Batman the Long Halloween, Part 1

November 16, 2022 | HAYDN GOODBOY

In Batman the Long Halloween Part 1 the movie begins with the murder of the nephew of famous mob boss Carmine the roman Falcone in a bathtub. At the crime scene, there is a Jack o Lantern card that is left by a mysterious figure. The Roman's nephew Viti was murdered due to him wanting to turn the state’s evidence against his uncle. James Gordan Gotham City's police commissioner becomes a suspect of the Roman himself, so he then calls up the district attorney Harvey Dent and the caped crusader Batman to investigate the murder and bring Falcone to justice. Batman after leaving the roof of the police station encounters Cat women and the two go on a chase. Batman eventually follows Cat women to a warehouse full of money, along with Harvey Dent. Batman convinces Harvey to decide to burn the money rather than Falcone stopping them in retaliation, based on a coin flip because it provides an equal 50/50 chance. They then blow up the building and escape, it is broadcast on the TV that, the warehouse was owned by the mob boss Carmine Falcone.

Falcone then in retaliation hires triad member Mickey Chen to bomb Harvey’s house. Both Harvey and his wife Gilda survive, but Harvey is hospitalized. Batman then begins to investigate Chen finding him he chases him into the sewers they both run into the sewer-dwelling giant Solomon Grundy. Batman convinces Grundy to spare Chen. He then takes Chen to the GCPD for questioning. Lacking any real evidence against Chen, both Batman and Gordan are forced to release him. Gordan slightly annoyed tells Batman he needs to learn more about being a detective.

On Thanksgiving Falcone’s son, Alberto sends Harvey Dent a mocking “get well” letter at the hospital in his father’s name this ticks Falcone off for presuming to “speak for him.” Falcone then attacks his son for being too weak to inherit the family business. Harvey then escapes the hospital to meet Gordan. Gordan gives Harvey a gun for his protection. That night Chen is murdered by the same mysterious figure that killed Viti. On Christmas Eve Batman and Gordan question Calendar Man in Arkham Asylum. They want to know the identity of the murderer known as Holiday. Calendar Man names Falcone, Sai Maroni, and Harvey as suspects and then calls Batman’s war on crime a joke. Batman then realizes that the Joker had just escaped from Arkham. The Joker not wanting Vito’s killer now dubbed the Holiday Killer to replace him as Gotham’s most notorious criminal confronts Harvey. He threatens his wife Gilda if he is proven to be Holiday. Batman visits Maroni who was also attacked by the Joker. Maroni advises Batman that if the Joker is Holiday. He will eventually target Falcone himself. Joker harasses Falcone, warning him not to divulge any information about Holiday to him. Falcone’s bodyguard then chases Joker down the stairs, but he is then killed by Holiday. In the Batcave Batman, identifies Maroni ,Falcones sister Carla Viti ,The Joker, and Harvey as all valid suspects.

Bruce Wayne then attends a Christmas Eve party on a yacht celebrating Gotham’s children's clinic hosted by Falcone. During a speech, Falcone calls Bruce the son he never had which angers Alberto. Bruce meets with Selina Kyle who then calls off their relationship due to their conflicting secret identities. Joker then attempts to gas Gotham City square to root out Holiday. Meanwhile, Selina meets with Alberto to find out more about the Falcone family. Alberto laments that he was never respected by his father who also rejected his fiancé from Oxford University. Batman stops Joker from gassing the city but when he remarks that he loves a good puzzle Batman deduces that Alberto would benefit from killing his father’s enemies as he wanted control of the family. Batman then returns to the Yacht accusing Alberto of being Holiday. Alberto then denies wanting to be in control of the family and is killed by Holiday.

Utilitarianism fosters the idea that actions that foster pleasure and not pain are better than actions that foster pain and not pleasure. When directed towards making political, economic, or social choices the Utilitarian would aim for the betterment of society. They would say that an action is right if it results in the happiness of a greater number of people in a group. It was first formed by John Stuart Mill and Jeremey Bentham in the late 18th century and 19th century British philosophers.

Batman the Long Halloween follows Batman who is attempting to purge Gotham of crime following the death of his parents at the hands of Joe Chill. When Batman gets involved in the Holiday murders, he attempts to prevent more murders from happening even though the people who are getting killed are criminals some connected to the mob. He is doing this because he wants to make sure that people can be able to live out their lives in happiness instead of living in fear. This contrasts with Harvey aka Two Face, who using the flip of a coin decides if someone lives or dies. The Utilitarian view would call out Harvey for purely deciding someone else’s fate based on a coin flip rather than if that person’s happiness is important or not. Falcone did not care about his nephew’s happiness in fact disregarded it often. This made him bitter and selfish and a top suspect for the holiday murderer. This type of alienization of his own son caused him to become the way he did. Falcone was more focused on his status and how he looked than on helping his own son the Utilitarian view of this would call him out for not wanting to maximize his son’s well-being.

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