With the next two feature films released under DC Universe Animated Original Movies line being a two-part animated adaptation of Batman: The Long Halloween, the 1996 comic book story by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale is poised to thrill a new generation of audiences as it shifts mediums. And while The Long Halloween certainly tells a complete standalone story in its own right, its 1999 sequel Batman: Dark Victory definitively resolved many of the dangling plot threads left by its predecessor in another year-long murder mystery.
The Long Halloween was set during Bruce Wayne's second year as Batman, with the organized crime elements that had long plagued Gotham City steadily being replaced by a growing number of supervillains that would go on to make up the Dark Knight's infamous rogues gallery. On Halloween night, a member of the Falcone crime syndicate was found murdered, with the serial killer striking on different holidays each month, initially targeting those linked to the Falcone family before turning their attention to the rival Maroni family. And as the following year's Halloween loomed, in the wake of Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent being transformed into the villainous Two-Face, one of the killers was revealed to be Falcone's son Alberto, before the gunman was brutally subdued by Batman along with the rampaging supervillains.
Dark Victory took place several months after The Long Halloween's bloody conclusion, with the funeral of Carmine Falcone following his murder at Two-Face's hands. Carmine's physically imposing daughter Sofia has since taken control of her father's business while Alberto's Arkham Asylum sentence is changed to become being placed under house arrest due to the severe beating Batman administered when apprehending him. The experiences has left Sofia using a wheelchair to aid in her mobility, while Alberto lost the use of a hand. And as Batman's rogues' gallery menaces Gotham once more and Two-Face escapes from custody, a new Holiday Killer, dubbed the Hangman, targets various members of the police force.
Many of The Long Halloween's themes involved Harvey teetering on the edge as his family history and the pressures of taking down organized crime began to take a toll on his psyche. Dark Victory saw Harvey fully embrace his supervillain destiny, leading the villains against the remnants of the Falcone family and Batman. Dark Victory also definitively ended the Falcone saga itself, with Sofia revealing herself as the Hangman before murdering Alberto for being weak. Sofia herself was killed by Two-Face before he and the assembled villains were defeated by Batman and his new partner Dick Grayson, creating the superhero mantle of Robin.
If The Long Halloween is about the cost of justice and the lonely path Batman and Jim Gordon have chosen for themselves, Dark Victory is about Batman learning to accept help from an unlikely source when he takes in an orphaned Dick. And as the last remnants of organized crime in Gotham are murderously swept away by Two-Face and his ilk, signaling a new era of costumed crime becoming the dominant force in Gotham, the crusading district attorney completes his descent to show just how twisted and mean the city can be for its most virtuous figures.
Dark Victory revealed what happened, not only to the Falcone family, but also to the corrupt police officers that were introduced by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli in Batman: Year One, completing Bruce's rise to become Batman while revealing Selina Kyle's own connection to Carmine Falcone. And now with a Boy Wonder joining him to form a Dynamic Duo, Dark Victory ends on a hopeful note for the Dark Knight as he set out on his never-ending mission with a partner by his side.
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