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Bruce Wayne (Batman), like many other superheroes, had a painful beginning for a superhero, where his family was murdered.

If his family was the richest family in the city, why wasn't there any driver along with them? And if someone pointed a gun at him, why did no one see what was happening there?

If he was rich, wouldn't his driver have to come and pick them up from the theater, and/or wouldn't there also be bodyguards at the theater gate or with him?

This question specifically for Batman Begins mentioning this because my last question was deleted by a bot.

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    You'd probably have to ask Bill Finger, if he was still alive. It's been the same since the first origin story in detective comics #33 [1937] - readcomiconline.li/Comic/Detective-Comics-1937/… - though they weren't in an alley, just 'walking home from a movie'. Between the wars, the world wasn't seen as such a dangerous place that you couldn't just walk home, rich or poor.
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 19, 2022 at 12:15
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    Some of this is shown clearly in the movie. They leave the theatre unexpectely and early so the show is still running, and they emerge from a side door to an alleyway - this is a quite common arrangement in older theatres to allow quick exit for lots of people. The alleyway is not on the street, and so no-one would likely see them. As for why they travel by public transport without a driver or bodyguard ... but even if they did travel with a driver or bodyguard, they'd have to go and find them as they have exited early.
    – iandotkelly
    Apr 19, 2022 at 12:49
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    Please don't repost closed questions. You should have edited the original post to refer specifically to Batman Begins, and then flagged it for undeletion.
    – F1Krazy
    Apr 19, 2022 at 13:23
  • I think @iandotkelly comment is a good partial answer. That not all rich people want an entourage and in this version he thought this work-around would be safe enough...So if it this is about character motivation, it goes to his father willing to take risks just to try and have a normal time out with his family. Apr 19, 2022 at 16:11

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As I remember President Kennedy was riding in a motorcade with a big entourage but in an roofless car, making him a perfect target, when he was shot by a sniper. Since then presidential security has been beefed up.

There is a story that in the early 20th century the king of Greece took a walk alone in Athens. When he came back to the palace there was an anti monarchy protest in front, so he joined the protestors until they dispersed and then he went back inside.

Warren Buffett has never been the richest person in the world, and never been higher than # 3. Because he gave away so many billions of dollars to charities, today he "only" has a net worth of a "mere" 117 bilion dollars. But he is still very, very rich. And I have read that he lives in rather ordinary house in a rather ordinary neighborhood instead of a great mansion on a great estate. It doesn't sound like he always has a bunch of attendants when he goes out.

King Olav V of Norway died in 1991. It is said he drove his own cars and paid his fares when he took public transportation.

https://marilynsroyalblog.blogspot.com/2005/10/royal-profile-king-olav-v-of-norway.html

On Friday, 28 February 1986, at 23:21 CET (22:21 UTC), Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, was fatally wounded by a single gunshot while walking home from a cinema with his wife Lisbeth Palme on the central Stockholm street Sveavägen. Lisbeth Palme was slightly wounded by a second shot. The couple did not have bodyguards with them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Olof_Palme

On 18 February 1853, Franz Joseph survived an assassination attempt by Hungarian nationalist János Libényi.[21] The emperor was taking a stroll with one of his officers, Count Maximilian Karl Lamoral O'Donnell, on a city bastion, when Libényi approached him. He immediately struck the emperor from behind with a knife straight at the neck. Franz Joseph almost always wore a uniform, which had a high collar that almost completely enclosed the neck. The collars of uniforms at that time were made from very sturdy material, precisely to counter this kind of attack. Even though the Emperor was wounded and bleeding, the collar saved his life. Count O'Donnell struck Libényi down with his sabre.[21]

O'Donnell, hitherto only a Count by virtue of his Irish nobility (as a descendant of the Irish noble dynasty O'Donnell of Tyrconnell),[22] was made a Count of the Habsburg monarchy (Reichsgraf). Another witness who happened to be nearby, the butcher Joseph Ettenreich, swiftly overpowered Libényi. For his deed he was later elevated to the nobility by the Emperor and became Joseph von Ettenreich. Libényi was subsequently put on trial and condemned to death for attempted regicide. He was executed on the Simmeringer Heide.[23]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria#Assassination_attempt_in_1853

So the Austrian emperor took a walk without bodyguards.

Franz Jospeh was the powerful ruler of his empire, and so was responsible for government policies that many people might resent for various reasons. But the monarch of the UK was a ceremonial head of state by then, so nobody would resent Queen Victoria or want to kill her, right?

On March 2, 1882, Roderick MacLean attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria at the train station at Windsor. She was starting to ride to Windsor Castle in her carriage, cheered by schoolboys from Eton, when Maclean shot at her. The schoolboys wacked Maclean with their umbrellas until he was subdued. That sounds like Victoria didn't have professsional bodyguards at the scene.

Well why should anyone think that the beloved queen needed bodyguards, since nobody ever tried to assassinate her before? Actually Maclean was the eighth person to try to assassinate the queen, so maybe they should have thought of giving her a bodyguard detail by then.

https://www.history.com/news/eight-times-queen-victoria-survived-attempted-assassinations

The present royal family of the UK does have professional bodyguards and security precautions. But sometimes those in charge of security aren't vigilent enough.

On 9 July 1982, queeen Elizabeth II woke up to find an intruder, Michael Fagan, in her bedroom in Buckingham Palace. I have read that she is always polite and gracious, but I imagine she must have been strngly tempted to get sarcastic the next time she discussed palace security.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Fagan_(intruder)

Anyway, these few examples show that sometimes rich, famous, and/or powerful people sometimes don't have a bunch of bodyguards or assisants around to protect them.

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In at least 2 origin stories, the Wayne's were walking in an alley. In the Bale version, it had to do with them leaving the theater early because of young Bruce's fear of bats. When you're walking down a dark alley, anything can happen. Presumably the driver was in front of the building and didn't know about their side-door exit.

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    If Bruce was having a panic attack, it may have made sense to get him in the outside air sooner rather than later, which can explain why Thomas opts for e.g. a nearby side exit as opposed to the main exit if it's further away. There's also a privacy argument if he wanted to calm and comfort Bruce.
    – Flater
    Apr 23, 2022 at 8:38

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