This article contains spoilers for Detective Comics #1027.
Bruce Wayne may get credit for his wealth and power, but Batman's grandparents used the wealth of the Wayne family to fight the Nazis. The Waynes have always numbered among Gotham's wealthiest citizens, and they've almost always been considered philanthropists as well. Bruce Wayne's father, Thomas Wayne, dreamed of rebuilding Gotham to give the city the hope he believed it deserved. Sadly, his life was tragically cut short.
Bruce Wayne has taken an odd approach to philanthropy. There are countless charitable causes that benefit from Bruce Wayne's money, but Bruce's favorite way of saving Gotham is by dressing up in spandex and soaring through the skies, paying a small fortune to equip himself with the coolest Bat-gadgets to take down the city's various lunatics. But if fans have an issue with his innate desire to defy corrupt powers and seek to protect the vulnerable as best he can, he can't really be blamed. After all, it's in his blood.
The recent Detective Comics #1027 reveals the Wayne family have been attempting to save the world for decades. The special issue features a short story by celebrated writer Marv Wolfman and artist Emanuela Lupacchino, revealing that Bruce Wayne's grandfather Patrick Wayne had recognized the evil of Hitler's regime before many of his peers. He became aware the Nazis were stealing precious artwork from their Jewish owners, intending to sell their thefts on the black market in order to fund their military expansion. Seeing the corruption for what it was, Wayne secretly worked with Jewish groups in Germany to transport valuables to the United States, where they believed it would be safe. Wayne had his people construct a luxurious vessel, the Odyssey, that was to serve as a cover for transporting the art.
Tragically, the Nazis saw through Patrick Wayne's scheme, and they were far bolder than he had expected. They raided the Odyssey, stealing the artwork, and locked the passengers in their state-rooms. Patrick Wayne's strategy had been a good one (deceptive enough to win the admiration of his gradnson), but in this case, the tragedy of the Wayne legacy meant Patrick unwittingly made the Nazis' job easier, gathering some of the most precious artwork in one place, ripe for the taking.
Still, the fact remains that Patrick Wayne was at least attempting to fight the darkness - and at a time when the rest of the world was still attempting to ignore it. In 1937, the US State Department was focused on attempts to control immigration, only allowing in a trickle of refugees compared to the flood of people seeking asylum. World leaders were still pursuing the policy of appeasement, hoping Hitler was a man who could be bargained with. Compared to the time, Patrick Wayne was a hero, a man who knew evil when he saw it and could not allow it to prosper. Batman has good reason to be proud of his ancestor.