Bruce Wayne, heir to the Wayne fortune; a man who—when he was a child—watched his parents shot down right before his very eyes.  He was raised in the enormous Wayne mansion, high on a hill overlooking Gotham City, by his butler, Alfred Pennyworth, and the loyal staff of the manor.  Young Bruce Wayne dedicated himself to protecting the citizens of the city from nightmares he had lived through.  When he had completed his academic education at age 12, went out into the world, and learned how to survive, how to fight, and how to protect himself.  When he was ready, he came back to Gotham City and pondered how to begin.  That was when a giant bat crashed in through the window.  At that moment, he knew:  He used the resources of his vast empire to create the identity of the Batman, a knight of the darkness, who would fight against the forces of evil preying upon the innocent—he would fight for the people who could not fight for themselves.

He was joined in this effort by a young dynamic duo of protégés—Batgirl and Robin, the Boy Wonder.  Robin was the costumed identity of 15 year-old Dick Grayson, an orphan, from a family of circus acrobats, the Flying Graysons.  A wild and adventurous boy, young Grayson had taken on the identity of Robin, modeling himself after Batman.  He ran across an insane killer who wore a white face and a big smile and called himself the Joker, and because he was in over his head, Grayson’s parents were killed.  But Bruce Wayne was in the audience that night, and he had also been recently put on the Joker’s trail.  He took Robin under his wing and began to mentor him and train him to use his abilities wisely and well.

Batgirl was Barbara Gordon, the 16-year old daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon; she was an Olympic Gold Medalist.  She had become enamored of Batman, who was such a powerful and mysterious figure fighting at her father’s side.  She secretly made a costume for herself, but never seriously considered going into action until the night her father was kidnapped, and she didn’t know what else to do but go after him herself.

Batgirl and Robin become a team of crime-fighters, using their own wits and what Batman is teaching them to take on the evil in the night.

Gotham City becomes a safe and prosperous capitol of industry, but it is still plagued by its own humanity, and thus faces the constant threats from enemies within and without.