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Quote1 Against my will, our marriage was annulled and our child... ripped from my womb. What they did to me, the way it was done, left me broken... I wanted justice. I came to Gotham and married the man I thought had the best chance of delivering it. Harvey and I were so much alike. Only what was inside him hadn't yet been ripped out. Quote2
Gilda Dent src

Gilda Dent is Harvey Dent's depressed and emotionally distant wife, who became the serial killer Holiday to seek vengeance against the Falcone Crime Family.

Early life

Gilda attended law school at the University of Oxford, where she met Alberto Falcone, son of the Gotham City crime lord Carmine Falcone. Alberto and Gilda fell in love, married, and soon discovered they were expecting a child. However, when Carmine learned that their child had been conceived out of wedlock, he forced the two to get an annulment. Additionally, against Gilda's will, Carmine had her child aborted.

Carmine's actions left Gilda psychologically scarred, and she fell into a state of depression. Gilda later married Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, who began working tirelessly alongside Batman and Captain James Gordon to topple the Falcone Crime Family. Though Gilda loved Harvey, she was horrified whenever he suggested that they start a family, as he was unaware of her past at the time. Additionally, Harvey's tireless crusade against the Falcone family meant Gilda was perpetually home alone, leaving her without emotional support and worsening her depression.

The Long Halloween

After some time, Gilda snapped and decided to seek revenge against the Falcone family. On Halloween night, Gilda donned a trench coat and fedora as a disguise and, using leftover baby bottle nipples as pistol silencers, she murdered Carmine's nephew Johnny Viti (who at the time was working as an informant for her husband). At the scene of the crime, she left the pistol and a jack-o-lantern decoration. Harvey arrived home to find that Gilda forgot to put a bowl of candy on their porch for trick-or-treaters. He found Gilda smoking cigarettes on the porch, lost in thought. Gilda cheered up after seeing her husband, and said that she wanted to watch a movie with him in bed. However, the Bat-Signal was activated, so Harvey had to leave, and Gilda was left alone.

When Harvey returned later that night, he found Gilda still in the backyard, sitting on the swing. Gilda begged Harvey to stay, and he assured her that once he had taken down the Falcones, he would have more time for her they would be able to start a family. As Harvey carried Gilda to their house, it exploded due to a bomb planted by Mickey Chen, injuring Harvey. On Thanksgiving, Gilda again donned her disguise to murder Chen and his associates in the same manner she killed Viti, leaving the pistol and a Thanksgiving decoration. As Harvey recovered, Alberto sent flowers addressed to Gilda to Harvey's hospital room, though he told Carmine that he only did so to make it seem as if the Falcone family was not responsible for the bombing of the Dents' house.

Batman began investigating Gilda's murders, and by Christmas she was being referred to by the nickname "Holiday". On Christmas Eve, after the Joker invaded the Falcone penthouse, Gilda killed Carmine's bodyguard. On New Years' Eve, Harvey and Gilda attended the festivities in Gotham Square, but began to argue, as Gilda was angry with Harvey over her perpetual loneliness. When Harvey again brought up having a child with Gilda, Gilda became hysterical, claiming that she could not and did not want to. Harvey's attempts to calm her down were unsuccessful, and the two disappeared into the crowd as the Joker attacked Gotham Square. Gilda boarded the Falcone yacht, where she killed Alberto for failing to stand up to his father. Batman chased Gilda but was unable to catch her.

Gilda continued to kill members of the Falcone and Maroni Crime Families through Valentines' Day, Saint Patrick's Day, and April Fools' Day. On Mothers' Day, she murdered the gunmaker who was supplying her with the pistols, and on Fathers' Day, she murdered Sal Maroni's father Luigi. Suspicions began to emerge that Harvey was Holiday, diverting attention away from Gilda. On the Fourth of July, Gilda and Harvey attended the fireworks display at the Gotham boardwalk; when Carmine walked by them, he seemed particularly disgusted to see Gilda. A hitman then attempted to kill Harvey and knocked him unconscious, but Gilda proceeded to kill the hitman. After Carla Viti, Carmine's sister, began accusing Harvey of being Holiday, so Gilda retaliated by killing her on Carmine's birthday - the same day Sal Maroni threw a vial of acid at Harvey's face.

Batman initially suspected Harvey was Holiday, but began to realize it was Gilda when he investigated the Dent residence and discovered Oxford memorabilia in their basement. His suspicions were confirmed on Labor Day, when both Harvey (now calling himself Two-Face) and Holiday appeared separately to kill Maroni during a transfer. Harvey was apprehended on Halloween and claimed responsibility for all the Holiday killings, but Batman, knowing the truth, confronted Gilda at her house while she burned all incriminating evidence. Gilda confessed her crimes to Batman but was unrepentant, stating that she did not regret killing anyone - even Alberto - and seeing what it did to the Falcone family. Batman left the Dent residence in silence and did not answer Gilda when she asked if he was going to turn her in.


Abilities

Other Characteristics


Related

Footnotes


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Batman Villain(s)
This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."

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