Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary urban setting in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, Gotham 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 is traditionally depicted as being located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its look and atmosphere were primarily influenced by New York City, but over the years have drawn inspiration from Chicago and London as well. Architect Hugh Ferriss' designs also influenced the look and emotional feel of Gotham, particularly in its later depictions. Bill Finger said that he chose the name "Gotham", and not New York, so that readers in any city could identify with it.
Locations used as inspiration or filming locations for Gotham in the live-action Batman films and television series include Chicago, Detroit, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Liverpool, London, Los Angeles, Newark, New York City, Pittsburgh, Tokyo, and St. Louis.
Origin of name
In Jim Steranko's History of the Comics, writer Bill Finger said, "Originally I was going to call Gotham City 'Civic City.' Then I tried 'Capital City,' then 'Coast City.' Then I flipped through 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" is a nickname for New York City that first became popular in the 19th century. Washington Irving had first attached the name to New York in the November 11, 1807, edition of Salmagundi, 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 legend, in which the village's residents feigned idiocy to prevent a royal visit from John, King of England.
Geography and history
thumbnail|A map showing Gotham City in the [[U.S. state of New Jersey from Amazing World of DC Comics #14 (March 1977). Art by Dick Dillin.]]
Gotham City, like other cities in the DC Universe, has varied in its depictions over the decades, but its location is traditionally depicted as being in the state of New Jersey. Gotham and Metropolis are sometimes portrayed as twin cities on opposite sides of the Delaware Bay, with Gotham in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware.
Gotham City is described as being founded in 1635 by Jon Logerquist, a Norwegian mercenary, before being taken over by the English; this history parallels the history of New York City, which was founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam before being conquered by England and renamed New York. In Rick Veitch's comic Swamp Thing #85 featuring the character Tomahawk, Gotham is described as being the site of a major battle between American and British forces during the American Revolutionary War, which is a reference to the real-life Battle of Long Island. In the comic, Gotham is also rumored to be a site of occult rites.
The 2011 comic series Batman: Gates of Gotham details a history of Gotham in which Alan Wayne (Bruce Wayne's ancestor), Theodore Cobblepot (Oswald Cobblepot's ancestor), and Edward Elliot (Thomas Elliot's ancestor) are considered 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; his jealousy would spread to his great-great-grandson Thomas Elliot, also known as Hush.
The occult origins of Gotham are further explored in Peter Milligan's 1990 story arc "Dark Knight, Dark City", which depicts some of the Founding Fathers of the United States being involved in summoning a bat-demon which becomes trapped beneath old "Gotham Town", its dark influence spreading as Gotham City evolves. A similar premise is found in 2005's Shadowpact #5 by Bill Willingham, which describes a being who has slept for 40,000 years beneath the land upon which Gotham was built. Strega, 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 made clear whether these were vigilantes or costumed criminals.thumb|Gotham City in 1881 from Batman: Gates of Gotham (April 2011). Art by Trevor McCarthy.
Many storylines have added more events to Gotham's history, at 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 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 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, and a 200th anniversary of the city being celebrated in Tim Burton's Batman, either of which would make Maine the most likely state to contain Gotham City.
Culture
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 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.
thumbnail|Airships are commonly depicted flying over Gotham City. Art by Jim Lee.
In designing Batman: The Animated Series, creators Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski emulated 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.]]
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 destroys several Gotham buildings to reveal the Pinkney structures they had hidden; the editorial purpose behind this was to make Gotham resemble its depiction in 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.