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Carmine Falcone

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Carmine Falcone
File:Carmine Falcone.jpg
Carmine "The Roman" Falcone.
Art by Tim Sale.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceBatman #405 (1986)
Created byFrank Miller (writer)
David Mazzucchelli (artist)
In-story information
Full nameCarmine Falcone
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliationsFalcone Crime Family
Notable aliasesThe Roman, Don Falcone
Abilitiescrime lord

Carmine "The Roman" Falcone is a fictional character in DC Comics, and an enemy of Batman and a friend of the Wayne family.

Publication history

Carmine Falcone made his debut in the four-part story Batman: Year One written by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli in 1987.

In the comics, Falcone is a powerful Mafia chieftain nicknamed "The Roman," where his stranglehold over Gotham City's organized crime is referenced as "The Roman Empire" at least once. In Batman: Year One, his penthouse is designed in a Roman architectural style.

Falcone appeared in the mini-series Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. The character is based on Marlon Brando's portrayal of Don Vito Corleone from the 1972 film The Godfather. Loeb stated in an interview that he paralleled the Falcone family to that of the Corleone family: Falcone's power and wisdom akin to Vito Corleone, his son Alberto's personality and appearance that of Fredo Corleone, and his daughter Sofia's temper matching that of Sonny Corleone. Lastly, his elder son Mario's deportation to Sicily, physical appearance and desire to legitimize the Falcone family are all traits shared with Michael Corleone.

Fictional character biography

In a flashback in The Long Halloween, Vincent Falcone brings his dying son, Carmine (who had been shot several times by Luigi Maroni), to Thomas Wayne. Fearing Maroni would finish the job at a public hospital, he begs Wayne to perform surgery at Wayne Manor. A young Bruce Wayne watches his father save Falcone's life. At Thomas Wayne's funeral, Carmine Falcone tells Bruce that he can always ask a favor of him.

In Batman: Year One, Falcone virtually runs Gotham City, with the mayor, the city council, Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, and Detective Arnold Flass in his pocket. His power comes under attack with the arrival of the mysterious vigilante Batman. In one scene, Batman crashes Falcone's dinner party to announce that all of the corrupt attendees will be delivered to justice.[1] Despite Loeb's desperate attempts to stop him, Batman's attacks on Falcone's organization become even more brazen. Batman invades Falcone's home, strips him to his underwear, and leaves him hogtied to his bed. Humiliated, Falcone orders Batman killed. Batman is too elusive, however, and aids Catwoman in attacking Falcone; Catwoman leaves three scratch marks on his face. Finally, Falcone orders an unsuccessful attempt to kidnap Detective Jim Gordon's family. Eventually, investigations led by Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, with some secret assistance by Batman, restore law and order to Gotham: Loeb is forced to resign and Falcone's power is put under threat by the new opposition he faces. Falcone blames his nephew Johnny Viti for the foiled plot against Gordon and tries to order a hit; Johnny survives and Falcone finds himself at odds with his sister Carla, the head of the Viti crime family in Chicago.

During The Long Halloween, the Falcone family is targeted by a serial killer named Holiday. Falcone is able to frustrate his enemies with a careful mix of murder and influence.[2] The situation changes when Batman and Dent discover one of Falcone's warehouses, containing millions in stockpiled cash. They burn the money, striking a blow against Falcone he cannot ignore. This drives him to take desperate measures, hiring "freaks" in the form of what becomes Batman's Rogues Gallery. Infuriated by Dent's efforts to disrupt his operations—and convinced that Dent is the Holiday killer—he persuades his former rival Sal Maroni to kill Dent while standing trial. Falcone's men provide Maroni with a vial of acid, which he hurls at Dent during a court proceeding. This happens on August 2, Falcone's birthday. The acid disfigures the left side of Dent's face, leading to him becoming Two-Face. At the story's climax, Two-Face leads the rest of Batman's Rogue's Gallery (consisting of Catwoman, Joker, Mad Hatter, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and Solomon Grundy) into breaking into the Falcone penthouse. Two-Face kills Falcone following a coin flip that lands on the scarred side.[3] Falcone's son Alberto confesses to all of the Holiday killings in an attempt to be accepted into the family business.[4]

In Batman: Dark Victory, Falcone's grave site is robbed and his body goes missing. His finger is cut off and sent to his daughter, Sofia Gigante, the new leader of the Falcone Family. This is described as an "old style message", signifying that someone is out to take everything away from the Falcone Family. Alberto is put under house arrest, and he begins to hear his father's voice in the home. Ultimately, the dead body of corrupt District Attorney Janice Porter ends up in Alberto's bed while he is sleeping. His father calls him a failure, and urges him to commit suicide. Knowing his father abhorred suicide, Alberto figures out that the voice is part of a ruse, and shoots a mirror: Behind the mirror is the Calendar Man, who shoots him as he tries to escape. When Batman and Gordon investigate, they find secret passages and microphones for the Calendar Man to move freely about the house. They then learn that Scarecrow had laced Alberto's cigarettes with fear toxin. Not until the end is it revealed that Two-Face has Falcone's body in his possession, having frozen it using Mr. Freeze's cryogenic technology. Selina Kyle briefly visits the grave at the conclusion of the story, where it is revealed that she believes that Falcone is her biological father.[5]

The New 52

In The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), Carmine Falcone appears in the second issue of Batman Eternal determined to reclaim his empire after Commissioner Gordon is framed for mass murder.[6]

Falcone's plot to retake control of Gotham City progresses, with it clear that he controls Mayor Sebastian Hardy (who has been the Mayor of Gotham City for 5 years with Falcone's help) and also control of the Gotham City Police Department. While Falcone and Mayor Hardy instruct the police to hunt down Batman, Falcone's henchmen begin attacking arms caches belonging to his chief rival Penguin.[7]

It is revealed at the conclusion of the story that Falcone was unaware of the larger plot against Batman, and was simply informed that he would have a chance to strike by an anonymous letter sent to him by the true mastermind.

DC Rebirth

In 'War of Jokes and Riddles', a flash to a year after the events of Zero Year, Falcone is contacted by the Joker with strict instructions to kill the Riddler within an hour. His mafia henchmen ultimately fail, leading the Joker to shoot Falcone and place Penguin in charge of the operation on Joker's behalf.[8]

Family

The following are relatives of Carmine Falcone:

In other media

Television

  • Carmine Falcone appears in the TV series Gotham portrayed by John Doman.[9] He is depicted as a Mafia Don who has Gotham City's Mayor Aubrey James (Richard Kind), Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb (Peter Scolari), and specific members of the Gotham City Police Department in his pocket. He also claims that Detective Jim Gordon's (Ben McKenzie) late father, who was Gotham's district attorney, was on his payroll. Falcone is served by many operatives including the assassin Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan).[10] Throughout the first season, Falcone faces several threats to his power: his associate Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) is secretly planning to overthrow him; Gordon vows to bring him down; and his main rival Sal Maroni (David Zayas) is encroaching on his territory. Falcone enlists small-time criminal Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) to help him destroy his enemies. Falcone also becomes enamored of a young woman named Liza (Makenzie Leigh), who is secretly working for Mooney. He later strangles Liza to death when he discovers where her allegiances lie. As punishment for her treason, he has Mooney imprisoned and gives control of her nightclub and the remnants of her gang to Cobblepot.[11] Bent on ruling Gotham himself, Cobblepot instigates a turf war between Falcone and Maroni.[12] In the season finale, "All Happy Families Are Alike," Falcone is wounded by Maroni's men, and Cobblepot and his henchman Butch Gilzean (Drew Powell) go to the hospital to kill him. Gordon foils the assassination attempt, however, and takes Falcone, Cobblepot, and Gilzean to Falcone's safehouse - where Mooney and Maroni are waiting, intent on killing them all. During the meeting, Mooney double-crosses Maroni by shooting him in the head, which leads to a fight between Maroni's men and Mooney's gang. While Cobblepot fights Mooney, Gordon, Bullock, and Falcone manage to escape back to Gordon's apartment. Falcone announces that he is going to retire and leave Gotham, and gives Gordon a knife that was given to him by Gordon's father.[13] In the second season, Falcone emerges from retirement to help Gordon escape Blackgate Penitentiary, where he had been jailed on a false charge. He then uses his criminal contacts to smuggle Gordon out of Gotham so he can clear his name. In the third season, Falcone's son Mario Calvi (James Carpinello) gets engaged to Dr. Leslie Thompkins (Morena Baccarin). When an attempt is made on Mario's life, Falcone tortures one of the detained assassins that the Court of Owls arranged the hit. He meets with the group's representative Kathryn and demands that they leave Mario alone, saying that the group owes him for letting them use the Indian Hill property. Kathryn withholds a dark secret about Mario and states that he and those on his side won't win against the Court of Owls if they come after them in retaliation. After his son's wedding, he is confronted by Gordon that Mario has a Tetch virus and he's willing to kill Leslie. He tells Gordon to bring his son alive. In "Mad City: Ghosts," Carmine Falcone attends his son's funeral. In a talk with Leslie Thompkins, Carmine tells Leslie to let him carry the burden of Mario's loss as he had done with other burdens. This leads to Carmine Falcone sending Victor Zsasz to do a hit on Gordon. After visiting Nathaniel Barnes at Arkham Asylum, Leslie tells Carmine Falcone to call off the hit since Mario would've acted the same way that Leslie did. Carmine comments that he knows that Leslie still loves Gordon. When it came to the shootout at Gordon's apartment, Carmine arrived telling Victor Zsasz that the hit has been cancelled causing Victor to take his leave. After Gordon apologizes to him about what he had to do to Mario, Carmine quotes "If it were up to me, you'd be dead." Carmine then takes his leave from Gordon's apartment. Shortly after, Gordon confronts Carmine believing that he put a hit on his father, however Carmine reveals it was Gordon's uncle Frank Gordon, who did it on behalf of the Court of Owls. In Season 4, Gordon heads to Carmine's retirement villa in Miami in order to get his help in removing Penguin from power, however Carmine refuses as he is dying. Carmine's daughter Sofia follows Gordon back to Gotham, where she helps him bring down Penguin. When a gang war threatens to erupt, Carmine arrives back in the city after being contacted by Penguin, and plans to bring Sofia home to prevent her death. However Carmine is gunned down by assassins, who were hired by Sofia to kill Carmine and allow her to take control of the criminal underworld. Sofia is later shot in the head and left comatose by Leslie. With Carmine and Mario dead and the rise of the criminals led by Jeremiah Valeska who take control of Gotham, it appears that the Falcone family has met its end.
  • Carmine Falcone appears in the Justice League Action episode "Time Share," voiced by Jason J. Lewis.[14] Chronos, Batman, and Blue Beetle go back in time to Batman's first fight against Carmine Falcone and his men where it was his first case as the Dark Knight. Chronos even tipped off Carmine Falcone which resulted in Batman fighting Carmine Falcone and his men. Batman and Blue Beetle stop Chronos from altering the outcome to protect the past Batman from being erased from the time stream and secretly helpling the past Batman into catching Carmine Falcone while remaining unseen. Carmine Falcone and his men are arrested by the police.

Film

  • Carmine Falcone appears in Batman Begins played by English actor Tom Wilkinson. He controls Gotham City's criminal underworld, flooding the city with drugs, crime and poverty. With most government officials either on his payroll or simply afraid of him, Falcone is effectively above the law, with few in the city willing to challenge his authority. He has Joe Chill (Richard Brake), the murderer of Thomas and Martha Wayne, killed in public for threatening to testify against him, depriving Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) of the chance to take his own revenge. Following Chill's death, Wayne confronts Falcone and tells him that not everyone in Gotham is afraid of him. Falcone has his men beat up the young billionaire, and tells him that real power comes from being feared; at one point, he points an empty gun at Wayne and tells him that he is feared and powerful enough to kill him there and then in front of numerous city officials with impunity. This inspires Wayne to travel the world in a journey that culminates in his transformation into Batman. When Falcone goes into business with Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) and their mysterious benefactor Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson), he smuggles a hallucinogenic chemical compound into Gotham. In return, Crane, who runs Arkham Asylum, diagnoses Falcone's henchmen as insane when they are arrested so they can avoid prison. Batman foils the plot and hands Falcone to the police. While in prison, Falcone tries to blackmail Crane into giving him a cut of what he believes to be profits from the smuggling operation. In response, Crane sprays Falcone with his fear toxin, literally terrifying him out of his mind. Falcone is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, where he lies catatonic and mindlessly muttering the word "Scarecrow".
  • In The Dark Knight, it is mentioned that Falcone is still in Arkham, and in his absence, Sal Maroni (Eric Roberts) has taken over his crime family.
  • Carmine Falcone appears in Batman: Year One voiced by Alex Rocco.[15] He is first seen hosting a dinner party with Gotham City's corrupt politicians and crime bosses, which Batman crashes to announce his presence to the criminal underworld. Later on, Batman catches Falcone, strips him naked, and ties him up in his bed after dumping his car in the river. When Falcone makes plans to dispose of Lieutenant James Gordon, their meeting is interrupted by Batman and Catwoman, who defeat his men and hand him over to the police. While in the hospital, Carmine orders Johnny Vitti to have Barbara Eileen-Gordon and James Gordon Jr. killed. He will headed to prison soon when he heals.
  • Falcone's name appears on a building in the 2016 film Suicide Squad.

Video games

  • Tom Wilkinson reprises his role as Carmine Falcone in the 2005 video game version of Batman Begins. In the game, Batman confronts Falcone at the docks to show him that there is now something on the streets worse than his criminal empire, using a crane to lift Falcone's car into the air (with Falcone in it) to make his statement.
  • Carmine Falcone's crime family is featured in DC Universe Online. In the villain campaign, Killer Croc mentions that he has been hired by the Falcones to put an end to Bane's drug trafficking operations. Some of the Falcones are seen in Penguin's cut scene at the Iceberg Lounge where the Penguin plans to take advantage of the gang war.
  • The Falcone Crime Family (specifically Carmine) are mentioned several times in Batman: Arkham City. Scanning several items related to the Falcone and Maroni families offer stories about them. The exposition reveals that the Falcones won the war with the Maroni family by first offering to parlay with them in Maroni's restaurant only for Falcone's men to start shooting up the building. The few Maroni Family survivors fled to Bludhaven. One of Hugo Strange's interview tapes reveals that the Falcone Family gave the man that would become the Joker the Red Hood costume he wore during his fateful first encounter with Batman. Another tape reveals that Harvey Dent was the prosecutor of the Falcone Family's trial, which led to Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face upon an unidentified Falcone Family member throwing a vial of acid at him. A boat can be found on Amusement Mile, containing an invoice from Falcone shipping for the attention of Dr. J. Crane, saying the first 15 shipments of "Live Insects for Medical Purposes" have arrived. If the player visits Calendar Man as Catwoman, he hints at Carmine being her father.
  • The Falcone Crime Family (specifically Carmine) are also mentioned a few times in Batman: Arkham Origins. One of Edward Nygma's extortion tapes, specifically regarding Alberto Falcone, reveal that Black Mask and Carmine Falcone were old acquaintances. In addition, it was revealed through dialogue that Carmine Falcone was forced to give up on the weapons business after Oswald Cobblepot abducted and heavily tortured Alberto, his son. It was also implied that Carmine would have been notified about any potentially untreated psychological issues regarding Alberto by then-shrink in training Harleen Quinzel as a threat to ensure Alberto continued with Hugo Strange's psychiatry therapy sessions.
  • Carmine Falcone appears in the mobile game Batman: Arkham Underworld, voiced by Jon Polito. Though not appearing physically, Falcone mentions that he is under heat from the new district attorney Harvey Dent and will occasionally pop up after completed missions (specifically ones that involve attacking his businesses) to either express his admiration of the player's "moxie" or give thinly-veiled threats warning the player to back off.
  • Carmine Falcone appears in Batman: The Telltale Series, voiced by Richard McGonagle. He is shown to have connections with Mayor Hamilton Hill and Bruce Wayne's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Acting as the muscle for the group, Falcone takes control of the criminal underworld after their murder at Joe Chill's hands. First appearing during a fundraiser for Harvey Dent's mayoral campaign, Falcone meets with Bruce and tries to build an alliance with him. After his criminal organization is exposed, he is confronted by Batman and interrogated about his involvement in a shootout near the docks. Whilst Falcone admits ownership of the building it took place in and the chemical agent stored there, he denies his part in the shootout. He also confirms recent allegations made against the Wayne family and is left behind to be arrested by the GCPD. Falcone is taken into custody and is visited by Bruce, who wishes to find out his involvement in his parents' murder. Falcone denies playing a part in their deaths, but he is gunned down by Renee Montoya before he can reveal the true culprit. It is later revealed that his death was organized by the Children of Arkham.

See also

References

  1. ^ Batman #404
  2. ^ Batman: The Long Halloween #3
  3. ^ Batman: The Long Halloween #11
  4. ^ Batman: The Long Halloween #8
  5. ^ Batman: Dark Victory #10
  6. ^ Batman Eternal #2
  7. ^ Batman Eternal #3
  8. ^ Batman #26 07/05/17
  9. ^ "Gotham is 'Not A City For Nice Guys' in new TV spot - Flickering Myth". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Gotham Chronicle". Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  11. ^ "Welcome Back, Jim Gordon". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 13. January 26, 2015. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "The Anvil or the Hammer". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 21. April 27, 2015. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "All Happy Families Are Alike". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 22. April 28, 2015. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Jason J. Lewis [@TheJLew] (9 November 2016). "Another #JusticeLeagueAction sneak peek! I voice 'Carmine Falcone' in this clip..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-06-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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