| Sofia Falcone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Batman: The Long Halloween #6 (May1997) |
| Created by | Jeph Loeb Tim Sale |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Sofia Falcone |
| Species | Human |
| Notable aliases | The Hangman |
Sofia Falcone, also known asSofia Gigante, is afictionalcharacter appearing inDC Comics, primarily in association with the characterBatman. Debuting in the 1996–97comic booklimited seriesBatman: The Long Halloween byJeph Loeb andTim Sale, she is introduced as a member of the Falcone crime family, who assists her fatherCarmine Falcone in unearthing the identity of the "Holiday Killer", a serial killer who had been killingGotham City's citizens in correlation with holidays in the yearly calendar.
In the 1999–2000 limited seriesBatman: Dark Victory which served as a continuation of the arc established inThe Long Halloween, Sofia is revealed as the identity behind the murderer known under the aliasthe Hangman, who had spent over a year targeting and eliminating various members of theGotham City Police Department, notably in association with former district attorney-turned criminal,Harvey Dent / Two-Face, who ends up killing her during a lengthy confrontation with Batman himself.
The character made her live-action debut in the 2017–2018fourth season of the television seriesGotham, portrayed byCrystal Reed. She also appears in the 2024HBO television miniseriesThe Penguin set inThe Batman shared universe, portrayed byCristin Milioti.
Sofia Falcone first appeared inJeph Loeb andTim Sale's 1996 miniseriesBatman: The Long Halloween as the daughter of crime lordCarmine Falcone.[1] She returned in the sequelBatman: Dark Victory, where she became the Hangman killer to avenge her father's death.[2]
Loeb stated in an interview that he paralleled the Falcone family to that of theCorleone family, with Sofia's temper matching that ofSonny Corleone.[citation needed]
When theHoliday Killer started killing members of the Falcone family, Carmine has his daughter Sofia released from prison early to help him find who the killer was.
In the end, the killer was apparently revealed to beAlberto Falcone, Carmine's son and Sofia's brother. Afterwards, Carmine was killed by Gotham's district attorney Harvey Dent, who becameTwo-Face after having his face splashed with acid, and Sofia fell out of the Falcone's penthouse window after being attacked byCatwoman.
Sofia is revealed to have survived her fall, now in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace, and is the new head of the Falcone family. Meanwhile, a new serial killer known as the Hangman is killing the cops of Gotham City with a noose, striking on holidays and leaving an incomplete hangman puzzle with each victim. The first half of the year, the victims are all cops who in some way assisted in Harvey Dent's rise to power in Gotham before he became Two-Face, while from April Fool's onwards the victims are all part of the task force Gordon has assembled to investigate the hangman killings.
In the end, Sofia is revealed to be the killer, having faked her paralysis. She kills her brother Alberto for being a "disappointment" to the family, and then tries to kill Two-Face, but Batman stops her. While she is battling him, Two-Face shoots her in the head.
Sofia Falcone appears inBatman: The Long Halloween, Part Two, voiced by Laila Berzins.[6]
