The Fox TV series,
Gotham, has reached its mid-season break and there has been no shortage of villains that have been hinted at by either the show itself or the people behind it. So lets take a look ahead at some of the antagonists we can expect to see as the show progresses.
THE JOKER
The Joker was confirmed to appear in the show a while back, though we haven't been seeing as much foreshadowing of this character in the show as we were expecting. There were even reports that a potential future Joker would appear in every episode, though I personally haven't noticed one since the Pilot. The Joker has had many origins told and he himself doesn't even seem to remember how he came to be. As far as which origin story the show is going with, the executive producer Danny Cannon says that they are going
"Way, way back" with Joker's origin and that the character
"probably isn't telling jokes yet."
When Cannon says that the show is going "way back" with the Joker's origin, it's left ambiguous as to whether he meant they are going "way back" in the timeline of the character (such as showing the character in his childhood, for example) or that they are pulling from early continuity, such as using the Joker's original Red Hood origin.
Either way, the comedian shown at Fish Mooney's club in the pilot is almost certainly a nod to the Joker, even if he isn't the actual Joker.
As far as when we can expect to see the Joker, show runner Bruno Heller says
"We're going to wait and get the show up and running [before we meet the real Joker]. We want to get the story right and we want to be tonally right - and then we'll start thinking about how to bring him in. We will certainly try to surprise people, and maybe even trick people. It's one of those expectations that everyone will be waiting for, so you can't just present the guy with a big smile and start telling the story. Not that that would be dull, but that's one of those opportunities to really start playing with this." It seems like they are being careful when and how to present their incarnation of the Joker, which they obviously need to be considering they are following up Heath Ledger's stunning performance. When asked about how he feels about those who feel that the show shouldn't do the Joker because of how hard it would be to live up Ledger's performance, Heller replied,
"He’s the crown jewel of the Batman villains. He will be brought in with great care and a lot of thought. While that is a serious and valid note, you can’t get into doing this without going there. That was a wonderful performance and — apart from everything else — wonderful make-up. And we should try to live up to that. It will be a different character. It’s certainly going to be more Heath Ledger than Cesar Romero."
Lets hope the show does a decent job with the Joker because I doubt fans will be too forgiving if they don't.
THE DOLLMAKER
The Dollmaker is a serial killer who makes dolls out of people's skin. His real name is Barton Mathis and he is the leader of a "family" of killers not unlike the Sawyer family from
Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The character is best known for his appearances in the hit TV series,
Arrow, and for cutting off the Joker's face. In the comics, Barton Mathis would watch his cannibalistic father, Wesley Mathis, murder people during "hunting trips." That was until his father get gunned down by James Gordon.
In the second episode of the show, titled
Selina Kyle, we are introduced to Patti and Doug. This humourous yet murderous duo was revealed to be following the orders of the Dollmaker (whether they were employed or are part of the "Mathis/Dollmaker Family" is uncertain). While the Dollmaker is absent for the entirety of the episode, his presence is felt and we learn that he is trying to take hold of multiple children for his own purposes.
In a later episode,
Arkham, we are introduced to another character named Molly
Mathis.
Molly Mathis is shown to be a corrupt business woman who works for Wayne Enterprises and who worked closely with Thomas Wayne. When speaking with Bruce Wayne, she seemed very nervous when Bruce started to point out "irregularities" of the Arkham project and seemed determined on hiding any of the companies corrupt activities and even seemed involved in them. It was obvious that she was working for a higher power. Does this mean the Dollmaker Family has a stake in Wayne Enterprises, as well as the Venom and Viper drugs? If the Dollmaker has some control over Wayne Enterprises in this universe, that can't be a good thing.
Lastly, considering the point in time this series takes place, it's unlikely that Barton Mathis is the Dollmaker. There's a higher possibility that the Dollmaker that operates in this show is actually Wesley Mathis who will eventually get killed by Gordon.
HARLEY QUINN
At last New York Comic Con, a fan asked if Harley Quinn would be appearing in the show. Rather than flat-out denying it, Danny Cannon replied
"Well get there." Despite this, Harley won't be in the current first season. She is, however, officially confirmed for later seasons. According to Bruno Heller,
"We haven’t got Harley Quinn in [the first season]. And Harley Quinn is definitely planned for later on, but so far no.”
THE COURT OF OWLS
When asked about the Court of Owls, Danny Cannon said,
"We are sneaking in a few things in Season 1. And if FOX lets us have a Season 2, there’s no end to what you will see from them." It sounds like if the show gets renewed for a second season, the Court could make it into the series by sheer fan demand alone.
MR. FREEZE
Danny Cannon confirmed a while back that we will be seeing a more realistic version of Victor Fries/"Freeze" on the show because, lets face it, everything is realistic nowadays.
"Without giving too much away - because I'm not allowed to - the great thing about working on a CSI procedural show for so long was we worked with so many experts - specialists in each field. There's a lot of things I picked up along the way. My first conversation with Bruno Heller about the villains in this show is always that they need to be very credible and relatable and the science behind them needs to be real. So I had a couple of stories that I'd held onto - real, true stories - and one of them just related to Mr Freeze. I know a real way to create an origin story."
Because this is a prequel show, I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Freeze starts off calling himself "Mr. Zero" like he did in the Golden Age comics, similarly to how Catwoman originally called herself "the Cat."
SCARECROW
Scarecrow is a villain that was confirmed to appear in the show by (once again) Danny Cannon.
"We're breaking the story now, the villain will be seen as a child, before he takes on the Scarecrow moniker. In fact, it's something that will be passed on to him from his father, which will create an eventual enemy for Batman while still having an adversary for Jim Gordon."
It appears we will get a Scarecrow in the show that is the father of Jonathan Crane rather than Crane himself.
HUGO STRANGE
The show has put quite an emphasis on the origins of the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum For The Criminally Insane as we know it in current continuity. It also appears from watching the appropriately titled episode,
Arkham, that the show will be somewhat loosely adapting the
Arkham City storyline. Therefore it is no surprise that Professor Hugo Strange will have a role to play in this series.
According to Bruno Heller,
"Hugo Strange is going to pop up because we're going to start dealing with how Arkham was created and why Arkham was created in the way that it was. It's a Season One thing because in our telling of it the way Arkham was created and the why and how is one of the causes of the particular criminal climate in Gotham that allowed Batman to happen. The revolving door of Arkham is both a brilliant narrative device because it allows you to -- you don't have to kill people off, you can just put them in cold storage -- but if you're telling the story from the start you kind of have to explain, 'What the f***? Why don't you make that place a place people don't escape from?' We're going to explain why it is the way it is and Hugo Strange is a big part of that."
FIREBUG
It hasn't been confirmed whether or not Firebug is in the show but a character remarkably similar to Firebug appeared in the episode,
Harvey Dent. In the comics, Firebug is a demolitions expert for hire. If you want something blown up, Firebug's your guy.
In the episode, a character named Ian Hargrove appears. Hargrove seems to know a lot about how create explosives and has a mental illness in which he has compulsions to cause explosions. Is he the show's incarnation of Firebug? We'll just have to wait and see.
KGBEAST
Also in the episode,
Harvey Dent, a Russian mobster named Gregor Kasyanov appears as a major antagonist. While I may be stretching a little bit, there is a Russian assassin in the comics named Anatoli Knyazev, otherwise known as KGBeast. Are Knyazev and Kasyanov related somehow? Is Kasyanov is an Anglicization of Knyazev? Could there be no connection at all?
KING SNAKE
King Snake is a master martial artist and the father of the Santa Priscan super-villain known as Bane. While locked in a Santa Prisca prison, he met a woman who gave birth to his son. However, King Snake left the prison but didn't take Bane, leaving him there to grow-up. While King Snake hasn't been confirmed for the show, the reason I believe he will be in the show has to do with the episode
Viper.
The episode revolves around a super-drug called Viper that gives it's users super-human strength for a few hours but then kills them due to a lack of calcium, which the drug is burning off. Toward the end of the episode, it is revealed that the problems with the drug were fixed and the finished product was a new drug called Venom.
What does this have to do with King Snake? For one, the drug was developed for military purposes and King Snake was originally in the British military. Another thing that should be taken into consideration is that his son, Bane, is an avid user of Venom and is who most of us think of when we think of the drug. The symbol on the Viper bottles is similar to the tattoo on his chest and, in the comics, he has had a leading role in various gangs and organizations (for example, the Cult of the Kobra). He is also the right age to appear in the show, as he is a grown adult in this period of time. I honestly believe King Snake will eventually appear as a villain in the show (perhaps as a mob boss) who controls the supply and distribution of Venom. Even though I don't think he has used Venom in the comics, I wouldn't be surprised if he does in the show. He will also probably be there to provide an origin story for Bane and I imagine the Viper logo will probably be the logo he has tattooed on his chest in the show. This is all just speculation.
CYPHER?
This is unconfirmed and probably the biggest long shot in this article, but it's still a possibility. Cypher is a hypnotist who uses hypnotism and his voice to get other people to do his bidding.
In the episode,
Spirit Of The Goat, a female hypnotherapist has been using hypnosis to get her clients to do as she tells him. The most notable which being the serial killer Raymond Earl, AKA The Goat who she uses to kill the first born of the rich.
PROFESSOR PYG
Lazlo Valentin is a mad doctor who lobotomizes people and turns them into his mind controlled slaves he calls Dollotrons. What does he have to do with
Gotham? A couple of things, actually. First of which: in the
Balloonman episode, the Balloonman's first disguise involves him wearing Pyg's mask (or one just like it). We are never given any explanation. He just wears it for one scene then takes it off and it is never seen again. I seriously doubt this was a coincidence.
Another thing is that Fish Mooney's "boy toy" in the second and third episodes is named Lazlo. This probably means nothing, though there is a slight possibility that Lazlo survived his fate in
The Balloonman but is driven insane and becomes Professor Pyg. Perhaps Fish Mooney could be his "mommy made of nails" instead of Talia Head (if you've read Grant Morrison's run on
Batman & Robin and
Batman Incorporated, you probably know what I'm talking about).
Pyg has a full grown son in the comics, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for him to be an adult in this show.
BLACK MASK
In the episode,
The Mask, a Proto-Black Mask appears. This makes it evident that Roman Sionis (Black Mask) will eventually appear as well.
The Mask involves Richard Sionis, the corrupt CEO of Sionis Industries, forcing those who apply for a job at his company to kill each other for the position. Sionis wears a mask not unlike that of Black Mask's and is likely the father of Roman Sionis, even though his father is named Charles Sionis in the source material.
The early life of Roman is violent in the comics and I'm not sure if the show will go so dark. When Roman was first born he was dropped on his head. His parents spent more time trying to cover up the accident (which they saw as an embarrassment) than making sure we was okay. His parents were more protective of their reputation than of him. He eventually killed his parents by burning down their house. He then took over the Sionis fortune, started wearing a black skull mask and became the criminal Black Mask. It's what Richard always says, "
A mask hides the face, but frees the soul. A mask speaks the truth."
THE FLORONIC MAN
The only reason I believe Jason Woodrue AKA the Floronic Man may appear is because he is responsible for giving Poison Ivy her powers in the comics but, in all actuality, they may decide to give Ivy a different origin so there is about a 50% chance he'll make an appearance.
THE INMATES OF ARKHAM ASYLUM
With Arkham Asylum having a much bigger role in the second half of the season, I think we can expect to see at least a few familiar inmates (though not a whole lot). Arkham Asylum, in the comics, as always been used as a storage to place villains that have been defeated or are mostly unused until someone decides to use them again. Some of the inmates that are consistently seen within Arkham Asylum in the comics (usually in cameos) include, but are not limited to, Humpty Dumpty, the Great White Shark, Ragdoll, Professor Pyg, Killer Croc, Fright, the Mad Hatter, Egg Head, Zsasz, Magpie, Maxie Zeus, the Ventriloquist, Harley Quinn and Jane Doe.
With a huge emphasis on the Arkham Plan that the Waynes had for Gotham, one has to wonder whether or not the show is going the
Earth One route like they are with Alfred Pennyworth and having Martha Wayne as a relative of the Arkham family instead of the Kane family.
Are there any villains that you believe will appear in the series that I left out? Do you disagree with anything? Feedback in the usual spot...