For the Earth-97 version, see Joe Chill (Earth-97).
- "Man, let's go! Let's go, Jack!"
- ―Joe Chill[src]
Joe Chill[1] was an associate of Jack Napier in his youth. He participated in the mugging of Thomas and Martha Wayne that resulted in their deaths.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Nothing is known of Chill's past other than his criminal association with the unstable Jack Napier. It is possible that they were low level Carl Grissom thugs.
Wayne murders[]
Chill mugged the Wayne family shortly after their exit from the Monarch Theatre. Napier watched from the shadows as he attempted to rip Martha Wayne's pearls from her neck. Thomas Wayne struggled with Chill during this, while Napier immediately shot them both. As Chill turned to him in surprise, Napier stepped foreword to take aim at their now orphaned son, Bruce. As Chill fled, he called to Napier, who decided to leave Bruce alive on a whim.
Years later while brooding in the Batcave, recalling the memory of Chill's cries brought the sudden realization to Bruce that Napier was murderer of his parents.
Chill's current activities or final fate are unknown.
Background Information and Notes[]
- In the original comics a nameless mugger was responsible for the murder of Bruce's parents. The mugger was eventually given the name "Joe Chill" which was revealed at a even later date to be short for "Joseph Chilton."
- Chill's presence and actual mugging of the Waynes is intended to be a nod to the original origin story. This variation deviates after Chill grabs Martha's pearls, as he is in shock at Napier's brutal execution of the Waynes, then urges Napier to flee before he shoots Bruce as well.
- In the film Clyde Gatell is credited as "Other Mugger" while Hugo E. Blick is credited as "Young Jack Napier."