Hamilton Hill was the corrupt Mayor of Gotham City and ally to crime boss Carmine Falcone and billionaire Thomas Wayne. Running the city alongside the two, Hill was still in office by the time Batman began operating. During the Children of Arkham's attacks on the city, Hill was both a pawn and a target for the group, due to his complicity in the Arkham conspiracy.
Biography
Hamilton Hill became Mayor of Gotham years before Thomas and Martha Wayne's murder in Crime Alley. He forged an alliance with the two and crime boss Carmine Falcone, running the politics whilst Falcone handled many of their operations and the Wayne's legitimized their money. Though challenged to his place as Mayor, Hamilton's opposition would frequently disappear, under suspicious circumstances. One of his previous rivals included Theodore Cobblepot, who apparently committed suicide part way into his campaign.
With Thomas, Hamilton was responsible for convicting people who refused their offers to Arkham Asylum, sending them insane with a psychogenic chemical. One of them was Esther Cobblepot, the last remaining "of age" Cobblepot, who refused to sell land that later became the site of Wayne Tower.
Eventually, Martha saw that Thomas was going too far and threatened to expose his crimes, before he did too much harm, worrying Hill. He hired one of Falcone's hitmen Joe Chill to assassinate Thomas and Martha and make it look like a mugging gone wrong. Chill did so as they and their son Bruce returned home from a movie showing at the Monarch Theater. However, Chill was caught, but Hamilton, and possibly Falcone, arranged for him to be murdered in prison.
Nearly twenty years after that event, Hamilton was approached by Theodore and Esther's son, Oswald Cobblepot, who wanted to expose Gotham's corruption and remove those who were corrupt from power. Either through blackmail or a willing alliance, Hamilton gave him evidence to prove the Wayne's ties to corruption. He also began compiling data to incriminate Carmine Falcone, either to hand over to Oswald or help boast his campaign as Mayor. Unknown to him, Penguin also planned to kill him, once he had served his purpose. At the same time, Hamilton was challenged for his seat of Mayor by District Attorney Harvey Dent.
Batman: The Telltale Series
Realm of Shadows
At the beginning of the episode, Hill's office was attacked by the Children of Arkham and Catwoman, both of whom attempted to break into his office and steal the data he had compiled on Falcone. However, the latter was successful whilst the mercenaries were caught by Batman. The next day, Hill authorized a police warrant to search Wayne Manor and collect documents related to Wayne Enterprises. This was either at the behest of Oswald or a smear tactic to ruin Dent's campaign.
Children of Arkham
Hill later called one of Penguin's men, demanding that he was let loose and that the debate was not attacked. Later, Bruce Wayne, following a confrontation with this males at the Stacked Deck Bar, came into position of this phone and heard a recorded call from Hill to this henchman. Deciding to confront Hill, he can choose to go either as himself or Batman.
- Managing to charm Hill's secretary into letting him in, Bruce meets with Hill, who is practicing for that night's debate. When Hill questions Bruce on why he is here, the latter plays the recorded call made that day. Hill agrees to tell Bruce, if he promises to stop funding Dent's campaign.
- If Bruce agrees to, Hill reveals how he, Thomas and Falcone took control of the city and gained property from those who disagreed. He also shares information on why Penguin is attacking Gotham. Despite Bruce's warnings, Hill claims that he is still in control. Before he leaves, Hill gives Bruce his father's handcuffs, hoping that the two will work together in the future. However, if Bruce refuses to, Hill will threaten him to not release the recording. He then orders security to escort him out the building.
Hill was at the debate as it started, having prepared ahead of time for it. As it began, Penguin and his men attacked, murdering the moderator and taking the audience hostage. Bringing out Vicki Vale to "host" the event, they forced her to inject Hill and Dent with the same chemical used by him and his partners to commit people to Arkham. Loosing control, Hill admitted to his darkest of thoughts, including his feelings about the citizens of the city and those in poverty. Penguin also played a video of him and Thomas Wayne committing Esther Cobblepot to Arkham for refusing a deal they made to her.
As the GCPD tried to raid the debate, Batman attacked Penguin, but was brought into a fight with one of his men. As Penguin prepared to kill him, Hill confessed to having arranged Chill's assassination of the Waynes, claiming that he had done so after believing Thomas Wayne had go too far. Penguin refused to spare him, claiming that his actions had not saved his mother's life. Though Dent tried to protect him, Cobblepot shot Hill dead, avenging his mother.
Legacy
Following Hill's murder, Harvey Dent was unopposed and was sworn in as Mayor. Hill's reputation as Mayor was also tarnished, with his links to Falcone and the Waynes and activities with Arkham Asylum exposed by the Children of Arkham. When trying to figure out how the Children of Arkham managed to hack his encryption, Bruce can theorize that Hill gave them all the technology he seized from Wayne Manor, which Lucius notes it must've been a vain attempt to save himself. Lady Arkham, who had helped organize Hill's murder, also used his death, along with Falcone's, as an excuse to Batman for reasons why she had helped the city during their final confrontation. Batman himself can also see Hill's death as either a good thing, believing that he had received justice, or as a negative, believing that he and Falcone had not received the proper punishment.
Personality
Though he initially would appear to potential allies as friendly, Hill, much like Thomas Wayne and Carmine Falcone, was known to be ruthless and willing to use any means to get and keep control of Gotham. It seems he was also somewhat cowardly, often relying on his employees and allies to take care of problems or trying to shift the blame. Hill was also willing to betray others for his own personal gain, as he did with both Wayne and Falcone.
Trivia
- This version of Hill has some similarities with Lew Moxon, a gangster who was closely associated with Bruce's parents and, in pre-Infinite Crisis continuities, orchestrated their murder to cover up his illicit dealings.