NPCS

Where possible, I've provided pictures from BTAS or TLH to give some impresssion of the NPCs. Where it's not possible I've given a picture from the American Memory collection that I think fits.

I've tried to give updates for all the character as well as we begin the Leap Of Faith...

COWARDLY AND SUPERSTITIOUS - THE CRIMINALS

"It was a small town bank.
It was a mess.
Well, I had a gun.
You know the rest.
Money on the floorboards.
She was covered in blood and she was crying.
Her and me we headed south.
On Highway 29." --- Bruce Springsteen, Highway 29

Carmine "The Roman" Falcone. Cappi Di Tutti Cappi. He is the head of organized crime in Gotham City and Chicago as well as some of Metropolis, and much of New York City. He has three children. About six months ago, he was assaulted in his penthouse by the Catwoman (thought before the incident to be working for Batman), resulting in the scars on his right cheek and a five-week hospital stay. His absence from running the family for that time exacerbated the conflicts in the family. Carla Falcone Viti is the Roman's sister. The Vitis are a probably the most restive of the Falcone family branches and if trouble comes from inside, it's thought to be from the Vitis that it's likely to come. Bobby Gazzo, Esq. is the consigliere of the Falcone family. The Gazzos are to Metropolis what the Falcones are to Gotham City, and Bobby's presence is one of the "gestures of respect" between these two brutal families.

As the Leap of Faith opens, it has been several months since the Ghosts of Gotham broke up the Roman's money laundering operations. He remains at large and in control of the underworld.

The Roman has three children: The oldest is Sofia Falcone Gigante, married to Vincenzo Gigante in order to cement relations between the two families. Sofia is known as something of a troubleshooter for the Roman, but perhaps thankfully, she is currently in Europe where she lives in a villa in Spain with her husband, who is on the lam from U.S. authorities. Mario Falcone is the Roman's oldest son and is well-known to be considered the scion of the family. However, after he was involved in a knife fight at the age of 15, he was deported to Italy and has not been seen in America for some time. The Roman's youngest son, Alberto Falcone, is not in the family business by the express decree of his father. He recently returned from Oxford, where he graduated from business school - this did not make him less of a nonentity.

The rest of the Roman's organization is also alive and well during the Leap of Faith...although it's been damaged in various ways by the Ghosts.

[ Boss Maroni ] Salvatore "The Boss" Maroni. Falcone's chief rival, Boss Maroni is the son of Luigi "Big Lou" Maroni. Although "Big Lou" still has authority over the Maroni family, it's no secret that he intends to retire soon and pass the reins to Salvatore. A "family man" from an early age, Boss Maroni is brutal and uneducated, but with a deadly cunning and an awful temper. His turf is chiefly Chicago, but recently he has displayed ambitions to move into Gotham City as well. The Roman has had difficulty containing Maroni. Currently the Maronis are supposed to be paying tribute to the Falcones, but they've stopped, and there's a somewhat deadly and chilling silence around the subject. The Roman is not just yet ready to crack down and the Maronis are not just yet ready to force him to. The Maroni family does a lot of different things, but narcotics is their main gig in Gotham City, and it's the means by which they finance most of their other operations. It costs a lot of money to set up a criminal empire, particularly when the currently-supreme criminal empire is not friendly. Thus a flood of narcotics has swamped the streets of Gotham City since the Maronis have started to expand. Umberto Maroni and Pino Maroni are two of the Boss' cousins, and favored enforcers. Anthony Zucco is a nephew of Boss Maroni through his sister. He has a good deal of influence over trucking & transportation concerns, including the smuggling that goes along with it. He is also able to muster some union muscle, although since the decline of the blue collar industries in the city, this influence has not gone as far as it used to. At the beginning of the Leap of Faith, the Maronis are largely under the control of the Roman because of the severe damage done to the organization by the Ghosts.

Micky "The Mink" Sullivan and Donald "Donny Boy" Sullivan. Heads of a smaller gang colloquially called "The Irish", these two young men are Irish expatriates who were informally deported for arms dealing. Their gang is usually called "The Irish", collectively. Currently they pay tribute to the Falcones, but regularly trouble erupts over it, as the Sullivans are perenially trying to get out from under the Roman's thumb. The Irish are getting eviscerated by the Ghosts, Batman and Captain Gordon at the beginning of the Leap of Faith.

Jefferson Skeevers and Eddie Skeevers. Heads of a smaller gang, the Skeevers boys have an organization that is just one step up from being just a bunch of hoods. Small-time crooks who nonetheless have big plans. Currently they pay tribute to the Falcones. The Skeevers handle most of the importing, trafficking and exporting of stolen goods, both for themselves and the Falcones. It is an open secret that they do some work for independents as well, but so long as they don't rub the Roman's nose in it, nothing is likely to come of ut. They've retreated beneath the protection of the Roman at the start of the Leap of Faith as Harvey Dent and Captain Gordon hit them hard.

[ Picture of the Joker ] The Joker. The Joker exploded onto headlines in the last few months when out of nowhere he poisoned a judge and stole the Clarridge Diamond. He then held the Gotham reservoir hostage, threatening to dump his new and horrific Jokertoxin into it before finally being stopped by the Batman. The Joker's true identity remains a mystery. Current status: in a wild shootout with police during his last breakout attempt, the Joker was riddled with bullets and fell off a building at Gotham Landfill. No body was found.
[ Kind to animals ] Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot. Although he certainly has not been in the public eye, or even under the scrutiny of the authorities, the rotund and rather-too-clever Penguin has been managed to carve himself a very small and unobtrusive niche in the underworld as a fence, money launderer and information broker. This niche was obliterated by the Ghosts and Cobblepot remains a wanted fugitive at the beginning of the Leap of Faith.

Edward Nygma, aka The Riddler

The Riddler led the authorities and the heroes on a months-long chase that culminated in a rooftop chase through the abandoned Battergate neighborhood. He is currently incarcerated in Arkham Asylum. Another ominous Riddler pic.

Dr. Johnathan Crane aka The Scarecrow

Abused and overlooked, brilliant psychologist Johnathan Crane strangled his mother on Mother's Day and embarked upon a spree of terror as the Scarecrow, armed with fear-inducing psychoactives. The Scarecrow being processed at Arkham Asylum.

Ricky Bagando

The Mission Park Projects arsonist and the Piper's Nemesis. He is currently at large after a judge released him on a technicality.

[ Mrowr! ] Catwoman. This mysterious thief has become well-known across the city for her daring nighttime burglaries from the wealthy and powerful. Some (although definitely not all) of her profit has gone to the less fortunate, which makes her a little bit popular in parts of town where the poor are. Few have any illusions that she's anything like a Robin Hood, though. In the end, she's almost certainly in the game for herself. The Catwoman is currently at large.

GCPD BLUE

Captain James Gordon. Recently promoted, James Gordon is one of the good cops of the city, and, currently, a darling of the media. Originally from Chicago, he first made a name for himself in the very first investigation of the Batman's activities. He's married to Barbara Gordon and has a newborn son James Jr.. The current commissioner of police, Richard Grogan, suspects Gordon of having designs on his office. Grogan's predecessor, Commissioner Gillian Loeb was forced to resign under a cloud when Gordon's investigation put him and Lieutenant Bert Flass in connection with the Roman's organization. Thus Grogan consistently does his best to hobble Gordon's work when possible, all the while searching for some dirt on him. The worst he can find is that Gordon works entirely too hard and his marriage is under a lot of strain. Gordon is a favorite of the media. The media is not a favorite of Gordon.

[ Ew.
Bullock
in civvies. ] Officer Harvey Bullock. Just promoted from foot patrol to a motor patrol, Harvey Bullock is well on his way to developing quite an impressive spare tire. He already has a permanent five o'clock shadow and smokes too much and his uniform is always in a slovenly condition.
Detective Sarah Essen. She's an attractive blond, but she's absolute steel when it comes to chasing down a case. Another of Gordon's true believers. Perhaps at least in part because they have an on-again off-again affair.

Lieutentant Clancy O'Hara. Lieutenant O'Hara is just about as Irish as his name sounds, and, with Sarah Essen, is one of Captain Gordon's hand-picked team of police. Unlike Essen, O'Hara is a longtime GCPD officer whose past is a little bit on the checkered side.

Officer Veronica "Ronnie" Hopkins

"Hi mom, it's Ronnie, how was your New Years, oh, mine was fine, this bald-headed psycho tried to nerve gas two hundred people, my new partner extorts pills from a pharmacy to support his habit and is so crooked his girlfriend had to learn yoga, and oh? What's that? Have I met anyone? Yeah. I met this guy who carries a scythe, dresses in a cloak, likes to meet on rooftops, oh, and he says he's dead. So how's Dad?" (From Ronnie's thought balloon in the second issue.)

Ronnie is a contact of the Decedent. She encountered him when she was chasing two liquor store robbers. She is a good cop, well-trained with a shotgun, and is very aggressive. She's also riding a fine edge with her supervisor and partner, who are both crooked as can be. Helping the Decedent is important to her.

Officer Frank Finerty

Ronnie's partner.

Eddy Crawford

A city Harbor Inspector. A contact of Ramona's.

CITIZENS

District Attorney Harvey Dent. Assistant DA Harvey Dent brutalized his former boss, Allen Buonacida in the last election and is popular in both the media and the city. Dent himself is dedicated with a fiery passion to the war on crime in Gotham City. Indeed, until a few months ago, he was one of the people most widely suspected of being Batman. He recently married Gilda Graham, the daughter of a prestigious U.S. Senator.

Dr. Jeremiah Arkham. Head of the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, grandson of the famous and disturbed founder of the asylum, and a highly thought-of criminal psychologist.

Batman. Known as some kind of mysterious vigilante, the Batman is one of the main topics of speculation and argument around the city. Particularly controversial is the recent installation of a large spotlight with a bat-shaped sillhouette on the roof of the GCPD. This "batsignal" raises quite a number of questions about his collusion with police to infringe on the rights of the accused - at least that's what some say.

Jessica Langley

Jessica, possessing a slightly kinked mind, is a junior reporter for the tabloidy Gotham Daily Post. Her stories are considered rather outre even for the wild-eyed and bloody publication. She is a contact of Sanction, who she believes to be from the future. She does know his secret identity as Templeton Drake, but keeps it a secret in return for more information.

Father Pat

A priest who works at the Gotham Cathedral and the Old Gotham Catholic Soup Kitchen. A contact of Drake's.

Peytr Kronovich

An underground doctor, an emigre from Russia and a Follower of Sanction's.

"Dice" Cardone

An ex-con who is currently the short-order cook at Suzy's Grill. Contact of Sanction's. [ Dr. Quinzel
]

Dr. Harleen Quinzel

A former resident at the Gotham Central Mental Health Clinic, she has taken an interest in the "theme-spree criminal" after she did the initial evaluation of the Calendar Man. She has recently been hired at Arkham Asylum for her ground-breaking research in the area.

Talia Al-Ghul

This beautiful and mysterious woman came to the city looking for the Decedent's deceased wife. She described their deaths as arranged by her father and the Decedent as a failure. Her whereabouts are currently unknown.

Sam Chambers

An arson investigator who was fired for comparing the blaze at Mason Investigations to the horrific Mission Park Projects fire. [ In the
morgue ]

Archibald McKay, M.D.

The Gotham City Coroner. A contact of the Decedent. He really is a better medical examiner than the job calls for. He sometimes gets the word that something has to be an accident when it's clearly not, or to get rid of ballistic evidence when it is inconvenient. Passing information to the Decedent helps him keep his job and still do it.

Steven Hanley

An international trade executive for LexCorp - Midori's supervisor and friend.

Nate Perkins

A city Health Inspector. A contact of Ramona's.

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