WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 1, now available digitally, on Blu-ray and DVD.
In Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 1, the Dark Knight (Jensen Ackles) botches the job figuring out who the Holiday killer really is. He thought it was Alberto Falcone who tried to murder Carmine's family and business associates, to become next in line for his dad's empire, but the Bat quickly realizes he's out of his depth.
After writing off suspects like the Joker and seeing Holiday murder Alberto, he's left formulating a new plan. With that in mind, let's dissect how this, as well as an intriguing post-credits, set up Part 2.
Batman Has to Find The Real Holiday
Bruce confesses to Captain Jim Gordon and Harvent Dent, the lead lawyer trying to bring the mob down, that he's back at square one. He'll have to up his detective game as he was arrogant and ill-equipped in Part 1, relying way too much on Catwoman to help. The Bat will be reassessing suspects, such as members of Carmine's family who want the throne of "the Roman," as well as other criminals.
Bruce approached Calendar Man for intel, a la Hannibal Lecter, and he could do the same by getting in the mind of Joker. Dent could also become a suspect once more as Bruce has been in denial over how personal his vendetta is towards the Falcones. Lastly, the Maroni family will have to be looked at again as Bruce knows they hate Carmine with a passion and wouldn't mind moving in on his turf once his kingdom crumbles. He'll have Selina and Alfred in his corner again, but secrets with Thomas Wayne and Carmine's business past could derail his mission.
Harvey Dent Becomes Two-Face
Bruce will have another problem on hand as Harvey Dent will be bathed in acid to become Two-Face. This will take away a key alley for Batman and Jim when it comes to bending the law. What will also be interesting to see is the deconstruction of Harvey's marriage to Gilda. She seems to be depressed and over her own career as a lawyer, turning to alcohol and worrying Harvey.
As such, she could be the catalyst for Harvey breaking bad and losing faith in Gotham, or maybe the key to bringing him back from partnering with other rogues. Once Two-Face becomes a full-blooded criminal, the likes of Joker and Co. will make it tough for Bruce and the others to pull him back to the light, so this will give us a story in line with Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight as Harvey's duality provides immense inner-conflict with the ones who care about him most.
Poison Ivy Owns the Batman
The post-credits has Bruce at Alberto's funeral, with Carmine approaching him with a mystery woman at his side. It seems Carmine's going to speak to Bruce about mourning the loss of his son, but he's all about business. Bruce reiterates that Wayne Foundation won't be dragged into Carmine's laundering needs, but as he shakes the woman's hand, we see vines emerging to wrap around Bruce's fist.
As Bruce's eyes glow green, Poison Ivy is pulling him under mind control, similar to the source material. This means Batman will be taken out of the equation temporarily. But more so, Carmine is resorting to sinister tactics by hiring super-powered villains with the threat of Holiday looming. It could lead to betrayal as well if Two-Face wins Ivy and Co. over, getting them to want to displace the mob on Gotham's hierarchy. It will be his ultimate strike against organized crime, all to give the city a better class of criminal.
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One stars Jensen Ackles as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Naya Rivera as Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Josh Duhamel as Harvey Dent, Billy Burke as James Gordon, Titus Welliver as Carmine Falcone, David Dastmalchian as Calendar Man, Troy Baker as Joker, Amy Landecker as Barbara Gordon, Julie Nathanson as Gilda Dent, Jack Quaid as Alberto, Fred Tatasciore as Solomon Grundy and Alastair Duncan as Alfred, along with Frances Callier, Greg Chun, Gary Leroi Gray and Jim Pirri. The film is now available digitally, on Blu-ray and DVD. Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two arrives digitally on July 27 and on Blu-ray on Aug. 10.