- "This is a world you'll never understand. And you always fear what you don't understand."
- ―Carmine Falcone to Bruce Wayne[src]
Carmine Falcone was the head of the Falcone Crime Family and was the biggest crime lord in all of Gotham City.
History[]
Batman Begins[]
Carmine Falcone all but controlled Gotham City, and flooded it with drugs and crime. Falcone was above the law, with most of Gotham's politicians and police on his payroll (examples being two councilmen, a union official, Judge Faden, Detective Arnold Flass, and multiple policeman). It was mentioned that he shared a prison cell with Joe Chill, who murdered Bruce Wayne's parents: Thomas and Martha Wayne. He had a female operative (disguised as a reporter) that killed Chill for threatening to testify against him, and deprived Bruce of the chance to take his own revenge. Bruce confronted Falcone at an underground establishment and told him that not everyone in Gotham was afraid of him. "The Roman" dismissed the young billionaire as a harmless nuisance and had his henchmen beat him up to teach him a lesson, and also showed that he effectively "owned" the city due to some city council members, policemen, and a judge who were under his payroll while he gave the implied threat of killing Bruce right then and there. Ironically, he later ended up inspiring Bruce Wayne into adopting the Batman identity after citing that people always "fear what [they don't] understand."
Years later, Falcone went into business with Dr. Jonathan Crane and Ra's al Ghul, and smuggled Fear Toxin into Gotham that was inside toy rabbits. As a form of payment, Crane, who ran Arkham Asylum, diagnosed Falcone's henchmen as insane when they were arrested so they could avoid prison. Bruce, who became Batman, discovered and foiled the plan, knocked Falcone unconscious, and left him tied to a searchlight for the police to find. The trussed-up mobster, surrounded by his tattered overcoat, projected a bat-like shape into the sky; that impromptu calling card later evolved into the Bat-Signal. Batman also gave evidence to Rachel Dawes and blackmailed the judge into giving an unbiased verdict, which ensured that Falcone would finally face jail time.
While in prison, a humiliated Falcone cut his wrists in order to summon Crane to see him. During the session, he tried to blackmail Crane into allowing him a part in the upcoming Fear Toxin project, threatening to reveal the doctor's involvement with his organization. Crane instead put on a freakish Scarecrow Mask that he used in his experiments on Arkham Asylum's inmates and gassed Falcone with Fear Toxin. Crane literally terrified his former partner-in-crime out of his mind and left him in a wild state of psychosis. Per Crane's orders, Falcone was incarcerated at Arkham Asylum. He was later seen by Rachel Dawes, being restrained and continuously muttering a word: "Scarecrow".
The Dark Knight[]
Carmine Falcone was mentioned to still be at Arkham Asylum awaiting trial, which implied that he did not escape during the League of Shadows' release of its inmates. It is presumed that he was administered the antidote to Crane's toxin. In his absence, crime bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol, and The Chechen attempted to take over the underworld in his absence. Falcone's mental health may still have been debatable, as he awaited trial in Arkham Asylum instead of an actual prison facility.
Appearances[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Differences from the comic[]
- Falcone's alias from the comics, The Roman, is never stated.
- In the comics, it was strongly implied that Selina Kyle was Falcone's illegitimate daughter. This is completely ignored in The Dark Knight Rises. Kyle also left three claw marks scarred on his right cheek, which are absent in the film. Tom Wilkinson also did not grow a mustache for the role, instead choosing to remain clean shaven.