Gotham City

For other uses, see Gotham City (disambiguation).

Gotham City
Batman location
Shot of Gotham City in Batman (vol. 3) #14 (March 2017).
Art by Mitch Gerads.
First appearanceBatman #4
(December 1940)
Created byBill Finger (writer)
Bob Kane (artist)
GenreSuperhero
In-universe information
TypeCity
LocationsAce Chemicals
Arkham Asylum
Batcave
Blackgate Penitentiary
Gotham City Police Department
Iceberg Lounge
Wayne Enterprises
Wayne Manor
Characters
List
PublisherDC Comics

Gotham City (/ˈɡɒθəm/ GOTH-əm), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Eastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the city was first identified as Batman's place of residence in Batman #4 (December 1940) and has since been the primary setting for stories featuring the character. In most of its incarnations, Gotham is depicted as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the world.

Gotham City is traditionally depicted as being located in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Gotham's look and atmosphere were primarily influenced by New York City, but also drew inspiration from Chicago and London.[8][9] Architect Hugh Ferriss' designs also influenced the look and emotional feel of Gotham City, particularly in its later depictions.[10] Bill Finger said that he chose the name "Gotham", and not New York, so that all readers in any city could identify with it.[11]

Locations used as inspiration or filming locations for Gotham City in the live-action Batman films and television series have included St. Louis,[12] Chicago,[13][14] Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, London, Glasgow,[15][16][17][18][19][20] Hong Kong, Detroit,[21] and Liverpool.[22]

  1. ^ Amazing World of DC Comics #14, March 1977. DC Comics.
  2. ^ World's Finest Comics #259, October–November 1979. DC Comics.
  3. ^ Detective Comics #503 June 1983. DC Comics.
  4. ^ Atlas of the DC Universe, 1990. DC Comics.
  5. ^ Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual #1, June 1993. DC Comics.
  6. ^ Montgomery, Paul (May 18, 2011). "The Secret Geography of the DC Universe: A Really Big Map" Archived August 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine iFanboy
  7. ^ Batman: The Cult #4, November 1988. DC Comics.
  8. ^ Bopik, Barry (March 29, 2008). "Metropolis is New York by day; Gotham City is New York by night". Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  9. ^ "Joker: Folie à Deux and The Penguin Place Gotham City in Different US States". IGN. October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  10. ^ Ferriss, Hugh (1943), Trinity Portland Cement Company Promotional Materials, Lobby and Escalators, Presentation Drawing, archived from the original on December 7, 2022, retrieved December 7, 2022
  11. ^ Safire, William (July 30, 1995). "ON LANGUAGE; Jersey's Vanishing 'New'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008.
  12. ^ "Holy microscope! Here are 19 little details you never noticed in 'Batman'". MeTV. January 11, 2018. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "Film locations for Batman Begins". Movie-locations.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference IGNInterview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ J.S., Brent (June 12, 2011). "Juicy Plot Details Revealed as The Dark Knight Rises Moves to Pittsburgh". Reelz Channel. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  16. ^ Vancheri, Barbara (August 21, 2011). "Fans glimpse final round of 'Dark Knight' filming". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  17. ^ Wigler, Josh (February 15, 2012). "'Dark Knight Rises' Meets... Donald Trump?". MTV. Archived from the original on October 30, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  18. ^ "Gridlock in Gotham: 'Dark Knight' filming in Newark likely to cause massive traffic delays this week", The Star-Ledger, November 2, 2011, archived from the original on November 4, 2011, retrieved November 5, 2011
  19. ^ "'The Dark Knight Rises' to film in Newark", New York Post, November 3, 2011, archived from the original on November 5, 2011, retrieved November 5, 2011
  20. ^ Di Ionno, Mark (November 5, 2011). "Di Ionno: Trying to unmask Newark's secret identity as a Batman film location". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  21. ^ Hinds, Julie. "'Batman v Superman': 10 key metro Detroit filming locations". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  22. ^ Flaherty, Jess (March 11, 2020). "Liverpool turns into Gotham city as 'The Batman' filming preparation gets underway". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.