WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2, now available digitally.
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2 brings an end to the bloody journey of the Holiday Killer, who went on a murder spree for a year in order to spark a mob war. However, there were many twists and turns as the assassin sought to remove criminal elements from Gotham City. This led to many changes from the source material, so let's dissect what was altered.
Bruce Wayne and Poison Ivy's Relationship
In the comics, Poison Ivy brainwashed Bruce to use his position with the Gotham Bank to inject $350 million into Carmine Falcone's operations. But in the movie, she just has Bruce transfer his own assets over. The comics also had Selina Kyle spotting them in a limo to realize something was wrong, which Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2 omits. Lastly, when Selina broke Bruce out of the hold at the mansion, Ivy escaped but the film knocks Ivy out and lands her in jail.
Bruce and Harvey Targeting Each Other
Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon became suspicious of Bruce in the comics and tried to raid the mansion to bring him in for funding Carmine. It even led to Alfred taking the stand to chide the justice system. All of this is scrubbed for the movie and Harvey just mentions that Bruce is shady for helping Carmine out. Interestingly, in the comics, Bruce also targeted Harvey as the Holiday Killer, but Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2 has the Bat living in denial over it.
The Riddler's Presence
The comics had Riddler being used by Carmine to gather intel on who the killer could be, with the Dark Knight later seeking Edward Nygma out for help too. The killer also tricked Riddler by faking a shoot-out on April Fool's Day to scare him. Riddler's omitted from the film, though, due to an already-busy cast.
Alfred's Diminished Role
In the comics, Alfred played a big part in helping the Bat guess the killer's identity, but Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2 reduces him to limited screen time. While the books had Alfred turning Harvey and Gordon away repeatedly, his big role on screen is merely to be brainwashed by Ivy, ergo why Bruce kept signing over stuff to Carmine.
Batman's Gassing by Scarecrow
Scarecrow escaped Arkham and gassed Batman in the books, which ended with the cops arresting Bruce, who fled Crime Alley and ended up at his mother's grave. The film has Batman broken in the alley, though, with Selina finding him unmasked and him thinking she's Martha. Catwoman takes him home here for Alfred to cure, adding more romance to their bond.
Catwoman and Batman's Night Meetings
The comics had Catwoman saving Batman from Carmine, who pulled a gun at Alberto's grave. This isn't in Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2, which incorporates this idea into the high-rise scene. The comics just had the Bat shoving a threatening Carmine away for Sofia, his daughter, to find, but the film has Catwoman intervening here, which leads to secrets being spilled.
Catwoman's Big Secrets
Catwoman's secret is that she thinks Carmine is her dad. She unmasks on a rooftop and tells Bruce this in Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2, which ties into later stories from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Carmine even lets slip her mom's potential name, "Louisa," when he's killed at the end, bringing some closure to her story. All of this isn't in the books, as Selina just wanted to help Batman while keeping her identity secret.
Sal Maroni's Sketchy Past
The comics had Harvey's assistant, Vernon, leaking info to Sal, even getting him the acid to throw on Harvey in court. Vernon was later killed by Harvey, while Sal reignited a romance with Sofia, kissing her behind bars. The film alters all this, with Vernon being totally cut out. Meanwhile, Sal and Sofia are dating, with the Falcone princess even being nearby when Sal's dad, Lou, is killed by Holiday.
Sofia's Tragic Life
In the source material, Sofia went killing on her own to find out who wanted her dad dead. She even had a nuanced relationship with her aunt, Carla, only to fall to her death when Harvey killed Carmine. Catwoman jumped on her to prevent her from shooting Harvey (who was Two-Face by then), but they stumbled back and Catwoman had to let her fall to save herself. Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2 cuts this depth and has Sofia trying to shoot Harvey with his gun. Ironically, Two-Face loaded it with two bullets, which are in Carmine. When Sofia stumbles off the balcony here, she lets Selina's hand go as she's tired of life.
Two-Face's Coin
The comics had Harvey getting the coin from his insane dad and using it to decide how to make key decisions to shell justice out. Part 1, however, had Batman giving Harvey the coin when they burned the Roman's money, and it's now revealed that Carmine actually gave the coin to young Bruce when Thomas Wayne illegally patched him up from gunshots. Carmine told Bruce this coin was about carving out one's destiny and that's why Bruce gave it to Harvey, not realizing it'd help trigger Two-Face decades later.
The Holiday Killers
The source material had Gilda Dent, Harvey's wife, as the one who started the killings to create a mob war. The gangs thinning out each other gave her and Harvey time to start a family, but Harvey then became a killer too, with Vernon and Carmine being his victims. Batman didn't catch Gilda in the books, but he caught Harvey and a third one: Alberto.
Carmine's son faked his death after Harvey shot him, and then killed the coroner and Aunty Carla to keep it a secret. He ended up being caught assassinating Sal in Arkham's tunnels, while the film had Gilda killing Sal in the streets. As for Alberto's fate, the movie doesn't have him as a Holiday -- he stays dead. Instead, there are two killers: Harvey murders Carmine and is arrested per the lore, and Gilda's found out by the Bat. The Caped Crusader warns her not to murder again, sympathizing with how she was forced to abort Alberto's baby after Oxford and annul their marriage. She later married Harvey to start her revenge scheme in a major change to the lore.
Other Key Changes
The comics had Gordon and his wife, Barb, trying hard to help Gilda get over her depression, even using their kid to shine light into Gilda's world. That's omitted from Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2, where Gilda keeps to herself. Carla's also killed by Holiday in an elevator on Carmine's birthday onscreen, and not in the coroner's office per the books since there's no Alberto. The film also adds in Scarecrow and Mad Hatter bombing downtown Gotham to cause chaos for Two-Face. Last but not least, while the book ended with Gilda burning her evidence, the movie has Bruce and Selina in a happy ending on Halloween as a couple, learning from Harvey and Gilda's sad history.
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2 is now available digitally and will be released on Blu-ray on Aug. 10.