History ComicBook / GothamCentral

** When Jim Corrigan has sold some crucial crime scene evidence on the black market, Renee Montoya needs to "persuade" him to tell her who he sold it to. They wind up in a barenuckle boxing match in the back alley behind Finnigan's bar.

** In the final arc [[spoiler: Crispus Allen is killed through his vest because Corrigan used a pistol modified to fire a rifle round. Police-issue bulletproof vests are not designed to stop rounds above pistols without the addition of impact plates or other modifications]].

* CuriosityKilledTheCast: or rather, it killed [[spoiler: Bonnie Lewis]]. who found an aspiring super villains costume while poking around his closet, and also trigged a silent alarm that let him know that she knew.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: The killers from ''Dead Robin'' and ''On the Freak Beat''. It's briefly speculated that murder victim Bonnie Lewis may have been this, given he nosiness, and looking for dirt on the families she babysat for, but from what the comic shows us, it was just a hobby and she never actually blackmailed anyone.

* AllMenArePerverts: It was minor, and primarily humorous, but when [[Comicbook/TeenTitans Starfire]] arrived in GCPD headquarters there is a BeatPanel composed of all the men (''All'' of them), staring at her with jaws agape. Detective Romy Chandler notices this and responds simply with a disgusted "[[TheUnfairSex Men]]". The potential DoubleStandard is punctured, however, when Detective Joely Bartlett points out to Chandler in amusement that Montoya and Captain Sawyer -- the two gay women on the unit -- are gazing at Starfire with ''the exact same facial expressions''.

** The Comicbook/TeenTitans appear in an issue to convince the MCU that the dead boy in the Robin costume they have found was not the real ComicBook/{{Robin}}.

* RoguesGallery: Of Batman's traditional Rogue's Gallery, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, ComicBook/TheJoker, the Mad Hatter, the Penguin, and Poison Ivy appear as villains or incidental characters. The "Dead Robin" arc contains the most comprehensive look at the usual Gotham foes, as the detectives travel through Arkham to interview all the inmates as to their involvement in the crime. They also also wind up facing ComicBook/TheFlash and Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} villains on occasion.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Marcus, who ends up with Romy.

* TotallyNotAcriminalFront: Its connection to TheMafia is never explicitly revealed, but Antony Baretti was coming out of the Downtown Gotham Athletic Club when Sergeant Vincent Del Arrazio approached him looking for information on the Inzerillo crime family.

* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: Its connection to TheMafia is never explicitly revealed, but Antony Baretti was coming out of the Downtown Gotham Athletic Club when Sergeant Vincent Del Arrazio approached him looking for information on the Inzerillo crime family.

** When the ComicBook/TeenTitans guest-star in an issue to convince the MCU that Robin is alive and well, they mention that there have recently been some changes in his home life. When they are pressed for details, Cyborg explained that [[ComicBook/IdentityCrisis he had a lot to deal with in the past year.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Nate Patton, although it's not especially evident until [[spoiler:his final arc]]. Also MrViceGuy Tommy Burke, who gambles too much, is hinted to be a womanizer, and is one of the only characters to display open homophobia towards Renee, but works hard trying to catch Mr. Freeze and [[spoiler: Corrigan]]. after the murders of Charlie Fields and [[spoiler: Crispus Allen]]. respectively, and spends most of his DayInTheLimelight getting his partner to attend her sons first professional violin recital when she was feeling bitter about not being specifically invited by him.

** In the beginning of the ''Half a Life'' arc, almost a full issue before TheReveal, Brian Selker (PrivateDetective) is following Renee Montoya to a restaurant called "Maloney's". Tthere is not a lot of detail to be made out about the restaurant, and the name almost seems to be drawn as an afterthought: Maloney's Bar & ''[[GayBarReveal Girl]]''.

* MobWar: It is kicked off in another series, but the "War Games" BatFamilyCrossover spills into ''Gotham Central'' and has long-lasting effects for the charactes.

* OutOfFocus: the first half of the series is a pretty good ensemble piece, with a rotating character focus, but for the rest of the run, it's rare for anyone besides Montoya, Driver, Josie Mac, Crispus or Chandler to play much of a role. Lots of characters get more focus in ''Corrigan II'' [[spoiler: trying to catch Cripus Allen's killer]]. with some of them, such as Burke and Procjnow getting more lines in the final two issues than they had in the twenty preceding them. Cohen, Kasinsky, Hartley, and Azedvea fall victim to this the most, as they had some of the least focus from the start, and Hartley just disappears from the series after ''Soft Targets''.

* HyperAwareness: Josephine "Josie Mac" [=MacDonald=] will spot a dented mailbox from across the street, and hours later in a darkened garage will notice a corresponding dent on a nearby car. When somebody hides her coffee mug she always, '''''always''''', knows ''exactly'' where they put it. Towards the end of the series [[spoiler: it is revealed that this is actually a superhuman power that she possesses, but which she hides [[FantasticRacism for fear of how she will be treated]]]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Nate Patton, although it's not especially evident until [[spoiler: his final arc]]. Also MrViceGuy Tommy Burke, who gambles too much, is hinted to be a womanizer, and is one of the only characters ti display open homophobia towards Renee, but works hard trying to catch Mr. Freeze and [[spoiler: Corrigan]]. after the murders of Charlie Fields and [[spoiler: Crispus Allen]]. respectively, and spends most of his DayInTheLimelight getting his partner to attend her sons first professional violin recital when she was feeling bitter about not being specifically invited by him.

** Downplayed with his accomplice [[spoiler: Officer Mulcahey]], who at least gets a severe and satisfying beating.
* KilledOffForReal: Four times. [[spoiler: Detective Charlie Fields is killed by Mr. Freeze, Nate Patton is killed in an explosion set up by The Joker, Lt. Probson is ''personally'' killed by The Joker, and Allen is killed by Corrigan.]]
* KillerCop: [[spoiler:Jim Corrigan]]

-->"Her name was Dee Dee officers...."

** Dr. Alchemy, a Flash villain that Allen and Montoya meet in Keystone city, refers to Allen as "Detective Stowe". When the other people present do not get the reference, Allen explains that Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote ''Literature/UncleTomsCabin'', and that Alchemy is calling him an 'Uncle Tom'.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: When considering that [[YouNeedToGetLaid she really needs to find a new boyfriend]], Stacy thinks that a friend of hers would recommend a friend with batteries.

* YouNeedToGetLaid: In the issue narrated by Stacy, the MCU receptionist, she regularly slips into sexual fantasies about herself and Batman. Ultimately, even fantasy-Batman tells her that this is not healthy, and she admonishes herself that she needs to find a new boyfriend. She thinks that a friend of hers [[ADateWithRosiePalms would suggest a boyfriend with batteries]].

* ShownTheirWork: The Gotham P.D. has six [[RareGuns Glock pistols chambered in .224 Boz]] (a ''very'' rare round that uses a 9mm or 10mm casing necked down to use a .223 rifle projectile that is [[ArmorPiercingAttack capable of penetraiting most body armor at close range]]). The .224 Boz's manufacturer only sells to Military and Law Enforcement and is only used in modified Glock pistols and [=MP5=] submachine guns. When [[spoiler: Crispus Allen is murdered, the fact that the suspect somehow fired a .223 round out of a pistol leads the detectives to realize the killer has to be a cop and used one of the [=GCPD's=] .224 Boz Glocks.]]

** In the beginning of the ''Half a Life'' arc, almost a full issue before the {{reveal}}, Brian Selker (PrivateDetective) is following Renee Montoya to a restaurant called "Maloney's". Tthere is not a lot of detail to be made out about the restaurant, and the name almost seems to be drawn as an afterthought: Maloney's Bar & ''[[GayBarReveal Girl]]''.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: There are at least eight regular characters (the exact number depends somewhat on the definition of "regular character," since it is an EnsembleCast and not everybody appears in every issue), significant recurring characters double that, and when you add in ''minor'' recurring characters and named extras the cast begins to grow beyond manageable limits.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: The issue "Nature" [[VillainEpisode follows two corrupt cops]] after they kill a young runaway who saw them extorting money from a corner drug dealer. Only two members of the MCU appear, Detectives Allen and Montoya, and the MCU itself is viewed with contempt and hatred.

* BaldOfAwesome: Detective Crispus Allen

* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Frequently, as expected in a Batman comic, where the ever-present corruption of the GCPD means that criminals and villains manage to escape justice, and the honest cops are pushed to the brink in an effort to accomplish something, ''anything'', that will end the violence and horror of the city. None ever cross the line in the comic, they either stop themselves or are stopped by others, but when Renee Montoya comes close, '''''so''''' close, to shooting [[spoiler: Corrigan]], she [[spoiler:quits the police force in disgust.]]
* IgnoredEpiphany: Mr. Montoya seems to be coming to grips with his daughters sexuality, and is actually able to admit that he misses her while having a mature conversation with her girlfriend, but an early issue of follow-up series ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' reveals that he and Renee are still not speaking. It is possible that this is not entirely down to this trope, as it's made clear on several occasions that Renee -- understandably resentful of the situation -- isn't overly keen to speak to him either.