Gotham City

Gotham City (called Gothic City in the Editorial Novaro translation for Latin America and known simply as Gotham in Spanish translations) is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. The city was first identified as Batman's place of residence in Batman #4 (December 1940), and has since been the main setting for stories featuring the character.

Gotham City is traditionally described as located in the American state of New Jersey. Over the years, the look and atmosphere of Gotham has been influenced by cities such as New York and Chicago.

Locations used as inspiration or filming locations for Gotham City in the Batman live-action films and television series include New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Vancouver, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, London, Toronto and Hong Kong.

Generally, in the DC Universe, Gotham City is attributed negative characteristics, such as cursed city, night, darkness, corruption and a very deep-seated sense of decay. This in contrast to Metropolis (Superman's city) as the city of light, day, hope and "tomorrow".

Creation

In Batman's early adventures, he lived and operated in New York, specifically Manhattan.

The creation of Gotham is credited to writer Bill Finger. Finger commented on the reason for the name of the city and the change of Batman's operations center for a fictional city:

Originally, I was going to call Gotham City "Civic City". Then I thought of "Capital City" and then "Coast City". Then I heard the phone book and I saw "Gotham Jewelers" and said "That's right, Gotham City." We don't call it New York because we wanted anyone to feel identified with the city.

Another fact to understand the origin of the phrase "Gotham City" It comes from the writer Washington Irving, who used the term to refer to the city of New York in his 1807 satirical work, "Salmagundi". Apparently it took the name from the English city of Gotham (etymologically " #34;city of goats") in Nottinghamshire, whose inhabitants were popularly considered the epitome of stupidity or madness, since, according to legend, they prevented King John from establishing his residence in the city. Irving thus intended to satirize the madness that, on a larger scale, characterized New York, already at the beginning of the 19th century.

Fictional story

In Swamp Thing #53, Alan Moore wrote a fictional story about Gotham City. According to Moore's story, a Norwegian mercenary founded Gotham City and then the English took it over (this is a parallel story to the discovery of New York by the Dutch and the taking of the city by the English). Gotham City was the site of the great battle (in parallel with the American Revolutionary War). Rumors said that it was also a place where occult rites were performed.

Shadowpact #5 by Bill Willidicck expanded on Gotham City's hidden heritage by depicting a being that had slept for 40,000 years beneath the earth on which Gotham was built. Strega, the being's servant, said that the "dark and sometimes cursed character" of the city was influenced by the being who now used the name 'Doctor Gotham'.

Many stories have added events to Gotham's history, at the same time severely affecting the city and its people. Perhaps the greatest in impact was a long series of plots that began with Ra's al Ghul releasing the Gulf-A Ebola virus, also called "rivet,", during the plot called Batman: Contagion. After this story arc ended, the city began to recover only to subsequently suffer a 7.6 earthquake on the Richter scale during Batman: Cataclysm, and its subsequent destruction and national isolation in the city. "No Man's Land" saga.

The name "Gotham City" is generally associated with DC Comics, although it also appeared in the first Mr. Scarlet story by France Herron and Jack Kirby from Wow Comics #1. Historian Greg Theakston notes that that comic was published on December 13, 1940, shortly before Batman #4 was published.

Appearances in other media

In the series Batman Beyond, set in the future, Gotham City has a futuristic look.

In Tim Burton's films, the city has a gloomy and film noir appearance that fits into the author's own gothic aesthetic, while in Joel Schumacher's films it has a labyrinthine appearance and kitsch colors. >. Finally, in Christopher Nolan's films it is a mix between Chicago and New York, with the gigantic Wayne Enterprises building as the core center of the city, closer to the version in the comics.

Within the DC Extended Universe, Gotham City is located in Gotham County, New Jersey. In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, paperwork mentions that the city is in "Gotham County,", and Amanda Waller's files on Deadshot and Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad reveal that Gotham City is located in the state of New Jersey.

On November 25, 2013, the Warner network confirmed Gotham, a television series set in the Batman universe whose premiere is scheduled for fall 2014, and whose story revolves around James Gordon. This series shows a dark and gloomy city where crime, corruption and violence reign, Detective Jim Gordon being the only agent who truly seeks to uphold the law and do justice.

Gothic City (name change)

In the translations of DC Comics comics carried out in the early 1950s in Mexico by Editorial Novaro, many of the names of characters and places were in turn translated and Spanishized in America. Several of these translations were copied by the also Mexican company Cinematografía Interamericana S.A. (CINSA) for the 1960s television comedy Batman. This is how Gotham City (a name that phonetically was a play on words with "Cursed City") became popular on television in Spanish with the curious name of "Gothic City". Several names were also Spanishized, such as "Bruce Wayne" to "Bruno Díaz", "Dick Grayson" to "Ricardo Tapia", "Joker" to "Wildcard" or "Joker", "Catwoman" to "Catwoman", "Batgirl" to "Batgirl", "Riddler" to "Riddler" or "Enigma", "Mr. Freeze" to "Mr. Freezer" or "Mr. Cold'. Some of these terms have been maintained in various dubs, the most recent being that of the film The Batman, where name changes such as "Gothic City" Instead of Gotham, it continues with the translations created by Editorial Novaro and popularized by CINSA dubbing. In Spain, however, the original English names of characters and places have been maintained.