As fall
fast approaches, DC comics have four shows on prime time television. Though, you would not think that seeing the
underwhelming press that Gotham is getting.
The campaign for Gotham primarily is online through social media, Fox, and The Gotham Chronicle; apparently the iconic
Gotham Gazette was already claimed.
Perhaps, they are unsure what to do with the show, and hope for it to
ride the coattails of The Flash, The Arrow and Constantine. But, it really does have the potential to be
the fall’s dark horse.
Gotham
loosely chronicles the youth of Bruce Wayne from when his parents die. However, this is not just another Batman
origins story. Instead it focuses on the
origin story of the characters of Gotham and Gotham itself. More focused on the figure of Office Gordon,
Gotham chronicles the descent into darkness.
After all, haven’t you ever wondered—how did Gotham get so bad? Crime
is rampant in the city, yet millionaires… ahem, billionaires stay there and
live nearby. The iconic Arkham game
series even decided that Gotham was so far gone that they may as well make part
of it a prison than deal with it.
Why
does Gotham have staying power? If the
show is done right, it will answer the questions we have always had. Like, why does Bruce Wayne stay? There has always been something slightly
unbelievable about Batman. As a young
boy his parents are murdered before him and vows to avenge them, which is
fine. But some twenty years later and he
is a caped super hero; how? Why? The paltry answers of: he wants to avenge his
parents or he wants to make sure it never happens again, do not fly. Perhaps in the original Batman series where he
was a detective it made sense; he grew up to become a detective wanting to
solve the crimes of the city. But, as a
multi-billion dollar CEO, it seems flimsy.
He was still removed from the everyday crime and poverty. It would have hurt, sure, but been the impetus
to become a super hero? What else
happened? Why didn’t he go off to a
boarding school? I hear Andover and
Exeter are nice schools for the rich and elite.
Alfred loved Bruce as a son, why was that not enough to heal over his
wounds? I have always felt the story
needed more answers.
Most
importantly, why does Batman want to save a city which is falling into decay,
when it has given him nothing but pain?
It would seem that there is much more to the story that is untold. Produce/Writer Bruno Heller aims to tell
these stories from the corruption of Gotham to the origins of its greatest
villains through the eyes of James Gordon.
In the first season we will meet the newest DC character, Fish Mooney,
played by Jada Pinkett Smith, a crime kingpin on the rise. Along with her, other iconic villains such as
Oswald Cobblepot, Selina Kyle, Edward Nygma and Ivy Pepper will all begin their
origin stories in the first season. Ivy
Pepper is the new name of Pamela Isley, aka Poison Ivy. Other famous characters such as Flass (Arnold
John) Barbara Kean, and Crispus Allen will be in the first season, though the
extent of their actual characterization is unknown. Although there is no mention of the
traditional Joe Chill who originally murdered Bruce’s parents.
The
show has promise to be a good alternative drama and bring to life the
beginnings of Batman. And perhaps, we
will finally understand why Gotham fell.
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