Wayne Enterprises (also known as Wayne Corporation) is a large multinational conglomerate based in Gotham City. Created, owned and run by members of the Wayne Family, the conglomerate is currently inherited by Bruce Wayne and his wards, with the conglomerate's businesses run by chief executive officer, Lucius Fox, from Gotham City's Wayne Building.
History
Descending from Anthony Darius Wayne (a hero of the American Revolution), Charles Arwin Wayne managed the Wayne Family's then-modest fortune by buying cheap property and holding on to it as Gotham Town grew. As a result, upon his death at age fifty-two, Charles left a considerable real-estate fortune in the form of a merchant house which he left to his sons Solomon Zebediah Wayne and Joshua Thomas Wayne; both of whom become prominant citizens of Gotham Town in the late 1950's.
Soloman's son of his second wife, Alan Wayne, would marry Catherine Van Derm; a member of the once-wealthy Van Derm family, and together they would have a son named Kenneth Wayne.
With Alan spearheading the growth and development of the Gotham Railroads and creating Wayne Shipping, his son, Kenneth Wayne, contributed Wayne Chemicals to the corporation.
Kenneth's son, Patrick Morgan Wayne, saw the Wayne legacy through two world wars and built WayneCorp out of the ashes of the Great Depression and later developed WayneTech, whose aircraft plants and shipworks fueled American efforts in the Pacific War, and Wayne Manufacturing which took advantage of the Industrial Revolution. His wife, Laura Elizabeth Wayne, inherited the Wayne fortune at age thirty-seven and became the first Wayne to direct the conglomerate toward ecological responsibility.
Patrick and Laura's son, Thomas Wayne, as a doctor and philanthropist, would create and contribute the Wayne Foundation and its various divisions to the conglomerate. While his son, Bruce Wayne, would expand the conglomerate's focus to become a global powerhouse in a wide variety of fields, this diversity allowed him to use the conglomerate's resources for the better-ment of mankind by financing and providing resources for not only his own endevours, but for the financing of various hero groups such as Young Justice, Teen Titans, Outsiders, Birds of Prey, and the Justice League, as well as combating poverty and disaster-affected areas.
Wayne Enterprises is perhaps the only Gotham-based corporation to weather the city's earthquake and year of No Man's Land. The company ensured its continued survival by transferring the burden of its manufacturing to satellite facilities elswhere. After fierce debate, the American congress reneged the No Man's Land and the ambitious "Billion Dollar Build-Up" Federal Works Project began, teaming LexCorp, STAR Labs, Wayne Enterprises, Wayne Foundation and the US Army Corp of Engineers in rebuilding Gotham from the ground up.
Profits earned by Wayne Enterprises during NML were some fo the first capital funds applied to the city's eventual rebuilding. Without hesitation, Wayne Enterprises exceeded Lex Luthor's investments in Gotham's future.
Branches[]
Wayne Technologies[]
Wayne Technologies, also known as WayneTech, is the largest division of Wayne Enterprises. It is involved in the design, study and creation of new technologies as well as the retrieval and research of alien technology. Its main rival is LexCorp. Due to its field of production, the subsidiary is sometimes used by Batman as a means to acquire new technology and weapons.
Other subsidiaries of WayneTech include: Holt Holdings Inc., Wayne Pharmaceuticals, and Wayne Healthcare.
Wayne Biotech[]
Wayne Biotech is the company mostly responsible for the Gotham healthcare system. The company itself is a facility for researching and developing new medical procedures and systems. It also trains and teaches a huge number of people annually. Wayne Chemicals and Wayne Pharmaceuticals work closely with Wayne Biotech to develop medicines for different diseases.
The current research at Wayne Biotech is focused on finding the cure for cancer. Since the human genome has already been unlocked, Wayne Biotech is studying cloning to produce organs for future transplants. The company is involved in research into brain surgery methods, the fight against AIDS and HIV, and reconstructive plastic surgery. Batman uses Wayne Biotech as a research tool for finding medical information, patient histories and information on illnesses.
Wayne Foods[]
Wayne Foods is a little known subsidiary of WayneTech mostly based in Gotham City. It runs farms and cattle ranches in the Midwest United States, and imports beef from Argentina and other countries. Wayne Foods produces specialized products like ecological foods and natural lines with no additives and controlled growing. Batman uses Wayne Foods as a means to keep tabs on the food produce market. In recent times, Wayne Foods has concentrated development efforts on organic produce, as a result of changing fashion and consumer demand.
Wayne Shipping[]
Wayne Shipping owns dozens of freighters and handles three and a half billion tons of freight each month and is used by Batman to gain an inside view on smuggling and drug trafficking. In 1986, Wayne Shipping merged with PAAL Ship Corporation, creating the worlds largest commercial shipping operation for precious metals. The former PAAL CEO, Andreas Milanic, successfully floated Wayne Shipping on the New York Stock Exchange in 1988. The Wayne Family currently owns 57% of the company, with Milanics second son Dragoslav, owning 20% (with the remaining 23% in public ownership). Despite a lack of investment in Wayne Shipping since the merger took place, the company still remains an important player in world ocean transportation.
Wayne Steel[]
Wayne Steel is one of the oldest steel mills and metal refineries in Gotham and supplies steel for shipbuilding. It also studies and replicates alien technology. This has led to Batman getting priority on technology and alloys for him to study. Wayne Steel's alliance with the US Navy and the government has produced numerous contacts for Wayne Enterprises.
Wayne Shipbuilding[]
WayneYards is responsible for the building of a large number of naval warships, commercial, and private ships and is currently building a Nimitz class aircraft carrier in Gotham. WayneSteel and WayneYards facilities repair a large number of cruisers and destroyers and also has contacts within the upper pylons of the Navy and the global maritime business.
Wayne Aerospace[]
Wayne Aerospace builds luxurious and exclusive corporate and private jets and airliners. Its experimental aviation branch produces experimental and research planes built for the United States government and NASA. The military aviation branch designs and manufactures jet fighters and helicopters for the US military. The most notable models of these are the W-4 Wraith fighter and the Kestrel attack helicopter. Wayne Aerospace maintains competition with other aerospace corporations like Ferris Air and LexAir. The division maintains facilities and vehicles at Archie Goodwin International Airport.
Wayne Chemicals[]
Wayne Chemicals controls Wayne Oil, Wayne Pharmaceuticals and Wayne Botanical. Wayne Chemicals also has a small percentage of ownership in Tyler Chemicals, based in New York City. Wayne Chemicals is primarily a research and development firm. Wayne Oil researches petrochemicals and alternative fuel sources, at one time acquiring Luxor Oil. Wayne Pharmaceuticals is another one of Wayne Chemicals' research and development branches.
Wayne Industries[]
Wayne Industries is Wayne Enterprises' main research and development division used for industrial purposes. The company studies, researches and develops cleaner, mechanical fission and fusion power plants and also owns many factories and normal labor units, from manufacturing cars to making cloth and so on. Wayne Mining is also a part of Wayne Industries, along with the few power stations the company owns. Wayne Mining mostly produces gold and some precious stones in Africa.
Wayne Medical[]
Wayne Medical is Wayne Biotech’s sister company but both have different fields of study and work. While Wayne Medical also studies cancer and AIDS with Wayne Biotech, Wayne Medical is focused more on treating illnesses than researching them and maintains and runs many hospitals in Gotham City and helps the Wayne Foundation with the orphanages.
Wayne Electronics[]
Wayne Electronics is a large consortium that manufactures portable radios, stereo and Hi-Fi systems, movie cameras, cameras and electronics, measuring devices, scanners, surveillance equipment, computers and other electronics devices. Its other branches of business include information technology, wired networks, wireless networks and space exploration systems and satellites. It also has contracts with the aerospace, nautical and military industries.
When Wayne acquired Kordtronics, it was folded into this division.
Wayne Entertainment[]
Wayne Entertainment owns many arenas and stadiums across America, including facilites in both Gotham and Metropolis, leasing out the Sommerset Stadium to the Metropolis Monarchs. Furthermore, Wayne Entertainment has working partnerships with several modeling agencies and multimedia houses and provides a large number of contacts and information. Wayne Entertainment is in direct competition with WGBS (run by Galaxy Communications) and LexCom (run by LexCorp). Those companies, along with other television and movie companies provide the same services as Wayne Entertainment. Through Wayne Entertainment, Batman has contacts in the media and entertainment industries.
Wayne Institute[]
The Wayne Institute is a think tank for people looking ahead to solve the next generation of problems confronting humankind. Many decisions on future development, particularly in Gotham, goes through this division.
Wayne Research Institute[]
Wayne Research Institute is a catch-all research and development division used by Wayne to study issues and technologies that he thought might be helpful in his endeavours.
Wayne Foundation[]
The Wayne Foundation funds scientific research and helps research by providing facilities and training.
Through the Wayne Foundation Wayne addresses social problems that encourage crime and assists victims in a way that his Batman persona cannot. The arrangement also provides him with a large network of connections in the world of charities. He finds out about the newest trends and newest arts, but at the same time maintains connections to the streets through the soup kitchens and social services groups, which augments his crime fighting efforts.
Thomas Wayne Foundation[]
The Thomas Wayne Foundation is a foundation for medicine and medical help. This foundation gives annual awards for medical breakthroughs and lifelong commitment, similar to the Nobel Foundation. The Thomas Wayne Foundation is also responsible for funding the Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic in Park Row, and the foundation funds and runs dozens of other free clinics all over the city and in other trouble cities like the Bludhaven.
Bruce Wayne's surrogate mother, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, ran the Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic in Crime Alley and governed other Gotham-based clinics until she left Gotham.
Martha Wayne Foundation[]
The Martha Wayne Foundation is a patron foundation and supporter of arts, families, education and tolerance. The foundation supports and helps to run a number of orphanages and free schools, and provides teachers for those who have learning difficulties. Artists can apply for grants from the foundation to help support them in furthering the arts. The foundation sponsors companies like Family Finders Inc. in Gotham. Family Finders is an organization directed at finding lost people and uniting families. The foundation sponsors and runs dozens of soup kitchens within the city.
Trivia[]
- Wayne Enterprises has long been in competition with LexCorp, resulting in a tense professional relationship between the owners Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor.
- The Daily Planet newspaper, where Clark Kent and his wife, Lois Lane, work, was bought by Wayne through Wayne Enterprises' Wayne Entertainment division to ensure the newspaper's freedom and stability after it had a brief stint under Lex Luthor's ownership.
- Wayne Chemicals is the first company to have created a power generator that runs using algae.
- Wayne Technologies made headlines when it was revealed that the division conducted covert espionage early in Bruce Wayne's career as the Batman.
- The Wayne Foundation has its own building called the "Wayne Foundation Building" which includes a penthouse which Bruce Wayne and his family uses as a secondary home from the Wayne Manor. Below the building lies a bunker that Bruce Wayne, as the Batman, uses as a secondary base from the Batcave.
- Wayne Enterprises builds all of its properties to be able to withstand an earthquake of at least 8.5 on the Richter magnitude scale. They are also all installed to be completely wheelchair accessible.
- Wayne Industries' automotive divion produces some of the world's most advanced race engines, yet design specs for the division's latest models often seem to slip through digital cracks during inter-office e-mail transmissions, while experimental units vanish from warehouse storage.
- A military contract C-130 transport plane, one of among several aircraft including W4 Wraith fighters and Kestrel attack helicopters, has disappeared right off Wayne Aviation and Wayne Aerospace's radar, never to return. Furthermore, modifications to Bruce Wayne's SlipStream corporate jet far outweigh the cost of the plane itself.
- When WayneTech bought Garrick Laboratories for three-times the market value, Bruce Wayne gave the company's founder, Jay Garrick, part-time directorship of the division; allowing the hero to continue researching nanotechnology between his heroic duties.
- Before becoming a superhero, Mister Terrific (Michael Holt) founded a tech company called Cyberwear (later named Holt Holdings Inc). He has since sold that company to Wayne Enterprises, a business transaction that Batman considers was "worth every nickel".