Blackgate Penitentiary

Blackgate Penitentiary is a fictional prison depicted in the DC Universe, traditionally located on a small island in the Gotham Bay, Gotham City. Batman: The Long Halloween suggests that it was preceded by Gotham State Penitentiary, which appeared often in pre-Crisis comics.

History

Gotham State Penitentiary is also known as Gotham Prison, especially when referenced after the Crisis. It is later officially renamed "Blackgate Prison". In the late 1980s, Blackgate Prison is condemned by Amnesty International and forced to shut down. When the prison eventually re-opens, it is officially known as "Blackgate Penitentiary".

Unlike Arkham Asylum, Blackgate is where non-insane criminals such as Catman, David Cain, Monsoon, Ernie Chubb, KGBeast and various henchmen, mobsters, and mafia bosses are incarcerated when captured. The Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, Clayface II (Matt Hagen), the Ventriloquist, Mr. Zsasz, Firefly, Calendar Man, Rupert Thorne, Jason Todd and Bane are the only criminals that have done time in both Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary.

There are instances where inmates from Arkham Asylum are temporarily moved to Blackgate, like when Bane destroys the original Arkham building in Batman #491. All of the Arkham inmates are incarcerated in Blackgate until the new Arkham structure is built and opened in Batman #521.

There is a one-shot about a breakout happening in the prison entitled Batman: Blackgate. The prisoners in the story are Cluemaster, Steeljacket, Ratcatcher, The Trigger Twins, Dragoncat, Gunhawk, Czonka (The Baffler), Actuary, and others. Several of these villains are also featured in the Cataclysm storyline when an earthquake and the resulting tidal waves damage the prison and open up a land bridge to Gotham. This allows the majority of the inmates of Blackgate to escape.

Known Inmates

A riot of inmates including: Bane, The Reaper, Ragdoll, White Rabbit, Professor Ivo, Emperor Blackgate, Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Mister Combustible and Hypnotic.

Super-Criminals

Actuary
Bane
Black Spider
Captain Stingaree
Catman
Catwoman (sometimes shown in Arkham instead)
The Cypher (Avery Twombey)
Clayface II (Matt Hagen)
Cluemaster
Czonk
Dagger II
Deadshot
Dr. Fang
Dragoncat
Echo
Electrocutioner
Emperor Blackgate
Faceless (Joseph Zedno)
Firebug
Firebug 2
Firefly
The Getaway Genius
Gunhawk
Hypnotic
Jason Todd
KGBeast
Lady Spellbinder
Librarian
Mirror Man
Mister Combustible
Monsoon
Mortimer Kadaver
Orca
The Penguin
Polka-Dot Man
Professor Ivo
Punchline
Queen of Spades
Ragdoll
Ratcatcher: Ratcatcher was amongst the more successful prisoners due to using his rats for contraband smuggling.
Raya Vestri
Sasha Bordeaux (when she is falsely convicted of involvement in Vesper Fairchild's murder)
Spook (originally shown as an Arkham inmate)
Steeljacket
Ten-Eyed Man: Ten-Eyed Man was kept in a specialized imprisonment, having his hands locked in a box to blind him.
The Trigger Twins (Tom & Tad Trigger)
White Rabbit
Wrath II

Plainclothes criminals

Billy: One of The Ventriloquist's henchmen, seen in Detective Comics #610.
Bonaventure Strake:
Bruce Wayne: Bruce was convicted to Blackgate when he was falsely convicted of murdering Vesper Fairchild.
Carmine Falcone: In original continuity, Falcone never went to prison and died by the time his empire ended. He wen't to Blackgate in Prime Earth continuity.
Dalton Perry:
David Cain:
Ernie Chubb:
Eustace Marker:
Dean "Hungry" Fahy:
Frederick Rhino:
Henry Etchison: A mayoral candidate who covered up for his nephew, the serial-killer Abattoir.
Hsui Cheung:
Jan Brodie:
Jared Manx: A serial killer.
Jim Gordon: After being brainwashed into committing murder.
John McCone:
Matches Malone: An undercover alias of Batman which he sometimes uses to infiltrate Blackgate circles.
Mugsy:
Rupert Thorne: Thorne was moved to Blackgate after an initial incarceration in Arkham due to madness induced by Hugo Strange.
Sal "The Boss" Maroni: Maroni was imprisoned after scarring Harvey Dent only to be murdered within by Alberto Falcone.
Tony Zucco:
Vincent Morelli:
Vincent "The Shark" Starkey:
Weasel (Chet Grimes):
William Guillory:

Arkham inmates

Oftentimes, it is inconsistent which criminals go to Arkham Asylum and which go to Blackgate prison while some have shared histories. Characters more traditionally affiliated with Arkham include:

Calendar Man: When Ra's al Ghul lead a mass-breakout of prison, Calendar Man was amongst the prisoners. Calendar Man is more popularly an inmate of Arkham Asylum due to his appearance, negotiating with Batman and the authorities from Batman: The Long Halloween.
Clayface (I):
Crazy Quilt:
Doctor Phosphorus: The questionably (though likely not) cannon Batman: Three Jokers storyline identified Doctor Phosphorus as a Blackgate prisoner.
The Joker: Joker was temporarily held in Blackgate after being sentenced to death row. ^[1]
Killer Moth: Drury Walker's file identifies him as having been imprisoned in Blackgate before being moved to Arkham Asylum for observation.
Magpie:
Mister Zsasz:
Tweedle-Dee & Tweedle-Dum: The Tweeds are most famously identified as inmates of Arkham Asylum in stories such as Last Arkham or Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. In the New 52, they were retconned into being prisoners of Blackgate Prison.
Two-Face:
The Ventriloquist: Arnold Wesker was a Blackgate prisoner prior to becoming the Ventriloquist at which point he was institutionalized in Arkham.

In other media

Film

In Christopher Nolan's 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises, the mercenary Bane liberates the criminals "wrongfully imprisoned" at Blackgate Penitentiary by Commissioner Gordon under the Dent Act and uses them in his army.

Television

In Batman: The Animated Series, this prison is called Stonegate Penitentiary. It was built as a plan by Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent to build a better, safer Gotham. Criminals like Catwoman, Rupert Thorne, Bane, Clock King, Sidney Debris, the Terrible Trio and the Penguin were sentenced to Stonegate. It is also where the common criminals go.

Video Games

Batman: Arkham series

Batman: The Telltale Series

Blackgate Penitentiary is mentioned several times in Batman: The Telltale Series and Batman: The Enemy Within. The Penguin is convicted to the prison following his defeat at Batman's hands. Two-Face can also be sent to Blackgate if the player confronts him in Guardian of Gotham. During The Enemy Within, Harleen Quinzel is mentioned to have been a psychiatrist at the penitentiary. After the being defeated by Batman, she can be committed to Blackgate, either due to a request made by the vigilante to Amanda Waller or after she is defeated with Joker. Should the former occur, Bane will also be sent to the prison.

Novels

In the novel Batman: The Ultimate Evil, author Andrew Vachss refers to a "Hellgate Prison".

↑ The Joker: Devil's Advocate

[1] The Joker: Devil's Advocate

[1]