- "You've killed people for this city, so have I. What's the difference between you and me? Emma never got her second chance. You have no idea how lonely it is."
- —Joseph Falk to The Hood[src]
Joseph Falk (1970 – 2013),[1] also known as the Savior, was a rogue psychotic vigilante. After the murder of his wife, Emma Falk, Joseph began passing death sentences on those whom he believed had wronged the Glades and broadcasted his crusade on a website called Glades Betrayed. He was killed by the Hood to save Roy Harper.
Biography
Early life
Joseph was born in 1970 in Calvin City. When he was six years old, Joseph moved to Starling City and grew up in the Glades. He graduated from P.S. 149 in 1998.
Joseph picked up a few odd jobs, among which included a car wash attendant and a custodian at St. Therese Academy. He met his future wife Emma at the latter, and they married in 2005 when Joseph took a job at the Starling City Department of Transportation as a computer technician.
In April 2012, Emma was murdered in a bodega robbery. After his wife's funeral, Joseph quit his job and fell off the grid.[1]
Crusade of the Savior
Joseph began hunting down people who he believed made the Glades a horrible place and broadcasted them to a website, "Glades Betrayed". Among these were John Nickel, Gavin Carnahan, and Roy Harper, the former two whom he shot to death on-camera on the site. Oliver Queen discovered his use of the abandoned Starling City subway and killed him before he could kill Roy.[1]
Legacy
Since Joseph's death, he has only been mentioned in a negative way, particularly by Roy Harper, due to his despicable actions.
Personality
After the murder of Joseph's wife, Emma Falk, Joseph became a deeply disturbed and violent individual, driven insane from his grief, desperate to change the Glades, he became self-righteousness, and began acting as judge, jury and executioner on those who he believed had wronged the Glades that he deemed worthy of it.
Joseph's delusions (arrogantly) made him think that he was saving the city from criminals, however, in truth, he only did it to make himself feel better at failing to get justice for his wife as his targets were only shameless businessmen who never technically broke the law or petty thieves that never truly harmed anyone. Ultimately, he was a hypocrite for claiming that he was only going after criminals, when he himself was actually guilty of breaking the law.
When confronted by Oliver Queen (under the persona of the Hood) a man who also has killed individuals, the vigilante attempted to reason with Joseph, he pointed out that these actions were too excessive and ultimately would help no one as his actions were only serving to mask his own pain, despite Oliver understanding his pain, the deranged criminal refused to back down, he (delusively) believed that his actions were justified, determined to continue his actions in cold blood and no remorse. Ultimately, Oliver was forced to kill Joseph in order to save his next victim as the remorseless widower was beyond reason and would never had stopped.
These negative traits of Joseph's, were what led to his painful yet deserved/justified death at the hands of Oliver Queen.
Abilities
- Skilled marksman: Joseph was proficient in the use of firearms, as he used a pistol as his weapon of choice against his victims. He used it to execute John Nickel and Gavin Carnahan.
- Computer specialist/Expert computer hacker: As a former computer technician, Joseph was able to heavily encrypt the website where he live streamed his murders to make them untraceable. He was also known for hacking into multiple fringe websites and erased all traces of his identity online following his wife's death.
Equipment
- Glock 17: Joseph used a pistol as his weapon of choice.
- Video camera: Joseph used a video camera to live stream his murders.
Appearances
Arrow
Season 1
- "Salvation"
- "Home Invasion" (mentioned)
Season 2
- "Tremors" (mentioned)
Trivia
- Joseph claimed that he was inspired by Oliver Queen (under the persona of the Hood) and they were the same. However, they are quite different; as Oliver only kills his enemies in self-defense or to save the lives of innocent people, but tries his best to avoid it. He never acts as judge, jury, and executioner, as he willingly gives his enemies a second chance to atone for their wrong deeds.
- Furthermore, while Oliver eventually began letting go of his past and working to become a better hero; Joseph ultimately became a criminal in his refusal to move on from his grief.
- Joseph shares many similarities with Malcolm Merlyn; both men lost their respective wives, Emma Falk and Rebecca Merlyn, to criminals in the Glades and subsequently targeted individuals in the area who weren't involved in the women's murders in a deluded attempt to save the city. However, Joseph aims to defend the Glades while Malcolm wants to destroy it.