Carmine Falcone

Carmine Falcone is a major antagonist in ''Batman: Shadow War. ''He is the Head of the Falcone Crime Family and a powerful mafia chieftain.

Early Life
Carmine is the son of Vincent Falcone and was the heir to his crime syndicate. He was the husband of Louisana, brother of Carla Viti, and father to Kitrina, Sofia and Alberto. His arch-nemesis was Sal Maroni, the head of the Maroni family. At one point, Carmine was shot by rival gangster Luigi Maroni but was saved by Thomas Wayne, a surgeon, to which Vincent insisted that nobody would know about the shooting.

After Vincent's death, Carmine took control of the syndicate and was an untouchable gangster, running his operation like a traditional mafia. Thomas eventually got into contact with Falcone and became criminal partners, with Falcone letting Thomas deal with the money laundering and "befriended" Mayor Hamilton Hill, to help deal with the politics in Gotham City. Falcone also often visited Thomas when he had injuries he sustained to be treated. With control over the main areas of the city, the three became the city's most powerful crime lords, though the Waynes appeared less so than Hill and Falcone. Falcone also employed hitmen to take care of competition, such as Joe Chill, including Theodore Cobblepot, who ran against Hill as mayor, and Carl Beaumont, for refusing to give the group the land he owned so they can build on and get richer.

After the deaths of Thomas and his wife, Martha, at the hands of one of his hitmen, Carmine began to build up his own businesses as fronts. Falcone also ordered his men to place white roses, the organization's symbol, at crime scenes, to let his rivals know that he was responsible and as a fear tactic for the uncorrupted people of Gotham.

Intevention of the Batman
Years later before Bruce Wayne started his career as Batman, Falcone virtually ran Gotham, with Mayor Hill, the city council and Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb under his influence and Falcone was ultimately above the law. However, his power base comes under attack by the new mysterious and upcoming vigilante, Batman. At a dinner party hosted by Falcone and attended by Loeb and other corrupt high society members they bring up the issue of Batman and Leob tries to assure Falcone that the new opponent may be a long-term benefit, however the assurance fails and Falcone's concern is justified subsequently by Batman's bold assault on the dinner party to announce that they will be delivered justice. Despite Loeb's desperate attempts to stop him, Batman's attacks on Falcone's empire become even more brazen; Batman had dumped his car into the river and invaded his home and frightened the crime lord, leaving behind a Batarang as a warning just like Falcone does with his white roses. Humiliated, Falcone orders Batman to be killed. Batman is too elusive, however, as he later helps Catwoman attack the mafia head. Finally, Falcone orders police detective Jim Gordon's wife and child kidnapped to bring him to heel, but the plot is foiled by the Gordons while Batman rescues their child. Eventually, with the Dark Knight's assistance, Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent begin to restore law and order to Gotham; Falcone's power is put under threat by the new opposition he now faces.

Falcone later appears at Dent's fundraiser at Wayne Manor, Falcone and several of his bodyguards examine the manor, with him voicing his interest to purchase it. He was greeted by Dent and Bruce, whom he came to meet. At Alfred Pennyworth's suggestion, the group went into the parlor to discuss business in private. Falcone attempts to recruit Bruce into partnering with him just like he did with Thomas in a desperate attempt to regain control of Gotham, but Bruce refuses and when Falcone speaks of Thomas, hinting at their criminal dealings, Bruce gets angry and orders Falcone out of his home. Before leaving, Falcone threatens Bruce and states he will regret refusing his offer to rule Gotham together.

The next evening, Batman assaults the Skyline Club, hoping to apprehend Falcone and interrogate him over an incident at the docks. After Batman took down several of his henchmen, he retaliated by opening fire at him, though two of his men were caught in the crossfire and killed. Falcone flees into his office, but Batman uses an explosive to break in and he demands answers from Falcone, but Falcone states he owned the building and that he entered a partnership with the criminal Dr. Jonathan Crane AKA Scarecrow, though he had nothing to do with the incident there. Batman places Falcone in bonds and hangs him from the window. Demanding that he talks, Falcone reveals that the Waynes did have ties with him and his organization, before being left for the cops by the vigilante.

Death
Following his arrest, Falcone was placed into medical care by the GCPD. After he began to suspect the crime lord may have had a hand in his parents' murder, Bruce decided to talk with him and learn the reasons why they were killed. Due to evidence Bruce handed over to Gordon, Gordon allowed Bruce to visit Falcone by using all the political ties he could gather. Falcone was surprised to see that Bruce had come to see him and confirmed his father's affiliation with him and the organization. He continued to explain that he, Thomas and Hill ran the city and that he considered the Waynes as family. However, before he could explain his predicament, Falcone asked Bruce to reduce the pain he was in with some morphine. Bruce though loses his temper and strangles Falcone, demanding him that he tells the truth. When he finishes, Falcone comments that this behavior is the reason why he was kept in the dark. He also states that Bruce reminds him of Thomas, due to his ruthlessness, though also states that he is the reason why the two have their current wealth.

Falcone reveals he had no part in Thomas and Martha's assassination, but before he could reveal who did, he is suddenly shot in the chest by Renee Montoya, who was drugged by the Phantasm. Falcone though survived the attack and was taken to a different hospital under police protection, where he had been put in an artificial coma. The shooting caused massive controversy about the GCPD and a massive power vacuum within Gotham's underworld due to Falcone, as well as being part of Phantasm's plan to vengefully attack the corrupt of Gotham. The police officer guarding him eventually fell asleep while on duty, so the Phantasm entered the room and injected a medicament into Falcone's infusion bag, causing him to wake up. Afterwards, Phantasm abducted him and eventually killed him by slicing his throat.

Legacy
Following his death, Phantasm placed Falcone's corpse into the coffin of Thomas Wayne, before burying it again. The next day, Bruce discovered Falcone's corpse which brought even more attention to Bruce, apparently accusing him of killing Falcone to silence him as he was suspected in following in his corrupt father's footsteps as Phantasm reveals more evidence of Thomas's crimes to the public, ultimately damaging Bruce and his family's reputation. Eventually, Bruce managed to clear his name to the public and Falcone's killer was revealed to be Andrea Beaumont, the Phantasm.

Personality
Carmine Falcone appeared to act civilized and calm around others, but this only masked his brutality and willingness to destroy the lives of others. Though he showed signs of aggression and violence, often resorting to it as one of the first options. His hunger for power also lead to him becoming territorial, though he was unwilling to betray those closest to him.

Abilities

 * Genius Level Intellect:
 * Expert Leader:
 * Expert Tactician:
 * Expert Businessman:
 * Expert Combatant:
 * Expert Marksman:
 * Multillinguaism:

Equipment

 * Tommy Gun:
 * Knife:
 * Sentry Gun: