- "My mother was a cold-hearted whore who never loved anyone. And she'd never touch a pathetic old creep like you."
- —Jerome Valeska to Paul Cicero[src]
Lila Valeska was a snake dancer who worked at Haly's Circus's sideshow. She was the mother of Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska and the sister of Zachary Trumble.
Biography[]
Background[]
At some point in time, Lila had a relationship with Paul Cicero, who she conceived Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska with.[1] When Jeremiah began spreading lies of Jerome tormenting him with acts such as threatening him with a steak knife and lighting his bed on fire, Lila sent him to go and live with her brother Zachary Trumble in Gotham City in order to protect him. This would be the last time she would ever see her other son again, and Jerome continued to reside with her at the circus. Jeremiah's lies, on top with her alcoholism, caused Lila to physically abuse Jerome.[2]
According to Jerome, when the circus traveled to Kansas City at the time of his 9th birthday, his mother along with a man both boozed, boned, and beat him up. When he was crying outside the trailer, Cicero told him that the world didn't care about him and that it was better to realize it then.[3]
Lila also was known for sleeping with other performers at the sideshow, which Jerome criticized. The two men she caught the attention of were Lloyd
Two months before the death of Martha and Thomas Wayne, the entire Wayne family was enjoying a night out at a circus when they encountered Jerome who continously acted rude and hurled veiled threats at the family. During the argument Lila barged in and angrily pulled Jerome into her trailer, an action which drew criticism from Alfred Pennyworth.
Death[]
When the circus came to Gotham City, Jerome murdered her with a hatchet on a hill and mister Cicero lets him cleans up in his trailer. He told him to scratch the satanic stuff on the hatchet and threw the murder weapon off Arkham Bridge. The body was discovered and hidden by the circus performers, who intended to find the killer themselves and carry out vigilante justice, but this was prevented when Detective Jim Gordon found the body and investigated the case.
Gordon eventually deduced that Jerome was responsible and that Cicero is his father. In the interrogation room Jerome broke down into maniacal laughter, and referred to his mother as a drunken whore and that he killed her because she kept nagging him.[1]
Personality[]
- "Your mother was a cruel woman. She was often unkind to me, but she did once love me in her way. And she loved you very much. That's why she gave you a better father."
- —Paul Cicero to Jerome Valeska[src]
Lila was known for being a cruel woman, having abused her son Jerome and looking the other way when her then-lover would abuse him in turn. She did however show care for her son Jeremiah who she arranged to be sent away after being led to believe that he was being abused by his brother. Following the revelation that Jeremiah had partially fabricated some of his accounts of abuse at his brother's hands, it is thus unknown if Lila's cruelty only extended as far as her former lover Paul Cicero along with a misguided desire to punish Jerome presumably for Jeremiah's testimony against him.
Appearances[]
Season 1
Season 2
Season 4
Season 5
Novels |
Trivia[]
- Lila Valeska marks the first time in live-action media that the 'Joker's mother' has appeared. The second time is in the 2019 film Joker, in which she is identified as Penny Fleck.
- During her first and only appearance on the show, Lila is only ever shown lifeless, having already been murdered by her son. The tie-in novel Gotham: Dawn of Darkness set mostly two months before the pilot episode's events is the only known instance showing Lila Valeska alive and well. It is also known to be her only other appearance in the show's universe.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Heller, Bruno (writer) & Hunter, Jeffrey (director) (February 16, 2015). "The Blind Fortune Teller". Gotham. Season 1. Episode 16. FOX.
- ↑ Huston, Charlie (writer) & McKenzie, Ben (director) (March 29, 2018) "A Dark Knight: One of My Three Soups". Gotham. Season 4. Episode 16.
- ↑ Stephens, John (writer) & Egilsson, Eagle (director) (October 5, 2015). "Rise of the Villains: The Last Laugh". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 3. FOX.