Sal Maroni facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Salvatore Maroni
David Zayas playing Maroni in Gotham
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #66 (August 1942)
Created by	Bill Finger (writer) Bob Kane (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Salvatore Vincent Maroni
Species	Human
Team affiliations	Maroni Crime Family
Notable aliases	The Boss, The Italian, Morelli, Anton Karoselle
Abilities	Criminal mastermind Expert marksman

Salvatore Vincent Maroni is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The substantial character is portrayed as a powerful mob boss and gangster of Italian descent in Gotham City and an enemy of Batman. Maroni is most famous for disfiguring Harvey Dent, setting the stage for the young district attorney's transformation into the supervillain Two-Face.

In live-action, Maroni has been portrayed in the film by Dennis Paladino in Batman Forever (1995) and Eric Roberts in The Dark Knight (2008), while on television he has been portrayed by David Zayas in the series Gotham (2014) and Clancy Brown in the upcoming series The Penguin (2024).

Publication history

Sal Maroni first appeared in Detective Comics #66 and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis/Earth-Two

Maroni's first Pre-Crisis appearance was in Detective Comics #66 (August 1942) as Boss Moroni, a mobster on trial for the murder of a man named "Bookie" Benson. Harvey Dent (here named "Harvey Kent") is the prosecutor at the trial. He calls Batman as his first witness. During Batman's testimony, Moroni calls Batman a liar, leading Dent to show his proof: Moroni's lucky two-headed silver dollar was found at the scene with his fingerprints on it. Enraged, Moroni throws a vial of acid at Dent, horribly disfiguring his face. Driven insane by his disfigurement, Dent becomes the gangster Two-Face and eventually kills Maroni before surrendering and going to prison.

Bronze Age/Earth-One

During Bronze Age recountings of Two-Face's origin, Maroni's role was unchanged, but his name was changed to Morelli. Harvey Kent's surname was altered to Dent, which has become that character's permanent name. In this version, Batman is present at the trial and tries to prevent the mobster from throwing the acid, but is unable to prevent Dent from being disfigured.

Prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths, Maroni appeared in DC Superstars #14 and Batman #328 to #329. He survives an assassination attempt by Two-Face in the first story, but his legs are left paralyzed. In the latter story arc, he undergoes plastic surgery to alter his appearance and changes his name to Anton Karoselle to avoid attention.

Post-Crisis

In the graphic novel Batman and the Monster Men, Maroni lends money to Norman Madison (father of Bruce Wayne's girlfriend Julie Madison) to cover his debts, and to Professor Hugo Strange for his genetic experiments. After Maroni puts pressure on Strange to repay his loan, the mad scientist responds by robbing one of his illegal gambling establishments to steal the money he needs to pay Maroni off. When Maroni realizes Strange might be responsible for the robbery, he sends enforcers to intimidate and threaten him. Strange decides to get rid of Maroni once and for all, and sends another creature to kill him. Maroni is saved by Batman, who as a favor to Julie Madison, forces him to call off her father's debt.

In the sequel, Batman and the Mad Monk, Norman tries to pay off his debt to Maroni, unaware of Batman's intervention on his behalf; Maroni refuses to take the money, terrified that Batman would visit him again. Norman instead gives the money to rival mobster Carmine Falcone, which humiliates Maroni. Later, near the end of the story, Norman tries to kill Maroni only to be gunned down by his men.

Maroni is featured prominently in Jeph Loeb's maxi-series Batman: The Long Halloween, which retells Two-Face's origin.

In other media

Television

• Salvatore Maroni appears in the Fox series Gotham, portrayed by David Zayas.
• The Maroni family appears in Titans episode "Jason Todd". They are responsible for the death of Tony Zucco's family, which led to Tony's son Nick blaming Dick Grayson for their deaths.

Film

Eric Roberts as Maroni in The Dark Knight (2008).

• In Batman Forever, the character is referred to as "Boss Moroni" (portrayed by Dennis Paladino) and appears in a brief television news segment explaining the origin of Two-Face. Maroni throws acid in district attorney Harvey Dent's face despite Batman's intervention, as in the comics.
• Sal Maroni appears in two segments of Batman: Gotham Knight, voiced by Rob Paulsen. In the stories "Crossfire" and "Field Test", he's at war with Gotham's Russian mob.
• Eric Roberts portrays Sal Maroni in The Dark Knight.
• Sal Maroni appears in Batman: The Killing Joke, voiced by Rick D. Wasserman.
• Sal Maroni appears in Batman: The Long Halloween, voiced by Jim Pirri.

The Batman franchise

• Sal Maroni is briefly seen on a television screen in The Batman, portrayed by an uncredited extra.
• Salvatore Maroni will appear in The Penguin on HBO Max, played by Clancy Brown.

See also

In Spanish: Salvatore Maroni para niños