The DCU’s version of Gotham has made its live-action debut in the new Clayface movie, giving audiences their best look yet at the city protected by Batman and more beloved DC heroes. While there’s still plenty to be revealed in the future, some very exciting distinctions have already been made between this new version of Gotham City and past versions.
While Tim Burton transformed Gotham into a highly stylized gothic nightmare, Christopher Nolan took a far more grounded approach. Likewise, Matt Reeves’ version of Batman’s city was somewhere in between, having created a city just as crime-ridden with a more unique style that feels like it could exist just beyond real life. As such, it’s well worth looking at the DCU’s Gotham and how it compares to these past depictions.
Thanks to James Gunn’s DC Universe, there’s now a very exciting opportunity to take Gotham in an entirely new direction, one that embraces more of the city’s comic book roots while still making it feel like a believable place in the greater DCU at large. Keeping that in mind, here are six ways the DCU’s Gotham City compares to the versions seen in Burton’s, Nolan’s, and Reeves’ Batman movies, and how it could become even more unique as the DCU continues.
The DCU’s Gotham City Will Be Part Of A Much Bigger World
Right off the bat, one of the biggest differences between the DCU and previous Batman franchises is the greater established world surrounding Gotham City. The fact that there is now a version of Gotham that exists on the big-screen amid other major cities and a world full of heroes is rare, especially compared to Burton, Nolan, and Reeves’ DC movies franchises which have keep its stories contained just to Batman and Gotham. While this was technically the case in the prior DCEU envisioned by Zack Snyder, Gotham City really didn’t get much screen time by its end and the start of the new and current DCU.
Thus far, we’ve seen Gotham in Creature Commandos, and now in Clayface. At the same time, the DCU has also featured major projects like Superman and the city of Metropolis, Supergirl, which features the greater cosmos and worlds beyond Earth, and Lanterns, which has debuted John Stewart’s new Green Lantern and iconic locales from the comics like Coast City and Midway City. As such, the fact that this new version of Gotham is part of such a large and expansive interconnected universe (that’s only going to keep getting bigger) is very exciting.
The DCU’s Gotham Will Likely Have A More Comics-Accurate Geography
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Without a doubt, Gotham has looked pretty different across live-action adaptations. Burton’s Gotham was highly stylized with exaggerated gothic features, while Reeves reworked some classic ideas from the comics like Bruce Wayne living in a tower within Gotham itself rather than in Wayne Manor at the edge of teh city limits.
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Thanks to an Easter egg in the background of a scene from Clayface, a map of the city can be seen, suggesting that the DCU’s Gotham will be highly accurate to the established geography in the comics. Featuring three primary islands connected by a series of bridges, it does seem as though the DCU’s Gotham will be more aligned with what’s been seen on the page than ever before, rather than Nolan’s version of the city (which was basically just Chicago).
Clayface Proves The DCU’s Gotham Will Be Fractured (In A Good Way)
A great Gotham City on-screen should be more than dark alleys and tall skyscrapers with gargoyles for Batman to glide from. The city’s various districts, slums, and boroughs should feel like separate worlds within the greater world that is Gotham, each with its own atmosphere and dangers. Clayface already suggests that this will indeed be the case, with the titular Matt Hagen having grown up in the struggling Lucas Heights and Narrows, only to be part of movie premieres in the nicer uptown parts of the city once his acting career took off.
Naturally, the disparity between one part of the city and the next is something that could and should be greatly explored once the DCU’s Batman fully debuts, highlighting the corruption and inequalities in Gotham that can more than justify why it needs a protector like the Dark Knight (and more capable heroes).
The Villains Of The DCU’s Gotham Will Be Both Grounded & Fantastical
One of the most exciting possibilities for the DCU’s Gotham is the freedom to embrace both grounded crime stories and genuinely bizarre supervillains all at the same time (just like in the comics). While Nolan’s trilogy famously emphasized deep realism, Reeves’ The Batman saga has thus far focused on more grounded elements and characters as well. On the other side of the spectrum, Burton/Scumacher’s Batman films were far more fantastical, leaning so far as to be incredibly campy and overexaggerated.
This is why Clayface is such an exciting DCU movie, having shown that it’s possible to achieve the sweet spot with one of Batman’s more wild foes with more fantastical powers, while still telling a fairly grounded and nuanced story in live-action. It’s an essential comic-esque balance that will no doubt put the DCU’s future Gotham-set stories on their best footing. Just like on the page, Batman deserves to fight monsters and mobsters alike in the new live-action version of Gotham City, fighting Joker in Amusement Mile one night while taking on the likes of Mister Freeze the next.
The DCU’s Gotham Will Have More Dynamics, Layers, And Heroes
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More recent Batman movie franchises have largely treated Gotham as Batman’s sole domain. However, the DCU has the opportunity to explore a much wider range of characters from the comics. The DCU’s Gotham can easily support stories involving the GCPD, major criminal organizations, and other Gotham-based heroes, many of whom operate under the shadow of Batman himself as the “Bat Family.”
With The Brave and the Bold reportedly set to feature Damian Wayne as Batman’s Robin, there’s this inherent implication that Batman will likely already have an established network of vigilantes fighting alongside him like Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood, Tim Drake, and perhaps more. At the same time, the hope is that the DCU’s Gotham will continue hosting more villain-focused stories as well, especially if they’re as dynamic and compelling as Clayface.
The DCU’s Gotham Can Sit Between Burton and Reeves’ Versions
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The most appealing/exciting possibility is that the DCU’s Gotham will end up occupying a sort of middle ground between Burton’s gothic fantasy and Reeves’ grounded urban realism in particular. On the one hand, Burton’s version of Gotham was wonderfully exaggerated in its gothic stylization, so much so that there’s no way the city could ever exist in real life. Then, Reeves made Gotham feel like a more recognizable city, while still having its own dark identity as a city overwhelmed by crime and institutional decay.
In a perfect world, the DCU’s Gotham will end up sitting somewhere in the middle, as audiences are shown more of the city with future projects. Anything to make it feel consistently darker and grittier than Superman’s Metropolis would be awesome, cementing a core distinction just like in the comics.
Ultimately, the DCU’s Gotham City stands to bring together the strongest elements of previous adaptations while establishing an identity all its own. With any luck, James Gunn’s connected DC Universe will build on the various approaches of the past while embracing the broader comic book world, giving Gotham City room to become a crucial part of the franchise’s future for Batman and all kinds of characters connected to the Batman mythos.
Clayface is now playing in theaters from DC Studios.
Clayface
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