Do you remember the event where Oswald Cobblepot talked about a gangster named Rex Calabrese to Alberto Falcone before killing him? The Penguin Episode 7 gave us a brief glimpse of the mobster in Oswald’s flashback. Despite being a crime boss in Gotham, people respected Rex Calabrese; well, that’s what Oz told Alberto. So, if you’re curious about the DC character, scroll this post until the end to know who Rex Calabrese is in DC comics.
DC Comics’ Rex Calabrese Explained
Rex Calabrese was an influential gangster who lived in Gotham long before Batman’s existence. Although he was a mobster, his neighborhood respected and loved him. That’s because he never failed to show genuine care to people around him. He also somehow became the one who encouraged Oswald to choose this path.
He was the crime boss of one of the poorest areas of Gotham, so he never became as big as the other mobsters, such as Carmine Falcone. Moreover, unlike prestigious mobsters Falcone and Sal Maroni, Rex never gave up on his humanity. For instance, whenever someone around him sought him for help, he never failed to show up.
Calabrese invaded the city until Carmine Falcone overshadowed him and went into hiding. Before heading to prison, he adopted a new name, Leo Leone, so that no one could recognize him as Rex.
However, in Batman Eternal #20, where Penguin and Falcone finally get arrested and sent to the same prison where Leo Leone was, the kingpin couldn’t keep his identity a secret for longer. He couldn’t escape the prison, so he decided to guide his daughter, Selina, whom everyone knew as Catwoman, to carry forward his legacy. The girl who used to commit petty thefts for a living didn’t take much time to make it big in the underworld.
At some point, a heart attack became the reason for Rex Calabrese’s death in prison. He became the first gangster who received an honored farewell from the people of his neighborhood.
