Gotham City Should Be A Character

Of all the superheroes on the big screen, none has enjoyed more iterations than Batman. The Caped Crusader has long been the only hero Warner Bros. had faith in. With each new Bat comes new allies and enemies. Fans will meet new versions of Commissioner Gordon, Alfred, the Joker and more. Each Batman also has a new vision for Gotham City, and while it’s not as glamorous, the city matters more than many would think.

Marvel has many fictional locations, but most of its heroics take place in existing cities. New York City is the scene of a lot of Avengers action. DC heroes usually get a domain for themselves. Superman has Metropolis, Green Arrow has Star City, The Flash has Central City, etc. Their homes are as much a part of their personality as their costume or logo. Batman’s connection to Gotham may be more intense than any other hero’s home field advantage.

RELATED: Batman Making Video Shows How Gotham City Was Created

Gotham City is different every time

Check out a photo of Gotham City from every major Batman cinematic universe. No one would ever guess that they were adaptations from the same place. Tim Burton’s Gotham is whimsical, gothic and absurd. It looks like an intricate model of an imaginary urban fantasy world. batman forever He reimagined the city as a neon-lit cartoon world, filled with bombastic statues and poppy colors. Christopher Nolan was celebrated for his realistic and grounded interpretation of the source material. His Gotham went through stages, though it never reached his potential. batman beginning presented a beautiful, unique and fascinating vision of the city. Its particular structure inspired the story. From the overcrowded, Hong Kong-inspired Narrows to the iconic city-wide rail system, batman beginning Nailed Gotham City. Unfortunately, his followers were not as dedicated to that cause.

Gotham is redesigned as a fairly generic city in The dark knight and The dark knight rises. he wake up It even features the New York Stock Exchange, making it even more obvious as a pastiche of a real-world location. There are several arguments for and against the evolution of the city. Thomas Wayne’s train is destroyed, along with many large buildings, in batman beginning. The dark knight Arguably it could only visually represent the most boring parts of Gotham. Even Wayne Tower gets a significant downgrade. It’s a beautiful 19th-century Gothic monument in the first film, but in the sequel it’s replaced with a generic black rectangle. It’s a tragic change, but its visual elements are not as critical as its narrative details.

The story of batman beginning Requires the Gotham City-specific layout. The dark knight, while superior in almost every way, doesn’t rely on that kind of environmental storytelling. Idem The dark knight rises, with its dirty subways and soccer stadiums. Even when these places blow up, they’re not much more than stage decorations for important scenes. The DCEU offers a brief look at Gotham. It’s nothing special. the batman It also takes the tactic of making Gotham look real, but doesn’t sacrifice any stylistic details. Matt Reeves helped give the world the most severe version of Gotham City yet. The layers of rain seem to keep it permanently miserable, along with the Gothic architecture, rare Art Deco touches, and constant low lighting. It’s not as instrumental to the story as batman beginning‘ city, but it fits the tone perfectly. There is still room for improvement.

The brave and the Brave must make Gotham iconic again

Each version of Gotham City has its merits. The important thing is not how it looks. This is how it is used. When someone says “the city is a character,” they mean that the unique features of the place are as important to the story as any other figure in it. The brave and the Brave It will almost certainly have to introduce a new version of Gotham City. The key is to tie your unique elements into the narrative. It represents multiple levels of society and the ways they live. Create motifs for eye-catching images. Let the architecture and infrastructure be additional elements to the story. These simple decisions can make the difference between a movie starring Batman and a bat Man movie. Some smart choices and strategically placed design options can give the audience the experience of a living, breathing Gotham City that has been so important in previous iterations.

The brave and the Brave has the potential to free Batman from the gritty contest of realism he’s been trapped in for years. Give the character a bit of fantasy, some fun elements from the comics, or a taste of the animated series’ aesthetic. One of the best ways to refine the new franchise’s personality is to spruce up Gotham City. There’s a lot of time before the DCU gets Batman and a lot of things to get right. The city may not be at the top of the priority list, but the Caped Crusader needs Gotham as much as he needs it.

MORE: Batman used Mandalorian technology to create Gotham City