The City That Spawned Him...

Everyone knows that I'm a major Batman fan. I don't dismiss other members of the DC Universe pantheon of heroes (or Marvel's pantheon for that matter!), but ever since I was a child, there was always something that spoke to me about the Dark Knight. It wasn't just the symbolism, even though the Bat symbol is really cool. It wasn't just the science and technology used, even though toys like the Batmobile and the Batarang are really cool. It isn't even the superior intelligence and tactics that Batman employs to survive in a world full of super powered beings. In really thinking about it, the underlying quality that really speaks to ME and supports my intense love of the Batman mythos is the endurance of the man, Bruce Wayne. Making the choice to fight crime as a child, having the strength of will to stick to that choice and enforcing that change, and then standing up against the never-ending assault of crime. Those qualities were exceedingly appealing to my younger self trying to survive the household in which I lived. And so, I read the stories, watched the TV shows. Yes, even that horrible excuse for entertainment that was the 70s Batman show. Blech!

Anyway, in reading the comics and learning the stories, one can't help but find one of the biggest "secrets" of the Batman universe. For all the talk of Batman being a lone crusader, he has a HUGE support team in his fight against crime. One man in particular, has been part of his support team since he was a child: James Gordon, future police commissioner of Gotham City. In every single iteration of Batman that featured Gordon, the man was nothing less than bad ass EVERY SINGLE TIME! So, when I heard the news that a new television series was being produced that was focusing on James Gordon in Gotham BEFORE the time of the Bat, I knew I was going to watch it. Here's the extended trailer for Gotham:


Awesome, right?? And so far, the casting has been nothing less that top notch. I'm not familiar with Ben McKenzie (Jim Gordon) aside from his voicing of Batman in the animated movie Batman:Year One, but given the accolades he got on Southland, I can't really see him messing up in the role. I watched David Mazouz (the young Bruce Wayne) in the series Touch and he will be amazing. Sean Pertwee as Alfred is surprising but awesome. However, my favorite bit of casting is Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock.

Bullock is one of those characters that, at first glance, seem like a throwaway; just someone to fill a role in a given story. But, after he comes back multiple times, you realize that there's something deeper to the man. A rare kind of complexity that is tricky to play out. While morally corrupt enough to take money from the mob, Bullock won't sell out his partner. He understands that he's a bad seed, but still tries to do good. And when Batman shows up in Gotham, Bullock decries him as an insane catalyst that will break the city, but still works with Batman, at times directly, to help the citizens of Gotham. And Donal Logue is a fantastic choice to play that rare mix that is Bullock.

And given that trailer, it looks like this show is on track to being one of the biggest hits on FOX. Long live Gotham City!