- "We need each other, we're family."
- —Carmine Falcone taking to Nikolai and Fish
The Falcone crime family was the most powerful crime organization in Gotham City, founded by the Falcone family. Don Carmine Falcone ruled the Gotham underworld for 30 years.
The Falcone crime family was restored by Sofia Falcone after the third downfall of the Cobblepot crime family and the unsolved murder of Carmine. Only for it to suffer it’s second and final downfall a few weeks later, when Sofia was put in a coma by Lee Thompkins, and she was implicated in Professor Pyg’s killing spree. In the aftermath, the underworld was taken over by the numerous costumed criminals.
History[]
Carmine Falcone's criminal organization[]
- "I'm a businessman. You can't have organized crime without law and order."
- —Carmine Falcone
Supposedly, the Family was founded by Vincent Falcone, who led it along with his Wife and numerous members of their family. The organization was eventually taken over by their son, Carmine Falcone. Under Carmine, the Family prospered, obtaining almost complete control on the City Council, the Mayor's office and the Gotham City Police Department[1]. Falcone also coerced numerous independent crime bosses and their respective gangs, like Fish Mooney, into subordination to himself, forming a sort of "Family of Families", with Falcone himself as the "Don" and the other bosses as his "Capos".
For more than 30 years the family was the dominant power in Gotham's underworld. It maintained a degree of order and structure amongst Organized crime in the city. While the organization itself was a source of crime, Jim Gordon understood that its collapse and the downfall of its leader could lead to chaos and widespread violence. Thus, the Family's reign could be seen as a necessary evil.
However, Falcone in his old age became tired and worried for the city's future, giving his subordinates and capos the possibility to supplant him. At this time, Falcone's long-time rival, Salvatore Maroni, head of the Maroni crime family, became even more ambitious and brazen. When the younger don became convinced that Falcone had attempted to kill him thanks to an assassination attempt staged by Oswald Cobblepot, he promptly ignited a mob war between both of their respective families.
Carmine Falcone retirement[]
- "No. Gotham needs a lawman now. Not a criminal like me. A strong lawman."
- —Carmine Falcone to Jim Gordon
In the aftermath of the gang war, Falcone decided to retire, and left Gotham to his home in the south. The Family declined after this; some of his loyal men went hiding to wait for him to potentially return in the future, some formed new crime families like Janos Szabo, and some of its members joined the Cobblepot crime family.[2] the Cobblepot crime family took over all Falcone and Maroni territories. They became the leading crime family in the city and Penguin succeeded Falcone as the top crime boss.
Despite leaving Gotham and a life of crime, Falcone still had numerous men working for him and was shown to still have contacts as he was able to break Jim Gordon out of prison and find him a safehouse in the city. Gordon also later stated that the few crime families left in Gotham still remained loyal to him, even during Penguin's reign.[3]
Carmine’s Family[]
Inner-Circle[]
- Carmine Falcone (boss) †
- Jimmy Saviano (underboss) †
- Arthur Penn (advisor; formerly) †
- Victor Zsasz (chief enforcer; formerly)
- Giovanni (capo) †
- Rinaldi (capo) †
- Marco (enforcer) †
- Anatoly (enforcer) †
- Charlie (enforcer)
Fish Mooney's gang[]
- Fish Mooney (capo; formerly) †
- Butch Gilzean (enforcer; formerly) †
- Oswald Cobblepot (assistant; formerly)
- Frankie (executioner) †
- Timothy (assistant) †
- 2 Unnamed Thugs (enforcers) †
Russian Mob[]
- Nikolai (capo) †
- Gregor Kasyanov (enforcer) †
- Several Unnamed Members (enforcers) †
Polish Mob[]
Irish Mob[]
Hungarian Mob[]
- Janos Szabo (capo; formerly)
- Two Unnamed Men (enforcer; formerly)
Penguin’s Gang[]
- Oswald Cobblepot (capo; formerly)
- Butch Gilzean (enforcer; formerly)
- Gabe (enforcer; formerly)
- Eye Patch Goon (enforcer; formerly)
- Fedora Goon (enforcer, formerly)
- Asian Goon (enforcer, formerly)
- Long Haired Goon (enforcer, formerly)
- Machine Gun Goons (enforcers, formerly)
- Biker Goons (enforcers, formerly)
Partners[]
- Five crime families
- The Court of Owls
- Kathryn Monroe (representative) †
- Peter Gordon (ruling council) †
- Frank Gordon (ruling council) †
- Gotham City Police Department
- Gillian Loeb (commissioner; defected)
- Harvey Bullock (detective; formerly)
- Odgen Barker †
- Dick Lovecraft (formerly)
- Aubrey James (mayor; pawn)
- † Richard Gladwell (hitman)
- Liza (housekeeper) †
- Bob (torturer) †
- Olga (assistant)
- Carl (assistant)
- Agnes (assassin; formerly)
- Roberto
Locations[]
- Falcone Estate
- Falcone Manor
- Falcone Mansion
- Falcone Lakehouse
- Falcone Warehouse
- Falcone Casino
- Gotham Armory (formerly)
- Meat Packing Plant (formerly)
- Russian's warehouse (formerly)
- Bar Mooney/Oswald’s (formerly)
- Lidia's (formerly)
- Penguin's Warehouse (formerly)
- Indian Hill (formerly)
The Rise and Fall of Sofia Falcone[]
- "You may think you have everything, but there is one thing you don't have. The Falcone name. A name that once accounted for all criminal activity in Gotham. As in one hundred percent."
- —Sofia Falcone to Oswald Cobblepot[src]
When Sofia Falcone and her people came to Gotham City, three of Carmine's old men, including Giovanni and Rinaldi, showed up at her house wanting her to lead the Falcone crime family. Unfortunately for them, Penguin arrived to meet with Sofia while the three men were killed outside by Victor Zsasz.[4]
Lazlo Valentin is hired by Sofia to pose as a serial killer known as “Professor Pyg”, and murder the cops on Penguin’s payroll. During this time, Sofia forced her father's former bookkeeper, Mr. Penn, whom know worked for Penguin, to serve as her spy in Penguin's crime family. After avoiding being killed by Penguin's Men after her deceit was found out, Sofia allied with Barbara Kean and her associates Tabitha Galavan and Selina Kyle. They later kidnapped a young boy named Martin, whom Penguin was close with and treated like a son, and tried using him as leverage to make Penguin hand over control of the underworld. Penguin claimed to submit, but then afterwards blew up the car that Martin was in, declaring war against Sofia. Unbeknownst to Sofia, Martin had survived and was sent somewhere safe by Penguin and Zsasz.
Sofia and The Sirens were later met by Carmine at Falcone Manor, who expressed his disappointment in Sofia, revealing that Penguin had reached out to him and he had come to take Sofia home and end her plans of taking control of Gotham. However, before they could leave, they were attacked by a group of hitmen, who were hired by Sofia, and Carmine was killed in the gunfire, with Sofia being shot in the waist and presumably paralyzed as a result. In actuality, Sofia was shot in non vital areas by Valentin from afar to make it appear she was paralyzed. Word began spreading in the streets that Penguin ordered Falcone's murder, and Sofia used this to manipulate Gordon to begin striking back against Penguin's Men.
Believing the rumors of Penguin's role in Falcone's murder, Zsasz betrayed Penguin and gave Martin's location to Sofia. Later on, Sofia told Gordon about Martin's supposed death, and Gordon used this to arrest Penguin, with Zsasz testifying against him. Penguin was arrested and sent to Arkham Asylum, and Martin was captured by Sofia's men as a result, with her using him as leverage if Penguin ever attempted to escape. Sofia then took control of Gotham's Underworld and reestablished the Falcone crime family, with Zsasz as her right hand man, and The Sirens as her partners. After finding out of her partnership with the Pyg, Sofia killed Valentin in front of Gordon and made him hide her role in his murder spree, using their history to gain control over him, and thus the GCPD.[5]
Sometime later, Sofia meets with her sister-in-law, Lee Thompkins, where she requests a 30% tax fee from The Narrows. When Sofia gets tired of waiting for the 30% and wants larger control over The Narrows, Sofia reveals that she has allied with Sampson as she has Leslie's men killed. Sofia declares that Sampson is now running The Narrows for her as she uses a hammer to break Leslie's left hand. Then she has her men throw Leslie on to the streets. Upon hearing about what happened to Leslie, Gordon realizes that Sofia had a hand in the attack and decides to end her reign once and for all.[6]
At some point later, Martin was rescued from the safe house he was being kept at by Edward Nygma, the Riddler, who was working with Penguin. Realizing that soon he would attempt escaping, Sofia ordered Zsasz and Headhunter to go kill Penguin at Arkham. However, Penguin was freed and escaped with Riddler before they could reach him. They later learn that Gordon and Bullock are searching for Mr. Penn, as he has evidence linking him to Sofia's role in the Pyg murders.
While Zsasz and Headhunter were looking for Penguin and Penn, Sofia enlisted The Dentist to torture Nygma into telling them where Penguin is. They were then visited by Victor Fries who gives them a frozen Penguin and demands an $100,000 reward. After receiving word on the location of Mr Penn at the Spa Bo'sh Sumka outside of Gotham near the Tricorner, Sofia left with Zsasz, Headhunter, and three other men to go kill him, while also ordering two of her men to take Nygma to the docks and kill him. After they left, the ice block containing Penguin melted thanks to the device planted by Freeze, and he interrogated the Dentist for her location. However, after informing Lee of her location, Penguin realized Nygma was there and learned from the Dentist that he was being taken to the docks to be killed. Penguin gave up his revenge, and went to the docks, where he killed Sofia's men right before they could kill Nygma, saving his life.
Arriving at the Spa Bo'sh Sumka, a gunfight ensues between Sofia and her men and Gordon and Bullock. When Bullock escapes with Penn, Zsasz and Headhunter give up pursuit and head out for smoothies when they see the police cars come into view. Gordon continued a gunfight with Sofia, and killed her other men, but she managed to wound him. Before she could finish him off, Sofia was shot by Lee. Lee saved Jim afterwards, and he later learned from Bullock that Sofia was put in a coma from her wound.[7]
Sofia's empire crumbled in her absence. all of her capos began carving her remaining territory for themselves. Penguin took over her mansion, and began rebuilding his empire. Lee took back control of the Narrows and drove Sampson and his gang out. Barbara and Tabitha were left without Sofia's protection, and became independent once again.
Sofia’s Family[]
Inner-Circle[]
- Sofia Falcone (boss; comatose)
- Victor Zsasz (underboss; formerly)
- Wendell (enforcer; formerly)
- Chaz Carmichael (enforcer; incarcerated)
- 12 Unnamed Thugs (enforcers) †
- 2 Unnamed Hitmen (hitmen)
The Sirens[]
- Barbara Kean (capo)
- Tabitha Galavan (enforcer) †
- Selina Kyle (enforcer; formerly)
The Narrows[]
- Sampson (capo; formerly)
- 12 Unnamed Thugs (enforcers)
Partners[]
- Gotham City Police Department
- Jim Gordon (captain; formerly)
- Burke (mayor; pawn) †
- Arthur Penn (mole; formerly) †
- Lazlo Valentin (assassin) †
- the Dentist (torturer)
Locations[]
- Falcone Mansion (formerly)
- Siren’s Club (formerly)
- Cherry’s (formerly)
References[]
- ↑ Heller, Bruno (writer) & Cannon, Danny (director) (September 21, 2015). "Rise of the Villains: Damned If You Do...". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 1. FOX.
- ↑ Heller, Bruno (writer) & Cannon, Danny (director) (May 4, 2015). "All Happy Families Are Alike". Gotham. Season 1. Episode 22. FOX.
- ↑ Cannon, Danny (writer) & White, Scott (director) (March 28, 2016). "Wrath of the Villains: Prisoners". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 16. FOX.
- ↑ McKenzie, Ben (writer) & Fink, Kenneth (director) (October 13, 2017). "A Dark Knight: The Demon's Head". Gotham. Season 4. Episode 4. FOX.
- ↑ Cannon, Danny (writer) & Stephens, John (director) (December 7, 2017) "A Dark Knight: Queen Takes Knight". Gotham. Season 4. Episode 11. FOX.
- ↑ Blake, Peter (writer) & Frost, Annabelle K. (director) (March 15, 2018) "A Dark Knight: Reunion". Gotham. Season 4. Episode 14.
- ↑ Boston, Seth (writer) & Copus, Nick (director) (March 22, 2018) "A Dark Knight: The Sinking Ship, The Grand Applause". Gotham. Season 4. Episode 15.