The Batman and Penguin's Gotham Complete Crime Families & Connections Explained

Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Penguin Episode 1.

The penguin is delving further into the crime families of Gotham established in The Batmanwith each one having connections to the other. At the time of The penguin Episode 1's ending, a war between the crime families is already brewing after the death of Carmine Falcone in The Batman. Falcone was killed by the Riddler in the 2022 movie, leaving a power vacuum in Gotham's underworld. naturally, The penguinDC's Easter eggs recall the events as the titular character, Oswald "Oz" Cobb, seeks to fill the void left by Falcone's death.

However, Oz's plans were not exactly to plan with the emergence of Carmine Falcone's children. The primary threat of The penguin Is Sofia Falcone / The Hangman, Carmine's daughter who is fresh out of Arkham Asylum and looking to maintain her late father's empire. With Salvatore Maroni then thrown into the mix, the complex foundations of Gotham's underworld become clear, setting up plenty to deal with Batman after or during The penguin. Until then, however, the focus will remain on Oswald as he seeks to undermine Gotham's other crime families through their myriad connections and contacts.

Who are the Falcons in the Batman Universe

The Falcones are the main crime family in Batman's world

That said, it's the Falcons that hold the most power The Batmans underworld. Carmine Falcone is played by John Turturro in The BatmanAlthough he was recast as Mark Strong for brief flashback appearances in The penguin. Falcone was the head honcho of Gotham in The BatmanRunning his drug operation out of the Iceberg Lounge. Now that Carmine is dead, however, his son Alberto is positioned as the heir to the empire in The penguin Episode 1. Things go from bad to worse for Alberto when the struggling drug addict is killed by Oz in The penguin Episode 1's intro.

This leads to the inclusion of Sofia, Alberto's sister, who now sits at the head of the Falcone family. Over both The Batman And The penguinThe Falcone family is shown to have many connections and affiliations. One such ally was Oswald himself, who rose to become Carmine's capo. As the Falcons' right-hand man, Oz has a certain amount of power, although was considered to be of low reputation by most. As described in The BatmanThe Falcons have several other affiliates from the DA to the Chief of Police.

In DC Comics, the Falcones have a similar image as in most Batman Media. The family is led by Carmine who rules Gotham's underworld well before becoming a target of Batman during the vigilante's early career. This, combined with the efforts of Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon and the crimes committed by Sophia as a hangman, results in the Falcone family becoming greatly diminished as a power of Gotham.

Catwoman's link to the Falcon is explained

Batman isn't the only Gotham vigilante linked to Falcone

Another of the connections Falcone maintains is actually to Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman from The Batman. The film reveals that Carmine is Catwoman's biological father, leading the latter on a path of revenge after what happened to her friend Annika at his hands. This takes cues from DC Comics, with the source material also hinting that Catwoman is Falcone's daughter. whether The Batman Part IIThe story of this connection remains to be seen, but it would certainly elevate Selina's character.

Catwoman's main subplot in The Batman surrounds the connection, leading to a fateful confrontation in the office above the Iceberg Lounge. Catwoman enters and tries to kill Carmine Before he gets the upper hand. Thankfully, Batman arrives in time to save Catwoman and convinces her not to kill Carmine, leading to his arrest and subsequent murder at the hands of the Riddler.

Who are the Maroni family?

The Maronis preceded the Falcones

Before the Falcone family rose to power, it was the Maronis who ruled Gotham's underworld. The Maroni family was headed by Salvatore Maroni, played by Clancy Brown in The penguins ensemble cast. The Maronis were responsible for many widespread crimes in Gotham, notably starting the drops epidemic that provides most current crime families with their illegal income. as of The penguins story, Salvatore Maroni is imprisoned in Blackgate Penitentiary.

This confirms another member of the Maroni family to appear in the series. This member is Salvatore's daughter Nadia, who will be played by Shohreh Aghdashloo in The penguin. Although Nadia does not appear in The penguin Episode 1, the prison visit between Salvatore and Oswald will undoubtedly lead to the Maroni's becoming more of a presence now that the death of Carmine Falcone has caused a power vacuum. This will give Nadia a chance to shine The penguinSet up yet another crime war.

The Maroni/Falcone Mob War Explained

The Maronis' fall was orchestrated by Carmine Falcone

One of the main subsites of The Batman Involves the exploration of the war between the Maronis and Falcones. Naturally, as two big crime families in one city, the two are rivals. It was revealed in The Batman That both men wanted to win the favor of Thomas Wayne who was running to become mayor. After Wayne's death, which Alfred Pennyworth believed was orchestrated by Falcone, the Maronis and the Falcones began using Wayne's Gotham Renewal Fund for their operations.

Eventually, Carmine orchestrates a deal with several corrupt members of Gotham's infrastructure, including the aforementioned DA and Chief of Police. Carmine set up a sting operation on Maroni's business, which resulted in the Falcones taking over Gotham's underworld and Salvatore's prison. Falcone then became the ruling power of Gotham's crime syndicates, and used the money from the Gotham Renewal Fund and the drops business to keep the corrupt members of Gotham's government in line.

Gotham's other gangs explained

The Falcones and Maronis aren't the only Gotham gangs

Despite the Falcones and the Maronis being the two big hitters in Gotham's underworld, several other gangs are looking to wreak havoc after The Batmans climactic ending has the city devolved into chaos. for example, The penguin Episode 1 name drops two other gangs from DC Comics: The Burnley Town Massive and The Odessa Gang. Although not as organized, The penguin Episode 1 also confirmed that supporters of the Riddler still roam the streets of Gotham.

Another potential gang in Gotham could link to Barry Keoghan's Joker from The Batman. Although a link has not been confirmed between Joker and the gang, The Batmans prologue showed a gang of men with clown face paint terrorizing a man in the subway. Regardless of how organized the gang is or if it connects to the Joker, it's clear that Gotham's underworld is filled with many people fighting for power, like The penguin Keep calculating.