Thanks to the creation of the new website for Gotham, we finally have a logo to associate with the series, which is set to explore the city of the Dark Knight prior to his arrival. The only other piece of information we are provided with is a very long description of the show, name-dropping not only James Gordon (who appears to be central to the series, as it is set to follow the rookie as he rises through the ranks to police commissioner) and his partner Harvey Bullock, but also a 12 year old, newly-orphaned Bruce Wayne, Alfred, and several big-name super-villains prior to their transformation.
It seems that this will be the origin story for everyone, as we glimpse the boy before he takes the cowl, the police officer before he rises through the ranks, and those destined for crime before they adopt their villain personas…
“Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world’s greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon’s story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?
GOTHAM is an origin story of the great DC Comics super villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist,” “Rome”), GOTHAM follows one cop’s rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.Growing up in Gotham City’s surrounding suburbs, JAMES GORDON (Ben McKenzie, “Southland,” “The O.C.”) romanticized the city as a glamorous and exciting metropolis where his late father once served as a successful district attorney. Now, two weeks into his new job as a Gotham City detective and engaged to his beloved fiancée, BARBARA KEAN (Erin Richards, “Open Grave,” “Breaking In”), Gordon is living his dream – even as he hopes to restore the city back to the pure version he remembers it was as a kid.
Brave, honest and ready to prove himself, the newly-minted detective is partnered with the brash, but shrewd police legend HARVEY BULLOCK (Donal Logue, “Sons of Anarchy,” “Terriers,” “Vikings,” “Copper”), as the two stumble upon the city’s highest-profile case ever: the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor: the Waynes’ hauntingly intense 12-year-old son, BRUCE (David Mazouz, “Touch”), toward whom the young detective feels an inexplicable kinship. Moved by the boy’s profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer.
As he navigates the often-underhanded politics of Gotham’s criminal justice system, Gordon will confront imposing gang boss FISH MOONEY (Jada Pinkett Smith, “The Matrix” films, “HawthoRNe,” “Collateral”), and many of the characters who will become some of fiction’s most renowned, enduring villains, including a teenaged SELINA KYLE/the future CATWOMAN (acting newcomer Camren Bicondova) and OSWALD COBBLEPOT/THE PENGUIN (Robin Lord Taylor, “The Walking Dead,” “Another Earth”).
Although the crime drama will follow Gordon’s turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, led by Police Captain SARAH ESSEN (Zabryna Guevara, “Burn Notice”), it also will focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, ALFRED (Sean Pertwee, “Camelot,” “Elementary”). It is a friendship that will last them all of their lives, playing a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he’s destined to be.
GOTHAM is based upon characters published by DC Comics and is produced by Warner Bros. Television. Executive producer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist”) wrote the pilot, which will be directed and executive-produced by Emmy Award nominee Danny Cannon (the “CSI” series, “Nikita”).”
Yikes, seems like a lot, but it manages to highlight some key facts about the series. As it seems that Gordon will be pursuing Joe Chill, the man who murdered Bruce’s parents. Due to it’s importance to Gordon, this seems to be one of the central features of the series – Gordon tracking down Joe Chill to bring him to justice. Do we have our first season being teased, or would it be too soon to bring this key character to Gordon and Bruce’s relationship?
What is interesting is that they name drop iconic Batman villain Joker…despite canon having our pale-faced, grinning fiend making his appearance much later on in Bruce’s life. Joker’s backstory is not very clear – in the iconic The Killing Joke, it alludes to a possible backstory for the character, but he claims that he likes to keep his past as multiple choice…
I certainly have my fingers crossed for this one…
