William Mallory's parents had been jewel thieves who were sent to jail around the same time that Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered. Since then, Will and his younger brother Andy had become friends with Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson. Resenting the Batman's targeting criminals like their parents "just trying to earn a living," they became Wrath and Scorn, an evil analogue of the Bat-team to aid Gotham's villain community. They first appeared to prevent Batman and Robin from catching the Penguin and were reported to have helped Killer Croc escape. On the night of Gotham's Million Dollar Fun Ball, a lottery jackpot that the Joker plotted to steal, Wrath and Scorn attacked Batman and Robin so as to allow Joker to get away. Wrath later met with Joker, Penguin, Killer Croc, and the Ventriloqu