The Statue of Justice is a giant sculpture that overlooks the Gotham dock area and is located on a small island in Gotham's bay. It is a statue of a robed woman and the Gotham City equivalent of the Statue of Liberty in New York City which it closely resembles.
History[]
On Earth-One, Gotham City's analogue to the Statue of Liberty was known as the Statue of Freedom and first appeared unnamed in Batman #183. Denny O'Neil and Bob Brown later named the statue in Detective Comics #411, in which Batman met with an informant in the sculpture's torch. The informant was assassinated by two League of Assassins members who also scaled the Statue of Freedom. This original version of the statue was identical to the actual Statue of Liberty in New York.
In New Earth continuity, it was renamed the Statue of Justice and reimagined as a blindfolded Lady Justice who held a sword and scales. The redesigned Statue of Justice stood in the middle of a park on a small island and was destroyed by Erik Webber in the storyline "Blaze of Glory" (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #197-199). Webber used explosives to blow off the statue's head which then fell into the water and sank.
The Statue of Justice also appeared in Prime Earth, in which it is located in a small park and carries a torch and a shield. In Batman (Vol. 3) #2, Solomon Grundy fought Henry Clover Jr. and Gotham Girl at the statue's base. During the battle, the Statue of Justice was heavily damaged before Batman arrived and was able to defeat Grundy.
Behind the Scenes[]
During the early Batman comics on Earth-Two, the vigilante's adventures still took place in New York City before the name Gotham City was established in Batman #4. Due to the New York City connection, some of the Golden Age comics like Detective Comics #63 featured the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building as part of Batman's city. Catwoman once even fought Batman and Robin on the Statue of Liberty in the story "The Black Cat Crimes" from Detective Comics #122.
On Earth-One, a unnamed Statue of Liberty duplicate later appeared in Batman #183 by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff. In Detective Comics #411, this sculpture was named the Statue of Freedom and established as a Gotham City equivalent of the Statue of Liberty. In the Modern Age, the Statue of Freedom was later renamed Statue of Justice, which is the name used for the landmark in New Earth and the current Prime Earth comics.
In Other Media[]
Live-Action[]
Schumacher Films[]
In the movie Batman Forever (1995), Two-Face's helicopter was heading towards the Lady Gotham statue in Gotham Harbor following the robbery at the Second National Bank of Gotham. In an ultimately failed attempt to kill Batman, Dent locked the steering wheel to fly the helicopter into the harbor statue's face and used a parachute to escape. Batman was able to jump into the water before the helicopter collided with Lady Gotham and exploded.
The statue's name is identified in Akiva Goldsman's original script and in Peter David's Batman Forever novelization. It also appeared in a Gotham Globe newspaper prop used for the filming of the movie.[1]
Modelmaker Pete Gerard helped sculpt the Lady Gotham miniature that was photographed and matted into Gotham's cityscape.[2]
Animation[]
DC Animated Universe[]
In the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Off Balance", the statue was where Batman first encountered the Society of Shadows during their quarrel with Count Vertigo over a sonic drill. The statue was subsequently damaged in "Shadow of the Bat Part II" after a boat crashed into it during Gil Mason's attempted framing of Commissioner Gordon. He was, however, apprehended by Batgirl.
The Batman[]
When the Joker tried to spread Joker Venom in the episode "The Bat in the Belfry" from The Batman, he filled a hot-air balloon with the gas and attempted to pop it on the sharp sword held by the Statue of Justice in Gotham Bay. The Statue of Justice later got defaced by the Joker in "The Rubberface of Comedy".
Batman: The Brave and the Bold[]
In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the Statue of Justice appeared in the teaser of "Hail the Tornado Tyrant!" and also made a brief appearance in the episode "Emperor Joker!". Bane, Blockbuster, Solomon Grundy and Killer Croc later tried to steal the giant gold-plated statue in "Night of the Batmen!".
Video Games[]
Batman: Justice Unbalanced[]
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Batman: Arkham Series[]
Lady Gotham appears in the 2015 video game Batman: Arkham Knight, in which the statue was the location of Azrael's final challenge to prove that he's worthy of being Batman's successor. It's also the location of Deacon Blackfire's sacrifice ritual. This version of Lady Gotham is a winged Lady Justice that carries a sword and a bird. It is located on a small island inbetween Bleake Island, Founders' Island and Miagani Island.
Gotham Knights[]
In this continuity, the Statue of Justice is located in the center of Justice Plaza on Tricorner Island.
See Also[]
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ The Gotham Globe - Batman Forever newspaper
- ↑ Magazine Article: Cinefex Issue 63 (Part 1). 1995batman.com (31 July, 2020).