The Long Halloween

***“The Long Halloween”*** is the third entry in the *Batman novels* series.

The story is told in 13 chapters, each corresponding to a different month and it’s respective holiday, with new villains and characters being introduced and explored throughout each.

## Summary

At a wedding in June, Gotham City mob boss Carmine "The Roman" Falcone tries to pressure Bruce Wayne to help launder his money, but Bruce refuses. Later, Bruce (as Batman) returns to investigate Falcone's penthouse but finds Catwoman similarly engaged. Batman meets with district attorney Harvey Dent and police captain Jim Gordon. The three agree to a pact to end Falcone's crime reign, bending but never breaking the law to achieve it.

Bruce, on the board of the Gotham City Bank, uses his sway and influence as Batman to oust the current president Richard Daniel and take over to rid the bank of its Falcone money. Under orders from his uncle, Falcone's nephew, Johnny Viti, assassinates Daniel. Viti himself is killed on Halloween by an unknown assailant, leaving behind an untraceable pistol, a nipple from a baby bottle used as a crude silencer, and a jack-o-lantern. Catwoman leads Batman to a warehouse where Falcone has been forced to stash his funds. Batman and Dent set the warehouse on fire to destroy the money. Falcone responds by hiring a gang of Irish hitmen to destroy Dent's home with a bomb, but he and his wife Gilda survive. On Thanksgiving, the hitmen themselves are killed by an unknown agent who leaves the same type of pistol and silencer behind, along with a Thanksgiving decoration. Milos Grappa, Falcone's bodyguard, is killed similarly on Christmas. The unknown assailant is given the name "Holiday" and is believed to be a Falcone rival.

On New Year's Eve, Batman stops the Joker from using deadly laughing gas to kill everyone in Gotham Square. Meanwhile, Dent's corrupt assistant, Vernon Fields, finds evidence supposedly linking Falcone to Wayne. Aboard the Falcone yacht, Falcone's son, Alberto, is killed by Holiday on New Year's Eve. Over the next few months, Holiday's targets change to that of the Maronis, a rival crime gang in Gotham. A war between the Falcones and Maronis breaks out, and Falcone is forced to turn to enlist Gotham's "freaks" (such as the Riddler, Poison Ivy, the Scarecrow, and Mad Hatter) to hold his ground. Per Falcone's instructions, Poison Ivy ensnares Bruce Wayne on Valentine's Day, coercing him into laundering money for Falcone. This unintentionally takes Batman out of the equation. It is not until Saint Patrick's Day that Selina Kyle figures out what has happened to him and, as Catwoman, frees him from Poison Ivy's clutches. The Riddler becomes the first target to be spared by Holiday on April Fool's Day, which Batman comes to suspect as being a message from Holiday to Falcone.

Meanwhile, the pistols left behind by Holiday and the bullets gleaned from Holiday's victims are traced to a Chinatown neighborhood, but the gunmaker is found dead as Holiday's victim on Mother's Day. On the following day, Dent follows up on Vernon's investigation and has Bruce arrested, claiming that as Bruce's father Thomas Wayne saved Falcone's life after he was shot, that Bruce is loyal to the Falcones. However, Bruce's butler, Alfred, testifies that Thomas Wayne's report never came to light due to police corruption, which helps declare Bruce innocent, especially in light of the murder of the Gotham City coroner on Independence Day.

Sal Maroni, believing Dent to be Holiday, swears war against Dent personally after his father is killed on Father's Day.

On Falcone's birthday in August, Maroni disfigures half of Dent's face in the courtroom. Dent is rushed to a hospital but escapes into the sewers, befriending Solomon Grundy when he encounters him. Gordon deduces Dent may be Holiday, but Batman refuses to believe it until he can talk to Dent himself.

One month after Falcone's sister, Carla Viti, is murdered, also on Falcone's birthday, Batman questions the Calendar Man, on where to find Dent. Calendar Man suggests that, since it is Labor Day tomorrow, Holiday will try to kill Maroni. Batman stages a plan with Gordon to protect Maroni; however, Holiday seizes the means and opportunity. During the transfer, Holiday murders Maroni, but Gordon – having disguised himself as one of the security guards – takes him down. The guards remove his hat and coat, only to find to their horror that there is nothing underneath.

On Halloween, Dent resurfaces as Two-Face. He releases most of the super-criminals from Arkham, then seeks out and kills both Carmine Falcone and Vernon, despite Batman's attempts to stop him. Falcone's daughter, Sofia, is also apparently killed in a struggle with Catwoman. His revenge complete, Two-Face turns himself in to Gordon and Batman. Batman points out the fact that Two-Face, having killed Falcone and the last of his collaborators on Halloween, could technically be considered Holiday.

Months later, on Christmas Eve, while Two-Face is imprisoned at Arkham along with the recaptured criminals, Gordon helps Gilda pack boxes to leave Gotham.

## Chapters

* 1) The Long Halloween, Part 1
* 2) Thanksgiving
* 3) The Christmas Gift
* 4) New Years’ Day
* 5) Valentine’s Day
* 6) St. Patrick’s Day
* 7) April Fool’s Day
* 8) Mother’s Day
* 9) Father’s Day
* 10) Independence Day
* 11) The Roman’s Birthday
* 12) Labor Day
* 13) The Long Halloween, Part 2