Joe Chill is the mugger who shot and killed Thomas and Martha Wayne, leading their son, Bruce into becoming Batman.
Biography[]
Joe Chill was a lowly mugger who attacked the Wayne family one night on their way home from the Monarch Theatre. Although Chill only wanted their money and jewelry, things quickly escalated out of control when Thomas Wayne tried to fight him.
This ended when Chill shot both Thomas and Martha Wayne dead before he vanished into the night, and left their son Bruce alive, although not before taunting the boy by claiming that trying to be a hero would get one killed. Chill's actions haunted Bruce for the rest of his life and ultimately put him on the path to becoming the city's savior: Batman.
Batman: Arkham Origins[]
Joe Chill was given an indirect reference during the final detective case, where Batman had to investigate the murders of two people he knew that occurred at the same place his parents had been murdered. It was also implied that the similarities between his parents' murder and those of Clarissa and Horace were extensive enough that it disturbed Batman, even nearly killing the man responsible, Ian Chase, in a fit of rage from this.
Batman: Arkham Shadow[]
Joe plays a pivotal role within Batman: Arkham Shadow, being a fellow prison inmate and something of a mentor for Irving "Matches" Malone, Batman's undercover alter-ego when he was imprisoned within Blackgate as part of his mission to locate a new and emerging villain and cult leader, the Rat King. Bruce would regularly meet Joe in the prison's commissary, where he would supply prisoners and guards alike with contraband normally banned in the facility and encouraged Bruce to attend and engage with group therapy and reject violence as a way of life.
When Bruce, in his Malone disguise, attended one such therapy session headed by Dr. Harleen Quinzel, he opened up for the first time in years about the murder of his parents. Joe was noticeably moved and affected when hearing the story, becoming uncomfortable as it reminded him of his own actions from decades ago, and expressed sympathy to Bruce. Unaware that Joe is the same man who murdered his parents, Bruce gradually bonds with him, as he was one of the most calm and rational inmates, and learns about his past.
Joe reveals that he grew up with abusive parents, who would often beat him during their frequent fights, within the slums of Park Row and also had a brother who would eventually lead a successful life and start a family. Joe on the other hand would continue to live in the rough neighborhood of Park Row and turn to a life of crime, eventually forming his own gang that, by his own account, owned several streets of Amusement Mile and partook in various robberies, burglaries, muggings, and murders. However, coinciding with the rise of commercialization in Gotham, Joe's gang gradually disappeared, either from the authorities or rival, emerging gangs that now controlled the area via their new casinos. He wound up in Blackgate after robbing a gas station and opted to take a life sentence, showing immense regret for the life that he had led.
When being interviewed by Johnathan Crane during a therapy session, and under the influence of the unethical doctor's experimental drugs via a spiked coffee, Joe finally admitted to the one crime he regretted more than any other, the murder of the Waynes. Being the only one left of his gang, Joe, in an act of pure desperation, robbed the Waynes, having noticed them by chance as they were leaving through the back exit of the Monarch Theater and into the empty alley. Knowing of their powerful influence, Joe choose to kill both Thomas and Martha to prevent them from seeking revenge, but left Bruce alive, initially unaware of his presence, both out of sympathy, not being able to bring himself to harm a child, and because the boy's stare unnerved him.
Joe, too shaken to steal anything from his recent victims, fled the scene, causing him to develop a limp in his right leg, and immediately regretted what he had just done, realizing that all he managed to take was a kid's parents from him. The now infamous Park Row alley would then unofficially be known as "Crime Alley," renamed after the act of the violence that forever changed the city. Joe's acceptance of a life sentence after being arrested for the gas station robbery, not long after his murder of the Waynes, was motivated by his belief that he deserved to spend the rest of his life behind bars and that he was safer from Bruce's wrath in prison, hoping that no one would ever uncover that he committed the crime that changed all of Gotham.
While in Blackgate, Joe would be plagued by immense guilt and sleepless nights for decades, often times listening to the radio to keep the stare of Bruce Wayne out of his mind, but would eventually find some form of solace in therapy, especially once Dr. Quinzel joined the staff, bonding with both Harleen and Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who previously ran a free clinic that Joe often visited when he lived in Park Row years prior. Among Blackgate's inmate population, Joe became known as a voice of reason and mentor for countless prisoners over the decades, forming friendships that lasted as long as the inmates' sentences.
However, Harvey Dent, who had grown up with Bruce as a foster brother and promised to one day find his killer, eventually found evidence tying Joe to the murders and had him abducted, via corrupt GCPD officers, in order to execute him. In reality, Harvey was in fact the Rat King, an alternate personality formed from years of abuse at his father's hands and his own mental disorders, which were made worse from Crane's therapy and experimental drugs. Harvey, under the influence of his Rat King personality, planned to attack the GCPD and Gotham and execute Joe, an act that Joe actually encouraged after having lived so many years in regret.
Batman arrived to stop him, discovering that the man he had befriended and being held hostage by Dent was the man who had killed his parents, and tried assuring Dent that killing Chill would not be what his friend Bruce wanted. When Dent scoffed at this and wondered aloud how Batman would know what Bruce would want, Batman voluntarily removed his mask and revealed his secret identity as Bruce Wayne. The revelation stunned Dent into releasing Chill, who sincerely apologized for what he'd done, and Batman told him to flee for his own safety, to which Joe would reluctantly agree. Not long after, a guilt-ridden Joe would turn himself back into Blackgate, stating that he belonged locked up for the rest of his life. It is subsequently revealed in a Gotham Herald publication that his full name is Joseph Chilton, with Joe Chill being used as a nickname.
While Joe was never brought to justice specifically for the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Bruce now knew the truth that the man who took his parents from him was not the monster he had envisioned, but rather a broken and desperate individual subsequently plagued by immense regret and guilt because of his actions, while Gotham was threatened by much worse criminals. While never forgetting the crime, with the truth finally known and Chill behind bars, Batman gained a sense of closure and ultimately moved on from his former hatred of his parents' killer and reinforced his promise to protect Gotham from its current, and much worse, threats and become a true symbol of hope for its citizens.
Batman: Arkham Asylum[]
Joe is referenced in Batman: Arkham Asylum. The Scarecrow's fear gas has Batman reliving the experience where his parents were shot in an alley by Joe Chill (whose voice is distorted). Also, Thomas and Martha Wayne's game biography mentions that they were shot by Joe Chill.
Batman: Arkham VR[]
Joe appeared in Batman: Arkham VR, during a nightmare in which Bruce relived his parents' death within Crime Alley. After murdering Thomas Wayne when the man defended his wife from Chill's attempt to grab her pearl necklace, Joe then shot Martha dead to silence her screams. Chill turned his gun to a young Bruce Wayne, preaching to him that heroic deeds only get people killed, like his father before him, but ultimately let the boy live.
The bio of Joe Chill within the Batcomputer detailed that Joe was a suspect in a series of burglaries, muggings, and murders, aside from his actions in Crime Alley. It was confirmed that Joe was never brought to justice for the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the time of the murder, Joe appeared to be middle-aged, balding, had a comb-over, several missing teeth and tattoos, and wore a brown leather jacket, tattered white undershirt, jeans, boots, and an empty watch band.
It was implied that Bruce's nightmare of Chill was a component of an intense hallucination of Joker's creation, due to the villain's blood now flowing through the hero's veins after the events of Arkham City and slowly began to take control of his mind, using the memories of his parents' murder to further taunt him.
Batman: Arkham Knight[]
Joe Chill was given an indirect reference when Batman was being goaded by various hallucinations of the Joker to "shoot" Scarecrow with a gun. When telling him to do it, Joker told Batman that Scarecrow deserved it and was no different from "the creep who killed your parents."