Gotham - A Review

Okay guys, here's the deal. Normally, this blog consists of me complaining about something superhero related, usually for trying too hard to be dark and edgy, and then putting a picture of Wolverine with a snide remark underneath it. Sometimes, if I have writer's block, I'll just put a picture of Wolverine in and allow myself to become enraged.

But right now, I'm actually not completely displeased. In fact, I'm feeling almost happy about something - an anomaly, I'm sure, but still. I'm feeling so ecstatic, I might write an entire article without saying anything negative about anything.

In fact, you know what? Challenge accepted. This review will be entirely positive, not just about the reviewed show, but about everything that I mention. But first, let me get mad about Wolverine one last time.

Wait, he's sick in this picture? My day just gets better and better.

What has got me so excited? Well, I've watched the first two episodes of Gotham, a television series about (go figure) Gotham, after Bruce Wayne's parents were killed. Now this could be a really stupid idea for a show; I'll admit that I was concerned it would be a serial installment of "kid Bruce being really sad." But after watching the pilot, I retracted all my cynicism. This is going to be awesome.

The main character of this show is Detective James Gordon, a former war hero who is new to the police force. Now, if I had to imagine my perfect future Commisioner Gordon, I'd probably make him a bit of a goody two-shoes, someone who's eager to fight crime and who believes that, even in a city like Gotham, criminals can be brought down "by the book," as he insists be done in "The Killing Joke." But this is the post-Nolan era, so that will never happen, right?

Wrong! That is exactly who James Gordon is and what he stands for. He's optimistic, principled, and calls out his partner all the time for being a cynic. In the pilot, he's getting attacked by a huge man with a meat cleaver and he doesn't even pull out his gun.

Even better, he's not facing down against the kind of kid-friendly villains of camp Batman world. The criminal underworld is straight-up evil, the police department is incredibly corrupt, and he in no way is sheltered from what's going on. This is Gotham, for Christ's sake. But James Gordon never wavers from principle.

And the name drops! This is obviously Gotham before the Batman days, but you still have Selina Kyle, a homeless child who steals, jumps all over buildings, and loves cats, Edward Nigma, a smart guy who loves riddles and works in the forensics department, and Oswald Cobblepot, a member of the criminal underground who wears a suit, eventually starts waddling, and gets called "Penguin" no small number of times.

He doesn't like being called Penguin.

But my favorite name drop so far? Renee Montoya. Now, if you don't know who that is, I don't blame you. She's pretty obscure. In fact, when I first heard her name, I thought I had misheard or something. No way they could have put a character that awesome in this show.

Except they did.

Renee Montoya, the lesbian Latina who works for the Gotham City Police Department before getting kicked off because of her sexuality and inheriting the moniker of "The Question" from Vic Sage. That Renee Montoya.

"But it cannot be!" you say. "Wasn't it only a few articles ago you were complaining that Tom Hardy as Bane was the closest thing to Latino representation you could find?"

Well, a few articles ago, I hadn't watched Gotham. She's not the Question yet, of course, but she's pretty badass - a cop working for the major crimes unit who is not the type to let police corruption slide. She's not The Question yet, of course, but this is still a huge step.

In a few seasons, who knows? We could have the first major superhero represented in live action who isn't a straight, white male since - well, there was that one chick who played Wonder Woman decades ago, and before that there was, well, no representation at all.*

Only straight, white men can save the world, I guess.

Guys. This is major. You have to understand. The Question is awesome. Queer representation is awesome. Female representation is awesome. Latin American representation is awesome. Renee Montoya being in this show is awesome.

There is nothing in this show I don't approve of. Sure, the color scheme is pretty gray when I prefer bright, campy colors, and it's pretty limited by DC canon because it takes place before Bruce is Batman, a time that writers haven't written much about because, why would they write about Gotham before Batman joins in?

But this show is so fun and interesting and everything I've been waiting for. You guys have to watch this show. It is everything Nolan should have done in his Dark Knight trilogy, but didn't do because he's a god awful hack.

Shit, I said I wouldn't say anything negative.


*No, I don't consider Black Widow to be a superhero. She's a spy who occasionally helps out the Avengers. She doesn't even have a secret identity, guys. Also, fuck Marvel.