Antoine Rotelli

“	What's with that stupid grin?	„
	~ Rotelli to the Joker about the latter's permanent rictus

Antoine Rotelli is a minor antagonist in Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman, the first installment of the Burton/Schumacher Batman film series. He is an Italian crime lord and capo Carl Grissom's Gotham Syndicate, and an enemy of the Joker's leadership over the syndicate.

He was portrayed by Edwin Craig.

Biography[]

Antoine Rotelli is a close ally of Carl Grissom, the most powerful crime lord in Gotham City. Through Grissom, Rotelli was associated with most members of the Gotham City Police Department such as Max Eckhardt. He has met Jack Napier, Alicia Hunt, and Robert Hawkins at some point as well as Vinnie Ricorso.

When the recently-elected District Attorney Harvey Dent began making connections between Grissom and Axis Chemicals, Grissom panicked, knowing that the evidence stored at the factory is enough to have him executed by the state. Grissom also became enraged when he discovered his mistress Alicia was having an affair with his second-in-command Napier. To get his revenge, Grissom sent Napier and a team to Axis Chemicals to seize the evidence before Dent could. At the same time, Grissom contacted Lt. Eckhardt and ordered him to lead a team of police officers to kill Napier. Grissom's plan was foiled when Commissioner James Gordon intervened to take Napier in alive. Gordon hoped to use Napier as a witness in his and Dent's case against Grissom by promising Napier a deal. After Napier shot Eckhardt in revenge, he fell into a vat of chemicals upon a confrontation with Batman, leading Grissom to believe that Jack is dead, much to his delight. Unfortunately for Grissom, Napier did survive and reinvented himself as the Joker after a botched surgery attempt which led to a permanent grin. After killing Grissom, Napier took control of Grissom's empire and all his business with the claim that Grissom was in hiding and that Napier was standing in for him.

After killing Grissom, Napier called all of Grissom's ganglords for a meeting. Rotelli became suspicious of Joker because of his "stupid grin" and refused to take orders from him. As a result, Joker and Rotelli both decided to shake hands. Unfortunately for Rotelli, Joker used a joy buzzer to apply 40,000 volts to kill him. The joy buzzer resulted in burning the skin off Rotelli's face and revealed his skull. The Joker cracked jokes and laughed at his demise both during and after his death, which horrified the rest of Grissom's fellow mobsters, hinting that there were some crimes they were unwilling to commit. Going by what Joker stated after he killed him when deciding via Rotelli's corpse's "suggestion" to "grease" the remaining members of the summit with immediacy. The following day, Joker assassinated Vinnie Ricorso on steps of City Hall.

Legacy[]

While trying to escape from Batman by helicopter after making it to the Gotham City Cathedral, Joker's ankle was tied to a large and heavy stone gargoyle by Batman. The Joker tried to climb onto the rope ladder and into the helicopter only for the weight of the gargoyle to be too much for him, causing the Joker to fall to his death. The fall resulted in the Joker loosing a lot of blood and in breaking every bone that he has. Rotelli's murder was avenged that night as well as the murders of Grissom, Hawkin, Ricorso, and Alicia.

The deaths of Carl Grissom, Vinnie Ricorso, and Antoine Rotelli as well as the very existence of the Joker created a new level of criminality to Gotham City. After being inspired by the Joker, the Penguin began to fashion his own theatrical gadgets and frightening masks for his gang at the age of thirty. At thirty-three, the Penguin started to put his plan for revenge on society into motion, due to his abandonment by his parents. Joker's actions also led to the creation of Catwoman, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane, while Dent, the very district attorney that was trying to prosecute Rotelli, would become the villainous Two-Face.

Personality[]

According to the Joker, he was a "vicious bastard" which hinted that Rotelli was a murderous gangster. Rotelli was also proven to be quite rude as he rudely asked the Joker why his grin was stupid. Similar to Jack Napier before his transformation to the Joker, Ricorso had a penchant for nice suits and had no qualms about killing anyone who stood in his way most likely. Despite this though, Rotelli was more honorable than the Joker as he was willing to shake hands with him only for that to lead to his death.

Trivia[]

In the screenplay his first name was Carmine. The name Antoine was ad-libbed by actor Jack Nicholson in the take used in the film as a tribute to Anton Furst, who had gotten angry and scolded a sound effects technician on the set earlier that day.
The novelization based on the 1989 movie's screenplay also identifies him as Carmine. Another Batman villain, Carmine Falcone, introduced in 1987, may have been an inspiration for Rotelli.

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