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113-740: The "Batman family," or "Bat-Family," is the informal term for Batman's closest allies, who are mainly masked vigilantes operating in Gotham City . Since the Bat-Family's introduction in 1939, Batman has accumulated a number of recognized supporting characters . The first Batman supporting character was Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon , Batman's ally in the Gotham City Police Department , who first appeared with Batman in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). Some of

226-595: A god complex ; he creates an enormous hologram of himself that he projects against the sky, so he will be recognized and worshipped by the citizens of Gotham as a literal god of fear. Abigail O'Shay is a Gotham University student who writes her doctoral thesis on vigilantes like the Bat-Family , whom she calls the "cape and cowl crowd". She is fascinated by the kind of trauma a person would have to go through to fight criminals while in costume. She learns about such trauma first hand when Jonathan Crane, then uses her as

339-724: A "secret New Jersey airfield" to Gotham City and then drive on the "Hudson County Highway", a reference to the real-life Hudson County in New Jersey. Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual #1 (June 1993) further establishes that Gotham City is in New Jersey. Sal E. Jordan's driver's license in the comic shows his address as "72 Faxcol Dr Gotham City, NJ 12345", although the ZIP Code is actually in Schenectady, New York . The 2016 film Suicide Squad reveals Gotham City to be in

452-535: A Gotham City in 2039, referred to as "Neo-Gotham". Gotham City was first shown in the Arrowverse as part of " Elseworlds ", a 2018 crossover storyline among the shows, which introduced Batwoman , although it had been referred to several times previously. In The Flash episode "Marathon", a map shows Gotham City in place of Chicago, Illinois. Themed lands meant to represent Gotham City have been physically constructed in several different theme parks around

565-525: A Gotham area resident's hometown as "Gotham Estates, NY ". In the episode "Avatar" , when Bruce Wayne leaves for England, a map shows Gotham City, at the joining of Long Island and the Hudson River. The episode "Fire from Olympus" shows a character's address in a police file indicating that Gotham City is located in New York state. The episode "The Mechanic" , however, implies that Gotham resides in

678-437: A chair. Scarecrow later tries to take over Gotham with an army of hypnotized college students, commanding them to spread his fear toxin all over the city. His lieutenant is the son of the first man he killed. He is confronted by both Batman-Azrael and Anarky and tries to escape by forcing his lieutenant to jump off of a building. Batman-Azrael knocks him out, and Anarky manages to save the boy. Despite his criminal history, he

791-612: A college professor, Crane mentors a young Thomas Elliot . The character also has a cameo in Sandman (vol. 2) #5. In stories by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale , the Scarecrow is depicted as one of the more deranged criminals in Batman's rogues gallery , with a habit of speaking in nursery rhymes. These stories further revise his history, explaining that he was raised by his abusive, fanatically religious great-grandfather, whom he murdered as

904-597: A cross between 1930s Manhattan and the "Neo-Tokyo" of Akira . Ling cited " neon-ridden Tokyo and the Machine Age as her influences, describing her Gotham as "like a World's Fair on ecstasy ." When Batman is pursuing Two-Face in Batman Forever , the chase ends at Lady Gotham, the fictional equivalent of the Statue of Liberty . During Mr. Freeze's attempt to freeze Gotham in the film Batman & Robin ,

1017-519: A fake psychological profile of him to Mother, claiming that Batman is a scarred child terrified of losing the people he cares for to make Mother think she understands him. In the present day, as Mother unleashes a new hypnotic signal to take control of the world's children, the Bat-Family abduct Scarecrow to brew up a new batch of his trauma toxin after determining that it nullifies the controlling influence of Mother's signal until they can shut down her main base. In DC Rebirth , Scarecrow works with

1130-409: A fatal heart attack before he could let Jonathan out. Jonathan was trapped in the test chamber for days until being freed by some employers of the university. As a result of this event, he was irreparably traumatized and developed an obsession with fear. He became a psychologist, specializing in phobias. Eventually, Crane began using patients as test subjects for his fear toxin. His turn to criminality

1243-523: A fear of bats. In 2011, as a result of The New 52 reboot, Scarecrow's origin (as well as that of various other DC characters) is once again altered, incorporating several elements that differ from the original. Born in Georgia, Jonathan Crane is abused by his great-grandmother, and is bullied at school for his resemblance to Ichabod Crane from Washington Irving 's " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ", sparking his lifelong obsession with fear and using it as

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1356-762: A history of Gotham City in which Alan Wayne (Bruce Wayne's ancestor), Theodore Cobblepot ( Oswald Cobblepot 's ancestor), and Edward Elliot ( Thomas Elliot 's ancestor), are considered as the founding fathers of Gotham. In 1881, they constructed three bridges called the Gates of Gotham, each bearing one of their last names. Edward Elliot became increasingly jealous of the Wayne family's popularity and wealth during this period, jealousy that would spread to his great-great-grandson, Thomas Elliot or Hush. The occult origins of Gotham are further delved into by Peter Milligan 's 1990 story arc "Dark Knight, Dark City", which reveals that some of

1469-512: A man named Atkins. In the wake of Bane's takeover of the city, a man named Dunch served as mayor, and in the aftermath of the Joker War, anti-vigilante mayoral candidate Christopher Nakano wins election in a landslide. In multiple episodes of the 1960s live-action Batman television series , Batman is seen consulting a transparent lucite map of Gotham, which was actually an inverted map of St. Louis . The live-action TV series Gotham

1582-473: A murderous creature known as the "Scarebeast", who Penguin uses to kill off his disloyal minions. The character's later appearances all show him as an unmutated Crane again, except for an appearance during the War Games story arc. Scarecrow appears in the third issue of War Games saving Black Mask from Batman and acting as the crime lord's ally, until Black Mask uses him to disable a security measure in

1695-502: A new fear toxin that is powerful enough to affect a Kryptonian . The toxin forces Supergirl to see visions of a Black Lantern Reactron , but she is able to snap out of the illusion and help Robin defeat Scarecrow. He is eventually freed from Arkham when Deathstroke and the Titans break into the asylum to capture one of the inmates. In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC universe. Scarecrow

1808-584: A periodical which lampooned New York culture and politics. Irving took the name from the English village of Gotham, Nottinghamshire , which was known for the Wise Men of Gotham story, a legendary incident where the village's residents feigned idiocy to prevent a royal visit from John, King of England . Gotham City, like other cities in the DC Universe, has varied in its portrayals over the decades, but

1921-418: A psychologist, taking a position at Arkham Asylum and performing fear-inducing experiments on his patients. He is also a professor of psychology at Gotham University, specializing in the study of phobias. He loses his job after he fires a gun inside a packed classroom, accidentally wounding a student; he takes revenge by killing the professors responsible for his termination and becomes a career criminal. As

2034-610: A section themed after Gotham City, including rides based on Batman, the Riddler and the Scarecrow as well as a walk-through attraction called "The Joker's Funhouse." The park and its Gotham City section were designed by Thinkwell Group . DC characters as they appear in both the attractions themselves as well as through live performers feature costumes based on The New 52 comic book relaunch from 2011. The Gotham City section neighbors another section themed after Metropolis , home of Superman . Batman (1989) director Tim Burton wanted

2147-504: A state of the same name; a prison workshop is shown stamping license plates that read "Gotham: The Dark Deco State" (as a reference to the artistic style of the series). The episode " Harlequinade " states that Gotham City has a population of approximately 10 million people. This figure was also given in the 1960s Batman TV series episode Egg Grows in Gotham, the thirteenth episode of the second season. Batman Beyond (1999–2001) envisions

2260-582: A teenager. Scarecrow plays a prominent role in Doug Moench 's "Terror" storyline, set in Batman's early years, where Professor Hugo Strange breaks him out of Arkham and gives him " therapy " to train him to defeat Batman. Strange's therapy proves effective enough to turn the Scarecrow against his "benefactor", impaling him on a weather vane and throwing him in the cellar of his own mansion. The Scarecrow then uses Strange's mansion to lure Batman to Crime Alley , and decapitates one of his former classmates in

2373-461: A terrifying hallucination. Its potency has upgraded to an extreme level over the years; in some stories in which it appears, fear toxin is depicted as capable of prompting almost instantaneous, terror-induced heart attacks , leaving the victim in a permanent psychosis of chronic fear. Other versions of the toxin are powerful enough that even Superman can be affected; in one story, he mixes the toxin with kryptonite to simultaneously weaken and terrify

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2486-465: A timeless alternative to New York and described it as "hell burst through the pavement and grew". The look of Gotham was overseen by production designer Anton Furst , who won an Oscar for supervising the art department. Furst stated Batman was "definitely based in many ways on the worst aspects of New York City" and was inspired by Andreas Feininger 's photographs of 1940s New York. Furst's draftsman Nigel Phelps created numerous charcoal drawings of

2599-468: A visual expression of corruption and greed? That got me thinking about the fascistic architecture employed at world's fairs... That feels corrupt because it's evocative of oppressive bureaucracies and dictatorships... So I looked at a lot of [Third Reich] art and images from world's fairs". To physically make the city seem darker, he designed tall "oppressively overbuilt" cityscape that physically blocked out light. When Joel Schumacher took over directing

2712-412: A weapon against others. In his senior year, Crane is humiliated by school bully Bo Griggs and rejected by cheerleader Sherry Squires. He takes revenge during the senior prom by donning his trademark scarecrow costume and brandishing a gun in the school parking lot; in the ensuing chaos, Griggs gets into a car accident, paralyzing himself and killing Squires. Crane's obsession with fear leads him to become

2825-539: Is a central villain in the Batman family of books and first appeared in the New 52 in Batman: The Dark Knight #4 (February 2012), written by David Finch and Paul Jenkins . His origin story is also altered; in this continuity, his father Gerald Crane used him as a test subject in his fear-based experiments. During one of these experiments, Crane's father locked him inside a little dark room, but suffered

2938-642: Is also Catwoman , Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) , Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) , Signal , Batwing , Batwoman , and Huntress . Other DC characters have also been depicted to be living in Gotham, such as mercenary Tommy Monaghan and renowned demonologist Jason Blood . Within modern DC Universe continuity, Batman is not the first hero in Gotham. Stories featuring Alan Scott , the Golden Age Green Lantern , set before and during World War II depict Scott living in Gotham, and later depictions show him running his Gotham Broadcasting Corporation. Also,

3051-413: Is also markedly different in this version; the New 52 Scarecrow is fired from his professorship for covering an arachnophobic student with spiders, and becomes a criminal after stabbing a patient to death. The Scarecrow kidnaps Poison Ivy , and works with Bane to create and distribute to various Arkham inmates a new form of Venom infused with the Scarecrow's fear toxin. With the help of Superman and

3164-489: Is among the villains who meet with the Riddler to discuss the Superman Theory. Wanting to take on villains outside his rogues gallery, Shazam flies to Gotham City where he hears about a hostage situation caused by Scarecrow. Shazam starts to fight him when he begins to get affected by the fear gas. Batman shows up and regains control of the situation by defeating Scarecrow and administering the antidote. As Scarecrow

3277-455: Is arrested, Batman states to Shazam that Scarecrow is too dangerous for him to fight. During Infinite Frontier , a re-designed Crane is the main foe of the crossover Fear State . A master strategist and manipulator, his genius labels him as one of the most cunning criminal masterminds. Crane is a walking textbook on anxiety disorders and psychoactive drugs ; he is able to recite the name and description of nearly every known phobia. He

3390-471: Is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes . Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane , the city was first identified as Batman's place of residence in Batman #4 (December 1940) and has since been the primary setting for stories featuring the character. In most of its incarnations, Gotham is depicted as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the world. Gotham City

3503-528: Is defeated by Batman. Scarecrow returns in Batman: Dark Victory as part of Two-Face 's gang, and is first seen putting fear gas in children's dolls on Christmas Eve . He is eventually defeated by Batman. He later appears as one of the villains present at Calendar Man 's trial. It is revealed he and Calendar Man had been manipulating Falcone's son Alberto ; Scarecrow had determined that Alberto feared his father, and poisoned his cigarettes with

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3616-475: Is even known to have a frightening ability to tamper with anyone's mind with just words, once managing to drive two men to suicide, and uses this insight to find people's mental pressure points and exploit them. Despite his scrawny build, Crane is a skilled martial artist who uses his long arms and legs in his personal combat style known as "violent dancing", developed during his training in the Kung Fu style of

3729-532: Is home to Superman , and the two heroes often work together in both cities. In comic book depictions, the exact distance between Gotham and Metropolis has varied over the years, with the cities usually being within driving distance of each other. The two cities are sometimes portrayed as twin cities on opposite sides of the Delaware Bay , with Gotham in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. The Atlas of

3842-499: Is in New Jersey. The New Adventures of Superboy #22 (October 1981) and the 1990 Atlas of the DC Universe both show maps of Gotham City in New Jersey and Metropolis in the state of Delaware . Detective Comics #503 (June 1983) includes several references suggesting Gotham City is in New Jersey. A location on the Jersey Shore is described as "20 miles north of Gotham". Within the same issue, Robin and Batgirl drive from

3955-698: Is one of the most identifiable in modern fiction. The Joker , the Riddler , Catwoman , Two-Face , Harley Quinn , and the Penguin are some of the most recognizable foes; other notable villains include Poison Ivy , Ra's al Ghul , Mr. Freeze , the Scarecrow , Bane , Killer Croc , the Mad Hatter , and Clayface , among others. Some of Batman's rogues gallery are notable for sometimes functioning as allies as well as villains. Some examples of this are Catwoman,

4068-481: Is problematic for him, as he is addicted to fear and compulsively seeks out confrontations with Batman to feed his addiction. He is also known to have a warped sense of humor, though not to the level of Black Mask or the Joker , as he has been known to frequently make taunts and quips related to his using his fear toxin or his love of terrifying others. During Alan Grant 's "The God of Fear" storyline, Scarecrow develops

4181-528: Is revealed Whale has a pathological hatred of "masks" because his grandfather was one of the first citizens of Gotham killed by a masked criminal). The story arc ends with Whale beating Scarecrow up and leaving him bound and gagged, as a sign to all "masks" that they are not welcome in Whale's new vision of Gotham. Scarecrow appears in Batman: Hush , working for the Riddler and Hush. He composes profiles on

4294-612: Is set in Gotham City, was filmed in Chicago . The 2024 series The Penguin is set in Gotham City. Gotham City is featured heavily in Batman: The Animated Series . When describing Gotham City Paul Dini , a writer and director of the show, stated "In my mind, it was sort of like what if the 1939 World's Fair had gone on another 60 years or so". ' In the episode " Joker's Favor ", a driver's license lists

4407-431: Is still recognized as a skilled psychologist. When Aquaman needs insight into a serial killer operating in his new city of Sub Diego — San Diego having been sunk and the inhabitants turned into water-breathers by a secret organization—he consults with Scarecrow for insight into the pattern of the killer's crimes. Scarecrow determined that killer chose his victims by the initials of their first and last names to spell out

4520-548: Is traditionally depicted as being located in the U.S. state of New Jersey . Gotham's look and atmosphere were primarily influenced by New York City , but also drew inspiration from Chicago and London . Architect Hugh Ferriss ' designs also influenced the look and emotional feel of Gotham City, particularly in its later depictions. Bill Finger said that he chose the name "Gotham", and not New York, so that all readers in any city could identify with it. Locations used as inspiration or filming locations for Gotham City in

4633-528: The Batman film series from Tim Burton, Barbara Ling handled the production design for both of Schumacher's films, Batman Forever (1995) and 1997's Batman & Robin . Ling's vision of Gotham City was a luminous and outlandish evocation of modern Expressionism and Constructivism . Its futuristic design, which Washington Post critic Desson Howe felt evoked the 1982 film Blade Runner , were described by Ling in her book, Bigger, Bolder, Brighter: The Production Design of Batman & Robin as

List of Batman supporting characters - Misplaced Pages Continue

4746-658: The Dutch as New Amsterdam before being conquered by England and renamed New York . During the American Revolutionary War , Gotham City was the site of a major battle between American and British forces (paralleling the real-life Battle of Long Island ). This was detailed in Rick Veitch 's Swamp Thing #85 featuring Tomahawk . Rumors held it to be the site of various occult rites. The 2011 comic book series Batman: Gates of Gotham details

4859-674: The Flash , Batman defeats the villains. The Scarecrow surfaces again in Batman: The Dark Knight #10, penned by Gregg Hurwitz , for a six-issue arc. The Scarecrow kidnaps Commissioner James Gordon and several children, and eventually releases his fear toxin into the atmosphere. Scarecrow is also used as a pawn by the Joker in the " Death of the Family " arc; he is referred to as Batman's physician. Scarecrow appears in Swamp Thing (vol. 5) #19 (June 2013), clipping flowers for his toxins at

4972-545: The Founding Fathers of the United States are involved in summoning a bat-demon which becomes trapped beneath old "Gotham Town", its dark influence spreading as Gotham City evolves. A similar trend is followed in 2005's Shadowpact #5 by Bill Willingham , which expands upon Gotham's occult heritage by revealing a being who has slept for 40,000 years beneath the land upon which Gotham City was built. Strega,

5085-565: The Fox series Gotham , and Vincent Kartheiser in the HBO Max streaming series Titans . Henry Polic II , Jeffrey Combs , Dino Andrade , John Noble , and Robert Englund , among others, have provided the Scarecrow's voice in animation and video games. Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane introduced the Scarecrow as a new villain in World's Finest Comics #3 (September 1941) during

5198-555: The Golden Age of Comic Books , in which he made only two appearances. Ichabod Crane , the protagonist of Washington Irving 's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow , was used as an inspiration for the character's lanky appearance as well as his alter ego, Jonathan Crane. Scarecrow was revived during the Silver Age of Comic Books by writer Gardner Fox and artist Sheldon Moldoff in Batman #189 (February 1967), which featured

5311-438: The Gotham City area and work towards achieving common goals. Batman is often the team leader or, in some cases, its dispatch. Various members of the group usually interact with one another and assist in each other's cases, even within their respective series. Although some members occasionally resent Batman's intrusion into their lives, all respect him as a part of the superhero community and rarely challenge his authority. Most of

5424-559: The Mad Hatter escape. The Scarecrow gases Batman with fear toxin as he escapes, causing Batman to flee to his parents' grave as Bruce Wayne, where he is arrested by Commissioner Jim Gordon due to Wayne's suspected ties to Falcone. Scarecrow robs a bank with the Mad Hatter on Independence Day for Falcone, but is stopped by Batman and Catwoman. He later appears in Falcone's office on Halloween with Batman's future rogue's gallery , but

5537-613: The Metropolis Botanical Garden. Swamp Thing attempts to save Scarecrow from cutting a poisonous flower, not realizing who the villain is. Scarecrow attempts to use his fear toxin on Swamp Thing. The toxin causes Swamp Thing to lose control of his powers until Superman intervenes. He is later approached by the Outsider of the Secret Society of Super Villains to join up with the group. Scarecrow accepts

5650-547: The Outsiders superhero team. Others such as Jason Bard , Harold , Onyx , and Toyman work for him. In addition, Batman has a collection of adversaries in fiction that is commonly referred to as Batman's rogues gallery . The rogues gallery includes the Joker , the Penguin , and the Riddler , among others. He also has several love interests, including Catwoman , Talia al Ghul , Silver St. Cloud , Poison Ivy , and Julie Madison . The Bat-Family (sometimes referred to as

5763-611: The Penguin that Penguin is allied with the Suicide Squad . The villains wave off his warnings and mock him. He later leads the same four into a trap orchestrated by Tobias Whale . Killer Moth, Firefly and Lock-Up all survive, but are injured and unconscious to varying degrees, the Scarface puppet is "killed", and Peyton Reily, the new Ventriloquist, is unharmed, though after the attack she is taken away by Whale's men. Whale then betrays Scarecrow simply for touching his shoulder (it

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5876-632: The Riddler with fear gas to manipulate Catwoman, and later aids Riddler when he fights Catwoman in Rome . Scarecrow accidentally attacks Cheetah with his scythe before Catwoman knocks him out. The Scarecrow appears in such story arcs as Knightfall and Shadow of the Bat , first teaming with the Joker to ransom off the mayor of Gotham City . Batman foils their plan and forces them to retreat. Scarecrow betrays Joker by spraying him with fear gas, but it has no effect; Joker then beats Scarecrow senseless with

5989-475: The Tim Burton films' "otherworldly timelessness," incorporating period features such as black-and-white title cards , police airships (although no such thing existed, Timm has stated that he found it to fit the show's style), and a "vintage" color scheme with film noir flourishes. Police airships have since been incorporated into Batman comic books and are a recurring element in Gotham City. Concerning

6102-605: The Tri-state Area alongside Blüdhaven . Within the DC Extended Universe, the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice depicts Gotham City as being located across a bay from Metropolis. Gotham City was founded in 1635 by Captain Jon Logerquist, a Norwegian mercenary, before subsequently being taken over by the English; this parallels the history of New York City , which was founded by

6215-485: The White Crane , for which Scarecrow sometimes wields a sickle or scythe. Scarecrow also has proficiency in both biochemistry and toxicology , both important to the invention of his fear toxin, which he atomized with mixed chemicals, including powerful synthetic adrenocortical secretions and other potent hallucinogens that can be inhaled or injected into the bloodstream to amplify the victim's darkest fear into

6328-464: The roaring 20s , and then there's this other really kind of heavy Blade Runner vibe floating around. There are elements of it that are completely contemporary and there are pieces of it that are very old-fashioned...There were a couple of examples of modern technology, but maybe an antiquated version of it, that gave me a little bit of sense that it's certainly not the 50s and the 60s...But it's not high tech and it's not futuristic, by any means." In

6441-554: The Black Lanterns. Overjoyed at finally being able to feel fear again, Scarecrow gleefully and without question follows Sinestro's commands. His celebration is cut short when Lex Luthor , overwhelmed by the orange light of Avarice , steals his ring. In Brightest Day , Scarecrow begins kidnapping and murdering college interns working for LexCorp as a way of getting back at Lex Luthor for stealing his ring. When Robin and Supergirl attempt to stop him, Scarecrow unleashes

6554-519: The Clench virus after leaving office. A woman, Marion Grange, became mayor with the backing of Bruce Wayne but was assassinated in Washington, D.C. , while trying to secure federal aid for Gotham after an earthquake. In the wake of No Man's Land , Daniel Danforth Dickerson III served as mayor only to be killed by a sniper, after which he was replaced by David Hull. Seamus McGreevy served as mayor in

6667-504: The Clock Tower by literally throwing Scarecrow at it. Scarecrow wakes up, transforms into Scarebeast, and wreaks havoc outside the building trying to find and kill Black Mask. The police are unable to take it down, and allow Catwoman, Robin , Tarantula II , and Onyx to fight Scarebeast, as Commissioner Michael Akins had told all officers to capture or kill any vigilantes, costumed criminals or "masks" they find. Even they cannot defeat

6780-603: The DC Universe from the 1990s places Metropolis in Delaware and Gotham City in New Jersey. New York has also garnered the nickname Metropolis to describe the city in the daytime in popular culture, contrasting with Gotham , sometimes used to describe New York City at night. During the Bronze Age of Comic Books , the Metro-Narrows Bridge was depicted as the main route connecting the twin cities of Metropolis and Gotham City. It has been described as being

6893-470: The GCPD to turn a blind eye to Batman's activities after Batman saved his daughter. Mayor Hill was in office when the Joker debuted, and a man named Gill was mayor early in Batman's career, as was former police commissioner Grogan. An unnamed bald mayor was killed by a villain known as Midnight. Men named Carfax, Bradley Stokes, Sheppard, Taylor, and Hayes all served as mayor. Mayor Charles Chesterfield

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7006-610: The Gotham City Police Department is the focus of the series Gotham Central , as well as the mini-series Gordon's Law , Bullock's Law , and Batman: GCPD . The first Gotham mayor depicted in comics was in Detective Comics #68 (October 1942). Theodore Cobblepot, great grandfather of the Penguin , was mayor in the late 19th century. An unnamed mayor ran afoul of the Court of Owls in 1914 and

7119-554: The Gotham Knights) is the informal name for Batman's closest allies collectively. It mainly consists of masked vigilantes who either have been trained by Batman or who operate in Gotham City with his tacit approval. Many of its members are also his adopted children, with the exception of Damian Wayne, the first of the Robins to be biologically related to Batman. The group consists of similarly minded superheroes who operate in

7232-571: The Haunter to release a low dose of fear toxin around Gotham on Christmas and sets up a small stand for her to pick up the toxin. Both he and Haunter are paralyzed by the toxin's effects, allowing Batman to apprehend them. The Scarecrow later emerges using a Sinestro Corps power ring to induce fear and rage against Batman in random citizens throughout Gotham, to the point where he provokes Alfred Pennyworth into threatening to shoot Simon Baz as part of his final assault. In Doomsday Clock , Scarecrow

7345-527: The Man of Steel. To instill his toxin, he often uses a hand-held sprayer in the shape of a human skull and special straws which can be snapped in half to release it. In one story, Scarecrow concocts a chemical containing wildfowl pheromones from his childhood that causes nearby birds to attack his opponents. In the story arc As the Crow Flies , after being secretly mutated by Dr. Linda Friitawa, Scarecrow gains

7458-646: The New 52 universe when his and Batman's investigations into Scarecrow's crimes lead Batman to Mother, a woman who believes that tragedy and trauma serve as 'positive' influences to help people become stronger. To this end, Mother has Scarecrow develop a new style of fear toxin that makes the brain suffer the same experience as witnessing a massive trauma, but Scarecrow turns against Mother as the victims of this plan would become incapable of feeling anything. Recognizing that Mother will kill him once he has outlived his usefulness, Scarecrow attempts to turn himself over to Batman, but Batman uses this opportunity to have him deliver

7571-520: The New York City phone book and spotted the name 'Gotham Jewelers' and said, 'That's it,' Gotham City. We didn't call it New York because we wanted anybody in any city to identify with it." "Gotham" has been a nickname for New York City that first became popular in the 19th century; Washington Irving had first attached it to New York in the November 11, 1807, edition of his Salmagundi ,

7684-641: The Pinkney structures they had hidden; the editorial purpose behind this was to transform the city depicted in the comics to resemble the designs created by Anton Furst for the 1989 Batman film. Batman Begins features a CGI-augmented version of Chicago while The Dark Knight more directly features Chicago infrastructure and architecture such as Navy Pier . The Dark Knight Rises forgoes Chicago, instead shooting in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, New Jersey, London, and Glasgow. Over

7797-738: The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Two-Face (Harvey Dent), the Red Hood , Anarky , and Talia al Ghul . Recently, emphasis on the psychological motivations of Batman villains have painted them in a much more sympathetic light than in their earlier stories, most notably Mr. Freeze and the Ventriloquist in their Batman: The Animated Series incarnations. Unlike his peers from DC Universe, like Superman, Flash, Green Lantern etc., Batman never had an official single love interest, but several of them in its publishing history. The following have trained Bruce Wayne in his path to becoming Batman: This section lists

7910-444: The Scarebeast, though he appears to have been defeated after the Clock Tower explodes. The Scarecrow reappears alongside other Batman villains in Gotham Underground ; first among the villains meeting at the Iceberg Lounge to be captured by the Suicide Squad . Scarecrow escapes by gassing Bronze Tiger with fear toxin. He later appears warning the Ventriloquist II , Firefly , Killer Moth and Lock-Up , who are planning to attack

8023-493: The Scarecrow's crimes do not stem from a common desire for wealth or power, but from a sadistic pleasure in subjecting others to his experiments on the manipulation of fear. An outfit symbolic of his namesake with a stitched burlap mask serves as the Scarecrow's visual motif. The character has been adapted in various media incarnations , having been portrayed in film by Cillian Murphy in The Dark Knight Trilogy , and in television by Charlie Tahan and David W. Thompson in

8136-511: The TV series Smallville , Gotham City is mentioned by the character Linda Lake in the episode "Hydro", who jokes she can see Gotham from her view. In "Reunion", one of Oliver Queen's friends mentions having to get back to Gotham. The fifth episode of Young Justice , entitled "Schooled", indicates that Gotham is located in Connecticut , near Bridgeport . The 2019 series Batwoman , which

8249-535: The Talons after Bane freed them from Mad Hatter's mind-control technology. Scarecrow then turns to his next plan, giving the other inmates a small dose of Bane's Venom to temporarily transform them. Upon Bane declaring that Gotham City is finally his, he has Scarecrow hanged between two buildings. In Batman and Robin Eternal , flashbacks reveal that Scarecrow was the first villain faced by Dick Grayson as Robin in

8362-627: The ability to turn into a large, monstrous creature called the Scarebeast. As Scarebeast, he has greatly enhanced strength, endurance, and emits a powerful fear toxin from his body. However, he has to be under physical strain or duress to transform. During the Blackest Night mini-series, Scarecrow is temporarily deputized into the Sinestro Corps by a duplicate of Sinestro 's Power ring. He proves to be very capable in manipulating

8475-645: The alley in front of Batman. With the help of Catwoman , — whom Scarecrow had attempted to blackmail into helping him by capturing her and photographing her unmasked— Batman catches Scarecrow, but loses sight of Strange, with it being unclear whether Strange had actually survived the fall onto the weather vane, or if Scarecrow and Batman are hallucinating from exposure to Scarecrow's fear toxin. Scarecrow appears in Batman: The Long Halloween , first seen escaping from Arkham on Mother's Day with help from Carmine Falcone , who also helps

8588-593: The ancestors and relatives of Bruce Wayne: This is the family that Martha Wayne is from, making them relatives of Batman and Batwoman: Several characters featured outside of modern Batman canon are of note Gotham City Gotham City ( / ˈ ɡ ɒ θ əm / GOTH -əm ), or simply Gotham , is a fictional city in the Eastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . It

8701-478: The being's servant, says that the "dark and often cursed character" of the city was influenced by the being who now uses the name "Doctor Gotham." In Gotham Underground #2 by Frank Tieri , Tobias Whale claims that 19th century Gotham was run by five rival gangs, until the first "masks" appeared, eventually forming a gang of their own. It is not clear whether these were vigilantes or costumed criminals. Many storylines have added more events to Gotham's history, at

8814-558: The buildings and interior sets for the production. Following the death of Furst, Burton tapped Bo Welch to oversee production design for Batman Returns (1992). Burton wanted Welch to re-imagine Gotham, stating " Batman didn't feel big to me – it didn't have the power an old American city has". Welch wanted to expand on the same basic concept for the sequel but moved away from European influences to show more American Art Deco / world's fair elements. When asked what inspired his interpretation of Gotham, Welch stated "[H]ow can I create

8927-523: The child, Scarecrow activates a Venom implant, causing the boy to attack Batman. He is defeated when Batman ties the boy's teddy bear to Scarecrow, causing the child to attack Scarecrow. After capturing Scarecrow, Batman forces him to reveal Hush's location. In the Battle for the Cowl storyline, Scarecrow is recruited by a new Black Mask to be a part of a group of villains who are aiming to take over Gotham in

9040-548: The city's location is traditionally depicted as being in the state of New Jersey . In Amazing World of DC Comics #14 (March 1977), writer Mark Gruenwald discusses the history of the Justice League and indicates that Gotham City is located in New Jersey. In The World's Greatest Super Heroes (August 13, 1978) comic strip, a map is shown placing Gotham City in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. World's Finest Comics #259 (November 1979) also confirms that Gotham

9153-609: The coldest night in November". Batman artist Neal Adams has long believed that Chicago has been the basis for Gotham, stating "one of the things about Chicago is Chicago has alleys (which are virtually nonexistent in New York). Back alleys, that's where Batman fights all the bad guys." The statement "Metropolis is New York by day; Gotham City is New York by night" has been variously attributed to comics creators Frank Miller and John Byrne . In designing Batman: The Animated Series , creators Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski emulated

9266-493: The collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery . In the DC Universe , the Scarecrow is the alias of Jonathan Crane , a professor of psychology turned criminal mastermind. Abused and bullied in his youth, he becomes obsessed with fear and develops a hallucinogenic drug —dubbed "fear toxin"—to terrorize Gotham City and exploit the phobias of its protector, Batman. As the self-proclaimed "Master of Fear",

9379-479: The debut of the character's signature fear-inducing hallucinogen or "fear toxin". The character remained relatively unchanged throughout the Bronze Age of Comic Books . Following the 1986 multi-title event Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot , the character's origin story is expanded on in Batman Annual #19 and the miniseries Batman/Scarecrow: Year One , with this narrative also revealing that Crane has

9492-436: The evolution of Gotham throughout the years, former Batman editor Paul Levitz has stated, "Each guy adds their own vision. That's the fun of comics, rebuilding a city each time". In Batman: Gothic , Gotham Cathedral plays a central role in the story since it is built by Mr. Whisper, the story's antagonist. In a 1992 storyline, a man obsessed with Pinkney's architecture blew up several Gotham buildings in order to reveal

9605-475: The fear toxin to bring out the fear; Calendar Man, meanwhile, had been talking to Alberto, with the fear toxin making Alberto hear his father's voice. Together, they manipulate Alberto into making an unsuccessful assassination attempt on his sister, Sofia Gigante . After Two-Face's hideout is attacked, Batman captures Scarecrow, who tells him where Two-Face is heading. In Catwoman: When in Rome , Scarecrow supplies

9718-474: The federal government cutting Gotham off from the rest of the United States in the 1999 storyline " No Man's Land ", the city's remaining residents forced to engage in gang warfare, either as active participants or paying for protection from groups ranging from the GCPD to the Penguin, just to stay alive. Eventually, Gotham was rebuilt and returned to the U.S. as part of a campaign mounted by Lex Luthor , who used

9831-597: The impending war, by blowing up the bridges giving access to Gotham City. Scarecrow and Man-Bat attempt to steal the frozen Talons from Blackgate while Penguin is having a meeting with Bane. Killer Croc rescues Scarecrow and Man-Bat from Blackgate and brings Scarecrow to Wayne Tower, where he gives Killer Croc control of Wayne Tower, as it no longer suits him. Scarecrow begins waking the Talons in his possession, having doused them with his fear gas and using Mad Hatter 's mind-control technology in their helmets to control them. At Arkham Asylum, Scarecrow senses that he has lost

9944-451: The impending war. It was also stated that Talons from the Court of Owls were stored at Blackgate on ice. Later, looking over the divided city, Scarecrow claims that once the war is over and the last obstacle has fallen, Gotham City would be his. Scarecrow approaches Professor Pyg at Gotham Memorial Hospital to see if he will give his supplies and Dollotrons to Scarecrow's followers. Scarecrow goes to Penguin next, who has already planned for

10057-414: The invading Black Lanterns . The drug has taken a further toll on his sanity, exacerbated by Batman's disappearance in the Batman R.I.P. storyline; he develops a literal addiction to fear, exposing himself deliberately to the revenant army, but knowing that only Batman could scare him again. Using a duplicate of Sinestro 's power ring , he is temporarily deputized into the Sinestro Corps to combat

10170-483: The light of fear to create constructs until his ring is stolen by Lex Luthor . Crane, in almost all of his incarnations, is cruel, sadistic, deranged, and manipulative above all else. Crane is obsessed with fear, and takes sadistic pleasure in frightening his victims, often literally to death, with his fear toxin. Crane also suffers from brain damage from prolonged exposure to his own toxin that renders him nearly incapable of being afraid of anything - except Batman. This

10283-507: The live-action Batman films and television series have included St. Louis , Chicago , Pittsburgh , Los Angeles , New York City , Newark , London , Glasgow , Hong Kong , Detroit , and Liverpool . In Jim Steranko 's History of the Comics , writer Bill Finger , on the naming of the city, said, "Originally I was going to call Gotham City ' Civic City .' Then I tried 'Capital City,' then ' Coast City .' Then I flipped through

10396-573: The longest suspension bridge in the world. A map appeared in The New Adventures of Superboy #22 (October 1981), that showed Smallville within driving distance of both Metropolis and Gotham City; Smallville was relocated to Kansas in post-Crisis continuity. A map of the United States in The Secret Files & Origins Guide to the DC Universe 2000 #1 (March 2000) depicts Metropolis and Gotham City as being somewhere in

10509-428: The members also have a strong rapport with Batman. In a 2002 storyline in which Bruce Wayne is accused of murder, Batman's friends gather to prove his innocence. Throughout Batman' s history, it has also been implied that this network serves as a surrogate family for Batman and keeps him from slipping too far into his vigilante persona. The GCPD were featured in their own series: the limited series Batman: GCPD and

10622-536: The message 'I can't take it any more', allowing Aquaman to determine both the true identity and final target of the real killer. In DC vs. Marvel , the Scarecrow temporarily allies with the Marvel Universe Scarecrow to capture Lois Lane before they are both defeated by Ben Reilly . In the 2004 story arc As the Crow Flies , Scarecrow is hired by the Penguin under false pretenses. Dr. Linda Friitawa then secretly mutates Scarecrow into

10735-556: The midst of a criminal conspiracy known as "The Body". An unnamed woman was mayor when Batman returned to Gotham a year after the Infinite Crisis . Sebastian Hady was a corrupt mayor who was eventually killed by the League of Shadows. Councilwoman Muir served as interim mayor when the city was in the grip of a virus that only affected men. Michael Akins , former commissioner of police, was appointed mayor, and later replaced by

10848-502: The offer. As part of " Villains Month ", Detective Comics (vol. 2) #23.3 (Sept. 2013) was titled The Scarecrow #1. Scarecrow goes to see Killer Croc , Mr. Freeze , Poison Ivy, and Riddler and informs them of a war at Blackgate Penitentiary is coming and learns where each of the alliances lives. Through his conversations with each, Scarecrow learns that Bane may be the cause of the Blackgate uprising and will be their leader in

10961-469: The ongoing series Gotham Central , in which they investigate the unusual crimes that plague the city, in a personal effort to minimize Batman's involvement. The Gotham Central series ended its 40-issue run in 2006. Batman regularly interacts with other DC superheroes in titles such as Justice League of America . A few, however, have had a marked presence in the core Batman titles: Batman comics have introduced many classic villains. His rogues gallery

11074-589: The original Golden Age Spectre and his sidekick, Percival Popp, live in Gotham City as does Black Canary , Starman, and the Grey Ghost. DC's 2011 reboot of All Star Western takes place in an Old West-styled Gotham. Jonah Hex and Amadeus Arkham are among this version of Gotham's inhabitants. Apart from Gotham's superhero residents, the residents of the city feature in a back-up series in Detective Comics called Tales of Gotham City and in two limited series called Gotham Nights . Additionally,

11187-409: The other allies of Batman include his vigilante partner, Robin , who was introduced in 1940; his butler, Alfred Pennyworth , who was introduced in 1943; and Barbara Gordon , who was introduced in 1967. Batman also forms bonds and close working relationships with other superheroes, including Justice League members such as Superman , Green Arrow , Zatanna and Wonder Woman , as well as members of

11300-550: The positive publicity of his role to make a successful bid for the position of President of the United States. Suggestions of other Gotham City histories include a founding date of 1820 seen in a city seal in Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders . Batman writer and editor Dennis O'Neil has said that, figuratively, Batman's Gotham City is akin to "Manhattan below 14th Street at eleven minutes past midnight on

11413-485: The same time greatly affecting the city and its people. Perhaps the greatest in effect was a long set of serial storylines, which started with Ra's al Ghul releasing a debilitating virus called the "Clench" during the " Contagion " storyline. As that arc concluded, the city was beginning to recover, only to suffer an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter Scale in the 1998 " Cataclysm " storyline. This resulted in

11526-479: The state of New Jersey within the DC Extended Universe . Both 2021's The Batman , and its 2024 TV spinoff The Penguin have Gotham City in New Jersey as can be seen with in-universe drivers licenses. However, 2024's Joker: Folie à Deux places Gotham City in New York as Joker's trial is titled The State of New York vs. Arthur Fleck . Gotham City is the home of Batman , just as Metropolis

11639-595: The targeting screen for his giant laser locates it somewhere on the New England shoreline, possibly as far north as Maine . The soundtrack for Batman & Robin features a song named after the city and sung by R. Kelly , later included on international editions of his 1998 double album R. Director Christopher Nolan has stated that Chicago inspired his portrayal of Gotham, and the majority of both Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008) were filmed there. However, Christopher Nolan's Gotham City

11752-539: The test subject in experiments using his fear toxin, intending to test its readiness for use on Batman. She spends more than a year in Arkham Asylum recuperating from Scarecrow's experiments. Blaming Batman for her trauma, O'Shay adopted the identity of Madame Crow with the intention of making sure no one would feel the kind of fear she did ever again as she becomes a member of the Victim Syndicate. In

11865-545: The theming elements primarily having been inspired by the Batman films directed by Tim Burton. Both the ride and the Gotham City Backlot opened on March 26, 1994. The Magic Mountain section closed at the end of the park's 2010 season and was later rethemed and rebranded as the "DC Universe," featuring characters and attractions outside of just Batman. It reopened in 2011. Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi features

11978-532: The various villains of Gotham so Riddler and Hush can manipulate them to their own ends. He later gases Huntress with his fear gas, making her attack Catwoman. He attacks Batman in a graveyard, only to learn his fear gas is ineffective (due to Hush's bug), but before he can reveal this he is knocked out by Jason Todd . Scarecrow also appears in Batman: Heart of Hush , kidnapping a child to distract Batman so Hush can attack Catwoman. When Batman goes to rescue

12091-497: The wake of Batman's apparent death. He later assists the crime lord in manufacturing a recreational drug called "Thrill," which draws the attention of Oracle and Batgirl . He is later defeated by Batgirl and once again arrested. Scarecrow briefly appears in the fourth issue of the Blackest Night storyline. His immunity to fear (brought about by frequent exposure to his own fear toxin) renders him practically invisible to

12204-545: The world. WB Movie World in Germany featured a Gotham City section that housed Batman Adventure – The Ride , and Six Flags Magic Mountain opened a section called the "Gotham City Backlot" that featured Batman: The Ride . The section featured at Magic Mountain was designed by park designer Kevin Barbee, and alongside the opening of Batman: The Ride coincided with the largest expansion the park had ever undergone in 23 years, with

12317-494: The years, in various Batman-related titles in the chronological DC Comics continuity, the Caped Crusader enlists the help of numerous characters, the first being his trusty sidekick, Robin . Although a singular title, many have donned the mantle over the years. The first being Nightwing , then came Red Hood , Red Robin , Spoiler and finally Batman's son Damian Wayne . In addition to the Robins or former Robins, there

12430-431: Was deliberately set in New Jersey to honor Gotham's location in the comic books. Scarecrow (DC Comics) The Scarecrow is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane , the character first appeared in World's Finest Comics #3 (September 1941), and has become one of the superhero Batman 's most enduring enemies belonging to

12543-587: Was filmed in New York City and was an important requirement of the show's creative team. According to executive producer Danny Cannon , its atmosphere was inspired by the look of the city itself in the 1970s films of Sidney Lumet and William Friedkin . Clues to this include and signs showing phone numbers bearing the area code 212 . Donal Logue , who portrayed Harvey Bullock in the series Gotham , described different aspects of that series' design of Gotham City as exhibiting different sensibilities, explaining, "for me, you can step into things that almost feel like

12656-470: Was killed by a sentient fat-eating blob of grease. Hamilton Hill became mayor through the backing of crime boss Rupert Thorne but was ultimately ousted from office and replaced by George P. Skowcroft. An unnamed mayor is killed by Deacon Blackfire's followers and replaced by Donald Webster. Mayor Julius Lieberman is killed by a Predator . Mayor Goode served briefly before being replaced by an African American man. Armand Krol became mayor and died of

12769-539: Was killed by them. Archibald Brewster was mayor during the Great Depression . Mayor Thorndike was killed by the Made of Wood killer in 1948. Mayor Aubrey James was a contemporary of Thomas Wayne who was stabbed to death. Mayor Jessop was in office shortly after the Wayne murders. A man named Falcone was purportedly mayor during the earliest days of Batman's career. Shortly after, Mayor Wilson Klass directed

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