Gotham City
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- For other meanings of Gotham, see Gotham.
Gotham City is a fictional city appearing in DC Comics, and is best known as the home of the Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Detective Comics #48 (February 1941); before then, Batman's adventures happened in either New York City or an unnamed city. Gotham is known to be architecturally modeled after New York or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but with more exaggerated vices. The name Gotham is an old nickname of New York, popularized by author Washington Irving.
In terms of how Gotham City's atmosphere is usually depicted, it has been said by some that, metaphorically, Metropolis (home to Superman) is "New York during the day", and Gotham is "New York at night". This comparison is helped by the fact that Metropolis is more often seen during the day, and Gotham more at night (due to Batman's MO). Longtime Batman writer and editor Dennis O'Neil has also said figuratively that Metropolis is New York above 14th St. on a sunny summer day, and that Gotham City is New York below 14th St. on a cold, rainy November night. Within the comics themselves, however, New York, Metropolis and Gotham City all exist as separate cities.
Gotham City's atmosphere took on a lighter tone in the comics of the 1950s and part of the 1960s, similar to the tone of Batman stories of that era; by the early 1970s, however, Gotham's tone (and the Batman stories themselves) had become grittier.
Batman Beyond envisions a Gotham City 40 years into the future. In it, the gothic architecture has been replaced by futuristic architecture with mixed gothic and Asian influences, reminiscent of the film Akira, with elevated streets looping around buildings.
History
According to Swamp Thing #53 (and various subsequent comic book stories), Gotham City was founded in 1635 by a Swedish mercenary and was later taken over by the British. This loosely mirrors the history of New York, which was founded by the Dutch and taken over by the British. During the American Revolutionary War, it was the site of a major battle and various occult rites were rumored to have been conducted within the city. Perhaps for these reasons Gotham is a dark and forbidding place rife with crime, grime, and corruption. Despite this, Gotham City has maintained a thriving economy and is considered a major economic center of activity.Architecture
The unique architecture of Gotham City can be traced back to Judge Solomon Wayne during the pre-American Civil War era. Wayne's entrepreneurial skills made him a leading citizen in Gotham, starting a dozen businesses including the Gotham Buggy Whip Works. His campaign to reform Gotham came to a head when he met Cyrus Pinkney, a young architect looking for a commission. After the promotion of Pinkney's designs in the Property Holders Association, Wayne commissioned the first "Gotham Style" structures to be built in what is now the center of the city's financial district. Despite mixed reviews from critics, the Gothic architecture became a focal point for a thriving commercial center. Wayne and Pinkney would raise a dozen similar buildings in the years that followed, as Gotham took on a new face that would make it famous the world over.
GCPD and corruption
-->In addition to rampant organized crime activity in the city, the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) was steeped in corruption up until the late 1980s. The strongest blow against police corruption came in 1986, when an increasing amount of conspiracy charges, arranged by the intervention of the mysterious Batman against Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, forced him to resign his position. The Falcone crime family, which had had a stranglehold on Gotham's underground for generations, finally crumbled by the end of the 1980s, when a series of killings shook the structure of the mafia organization. After the death of Carmine Falcone in 1988, the mafia lashed out in sloppy, retaliatory crimes, which, in combination with rising gang violence, severely crippled organized crime in Gotham City. Simultaneously, the ebbing presence of corrupt police officers allowed James Gordon to become the new Commissioner, a man determined to eradicate crime wherever it existed.
Arkham Asylum
Numerous costumed maniacs have emerged, necessitating the construction of an asylum dedicated to the incarceration of the criminally insane (called Arkham Asylum in homage to the fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts in the works of H.P. Lovecraft, whose stories often included forbidding and decrepit New England cities with histories of occult practices and other evils). The origins of the asylum have been traced back to 1920, when psychiatrist Amadeus Arkham converted his estate into a mental health institution. Dr. Arkham studied under Carl Jung, interviewed Aleister Crowley during a trip to Europe and pioneered several key concepts in criminal psychology. Unfortunately, a series of personal tragedies caused Dr. Arkham's mental deterioration. At the start of the Great Depression in 1929, Amadeus was incarcerated for assaulting his stock broker. He died years later, imprisoned in the asylum he created. His nephew, Jeremiah Arkham, currently runs the asylum, and oversaw its reconstruction in 1992, and its movement to the Mercey House in 1995. Unfortunately, the asylum has rarely managed to cure or keep its various insane inmates for long.
Recent events
In the late 1990s, Gotham City suffered from an artificially created epidemic, and was given its most devastating blow when an earthquake (measuring 7.6 on the Richter Scale) struck the city in 1998, resulting in untold property damage and, according to Adventures of Superman #648, 5,057 dead at last recorded count. After much political controversy, a federal edict cut off the city from the rest of the United States, with most of Gotham's residents evacuating in the process. After a full year as a federally proclaimed , the reconstruction of the city was initiated by privately owned businesses, and later taken over by the Federal Works Projects. Old landmarks were painstakingly restored or recreated in tribute to the city's rich history. New buildings were erected, in addition to the completion of the Gotham Rapid Transit System, which included the longest independently operated monorail system in the world. Gotham thus regained its identity, and remains today as one of the greatest cities in the world.Additionally, James Gordon retired from service as Gotham's police commissioner. He subsequently became a Criminology faculty member at Gotham University for several years, succeeded by Michael Akins, his personal choice for his former post in the Gotham police. However, the status quo was recently restored during the One Year Later event, and James Gordon is now once again Commissioner, serving his third stint in the position.
Mayors
A list of Gotham City's mayors, in chronological order from earliest to latest:
- Hamilton Hill — before KnightSaga.
- Armand Krol — early 1990s; during KnightSaga; lost election to Grange; later died from the Clench virus unleashed by Ra's al Ghul in the Legacy storyline.
- Marion Grange — late 1990s; failed to prevent the federal government from declaring before being assassinated by agents of Nick Scratch.
- Daniel Danforth Dickerson III — early 2000s; elected mayor following No Man's Land; corrupt; assassinated by the Joker.
- David Hull — current.
In other media
- Mayor Linseed was the mayor in the 1966-68 ABC-TV series Batman (a play on the name of New York City's then-mayor, John Lindsay). There was also a West River (as opposed to New York's East River), and "Bernie Park's Gallery", compared to the real Park Bernet Gallery.
- William Borg was the mayor in the 1989 Batman film.
- Hamilton Hill was the mayor in (and later the name of a high school in Batman Beyond).
- Marion Grange is the mayor in the The Batman, and in a divergence from the comics, is depicted as male. The original version of Grange, as published in the comics, was female.
Residents
One of Gotham City's most famous residents is Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises and noted philanthropist and playboy. It is unknown to the general public or law that Wayne is also Gotham City's other most famous resident, the Batman.A number of heroes associated with Batman have operated in Gotham City. These include several youths in the role of Robin (Batman's sidekick), Nightwing (the original Robin; Dick Grayson's adult superhero identity), Batgirl and Huntress.
Apart from Gotham's superhero residents, the residents of the city were featured in a back up series in Detective Comics, "Tales of Gotham City" and in two limited series called Gotham Nights. In addition, the Gotham City Police Department was the focus of its own series, Gotham Central.
Other DC Comics characters outside the Batman-related titles also reside in Gotham City. Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, is based there and Plastic Man has been said to operate out of Gotham City as well. The original Black Canary was shown as residing in the city in the Justice Society of America series, and in later years, her daughter resided there during much of the Birds of Prey series. Angela Roth, later Arella, mother of Teen Titans member Raven, resided in Gotham City for some time when she was a teenager. From this, one could guess the cult she joined, which attempted to raise Satan, is located in or close to Gotham. In the original Justice League of America series, it was revealed that Zatara and Zatanna also resided in a mansion known as Shadowcrest, located in Gotham. Tommy Monaghan, the title character from the Garth Ennis comic-book series Hitman, is a hired killer from Gotham's "Cauldron" neighborhood. Also operating in Gotham City is the superhero team Section 8.
Notable areas, landmarks, institutions and businesses
In addition to Arkham Asylum, other major facets of Gotham City seen in Batman comics include:
- Blackgate Maximum Security Penitentiary: The city’s main prison, located on Blackgate Isle (named Stonegate Prison in ).
- Brentwood Academy: A privately run high school once attended by Tim Drake (the third Robin).
- The Clocktower: A tower in central Gotham which once contained the secret headquarters of Barbara Gordon, currently known as Oracle.
- Crime Alley: Formally "Park Row", Crime Alley is a small side street, located in the East End, where Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed by Joe Chill during Bruce Wayne's youth, after the family had visited a cinema (in Post-Crisis continuity, their killer is unknown, after infinite crisis it was re-established that Joe Chill was the murderer). It is a dangerous, crime-infested area. Also in comic continuity, this is also the location where Batman first met Jason Todd, when he attempted to steal the tires off of the Batmobile. In the future seen in Batman Beyond, Bruce Wayne used his influence to keep Crime Alley preserved while the rest of Gotham was rebuilt, making it the only remnant of the present-day Gotham City to remain.
- The East End: An underdeveloped part of Gotham laden with poverty, crime, prostitution, and the circulation of illegal drugs (in the 2005 movie Batman Begins a similar type of area in Gotham is referred to as The Narrows). Some comics writers occasionally conflate the East End together with Crime Alley.
- The Narrows: An even seedier, grittier portion of Gotham than the East End, introduced in the Batman Begins version of Gotham. Accurately described as dangerous and dilapidated. Often viewed as the skid row of Gotham. The Narrows are located on an island joined to Gotham proper by the Narrowsborough Bridge, an obvious dig into New York's very own Queensborough Bridge. It is rumored that the infamous Arkham Asylum is located in the Narrows, and can easily be proved as the Narrows are shown as the asylum's background in Batman Begins. Whether or not the neighbourhood is incorporated into the comics has yet to be decided.
- Gotham Docks: Gotham City's harbor, also the site of the final arrest of Carmine Falcone in Batman Begins.
- Finnigan's: A bar popular with uniformed police officers in Gotham.
- Gotham Heights: The affluent area where Wayne Manor is located. Also known as "Bristol" and/or "Crest Hill", due to mutual proximity of the three neighborhoods of those names.
- Gotham County High School: A public high school once attended by Tim Drake.
- Grand Avenue: Gotham City's version of New York City's Broadway.
- The Iceberg Lounge: A nightclub in the city centre operated by the Penguin.
- Killinger's Department Store: - Large department store similar to Macy's in New York.
- Monarch Playing Card Factory: - The factory where a costumed criminal named the Red Hood fell into a vat of chemicals and became the Joker (named Ace Chemicals in Batman: The Animated Series and Axis Chemicals in the 1989 film).
- My Alibi: A lowlife bar in the city center.
- Robinson Park: – The city’s main park (named after 1940s Batman artist and Joker co-creator Jerry Robinson, as were Robinson Square and Robinson Plaza).
- The Statue of Justice: - Also known as "Lady Gotham", modeled loosely on the Statue of Liberty in New York, modified with a blindfold over her eyes, and a sword and scales in her outstretched hands. In Batman: The Animated Series, the statue is shown holding a shield and a torch.
- Toxic Acres: An abandoned neighborhood of newly built houses, unsuitable for habitation due to its proximity to a toxic waste dump. Gas masks and/or antivenom is required to prevent illness while staying. Toxic Acres was a one-time hideout for Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn.
- Wayne Manor – sometimes referred to as "Wayne Mansion" or "Stately Wayne Manor". The mansion estate of Bruce Wayne, and the location of the Batcave.
- Wayne Tower – Headquarters of Wayne Enterprises. Located at the corner of Finger and Broome Streets (named after comic creators Bill Finger and John Broome).
- Aparo Park and Aparo Expressway - (named after artist Jim Aparo)
- Barr Town - (named for writer Mike W. Barr)
- Archie Goodwin International Airport - (named after writer and editor Archie Goodwin)
- Cape Carmine - (named after artist Carmine Infantino)
- Davis Avenue - (named for artist Alan Davis)
- Dixon Dock - (named after writer Chuck Dixon)
- Finger River - (named after Batman co-creator Bill Finger)
- Finger Memorial Park - (named after Batman co-creator Bill Finger)
- Grant Park - (named after writer Alan Grant)
- Miller Harbor - (named after writer/artist Frank Miller)
- Novick Tunnel - (named after artist Irv Novick)
- Robbinsville – (named after artist Frank Robbins)
- R.H. Kane Building and the Robert Kane Memorial Bridge - (named after Batman co-creator Bob Kane)
- Sprang Bridge and the Sprang River - (named after artist Dick Sprang)
- The Westward Bridge - (named after the Batman live-action TV series' actors Adam West and Burt Ward).
Major businesses based in Gotham City include its most noteworthy corporation: Wayne Enterprises, which specializes in various industrial aspects and advanced technological research and development.
Noteworthy newspapers in Gotham City include the Gotham Gazette. In the Silver Age comics, the editor-in-chief of Metropolis newspaper The Daily Planet, Perry White, had once worked for the Gazette early in his career.
Geography
Several maps of Gotham City have been produced over the years. Many of them are directly based on Manhattan and other real coastlines, and others are completely original. One map showing Gotham City in relation to Metropolis (the home of Superman), published in New Adventures of Superboy #22 (October 1981), placed Gotham City and Metropolis on opposite sides of a large bay. Another map of Gotham City pictured in Swamp Thing (2nd series) #53 (October 1986) was directly based on the geography of Rhode Island. A map of Gotham City used in the 1989 film Batman was actually an inverted map of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (in the same movie, a map of the Axis Chemical plant was actually a map of the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada). The current definitive maps of Gotham City are those based on the ones produced for the story arc.
Gotham City is serviced by Kane County morgue, implying that the county was founded by a relative of Batman's creator, Bob Kane.
Gotham City's location has, like other fictional cities in the DC Universe, varied over the decades, due to the capricious nature of the various writers, editors and storylines. At various times, Gotham was depicted as being on the shores of "Lake Gotham". The majority of appearances place Gotham as being on the east coast of the United States, however.
Current Batman comics state that Gotham City is located in New Jersey, with recent maps closely following the geography of southern Ocean County, placing Gotham's location nearly matching that of the Little Egg Harbor Township, and the downtown looking like the geography of the Mystic Island section of the town.
The 1960s live-action Batman television series never specified Gotham's location, though in the related theatrical movie, Gotham was shown to have a harbor and a beach.
In the 1997 film Batman and Robin in which the co-villan, Mr. Freeze, attempts to encapsulate the city in a block of ice using a giant laser, the targeting screen locates Gotham somewhere on the New England shoreline, possibly as far north as Maine.
The 2005 film Batman Begins leaves the location of Gotham ambiguous. Alfred comments that the caverns beneath Wayne Manor that are to be converted into the Batcave were once used by a Wayne ancestor to hide escaping slaves in the Underground Railroad, thereby placing it anywhere from the northeast United States to Iowa. It is likely on the east coast as it does have a port that leads to the ocean. However, many of the visible license plates in the film, including Rachel Dawes', are based on the Illinois license plate. In several shots are seen various skyscrapers of Chicago, including a part of the Sears Tower, Two Prudential Plaza, and the twin Marina City towers. In other scenes, lower Manhattan is shown pre-9/11, as parts of the World Trade Center towers can be seen. But as with both the Sears Tower and the World Trade Center, only the lower portions are shown, probably to preserve the Gothic nature of Gotham City. In addition, Wayne Tower is, in reality, the Chicago Board of Trade.
The 1990s depicted a driver's license of a Gotham area resident, listing his hometown as "Gotham Estates, NY" (as seen in the first season episode "Joker's Favor"). This implies that Gotham City borders or is within the state of New York, and has suburbs (such as Gotham Estates) within commuting distance. In one episode, when Bruce Wayne leaves for England, it shows Gotham City located on New York's Long Island, clearly in the same location of Queens County.
In another episode of Batman: The Animated Series, however, it is implied that Gotham resides in a state of the same name, as a prison workshop was shown stamping license plates that read "Gotham - The Dark Deco State" (as a reference to the artistic style of the series, this plate may have been intended to simply be one of the visual gags that were common on the program). Also, the Batman: The Animated Series episode "" states that Gotham City has a population of approximately 10 million people, approximately 2 million more than that of New York City.
The distance between Gotham City and Metropolis has varied over the years, with the two cities having been shown as everywhere from being hundreds of miles apart to being twin cities on opposite sides of a large bay. Blüdhaven, a city that for several years was home to Nightwing, is located near Gotham City. Additionally, in the Seven Soldiers of Victory series Klarion the Witch Boy, New York City is called the "Cinderella City", referring to nearby Metropolis and Gotham as its "ugly step-sisters".
Also, issue #3 of the Man-Bat series establishes Gotham City in the Central Time zone.
Sources
- Brady, Matthew and Williams, Dwight. Daily Planet Guide to Gotham City. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: West End Games under license from DC Comics, 2000.
- Brown, Eliot. "Gotham City Skyline". Secret Files & Origins Guide to the DC Universe 2000. New York: DC Comics, 2000.
- Grant, Alan. "The Last Arkham". #1. New York: DC Comics, 1992.
- Loeb, Jeph. . New York: DC Comics, 1997.
- Miller, Frank. . New York: DC Comics, 1988.
- Morrison, Grant. Arkham Asylum. New York: DC Comics, 1990.
- O'Neil, Dennis. "Destroyer". #27. New York: DC Comics, 1992.
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