Gotham Season 5 Trailer Brings Out Bane And More Crazy Villains

When 2019 arrives, there will be reason to celebrate, but also reason to fear for the residents of the eternally doomed Gotham City. The fifth and final season of Gotham will arrive in full force, with Batman legitimately making his way to the Fox drama at some point. But first, the entire criminal underworld will come out for one last hurrah, which includes the introductions of Bane and a more Harley-fied take on Jeremiah's accomplice Ecco. Check it all out!

That may not be a proper Bat Signal shining into the clouds above Gotham City, but the light's introduction last season was certainly a tip of the hat to Batman's impending arrival. And it looks like Jim Gordon could use an extra pair of protective glove-wearing hands in reversing the "No Man's Land" arc that Jeremiah set up by destroying all of Gotham's bridges. Especially with a new chaotic force like Bane hitting the streets.

As portrayed by ER vet Shane West, Gotham's Bane may actually come across as a protagonist when he first enters the story. Though the comic' Bane has no identified alter ego, Gotham's Eduardo Dorrance was a friend of Jim's during their Army days. His arrival in Gotham City comes equipped with a squad of top-notch soldiers with the goal of bringing the city back to its former...glory?

In any case, unless Gotham flips the script and turns the villainous behemoth into a good guy, something will happen that makes Bane's greater-good efforts turn sour. Which, of course, will be less than ideal for Jim and Bruce and the other two or three people who want to actually help.

As seen in the trailer, though, there are way more people that want to bring Gotham City to its knees for one reason or another. Let's not forget just how dangerous and destructive Jeremiah has already been in his extremely short stint on Gotham already -- to say nothing of Jerome's own mayhem -- and he's got both helpers and hinderers popping up left and right.

Jeremiah's pal Ecco, portrayed by Francesca Root-Dodson, is changing her look anew, and is looking a lot more like Harley Quinn these days. What with the smeared lipstick, the eye black strip on her face, and outerwear that matches up with her color patterns.

As far as the other fan-favorite villains go, Gotham viewers will be in for a good time. The trailer gives us brief glimpses of both Penguin and Riddler, hopefully marking limited new arcs for the two former partners (in crime). As well, it's downright cheerworthy when Scarecrow pops up with his own army of mucky looking minions.

But beyond Bane, I believe this trailer has gotten me most excited to see what happens with Selina in Season 5. The young character has sharpened her claws in the criminal world, while also deepening her fractured relationship with Bruce, but there hasn't been that much happening on the cat front since she got mostly resurrected following her big fall. Could these glowing cat eyes be a sign of something new on the purr-izon?

With all of that happening, it's almost easy to forget that a Joker-esque Jeremiah also shows up, and that Bruce kicks some ass, and that Barbara is going to be a man-destroying force. We didn't forget, though, and neither will you.

Gotham, now running with the Season 5 tag "Legend of the Dark Knight," will debut on Fox on Thursday, January 3, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Before the 2019 midseason gets here, we still have lots of good shows left to premiere, so bookmark our fall TV premiere schedule to stay current.