Joe Chill
| Joe Chill | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #33 (November 1939), Named: Batman #47 (June–July 1948) |
| Created by |
Bill Finger Bob Kane |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Joseph Chilton |
Joe Chill is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as a villain in stories featuring Batman. In many versions of Batman's origin story, he is a mugger who murders young Bruce Wayne's parents, thus making him indirectly responsible for Batman's existence.
Joe Chill first appears in Detective Comics #33 and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.
Not much is known about Chill except that he is, in most versions of Batman, a petty mugger who kills Bruce's parents Thomas and Martha while trying to take their money and jewelry. When he demands Martha's necklace, Thomas moves to protect his wife and Chill kills him; he then kills Martha when she screams for help (In one Golden Age version, Martha dies from a heart attack brought on from the shock of seeing her husband murdered). Chill panics and runs away when Bruce begins crying and calling for help — but not before the boy memorizes his features. In at least three versions of the Batman mythos, the Waynes' killer is never identified.
Batman's origin story is first established in a sequence of panels in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939) that is later reproduced in the comic book Batman #1 (Spring 1940), but the mugger is not given a name until Batman #47 (June–July 1948). In that issue, Batman discovers that Joe Chill, the small-time crime boss he is investigating, is none other than the man who killed his parents. Batman confronts him with the knowledge that Chill killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. Chill, believing there is no way Batman could know this, accuses him of bluffing, but Batman reveals his secret identity quoting "I'm the son of the man you murdered. I'm Bruce Wayne." Terrified, Chill flees and seeks protection from his henchmen. Once his henchmen learn that Chill's actions led to the hated Batman's existence, however, they turn on their boss and gun him down before realizing how priceless his knowledge of Batman's true identity is. Before the dying Chill has a chance to reveal Batman's identity, the Dark Knight intervenes and knocks out the goons so they will never hear what Chill has to say. Chill expires in Batman's arms, acknowledging that the Dark Knight got his revenge after all. (Len Wein and John Byrne add a one-panel coda in their retelling of this scene in the first issue of The Untold Legend of the Batman. Batman stands over Chill's body and says "No, Chill -- The Batman didn't finish you... It was Bruce Wayne!")
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