Batman’s Gotham is mainly inspired by New York, but also in other cities where the different films in the series took place
Where is Gotham City, the city where Batman fights evil? At the moment, in the dark superhero comics and movies. But everyone knows Gotham is New York, and even many New Yorkers refer to their city that way. Gotham is once again the setting for the new installment “The Batman”, starring Robert Pattinson:
Gotham City was first identified as Batman’s place of residence in comic book number 4 in December 1940. According to Bill Finger, the original Batman screenwriter, who didn’t know the city’s name, turned to Randomly on the New York phone book: “I saw the name ‘Gotham Jewelry’ and said, ‘Done, Gotham City.’ We didn’t call it New York because we wanted anyone in any city to identify with it. “
However, the origin of the nickname New York can be found in the writer Washington Irving, who already referred to the city as Gotham in his writings of 1807.
The interesting thing is that the Marvel universe comics use real cities. The Avengers defend New York and Spider-Man swings between its skyscrapers and bridges. However, DC’s heroes inhabit fictional cities, which are sometimes identified with real cities and sometimes are a mixture of several cities.
Superman’s city is Metropolis, which many people also identify with New York. Comic book writer Frank Miller said, ‘Metropolis is New York by day; Gotham City is New York at night. In the movie “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”, in which Batman fights Superman, Gotham City and Metropolis are separated by the mouth of a large river and connected by a huge suspension bridge.
In “The Dark Knight: The Legend Rises”, this bridge becomes the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, which is also a regular setting in the “Gotham” series.
Where is Gotham City located in the world?
Although New York is the natural setting, the actual urban locations of the new installment “The Batman” appear to be a little farther west, in the city of Chicago. The 2006 Batman film “The Dark Knight”, directed by Christopher Nolan, also chose Windy City as the personification of Gotham.
La Salle Street in Chicago as the location of “The Dark Knight”. Source: WB
In this film, the Chicago Chamber of Commerce building becomes the skyscraper of Wayne Entreprises, Bruce Wayne’s company, Batman’s public identity.
Chicago Chamber of Commerce Building on La Salle Street
Locations used as inspiration or filming locations for urban Gotham City in Batman’s live action films include New York, Los Angeles, West London, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Newark, Tokyo, Hong Kong and St Neots, while British country locations of homes in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire were used for the Wayne Manor country scenes.
No self-respecting Batman movie or comic book can do without gargoyles in skyscrapers. These figures of animals, monsters or demons are present as drainage channels from the roofs of European cathedrals, and many skyscrapers in the United States built in the early 20th century have adopted them as their badges. Batman has a tendency to climb gargoyles to see or jump over Gotham City.
Precisely the most famous gargoyles are those of the Chrisler Building in Manhattan, whose views inspired many scenes from the Dark Knight’s movies and comics:
Will there be gargoyles in the new movie “The Batman”? One thing is certain: it will be in a city, and that city will be Gotham.