There have been many DC Comics favorites that have taken center stage throughout the first season of FOX's freshman hit series Gotham. And yet we still have a ton of thrilling backstories to explore — one of which includes our pre-Batman, Bruce Wayne. Throughout this entire year we've watched as Bruce grieved the death of his parents (as we knew he would) and channeled all of his anger and energy into solving their murder and upholding their legacy. And while that's certainly a sweet sentiment, I can't help but wonder when his real transition into the caped crusader will begin — starting with when Bruce starts his training with Ra's al Ghul in The League of Assassins. Or as it's referred to in the Christopher Nolan franchise: The League of Shadows.
What some of you may not be aware of, though, is that Bruce never actually trained with Ra's in the actual comics. This was something that the movies chose to add in for dramatic effect. However, as a slight nod to the original story, Ra's in the movies (played by Liam Neeson) initially introduced himself to Bruce using the name Henri Ducard — a character who actually did assist in Bruce's training in a few different versions of Batman's origin stories.
So basically, if we're going to see Bruce join The League on Gotham at all, we only have the information from the movies to go on. And, of course, when I say "join" I mean almost join, given how Bruce goes through the entire training process in Batman Begins only to burn the entire fortress to the ground later on. (I hope Ra's had insurance.)
But back to the timeline. Upon his return to Gotham, we learn that Bruce had been gone for a total of seven years and was currently 29 years old. (If you recall, he threw himself a big 30th birthday bash halfway through the first film.) It's unclear as to whether or not Bruce spent the majority of that time training with Ra's — don't forget, he ended up in a Bhutanese prison first — but if he did then he was no younger than 22 or 23 years old. This means that Gotham's Bruce, who is currently 12 years of age, still has an entire decade to go before that rigorous initiation begins. (That is, if the series sticks to the movie's pattern.)
In my opinion, though, there's still an equally good chance he won't try to be inducted into The League at all and just become Ra's ultimate nemesis. From what we've seen, Bruce's beloved butler Alfred has quite the combat training experience of his own — a dark side of himself that he still tries desperately to hide from his young employer. Could Alfred provide all of the training Bruce needs in order to become the iconic vigilante we know and love? Or will he eventually venture out on his own and seek council elsewhere?
Either way, it seems Master Bruce still has a long journey ahead of him before that day comes. So unless Gotham plans on shocking us with a huge time jump at some point, we have quite a ways to go.
