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Movies & TV

15th Sep 2014

JOE’s guide to the upcoming Batman prequel, Gotham

We preview a trip to the Dark Knight's hometown...

JOE

We preview a trip to the Dark Knight’s hometown…

One week from today, US network FOX will premiere one of the most anticipated shows of the year, Gotham. Batman fans the world over will be watching with baited breath and for good reason, as Gotham will be the first foray (in live action anyway) into the Batverse since Christopher Nolan completed his Dark Knight trilogy.

Batman fans are a very protective bunch, especially when it comes to onscreen adaptation of Bruce Wayne’s adventures and, over the years, we’ve been treated to many iterations of the universe first created 75 years ago. However, BatFans are also a very unforgiving bunch… just ask Joel Schumacher.

So, here at JOE HQ we have gone to great pains to take a thorough look forward to the brand new show and try to contain our excitement while we do it. No promises…

What is it all about?

Unfortunately the show will not feature the caped crusader himself, but will rather focus on the city of Gotham itself in a time before the creation of ‘The Batman’. As most Batman stories do, it inevitably starts with the murder of billionaire philanthropist couple Thomas and Martha Wayne. Following this incident, a young detective by the name of James Gordon is introduced to the orphaned child Bruce Wayne.

The show will follow Detective Gordon, along with his partner Harvey Bullock – a cop who doesn’t exactly play by the rules – as they attempt to dismantle the two biggest crime families in Gotham; the Maronis and the Falcones. All this while trying to quell others who would seek to usurp their place as the crime lords of the corrupt city.

Who is in it?

Ben Mckenzie will play the role of Detective James Gordon. He’s Ryan from the O.C. in case you were wondering.

Jada Pinkett Smith plays the role of Fish Mooney, one of those people looking to become a crime lord in the city

Donal Logue plays the first ever live action iteration of Harvey Bullock.

What Characters are in it?

Apart from seeing Batman before he was Batman, there are also a host of characters before they became their comic book villain selves like Poison Ivy, The Riddler, Catwoman, all alongside Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s butler being played by Sean Pertwee.

One of the most promising characters from the previews is the character of Oswald Cobblepot, who Batman fans will better know as Penguin. Played by Robin Lord Taylor this will prove to be an interesting take on the character we last saw played in live action by Danny DeVito.

What are we Looking forward to?

We are huge Batman fans here at JOE HQ, so we’re really looking forward to getting back into that world. Many say that they don’t want Nolan’s trilogy to be ruined by any further versions, but we see that as a stand alone set of films that can never be ruined by new version. Just like the original Star Wars trilogy wasn’t ruined by the prequels…

Batman is one of the best characters of all time and the world he lives in is incredible so we want more, more, more.

Oswald Cobblepot – Straight to the point, the Penguin in this show looks like one of the best things about it and we are very interested in seeing how this character develops.

Easter Eggs – All of us fan boys and girls out there will be very much looking forward to references to any other characters. We can already see that these are important to the show as in the title shot, front and centre, is the Riddler’s question mark. We would love to see some Joker easter eggs or maybe a few Harley Quinn secrets too.

The Back Story – The back story is crazy. We mean that in its immense detail and content. For instance, the cave that becomes the Batcave was originally created by Bruce Wayne’s ancestors to help smuggle out liberated slaves during the American Civil War. Additionally, Arkham Asylum has a back story so dark it has to be read to be believed.

How can we watch it?

It will premiere on FOX on Monday 22 September, howeve,r those of us this side of the pond will be able to watch it on Channel 5 and it has also been picked up by Netflix, but it is unclear when it is going to be available to viewers in Ireland and the UK.

Main Image via YouTube.

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