The Batman Characters: Carmine Falcone

Last Updated on April 2, 2022 by Lil Ginge

In The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ) and starring Robert Pattinson (Good Time, Tenet)  as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Carmine Falcone is a mafia boss and major crime lord in Gotham City’s gang scene. Carmine Falcone is played in The Batman by John Turturro (Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski).

The Comic Book Origins of Carmine Falcone

The character Carmine Falcone was created for Batman comic books by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli in the miniseries Batman: Year One (1987). In the miniseries, Falcone is nicknamed “The Roman” and is in control of most of Gotham City’s corrupt political and elite class. Not only does Falcone tussle with Batman, who Falcone wants to kill, but also with Selina Kyle / Catwoman (played in The Batman by Zoë Kravitz)  and Falcone’s own sister, Carla.

The Carmine Falcone saga was expanded upon in the comic books Batman: The Long Halloween. In this series, we are introduced to the fact that Thomas Wayne once performed an emergency surgery on Falcone that saved the mob boss’s life. This plot point, along with the concept of a serial killer whose identity is unknown murdering corrupt members of Gotham’s elite class made it into The Batman film.

In The Batman, Carmine Falcone recognizes Bruce Wayne as Thomas’s orphaned son when Falcone sees Bruce at the familiar memorial for murdered Mayor Robert Mitchell. But what Bruce Wayne didn’t know is the depth of the ties between Falcone and Thomas Wayne.

The Batman **Spoilers** about Carmine Falcone

Wayne once asked Falcone for a family favor in scaring a reporter named Edward Elliott, who was digging into the affairs of the Wayne family while Thomas was running for Mayor of Gotham City. Elliott discovered that Martha Wayne had a traumatic childhood and a history of resulting severe mental illness. Wayne asked Falcone to deal with the problem in the way a powerful mafioso crime boss can.

In The Batman, it is unclear who murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne. One theory is that Falcone’s main mafioso rival, Salvatore Maroni because he feared that a Mayor Thomas Wayne could help Falcone gain the upper hand against the Maroni crime family, had the Waynes killed. However, Alfred Pennyworth strongly believes that Falcone might have murdered the Waynes himself to keep Thomas from confessing and fingering Falcone in the Edward Elliott murder. It’s also possible that the Waynes were indeed murdered by a random street mugger, such as a Joe Chill type.

Falcone and Maroni were both using a charitable fund established by the Waynes, called The Renewal Fund, to launder dirty money and make bribes after the Waynes were dead and no longer able to stop the mob from corrupting the fund. In a power and money grab, Falcone rats out Maroni’s involvement to the cops, becoming a police informant and resulting in the arrest of Salvatore Maroni. Mayor Mitchell, District Attorney Gil Colson, and narcotic officer Kenzie were all corruptly involved in the plot.

After Maroni is put away in prison, The Riddler begins his murder spree of Gotham’s elite class. He serially kills Mitchell and Colson in dramatic events in the film. The murder of Mayor Mitchelle is the initial event that sets the whole film in motion. 

Other Elements of Carmine Falcone in The Batman

In another element adapted from Batman: The Long Halloween, Selina Kyle is Carmine Falcone’s illegitimate daughter. The theory is that Selina’s mother, Maria, had an affair with Falcone and was later murdered by him when Seline was still a mere child. Falcone didn’t acknowledge his parentage to Selina but always seems to have a telling soft spot for Gotham’s sexiest feline woman.

In The Batman, Carmine Falcone is ultimately murdered by The Riddler. Riddler shoots Falcone like a sniper from a nearby apartment window. As a result, we are unlikely to see any future appearances of the very dead Carmine Falcone in future sequels to The Batman – though I suppose flashbacks are possible.
All in all, Turturro’s turn as Carmine Falcone in The Batman is an effective piece of the film. And while it may be regrettable that the character is no longer alive to advance his character in future sequels, the influence of Falcone in the corrupt city of Gotham City and on Bruce Wayne himself will likely continue to linger on.

If you enjoyed this article on Carmine Falcone’s role in The Batman movie, make sure to check out my article on the production companies behind The Batman.