Gotham City

Lore & Background

Gotham is depicted as a society deeply fractured by class and fear. The narrative centers on the victims of Jack the Ripper, including Ivy, an exotic dancer and prostitute, and other girls who were formerly orphans under the care of Sister Leslie. These murders occur while the city's elite gather at the Dionysus Club, where Bruce Wayne meets Selina Kyle. A bloody pin found at a crime scene reveals that the killer is likely one of Gotham's wealthy residents. The lore extends to institutions like Arkham Asylum, where psychiatrist Hugo Strange is killed by his own patients after claiming to know the Ripper's identity, and Blackgate Penitentiary, where Bruce Wayne is wrongfully imprisoned and forced to stage a prison fight to escape.

In Their Own Story

The plot unfolds when Batman saves wealthy parents from orphans Dickie, Jason, and Timmy. Simultaneously, Jack the Ripper kills Ivy, sparking public panic that links him to Batman. At the Monarch Theatre, Bruce Wayne bonds with Selina Kyle over their shared past at Sister Leslie's orphanage. Realizing the killer targets former wards of Leslie, Bruce rushes to save her but arrives too late, finding a Dionysus Club pin that implicates a wealthy suspect. After Hugo Strange is torn apart by inmates and orphans are found dead, Bruce is arrested and prosecuted by a jealous Harvey Dent. Escaping Blackgate via a staged fight, Batman learns from Selina at the World's Fair that Commissioner James Gordon is the Ripper. Driven insane by his Civil War experiences, Gordon seeks to rid Gotham of "human filth." The struggle ends on a collapsing Ferris wheel where Gordon commits suicide, saving Selina and allowing Batman to take in the orphans as his wards.

Reader's Guide

To navigate this version of Gotham, one must recognize the specific locations central to the mystery. The Monarch Theatre is where Bruce Wayne meets Selina Kyle; the Dionysus Club holds the key clue via a bloody pin found at Sister Leslie's murder scene. Arkham Asylum serves as the site of Hugo Strange's gruesome death, while Blackgate Penitentiary is where Bruce is imprisoned before his escape. The climax occurs at the Gotham City World's Fair, specifically on a Ferris wheel where Batman confronts the true killer, Commissioner Gordon. Visitors should note that the Baker Street Irregulars are reimagined as the orphans Dickie, Jason, and Timmy, who eventually become Bruce Wayne's wards under the care of Alfred Pennyworth.

Did You Know?

• The film was the last release during the lifetime of producer Benjamin Melniker, who died a month later at age 104.
• Producer Bruce Timm cited a dream sequence from Gilligan's Island as an influence for placing familiar characters in Victorian roles.
• Writer James Krieg adapted the Baker Street Irregulars into the three orphans: Dickie Grayson, Jason Todd, and Timmy Drake.