- "This must be your favorite night of the year, huh, pal? Happy fuckin' Halloween."
- ―Pete Savage to Batman[src]
Peter "Pete" Savage was the corrupt commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department who was part of a conspiracy to arrest Salvatore Maroni and place Carmine Falcone in power to receive kickbacks from the Gotham Renewal Corporation. He was later killed by the Riddler.[1]
Biography
Police Commissioner
Arresting Salvatore Maroni
- "I don't get it, why would Pete get involved with something like this?"
"Looks like he got greedy."
"You kidding me? After everything we did to take down the Maronis. We busted their entire operation, then he caves to some low life dealer?" - ―Jim Gordon and Batman[src]
Savage accepts a bribe from a drug dealer
Early in his career: Savage worked alongside Jim Gordon and the two became friends in addition to colleagues. At some point, Pete Savage became commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department, and was still commissioner when the Batman first appeared in Gotham City. During his time as commissioner, he was considered to be corrupt as he discreetly took bribes from criminals. He participated in taking down Salvatore Maroni, under the command of Carmine Falcone, in order to bring him back into top powers of Gotham City, Savage later paid the price for this when he was murdered by the Riddler the following year. However, he maintained the appearance of a honest officer, as even Gordon was surprised to learn about Savage's corruption after his death.[1]
Assassination of Don Mitchell, Jr.
Savage with Jim Gordon at the crime scene
On Halloween night, Don Mitchell, Jr. was murdered by Riddler. Batman along with Jim Gordon came into the crime scene to investigate. During which Pete appeared and became angry at Gordon for letting Batman get involved and even speculated that he may be involved from the note left by Riddler.
Savage making his statements to the press
Savage orders Gordon to get Batman out of the building before he is seen by any reporters. He later gives a speech outside to the press vowing to catch the killer.[1]
Murdered by Riddler
Savage is captured and killed by Riddler
Two nights after Mayor Don Mitchell, Jr. was murdered, Riddler captured the commissioner when he goes to the gym at the Tricorner District during his daily night workout. There, Riddler captured and injected him with rat poison. After that, Riddler placed a rat trap around his body, live streaming it to the news where the rats started to burrow holes around his body and neck, eating him alive.[1]
Legacy
Death Investigated
- "Maybe he's not who you thought he was"
- ―Batman to Jim Gordon[src]
At first, many mourned Savage's death, especially his former partner Jim Gordon. However, when investigating the morgue, Batman showed Gordon an image of Savage being offered bribes by a drug dealer, which revealed Savage in a negative light. Batman later presented an image of Savage's mutilated head to the Joker, in efforts of profiling the Riddler and his motives. Savage's legacy was even further tarnished when the drug bust of Salvatore Maroni turned out to be a conspiracy organized by Carmine Falcone. It was also revealed how the Gotham Renewal Corporation was used to bribe city officials such as Savage. Savage, alongside the other two victims of the Riddler, Don Mitchell, Jr. and Gil Colson, were viewed as puppets of Falcone, and scumbags by most.[1]
Personality
To be added
Abilities
- Leadership Skills: To be added
- Expert Detective: To be added
Equipment
As a Gotham Police Commissioner, Savage has a standard equipment of a policeman that contains a gun, flashlight and communication services device.
Relationships
Allies
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Enemies
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Appearances
| Appearances for Pete Savage |
|---|
| In chronological order: |
Trivia
- According to The Batman: The Official Script Book, Savage was in his mid-fifties before he was killed.
Behind the Scenes
- Pete Savage is an original character created for The Batman.
- However, the name "Pete Savage" was originally created from the 1960's live-action television series Batman. Pete Savage was one of the three founding millionaires of Gotham City who was kidnapped by Egghead. He was portrayed by Albert Carrier.
- Pete Savage seems to be a stand-in to Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, Gordon's former boss and predecessor as police commissioner of Gotham, who was corrupt and associated with Gotham's criminal underworld, namely Carmine Falcone. He also shares his first name with Peter Grogan, Loeb’s successor and Gordon’s predecessor. He was corrupt like Loeb and served as Commissioner during the second year of Batman’s career, much like Savage did until his death.
- Pete Savage's role as Falcone's associate was loosely inspired by former FBI agent John Morris. Like Savage in the film, Agent Morris had worked in the FBI's Organised Crime Squad in the Boston Field Office as John Connolly's direct supervisor who was later introduced to Whitey Bulger through Connolly during dinner at Morris's home in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1978. Despite being Connolly's supervisor, Morris was unable to rein in Connolly's protection of Whitey and instead aided Connolly in protecting Whitey Bulger. By 1982, Morris had thoroughly "became compromised" to a point that Whitey had paid for Morris's former girlfriend, Debbie Noseworthy to fly out to Georgia where Morris was undergoing training for drug investigations. In 1983, Morris was transferred to lead the FBI's anti-drug taskforce while still maintaining contact with Whitey Bulger and Agent Connolly. As an attempt to protect himself, Morris gave an off-the-record interview to the Boston Globe about the Whitey Bulger's FBI protection. At Connolly's trial, Morris had testified about Connolly's corruption and involvement with Whitey Bulger, resulting in Morris being granted immunity from prosecution.
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Reeves, Matt & Craig, Peter (writers); Reeves, Matt & Clark, Dylan (producers); & Reeves, Matt (director) (March 4, 2022). The Batman.