Jerome Valeska/Synopsis

Murdering his Mother
"Why did you kill your mother, Jerome?" "Oh, you know how mothers are. She just kept pushing. And I'm like, 'fine, mom. Be a whore. Be a drunken whore even. But don't be a nagging drunken whore...you know? Don't come yell at me to do the dishes if you've been banging a clown in the next room! You know?""

- Jerome Valeska, exposes his psychopathic profile.

Jerome Valeska is the son of Lila Valeska, a snake dancer at the Flying Graysons carnival. His birth father's identity was apparently kept a secret, he was told that the man died at sea. Jerome had grown with a negative influence on his mother, as she was very mean and hateful to everyone around her. Jerome also learned that she had sex with any male that worked at the carnival while doing the household chores. Due to her life style and the way she treated him by always giving him orders, Jerome hated her and wanted to see her suffer. Given time, Jerome finally snapped and at age 18, he murdered her with a hatchet.

He later faked lack of knowledge of what happened to his mother and faked sadness for her death, although he was eventually caught by James Gordon; he also revealed his accomplice, Jerome's biological father - Cicero the blind fortune teller. When Jerome was questioned by James Gordon on why he killed her, he told him that she was a "nagging whore" that needed to die. Confessing his crimes, he began laughing hysterically, as if the interrogation was a joke.

He was later incarcerated at Arkham Asylum for count of matricide.

Escape from Arkham Asylum
Jerome takes a quick interest in Barbara Kean, who was previously brainwashed to kill her parents by the now deceased Ogre. He attempts to befriend her, but is almost immediately shot down. When newcomer inmate Zaardon dramatically introduces himself to the prisoners, he chokes up knockout gas and inmates Jerome, Barbara, Richard Sionis, Robert Greenwood, Aaron Helzinger & Arnold Dobkins. are broken out of Arkham orchestrated by Tabitha Galavan. The bunch are tied up and meet Theo Galavan, who inspires them to be part of a team of elite criminals. Sionis refuses and is killed by Tabitha, much to Jerome's joy.

Leading the Maniax
The Maniax make their presence known by breaking into a shipyard and stealing a fully loaded refueling truck. They bring the seven hostages on the roof of the Gotham Gazette, write letters on each and throw them off the roof so that the corpses on the ground spell "MANIAX". When Dobkins asks what they do with the spare hostage, Jerome paints an exclamation mark on the man's chest and tells Helzinger to throw him down too.

While in their new headquarters, Jerome finds a sword which Greenwood immeadiately takes from him. When Jerome asks him nicely to give it back, Greenwood tells Jerome to "make him", calling him a little brat. Jerome takes a chainsaw and the two of them prepare to fight but are disturbed by Theo Galavan who orders them to stop immediately. When Dobkins chides them because they are a team, Greenwood proclaims himself the team captain but Jerome immediately denies that, planning to become the leader himself. Sensing the tension between the two, Galavan states that this problem must be resolved immediately. He draws his gun and removes all but one bullet, asking them if they know this game. Greenwood takes the gun, aims at his head and shoots but nothing happens. When Jerome does this not once but three times Jerome is made the leader of their organization by Galavan's permission.

As the next part of their plan, the Maniax hold a cheerleader school bus hostage (apparently the decision was between it and a senior citizen bingo party, with the cheerleader school bus ultimately being decided) and plan to set it on fire with the fuel from the refueling truck they stole earlier. After spilling the fuel in the bus, Jerome realises that his lighter isn't working and, embarrassed, asks the cheerleaders if any of them has fire. He is provided with a lighter by Dobkins, however the incident cost them enough time for the police to arrive. Jerome tells his Maniax to stand their ground because the policemen cannot risk to shoot at the bus. He tells Helzinger and Greenwood to get the truck and, after running out of ammunition for his revolver while firing at Gordon, orders Dobkins to light the bus up. The Maniax leave with Jerome continuing spilling fuel from the hose while they drive off but Dobkins is left behind. Their plan was ultimately foiled due to the quick thinking of Gordon after he accidentally set the fuel alight.

Attacking GCPD Headquarters


""Very soon, little man, you will be dead. And the world will go on without you. You'll be nothing. No one will even remember your name." "No. That is where you're wrong, old lady. We will leave a mark on this city. We will spread across it like a virus.""

- Sarah Essen and Jerome Valeska.

When they find out that the police is searching for them, the Maniax (minus Helzinger and Barbara) enter the GCPD precinct disguised as policemen. Jerome tells an officer that he needs to speak with Commissioner Essen immediately and enters her bureau. When she recognized him he draws his gun to keep her quiet while his colleagues start shooting up the precinct.

With Greenwood filming them, Jerome has a discussion with Essen after the massacre. Essen tells him that he will soon be dead and that the world will go on without him, but he replies that he and his Maniax will leave a mark on the city. When Greenwood interferes, saying something Jerome was about to say, Jerome shoots the cannibal for stealing his line.

When Gordon returns to the precinct, he finds most of his colleagues dead. Searching for his boss he finds Essen dying, having been mortally wounded by Jerome. While cleaning up the precinct, Gordon is told to look at the news. When he looks at the TV he sees a video message from Jerome, in which he reveals himself as the leader of the Maniax. He tells the viewers that he will be back soon and that they have seen nothing yet.

When Jim Gordon and the reinstated Harvey Bullock get a lead on Paul Cicero, who bailed on Jerome during their first interrogation, Jerome and Tabitha confront him and stab him in the eye before escaping after Jim Gordon was knocking on the old man's door, although not before learning from Cicero that Jerome will ultimately spawn Gotham's worst curse. Before Jerome escaped, he hid knockout gas in Cicero's jacket, knocking Bullock unconscious. Jim attempted to fight Jerome, but was knocked out by Tabitha.

Attack on the Children's Hospital Gala
"By the way, nobody here is getting out alive."

- Jerome, disguised as the Great Rodolfo, just prior to murdering Deputy Mayor Kane. That following night at the Gotham Children's Hospital Gala, Jerome and Barbara disguise themselves as the magicians hired for the show.

Whilst ominously telling the audience (still disguised as a magician) that no one was getting out alive, Jeroms reveals himself mid-way through the act by hurling a knife into Deputy Mayor Kane, killing him. Galavan's men then attack the audience, quickly convoluting into a hostage situation. Meanwhile, Jerome proceeds to subdue Leslie Thompkins and string her up to a wheel, as well as confiscate her cellphone to contact Jim Gordon for a ransom.

Via the cameras broadcasting the event, Jerome is able to broadcast his demands to Gotham: Either he gets $47,000,000 in ransom money, a getaway helicopter, his dry cleaning (while sarcastically warning Gordon that the man in charge of the dry cleaners, Mr. Chang, was a crook) as well as a pony, and that he expects Gordon to get all these items in 10 minutes, or else he'll start killing the hostages, which he made clear will be demonstrated on live TV on every house across Gotham. There, Jerome goes terrorizing the attendees until their boss, Theo Galavan acts like he is the hero and stands up to the two until Barbara knocks him out with a hammer.

Jerome calls out for Bruce Wayne and holds his butler Alfred Pennyworth as the next victim until Bruce stands up to Jerome. He puts a knife on Bruce's throat and slowly starts to slit it until the GCPD arrive. Having regained consciousness, Theo stabs Jerome in the neck to better his appearance as a hero. While Jerome falls to the floor, Theo apologizes to him and acknowledges his talent, but reveals that he only used Jerome to boost his popularity. With his last words, Jerome tries to answer but dies with a blood-crafted smile on his face before he can finish his sentence.

Posthumous influence on Gotham
"You will be a curse upon Gotham. Children will wake from sleep screaming at the thought of you. Your legacy will be death and madness."

- Paul Cicero's foreshadowing quote, predicting Jerome's effect upon Gotham City.

As foretold before, Jerome's contributions to The Maniax caused a disfigurement on Gotham, intriguing other citizens, young and old to undergo his personality and wreak havoc on Gotham. People like Oswald Cobblepot considered him tedious because his motivation was chaos for the sake of chaos.

A band devoted to the Maniax was created by a woman named Jeri and her nightclub included images and news footage of Jerome and his gang, as well as their mugshots. Some of the attendees to the band are also seen wearing similar straight-jackets the Maniax themselves wore during their attempt to set fire to the school bus. Peri herself also wore clown like makeup.

As for Jerome himself, he was seen as the spiritual "Clown Prince of Crime" dying with a blood-sculpted smile on his face as his body was left to be examined in the GCPD Forensics Room. His body later came under possession by Hugo Strange at the Indian Hill facility. After his demise Jerome was transported to the research facility Indian Hill, where he was stored into a glass tube along with other deceased people including Theo himself. However, Jerome was never revived by Strange. After the chaos at Indian Hill, the remaining corpses at Indian Hill were shifted to another Wayne Enterprises facility.

Months later, Gordon and Bullock investigate the former Indian Hill employee Dwight Pollard. Unbeknownst to the two, Dwight is also a follower of a cult dedicated to Jerome. While following Dwight, they enter an abandoned cinema where the cult celebrates their 'hero' by showing the video footage of Jerome attacking the GCPD precinct. It is ultimately revealed that Dwight used his new position as a morgue guard to use the things he learned at Indian Hill to revive the corpses at the morgue. However, as the cult did not manage to get the effects quite right, they are not yet able to fulfill their plan - reviving Jerome.

Ressurection


"Tonight, Gotham, do what you want, kill who you want. And when morning comes, you too shall be reborn."

- Jerome to the people of Gotham City.

As part of their plan, Dwight and his followers storm the Wayne Enterprises warehouse where Jerome is held and steal his corpse. Back at his lab, Dwight attempts to revive Jerome but is seemingly unsuccessful. As he has promised his followers the return of Jerome, Dwight uses a scalpel to cut off Jerome's face and wears it as a mask. When the police, who have found Dwight's location, arrive at the lab, they only find Jerome's corpse with a bloody face. The body is delivered to the GCPD where Lee Thompkins is supposed to make an autopsy. However, Jerome is in truth alive and, once Lee is out of the room, kills the police officer guarding him.

When Lee returns, Jerome ambushes her with the officer's gun. He forces her to sit down and to explain him what has happened. He eventually recognizes her as Jim Gordon's girlfriend but Lee tells him that he killed her husband. During the entire conversation, Lee is neither impressed nor frightened by Jerome. When Jerome thinks back to his last moments, he remembers that he failed to kill Bruce Wayne and that Theo Galavan betrayed him. When he claims that he has to take revenge on Galavan, Leslie tells him that Galavan is dead and, furthermore, was resurrected as well. Eventually, Jerome asks Leslie where exactly his face is. After he sees the TV show Dwight and his followers are putting up at a news station, Jerome ties up Leslie, steals a police uniform and a police car and drives off, driving over a civilian on his way.

After Dwight and his men have been stopped by Gordon and the GCPD, Jerome intercepts the policeman bringing Dwight away. He murders the officer and kidnaps Dwight, whom he takes to an abandoned facility. After getting his face back and attaching it back on with a stapler, he turns to Dwight. Dwight asks whether Jerome is mad to which Jerome sarcastically replies by asking what he could possibly be mad about. However, he then attacks Dwight and ties him to a self-built bomb.

Jerome then takes a camera stolen from the news station and broadcasts live. He reveals himself to Gotham, telling that he is back from the dead. Jerome also addresses his followers, telling them to do what they want and to kill who they want. He then approaches Dwight and ignites the bomb. Claiming that he doesn't forgive Dwight for his face, Jerome then walks off while leaving the camera focused on Dwight. Gordon realizes that Jerome is at a power plant and tries to send men there but the bomb then goes off, killing Dwight and creating a city-wide power outage.

With the whole city without power, Jerome's followers wreak havoc in the streets of Gotham. Even ordinary citizens seem to have followed Jerome's demand and unleash their inner psychopaths. The maniacs also take over buildings like a cathedral and the zoo.

The Theme Park
"The point is that all these people out here, looting, robbing, killing, they're the people who wash your car, who pour your coffee, who take out your trash. And what happened the moment the lights went out? They showed their true faces. They showed how quickly they want to open up your rich boy veins and bathe in your blue blood!"

- Jerome Valeska

Meanwhile, Jerome and some of his followers storm Wayne Manor where they knock out Alfred and capture Bruce. After having successfully capturing him and Alfred, the cult starts tearing up the manor. They find the owl statue Bruce stole from the Court of Owls and Jerome smashes it immediately. Jerome also reveals that he has come to kill Bruce, it being the last thing he remembers.

Before Jerome can slice Bruce's throat, Bruce tricks him by claiming that he remembers that Jerome was quite the showman and that simply murdering Bruce in his own house would be underwhelming after everything Jerome has set up to get him. Jerome realizes the truth of this. Claiming that he is aware that Bruce just says this to buy time, Jerome adds that Bruce's point is still valid. Jerome states that he knows just the point to kill Bruce and tells his men to get moving. However, he leaves three men behind to kill Alfred.

Jerome brings Bruce to his sadistic version of a theme park, in which every single attraction was built to hurt or kill civilians. After Bruce can take a brief glimpse at the horror surrounding him, Jerome sarcastically offers to show him around before the main event can start. He tasks one of his followers to put clown makeup on Bruce's face but after the person is done, Jerome notices something missing. He rams his knife into the stomach of the make-up guy, drives his finger into the wound and uses the blood to draw a frowning face on Bruce's face.

On their way through the theme park, Jerome attempts to make Bruce see that Gotham has no heroes. When they come to an attraction where a ball must be thrown against a target in order to drop a person into a vat of piranhas, Bruce pushes Jerome so that he cannot kill the civilian. When Bruce, who has enough of Jerome's perverted theme park, urges him to go on if he wants to kill somebody, Jerome does not murder Bruce but merely pushes the target with his hand, dropping the civilian into the pool where he is devoured by the piranhas. At that moment, part of Jerome's face comes off again and Jerome is forced to fix it with a stapler. When Bruce angrily asks him whether this hurt, Jerome uses the stapler on Bruce. Although Bruce acts tough, he screams when Jerome does it again, causing Jerome to laugh in glee.

Jerome then starts off his main event by addressing his followers dressed as a circus director. He claims that the night was a success so far, causing an enormous uproar of consent in the masses. After shooting one particular annoying follower, Jerome claims that they brought the city to its knees and has Bruce, tied to a stake, rolled into the main room of the circus tent. Jerome's followers bring in a giant canon with which Bruce is supposed to be killed. However, while Jerome makes a big show out of loading the cannon, Gordon, Bullock and Alfred arrive with a GCPD task force.

In the resulting chaos, Jerome manages to lit the fuse of the cannon but Bruce saves himself by using the pin Jerome drove into his arm with a stapler to cut off his ropes. After Bruce has escaped, Jerome follows him in order to finally murder him. Jerome follows Bruce into the mirror cabinet, unaware that Bruce wants Jerome to pursue him. Inside the cabinet, Jerome fires his gun at multiple reflections of Bruce but only hits mirrors every time. While he tries to shoot Bruce, Bruce claims that Jerome will pay for what he has done.

Standoff with Bruce Wayne


"You want to be a hero? Tell you what, buddy... I'll give you a fighting chance. Let's do this mano y mano, my little conquistador."

- Jerome Valeska to Bruce Wayne

Fed up with searching for Bruce, Jerome slides his gun in one corner, feigning to give Bruce a chance to prove that he's a hero by killing Jerome. However, Jerome draws a hidden knife. Having expected something like this, Bruce ambushes Jerome from behind. The two battle each other and eventually, Jerome succumbs to Bruce's punches and falls to the ground. Towering over Jerome, Bruce then beats him up severely. While he is beaten, Jerome only laughs maniacally and encourages Bruce to let everything out. Bruce eventually grabs a mirror shard to end Jerome but decides not to kill the maniac to not become like him.

Bruce leaves the mirror cabinet where he is rejoined by Alfred. Overjoyed that the other is alive, they both hug and thus miss Jerome stumbling out of the cabinet with a mirror shard in his hand. Jerome stumbles towards Bruce, still determined to kill him, but is stopped by Gordon who severely hits him in the face. The strength of the blow causes the bolts holding Jerome's face to break, resulting in Jerome's face sliding off. Gordon does not move, giving Jerome the chance to lunge at him with the shard. However, Gordon dodges the blow and hits Jerome again, completely beating off his face which lands in a nearby water puddle. Stunned from the pain, Jerome passes out and collapses.

Jerome is sent to a hospital where his face is reattached and would later be scheduled to be sent back to Arkham.

Alliance with Oswald Cobblepot


"You and I get it, pal. This place is full of loonies. I just thought we could help each other out. And how can you help me? Well, not to toot my own horn, but I'm a very resourceful fellow. So, toot, toot, toot. [...] What do you say, pal? I'll be your best friend. Give me a smile."

- Jerome Valeska to Oswald Cobblepot

In the three months following his arrest, he found Oswald Cobblepot locked up in the cell next to him, who had vowed revenge against those who had betrayed him, such as Sofia Falcone and Victor Zsasz. Valeska sought to make an alliance with Cobblepot while imprisoned, and began offering his proposal.