DC Database

Arthur Reeves was a corrupt Gotham City councilman.

Reeves was a lawyer for the financier Carl Beaumont and through him, acquainted with his daughter Andrea. Beaumont was involved with mobster Sal Valestra, but fled when he owed the mob money and the situation became too dangerous for his family.

Short on money for his ambitious political campaign, Reeves turned to Beaumont but was denied. So he turned to Valestra, betraying his former boss' location. Valestra, realizing the value of an ally inside the Council, bankrolled his rise in politics. With Reeves in the Council, Valestra's empire flourished.

When a mysterious new vigilante started murdering members of Valestra's gang, Reeves was quick to pin it on the Batman. Valestra convened with him to inquire about Batman's motivations, but Reeves brushed him off - Valestra was old and frail and his empire was crumbling down, so Reeves no longer needed him. In rage, Valestra sent another old associate of his after Reeves - the man who had by now become the Joker.

Joker knew the killer was not Batman, and thought Reeves was behind it all, murdering all the witnesses to his corrupt career. Just when Reeves tried to deny it, Andrea called him. Joker, after figuring out it was her, poisoned Reeves with his venom. Though stuck with a grin, he was still alive and hospitalized. Batman paid him a visit and learned that he was indirectly responsible for everything.[1]

With his political career in ruins and the toxin lingering in his body, Reeves went insane and swore revenge on Batman and the Phantasm. A final confrontation with the murderous vigilante ended when he was tricked by her cape and fell off a balcony to his death.


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