In the comic, Gordan's start in Gotham was the same time as Batman's. Before that, he was a cop in Chicago, I believe.

In adaptions, he's often there before, often as Commissioner. I assume to avoid the idea that the Gotham PD is corrupt and focus on the criminals instead.

x5: Gotham is on a different network (Fox) than Arrow and Flash (CW) so I doubt there's going to be any continuity between them.

Trump delenda est

Yeah, I figured that would be the case.

In hindsight, that did sound like a pretty dumb question, didn't it?

Isn't the problem with a series like this that no matter what Jim Gordon does, he will never succeed in making Gotham City any better? If they want to imply that Bruce Wayne becomes Batman in this universe, Gotham still still has to be a crime-ridden hell hole by the end of the series.

I suppose you can make a dark story about how intractable a problem crime is, but how much will Jim Gordon be allowed to win in this show?

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Maybe they'll have Gotham be even more crazy than during the Batman era. After all, there also needs to be a reason Batman trusts Gordon later on, other than being honest.

If one can assume, at least in the animated series and the movies, all major crimes are directly controlled by supervillains. By that I mean the chumps and organized crime can't really get much of a foot in by Batman's time (that's not to say they're all gone, obviously that's not true, but they don't hold a candle to the likes of the Murderer's Row). The show could, perhaps, illustrate why it takes the 'enhanced-reality' of the supervillains to get anything done...because Gordon's efforts made it hard otherwise.

That's just my thought of course. Dunno how the show will handle it.

Final Fantasy, Foreign Policy, and Bollywood. Helluva combo, that...

I actually think the idea of a young Ivy and/or Catwoman is interesting, because if done right kid villains can be really creepy. Ivy's probably a better character for that concept (as long as they file off the The Vamp aspects of her personality, because ew) than Catwoman, as a kid with Ivy's sociopathy would be especially unsettling.

I see kid Selina being presented more as the beginning of a sad story that we don't see the end of. Like she's an urchin and on the street, more embroiled in the underworld than a kid should, and the protagonists try to help her but are ultimately unable to either do to her own actions or circumstance.

edited 23rd Jul '14 9:27:31 AM by KnownUnknown

"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.

And I suppose the second problem is that it'll be kind of hard to put Jim Gordon in any serious danger because we all know he'll become commissioner by the time Bruce Wayne is Batman.

I mean, none of these are unsolvable problems, but they'll have to work a little harder.

edited 21st Jul '14 10:49:49 PM by edvedd

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This seems likely to suffer the same problem Smallville did in its later seasons. You have all these supervillains running around in some form, but they can't be used to their full potential, since according to the show's own premise, the main hero can't show up at all.

Not to mention they decided to frame it as a cop show, which are the most boring, formulaic shows ever made.

The last hurrah? Nah, I'd do it again.

I don't see a problem with Gordon winning individual victories as long as the basic situation remains static. that is after all the case with any crime series. The hero might win but he never really wins. Hell, that's the case with Batman himself or even Superman. All heroes in a series are basically the Red Queen, running as fast as they can just to stay in the same place.

Trump delenda est

On at least one occasion Gordan is going to kick an underage supervillainess out of his house that he finds on his bed.

"Show us the Galaxy Warp."

Well one interesting line from Ras Al Ghul in Batman Begins was that the League of Shadows created the economic downfall as a new method of destroying Gotham, but the murder of the Waynes and the impact it had on the community actually kept the city limping along as "just barely worth saving" for years.

A recurring element in the Batman mythos is the power vacuum that emerges after one mob boss is taken down, which is why Batman used Matches Malone as an alter-ego to prevent that from happening. It would be interesting if the series had Gordon's work result in a less centralized criminal element, but the individual groups like Falcone, Penguin and Thorne became a lot more violent, setting the stage for the need of Batman. The series finale has them realize what has happened over the last few years and then has Bruce heading off for his Walking the Earth Training Montage.

Though I never liked that line from Begins. It just made Ra's plan a bit odd (So he's trying to destroy this corrupt city...before it was actually corrupt? And he actually caused its corruption? Why?)

"All you Fascists bound to lose."

Rage incoming

I am totally sick and tired of Batman. I don't fucking care if people like Batman the most out all of DC's heroes; DC does NOT need to make a Batman thing every single fucking year. They need to make live-action TV shows for characters who actually deserve the treatment; Arrow and Flash are steps in the right direction. Now can't you go forth and greenlight a Wonder Woman series? SHE deserves it of all heroes. NOT BATMAN, WHO'S BEEN GETTING TOO MUCH ATTENTION FROM WB AND DC UGGGGGGGHHHHHHH...

Rage gone

Rage aside, I guess I'll check this out. But unless this is amazing, I'll stick with Arrow.

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You know this series isn't actually about Batman right?

It's still Batman-related media.

Saying this isn't a show about Batman is disingenuous, I feel. Look at how much of the show is a slow build-up of Arkham, the rogues, the G.C.P.D., and Bruce's training. Yes, it's a smart move to set the show in the past. But much of what Batman 'is' is fixed, and this show isn't going to monkey with it much.

I'm a skeptical squirrel

Still, I don't think it's entirely fair to hate on the character Batman.

Hate what they've done to him, but come on, Batman is still a fairly solid character, even if he's become a bit... bloated these days.

x5 Since Gotham is a Fox show it can't be a case of the WB paying too much attention to Batman. In fact the CW (hasn't been the WB for a while) studiously ignores Batman. Never appeared in Smallville, and, since their version of Green Arrow essentially is Batman with a different color scheme and weapons it's unlikely that he'll ever appear there. Anyway I don't see why being a fan of Gotham, which appears to be more about Jim Gordon than Bruce Wayne, would preclude sticking to Arrow.

Totally agree with you on Wonder Woman though. She needs her own movie and/or series.

Trump delenda est

By WB, I mean Warner Bros.; you know, the company that owns DC?

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Mildly surprised this ISN'T on the CW actually. Granted, I've not seen Arrow, so that might answer my confusion.

edited 29th Jul '14 3:02:35 AM by FFShinra

Final Fantasy, Foreign Policy, and Bollywood. Helluva combo, that...

CW isn't as big as Fox, NBC, ABC, or CBS. WB would really want a Batman show to be on more than just the CW.

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I am afraid of what is to come. Shivering, even.

Proud member of the IAA What's the point of being grown up if you can't act childish?

Prepare for puns.

The last hurrah? Nah, I'd do it again.

Help me, I actually am hopeful for this. Mr. Freeze is my second favorite Batman villain (Riddler is my first), and I really, really want to see a good live action version of him. IMO, Freeze showing up in Gotham has potentials. Mr. Freeze is the kind of villain that, showing his backstory (either Victor's childhood, or the happy times spent with Nora, or both) will greatly underscore the tragedy of what he is destined to become later.

edited 31st Jul '14 10:30:15 AM by Nightwire

Bite my shiny metal ass.