Highlights
- DC Studios should expand on the Batman lore surrounding Gotham City to honor filmmakers and fans who have made their Gotham-centered series successful. A cinematic universe for Gotham's finest is worth the risk.
- A Gotham-verse, separate from the DCU, can showcase the extended Bat-Family and other lesser-known heroes who once called Gotham home. It can build a fan base for these characters and villains to become more mainstream.
- The hypothetical Gotham-verse can avoid reboot and recasting issues by keeping it separate from the DCU. Batman's absence can be explained in various ways, and the Bat-Family can navigate how to keep Gotham safe without him. A Gotham-verse would work well for television and can help transition these characters to films in the future.
DC Studios has produced a few Gotham-centered series sans Batman. With an incredible line-up of their own lesser-known heroes and villains, Batwoman, Gotham, and Gotham Knights, have all proven that their Gotham-based stories can be just as gritty and alluring for audiences without the Dark Knight. With the cancelation of the Batgirl movie, it's difficult not to imagine a cinematic universe for Gotham's finest where these stories can live.
Understandably, DC Studios has its hands full, thanks to the impending DCU reboot. Still, they should do more to honor the filmmakers and the fans who have paved the way for these projects to be successful. The best way to do so is by continuing to expand on the Batman lore surrounding Gotham City. But to do this without relying on Batman or his more popular villains seems to be too great of a risk for DC Studios, at least for the time being. This is why Gotham deserves its own cinematic universe, produced for a medium that's well worth the risks.
Why DCU Batman Should Focus More On Lesser-Known Villains
There are more Batman villains than the repeated antagonists featured in films and they deserve their big screen debut to take on the Dark Knight.
Why Gotham Needs A Cinematic Universe
The Arrowverse is an indicator of how successful live-action television superhero series can be. With this in mind, creating another television cinematic universe apart from the DCU should be on DC Studios' radar. The most iconic and likely candidate would be one built around the Batman's Gotham City. This Gotham-verse can feature not only the extended Bat-Family, but also other lesser-known heroes who once called Gotham home for a time. Candidates include such characters as The Question or Huntress, who is technically now a member of the Bat-Family.
Gotham City is home to DC's most popular and gruesome villains, and an asylum for their unsuccessful rehabilitation. The setting itself is much bigger than Batman, and a Gotham-verse can continue building a fan base for these lesser-known heroes and villains to become more mainstream. Batman, therefore, is unnecessary as a player in a potential Gotham-verse. But, the Caped Crusader would always be welcome to make his presence known in some form should there ever be a Gotham-verse. That is, of course, if the classic Bruce Wayne is alive is said universe.
How DCU Batman Fits Into A Gotham-Verse & Justice League
Keeping the hypothetical Gotham-verse separate from the DCU can help to avoid any reboot or recasting issues that could arise for Batman, as well as any conflicting storylines. Answering the obvious question of "Where is Batman if not in Gotham City?" can be resolved in a variety of ways. Batman could be injured, retired, on an extended vacation. He could be with the Justice League, or he could be dead. Worst case scenario (for the Bat-family and Gotham anyway), this universe's Bruce Wayne could have become The Batman Who Laughs.
Batman was a vigilante who instilled fear into his enemies. With him gone, this presents the rest of the Bat-family with the issue of how to keep Gotham civilians safe. They were all trained differently. Their battle scars and motivations for fighting crime often influenced how brutal or merciful they could be. Many of the Bat-Family members, particularly Nightwing, did not often agree with Batman's tactics and philosophy; this could present a potential ongoing point of conflict. Batman's title and mask could even be up for grabs, just as it was in the comics.
The Role Of The Bat-Family In A Gotham-Verse
Because of the current less mainstream status of Gotham's residents aside from Batman and the Joker, a Gotham-verse would likely be relegated to television. Television is a great place for a Gotham-verse to debut and grow the fan base of these characters, to hopefully help them transition to films someday.
There are over twenty current members of the Bat-Family, not including pets. The Bat-Family includes non-bat-related heroes and even former villains as well, evidenced by Harley Quinn's inclusion. But Bat-Family aside, there are plenty of other heroes, vigilantes, and villains that could be featured or lead a series. Gotham City's finest include:
- Former Boy Wonder, Red Hood
- Gotham Girl
- Bluebird
- Joker's Daughter, Duela Dent
- Clayface
- Former game show host, the villainous Cluemaster
- Cluemaster's heroic daughter, the Spoiler
Gotham City is home to enough heroes and villains to spin several television projects in various ways, not solely detective stories and crime mysteries either. Gotham-verse series could range from a Harley Quinn led medical procedural in Arkham Asylum, to a high school coming-of-age dramedy that could follow Batman Beyond's Terry McGinnis, before he donned the suit. The point is that Gotham City is its own world, brimming with chaos and dysfunctional heroism. The iconic setting could be better served as a standalone universe to tell the stories of Gotham beyond Batman and the DCU.
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