The most anticipated new show of the 2014 fall TV season is Fox's Gotham, which focuses on the early career of Jim Gordon as a detective, along with his colleagues at the GCPD. Also recurring will be younger incarnations of villains Catwoman, Riddler, Penguin and Poison Ivy, as well as Bruce Wayne as a child and his surrogate father Alfred Pennyworth.
Nearly every character in Gotham got his or her start in the Batman comic books, which began some 75 years ago. That's a lot of mythology and continuity, so how do you know which comics influenced the show's creation and its huge cast? Try our recommendations. The show premieres tonight on Fox, so if you're behind on your comic book reading, now's the time to make things right.
Note: If you want to approach Gotham with a 100% clean slate, then stop reading now. While we have no idea what the writers of Gotham have in store for us, it stands to reason that some of these old comic book story arcs may come into play on the show; some of them could even be translated wholesale (minus Batman's involvement). So...
Potential spoilers ahead.
Batman: The Man Who Falls (1989)
Batman: Earth One (2012)
Batman: Zero Year (2013-2014)
...and others
by Various
Bruce Wayne's origin story has been told and retold and reinterpreted so many times over the years, we've lost count. Batman: The Man Who Falls heavily influenced Batman's origins as depicted in the film Batman Begins, by presenting what some still consider the definitive story of the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne and the impact it has on young Bruce. It's also one of the first stories that deals with his departure from Gotham to travel the world in order to train to become a hero.
Batman: Earth One is a 142-page graphic novel (never released in individual issues) by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank that reimagines and remixes Batman's origins in an alternate universe, presenting familiar aspects of Bruce Wayne's transformation in new and surprising ways. The book also showcases a younger Jim Gordon, who is at the center of Gotham.
Batman: Zero Year is the most recent story arc in the flagship Batman comic book by Scott Snyder that looks at Bruce Wayne's crimefighting career in the years before he conceived of his Batman persona. A new origin was needed after the DC Universe's 2011 reboot, the New 52, so Snyder and artist Greg Capullo reinvented Batman's origins for a new generation.
Any or all of these would be useful reading to gain insight into what Gotham was like in the years before Batman put on the cape and cowl.
Batman: Year One (1987)
by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
Gotham's main character, James Gordon, has been around almost as long as Batman himself, debuting all the way back in 1939 in Detective Comics #27. He was Batman's first supporting character and first true ally, introduced even before Batman's (arguably) better-known sidekick, Robin. He actually deputized Batman, if you can believe it, after grudgingly recognizing the caped crusader's talents.
The modern version of Gordon owes his grittier, more realistic depiction almost entirely to Batman: Year One, where he was written as a hardened Special Forces veteran who started out as an upright detective on the corrupt GCPD. It's here that he meets and begins working with Batman, who becomes his sole ally.
Gordon's Year One depiction is expected to set the stage for the Gotham character.
The Killing Joke (1988)
by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
Alan Moore's seminal The Killing Joke may have been a single issue one-shot, but it's still one of the most important Batman comic books of all time. This was the famous tale where the Joker shot and crippled Barbara Gordan, aka Batgirl, paving the way for her to eventually become eye-in-the-sky hacker Oracle. Barbara was also Jim Gordon's daughter, and her attack left him gutted.
But the Joker wasn't done yet. Next, he captured the good Commissioner and forced him to watch footage of Barbara wounded and in pain over and over. Barbara doesn't yet exist in the world of Gotham, so don't expect to see any of this storyline on TV. The takeaway is what we learn about his character: despite all that he suffers, Gordon never gives into the madness and evil the Joker tempts him with.
The Long Halloween (1996-1997)
by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
This 13-issue miniseries picks up very nearly where Batman: Year One left off. It's famous for introducing the villain Calendar Man, a serial killer obsessed with dates and calendars, but it's significant to Gotham viewers for depicting the earliest days of several of Batman's biggest enemies — which is one of the show's mandates.
Riddler, Poison Ivy, Joker, Scarecrow and others were small-time thugs or mob enforcers before The Long Halloween. This is where they take their places among the supervillain elite, putting them on similar trajectories to their character arcs on Gotham.
Gotham Central (2003-2006)
by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark
This may wind up being the title that influences Gotham more than any other. Back in 2006, there was even talk of Gotham Central being adapted into a TV series for The WB network, but it never materialized. This ongoing comic lasted three years and fleshed out the main characters working at the GCPD while introducing others.
Gotham Central is probably best remembered for introducing or expanding upon three characters that are vital to the Batman mythos — all of whom will play supporting roles on Gotham:
Detective Harvey Bullock, possibly the city's most corrupt cop, regularly takes bribes, engages in extortion, and brutalizes suspects. He has a major role on Gotham as Gordon's partner.
Renee Montoya is a hard-working, dedicated police officer who refuses all temptations of corruption. After growing disillusioned with the GCPD, she quit her job and eventually went on to become the vigilante detective The Question. She appears to have a small presence on the show, but her role could grow over time.
Crispus Allen is Montoya's partner, both in the comics and on the show. Allen is an honest cop and a family man, but in the comics, he is murdered by a fellow police officer. However, his soul is later bonded to God's Spirit of Vengeance, the entity known as The Spectre.
Additionally, other characters listed among the sprawling cast of Gotham are Barbara Kean and Captain Sarah Essen. Comic book readers known these two women as Gordon's first and second wives, respectively, though Essen was never Gordon's superior, so clearly the show is taking some creative liberties. The two women's consistent presence on the show (they both appear in at least the first five episodes) could indicate a love triangle, but having not yet seen any episodes, we can't confirm this. Unfortunately, things don't end well for either of them in the comics.
Gotham premieres on Fox tonight, September 22, at 8:00 PM EST.
