Gotham has never held back on introducing legendary villains from Batman lore, although never without a twist or two to distinguish them from any and all of their comic counterparts. With only one shortened season left before Gotham comes to an end on Fox, the show may have a lot of bad guys to pack in before the grand finale that may or may not see Bruce Wayne don his iconic cape and cowl. Well, we have an idea of a new villain who is likely to appear in Season 5, and he's probably not one that many would expect: Mutant Leader is probably on the way.
No official announcement about Mutant Leader or his gang of Mutants appearing in Gotham has yet been made, but set photos reveal a man who seems to have the same visor and spikes that appear in the Dark Knight Returns comic and animated movie, and he has what looks an awful lot like a gang of mutants trailing after him. In case you thought Gotham City wasn't already going to be a disaster in the aftermath of the Season 4 finale that saw the bridges out of Gotham destroyed, the arrival of the Mutants convince you.
Fans of The Dark Knight Returns know that the Mutants appear in a future after Batman has retired. Given that Gotham's Bruce Wayne is still probably a few years (and perhaps another growth spurt) from becoming the Batman, we can assume that Gotham is playing with timelines to adapt yet again. The odds were already good that the No Man's Land and Zero Year arcs would contribute to Season 5; now we can probably add The Dark Knight Returns to the list. Oh, Gotham. Never change your creative ways!
If we accept that the Mutants are on the way for Season 5, they join a long and wild roster of bad guys who will make their Gotham debut in the final season. The Season 4 finale revealed that Man-Bat will have a part to play (and possibly inspire Batman's existence), and he wasn't the only creepy new villain to debut in that last episode. Back in July, Gotham producer Danny Cannon shared a look at two new gangs who will mix things up for the folks who stayed behind after the bridges came tumbling down, and not in a good way. Barbara's new look doesn't exactly scream "I've reformed into a good guy!" either.
Oh, and then there's a little villain known as Bane who is almost certainly going to appear, possibly with his father in tow. Basically, the characters who lived and only got seriously hurt could be in for more trouble than ever. The hiatus is going to feel very long for those of us who are already dying to see all these bad guys in action. The good news is that there are plenty of TV options between now and the Season 5 premiere in midseason, including some superhero shows. For your options, take a look at our fall TV premiere guide.
