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Batman: The Long Halloween (film)

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Batman: The Long Halloween is a two-part film adaptation of the comic series of the same name. The film is set in the "Tomorrowverse", the same continuity of Superman: Man of Tomorrow and Justice Society: World War II. Like the film adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, the feature was released direct-to-video in two parts. Part One was released on June 22, 2021 and Part Two was released on July 27, 2021.

Plot[]

Part One[]

As a common curtesy, Bruce Wayne meets with Carmine Falcone. However, he remains reluctant to get involved with his organization, due to his connections to crime.

On Halloween, Falcone's nephew Johnny Viti is murdered before he can testify in open court. Suspecting a member of the family to be responsible, Cpt. Gordon calls Batman and Dent to form a truce. Together, they decide to take down Falcone and disband his empire. During the meeting, Batman notices the thief Catwoman watching them and gives chase, being led to a cache of Falcone's unlaundered money. Bringing Dent to the scene with a tracking device, they decide to burn it. Falcone, meanwhile, assembles his family to discuss what to do with them. After learning of the trio's actions, he orders a hit on Dent and his wife through Triad criminals. The resulting attack destroys the Dents' home and leaves Harvey hospitalized.

On Thanksgiving, Batman chases Mickey Chen to Gotham's Chinatown, leading to a confrontation with his gang. After subduing the group, he chases Chen into the Sewers, where the latter is caught by Solomon Grundy. Rather than get into a confrontation, Batman negotiates for Chen to be taken into custody. However, due to lack of evidence, he and Gordon are forced to let Chen go. Meanwhile, Dent begins to stalk Falcone's penthouse. After a confrontation with Gordon, he receives a gun for protection. Whilst celebrating, Chen and his gang are murdered.

On Christmas Eve, Batman and Gordon, suspecting the killing to be connected, visit Calendar Man for consultation for the killer, now dubbed "Holiday". With the clues collected, they are given three suspect: Falcone, his rival Sal Maroni, and Dent. During the visit, Batman learns that Joker has escaped Arkham. After attacking both Dent and Maroni, Joker visits Falcone's penthouse, offering to take out Holiday for him. After he escapes, Falcone's bodyguard Milos Grapa is murdered by the killer.

On New Year's Eve, Batman begins to investigate the suspects, believing Joker and Carla Viti to also be Holiday. After the event, he attends a charity benefit hosted on Falcone's yacht, during which he and Selina break off their relationship. Meanwhile, Joker plans to release his Joker Venom onto Gotham Square, hoping he'll take out the killer. Learning the plot, Batman gives chase and interrogates the criminal, during which he begins to suspect Alberto. After subduing Joker, Batman safely crashes the plane and leave to interrogate Falcone.

Meanwhile, Selina tries to get close to Alberto. During it, Batman confronts Falcone, with Kyle unwittingly revealing his identity to him. Shocked and horrified, Alberto denies any ties, though reveals his father had alluded his marriage. As midnight strikes, Alberto is shot by the killer, causing him to fall into the bay and pulverized by the yacht's propeller. Batman gives chase, but Holiday escapes. As Dent and Gordon arrive on the scene, Batman tells them to place protective detail on Falcone and his family whilst he investigates further.

In a post-credits scene, Bruce attends Alberto's funeral, during which Falcone asks him once again to join his organization. When her refuses, he introduces him to Poison Ivy, who places him under her hypnotic control.

Part Two[]

Under Ivy's control, Bruce begins signing over assets to Falcone and becomes negligent to his duties as Batman. Meawhile, Holiday's attacks continue on Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and April Fool's Day, targeting mobsters working for both Falcone and Maroni. On the latter holiday, Catwoman breaks into Wayne Manor and subdues Ivy, freeing Bruce and Alfred from her control. However, many of his family's assets are seized by Falcone.

On Mother's Day, Dent and Gordon track down the gunsmith behind Holiday's guns, but find they've killed him. Meanwhile, Batman learns that Scarecrow has escaped Arkham, though is subdued through Crane's fear toxin. Under the influence of the chemicals, he visits Crime Alley, suffering hallucinations of his parents' murder and almost unmasking himself to civilians. Found by Catwoman, Bruce is brought home to recover, though he mistakes her for his mother. Meanwhile, Falcone is visited by his daughter Sofia, who asks to join his inner circle in exchange for helping release Crane.

On Father's Day, Gordon and Dent learn that Thomas Wayne had made deals with Falcone's father, Vincent. Whilst they interrogate him, Bruce recalls an incident from his childhood where he encountered Carmine after his father performed surgery on him. Meanwhile, Maroni visits his father to get advice, during which the latter is murdered. Broken by his death, Sal approaches Dent and offers to testify against Falcone. The same evening, Catwoman follows Falcone and watches him payoff a hitman.

On Independence Day, Dent and Gordon are visited Falcone. Moments later, they are attacked by a hitman, though Catwoman manages to fend them off whilst Dent gives chase, but is knocked unconscious. Meanwhile, Batman learns that Scarecrow and Mad Hatter have robbed the Gotham Bank on Falcone's orders. Though captured by the duo, he manages to escape and subdue them. Dent, meanwhile, wakes up to find the hitman dead, fleeing the scene as GCPD arrive. During it, he begins to hear a voice speak his worst impulses.

On the day of Maroni's testimony, Batman visits Gordon, revealing he's discovered weapons used by Holiday in the Dents' basement. During the hearing, Sal accuses Harvey of being Holiday and attacks him with a vial of acid disguised as medication, disfiguring half of Dent's face. Whilst recovering in hospital, Falcone's men take him out and prepare an assassination, though Dent escapes and kills the group. Wondering into the Gotham Sewers, he meets Grundy, who helps nourish him back to health.

After Carla Viti is killed on Falcone's birthday, Batman becomes more desperate and visits Calendar Man on Labor Day. Under his advice, he and Gordon arrange for Maroni to be transferred to another prison transfer to lure Dent out, which he does with Grundy's help. During the confrontation, Dent realizes who Holiday is from the guns, though they appear and assassinate Maroni. As the criminals make their escape, Batman and Gordon decide to restart their investigations.

As they prepare for Halloween, Batman learns that Gilda Dent had gone to university with Alberto Falcone. When he visits Carmine to learn more, their meeting turns violent and is interrupted by Catwoman. Fleeing as Sofia arrives to investigate, Batman learns that Selina is Falcone's illegitimate daughter and has been stalking him to learn her mother's identity. Meanwhile, Dent and Grundy break into Arkham Asylum, releasing Joker, Penguin, Ivy, Scarecrow and Hatter.

After drawing the GCPD away from Falcone's penthouse, the group mount an assault and kill most of his men. As they prepare to kill Carmine, Batman and Catwoman respond, subduing most the group. However, Dent mortally wounds Falcone and Sofia, in the confrontation, falls from the building to her apparent death. As Carmine dies, Catwoman unmasks herself to learn who her mother was and Batman comforts him. Returning to the GCPD, Batman and Gordon discover Dent. Now going by the alias "Two-Face", he surrenders to them and claims responsibility for the Holiday murders. As he is taken away, Batman wonders whether they've really won against the Roman.

At the Dent residence, Gilda burns various clothes and guns as Batman watches. Revealing herself to be Holiday, she tells him she'd been Alberto's girlfriend whilst at Oxford, eventually becoming pregnant their child and married. However, when Carmine learned they'd conceived out of wedlock, he forced them to allude the marriage and for her to undergo an abortion. Having grown depressed from the experience, Gilda used the killings to exact revenge on them. After asking whether she's done, Batman leaves her, indicating he'll not report his findings to the police.

On Halloween, Bruce, Alfred and Selina celebrate Halloween as they receive their first Trick-or-Treaters. In a post credits scene, they find the Flash and Green Arrow on their doorstep, who have come to talk with Batman.

Cast[]

Additional voice work provided by Frances Callier, Greg Chun, Gary Leroi Gray and Rick D. Wasserman.

Differences with the Comic[]

Although accurate to the general story, The Long Halloween makes many deviations from the original comic. These relate both to plot differences and changes to accommodate for the shorter timeframe available.

  • The opening meeting between Bruce and Falcone is a regular business one rather than during Johnny Viti's wedding. This was possibly done to avoid comparisons with The Godfather.
  • Several attempts to investigate/hinder the Falcone's crime family are removed, such as Harvey collecting members' car registration numbers during Viti's wedding and Batman cutting off Falcone's use of the Gotham City National Bank by ousting their contact there.
  • Johnny Viti is actually planning to testify against his uncle before his murder. In the comic these were apparently threats by his mother to keep them in the loop to Falcone's activities.
  • Carla Viti does not feature as prominently as she did in the original story. Several of her actions are given to other members of the Falcone family, including Alberto and Sofia.
  • Vernon Fields is excised in the adaptation.
  • Batman, Gordon and Dent's truce takes place on Halloween after Viti's murder, whist the original had them do so in the July prior to Holiday's first attack.
  • Catwoman leads Batman to Falcone's unlaundered money in their chase rather than giving him directions. She is also the one who suggests burning it to him and Dent.
  • Dent received his double-head coin from Batman on Halloween. The film also reveals it to be a lucky charm given to him by a young Carmine Falcone.
  • Harvey is injured in the house's explosion and his hospitalized rather than Gilda. Both are also outside it rather than both being in during the incident.
  • Mickey Chen and San Ho Hui take the place of Micky Sullivan and "the Irish". Dent's infiltration of the gang is also excised, likely due to cultural insensitivity around the subject.
  • Gordon and Dent's meeting outside Falcone's penthouse building is added to the film, as well as the latter getting the former's gun for protection.
  • Batman learns of Joker's escape after interrogating Calendar Man rather than being aware of it before his arrival at Arkham Asylum. The incident is primarily inspired by Scarecrow's escape from the comic.
  • Batman reviews the deaths and suspects much earlier than in the comic, with most the plot focusing on his and the allies attempts to take down the Falcone Crime Family.
  • Bruce and Selina are aware of each other's identities as Batman and Catwoman by the time of New Year's Eve. Their relationship also ends mutually and stays on hold until Halloween. They are also present on Falcone's yacht during the New Year's party.
  • In the film, Batman begins to suspect Alberto after the confrontation with the Joker and confronts him before the fourth "Holiday" murder. Alberto is also genuinely innocent and his death is legitimate.
  • Bruce's meeting with Ivy takes place during Alberto's funeral. He also remains under her control for longer, with Catwoman freeing him on April Fool's Day rather than St. Patrick’s Day.
  • The Riddler is excised from the film, with the April Fool's Day murder being legitimate.
  • It is Batman that visits Crime Alley under the effects of the Scarecrow's fear toxin. After scaring a family and almost unmasking, Catwoman brings him home to recover rather than the comics' events.
  • Bruce is only interrogated over his father's connections to Falcone rather than being put on trial for believed connections to Holiday. The film also depicts him interacting with Falcone whilst he recovers from his surgery.
  • The hit on the Dents is added to the film, with the hitman taking the place of a cornier who could testify that Alberto survived.
  • Scarecrow and Mad Hatter use of fear-toxin laced fireworks is excised. The duo also manage to capture Batman, though he manages to escape and subdue them quickly. Catwoman's involvement in the event is removed, with her instead confronting the Falcone hitman.
  • Harvey begins to hear "Two-Face's" voices after Independence Day after the assassination attempt.
  • Two-Face escapes Gotham General Hospital through Falcone's men rather than doing so by himself. He also kills the group after they are given orders to execute him by the Roman
  • Carla Viti is killed on her way to Falcone's birthday party rather than after the event.
  • Rather than a transfer within the prison, the attempt to lure Holiday out is through Gotham itself. Two-Face and Grundy attack rather than Holiday, who shows up during the end of the confrontation to kill Maroni. Batman and Gordon also fail to capture the killer due to Two-Face's interference.
  • Batman's confrontation with Falcone takes place on Halloween rather than Labor Day.
  • Catwoman reveals her possible heritage to Falcone to Batman, explaining her obsession with him. This detail was not revealed to Batman and only told to Falcone's grave (and the reader) during the sequel series Batman: Dark Victory.
  • The final confrontation in Falcone Penthouse plays out differently. Rather than infiltrating unnoticed, Two-Face and the other supervillains launch an all-out assault, drawing GCPD away by attacking Gotham as a distraction. Catwoman is also absent during the film's events, the comic having her side with Two-Face.
  • Batman's fight is more is longer and more confrontational rather than taking the group out with stealth tactics. Catwoman also sides with him rather than remaining neutral in the fight.
  • Catwoman's is innocent in Sofia's fall and attempts to save her.
  • Falcone's death is drawn out, during which he acknowledges both that he is Selina's father and apparent knowledge of Batman's identity.
  • Two-Face not only turns himself in for killing Falcone but claims responsibility for the Holiday killings.
  • Batman deduces Gilda's involvement as Holiday, her confession being delivered to him rather than monologue to herself. The film also adds her relationship to the Falcone Family, changing the rejection from the family to the motivation for her murders.
  • The film adds a post-credits scene where the Flash and Green Arrow visit Wayne Manor to speak with Bruce, setting up another film in the adaptation's continuity.

Trivia[]

  • Catwoman's costume is a mixed resemblance of the designs of her costumes from Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures.
  • James Gordon is credited as "Commissioner Gordon" when he spent the entire movie as a Captain.

Gallery[]

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