Who is the biggest crime boss in Gotham City?

[The Overlord]

Who is the biggest crime boss in Gotham City?

[RubberLotus]

Last I checked, pre-DCnU it changed about every five minutes.

Post-DCnU? If I had to guess, I would say the same.

[K. Jones]

It varies. In fact, this question is what 90% of Batman Eternal has been about so far.

In Batman's earliest days, it is without a doubt Carmine Falcone. His closest rival is Salvatore Maroni, but they're forced to put a truce in effect, probably by the arrival of Batman.

Over the course of the comics, many have vied for that title. Black Mask and Penguin are usually the top contenders, and while Penguin is often deposed, or has to merge, or fall in line - he's the guy who always survives the big gang war storylines and comes out with his skin intact. Bane also blew into town and took control, but he was more of a terrorist warlord, not an organized criminal. Internationally, Doctor Hurt was a hell of a force to be reckoned with - his secret evil club was made up of minions, some of who themselves were the leaders of ruthless criminal gangs.

In a few weeks, it looks like Catwoman will be stealing the title.

[MajorHoy]

Mark Doyle.

[bat39]

Pre-COIE, Lew Moxton was arguably one of the biggest crime bosses, before Thomas Wayne helped bring him down. (This was the true motive behind the Wayne murders in that continuity).

Rupert Thorne would also count as well, during the Bronze Age (something which carried into BTAS).

Post COIE, Carmine Falcone was the biggest crime boss during Batman's early career, followed by Sal Maroni. Later, Penguin and Black Mask would also vie for the role.

[PyroSikTh]

Selina Kyle is currently (or will very soon be) the kingpin of Gotham.

[Robotman]

Kingpins of Gotham's underworld come and go but the one person who always survives is THE PENGUIN. He controls information and munitions. Though I don't think Penguin wants to be the boss of Gotham's underworld. That would bring too much heat down on his business. He's too smart to put a bullseye on his back. But if you want to name someone who consistently has power in Gotham it's Oswald Cobblepot.

[MajorHoy]

Pre-COIE, Lew Moxton was arguably one of the biggest crime bosses, before Thomas Wayne helped bring him down. (This was the true motive behind the Wayne murders in that continuity).

Does anybody know how long it's been since an in-continuity / canon DC story referred to Lew Moxton and whether he's still responsible for the deaths of Thomas and Martha?

[RobinGA]

It raises an interesting question of how we envision the Gotham City underworld.

It seems that no one truly controls the underworld, because there are simply too many
entities with a small chunk of the pie.

I agree that it was different during the Falcone-Maroni years.

[Gaius]

̶D̶o̶n̶ ̶C̶o̶r̶l̶e̶o̶n̶e̶ Carmine Falcone.

[MajorHoy]

By the way, a fun moment in the recent Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries #6 (which looks back at when pre-Batman Bruce Wayne met Detective Harvey Harris, but adds in a young Scooby Gang):

[Jackalope89]

By the way, a fun moment in the recent Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries #6 (which looks back at when pre-Batman Bruce Wayne met Detective Harvey Harris, but adds in a young Scooby Gang):

One of my favorite parts of a Pup Named Scooby-Doo, was Fred always trying to tie everything back to Red Herring (and an interesting way to introduce kids to that term as well).

[Frontier]

One of my favorite parts of a Pup Named Scooby-Doo, was Fred always trying to tie everything back to Red Herring (and an interesting way to introduce kids to that term as well).

I'm waiting for him to make a comeback in a modern Scooby-Doo production...

[SixSpeedSamurai]

Rupert Thorne is pretty fat.

[Nero]

Before he fell into obscurity, the Great White Shark was once a contender. Roland Worth was just introduced as a big time crime boss, whether he has any staying power pertaining to that remains to be seen.