Joseph Chill (Arkhamverse)

Status

Occupation

Criminal

Characteristics

Gender

Male

Origin

Universe

Arkhamverse

Creators

Bill Finger · Bob Kane

First Appearance
Batman: Arkham Asylum (August 25, 2009)

See that, kid? That's what happens when you try to be a hero.

— Joe Chill ^src

Joe Chill is the man who killed Batman's parents.

History

Joe Chill was a petty criminal who murdered Bruce Wayne's parents Thomas and Martha Wayne as they where walking through Crime Alley behind the Monarch Theater with their son. Chill's murder of his parents drove Bruce Wayne to eventually become Gotham's Caped Crusader, Batman. Chill's motivation was to simply rob the Wayne's of their money and jewelry, but things quickly escalated out of control when Thomas tried to defend his family, resulting in Chill killing the couple in cold blood, leaving young Bruce alive.

He was later arrested on an unrelated charge and sent to Blackgate Penitentiary. Joe had no desire to leave, both out of guilt for his murder of the Wayne and fear for what would happen if their son figured out his identity. Harvey Dent, a childhood friend of Bruce, discovered the truth of Joe's past and, after his descent into madness, kidnapped Joe. Batman came to his rescue, revealing himself to be Bruce Wayne in an attempt to appeal to Harvey's humanity. He allowed the horrified Joe to escape, knowing his worse fears were proven correct.^[1]

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

Firearms

Paraphernalia

Equipment

The Handgun: Being a petty criminal, Chill used an ordinary handgun to threaten the Wayne's in Crime Alley, however ended up shooting the Wayne's when Thomas Wayne tried to defend his wife and child.

Notes

This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of the Arkhamverse video game series and is an adaptation of Joe Chill. The original character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics #33.
Joe Chill was voiced by Duane R. Shepard Sr. for Batman: Arkham Asylum, Glenn Wrage for Batman: Arkham VR, and Armin Shimerman for Batman: Arkham Shadow.

Trivia

In Arkham Knight, several of Batman's fear toxin induced hallucinations of Joker allude to Chill, even goading Batman into using a illusionary "gun" on Scarecrow during their confrontation on Simon Stagg's airship, by comparing Crane to his parents murderer.