Alberto Falcone
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In the fictional DC Universe, Alberto Falcone is one of Batman's first enemies; known as Holiday. He is featured in the Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale series' Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory.
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[edit] Background
Born to Gotham crime lord Carmine Falcone and his wife Louisa on February 14th (Valentine's Day), Alberto Falcone was an outcast in his vast family of mobsters, barely existing in the family business. It has been believed by many fans that the only reason he existed as a character was to show he was not involved. Jealous of his father favoring his older siblings Mario and Sofia Gigante, he fought his way up on a scholarship to Harvard University and later went onto Oxford. Despite his success, this did not help him at all in getting into his father's empire. Alberto was always eager to follow in his father's footsteps and offered help to his father, but Carmine refused to let Alberto get involved in his "business", apparently wishing for Alberto to live a normal life. Alberto, however, had other plans.
[edit] The Long Halloween
Throughout Batman: The Long Halloween, various Gotham City criminals are murdered by a mysterious serial killer known only as Holiday. At first the murdered criminals are connected to Falcone. "The Irish," a gang of Irish hitmen for hire, are all put under the payroll of Falcone to kill then District-Attorney Harvey Dent by blowing up his house, only to have him survive the attempt. Later, on Thanksgiving, they are all murdered in a hotel banquet room as they sit down to eat Thanksgiving dinner. By Christmas, Milos Grappa, the long-trusted bodyguard and consigliere to Falcone, is murdered in front of a hotel. Apparently, it seems to be all the work of a jealous rival of Falcone in the mob business, but on New Year's Eve, Alberto is apparently killed by Holiday during a party on board Falcone's yacht. His body was found and identified by his grieving father and Jasper Dolan, the Gotham City coroner.
During the next months Holiday started killing members of Sal Maroni's (Falcone's greatest rival) mob. This led to a huge gang war between Falcone and the Maronis, causing Falcone to employ "freaks" to stablize his empire, who would become members of Batman's Rogue's Gallery. A large number of Maroni's guards, patrons, and business associates were killed alongside some of Falcone's guards at Maroni's only "legit" business; an Italian restaurant. Another amount of Maroni's men were assassinated at Maroni's safe house on St. Patricks' Day, just before Falcone's daughter could go there and pull a hit on them herself. On April Fools Day, The Riddler was attacked but left unharmed, so he could publicly tell that Falcone was actively looking for Holiday himself. The place where Holiday's guns were made and bought was located in the Chinatown of Gotham, but the Chinese gun-maker was found murdered inside his shop on Mother's Day.
One month later on Father's Day, Maroni's father and founder of the Maroni family, Luigi Maroni, was shot and died in his tomato garden (in homage to a scene from The Godfather). During the Independence Day celebrations, Jasper Dolan, the coroner, was found dead at the Gotham City Docks with two bullets to the chest. His aunt, Carla Vitti, launched an investigation of her own into his and her son Johnny's deaths, only to meet Holiday at the coroner's office and get shot to death on the day of what would have been the Roman holiday the Feast of Lupercal. Finally, one more target remained for Holiday to take...
[edit] Capture and Confession
On Labor Day, when Salvatore Maroni was being transported to a safer area after brutally scaring Harvey Dent in court, Alberto Falcone came from nowhere and killed Maroni with two shots to the head from the type of gun wielded by Holiday. He declared that he was Holiday all along, and he was arrested by Jim Gordon after Batman gave him a brutal beating. The beating left him with no feeling in one arm and several bruises. Batman had nearly killed him in his rage, until Gordon advised Batman to let the criminal justice system handle Alberto.
Alberto later admitted to committing all of the Holiday killings, including that of his cousin, Johnny Vitti. Carmine Falcone offered to use his influence to free Alberto; if he only admitted to killing Maroni. But Alberto refused, smugly saying that his new reputation as Holiday made him much bigger than Carmine and all the gangsters in the mob put together. He was convicted guilty by the jury and was sentenced to the gas chamber. Although Alberto initially received the death sentence, the Falcone influence allowed him to instead plead insanity. He was imprisoned in Arkham Asylum instead, across the hall from the Calender Man, another holiday-obsessed villain who was afraid that Holiday might make people forget him.
[edit] Final Months
In Batman: Dark Victory, Alberto Falcone was released from Arkham with aide from D.A. Janice Porter. Alberto was now under house arrest in his family home outside Gotham, with his brother Mario and sister Sofia Gigante. A tracer was attached to his leg in order to prevent an escape. While in the house, Alberto is manipulated by the Scarecrow and Calendar Man into believing that he is being contacted by the ghost of his dead father (who had died at the end of TLH). The gun from the Holiday murders was soon left in his possession, which he used to save Sofia from The Joker. On Carmine Falcone's birthday, a second gun is given to Alberto, to kill Sofia with in order to usurp powers of the five crime families (actually a part of Two-Face's plan to destroy the crime famililes). Alberto nearly kills her in a Holiday-style shooting, but ultimately he stops himself.
Following Janice Porter's death, Two-Face had her body left in Alberto's bed in order to trick Alberto into thinking he had killed her. This time Calendar Man and Scarecrow's fear toxins, bringing on Carmine's voice, tried driving Alberto to commit suicide. But Alberto knew that this advice did not fit in with his father's character, causing him to see through the deception and expose Calendar Man. After being shot, Sofia took Alberto to a hiding place in the Falcone mausoleum. There Sofia criticized Alberto, recalling how Carmine had survived five shots to the chest. Alberto replied that he was not his father. Sofia then added that Alberto never would be his father, that he was a disgrace to the family name, and smothered him with a pillow, suffocating and killing Alberto for good.
[edit] How and why did he do it?
The exact modus operandi of Alberto Falcone is questioned by many; since how could he have remained hidden for nearly a year after faking his death while striking from the shadows?
It is obvious that Alberto merely fired a shot, left the fingerprint-less gun behind, and slipped off the yacht by dingy on New Year's Eve. Exactly who the corpse that was identified as Alberto's really was is still unknown; although many believe that Alberto killed him and disguised him to take his place. Unused pages of the New Year's issue showed Carmine Falcone weeping over a body whose face had been decomposing due to the seagulls and bacteria in the water.
How and where he exiled himself to until each Holiday killing is still unknown; he could have left Gotham for Chicago, Boston, or Metropolis, where the Falcone family had several branch outlets and posts for the family members. Here, he could have provided himself with food, shelter, and money for putting his plans into action. With wealth and resources, he would engage in hit-and-run raids on Gotham's gangsters, striking before secluding himself. It is implied that he was trained with his siblings in firearms by their father in their youth, showing that he too was well-versed in handling weapons.
Alberto's reasons for becoming the Holiday Killer are a common subject of debate. It seems that he was acting against his father to gain love, acceptance, and respect among the family. He murdered his cousin Johnny Vitti, because he had threatened to testify against Falcone. Milos was killed because he was closer to Falcone as a sort of son than Alberto was, the Irish were killed for failing to kill Harvey Dent, Carla was murdered for being a threat and exposing his charade, and Maroni was his father's enemy, whom he wanted to finish off.
[edit] Physical Appearance
Alberto Falcone is a plain-looking man with a short height and slim build. According to Jeph Loeb, he is estimated to be somewhere from his mid-late twenties, as to be an "anti-Bruce Wayne," since Wayne is at this point in his early career about 24-26 years old and still unexperienced. In that case, Alberto, although rich, handsome, privileged and highly-educated, is lonely, brooding, and an outcast to his family. He has straight brown hair and wears Buddy Holly-type glasses most of the time. On certain occasions, like the Vitti wedding, New Year's Eve, and the Maroni murder, he wears dark-blue or purple sunglasses, the latter being destroyed when Batman confronts him after Maroni is killed.
He smokes cigarettes and is implied to be chain smoking.
[edit] Question of Mental Health
To date, many fans are in debate over whether or not Alberto was insane or in complete control of his actions. He seems to be proud over killing Maroni (and all the others, save Vitti, Carmine and Fields), but he also has a strong bitterness and grudge over his rejection by his father. In his last conversation with his father, he declares that he is more powerful than all the gangsters in the city, possibly suggesting schizophrenia or a messiac complex.
[edit] In Other Media
Alberto Falcone has never appeared in Batman: The Animated Series because the Long Halloween was not created until after 'BTAS' had ended it's run on television. Nor has he appeared on The Batman at all. However, several animated and film counterparts clearly model on Alberto Falcone:
- Daniel Craig's Connor Rooney; a character and the primary antagonist of the 2002 Sam Mendes film Road To Perdition. He is depicted as a hot-headed, implusive, and unloved son to a gangster father (Paul Newman), whom he both resents and longs for acceptance from. Like Alberto, he is bitter at his mistreatment and playing second-fiddle to others and strikes out for his own gain.
- One episode of Batman: The Animated Series, The Man Who Killed Batman, focused on a small-town stumblebum named Sidney "Sid the Squid" DeBries, who was, for a time, believed to be the cause for Batman's supposed demise. Like Alberto, he wore thick glasses and had little to no respect among his fellow mobsters in the criminal underworld. However, whereas Alberto was calm, cool, and calculating, Sidney was more of a bumbling, accident-prone fool who just happened to be there at the wrong time. Desperate to make a name for himself, he joined a drug heist and encountered Batman while on lookout duty, and Batman disappeared in an explosion caused by Sidney accidentally, leaving his cape and cowl behind. Throughout the rest of the episode, Sid (or "The Squid" as he is now known as) is praised by his associates and later hunted by The Joker for killing Batman, since the Joker wanted to be the one to kill him. Following a narrow escape from being dipped into acid, he runs to Rupert Thorne for help and is saved from his wrath by Batman, who faked his death and watched him from a distance. In the end, Sidney is still sent to prison for his part in the drug raid, but he gains high respect among his fellow prisoners as "The Man Who Nearly 'Offed The Bat," as well as making a fool out of the Joker. ("A big shot at last!")
- A one-shot character on The Simpsons named Frank Grimes is clearly modeled on Alberto for his hairstyle, Buddy Holly-type glasses, and his frequent, albeit unsuccessful, attempts to gain respect among the employees at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. He is similar to Alberto in that he was always pushed around by others and often neglected in life (abandoned on his 4th birthday, nearly killed in a silo explosion), although Alberto was plainly ignored by his father and siblings. At the end of that episode, he seems to have a mental breakdown, similar to Alberto's questionable mentality, and electrocutes himself while running amok and causing disaster.
