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Gotham City (Batman: Arkham games)

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Gotham City was a large metropolitan city based on the Eastern Seaboard that served as Batman's main area of operations. Even during its earliest years, Gotham was known as a crime-ridden city plagued by violence and political corruption at the highest levels. When Solomon Wayne and his family first immigrated to the city, they brought with them a strong sense of idealism and justice to reform Gotham, which was followed by their successive generations, especially Bruce Wayne.

As Batman, Bruce would attack at the heart of the city's corruption that was spearheaded by Gotham's mob and the many political figures in their pocket, allowing the city to reform itself with much more ethical individuals, but also giving rise to a new type of criminality in the form of supervillains, including Joker, Scarecrow, Bane, Two-Face, and many more. Combating this new class of criminal for over a decade, the Dark Knight would eventually rid Gotham of its worst offenders and largely reduce crime, with the help of his allies and the GCPD, ultimately ushering in a historic peace for its citizens never before seen.

History[]

Founding and Early History[]

In the mid-1600s, settlers from Scandinavia came to America and labored through harsh winters to build the foundations of Gotham City. There were many tales that recounted what the settlers endured, including encounters with mythical beings and fights over Native American burial grounds. Much of Gotham's early history had been garnered through folklore, which was passed down orally during those first trying years. The British eventually took over the settlement.

Almost three hundred years later, refugees from the island nation of Santa Prisca came to Gotham City and believed that God had tasked them with making the city the center of a "Latin Empire." Several of the refugees died, and the survivors returned to Santa Prisca in disgrace.

The Industrial Age[]

During the mid-1800s, Gotham City began expanding with the influx of several influent Gothamites. The powerful Judge, Solomon Wayne associated himself with the young architect, Cyrus Pinkney in order to redevelop the city with the approval of the City Council. Both men believed in the power of those designs to drive out malevolence, and so built many landmarks such as the Old Gotham Cathedral, the Jezebel Mall and Theater, and the Solomon Wayne Courthouse. Henry Cobblepot, a print magnate, also financially backed Pinkney in order to profit from his works, despite Pinkney being in favor of more artistic and civic structures.

Being in rivalry with Wayne, Cobblepot even gave his approval to the seemingly fruitless construction of Gotham Pioneers Bridge, which connected the city's heart (North Gotham) to the southern parts where few settlements existed. That project was, however, a success, as the new land made available saw businesses thriving. "New Gotham" saw rapid growth, became the home of the Gotham Railyards and soon the industrial and financial heart of city. Pinkney's final work for the city before his official death were the plans of Arkham Asylum, that were commissioned by Amadeus Arkham to treat the insane among Gotham's inhabitants.

The Wonder City Exposition[]

During the end of the 1800s, Ra's al Ghul approached Gotham City Hall and proposed a plan to eradicate crime in exchange for the deed to a section of North Gotham, the original center of the city by then in decline. Though hesitant at first, the City Council agreed upon learning that he possessed more gold than they had ever seen. With the deed in hand, Ra's began the construction of a utopian city that was powered by clean, sustainable energy, that was provided by Gotham's undiscovered Lazarus Pit, a city that he later named Wonder City and exposed to the Gothamites during the 1906 Wonder City Exposition. As the Mechanical Guardians watched over the population and removed any lawbreakers, Gotham's new benefactor began combining arcane chemicals in an attempt to attain immortality. Wonder Tower, while being a symbol of progress, hid a system to collect lightning and power Ra's al Ghul's experiments.

It soon became clear, however, that the Lazarus Pit's miraculous compound came with side effects. Little by little, Wonder City's populace was cast into temporary aggressive insanity, and chaos erupted in the streets. When Ra's failed to counter that new wave of violence, Gotham City Hall declared the exposition a public health hazard and ensured that every last of its inhabitants were transported to Arkham Asylum. Ra's, meanwhile, had disappeared without a trace after trying to dig his way to the Lazarus Pit, which caused several streets to collapse, and was never seen again. Wonder Tower remained as a symbol of Gotham's bright future, but new buildings were erected atop Wonder City and hid its terrible failure.

Arkham Asylum[]

Before it became home of the notorious asylum, the island of the Arkham family included only the Botanical Gardens and the Arkham Mansion. A member of that family, Amadeus Arkham, euthanized his mother in the Arkham Mansion as a treatment for her dementia and founded the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane - a facility that was dedicated to treating and housing insane criminals. Ironically, Amadeus became one of its first inmates.

Over many years, Arkham Asylum developed with new facilities and staff being introduced to improve the housing conditions and the effectiveness of the institution's treatments.

Batman: Arkham Origins[]

Black Mask - the city's most notorious crime lord - put a bounty on Batman's head by hiring eight assassins to kill him, including Electrocutioner, Deathstroke, Deadshot, Copperhead, Shiva, Firefly, Killer Croc and Bane. The incident also occurred on Christmas Eve Night. Areas in Gotham included: Amusement Mile, Park Row, Bowery, Jezebel Plaza, Industrial District, Coventry, Diamond District, Burnley and Sheldon Park in areas known as Old and New Gotham, respectively. The two areas were connected by the Gotham Pioneers Bridge.

Cold, Cold, Heart[]

Gotham appeared in Cold, Cold Heart, a week after the Christmas Eve Incident. New Gotham was the only explorable area including Coventry and the Diamond District. However, Burnley was not included due to a large ice formation that was created by thugs with cryogenic weapons.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate[]

Batman chased Catwoman across the rooftops of Gotham, running afoul of a squadron of D.E.O security soldiers who were sent to hunt Catwoman down. Believing them to be SWAT officers, Batman attempted to tell them he had the situation under control, only for one of the soldiers to tell him that he was interfering with their operation, resulting in them targeting Batman in addition to Catwoman, who attempted to flee. Batman gave chase, while dealing with any D.E.O soldiers that stood in his way. After cornering Catwoman, a brief scuffle ensued. Batman overpowered and restrained her, before leaving her for the authorities, who imprisoned her in Blackgate Prison. Two weeks later, Batman met with Captain Gordon on the roof of the GCPD Building in Gotham to discuss the breakout attempt at Blackgate Prison.

Batman: Arkham Shadow[]

The Rats rioted across Gotham for weeks, leading to a major riot on the night of Independence Day, during which public officials were targeted for assassination and Bank of Gotham was robbed of millions. Stores were looted, GCPD officers were captured or murdered, and Perdition Bridge was set on fire, all while firecrackers ignited the skies. A major moment came when a Rat known as Shrike self-immolated on live TV.

A few days later on the Rat King's so-called Day of Wrath, a ship from Blackgate Island crashed into Gotham Harbor.

A Matter of Family[]

Gotham City was seen from Seagate Amusement Park.

Batman: Assault on Arkham[]

The Suicide Squad entered Gotham in order to break into Arkham Asylum to find Riddler and his cane, and Batman uncovered that while he searched for a dirty bomb that the Joker planted in the city.

Batman: Arkham Asylum[]

Arkham Asylum resided outside Gotham on Arkham Island. The city itself could be viewed from the asylum, including Wayne Enterprises.

Batman: Arkham City[]

Arkham City was located in Old Gotham. Warden Quincy Sharp became the Mayor of Gotham following an election that he campaigned for eighteen months prior to the construction of Arkham City.

Batman: Arkham Knight[]

Nine months after the Joker's death, criminal activity had a downfall. As Scarecrow, the Arkham Knight and Deathstroke made an Alliance, the three of them planned to make Gotham into a city of fear and unmask Batman. Scarecrow later unmasked Batman as Bruce Wayne. In retaliation, Batman arrested all the super-villains to the GCPD Lockup to begin The Knightfall Protocol. In Arkham Knight, central Gotham was seen, including three new islands:

  • Bleake Island
  • Miagani Island
  • Founders' Island

While Scarecrow and his many allies ultimately lost and were subdued, hundreds of people lost their lives during the events of Halloween night, especially during the activation of the Cloudburst. Despite this however, Batman instilled massive hope within the city's citizens and politicians, motivating them to rebuild their city and make it into something much greater.

Months after Batman faked his own death, crime was dramatically down as a result of Gotham's worst offenders either deceased or incarcerated and a reformed police force and political infrastructure, resulting in a historic peace for the city and its citizens. Jim Gordon was elected as the new Mayor of Gotham and Bruce Wayne would continue to operate covertly under the guise of a much more terrifying persona, which the media eventually dubbed "The Demon Bat," using a much less lethal version of Crane's fear toxin to strike terror into the remaining and rabidly declining criminal underworld.

Locations[]

North Gotham/Old Gotham/Arkham City[]

Park Row[]

The Bowery[]

Amusement Mile[]

  • Old Gotham Freeway (demolished)
  • Dini Towers
  • Dixon Docks East
  • Gotham Casino
  • Gotham Rail Building
  • Krank co. Toys
  • Old Gotham Police Prescient/Gotham City Train Station

Industrial District[]

  • Sionis Steel Mill
  • Joker's Funland
  • Amertek Industries

Sheldon Park[]

South Gotham/New Gotham[]

Diamond District[]

  • Royal Hotel
  • GothCorp Building
  • Ellsworth Building
  • Gotham City News
  • Gotham City Daily
  • Gotham City Cinema
  • Soder Cola
  • Furniture Company

Coventry[]

Burnley[]

  • New Gotham GCPD Precinct
  • Enigma's Headquarters
  • Burnley Sewers
  • Hamilton Hill Building
  • Cyrus Pinkney's Crypt
  • Gotham Rail

Central Gotham[]

Bleake Island[]

The Cauldron[]
Chinatown[]
Panessa Studios[]
  • Dixon Docks West
  • Panessa Movie Studios
  • Lighthouse
  • Iron Heights Prison (crashed)

Miagani Island[]

Kingston[]
  • Ranelagh Ferry Terminal
  • North Refrigeration
  • Bank of Gotham Kingston Branch
  • Grand Avenue Parking Garage
  • Ferris Mall
Grand Avenue[]
  • Grand Avenue Station
  • Pauli's Diner
  • Wayne Tower
  • Black Canary Casino
  • Gotham Globe Building
  • Gotham City Herald Building
Bristol[]
  • Pinkney Orphanage
  • Elliot Memorial Hospital
  • Miagani Botanical Gardens
  • Hell's Gate Refusal Service offices

Founders' Island[]

Ryker Heights[]
Drescher[]
  • Bank of Gotham Branch
  • Killinger Department Store
  • Old Trade House
  • Pretty Dolls Parlor
Otisburg[]

Outside Gotham[]

Gallery[]

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