Leslie Maurin Thompkins(sometimes spelledTompkins) is a fictional character appearing in comic books published byDC Comics,usually as a supporting character in stories featuringBatman,of whom she is an ally. Created by writerDennis O'Neiland artistDick Giordano,she first appeared inDetective Comics#457 (March 1976).[1]
| Leslie Thompkins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics#457 (March 1976) |
| Created by | Dennis O'Neil(writer) Dick Giordano (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Leslie Maurin Thompkins |
| Supporting character of | Batman Robin Nightwing Catwoman Stephanie Brown |
She debuted in live action in 2015 on Fox's television seriesGotham,where she was portrayed byMorena Baccarin.On theHBO MaxseriesTitans,she was portrayed byKrista Bridgesin thethirdseason.
Publication history
editCreated by writerDennis O'Neiland artistDick Giordano,she first appeared inDetective Comics#457 (March 1976).[2]She was based on the Catholic pacifistDorothy Day.[3]
A close friend and medical colleague ofThomas Wayne,Leslie serves as a surrogate parent to his son Bruce after his parents are murdered, and later becomes a confidant in his crusade as Batman. In addition to being one of Batman's allies, Leslie is also a renowned medical professional who has dedicated her considerable skills toward helpingGotham City's less fortunate.[4]
Fictional character biography
editLeslie Thompkins makes her first appearance inDetective Comics#457, in which she is depicted as comforting the young Bruce Wayne on the night that his parents are murdered. Inspired, she dedicates her life to helping slum kids avoid a life of crime. Every year on the anniversary of his parents' murder, Batman visits Leslie in Park Row (which is now referred to as Crime Alley). However, Leslie has no idea he is the boy she helped decades before.
In later years, Leslie is portrayed as having been a close friend and colleague ofThomas Wayne,Bruce's father. She takes it upon herself to look after Bruce after the boy's parents are murdered, often acting with the family butlerAlfred Pennyworthas a parental figure and guardian. InBatman Special#1 (1984), after costumed cop-killerWrathdies in combat with Batman, Leslie comforts Wrath's grieving girlfriend much as she had young Bruce. She also eventually learns that Bruce is Batman.
Wrath's girlfriend, former Mafioso Gayle Hudson, becomes a close friend to Leslie. At one point this protects Leslie from two attackers, who fear what retribution Gayle might bring.[5]
Leslie disapproves of Bruce's vigilantism, and feels partly responsible for his transformation into Batman, fearing that somehow she failed him as arole model.She has also been linked to Alfred romantically on more than one occasion.[6]
She runs a clinic for criminals and drug addicts in Gotham City. While the majority of her patients are repeat offenders, she continues to do her job with great perseverance and determination. During theNo Man's Landstoryline, she runs Gotham's only medical clinic, operating under a strict 'No Violence' policy regardless of her patients' actions and intent. EvenKiller Crocrespects the rule and stays out.[7]
Sometime after No Man's Land, it is revealed she has a brother named Jeremiah.[8]She asksJean-Paul Valleyto find him.
Stephanie Brownsuffers serious injuries at the hands ofBlack Maskduring theWar Gamescrossover,and is taken to Leslie's clinic for treatment. Initially thinking Stephanie died of her injuries, Batman later discovers, during theWar Crimesstoryline, that Leslie deliberately treated her improperly, resulting in her death while hoping that it would teach Batman the lesson that his constant use of children as partners was only putting their lives in danger.
After liquidating her assets and giving them to Stephanie's daughter, she flees toAfrica.Batman follows her and forces a confession, coldly informing her that he may not stop violence, but he had never thrown another body onto the pile in the hopes of making a statement. He warns her that she is now just another murderer in his eyes, and if she ever returned to theUnited Statesor practiced medicine again, he would bring her to justice.[9]
A mysterious familiar figure has been stalkingTim Drakewearing Stephanie's Spoiler costume, which at one point Tim thinks he imagined it to be Stephanie herself.[10]The stalker indeed turns out to be Stephanie. It was revealed that Leslie faked the girl's death and switched the body with an overdose victim who had a similar body type.[11]
A 2008Robin/Spoilerone-shot special shows both Leslie and Stephanie alive and in exile, protecting a village somewhere in Africa.
After the events ofBatman: Battle for the CowlLeslie Thompkins has once again set up shop in Gotham, attempting to start over and continue to help unfortunates. She gained theCavalieras her bodyguard and has, along withBarbara Gordon,begun helping a former associate of theTeen TitansnamedWendy Harrisdeal with the loss of the use of her legs.[12]Leslie has been welcomed back warmly by Alfred andDick Grayson.Tim Drake, however, maintains a frosty attitude towards her due to her actions regarding Stephanie.
The New 52
editIn 2011,The New 52rebooted the DC universe. Leslie Thompkins appears, younger than she is usually depicted, in the pages ofRed Hood and the Outlaws.She is featured inJason Todd's flashbacks as theRed Hood:she took him in at her clinic in Gotham City after he was beaten within an inch of his life byJoker.[13]
At the offices of Gotham Child Services,Killer Crocmakes a violent entrance, startling Leslie and demanding that Jade be returned to him so that he can give her the things he never had. Leslie admits that Jade has been returned to the Ibanescu family.[14]
DC Rebirth
editIn 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books calledDC Rebirth,which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to The New 52. Leslie has a secret clinic set up in an abandoned building previously used as a base byAzrael(Jean-Paul Valley), where she is treating his injuries from a bombing earlier in the story. She is shown to disapprove of Batman's plan to "get teenagers involved" meaning the team Batman andBatwomanhad assembled.[15]
Thompkins is later attacked and apparently killed after being infected with Joker toxin before the events were revealed to be a simulation.[16][17]
Alternate versions
editThe pre-Crisis incarnation of Leslie Thompkins appears inConvergence.[18]
In other media
editTelevision
editLeslie Thompkins appears in theDC Animated UniverseseriesBatman: The Animated SeriesandThe New Batman Adventures,voiced byDiana Muldaur.[19]This version is a lifelong friend of Bruce Wayne who attended medical school with his father Thomas. She knows Batman's secret identity and serves as his doctor, confidentially treating injuries that he could not be publicly known to have without raising suspicion.
Live action
edit- Leslie "Lee" Thompkins appears inGotham,portrayed byMorena Baccarin.[20]This version is a physician who has an on-off relationship withJim Gordonand no connections with Thomas Wayne. She later briefly serves as the leader of the Narrows alongsideEdward Nygmabefore marrying Gordon by the end of the series.
- Leslie Thompkins appears in theTitansepisode "Lazarus", portrayed byKrista Bridges.This version is a therapist and former colleague ofJonathan Crane.
Film
editSister Leslie,an alternate universe,Victorian era-inspired variant of Leslie Thompkins, appears inBatman: Gotham by Gaslight,voiced byGrey Griffin.[21]
Video games
edit- Leslie Thompkins appears as a character summon inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[22]
- Leslie Thompkins appears inBatman: Arkham Shadow,voiced by Mara Junot.[19]
Short story collection
editIn Marco Palmieri'sshort story"Best of All", featured in the non-canon anthologyThe Further Adventures of The Joker,the Joker tells Batman that Leslie is his mother. He says that she committed him to a mental institution as a child after he murdered his father, who was abusing her. The story is ambiguous as to whether the Joker is telling the truth, with Leslie attributing the story to her habit of referring to various orphans she cared for in the past as her 'children'.[23]
References
edit- ^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe.DK Publishing. p. 309.ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^Greenberger, Robert;Manning, Matthew K. (2009).The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave.Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:Running Press.p. 30.ISBN978-0-7624-3663-7.
It was Dick Giordano who, among many other similar feats, drew the March 1976 fan-favorite issue #457 ofDetective Comicsto illustrate the fabled Denny O'Neil yarn "There is No Hope in Crime Alley.
- ^O'Neil, Dennis (February 19, 2015)."Dennis O'Neil: Gotham's Doctor, Batman's Saint".ComicMix.RetrievedAugust 16,2017.
- ^Greenberger, Robert (2008).The Essential Batman Encyclopedia.New York City:Del Rey Books.p. 348.ISBN9780345501066.
- ^Batman Confidential#13. DC Comics.
- ^Gotham Knights#7 (September 2000). DC Comics.
- ^Batman Chronicles#18 (Fall 1999). DC Comics.
- ^Azrael: Agent of the Bat#70. DC Comics.
- ^Batman#644 (October 2005). DC Comics.
- ^Robin(vol. 4) #170 (March 2008). DC Comics.
- ^Robin(vol. 4) #174. DC Comics.
- ^Oracle: The Cure#3 (July 2009),. DC Comics.
- ^Red Hood and the Outlaws#0. DC Comics.
- ^Batman Eternal#27. DC Comics.
- ^Detective Comics#935, DC Comics.
- ^Detective Comics#995. DC Comics.
- ^Detective Comics#999. DC Comics.
- ^Green Lantern: Convergence#1 (April 2015). DC Comics.
- ^ab"Dr. Leslie Thompkins Voices (Batman)".Behind The Voice Actors.RetrievedJuly 23,2024.A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^Hughes, William (October 22, 2014)."Morena Baccarin JoinsGothamas Dr. Leslie Thompkins ".The A.V. Club.San Francisco, California:j2 Global.Archived fromthe originalon 2014-10-22.RetrievedJanuary 26,2019.
- ^Trumbore, Dave (November 14, 2017)."Gotham by GaslightBlu-ray Details Confirm Epic Cast, Release Date and Special Features ".Collider.RetrievedDecember 26,2017.
- ^Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013)."DC Characters and Objects -Scribblenauts UnmaskedGuide ".IGN.RetrievedJuly 23,2024.
- ^Palmieri, Marco (1990). "Best of All". In Greenberg, Martin (ed.).The Further Adventures of The Joker.New York City:Bantam Books.ISBN0-553-40246-3.