University of Panels

15: Carmine "The Roman" Falcone

 

Yep, we have another member of the Falcone crime family here! In this case it's the head of the mob itself, Carmine "The Roman" Falcone. Before the emergance of Batman's famous gallery of criminally insane enemies like the Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, the Riddler, and Mr. Freeze (or as the mob refers to them "freaks"), Gotham was the center of organized crime, and at the head of the mob was The Roman. Falcone's grip on Gotham city was so powerful that corruption was everywhere, even influencing the city's lawmakers (The Roman was actually good friends with the then-current police commissoner Gillian Loeb)!

 

From a character standpoint, The Roman could be described as a stereotypical 1920's mobster. What gives him a spot among my favorite villains isn't so much a result of his personality, but rather what he represents to Batman's mythos. He symbolizes the early days of Gotham's corruption, an era when the mob was so feared that not even the bravest of cops or lawyers would dare oppose men like Falcone. As a result, most politicans were apathetic The Roman's shady actions, with some simply to scared to oppose him, and many others accepting bribes from him and other mobsters. No one would dare take a stand against Falcone until the Batman made his presence known, showing that even the untouchable crimelord was not untouchable. This symbolism behind The Roman made him an intriguing antagonist for Frank Miller's BATMAN: YEAR ONE, as well as Jeph Loeb's BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN & DARK VICTORY, and was later incorporated into Christopher Nolan's BATMAN BEGINS.