Lucius Fox

For the British heavy metal drummer, see Lucas Fox.

Lucius Fox
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batman #307 (January 1979)
Created by	Len Wein John Calnan
In-story information
Full name	Lucius Fox
Team affiliations	Wayne Enterprises
Supporting character of	Bruce Wayne

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 is played by Morgan Freeman in the Christopher Nolan Batman films.

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 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 Wayne 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 glory, Fox has elected to stay, having been given an unparalleled freedom in the company.

In Batman: Haunted Knight, it is explained that Lucius Fox is rescued from muggers by a young Bruce Wayne in Paris. Later, Fox asks 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, Wayne makes sure that Fox gets the best care possible and supports him and his family.

Making her debut in the issues of Red Robin was Fox's daughter Tam. Her father sent her to personally locate Tim Drake, only to discover his secret identity as Red Robin and get unwittingly 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.

After Bruce Wayne announces his public support for Batman Inc., Fox becomes active supplying the Waynes' with the company's resources and research prototypes thus bringing him closer to his portrayal in the Christopher Nolan Batman films.

Other versions

Anti-Matter Universe

An alternate version of Fox is shown in the Antimatter universe (which resides with the Crime Syndicate). Fox is a white ruthless gang boss who has the backing of the CSA, in return for spreading fear in Gotham and snitching for Owlman.

Batman Beyond

In the comic book series Batman Beyond, Lucius's 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 grapple gun, he deduces that Batman is the billionaire after seeing the vigilante using the same climbing gear on the news. He begins making some batarangs for him afterwards.

In other media

Television

• A character resembling Fox is seen at Batman's funeral in the season three episode "Superfriends: Rest in Peace". A photograph of a man that appears to be him is also seen in Wayne Manor in the final season episode "The Fear".

• 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 Wayne's friend and business manager. Fox appears clueless about Wayne'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 Fox under the guise of Bruce Wayne and under orders of Roland Daggett. Fox, who survives with severe injuries, implicates Wayne in the attempt, and Wayne is brought in to be interrogated. By the end of the episode, Wayne's name is cleared, and Fox claims to be delighted with the knowledge that Wayne was not his attacker. Fox also served as Wayne'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's own son, Joseph Fox.

• 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. Wayne remains supportive of the Foxes and has Terry make sure to protect it from Inque, who is hired to cripple the company.

Lucius Fox, as he appears in The Batman.

• 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 is based on the Batman Begins version, made to look somewhat similar to Morgan Freeman and including his background as a friend of Thomas Wayne. He knows Bruce Wayne's secret identity as Batman (though this version's knowledge is stated outright, not merely implied as in Begins), 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, played 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

Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox in Batman Begins (2005)

• Lucius is played by Morgan Freeman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy of films. 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 Wayne, "[If] you don't want to tell me exactly what you're doing— 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 (through various charitable foundations and trusts and so forth) fires Earle and makes Fox the company's CEO. When firing Earle, Fox sarcastically asks him, "Didn't you get the memo?" – a nod to what Earle said when he fired Fox from Applied Sciences.

• In The Dark Knight, it is acknowledged that Lucius 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 Wayne'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 due to the ethical issues of using a system that spies on 30 million people (which he comments was not part of his job description). 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 still the CEO of a nearly bankrupt Wayne Enterprises. 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. Fox shows Wayne 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's siege of the city begins, Fox spends much of the intervening three month period hiding in Wayne Corp. property with fellow employees. When Batman returns, 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, the Wayne Enterprises board member responsible for the project in the first place, reveals herself to be Talia al Ghul, the child of Batman's deceased enemy Ra's al Ghul. 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. Wracked with guilt over never having a chance to fix the Bat's faulty autopilot, Lucius learns that Bruce fixed it himself six months earlier and shows relief at the realization that Bruce is still alive. It should be noted that Lucius Fox plays a larger role in this film than he did in the previous ones.

Lucius Fox as he appears in Field Test.

• 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." As a possible extension of the Nolan film universe, the segment confirms that Lucius knows Batman's secret identity.

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 by Alfred Pennyworth. He 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.