Notice! This post contains SPOILERS for Batman: The Last Halloween #2from Batman new sequence of The Long Halloween gave the Dark Knight’s rogues a new enemy, one far more dangerous and lethal than the Caped Crusader himself. In the original Long HalloweenThe “Holiday Killer” began killing multiple members of the Falcone and Maroni crime families in a single year, starting on October 31st. While this gave rise to Gotham’s “freaks” and more of Batman’s more colorful enemies, it appears the shoe is now on the other side.
As seen in Batman: The Last Halloween #2 by Jeph Loeb and Klaus Janson, several of Batman’s thugs (and allies) have been targeted by what appears to be a Holiday Killer copycat, as well as thugs dressed as clowns and scarecrows. Meanwhile, Batman and his new sidekick Robin are trying to find the connection, even though the bodies have already started piling up.:
Considering who has been attacked and/or taken so far, it appears this new Holiday Killer is driven by pure vengeance, wanting revenge on those who were involved in the disappearance of Gotham’s biggest organized crime families. To that end, there seems to be a most likely candidate as to who this new Gotham Vacation Killer really is.
A New Holiday Killer Is in Gotham (And It’s Probably Mario Falcone)
Seeking revenge on Gotham’s “Freaks”
As seen in the first two editions of The Last HalloweenJim Gordon’s son James was apparently taken by Holiday on Halloween night and is still missing. Similarly, Solomon Grundy was taken by a gang of clowns, chained with concrete blocks and thrown into the river. These same clowns apparently took Two-Face and his wife Gilda Dent as well. Catwoman was shot with a .22 pistol, Holiday’s signature firearm, and the Penguin has now been shot by a gang of scarecrows (also with a .22). With all of this in mind, it can’t be a coincidence that Mario Falcone has recently returned to Gotham.
Last surviving son of Carmine Falcone, the time may have come for Mario to seek revenge for what happened to his family. Likewise, it could be his turn to become a serial killer, as his brother Alberto was considered one of the Holiday Killers in the original. Long Halloween and his sister Sofia became the Executioner afterwards, Black Victory. After all, all of the victims so far make sense given their roles in the original film. Long Halloween if Mario Falcone is the one behind everything.
The new holiday appears to be declaring war on Gotham’s freaks
And Batman is right in the middle of the mystery
It’s also not a bad guess to suggest that Mario Falcone has been ordering his men to dress up as clowns and scarecrows in order to maintain public blame on Gotham’s freaks, while the real freaks are being attacked one by one. It certainly seems like Mario would be wanting to restore the Falcone Crime Family back to the power they once had over Gotham.. Either way, it should also be very interesting to see how Batman reacts and puts the pieces together going forward, especially now that the FBI has caught him standing over the Penguin’s body while holding Holiday’s pistol.
Batman: The Last Halloween #2 is now on sale at DC Comics.