Jerome Valeska

Jerome Valeska is one of the main antagonists in the live-action TV series *Gotham*, appearing in season 1 of the series, and serving as the main antagonist during the first half of season 2, then the quaternary antagonist of the third season. He is the former leader of The Maniax and a terrorist mastermind who enjoys massacring Gotham. He is the show's incarnation of The Joker.

## History

### After murdering his mother

He is investigated by James Gordon and by his own father, facing charges of family murder.

He explains that his mother is a nagging drunken whore and that he wanted her to die, actually laughing at her death.
He was later sent to the Arkham Asylum.

### Creating The Maniax

He hires Theo Galavan as a sensei for a criminal organization named the Maniax and claims him and Tabitha as his own mercenaries. When they come to help him convince the asylum inmates to join The Maniax and Robert Greenwood asks what the place is, Jerome explains that in Gotham things are looking up, impressing them about his new idea. When Theo speaks to them about crime being charisma, Jerome reveals himself as the one to hire them Theo as their sensei, and states he is "singing his own song". However, Tabitha then kills a guy who refused to join the Maniax, as Jerome started laughing due to success.

### Leading The Maniax

He and The Maniax capture people and throw them off the roof, spelling a letter on each hostage shirt. After they fell one next to the other, the word Maniax was written on the floor when they were lying dead next to one another. He later gets equipped with a sword while he is trained by Theo with Greenwood, however, Greenwood takes the sword from him. Theo tells them to stop fighting, and gives them both control on a fake gun, and declares Jerome as the winner for proving Greenwood to be suicidal, thus letting him take the sword back. Jerome then takes his Maniax and orders them to bomb up a school buss, which got held by them and rescued later by Gordon. They later sabotage the police in disguise, in part of a plan to kill Essen and drive a police car to his father's house. He then confronts his father with his mercenary Tabitha and reveals his father that he is doing everything as a plan to revenge him and take over Gotham. He kills his father and injures James Gordon who came to fight the criminals.

### Death

He then goes to sabotage audience and kill Bruce disguised in a show, as he acknowladges Gordon about his plans on his webcam device. He and disguised Barbara then pretend to put on a show for the audience, as Theo says it's enough madness, willing to save the audience and remain mayor. However, Barbara hits him with a mallet, causing him to faint. He then calls Bruce and grabs his throat, intending to kill him. However, Gordon and Theo interfere, distracting him from his target, and Theo stabs him on the neck, letting all the citizens run run out and Barbara disappear. He dies after his last laughter.

### Revival

He was later sent to the Arkham Asylum for care, however, he has only disguised as dead, as he brainwashed people around him to laugh and kill, as he did. He later plans an escape as he and the rest of the Maniax sit in an escaping buss, all reanimated.