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122-518: The signal is used by the Gotham City Police Department as a method of contacting and summoning Batman in the event his help is needed, but also as a weapon of psychological intimidation to the numerous criminals of Gotham City. It doubles as the primary logo for the Batman series of comic books, TV shows, and films. To celebrate Batman's 80th anniversary, DC Comics and Warner Bros. lit

244-555: A nickname for New York City that first became popular in the 19th century; Washington Irving had first attached it to New York in the November 11, 1807, edition of his Salmagundi , a periodical which lampooned New York culture and politics. Irving took the name from the English village of Gotham, Nottinghamshire , which was known for the Wise Men of Gotham story, a legendary incident where

366-529: A Gotham City in 2039, referred to as "Neo-Gotham". Gotham City was first shown in the Arrowverse as part of " Elseworlds ", a 2018 crossover storyline among the shows, which introduced Batwoman , although it had been referred to several times previously. In The Flash episode "Marathon", a map shows Gotham City in place of Chicago, Illinois. Themed lands meant to represent Gotham City have been physically constructed in several different theme parks around

488-514: A Gotham area resident's hometown as "Gotham Estates, NY ". In the episode "Avatar" , when Bruce Wayne leaves for England, a map shows Gotham City, at the joining of Long Island and the Hudson River. The episode "Fire from Olympus" shows a character's address in a police file indicating that Gotham City is located in New York state. The episode "The Mechanic" , however, implies that Gotham resides in

610-534: A Norwegian mercenary, before subsequently being taken over by the English; this parallels the history of New York City , which was founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam before being conquered by England and renamed New York . During the American Revolutionary War , Gotham City was the site of a major battle between American and British forces (paralleling the real-life Battle of Long Island ). This

732-600: A building one rainy night in Gotham. Batman removes a sheet to reveal the Bat Signal and proceeds to turn it on. Their audience is shown the projected image of the Batman logo in the sky until a figure appears out of nowhere in its place. A close-up of the figure reveals it is Superman glaring down at Batman readying his heat vision, as Batman stares back at the Man of Steel. In the actual film,

854-580: A cross between 1930s Manhattan and the "Neo-Tokyo" of Akira . Ling cited " neon-ridden Tokyo and the Machine Age as her influences, describing her Gotham as "like a World's Fair on ecstasy ." When Batman is pursuing Two-Face in Batman Forever , the chase ends at Lady Gotham, the fictional equivalent of the Statue of Liberty . During Mr. Freeze's attempt to freeze Gotham in the film Batman & Robin ,

976-431: A dark path. So, that's kind of the way we start for him in season 4." According to Stephens, "We're going to see Jim make, in some ways, big steps toward I guess what you would call the commissionership. But also we're going to see Jim, in his quest to save the city, cross different ethical lines than he ever did before. It's going to bring him to an ethical nadir that we haven't seen him at, and it's going to be told through

1098-421: A draft; it was informative". For the second half of the season, Cameron Monaghan stated that "We're borrowing very heavily from some of the most iconic Batman storylines. I think that they're deep enough, and they show where its really splitting that duality and start totally embracing the main arcs. I think that we did a little bit in season three to bring it into The Killing Joke ." He also added that

1220-426: A fourth season on May 10, 2017. Just like the second and third seasons, the fourth season also carried a new subtitle for the season: A Dark Knight . The producers revealed that the season would be based on the comic book stories Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Year One . According to executive producer John Stephens , the season would not consist of "direct adaptations", but "loose interpretations" of

1342-413: A highly developed sense of what's right and wrong—it just might not be a sense of right and wrong that corresponds with everybody else's." He also added that, "When they [the writers] had somebody who played Sweeney Todd , they knew the direction they wanted to go... [Broadway fans who don't watch Gotham ] might give it a look simply because of that, and find that they have a new favorite show." Regarding

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1464-425: A kid at times – but Gordon will eventually become aware of what he's doing and that will bring them against each other." David Mazouz also added, "Bruce really is taking on this vigilante persona and all the things that go along with that. Whether it be creating another persona, a public persona, that's also definitely going to be a major part of Bruce's journey this year. His relationship as this other person. Batman

1586-507: A man named Atkins. In the wake of Bane's takeover of the city, a man named Dunch served as mayor, and in the aftermath of the Joker War, anti-vigilante mayoral candidate Christopher Nakano wins election in a landslide. In multiple episodes of the 1960s live-action Batman television series , Batman is seen consulting a transparent lucite map of Gotham, which was actually an inverted map of St. Louis . The live-action TV series Gotham

1708-462: A new position this year", also teasing that Jerome would be an ally to Penguin on the season. Ben McKenzie said, "Jerome is one of our most beloved characters. The idea here was to really give the audience more time to enjoy and savor [Cameron Monaghan's] performance." Regarding the partnership between Jerome and Penguin, Robin Lord Taylor said "You have Jerome, who is chaos, and you have Oswald, who

1830-415: A perfect time for young Bruce Wayne to finally embrace his destiny as a masked vigilante, doesn't it?" while Albert Achar from IndieWire commented, "it looks like it is going to be a very wild ride." As part of promotion for the ninth episode "Let Them Eat Pie", Fox released a " red band " trailer featuring Michael Cerveris as Professor Pyg , teasing a Sweeney Todd storyline in the episode as well as

1952-657: A section themed after Gotham City, including rides based on Batman, the Riddler and the Scarecrow as well as a walk-through attraction called "The Joker's Funhouse." The park and its Gotham City section were designed by Thinkwell Group . DC characters as they appear in both the attractions themselves as well as through live performers feature costumes based on The New 52 comic book relaunch from 2011. The Gotham City section neighbors another section themed after Metropolis , home of Superman . Batman (1989) director Tim Burton wanted

2074-453: A spotlight after a confrontation at the docks, Falcone's silhouette on the spotlight vaguely resembling a bat. On the 1992 television show Batman: The Animated Series , the signal is introduced in the episode "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy", though a makeshift signal was used earlier in " Joker's Favor ". In 2004's The Batman , Gordon invents it to summon Batman in "Night in the City", although

2196-451: A state of the same name; a prison workshop is shown stamping license plates that read "Gotham: The Dark Deco State" (as a reference to the artistic style of the series). The episode " Harlequinade " states that Gotham City has a population of approximately 10 million people. This figure was also given in the 1960s Batman TV series episode Egg Grows in Gotham, the thirteenth episode of the second season. Batman Beyond (1999–2001) envisions

2318-513: A surviving Catwoman looks on. In Joel Schumacher 's 1995 sequel Batman Forever , the criminal psychologist Dr. Chase Meridian uses the Bat-Signal to call Batman, to seduce him. Batman is slightly peeved at this: "The Bat-Signal is not a beeper ". Later, the Riddler alters the Bat-Signal by projecting a question mark into the sky with the Bat-symbol forming the dot at the base. (The Riddler in

2440-478: A symbol of hope for the good people left in Gotham and later meets with Bruce at the Floodlight in " Year Zero ". In the series finale " The Beginning... ", Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock re-ignite the searchlight to celebrate Bruce Wayne's return to Gotham after ten years. Alfred Pennyworth then arrives and informs them that Bruce is otherwise engaged and can not attend their meeting. However, having noticed

2562-465: A timeless alternative to New York and described it as "hell burst through the pavement and grew". The look of Gotham was overseen by production designer Anton Furst , who won an Oscar for supervising the art department. Furst stated Batman was "definitely based in many ways on the worst aspects of New York City" and was inspired by Andreas Feininger 's photographs of 1940s New York. Furst's draftsman Nigel Phelps created numerous charcoal drawings of

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2684-468: A visual expression of corruption and greed? That got me thinking about the fascistic architecture employed at world's fairs... That feels corrupt because it's evocative of oppressive bureaucracies and dictatorships... So I looked at a lot of [Third Reich] art and images from world's fairs". To physically make the city seem darker, he designed tall "oppressively overbuilt" cityscape that physically blocked out light. When Joel Schumacher took over directing

2806-504: A window to try to contact Batman. In the 1993 film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm , Batman is being hunted by the police as a suspect in the recent murder of several gang lords (a crime committed by the Phantasm ), and Bullock, under orders from Councilman Arthur Reeves, tries to use the Bat-Signal to lure him in. Batman, knowing that it is a trap, does not respond. It is also used at the end of

2928-600: Is a fictional city in the Eastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes . Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane , the city was first identified as Batman's place of residence in Batman #4 (December 1940) and has since been the primary setting for stories featuring

3050-435: Is able to summon. We're completely unafraid—or perhaps afraid but we still persist–in expanding the universe and our capabilities." Tahan commented on his character, "He's sort of trying to build an army with this toxin. Scarecrow might start brainwashing people. I'm not exactly sure what his endgame is—I don't even know if he knows. He has this revelation that he doesn't have to fear fear." However, due to Tahan's commitment to

3172-632: Is also Catwoman , Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) , Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) , Signal , Batwing , Batwoman , and Huntress . Other DC characters have also been depicted to be living in Gotham, such as mercenary Tommy Monaghan and renowned demonologist Jason Blood . Within modern DC Universe continuity, Batman is not the first hero in Gotham. Stories featuring Alan Scott , the Golden Age Green Lantern , set before and during World War II depict Scott living in Gotham, and later depictions show him running his Gotham Broadcasting Corporation. Also,

3294-524: Is coming. Absolutely." Mazouz also stated that he was worried the writers could pull back some aspects from Batman, deeming it "too fast" but he was glad it didn't stop. He said that Bruce would take the "Batman persona" this season. Cannon also explained that Bruce will be seen "as the emerging threat he is." Alexander Siddig stated that his character will seek to make Bruce his heir and will "do anything he can to get his hands on him, to manipulate him into what [Ra's] wants him to be." He also claimed that

3416-510: Is control. So you can imagine, there are ways that those can integrate, but at the same time they're opposites." Stephens also added that Fish Mooney is "gone for good", saying, "Now, that one was it. At a certain point, you gotta say 'Definitely.' People die at a certain point, and that's the second or third time they die [on Gotham ]" Filming for the season began on June 20, 2017, at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York . In January 2018, it

3538-429: Is intent on kind of making the world in the image she sees it should be, which is the green world. The world where the plants rule and people are an after thought." As a concept McKenzie wished to explore, the fourth season was set to bring back the actor Charlie Tahan as Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow , who portrayed the character on the first-season episodes: " The Fearsome Dr. Crane " and " The Scarecrow ". A trailer

3660-580: Is located in New Jersey. In The World's Greatest Super Heroes (August 13, 1978) comic strip, a map is shown placing Gotham City in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. World's Finest Comics #259 (November 1979) also confirms that Gotham is in New Jersey. The New Adventures of Superboy #22 (October 1981) and the 1990 Atlas of the DC Universe both show maps of Gotham City in New Jersey and Metropolis in

3782-504: Is manipulating them both into combat so that Superman will either be killed by Batman's kryptonite spear or forever compromise his image by killing Batman to save his mother . During the battle, the Bat-Signal is destroyed when Superman throws Batman into it. The Bat-Signal appears again in Justice League and its director's cut , with Gordon using it to call Batman along with Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Cyborg. It also appears again at

Bat-Signal - Misplaced Pages Continue

3904-568: Is merely a robotic replacement. In the episode "The Cat, the Bat, and the Ugly" of the animated TV series The Batman , Batman has just foiled a plot that The Penguin tried to pull on top of a lighthouse. After talking to Detective Yin, Batman is standing in front of the lighthouse light when the Bat Signal appears in the sky. In the second-season finale, "Night in the City" after newly inducted Commissioner Gordon finally agrees to ally with Batman; he begins using

4026-477: Is needed after he defeats The Joker . In Burton's 1992 sequel Batman Returns , Batman has mirrors stationed atop Wayne Manor that reflect the Bat-Signal through his window, alerting him to its presence in the night sky. The signal is used when Commissioner Gordon needs Batman's help when the Red Triangle Circus Gang attack Max Shreck during Christmas and appears again at the end of the film as

4148-467: Is not the Dollotrons." He described the character as having "a Hannibal Lecter -ish quality." He also jokingly added that he couldn't eat bacon "because I just can't bring myself to eat my little friends." Donal Logue stated, "We have Michael Cerveris coming in and playing Professor Pyg and he's such an incredibly gifted actor and, as happens a lot, the gentlest and most gifted of artistic souls can play

4270-590: Is set in Gotham City, was filmed in Chicago . The 2024 series The Penguin is set in Gotham City. Gotham City is featured heavily in Batman: The Animated Series . When describing Gotham City Paul Dini , a writer and director of the show, stated "In my mind, it was sort of like what if the 1939 World's Fair had gone on another 60 years or so". ' In the episode " Joker's Favor ", a driver's license lists

4392-438: Is titled The State of New York vs. Arthur Fleck . Gotham City is the home of Batman , just as Metropolis is home to Superman , and the two heroes often work together in both cities. In comic book depictions, the exact distance between Gotham and Metropolis has varied over the years, with the cities usually being within driving distance of each other. The two cities are sometimes portrayed as twin cities on opposite sides of

4514-528: The Batman film series from Tim Burton, Barbara Ling handled the production design for both of Schumacher's films, Batman Forever (1995) and 1997's Batman & Robin . Ling's vision of Gotham City was a luminous and outlandish evocation of modern Expressionism and Constructivism . Its futuristic design, which Washington Post critic Desson Howe felt evoked the 1982 film Blade Runner , were described by Ling in her book, Bigger, Bolder, Brighter: The Production Design of Batman & Robin as

4636-523: The Delaware Bay , with Gotham in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. The Atlas of the DC Universe from the 1990s places Metropolis in Delaware and Gotham City in New Jersey. New York has also garnered the nickname Metropolis to describe the city in the daytime in popular culture, contrasting with Gotham , sometimes used to describe New York City at night. During the Bronze Age of Comic Books ,

4758-568: The Dollotrons , Cerveris stated, "You know how much he's liked the Pyg in the comics, but I would say that his focus in Gotham is more on things to do with Gotham and with the city and with Jim Gordon. He's certainly is the manipulative character, and certainly, you know, is trying to get people to do stuff whether they know why they're doing it or not. But, that's sort of exclusive. His whole reason for existing

4880-469: The Tim Burton films' "otherworldly timelessness," incorporating period features such as black-and-white title cards , police airships (although no such thing existed, Timm has stated that he found it to fit the show's style), and a "vintage" color scheme with film noir flourishes. Police airships have since been incorporated into Batman comic books and are a recurring element in Gotham City. Concerning

5002-464: The roaring 20s , and then there's this other really kind of heavy Blade Runner vibe floating around. There are elements of it that are completely contemporary and there are pieces of it that are very old-fashioned...There were a couple of examples of modern technology, but maybe an antiquated version of it, that gave me a little bit of sense that it's certainly not the 50s and the 60s...But it's not high tech and it's not futuristic, by any means." In

Bat-Signal - Misplaced Pages Continue

5124-447: The "dark and often cursed character" of the city was influenced by the being who now uses the name "Doctor Gotham." In Gotham Underground #2 by Frank Tieri , Tobias Whale claims that 19th century Gotham was run by five rival gangs, until the first "masks" appeared, eventually forming a gang of their own. It is not clear whether these were vigilantes or costumed criminals. Many storylines have added more events to Gotham's history, at

5246-580: The 1990 " Prey " storyline in Legends of the Dark Knight . In the 2006 series Batman and the Mad Monk , Commissioner James Gordon initially uses a pager to contact Batman, but during a meeting with the superhero, Gordon throws it away, saying he prefers a more public means of contacting him. After Batman departs, Gordon looks out at the city and considers the exceptional view from his current position, hinting at

5368-833: The Bat Annual #1 (June 1993) further establishes that Gotham City is in New Jersey. Sal E. Jordan's driver's license in the comic shows his address as "72 Faxcol Dr Gotham City, NJ 12345", although the ZIP Code is actually in Schenectady, New York . The 2016 film Suicide Squad reveals Gotham City to be in the state of New Jersey within the DC Extended Universe . Both 2021's The Batman , and its 2024 TV spinoff The Penguin have Gotham City in New Jersey as can be seen with in-universe drivers licenses. However, 2024's Joker: Folie à Deux places Gotham City in New York as Joker's trial

5490-475: The Bat symbol against the clouds. The Bat-Signal seldom appeared in the 1960s TV series , Commissioner Gordon generally contacting Batman using a dedicated phone line (the Batphone ). However, the Bat-Signal was occasionally used (for instance, in the episode "The Sandman Cometh" when Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are away on a camping trip), whenever Batman needed to be summoned from the field. Its first appearance

5612-464: The Bat-Signal by changing it to a "Robin-Signal" to lure Robin into a trap. In Christopher Nolan 's 2005 film Batman Begins , then-lieutenant James "Jim" Gordon finds the mobster Carmine Falcone strapped onto a searchlight in the docks of Gotham City, for the Gotham Police force to arrest him, left by Batman. Lieutenant Gordon then notices that Falcone's shadow is projected into the clouds of

5734-628: The Bat-Signal in thirteen cities on September 21, 2019, starting in Melbourne and ending in Los Angeles . The Bat-Signal first appeared in Detective Comics #60 (February 1942). The signal has several different origins in comics featuring post- Crisis continuity. It is introduced as a new tool after Batman's first encounter with the Joker in the 2005 series Batman: The Man Who Laughs , and also during

5856-462: The Bat-Signal is first referenced when Superman lands in front of the Batmobile , causing it to crash into an empty warehouse, Superman tears the car open to inform Batman not to respond the next time they shine his light in the sky. Later, believing Superman responsible for the bombing of Congress, Batman activates the Bat-Signal himself to draw Superman to Gotham to confront him, unaware that Lex Luthor

5978-549: The Bat-Signal to contact Batman for petty things like having someone to talk to about his failing marriage. Batman gets so annoyed that he confiscates the Bat Signal. By the end of the episode, they make amends and Batman restores it. The Bat-Signal appears in the kid & family-friendly animated TV series, Batwheels . In the Season 2 episode, " Bat-Light Blow-Out ",… Gotham City Police Department Gotham City ( / ˈ ɡ ɒ θ əm / GOTH -əm ), or simply Gotham ,

6100-404: The Bat-Signal. After that, his "Batwave" alarm was rarely used. At the beginning of The Lego Batman Movie , Commissioner Gordon attempted to use the Bat-Signal to alert Batman only for it to be egged by Egghead thus disabling it. Later Batman uses the Bat-Signal to make different versions of the symbol for Robin, Barbara, Alfred, and many of Batman's allies summoning them to team up and defeat

6222-509: The Clench virus after leaving office. A woman, Marion Grange, became mayor with the backing of Bruce Wayne but was assassinated in Washington, D.C. , while trying to secure federal aid for Gotham after an earthquake. In the wake of No Man's Land , Daniel Danforth Dickerson III served as mayor only to be killed by a sniper, after which he was replaced by David Hull. Seamus McGreevy served as mayor in

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6344-518: The Comics , writer Bill Finger , on the naming of the city, said, "Originally I was going to call Gotham City ' Civic City .' Then I tried 'Capital City,' then ' Coast City .' Then I flipped through the New York City phone book and spotted the name 'Gotham Jewelers' and said, 'That's it,' Gotham City. We didn't call it New York because we wanted anybody in any city to identify with it." "Gotham" has been

6466-513: The GCPD to turn a blind eye to Batman's activities after Batman saved his daughter. Mayor Hill was in office when the Joker debuted, and a man named Gill was mayor early in Batman's career, as was former police commissioner Grogan. An unnamed bald mayor was killed by a villain known as Midnight. Men named Carfax, Bradley Stokes, Sheppard, Taylor, and Hayes all served as mayor. Mayor Charles Chesterfield

6588-569: The Gates of Gotham, each bearing one of their last names. Edward Elliot became increasingly jealous of the Wayne family's popularity and wealth during this period, jealousy that would spread to his great-great-grandson, Thomas Elliot or Hush. The occult origins of Gotham are further delved into by Peter Milligan 's 1990 story arc "Dark Knight, Dark City", which reveals that some of the Founding Fathers of

6710-635: The Gotham City Police Department is the focus of the series Gotham Central , as well as the mini-series Gordon's Law , Bullock's Law , and Batman: GCPD . The first Gotham mayor depicted in comics was in Detective Comics #68 (October 1942). Theodore Cobblepot, great grandfather of the Penguin , was mayor in the late 19th century. An unnamed mayor ran afoul of the Court of Owls in 1914 and

6832-522: The Joker. In Batman: Gotham by Gaslight , when Selina Kyle is being pursued by Jack the Ripper in an empty fair, she uses her blood and a spotlight to create a makeshift Bat-Signal to attract Batman's attention, sketching a bat on the light and aiming it at the sky. In the DC Super Hero Girls animated short "#BatCatcher", Batgirl mistakenly believes she is summoned by the Bat-Signal when in reality

6954-484: The Mad Hatter and the Scarecrow, hatching a plot to plunge Gotham City into anarchy. Although he is ultimately killed, he manages to drive his twin brother Jeremiah Valeska insane by exposing him to Scarecrow's chemical gas. Jeremiah forms an alliance with the immortal Ra's al Ghul to threaten the city and push Bruce Wayne into fulfilling his destiny as "Gotham's Dark Knight". The show was officially renewed by Fox for

7076-552: The Metro-Narrows Bridge was depicted as the main route connecting the twin cities of Metropolis and Gotham City. It has been described as being the longest suspension bridge in the world. A map appeared in The New Adventures of Superboy #22 (October 1981), that showed Smallville within driving distance of both Metropolis and Gotham City; Smallville was relocated to Kansas in post-Crisis continuity. A map of

7198-630: The Pinkney structures they had hidden; the editorial purpose behind this was to transform the city depicted in the comics to resemble the designs created by Anton Furst for the 1989 Batman film. Batman Begins features a CGI-augmented version of Chicago while The Dark Knight more directly features Chicago infrastructure and architecture such as Navy Pier . The Dark Knight Rises forgoes Chicago, instead shooting in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, New Jersey, London, and Glasgow. Over

7320-502: The TV series Smallville , Gotham City is mentioned by the character Linda Lake in the episode "Hydro", who jokes she can see Gotham from her view. In "Reunion", one of Oliver Queen's friends mentions having to get back to Gotham. The fifth episode of Young Justice , entitled "Schooled", indicates that Gotham is located in Connecticut , near Bridgeport . The 2019 series Batwoman , which

7442-478: The United States are involved in summoning a bat-demon which becomes trapped beneath old "Gotham Town", its dark influence spreading as Gotham City evolves. A similar trend is followed in 2005's Shadowpact #5 by Bill Willingham , which expands upon Gotham's occult heritage by revealing a being who has slept for 40,000 years beneath the land upon which Gotham City was built. Strega, the being's servant, says that

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7564-653: The United States in The Secret Files & Origins Guide to the DC Universe 2000 #1 (March 2000) depicts Metropolis and Gotham City as being somewhere in the Tri-state Area alongside Blüdhaven . Within the DC Extended Universe, the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice depicts Gotham City as being located across a bay from Metropolis. Gotham City was founded in 1635 by Captain Jon Logerquist,

7686-558: The buildings and interior sets for the production. Following the death of Furst, Burton tapped Bo Welch to oversee production design for Batman Returns (1992). Burton wanted Welch to re-imagine Gotham, stating " Batman didn't feel big to me – it didn't have the power an old American city has". Welch wanted to expand on the same basic concept for the sequel but moved away from European influences to show more American Art Deco / world's fair elements. When asked what inspired his interpretation of Gotham, Welch stated "[H]ow can I create

7808-512: The character. In most of its incarnations, Gotham is depicted as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the world. Gotham City is traditionally depicted as being located in the U.S. state of New Jersey . Gotham's look and atmosphere were primarily influenced by New York City , but also drew inspiration from Chicago and London . Architect Hugh Ferriss ' designs also influenced the look and emotional feel of Gotham City, particularly in its later depictions. Bill Finger said that he chose

7930-604: The coldest night in November". Batman artist Neal Adams has long believed that Chicago has been the basis for Gotham, stating "one of the things about Chicago is Chicago has alleys (which are virtually nonexistent in New York). Back alleys, that's where Batman fights all the bad guys." The statement "Metropolis is New York by day; Gotham City is New York by night" has been variously attributed to comics creators Frank Miller and John Byrne . In designing Batman: The Animated Series , creators Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski emulated

8052-504: The comic book series. Ben McKenzie explained that the structure for the season would be "the beginning is more Long Halloween , our version of that, and the end is more Year One. " According to Stephens, the show would handle a horror-oriented direction on the season: "At the very beginning of the season, Penguin has solidified his control upon Gotham like never before. Where he's kind of unionized crime. And Scarecrow comes in to basically reintroduce fear into Gotham and to remind people that

8174-514: The comics uses a similar tactic in Batman: Dark Victory ; after brokering a tentative alliance with Batman, the Riddler changes the signal, projecting a question mark into the sky to let Batman know that he has an answer for him). A music video for " Kiss from a Rose ", also from Batman Forever , features singer Seal performing the song while standing near the Bat-Signal. In Schumacher's 1997 film Batman & Robin , Poison Ivy alters

8296-404: The context of a relationship that he has with Sofia Falcone, the daughter of Don Falcone, who's played by Crystal Reed this year. And that's going to be a really compelling and interesting relationship." Sean Pertwee also stated that the season will also explore Alfred's mysterious past "indirectly". McKenzie made his writing debut on the episode " The Demon's Head ", after previously directing

8418-449: The dark is still scary out there. And we're really going to fashion, especially Episode 2, almost a horror movie episode where we really get to see Scarecrow. I think he's like purely terrifying. Imagine, rather than the other versions of Scarecrow out there—because there are a lot of different versions—what if you just really tell Scarecrow as a horror movie? Because he could be scary as hell." Executive producer Danny Cannon stated, "When

8540-443: The darkest, creepiest human beings known to literature or film." Besides, the character of Tommy Elliot was also set to return to the show, having appeared in the episode " The Mask ". However, co-executive producer Bryan Wynbrandt added, "Obviously when Tommy Elliot is discussed, there's always is that Hush storyline . That is something that we've discussed. Right now, we're kind of still feeling that out. It could be something on

8662-404: The directing came fairly naturally. It was challenging, but there were a lot of things that I understood about directing just from observing, just from watching director's work. Writing often takes place behind-the-scenes. Physical production is not privy to how scripts come out... I wasn't so familiar with that process of breaking a story, of starting with a story document, then an outline, and then

8784-457: The empire of Carmine Falcone; his daughter Sofia arrives in Gotham with the intent of rebuilding her family empire. At the same time, Riddler escapes his icy prison and allies with Lee, who has become leader of the Narrows. Serving as their enforcer is an amnesiac resurrected Butch, who now goes by the name Solomon Grundy. During the second half of the season, Joker breaks out of Arkham Asylum with

8906-417: The end of the film, after reluctantly agreeing to let Batman take the blame for the murders committed by Harvey Dent to preserve Dent's image as Gotham's hero, Gordon hesitantly destroys the signal using an axe in front of various members of the police force and the press. In the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises , the rusted remains of the destroyed Bat-Signal are still atop police headquarters. However, at

9028-483: The end of the film, with Batman declared dead, Gordon sees a restored Bat-Signal, providing hope that Batman has survived. (The signal itself is never used once in the film, however, making it the only live-action film about Batman where this occurs.) During 2014's SDCC , a teaser for Zack Snyder 's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was shown to the audience in Hall H. The teaser showed Batman in his armored Batsuit atop

9150-476: The end. The Bat-Signal is a major plot point in the 2022 film The Batman , directed by Matt Reeves who co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig . Unknown to anyone, Gotham Police Lieutenant James Gordon flashes the signal in the sky from one of the old Gotham Renewal Project buildings as a mode of contacting and meeting with Batman. Batman and Gordon use the signal to call each other to the location to meet and discuss. Batman in his opening monologue states that

9272-436: The evolution of Gotham throughout the years, former Batman editor Paul Levitz has stated, "Each guy adds their own vision. That's the fun of comics, rebuilding a city each time". In Batman: Gothic , Gotham Cathedral plays a central role in the story since it is built by Mr. Whisper, the story's antagonist. In a 1992 storyline, a man obsessed with Pinkney's architecture blew up several Gotham buildings in order to reveal

9394-469: The federal government cutting Gotham off from the rest of the United States in the 1999 storyline " No Man's Land ", the city's remaining residents forced to engage in gang warfare, either as active participants or paying for protection from groups ranging from the GCPD to the Penguin, just to stay alive. Eventually, Gotham was rebuilt and returned to the U.S. as part of a campaign mounted by Lex Luthor , who used

9516-473: The film to call Batman to action once again (after Batman was cleared of the murder charges). The Bat-Signal is not used in the 1999 series Batman Beyond , save for one appearance, as Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon both has a direct line to the Batcave and is not as cooperative with the original Batman and his successor as her father was. The one appearance of the signal is in "Ascension", where Paxton Powers,

9638-405: The finale of the fourth season , " A Dark Knight: No Man's Land ", James Gordon has Lucius Fox activate the Floodlight on top of the G.C.P.D building. After the episode, Gordon tells Bruce Wayne that the signal is meant to be a symbol of hope, while both are looking up at the clouds illuminated by the Floodlight. During No Man's Land in the fifth season , Gordon continues using the signal as

9760-427: The first half of the season, the second half experienced new series lows in the spring and being in danger of cancellation. Despite the ratings drop, Fox renewed the show for a fifth and final season on May 13, 2018. Crime in Gotham has been reined in by Penguin, who has issued a law in the underworld that licenses must be obtained before any criminal activity. However, things turn out for the improve when Batman ends

9882-406: The future Bat-Signal was used by police before it was a calling card for Batman, also stating that the series introduced the early uses of the Bat-Signal. After the third-season finale, " Heroes Rise: Heavydirtysoul ", Bruce Wayne is seen standing on a ledge overlooking the city as a searchlight gradually rises and picks out an area of the dark cloud that, when illuminated, looks like a bat. In

10004-523: The future creation of the Signal. In the 1989 Batman film , Batman gives the signal to the Gotham police force, enabling them to call him when the city was in danger. In 2005's Batman Begins , then-lieutenant James Gordon installs the Bat-signal on the roof of the police department himself. The film suggests Gordon was inspired to create the signal after Batman left mobster Carmine Falcone chained across

10126-455: The horizon, but I can't say for sure." Also, Peyton List was cast as a new iteration of Ivy Pepper . According to Bryan Wynbrandt, "The change was all based on the idea that she's continuing to evolve to become more of the Ivy from the comic books and what we really enjoyed. In this third evolution you're going to see a really self possessed, really scary and driven version of the Ivy character, who

10248-545: The midst of a criminal conspiracy known as "The Body". An unnamed woman was mayor when Batman returned to Gotham a year after the Infinite Crisis . Sebastian Hady was a corrupt mayor who was eventually killed by the League of Shadows. Councilwoman Muir served as interim mayor when the city was in the grip of a virus that only affected men. Michael Akins , former commissioner of police, was appointed mayor, and later replaced by

10370-419: The name "Gotham", and not New York, so that all readers in any city could identify with it. Locations used as inspiration or filming locations for Gotham City in the live-action Batman films and television series have included St. Louis , Chicago , Pittsburgh , Los Angeles , New York City , Newark , London , Glasgow , Hong Kong , Detroit , and Liverpool . In Jim Steranko 's History of

10492-557: The night sky, similar to the silhouette of a bat. At the end of the film, the Bat-signal appears, as a searchlight that projects the shape of a bat, installed atop police headquarters as a means to contact Batman. In the 2008 sequel The Dark Knight , as in Frank Miller 's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns , Gordon uses the Bat-Signal to remind Gotham of Batman's presence. The signal proves to be very effective, with drug dealers and criminals becoming apprehensive at its very appearance. At

10614-583: The original Golden Age Spectre and his sidekick, Percival Popp, live in Gotham City as does Black Canary , Starman, and the Grey Ghost. DC's 2011 reboot of All Star Western takes place in an Old West-styled Gotham. Jonah Hex and Amadeus Arkham are among this version of Gotham's inhabitants. Apart from Gotham's superhero residents, the residents of the city feature in a back-up series in Detective Comics called Tales of Gotham City and in two limited series called Gotham Nights . Additionally,

10736-457: The plan for the final episodes is to adapt Batman: No Man's Land , stating, "We're really getting into it this year. I think the way that the story escalates is something that shifts and is not anything the show has done before. I think it's going to be a really unique experience. Especially by the past few episodes, it's going to be really... it's pretty insane." With the exception of Benedict Samuel and Michael Chiklis , all main actors from

10858-536: The positive publicity of his role to make a successful bid for the position of President of the United States. Suggestions of other Gotham City histories include a founding date of 1820 seen in a city seal in Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders . Batman writer and editor Dennis O'Neil has said that, figuratively, Batman's Gotham City is akin to "Manhattan below 14th Street at eleven minutes past midnight on

10980-418: The premiere to September 21, 2017, in order to give its companion newcomer series The Orville a continuous run. The fourth season is moving to a Thursday timeslot, alongside The Orville , after airing its past seasons on Mondays. In July 2017, the cast and crew attended San Diego Comic-Con to discuss and promote the season, showing a five-minute sizzle reel from season 3 as well as the debut trailer for

11102-483: The previous season returned for the show, with Maggie Geha being downgraded to guest star. Crystal Reed joined the series in July 2017 in the series regular role of Sofia Falcone . Alexander Siddig was promoted to the main cast. In September 2017, Michael Cerveris joined the show as Lazlo Valentin / Professor Pyg , in a multi-episode role. Cerveris stated, "Professor Pyg is a brilliant and chameleon-like person who has

11224-415: The real Bullock uses the signal for the first time when reluctantly asking for Batman's help in discovering who is trying to kill him in "A Bullet for Bullock". The first use of a Bat-Signal of any kind in the series was in "Joker's Favor", where a man, forced to do a favor for the Joker at a dinner honoring Commissioner Gordon, uses a large bat model hanging from a crane, swinging it back and forth in front of

11346-478: The same time greatly affecting the city and its people. Perhaps the greatest in effect was a long set of serial storylines, which started with Ra's al Ghul releasing a debilitating virus called the "Clench" during the " Contagion " storyline. As that arc concluded, the city was beginning to recover, only to suffer an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter Scale in the 1998 " Cataclysm " storyline. This resulted in

11468-580: The searchlight that illuminates the sky, the Dark Knight then appears on a building from across the street, watching Gordon, Bullock, and Alfred. In the CW series The Flash , a 'Flash signal' is created by Cisco , who claimed to have gotten the idea from "some comic book", which implies Batman does not exist in on Arrowverse Earth One. However, Earth 38, the universe Supergirl takes place in makes several references to him, solely as "Clark's (kind of) friend", and Oliver later refers to Bruce Wayne on Earth One. In

11590-411: The season is "a season so far of extremes." Talking about his character, McKenzie stated, "Comparatively, perhaps he's in a better place than some of these other truly evil, evil people." But as the season will be with him dealing with Cobblepot, Gordon "doesn't have a lot of good options. He has to either fight him directly or find allies to fight Penguin—surrogates to fight Penguin—which leads him down

11712-761: The season. The second episode "The Fear Reaper" was screened on September 23, 2017, when Cannon, McKenzie, Taylor, Bicondova, Mazouz, Pertwee and Lucas promoted the series at the inaugural Tribeca TV Festival. Besides, the cast will attend the New York Comic Con in October 2017 to promote the season as well as a Q&A presentation with the cast. The season was also heavily marketed by trailers showcasing Bruce's beginning of vigilantism as well as Jonathan Crane's debut, both of whom received positive response from audience with Digital Spy ' s Justin Hart commenting, "Sounds like

11834-515: The second half premiered on March 1, 2018. The season concluded on May 17, 2018. The season received positive reviews from critics and audiences, who cited the character development, writing and action sequences as highlights of the season, with some calling it the best season yet. The premiere was watched by 3.21 million viewers with a 1.0 in the 18–49 demo, which was a 17% decline from the previous season premiere but on par with last season's average. Despite remaining with consistent ratings throughout

11956-451: The second part of the Elseworlds crossover, the Bat-Signal is shown, though it seems to have been inactive for some time during Batman's disappearance. In the pilot episode of Batwoman , Gotham City Mayor Michael Akins was planning to turn off the Bat-Signal forever due to Batman's disappearance. The Bat-Signal was later destroyed by Alice in the episode "Down Down Down". A new Bat-Signal

12078-553: The series Ozark , the role ended up recast with David W. Thompson , who portrayed him in the second half of the season. When asked about Jerome Valeska's return in the season, Stephens stated, "What I will say about Jerome is that Jerome is in Arkham right now, and when you think about Arkham's record of keeping people locked up, we will probably see him again before the end of the year." In September 2017, Stephens explained, "You're totally gonna see him this year. You're gonna see him in

12200-535: The shadow is cast from a real bat inside her bedroom. In the episode "#FromBatToWorse", Batgirl tries to use a Bat-Signal flashlight to call Batman for help against Poison Ivy, but it doesn't work and Poison Ivy points out that, unlike Gotham City, there is no pollution in the skies of Metropolis for the Bat-Signal to shine against. In the Harley Quinn episode "You're a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon", an overworked and depressed Commissioner Gordon starts excessively using

12322-399: The signal also creates another purpose of spreading fear among Gotham's criminal element, as a warning. Criminals and thugs often are scared when looking at the signal as they think Batman's nearby and abandon their plans, fleeing the scene, which as Batman puts it, is an effective way of using fear as a tool, since he cannot be everywhere. In 1992's Batman: The Animated Series , the signal

12444-494: The signal is also alluded to in an earlier episode. The Bat-Signal made its first on-screen appearance in the Batman and Robin serial by Columbia. In its first incarnation, it was simply a high-powered projector that was kept in Commissioner Gordon's office. When needed, he would simply wheel the Bat-Signal over to his office window and shine it directly to the sky. Though small, it was powerful enough to cast an image of

12566-399: The son of Derek Powers (Blight) , has a small replica of it built to summon the new Batman, Terry McGinnis . Terry destroys it upon arrival, advising Paxton to "try e-mail", indicating his dislike of the device as being obsolete to his time. In the 2002 web series Gotham Girls , Batgirl appears to push her father Commissioner Gordon onto the Bat-Signal, crushing it. It is revealed that he

12688-494: The state of Delaware . Detective Comics #503 (June 1983) includes several references suggesting Gotham City is in New Jersey. A location on the Jersey Shore is described as "20 miles north of Gotham". Within the same issue, Robin and Batgirl drive from a "secret New Jersey airfield" to Gotham City and then drive on the "Hudson County Highway", a reference to the real-life Hudson County in New Jersey. Batman: Shadow of

12810-436: The studio asks you to tone back because it's too scary, you know you've done something right!" Regarding Bruce's beginning of vigilantism , McKenzie explained that "We are definitely leaning into Bruce, having learned some of the skills to be a vigilante, now actually attempting it. Now, we have a long, long way to go before he can realistically be Batman, so there will be many stumbles and falls – and regressions back to being

12932-589: The targeting screen for his giant laser locates it somewhere on the New England shoreline, possibly as far north as Maine . The soundtrack for Batman & Robin features a song named after the city and sung by R. Kelly , later included on international editions of his 1998 double album R. Director Christopher Nolan has stated that Chicago inspired his portrayal of Gotham, and the majority of both Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008) were filmed there. However, Christopher Nolan's Gotham City

13054-484: The theming elements primarily having been inspired by the Batman films directed by Tim Burton. Both the ride and the Gotham City Backlot opened on March 26, 1994. The Magic Mountain section closed at the end of the park's 2010 season and was later rethemed and rebranded as the "DC Universe," featuring characters and attractions outside of just Batman. It reopened in 2011. Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi features

13176-401: The third-season episode " These Delicate and Dark Obsessions ". McKenzie went to Los Angeles to work on the writers' room to break the story and then go back to New York City and finish many drafts. He explained, "I've been fiddling around with writing for a long time, but I'd never written an episode of television, so it was quite a learning process." He also added that, "From being on a set,

13298-491: The village's residents feigned idiocy to prevent a royal visit from John, King of England . Gotham City, like other cities in the DC Universe, has varied in its portrayals over the decades, but the city's location is traditionally depicted as being in the state of New Jersey . In Amazing World of DC Comics #14 (March 1977), writer Mark Gruenwald discusses the history of the Justice League and indicates that Gotham City

13420-536: The world. WB Movie World in Germany featured a Gotham City section that housed Batman Adventure – The Ride , and Six Flags Magic Mountain opened a section called the "Gotham City Backlot" that featured Batman: The Ride . The section featured at Magic Mountain was designed by park designer Kevin Barbee, and alongside the opening of Batman: The Ride coincided with the largest expansion the park had ever undergone in 23 years, with

13542-536: The years, in various Batman-related titles in the chronological DC Comics continuity, the Caped Crusader enlists the help of numerous characters, the first being his trusty sidekick, Robin . Although a singular title, many have donned the mantle over the years. The first being Nightwing , then came Red Hood , Red Robin , Spoiler and finally Batman's son Damian Wayne . In addition to the Robins or former Robins, there

13664-421: Was announced that Ben McKenzie would direct an episode after making his directional debut the previous season. It was later revealed that he would be directing the 16th episode, titled "One of My Three Soups". Production on the season officially wrapped in late March 2018. The season was originally set to air on September 28, 2017, on Fox in the United States. However, on July 28, 2017, Fox decided to move up

13786-400: Was built by Commissioner Gordon in "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy". Barbara Gordon uses it to contact Batman in "Heart of Steel" when she believes that an impostor has replaced her father. At this meeting, the signal is partially destroyed when Batman is attacked by a Harvey Bullock duplicate, and Barbara uses Batman's grapple gun to pull the robot into the signal, electrocuting it. Likewise,

13908-583: Was deliberately set in New Jersey to honor Gotham's location in the comic books. Gotham (season 4) The fourth season of the American television series Gotham , based on characters from DC Comics related to the Batman franchise , revolves around the characters of James "Jim" Gordon and Bruce Wayne . The season is produced by Primrose Hill Productions , DC Entertainment , and Warner Bros. Television , with Bruno Heller , Danny Cannon , and John Stephens serving as executive producers. The season

14030-514: Was detailed in Rick Veitch 's Swamp Thing #85 featuring Tomahawk . Rumors held it to be the site of various occult rites. The 2011 comic book series Batman: Gates of Gotham details a history of Gotham City in which Alan Wayne (Bruce Wayne's ancestor), Theodore Cobblepot ( Oswald Cobblepot 's ancestor), and Edward Elliot ( Thomas Elliot 's ancestor), are considered as the founding fathers of Gotham. In 1881, they constructed three bridges called

14152-587: Was filmed in New York City and was an important requirement of the show's creative team. According to executive producer Danny Cannon , its atmosphere was inspired by the look of the city itself in the 1970s films of Sidney Lumet and William Friedkin . Clues to this include and signs showing phone numbers bearing the area code 212 . Donal Logue , who portrayed Harvey Bullock in the series Gotham , described different aspects of that series' design of Gotham City as exhibiting different sensibilities, explaining, "for me, you can step into things that almost feel like

14274-431: Was in the pilot episode, " Hi Diddle Riddle ". The animated background for the closing credits of the TV series depicted the Bat-signal in the night sky over Gotham City. A promotion website for the 2014 Gotham TV series on Fox .com called "Gotham Chronicle", which is an online newspaper following recent events from Gotham , one of them stated that a Floodlight was built on top of the G.C.P.D building, referencing that

14396-720: Was inspired and adapted elements from the comic book storylines of Batman: Year One , Batman: The Long Halloween , and Batman: No Man's Land . The subtitle for the season is A Dark Knight . The season was ordered in May 2017, and production began the following month. Ben McKenzie stars as Gordon, alongside Donal Logue , David Mazouz , Morena Baccarin , Sean Pertwee , Robin Lord Taylor , Erin Richards , Camren Bicondova , Cory Michael Smith , Jessica Lucas , Chris Chalk , Drew Powell , Crystal Reed and Alexander Siddig . The fourth season premiered on September 21, 2017, on Fox , while

14518-470: Was killed by a sentient fat-eating blob of grease. Hamilton Hill became mayor through the backing of crime boss Rupert Thorne but was ultimately ousted from office and replaced by George P. Skowcroft. An unnamed mayor is killed by Deacon Blackfire's followers and replaced by Donald Webster. Mayor Julius Lieberman is killed by a Predator . Mayor Goode served briefly before being replaced by an African American man. Armand Krol became mayor and died of

14640-527: Was killed by them. Archibald Brewster was mayor during the Great Depression . Mayor Thorndike was killed by the Made of Wood killer in 1948. Mayor Aubrey James was a contemporary of Thomas Wayne who was stabbed to death. Mayor Jessop was in office shortly after the Wayne murders. A man named Falcone was purportedly mayor during the earliest days of Batman's career. Shortly after, Mayor Wilson Klass directed

14762-437: Was made in "Who Are You?" by Luke Fox. The Bat-Signal appears in the season finale of Titans , titled "Dick Grayson", in a dream world created by Trigon . A spin-off series to the 2022 film The Batman , the 2024 finale of The Penguin ends with the Bat-Signal shining in the sky over Gotham. In Tim Burton 's 1989 film Batman , Batman gives the signal to the police as a gift so that they can summon him when he

14884-451: Was screened on the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con that showed Crane donning a new costume under the Scarecrow persona. McKenzie explained: "So we met his father Dr Crane in Season 1. So we've taken our time; we're gonna come back now to his son. You know, in circumstances probably not best described now, his son takes on his father's mantle and becomes the fully-realized Scarecrow. It's great. We're able to use this sort of fear toxin that Scarecrow

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