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You see that, kid? That's what happens when you try and be a hero!
„
~ Joe Chill to young Bruce Wayne in Batman: Arkham VR.
Joseph Chillton, also known as Joe Chill, is a major antagonist in the Batman franchise. He was a petty thug who was responsible for killing Thomas and Martha Wayne before the eyes of their son Bruce, resulting in the latter dedicating his life to waging war on crime and becoming the vigilante Batman.
In numerous different incarnations, Chill would later encounter Bruce Wayne/Batman again during his crime-fighting career, often learning his secret identity and realizing his role in his creation.
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 after the Wayne family were walking home from seeing a movie by taking a shortcut through Crime Alley. When he demanded Martha's necklace, Thomas moved to protect her, but Chill panicked and shot him; he then shot Martha when she started to scream for help.
In the Golden Age story that named Chill, the event was censored to Martha dying from a heart attack brought on from the shock of seeing her husband murdered. Chill panicked and fled the scene when Bruce began crying and calling for help, but not before the boy memorized his features. In at least three versions of the Batman mythology, the Waynes' killer is never identified.
Golden Age[]
In the Pre-Crisis era, Joe Chill was revealed to not just be a mugger but a hitman who was hired to kill the Waynes on Lew Moxon's orders. In the present, he has become a small-time crime boss and murdered at least one other man, a partner of his who squealed to the police.
Batman investigates Chill and eventually reveals his identity as Bruce Wayne, the son of the couple that Chill murdered. When Chill went to his men for help, they angrily turned on him upon finding out he is behind the existence of the hated Batman and fire on him. Batman incapacitates the criminals and rescues Chill. Mortally wounded by the gunshots, Chill admits it was fitting Bruce got him after all and expires from his injuries.
Post-Crisis[]
During the Post-Crisis era, Batman continues to watch Chill for many nights until he finally confronted him and provides Chill with the same gun he used to shoot the Waynes many years ago. After realizing who Batman really was and that he was responsible for his creation, Chill proceeds to commit suicide knowing that the entire criminal underworld would want him dead if they ever found out the truth.
The New 52[]
In the New 52 continuity, Joe Chill is portrayed as an alcoholic bum who commits robberies for money to feed his addiction. Ten years after Chill killed the Waynes, an eighteen-year old Bruce Wayne confronted Joe Chill in his shabby apartment with a loaded handgun and demands to know why Chill killed his parents. Chill admits that he didn't even know who the Waynes were when he held them up in the alley; he only wanted Martha's pearls so that he could buy more alcohol.
Bruce was heartbroken and enraged to learn that his parents died for nothing and nearly kills Chill in cold blood, but stops himself at the last minute upon realizing that his father would not want his son to become a killer. The next day, Bruce leaves Gotham City to begin his training to become Batman.
Three Jokers[]
The Joker has discovered his lifelong archenemy's real identity, where he kidnapped Joe Chill dubbed "patient zero" who was in a hospital, jokerizing him to re-enact the Waynes' murder by killing the Signal's parents. Batman came but was unaware of his identity as the patient zero, however despite saving the Signal's parents, they succumbed to the virus due to the abundance of infected patients in the room, causing Batman to only save himself and the Signal.
Despite his murders, Chill, now an elderly man, was accepting full responsibility and remorse for his actions, where he continuously tried sending letters to Bruce Wayne for the deaths of Thomas and Martha, but was unable to due to his learning disability and advancing age. It's also revealed that Joe's murder of the Waynes stems from the assumption that they were arrogant and corrupt aristocrats, when in reality they were genuinely kind people, and that he had no idea the young Bruce was with them until after he shot them to death. Batman only learned of this when investigating his kidnapping.
The remaining Jokers (Comedian and Criminal) want to create the perfect Joker by kidnapping Joe Chill. During the Bat Family's fight against the two Jokers, Batman freed Chill who was tied in a hanging chair, saving him from becoming another Joker. In a nearby alley, Chill is confronted by Batman and, aware that he's Bruce Wayne, apologizes for his crimes, saying he understands if he wants to kill him. The adjacent wall behind then crumbles, and so Batman once again saves Chill from danger, making it clear that despite what he's done and the lasting impact his actions had over him, he doesn't want Chill dead. Later on, Bruce Wayne was seen in the hospital to visit a bedridden Chill, holding his hand as death claims his life, ensuring that he had forgiven his parents' murderer in the end. Bruce was later seen at Chill's grave and departs, having finally gotten closure for the death of his parents.
Other Media[]
In 1980, DC Comics published a mini-series called The Untold Legend Of The Batman, a codifying of his origins at and up to that point. The Joe Chill/Lew Moxon storyline figured prominently in the first issue. When an audio play was produced based on this comic, Chill's dialogue was voiced by as-yet unknown actor.
Movies[]
Batman (1989 film)[]
Joe Chill in 1989's Batman.
In the original script for 1989's Batman, written by Tom Mankiewicz, crime boss Rupert Thorne hires Joe Chill to murder Thomas Wayne because he is running against Thorne for city council. Chill is not mentioned in the final version of the film which was directed by Tim Burton.
In the film, a young Jack Napier (who would later become The Joker) is the Waynes' killer. Rupert Thorne was changed to Carl Grissom and the mugger is unnamed.
Joe Chill mugged Thomas and Martha Wayne, and tore away her necklace. Thomas tried to stop Chill but he and Martha were then shot and murdered by his partner, Jack Napier, although his reaction implied that he did not anticipate that Jack would actually kill them. Then Chill began to run away in order to escape from the scene of the crime, and urged Jack to follow him.
Batman Begins[]
Richard Brake as Chill in Batman Begins.
Chill appears in the live-action film Batman Begins as a minor antagonist. Like in the majority of Batman continuity, Chill is a small-time criminal who, out of desperation due to extreme poverty, (at the time, Gotham City was in the middle of an economic depression that was caused by the League of Shadows) mugs the Waynes outside of an opera house and subsequently kills both Thomas and Martha Wayne.
He is immediately apprehended by the GCPD and is sent to jail, where he shares a cell with mob boss Carmine Falcone. Fifteen years later, Chill cuts a deal with the GCPD, arranging for his release on parole in exchange for testifying against Falcone in court. Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham to attend Chill's disciplinary hearing (which the presiding judge, paid off by Falcone, made public in order to get Chill "in the open") to apparently speak on behalf of his parents.
During the hearing, Chill claims to regret his crime, though Bruce refuses to hear it leaves. Following the hearing, Bruce plans to shoot Chill as means of getting his revenge, but he was robbed of his chance when an assassin working for Falcone guns Chill down first.
After Bruce's revelation to his close friend Rachel Dawes that he wanted to kill Chill, Dawes slaps him and says that his father would have been ashamed of him. Feeling guilty, Bruce hurls the gun into the Gotham Bay and vows never to touch one ever again.
During Bruce's confrontation with Carmine Falcone, Falcone claims that when he and Chill were in jail together that Chill bragged that when he murdered the Waynes, Bruce's father "begged like a dog" for mercy.
This, of course, isn't true, as the audience could see that Thomas didn't begged for his life as a dog when Chill went to kill him and his wife in the scene where the Waynes are killed, though it's unknown if Chill actually said that, considering that he was desperate for the money and seemed to regret his actions (most likely, Falcone made up the story to provoke Bruce, knowing that it would hurt him).
As in most Batman continuity, Chill's murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne leads to Bruce's desire to fight injustice, which once again makes Chill indirectly responsible for Bruce becoming Batman.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice[]
A Bronze Age version of Joe Chill appears in a flashback in the DC Extended Universe film. He is responsible for the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne. It's unknown if he acted on his own or was hired to kill them.
The Batman (2022)[]
In the 2022 film The Batman, it is revealed that Thomas and Martha Wayne's killer is still at large twenty-years after their deaths. The film implies that either Salvatore Maroni or Carmine Falcone were responsible for hiring somebody to kill them in order to cover up their criminal activities.
Although the movie keeps this ambiguous and states that it could have just been a nervous mugger who accidentally pulled the trigger. This movie is one of the rare occasions where Chill isn't depicted killing the Waynes' in a Batman adaptation.
Television[]
Live-action[]
Joe Chill in Gotham Knights.
In the Fox television series Gotham, Matches Malone occupies the role of Joe Chill and kills Bruce Wayne's parents in the first episode "Pilot". His identity as the killer isn't uncovered until the second half of the season 2 story arc "Wrath of the Villains", where it is revealed Malone was hired to kill the Waynes by The Lady and Hugo Strange.
Joe Chill appeared in the 2023 TV series Gotham Knights, portrayed by Doug Bradley.
Animation[]
Joe Chill in Justice League Unlimited.
In the Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians episode "The Fear", a flashback depicts Thomas and Martha being mugged by Chill. When his father tries to fight Chill, young Bruce says "No Dad, he's got a..." and lightning is shown in the sky as his parents are shot. This flashback is later induced by The Scarecrow's fear toxin. This episode represents the first time that Batman's origin is portrayed on television. Batman in this instance is voiced by Adam West.
The Justice League Unlimited episode "For the Man Who Has Everything" features an appearance by Joe Chill voiced by the late Kevin Conroy (the voice of Batman in the DC animated universe). In the episode, Batman is captured by the Black Mercy plant, which traps its prey in the fantasy of their heart's desire. While under the plant's spell, Batman hallucinates that his father beats Chill up after disarming him. When Wonder Woman tears the plant off of Batman, however, the vision returns to reality with Chill shooting and killing Bruce's parents.
Joe Chill is the main focus in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Chill of the Night!", voiced by Peter Onorati. This version of the character is a hitman who kills Thomas and Martha on orders from his boss Lew Moxon as revenge for Thomas Wayne putting him in jail. In the present day, Moxon is dying and confesses to a priest (Batman in disguise) to ordering Chill to kill the Waynes. Batman tracks Chill down, discovering that he is an arms dealer who sells weapons to super-criminals on the black market. Chill is then shown auctioning a sonic weapon to the assembled villains (consisting of The Joker, Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Solomon Grundy and Two-Face). Batman confronts him, and reveals his secret identity before brutally beating Chill. As Batman holds Chill at his mercy, the Phantom Stranger and Spectre arrive, trying to convince him to pursue justice or vengeance against Chill respectively; Batman chooses justice, and releases Chill. Terrified, Chill begs for the villains for help, but when he acknowledges that Batman is the son of people he killed, they turn on him, accusing him of "creating" Batman. Batman defeats the villains, but Spectre manipulates events so that Chill dies when Batman redirects the attack of a sonic gun, causing the roof to collapse on him. Chill admits this was fitting punishment for his crime and dies in Batman's arms. This episode marked the first time in the history of animation that Batman confronts the killer of his parents.
Joe Chill appears in the Harley Quinn animated series, in Bruce Wayne's mindscape.
Joe Chill appears in a flashback in Batman: Caped Crusader.
Video games[]
Chill appeared in Telltale Games' Batman: The Telltale Series, where he was ordered by Gotham's corrupt mayor, Hamilton Hill, to assassinate Thomas and Martha Wayne. Carmine Falcone also admits that he hired him to assassinate on occasion. According to Alfred, Chill was incarcerated at some point and was stabbed to death in prison. This version was voiced by Jarion Monroe, who also voiced Michael Kaufmann in Silent Hill, and James Seth Lynch in Kane & Lynch.
Gallery[]
Richard Brake as Joe Chill.
Damon Caro as Joe Chill.
Joe Chill in the Smallville Season 11 comic "Detective".
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