Batman: 10 Best Versions Of Gotham City

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Gotham City needs Batman. It’s arguably one of the worst places to live in comics, with villains like Joker, the Riddler and Bane popping up every few weeks to declare war, poison Gotham or destroy Batman, regardless of the civilian casualties in their way. Across Batman media, from comics, to TV shows, to movies and beyond, fans have seen many incredible versions of the Dark Knight’s home.

Gotham City was originally a metropolis based on most American cities at the time, but writers and artists slowly defined Gotham with added characteristics and architecture. Now, Gotham is often gothic and haunting. Many fans turn to the “dark deco” style from Batman: The Animated Series, while others favor Tim Burton’s nightmarish, grungy Gotham from Batman (1989) and Batman Returns. There is no wrong answer when choosing the best Gotham City.

10

Gotham Architecture By Jae Lee

Batman/Superman (New 52)

The first Batman/Superman volume that premiered during the New 52 was short-lived, and Gotham City barely appeared in the series, but those first two issues of the book, featuring stunning, haunting art from Jae Lee, really established Gotham as a living, breathing tapestry of art.

When Clark Kent visits Gotham City for the first time, he notes the gothic architecture and the chilling statues in the park. Even as he moves through the city, the statues and trees seem to constrict around him like haunted spirits. With abstract architecture and nods to past Gothams (such as the blimps from Batman: The Animated Series) Lee’s Gotham stood as one of the most beautiful depictions in Batman comics.

9

Batman Vs. The Court Of Owls

Batman / Detective Comics (New 52)

Readers spent several years in the New 52 Gotham City, and though the reboot was originally met with criticism, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo opened their Batman run with the perfect story that connected readers, and even Bruce Wayne, to Gotham City in new ways.

With the emergence of the Court of Owls, the entire power dynamic of Gotham City shifted overnight, Batman was no longer at the helm pf Gotham––instead falling one step behind an organization that had apparently orchestrated events in Gotham for generations. With less emphasis on aesthetic, the New 52 Gotham instead served a purpose of altering readers’ perception of the city and throwing Batman off his game.

8

Batman’s War On Crime

Batman: The Long Halloween

Jeph Loeb crafted memorable versions of Batman and his rogues gallery in The Long Halloween, but the atmosphere in Gotham City was entirely the work of artists Tim Sale and Gregory Wright. Sale’s art put Batman in shadows and Gotham similarly felt dark, obscured and mysterious.

Wright’s colors were simple, yet effective, with each chapter representing their starring villains. Though villains like Catwoman and Joker stole the show, The Long Halloween‘s Gotham was very much grounded and built on the backs of the old-fashioned crime families like the Falcones.

7

A Gotham City As Dark As The Batman

The Batman (Matt Reeves)

Tim Burton’s Batman universe looked like it stepped out of a Dracula movie, whereas many feel that Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight universe looked too much like the real world. The Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises lost some of the “charm” seen in Batman Begins‘ Narrows. However, The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, featured a Gotham City that blended the two.

On the surface, The Batman‘s Gotham looked like a modern-day city, but as fans saw Batman walk the shadowed streets, and Bruce Wayne drive around the corners littered with garbage and covered in neon signs, a vision of this Gotham formed––it’s a corrupt city ruled by crime and broken despite failed attempts to cover up the cracks.

6

Gotham City Across 100 Episodes Of Television

Gotham (2014)

Gotham was an exciting show when it first debuted, coming off the heels of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Set in a Gotham City before the Batman, fans didn’t know what to expect. While the earlier versions of the show focused more on organized crime, later seasons delved deeper into the fantastical side of Batman.

Characters began leaning heavily into their villainous personas, with the Penguin wearing his iconic top hat and the Riddler dressing in green. Gotham had mixed reviews, but it did provide 100 episodes of a version of Gotham fans had never seen before, offering one interpretation of a corrupt city, filled with villainy, that inspired a Batman.

5

Frank Miller’s Gotham City

The Dark Knight Returns

The second half of The Dark Knight Returns focuses heavily on threats and conflicts on the global scale, culminating in the epic showdown between Batman and Superman. However, the earliest parts of The Dark Knight Returns best highlight Frank Miller’s version of Gotham City.

An older, retired Bruce Wayne walks the streets of Gotham, battles thugs who joined the Mutants, and readers receive glimpses of how this Gotham City operates through the talking heads of news reporters. Miller’s Gotham is alive, opinionated and cynical.

4

The Animated Gotham City Established The Look Of The DCAU

Batman: The Animated Series / The New Batman Adventures

To many comic book fans, the Gotham City from Batman: The Animated Series is the quintessential Gotham. All others should look to the DCAU Gotham for inspiration because the look and feel of the city, not to mention the characters who inhabited it, made the series more memorable.

Series showrunners Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski described the style of Batman: The Animated Series as “dark deco”––a world inspired by the designs of the old Worlds Fair. A world where buildings were rounded, TVs were still in black and white and all backgrounds were painted on black paper.

3

Tim Burton’s Gothic Gotham City

Batman (1989) / Batman Returns (1992)

Batman may have been dominating the comic sphere in the 80s, thanks to books like The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke, but general audiences could not shake the image of Adam West’s Batman from their minds. Tim Burton fought an uphill battle and completely revolutionized Batman in pop culture.

In both the Batman and Batman Returns films, the live-action Dark Knight was truly born, and a dark version of Gotham City came with him. Burton’s Gotham is gothic, with gargoyles perched atop churches that extend to the skies. The streets are dirty and filled with perpetual steam and everything looks like it was shot with the brightness one setting too low.

2

Neo-Gotham Needs Batman Beyond

Batman Beyond / Justice League Unlimited

The DC Animated Universe already had their versions of Batman and Gotham City, but Batman Beyond allowed Warner Bros. animation to create a brand-new version of both. The opening of “Rebirth,” the two-parter premiere of Batman Beyond, still retains the rounded police cars from Batman: The Animated Series, but the first time skip shows how much Gotham evolved in Bruce Wayne’s senior years.

Neo-Gotham looks more like Blade Runner than Batman, yet it works for the story and the character of Terry McGinnis. Neo-Gotham wasn’t just aesthetically pleasing––a futuristic Gotham built on the foundations of the old city––its heavy sci-fi influences allowed for new Batman villains to rise, such as Spellbinder and Shriek, using advanced technology of the era.

1

Fans Experienced Every Level Of The Arkhamverse Gotham

Batman: Arkham Asylum / Arkham City / Arkham Origins / Arkham Knight

The Arkhamverse might just have the best version of Batman in any medium. Similarly, everything else in the Batman mythos, from gadgets to villains, is likely just as interesting, if not more so, than their comic counterparts. The same is true of Gotham City.

Arkham Asylum had all the supernatural elements of Gotham. Arkham City showed how much Batman’s villains influence the city, each taking over their own borough. Arkham Knight highlighted Gotham as the metropolis that it is. And the best part about Gotham in the Arkhamverse? The fans can play within it. More than a shot in a movie or a panel in a comic, the Arkhamverse has the added bonus of being alive––moving around the player.

“}]] Fans have seen a few different versions of Gotham City over the years, from Batman’s main comic version to film and TV variants in shows like Gotham.  Read More