Carmine Falcone

Carmine Falcone
Carmine "The Roman" Falcone. Art by Tim Sale.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batman #404 (1987)
Created by	Frank Miller David Mazzucchelli
In-story information
Full name	Carmine Falcone
Team affiliations	Gotham City Mafia
Notable aliases	The Roman, Don Falcone

Carmine "The Roman" Falcone is a fictional character in DC Comics' shared universe, the DC Universe.

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 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 the city with the unnamed Mayor of Gotham City, the city council, Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, and Arnold Flass in his pocket. His power base comes under attack with the arrival of the mysterious vigilante Batman. In one scene, Falcone hosts a dinner party, attended by the commissioner and other corrupt high society members. Batman crashes the dinner party to announce that they 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 has Falcone's car dumped into the river, invades his home, assaults him, strips him to his underwear, and leaves him hogtied to his bed. Humiliated, Falcone orders Batman killed. Batman is too elusive, and he later helps Catwoman attack Falcone and she leaves three scratch marks on his face. Finally, Falcone orders police detective Jim Gordon's wife and child kidnapped to bring him to heel. He orders his nephew Johnny Viti for the job. The plot is in part foiled by Gordon while Batman rescues his son, James Jr. 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. Angered by Johnny's failure, he orders his nephew killed. Johnny survives the attempt on his life, meaning Falcone now has to battle his sister Carla Viti, the head of the Viti crime family in Chicago.

The plot of The Long Halloween involves a serial killer named Holiday. This mysterious assassin targets Gotham's crime families, with particular attention paid to the Falcone family. Falcone's son, Alberto, confesses to all of the Holiday killings, in an attempt to be accepted into the family business.^[2]

During The Long Halloween, Falcone is able to frustrate his enemies with a careful mix of murder and influence.^[3] 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. He also has a hand in the birth of Two-Face: infuriated by Harvey 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 led 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.^[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 it is 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.

Family

The following are relatives of Carmine Falcone:

• Vincent Falcone - Carmine's father.
• Carla Viti - Carmine's sister. Boss of Viti Family in Chicago.
• Louisa Falcone - Carmine's wife. Her current location is unknown.
• Johnny Viti - Carla's son and Carmine's nephew.
• Lucia Viti - Carla's daughter and Carmine's niece.
• Sofia Falcone Gigante - Carmine's daughter. Mario later legally changes his sister's name to Sofia Gigante.
• Alberto Falcone - Carmine's son.
• Mario Falcone - Carmine's son.
• Selina Kyle - Carmine's alleged daughter.
• Kitrina Falcone - Carmine's daughter.

In other media

Television

Don Carmine Falcone appears in the TV series Gotham portrayed by John Doman.^[8] 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. Falcone is served by many operatives including the hitman Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan).^[9] Throughout the series, he faces several threats to his power: his associate Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) is secretly planning to overthrow him; Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) 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 her 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.^[10] Bent on ruling Gotham himself, Cobblepot instigates a turf war between Falcone and Maroni.^[11] In the season finale, "All Happy Families Are Alike," Falcone is wounded by Maroni's men, and Cobblepot and his henchman Butch Gilzean 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 all of them. 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.^[12] In the episode "Wrath of the Villains: Prisoners," Carmine Falcone returns where he is called by Harvey Bullock to help get James Gordon out of Blackgate Penitentiary at the time when he was imprisoned there upon being accused of murdering Carl Pinkney. With help from some of Falcone's prison contacts, Gordon is snuck out of Blackgate by Harvey Bullock. Upon meeting with Falcone on a bridge, Gordon is offered the opportunity to be smuggled out of the country or be given a hideout in Gotham. Gordon opts to find a way to clear his name.

Film

• Carmine Falcone appears in Batman Begins played by Tom Wilkinson. He controls Gotham City's criminal underworld, flooding the city with drugs, crime and poverty. He is effectively above the law, as most government officials are either on his payroll or afraid of him (examples being two councilmen, a union official, Judge Faden, James Gordon's partner Arnold Flass, and an unnamed police officer). He has Joe Chill (Richard Brake) killed 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 tells him that real power comes from being feared, and he has his men beat up the young billionaire. "You always fear, what you don't understand" he tells Wayne. 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, driving him insane with fear. Falcone is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, continuously muttering "Scarecrow". When Batman infiltrates Arkham Asylum to rescue Rachel Dawes, Carmine Falcone is among those who see him walking down the hall. When Ra's al Ghul's men release all the inmates at Arkham Asylum, Falcone wasn't seen during the chaos.
• In The Dark Knight, it is mentioned that Falcone is still in Arkham Asylum. In his absence, Sal Maroni (Eric Roberts) has taken over his crime family.
• Carmine Falcone appears in Batman: Year One voiced by Alex Rocco.^[13] 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 James Gordon, their meeting is interrupted by Batman and Catwoman, who defeat Falcone's men and him. He is officially arrested for his crimes, while he is waiting for trial while he is in the hospital by Catwoman.

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 the Penguin's cutscene 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. 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 the extortion tapes, specifically regarding Alberto Falcone, reveal that Black Mask, real name Roman Sionis, and 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 Chesterfield 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.

Appearances

• Batman: Year One by Frank Miller
• Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb
• Batman: Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb
• Batman Eternal by Scott Snyder

See also

• List of Batman Family enemies
• Batman and the Monster Men
• Carl Grissom

References

1. Batman #404
2. Batman: The Long Halloween #8
3. Batman: The Long Halloween #3
4. Batman: The Long Halloween #11
5. Batman: Dark Victory #10
6. Batman Eternal #2
7. Batman Eternal #3
8. "Gotham is 'Not A City For Nice Guys' in new TV spot - Flickering Myth". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
9. "Gotham Chronicle". Retrieved 15 October 2014.
10. "Welcome Back, Jim Gordon". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 13. January 26, 2015. Fox.
11. "The Anvil or the Hammer". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 21. April 27, 2015. Fox.
12. "All Happy Families Are Alike". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 22. April 28, 2015. Fox.
13. http://larryfire.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/bruce-timm-discusses-the-batman-year-one-animated-movie/