: DC Animated Universe

Live-action Television

Gotham

Main article: Gotham (TV series)

Animated film

DC Universe Animated Original Movies

Lucius Fox in the Batman: Gotham Knight segment Field Test.

Live-action film

The Dark Knight Trilogy

Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox in Batman Begins (2005)
  • In Batman Begins, Fox is a research head and friend of Bruce Wayne's late father Thomas Wayne who is demoted by Wayne Enterprises CEO William Earle to the Applied Sciences division, which involves overseeing the supplies of Wayne Enterprises' aborted research projects and prototypes. Upon returning to the business, Bruce Wayne strikes up a fast friendship which allows him to all but recruit Fox as his armorer for his Batman activities. Fox proves valuable in this role, even when he is fired by Earle. Regarding Bruce's identity as Batman, he tells Bruce, "[If] you don't want to tell me exactly what you're doing— when I'm asked, I don't have to lie. But don't think of me as an idiot." Fox later discovers Bruce's real identity through Alfred Pennyworth, who calls upon Fox to Bruce's rescue after he is assaulted by Scarecrow's fear toxin. At the end of the film, Bruce, having gained majority control of Wayne Enterprises' shares, fires Earle and makes Fox the company's CEO.
  • In The Dark Knight, it is acknowledged that Fox is fully aware of Bruce's secret identity as Batman, though it is never openly stated by either of them, so that he can retain plausible deniability if an outsider puts two and two together. Fox actively participates in a support capacity as Bruce's armorer, designing a new Batsuit designed for more efficient mobility and which can withstand against dogs, though also makes Bruce vulnerable to knives and gunfire. When Wayne Enterprises negotiates a deal with Lau, an investment holdings owner who also is an accountant for the Gotham mafia, both Bruce and Fox look at the books and decide that Lau's business is illegal based on their profits. With Harvey Dent and Lt. James Gordon needing Lau alive in order to find where he has hidden the mob's money, Bruce makes a trip to Hong Kong and Fox accompanies him to make it look like they've only gone there to cancel the negotiations with Lau's investment company. When Batman uses Fox's cell phone sonar technology to create a computer system that can spy on the whole city in order to find the Joker, Fox says that he will help just this once, but will resign immediately afterward. After the police arrest the Joker, Fox types his name into the system as instructed by Batman and the computer self-destructs. Fox walks away smiling, evidently having withdrawn his threat to resign.
  • In The Dark Knight Rises, Fox is the President of a nearly bankrupt Wayne Enterprises, with Wayne Enterprises board member Miranda Tate taking over the role of Chairman and CEO. He brings the reclusive Bruce up to speed on the poor state of the company's finances, which have all but evaporated after heavy investment in an aborted fusion reactor project failed to pay off thanks to John Daggett. Fox shows Bruce around the Applied Sciences division once again, "for old time's sake," introducing him to the new airborne vehicle he has nicknamed "The Bat", in addition to other new gadgets he has developed. After Bane takes over Gotham City, Fox spends much of the intervening three-month period hiding in Wayne Enterprises property with fellow employees. Bane and his men raid Wayne Enterprises and kill the special forces soldiers that infiltrated Gotham City while rounding up the Wayne Enterprises employees to await judgement at Scarecrow's show trial. When Batman returns, he lets himself get captured as Bruce Wayne so that Selina Kyle can sneak in, knock out the guards and break Fox out. Fox attempts to help him disarm the newly weaponized fusion core, waiting in the reactor chamber for it to be returned by Batman. Miranda Tate, who was responsible for the project in the first place, reveals herself to be Talia al Ghul as she floods the chamber to make re-installment of the core impossible. Fox manages to escape. After Batman tows the core away from Gotham and it detonates at sea, Bruce Wayne is thought by Fox to be dead and his estate is divided to cover his debts, with the remainder being given to Alfred Pennyworth, except for Wayne Manor. While researching ways he could have fixed the "The Bat"'s autopilot, Fox learns that Bruce fixed it himself six months earlier. He then realizes that Bruce is still alive.

Video games

Lego Batman

Main article: Lego Batman

Batman: Arkham

Main article: Batman: Arkham

References

  1. 1 2 Jimenez, Phil (2008), "Fox, Lucius", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 130, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
  2. McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Batman #307 (January 1979) Writer Len Wein and artist John Calnan introduced Bruce Wayne's new executive, Lucius Fox, in this issue of Batman.
  3. "Batman and the Outsiders" #1 (August 1983)
  4. "Red Robin" #3 (October 2009)
  5. "Red Robin" #23–25 (May–July 2011)
  6. "Batman Inc." #1–3 (November 2010 – December 2011)
  7. "JLA" #604 – 605 (July – August 2002)
  8. Batman Beyond Unlimited #2 (May 2012)
  9. Batman: Earth One (2012)
  10. Batman: Earth One Volume Two (2015)
  11. Convergence: Adventures of Superman #1-2 (April – May 2015)
  12. Nellie Andreeva. "Chris Chalk Cast As Lucius Fox On 'Gotham'". Deadline.
  13. "The Anvil or the Hammer". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 21. April 27, 2015. Fox.
  14. "All Happy Families Are Alike". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 22. April 28, 2015. Fox.
  15. Manning, Shaun (9 October 2015). "NYCC: Cast of "Batman: Bad Blood" Reveal First Footage". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
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