Lucius Fox is a fictional character appearing in Batman comic books by DC Comics. He was created by John Calnan, and first appeared in Batman #307 (January 1979). As a supporting character, he acts as Bruce Wayne's business manager who supposedly unknowingly runs the business interests that supply Batman's equipment needs as well as financing his operations. Lucius Fox has been featured in various media adaptions, most notably by Morgan Freeman in the Christopher Nolan Batman films.
Fictional character biography
CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Fox has the "Midas Touch", an ability to turn failing businesses into successful conglomerates. Fox is called in to the failing Wayne Enterprises and brings a balance to both Bruce Wayne's private and business finances. 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. When Fox later suffers a stroke, Bruce makes sure that Fox gets the best care possible and supports him and his family.
Fox' daughter Tam is introduced in Red Robin. 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. 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 is also established as having a son named Luke, who becomes the vigilante known as Batwing using a high-tech costume 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.
Other 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.
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.
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.
In other media
Television
- Lucius Fox was voiced by Brock Peters in Batman: The Animated Series and then by Mel Winkler in The New Batman Adventures. His appearances are consistent with Fox as Bruce Wayne's friend and business manager. Fox appears not to know about Bruce's alter ego throughout the series. His largest role is seen in the two-part episode "Feat of Clay," where Matt Hagen attempts to kill him under the guise of Bruce Wayne and under orders of Roland Daggett. Fox, who survives with severe injuries, implicates Bruce in the attempt, and he is brought in to be interrogated. By the end of the episode, Bruce's name is cleared, and Fox claims to be delighted with the knowledge that Bruce was not his attacker. Fox also served as Bruce's best man during his ill-fated wedding in "Chemistry". In the episode "Old Wounds", he is seen with Alfred and Barbara Gordon attending Dick Grayson's college graduation, along with Fox' own son, Joseph.
- In "Black Out", an early episode of Batman Beyond, a company by the name of Foxteca is the target of corporate sabotage. In a conversation between Bruce Wayne and the villainous Derek Powers, it is revealed that when Powers took over Wayne Enterprises, he fired the company's vice president, Lucius Fox Jr., who went on to found his own technology company, Foxteca. Bruce has his successor as Batman, Terry McGinnis, protect Foxteca from the villain Inque, who Powers hired to cripple the company.
- Lucius Fox appeared in The Batman in both parts of the season four finale "The Joining", where he is voiced by Louis Gossett, Jr. This version of the character is based on the version from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, being an old friend of Bruce Wayne's father, and knows Bruce's secret identity as Batman, and helps design most of his arsenal along with the construction of the Batcave beneath Wayne Manor. He, along with Robin, Batgirl, and J'onn J'onzz, play a part in helping Batman defeat the alien robots known as the Joining. Lucius returns in "The Batman/Superman Story," where he gives Batman a new version of the Bat-bot, which he later uses against a brainwashed Superman, and provides Robin with a jetpack.
Film
- Lucius Fox is played by Morgan Freeman in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
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- 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 doingâ€" 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. 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, a mob accountant, both Bruce and Fox agree that Lau's business is illegal based on their profits. With Harvey Dent and Lt. James Gordon needing Lau 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, Lucius 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 Wayne 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 get Lucius 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 declared 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.
- Kevin Michael Richardson voices Lucius Fox in Batman: Gotham Knight (which takes place between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) within the segment "Field Test". The segment confirms that Lucius knows Batman's secret identity. An accident involving a new WayneCom satellite's gyroscopic electromagnetic guidance system gives Fox an idea to create a device with the satellite's gyro with an advanced sound sensor that will electromagnetically deflect small-arms fire. Bruce Wayne takes the device and attends a charity golf tournament being held by developer Ronald Marshall. After breaking up a fight between Sal Maroni's mob and the Russian Mafia which resulted in one of the operatives being injured by the device, Batman returns the device to Fox, stating, "... it works too well. I'm willing to put my life on the line to do what I have to. But it has to be mine, no one else's."
Video games
- Morgan Freeman reprised his role as Lucius Fox in the Batman Begins video game.
- Lucius Fox is a playable character in the Nintendo DS version of Lego Batman and his pieces can be found in the character creation feature in the others consoles version of the game.
- Lucius Fox is referenced in Batman: Arkham Asylum, as the respected inventor of the donated Wayne Tech security gates located around Arkham Island.
- Lucius Fox appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Leif Anders.
- Fox is again referenced in Batman: Arkham City. Alfred Pennyworth claims Fox has manufactured a cure for the Titan illness, but this was revealed as a hallucination created by Mad Hatter. Also, it is mentioned that he knows about the prototype grapnel boost as he claims that it is not ready yet.
- Lucius Fox will appear in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
References
