Over the last 75 we've seen all kinds of different versions of DC Comics' Gotham, adapted into the visions of a whole bunch of different artists and filmmakers, but soon we will get to experience a whole new one. Later this year we will see the debut of the new television series Gotham, and in addition to a new take on the legendary fictional city it will also be filled with a whole bunch of dynamic heroes and villains. Today we get a closer look at a handful of them.
Entertainment Weekly has debuted a series of eight new character posters from Gotham, and while you can see the full collection over on their site, we've plucked out the most interesting ones above and below.
Up top we have yet another look at Detective James Gordon, who will be played by Ben McKenzie in the show. The series begins as the future commissioner has just arrived in Gotham, but obviously that means that he's not 100% clear on the way things actually work in the city. He will certainly be making a ton of enemies and meet a lot of true blue villains before the show is done, including...
Mr. Edward Nygma, who Batman fans know eventually turns into the psychotic puzzle master known as The Riddler. Played by Cory Michael Smith in the show, Gotham actually starts with Nygma playing for the good guys. When we first met him he is a smart young forensic scientist working for the police department. In the comics the character becomes obsessed with learning Batman's true identity, but without the Dark Knight in the show it will be interesting to see how Nygma's arc plays out.
The Riddler isn't the only character who is being shifted away from their original origin stories. Take, for example, the new Poison Ivy. Rather than being Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley from the comics, the plant-loving villainess will instead be a young girl named Ivy Pepper, portrayed by actress Clare Foley. At this point it's unclear exactly how she will fit into the universe of Gotham, but expect that to change when the series arrives on television this fall.
You can see more character posters featured over at EW, but one character they are missing is Dr. Victor Fries, a.k.a. the Batman antagonist Mr. Freeze. This is hardly the magazine's fault, as the character hasn't actually been written into Gotham yet, but that may actually soon change. HitFix recently sat down for an interview with pilot director Danny Cannon, and during their conversation the filmmaker revealed that he has pitched an idea for how to introduce the Dark Knight's coldest villain into the new show. Said Cannon,
"I have a big pitch with [Series Creator Bruno Heller] about the Mr. Freeze character, whose origins are uncertain. If I can win Geoff Johns over and if I can win Bruno over, then I look forward to the moment where that character can be realized."
Because Gotham began its existence with a series order and therefore a big picture in mind from the very start, I have a feeling this means that we probably won't get to see Mr. Freeze in the first season of the show, but all bets are off for the possible second season. The character would probably require a big budget to do properly, and if they go through with it, hopefully they will do him justice.
Gotham will begin airing this Fall on Fox.
