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Joe Chill is a low-level criminal who regularly worked as a hitman for crime lord Carmine Falcone and his associates. His most known crime was the assassination of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Biography[]

Joseph Chilton, better known as his street-name "Joe Chill", was a hitman. He was frequently employed by Carmine Falcone to carry out assassinations and other violent crimes. Chill would also be hired by Falcone's associates, including Hamilton Hill and possibly Thomas Wayne.

Eventually, Hill contacted Chill and gave him a job: kill Thomas and his wife Martha, after the latter threatened to expose her husband's crimes. Chill agreed and ambushed the couple as they returned from the Monarch Theater with their son, Bruce. Though Thomas pleaded with Chill to let him and his family go, Chill gunned down the billionaire and his wife. To make it look like a mugging gone wrong, he stole Wayne's wallet and broke Martha's pearl necklace. As Chill turned his gun to kill Bruce, he left after hearing police sirens, ultimately sparing the child.

Eventually, Chill was arrested and sent to Blackgate Prison. His charges may have included other assassinations that he had carried out for Falcone and Hill. While in prison, Chill was at attacked and stabbed to death, either by another prisoner or a guard on his employers' payroll.

Legacy[]

Chill's murder of Thomas and Martha lead their son Bruce to become the vigilante Batman. It also lead to many of Gotham City's great families to "flock" together, believing that their fate could happened to them. Bruce later found out about the connections between Chill, Falcone, and Hill after news of his parents' involvement with the criminals was uncovered. When he later investigated Crime Alley and recounted his parents' murder, Bruce considered what he would have done if he had the chance to meet Chill again: arrest him, murder him, or learn his true motives.

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