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Batman: Dark Victory | |
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![]() Trade paperback of Dark Victory | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
Schedule | Monthly |
Format | Limited series |
Publication date | November 1999 - December 2000 |
No. of issues | 14 |
Main character(s) | Batman Jim Gordon The Hangman Two-Face Robin Catwoman |
Creative team | |
Written by | Jeph Loeb |
Artist(s) | Tim Sale |
Collected editions | |
Hardcover | ISBN 1563897385 |
Hardcover (Titan Books) | ISBN 184023332X |
Trade Paperback | ISBN 1563898683 |
Trade Paperback (Titan Books) | ISBN 1840234172 |
Absolute Edition | ISBN 1401235107 |
2014 Trade Paperback | ISBN 1401244017 |
Noir | ISBN 1401271065 |
Deluxe Edition | ISBN 1779514832 |
Batman: Dark Victory is a 14-part American comic book limited series (including a #0 issue) published by DC Comics, featuring the superhero Batman. The series, which ran from 1999 until 2000, was written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale, and it serves as a sequel to Batman: The Long Halloween . [1] Batman: Dark Victory takes place primarily four to five years into Batman's career as a vigilante crimefighter. The plot centers on a series of murders involving Gotham City police officers by a mysterious serial killer only known as the Hangman. Central to the storyline is a territory war between Two-Face and the remnants of the Falcone mob, led by Sofia Falcone.
The story is also a re-telling of the origins of Batman's sidekick Robin and his adoption by Bruce Wayne. The story brings closure to many characters introduced in Frank Miller's Batman: Year One .
There is also a sequel, Robin: Year One , by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty.
In 2004, Loeb and Sale produced a follow-up titled Catwoman: When in Rome , focusing on Catwoman's movements in Italy. The story takes place during the events of Dark Victory, between Valentine's Day (when Catwoman leaves Gotham) and Labor Day.
It has been several months after the killer known as "Holiday" was apprehended. [N 1] "Holiday" was actually Alberto Falcone, attempting to one-up his father, and prove he is more than capable of handling the family business. Janice Porter has replaced Harvey Dent as Gotham City's District Attorney and despises Batman's methods, although Commissioner Gordon tries to sway her opinion.
Bruce blames himself for letting Harvey go beyond saving and for letting him become a villain himself, serving time in Arkham Asylum, like many of the people Dent put there. Batman becomes even more of a loner, refusing Gordon's assistance, and Catwoman's. During a visit to Dent's cell, there is a large breakout of most of the inmates of Arkham. Alberto is not one of them. Batman insists Sofia Gigante had some hand in the breakout, but she assures him she does not, as since their last visit she now uses a wheelchair and has a brace on her head.
Janice Porter allows the release of Alberto to house arrest in his brother Mario's custody at their father's old estate. Shortly after his release, Clancy O'Hara's body is found hanged from the Gotham city bridge, his old patrol. Taped to his chest is a newspaper clipping, headlined "Holiday goes free", with a hangman riddle written on it.
Batman interrogates the Riddler, the only man whom Holiday did not kill, but he assures Batman that he has not the faintest idea as to why Holiday did not kill him. In the Falcone estate, Alberto begins to hear his father's voice, telling him to continue his work as the Holiday killer. Soon after the Riddler meets with Batman, saying that the killer assumes that another person is playing their twisted game, the corrupt ex-commissioner Gillian B. Loeb is found hanged from his stairs in his mansion, another riddle on his chest.
Later, another corrupt officer, Detective Flass is found hanged outside the strip club where he worked as a bouncer. Batman believes that Alberto is the newly dubbed "Hangman" killer, or knows who the person is. He interrogates him, but learns nothing and leaves to search for Harvey Dent.
Entering the sewers, Batman fights Solomon Grundy, and he leads Batman to Harvey's new office. Searching his office, there is an explosion and Batman loses Two-Face underground. In Gordon's office, he is talking and trying to persuade Janice to accept Batman, and she agrees, as long as he follows the law.
Another hanging, Sgt. Pratt with another note on his chest. All of the notes have come from Harvey's old desk as the D.A.; all of the evidence suggests that he is the killer.
During the "Hangman" killings, Bruce is also struggling with his relationship with Selina Kyle, so much so that she eventually leaves Gotham and only left him a note.
Janice Porter has been shown meeting a mysterious man several times throughout the investigation, and it is eventually revealed to be Harvey. Another hanging is found, this time in front of Harvey's old house. Officer Merkel is found with another note on his chest. Harvey, now completely taken over by his darker side, conducts his own investigation throughout the escaped criminals, questioning all of them as to the identity of the Hangman killer. Gordon is almost hanged on the roof of the precinct, but is saved by Two-Face who assures the men that he is not the Hangman killer.
Multiple attacks on organized crime by the Joker are perpetrated, and he eventually assaults the Falcone estate, attacking the members of the family before being apprehended by Batman. Another hanging is found inside the garage of the precinct. Batman adopts a young Dick Grayson as his family is killed during a mob sabotage, and he begins his training to be his partner.
During a police raid on the underground hideout of Two-Face, Batman assists Gordon and they eventually catch him. During all of which, Alberto is still hearing his father's voice telling him to continue his work. He is eventually pushed to the point of almost committing the murder of his sister, but resists the temptation. Two-Face is put on trial, but escapes when the other criminals assault the court.
Another hanging of a police officer, and Two-Face is still the prime suspect. Janice is kidnapped by the Joker and the Scarecrow, and when she argues with Two-Face, he kills her. They dump the body into Alberto Falcone's bed, to convince him he killed her. Finally, he breaks the facade and it is revealed that the Calendar Man had secretly placed microphones all over the house and manipulated him.
Batman investigates Mario Falcone's penthouse, and is almost hanged but frees himself due to metal braces to protect his neck, and attacks Catwoman. She reveals that she investigated Sofia Gigante, and that she could find no record of her visiting an orthopedist, despite the fact that she uses a wheelchair. After escaping the estate, Sofia and Alberto meet inside the family mausoleum; she smothers him, telling him he is not a real Falcone.
At the Batcave, Dick correctly translates the clues left behind that they refer to protecting the Falcone crime family, and Batman scrambles to leave. At his hideout, Two-Face is attacked when several explosions rip through his lair; the criminals attempt to escape when Two-Face is attacked. Finally, the Hangman killer is revealed as Sofia Gigante. She had killed everyone who had helped Harvey to become the District Attorney and further his career, and left clues to make it look like it was him all along. Her final ploy was to pretend to be paraplegic, leaving her as the last suspect. During the ensuing fight, Sofia is shot by Two-Face and Batman gives chase.
Dick intervenes, now wearing a uniform as "Robin", and he assists Batman in the recapture of the criminals. Joker shoots Two-Face, and he falls presumably to his death. Mario Falcone, now a broken man, torches his family's estate, leaving his family destroyed. Selina Kyle arrives at Carmine's grave, and confesses the truth that she knows that he was her father, but cannot prove it yet. Two-Face is revealed to have Carmine Falcone's body, and it was frozen, presumably, by Mr. Freeze. Dick takes an oath with Batman in the Batcave to help him in his crusade against crime.
In the introduction to the trade paperback, Tim Sale states that he was hesitant to join with Jeph Loeb on the project as he did not care for Robin, given his stark contrast to Sale's interpretation of Batman. Loeb, however, insisted that the teaming of the two characters was essential to the story. A major theme of the story concerns how the three protagonists of The Long Halloween now feel alone. Throughout the book Batman struggles with this, his refusal to accept help from Commissioner Gordon, as well as with his fear of being wrong, a side-effect of the Scarecrow's fear gas. Catwoman even slaps Batman when he shows no interest in what might happen to Two-Face. Dick Grayson is depicted in the story as one of Bruce Wayne's only anchors left to humanity.
The entire series has been collected in trade paperbacks, hardcovers, an absolute edition, a noir edition, and a deluxe edition:
Critical reaction to Dark Victory has been mostly positive.
Hilary Goldstein of IGN Comics said that "Dark Victory is not quite as good as The Long Halloween " and added that "it's too heavily dependent on the original to stand on its own", but praised how Dark Victory "uses the events of The Long Halloween to further explore the psychological makeup of the Dark Knight" and "add[s] new context to the Batman we all know and love." [2] Goldstein later ranked Dark Victory #10 on a list of the 25 best Batman graphic novels, but the list has been updated since its release in 2005 and is now ranked at #7. [3]
Dave Wallace of Comics Bulletin said that Dark Victory "doesn't quite live up to the high standards set by The Long Halloween" but praised "Loeb's note-perfect understanding of what makes the Batman tick" and added that "Tim Sale's artwork also keeps on hitting new highs." Wallace concluded that Dark Victory is "definitely worthy of your attention and a place on your bookshelf." [4]
Sion Smith of Counter Culture said that "where Dark Victory really works is in its patience. Its willingness to let the story go where it needs to in its own time is a godsend", and added that "Tim Sale's depiction of a city at war with itself is one of the freshest views of Gotham we've seen in a long time, while Loeb's storytelling is as fluent as I've come to expect from him." [5]
Dark Victory, along with its predecessor The Long Halloween, are personal favorites of Dark Knight Trilogy star Christian Bale, and served as prime inspirations for his take on playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. [6]
Batman: Year One is an American comic book story arc written by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli. Year One was originally published by DC Comics in Batman #404–407 in 1987. There have been several reprints of the story: a hardcover, multiple trade paperbacks, several deluxe editions in hardcover and paperback format, and an Absolute Edition. Year One was also adapted into an animated feature in 2011, after efforts to adapt it into a live-action film were cancelled following the failure of 1997's Batman & Robin.
The Scarecrow is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the character first appeared in World's Finest Comics #3 as an adversary of the superhero Batman. He has since become one of Batman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of villains that make up his rogues gallery.
The Riddler is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in Detective Comics #140 in October 1948. He has become one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics #66. As one of Batman's most enduring enemies, Two-Face belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, often simply called Legends of the Dark Knight, is the name of several DC comic books featuring Batman. The original series launched in 1989 as the third major monthly Batman title, following the popularity of Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman. Many of the stories follow the tone of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. The series differed from other Batman titles of the time. The creative team rotated with every story arc and the stories stood alone, unlike the inter-connected nature of other Batman comics. Initially the title ran stories contained to five issues, often with more mature topics and sensibilities than the other Batman titles. After issue #20, the number of issues for each story began to vary and occasionally tied into crossover events.
"Batman: Hush" is an American comic book story arc published by DC Comics featuring the superhero Batman. It was published in monthly installments within the comic book series Batman, running from issue #608–619 in October 2002 until September 2003. The story arc was written by Jeph Loeb, penciled by Jim Lee, inked by Scott Williams, and colored by Alex Sinclair, under the editorship of Bob Schreck.
Timothy Roger Sale was an American comics artist, "best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Batman and Superman and for influencing depictions of Batman in numerous films." He is primarily known for his collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb, which included both comics work and artwork for the TV series Heroes. Sale's renditions of Batman influenced modern cinematic depictions of the character, with film directors and actors directly citing Sale's work.
Carmine Falcone is a fictional supervillain in DC Comics, portrayed as a powerful mob boss, an enemy of Batman, and a friend of the Wayne family. He has also been depicted in some versions as the illegitimate father of Catwoman.
Batman: The Long Halloween is a 13-issue American comic book limited series written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale. It was originally published by DC Comics in 1996 and 1997. It was the follow-up to three Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials by the same creative team. The series' success led to Loeb and Sale to reteam for two sequels, Batman: Dark Victory and Catwoman: When in Rome, which are set concurrently.
Gillian B. Loeb is a fictional character in the DC Universe who serves as an enemy to Batman's ally James "Jim" Gordon in DC Comics publications.
Calendar Man is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, as an enemy of the superhero Batman, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery. Calendar Man is known for committing crimes that correspond with holidays and significant dates. He often wears costumes to correlate with the date of the designated crime. His name is a reference to the Julian and Gregorian calendars. In his debut, the character was presented as a joke villain, but in later years, writers developed Calendar Man as a dark, disturbed criminal who toys with Batman.
Sofia Falcone is a villain appearing in DC Comics, primarily in association with the character Batman. Debuting in the 1996–97 comic book limited series Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, she is introduced as a member of the Falcone crime family, who assists her father Carmine Falcone in unearthing the identity of the "Holiday Killer"—later revealed to be Sofia's own brother Alberto Falcone, a mass-murderer who had been indiscriminately killing Gotham City's citizens in correlation with holidays in the yearly calendar. In the 1999-2000 limited series Batman: Dark Victory which served as a continuation of the arc established in The Long Halloween, Sofia is revealed as the identity behind the murderer known under the alias the Hangman, who had spent over a year targeting and eliminating various members of the Gotham City Police Department, notably in association with former district attorney-turned criminal, Harvey Dent / Two-Face, who ends up killing her during a lengthy confrontation with Batman himself.
Catwoman: When in Rome is a DC Comics six-issue miniseries written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale. Sale took inspiration for his art from René Gruau, the French/Italian fashion illustrator.
Gilda Dent, occasionally referred to as Grace, is a fictional character who has appeared in Batman comic books since Detective Comics #66. Associated with her fiancé Harvey Dent, who becomes the criminal mastermind Two-Face, she has since been a recurring character throughout various Batman stories involving him. Her largest role is in the Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale collaboration Batman: The Long Halloween and she was voiced by Julie Nathanson in the animated adaptation. Her role as Dent's fiancé in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight was instead filled by the original character of Rachel Dawes, portrayed by Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Alberto Falcone is a fictional comic book villain appearing in books published by DC Comics, in particular the Batman books. In addition to being a mobster, he has also made appearances as the Holiday Killer, a serial killer featured in Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory.
Salvatore Vincent Maroni is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The substantial character is portrayed as a powerful mob boss and gangster of Italian descent in Gotham City and an enemy of Batman. Maroni is most famous for disfiguring Harvey Dent, setting the stage for the young district attorney's transformation into the supervillain Two-Face.
Batman: Haunted Knight is an anthology trade paperback published by DC Comics in 1996. It reprinted three one-shot specials from the previous three years. Each of the stories was written by Jeph Loeb and featured art by Tim Sale. The popularity of these three stories led to the three miniseries Batman: The Long Halloween #1-13, Batman: Dark Victory #0-13 and Catwoman: When in Rome #1-6.
Mario Falcone is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the son of Gotham City mob boss Carmine Falcone, the brother of Alberto Falcone and Sofia Falcone, and the uncle of Kitrina Falcone.
Batman: The Long Halloween is a 2021 American two-part animated direct-to-video superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, based on the DC Comics storyline of the same name. Part 1 is the 44th film, and Part 2 is the 45th film, of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies, with both parts serving as the third and fourth installments of the DC Animated Movie Universe's second phase, and the nineteenth and twentienth overall. The film is directed by Chris Palmer and stars the voices of Jensen Ackles, Josh Duhamel and Naya Rivera in her final film role. The film is dedicated to Rivera following her death the year prior. In both parts of the film, Batman attempts to unravel the mystery of murders committed on holidays throughout the year, and uncover the true identity of the serial killer Holiday.
The superstar team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale was back, and just as dark as ever. In this thirteen-issue sequel to the pair's acclaimed Batman: The Long Halloween maxiseries, the creative team picked up right where they left off during Batman's early years.
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