Gotham Series Premiere Review: It Sure Ain't Perfect, But It Still Has Potential
For all intents and purposes, superhero comics are the mythology of today, and like the gods and goddess of old, Supes, Bats, and Wondey lend themselves well to the constant reinvention required to maintain their iconic status—especially in the fast-paced world of pop culture. Peter Parker's story doesn't lose its meaning if his Spidey Sense is genetically engineered versus radioactive, but that small detail is a huge reflection of how comic characters can evolve in a contemporary world. Comic books themselves have changed quite a bit over the years, transcending the serialized adventures of swashbucklers to feature highly detailed worlds... and the thing about having an entire universe to play in is that not everyone gets to be a hero, god, or legend. That's just how it is.
However, that doesn't mean there's any less potential for some of the more unfamiliar faces to be part of awesome stories. And in Gotham's case, there's even a comic-book precedent for a series centered almost exclusively on the Gotham City police department: the 1996 Batman: GCPD miniseries and Gotham Central, which ran for three years in the early 2000s. The downtrodden men and women of the GCPD have more than a few minor celebrities among their ranks—including Commissioner Gordon, of course, as well as Harvey Bullock, Renee Montoya, and Crispus Allen. There's a certain sense of freedom that comes with exploring characters beyond the big names, particularly in the Batman stories, which have typically been more grounded in the harshness of reality than those concerning the Big Blue Boy Scout. Batman's greatest villains have included mobsters, psychopaths, swindlers, and the occasional misguided terrorist; these are threats that exist in the real world, and tend to resonate stronger with audiences who've never really worried about an alien invasion or their operating system going sentient and trying to murder them (though I am more and more convinced that Skynet is coming every time I upgrade my cellphone).
When Gotham was initially announced as a series about Bruce Wayne as a child, I definitely felt a bit of apprehension. Batman isn't the sort of story that's ripe for children's tales. The glorious Paul Dini animated series of the '90s was an exception, and one that I'm not certain would work for today's Saturday-morning cartoon crowd. Batman: The Animated Series walked a fine line between being mature and appropriate for most audiences, and it proved that even though Batman may be the grittiest of the DC flagship trinity, that darkness doesn't have to translate to something excessively violent, gory, or gloomy. A lot of this had to do with its excellent writing and stunning art, the latter of which cast Gotham as both ultra-modern and classically dated. It's a design template that Fox's Gotham has also embraced, with equally awesome results.
I can't deny that Gotham is pretty. It's a visual feast. It's Batman: TAS come to life, and since the animated series pretty much set the tone for what I personally consider the Batman standard, Gotham is, at the very least, a worthy visual successor.
Story-wise, however, it's not so perfect. It's not bad, and the decision to focus primarily on a young Jim Gordon rather than a baby Batman gives the writers a lot of freedom to explore the depths of Gotham itself. What's more, we all know that pilots aren't necessarily the best display of what a series has to offer, and Gotham's faced an especially hard task because we already know so much of these characters' backstories—especially regarding Bruce Wayne. And c'mon, you know it was totally a hit on Martha and Thomas Wayne. Prior to 1994's Zero Hour, that theory was pretty much canon... and I'm not sure if I like that. When Thomas and Martha Wayne are interpreted as the victims of a random instance of street violence, the Wayne family becomes shorthand for any family. Bruce Wayne is able to finance his night job due to an incredible amount wealth that not everyone has access to, but his motivation is something that anyone can understand, and in that "take," a sort of innocence is born out of the violence (and psychosis, but whatever). By (possibly) turning the Wayne murders into a mob hit, that symbolism is lost.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Gordon and Bruce Wayne is a little awkward—like, what man tells a 12-year-old that there's a vast conspiracy within the police department to cover up the reason for his parents' deaths and that a random dude has already died for it? Sure, it's Bruce Wayne, and David Mazouz (Touch) has already done an admirable job of portraying a Bruce who's wise beyond his years, but he's supposed to be 12, not to mention recently traumatized.
Bullock and Gordon are pretty spot-on, though, and it's plain to see that beneath his gruff and jaded exterior, this version of Bullock wants to serve on an honorable police force as much as his rookie partner/future commissioner. What remains to be seen is how Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen come around to Team Gordon, and which elements of their comic counterparts will make an appearance on Gotham—particularly Montoya's sexuality, as addressed in Gotham Central's "Half a Life." (It won a bunch of awards, after all.) The pilot contained allusions to it, but the fact that it was played for vaguely villainous reasons doesn't sit well with me.
On the other side of the moral spectrum, Gotham's mob-ridden underground is full of both new and familiar faces. Newcomer Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) plays both sides in the war for control of Gotham and showcases the sort of brutality usually reserved for Batman's most deranged villains (though her tactics currently lack the creativity of his more colorful foes). Some may've found the pilot's constant peek-a-boo introductions of future rouge's gallery members—Poison Ivy, Catwoman, the Riddler, (maybe) the Joker, and the Penguin—annoying, but, eh, I like pretending I'm all smart and clever when I spot them.
Gotham's pilot had its low points and high points, but the lows weren't so low that the highs couldn't save it. Gotham seems to know what it wants to be, but like any great comic story, we have to slug through the origins to get to the good stuff—and I think Gotham has the potential for a lot of good stuff.
NOTES FROM THE BATCAVE
– Even though we all knew Gordon wasn't going to waste the future Penguin, that scene was so tense and awesome. Also: Kudos to letting Cobblepot get his brutality on after spending most of the episode as Fish's bumbling lackey.
– It initially bothered me that the wee baby Poison Ivy introduced herself as "Ivy" and not her freaking name, which is Pamela. Everyone else used their "real" names, although I don't think anyone would blame that girl if, as far as she was concerned, Ivy is her real name.
– I feel like I'm doing it wrong, but everything concerning the Bruce Wayne angle is so "meh." I mean, I know how it plays out. You don't even have to be a giant comic geek to know how it plays out. I kind of wonder if Gotham didn't think it could do "Batman" without Bruce Wayne, and that's why we have the random kiddie in the middle of what is essentially a police procedural.
– Things I want to see as Gotham progresses: a Flying Graysons poster somewhere in the background, corruption and mob muscling within the Gotham Knights football team, Jim Gordon just generally being a badass, Zur-En-Arrh graffiti-ed on a wall somewhere, and just a hint that Ra's al Ghul exists in this universe. I don't need a whole Ra's storyline because we got that in the Nolan-verse and Ra's is about to make a pretty big appearance over on Arrow. I just want to know he's there. Also, a Grant Morrison cameo because he was super-creepy in My Chemical Romance's Life and Times of the Fabulous Killjoys videos. What's on your wishlist?
– That shot of Bruce and his dead parents looked like it was lifted right out of Batman: Year One. Me likey.
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What did you think of Gotham's debut? Gonna keep watching?
