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The 20th century was a turning point in the history of Earth. The population explosion following World War II caused an increase in the crime wave. To counterbalance this, many humans took up vigilantism or used scientific advancements to fight crime. By the end of the century, mankind had begun working on splicing the genome, gaining advances in nanotechnology, sending men to Mars and had sent small ships out to Alpha Centauri. Earth had just begun contact with the galactic community.
Brainiac collects all of Krypton's knowledge before it is destroyed. He then leaves to collect all the knowledge in the galaxy. (STAS: The Last Son of Krypton)
Bruce Wayne travels abroad to learn to be a crime-fighter. He begins by studying to be a detective, and he also studies science under Nobel laureates. (BTAS: Night of the Ninja)
1980s[]
Zatanna and Bruce Wayne
Early 1980s[]
Bruce Wayne spends a month under magician Zatara's tutelage. While there, he learns escape artistry, and he develops an attraction to Zatara's daughter Zatanna. He goes by the name John Smith. (BTAS: Zatanna)
Three members of the Legion of Super Heroes arrive in Smallville
After many years abroad, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City. While attending college, he meets and gets engaged to Andrea Beaumont, daughter of Carl Beaumont. When Carl's mobster connections force them to move, Andrea breaks her engagement to Bruce. Around the same time, Bruce, still haunted by his parents' deaths, begins crime-fighting. At first, he attempts to do it dressed in common clothes, but then realizes that he must strike fear into the heart of his enemies and dons cape and cowl to become Batman. (Batman: Mask of the Phantasm)
Batman's first Batmobile breaks down and he hires Earl Cooper, a former auto executive, to build him a brand new Batmobile. (BTAS: The Mechanic)
Dick Grayson is placed into Bruce Wayne's custody after his parents are killed by Tony Zucco. After learning of Bruce's secret, Dick becomes his crime-fighting partner Robin. (BTAS: Robin's Reckoning)
Psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel interns for a semester at Arkham Asylum. She soon meets Joker and begins having one-on-one sessions with him, after which she falls in love with him. She eventually adopts the alias of Harley Quinn and frees Joker from Arkham and becomes his partner and girlfriend from then on. (TNBA: Mad Love)
District Attorney Harvey Dent, while running for a re-election campaign is badly disfigured on the left side of his body following an explosion, in his attempts to catch and stop Rupert Thorne's illegal dealings. Dent goes insane and adopts the alias Two-Face. (BTAS: Two-Face)
1997[]
Dick Grayson graduates from Gotham State University. Following a heated argument with Batman over his manipulative and ruthless behavior after stopping another of Joker's crimes and upon discovering Batman's knowledge of his girlfriend Barbara Gordon being Batgirl and that they both did not tell him, he abandons his role as Robin and leaves Gotham City. (TNBA: Old Wounds)
The Gotham Tricentennial is celebrated to commemorate Gotham City's 300th anniversary. (TNBA: Cold Comfort)
1999[]
Street thief and orphan Tim Drake encounters Batman and becomes his new ward after getting involved in one of Two-Face's plots involving his father. After stopping him, Bruce inducts Tim as his newest crime-fighting partner and the new Robin. Dick Grayson returns to Gotham City after two years to everyone's surprise and adopts the identity of Nightwing. (TNBA: Sins of the Father)
