Gaming & Comics
In Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman,’ Sal Maroni has a strong presence as a DC Comics villain without ever appearing, but he could always return in a sequel DCEU movie.
Published on April 24, 2022
2 min readIn Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Sal Maroni had his name-dropped several times by Carmine Falcone (John Turturro). However, the Batman villain never actually appeared to fight Batman (Robert Pattinson) or Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz). As fans watch or re-watch The Batman on HBO Max, they ask again who the mysterious Salvatore Maroni is in DC Comics and the wider DC Extended Universe?
Who is Batman villain Sal Maroni in DC Comics?
In The Batman, Sal Maroni operated as a gangster before Carmine Falcone brought him down, long before he could terrorize Pattinson’s Dark Knight. While the Gotham City mobster never appeared in the DC Universe movie, he has hugely influenced Bruce Wayne over the years.
As a Gotham City organized crime leader, he has appeared in the Tim Burton and Michael Keaton Batman movies, the Dark Knight trilogy, the Gotham TV series, and even animated media like Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: The Killing Joke.
In DC Comics, he’s considered one of the most dangerous Gotham City crime lords, just behind Carmine Falcone. He’s usually credited for burning Harvey Dent’s face, turning him into Two-Face. He even has ties to the Batman villain Tony Zucco, the man responsible for killing Dick Grayson, aka Robin’s, parents.
However, Matt Reeves chose to shroud Sal Maroni in a bit more mystery in The Batman.
Who is Salvatore Maroni in Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’?
In The Batman, Sal Maroni was a mobster ultimately brought down by Carmine Falcone. As Batman worked to stop the Riddler (Paul Dano), the mystery of his parents’ deaths came up repeatedly. One of the biggest mysteries Batman tackled revolved around how the GCPD brought charges against Maroni. The Riddler teased the message “el rata alada.”
This led to Batman figuring out the identity of “The Rat,” who made arresting Maroni possible.
2. Who was the rat?
Rataalada. Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) was the rat. Years prior to the events of The Batman, he tipped the police off to his main competitor in organized crime in Gotham, Salvatore Maroni, which led to the biggest drug bust in Gotham history. pic.twitter.com/jH9SkdO9Qf
— Fatherly (@FatherlyHQ) March 10, 2022Carmine Falcone, Sal Maroni, Thomas, and Martha Wayne all had connections. However, as Batman uncovered more shocking clues with Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), the details twisted to form a picture.
Falcone exposed Sal Maroni in The Batman universe to eliminate his competition and secure more of Thomas Wayne’s Renewal Fund. However, while Salvatore Maroni does not have the power he once did, fans might wonder if he could return.
Could the villain appear in a sequel to the Robert Pattinson movie?
Matt Reeves has already revealed that he has big ideas for The Batman sequels. With Colin Farrell set to return as the Penguin in a spinoff series and a GCPD TV show in the works, more Batman villains could surface.
Also, all of this talk of Sal Maroni means we have to be getting Harvey Dent / Two-Face soon. Remember, Maroni is the one who threw all the acid on Dent in the first place. #TheBatman pic.twitter.com/2PTY2cCEZI
— José Youngs (@JoseYoungs) March 9, 2022The Joker, played by Barry Keoghan, was already teased before The Batman end credits rolled. And with some theories suggesting Two-Face could stand as the villain of The Batman 2, Sal Maroni would perfectly compliment the crooked Harvey Dent.
Until Matt Reeves and Warner Bros. dropped more detail about the next Dark Knight adventure, fans can watch The Batman on HBO Max.
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