Gotham Season 2: DC Comics and Batman Easter Egg Reference Guide

Gotham season 3 is nearly here, so we're looking back at our guide to all of the Batman and DC Comics references from season two! As usual, this show wasn't remotely shy about its DC Comics history this time around.

One thing to note: Any characters who were introduced in season one probably had their DC roots handled in the "Gotham Central" portions of our season one reviews, so we're not going to repeat them here. One day we'll get around to aggregating all of that into one mega guide. But today is not that day. Tomorrow probably isn't that day, either.

Click the blue episode title links to be taken to full reviews of each episode, and hit the drop down menu at the end of each entry to go to the next one!

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Gotham: Season 2 Episode 1 "Damned if You Do"

- The Gothamproducers are adamant that Thomas Wayne's man-cave isn't the Batcave, but we all know the truth. It's the Batcave. Well, it will be the Batcave.

Even as low tech as this proto-batcave appears, it's still miles ahead of the first live action version, which appeared in chapter two of the extraordinarily bad (and horrifically racist) 1943 Batmanmovie serial. To be honest, that's probably the first full blown Batcave appearance full stop, although in that cinematic classic they called it "The Bat's Cave," which lacks a certain zing, don't you think?

- This has absolutely nothing to do with anything related to DC Comics, but the use of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" was a nice surprise in this episode. It comes from the album Transformer, which is really essential listening in any case, but that's an album that deals with all manner of identity issues, mental illness, and assorted depravity. In other words, it's perfect for Batman's world, even in a pre-Batman world.

There's even a song that references bats, for cryin' out loud. Anyway...

- The big guy that Barbara befriends is Aaron Helzinger, known in the comics as Amygdala. Amygdala has been around since 1992, generally giving Batman agita with his great strength and low intellect. We thought we had met Amygdala in season one, but we were wrong. By "we" I mean "me," and possibly "you."

The other guys in Barbara and Joker's little gang of maniacs aren't from the comics, so don't worry about them.

- Commissioner Loeb did indeed resign in the comics, although it was in more of a "public disgrace" kind of way after his corruption became widely known.

- Theo Galavan doesn't have any obvious DC Comics parallels, but there are rumblings that he's actually someone important using an alias. Speculate away as to who that might be. He could be Ra's al Ghul (which is just dumb enough that this show might attempt it), or he could be someone with deep ties to the Court of Owls. We'll find out eventually. 

- This show's version of the Tigress (as Tabitha Galavan) is essentially an original creation. I can't really think of any prominent similarities she shares with her comic book counterparts.

For the record, though, the original Tigress first appeared in Action Comics#1 in 1938. Yes, that's right...the same comic that introduced Superman and is pretty much the reason we have hundreds of websites like this one that can talk about superhero movies and TV shows all day long. She didn't fight Superman there.

There have been other Tigresses (Tigri?) throughout DC history, but it would take an entire article to deal with them. All you need to know right now is...don't worry about it. This is a new character.

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