Our guide to every DC Comics and Batman reference in Gotham Season 3 is underway!
Every week, we'll be breaking down the Gothameaster eggs that you might have missed, whether it was a Batman reference or something dealing with the wider DC Universe. The newest episode will always be at the top (and you can click the blue episode title headlines to get taken to a full review), with previous episodes appearing in the dropdown menu in the order in which they appeared.
Let's get started!
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Gotham Season 3 Episode 2: Mad City - Burn the Witch
- This episode saw the debut of the more, shall we say, voluptuous Poison Ivy. The classic comic book Poison Ivy first appeared in Batman#181 (1966) and was created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff.
Ivy was a rarity back in 1966 as Catwoman was pretty much Batman’s only female foe, but after her initial appearance, Ivy became Batman’s second most popular femme fatale. When Catwoman became more of a sympathetic anti-hero, Poison Ivy took her place as Batman’s leading lethal lady.
Like Selina Kyle, in more recent years, Ivy has evolved into an anti-hero herself. She has also been portrayed as an eco-terrorist, a vengeance obsessed killer and a straight up master criminal. If you want to experience a truly compelling Poison Ivy origin check out Secret Origins #36 (1988) written by Neil Gaiman. In this story, Gaiman created the template for the modern day eco-Robin Hood Ivy.
These past few years, Ivy has become quite the iconic Bat-foe thanks to her enduring friendship with Harley Quinn. Lately, the comics have made Ivy much more heroic and in control of her own sanity, but the poisonous fatale is still right beneath the surface of this sizzling super criminal.
I’m not sure how I feel about this Ivy transformation on Gotham. Yeah, Maggie Geha is the most comic accurate Ivy ever to appear in live action, but at the same time, when your enjoying Geha’s, ahem, buds and stems, your essentially ogling a thirteen year old girl who had a sudden growth spurt and that's pretty much unacceptable. This is a rather creepy direction for Gothamto go, and has no precedent in the comics.
- Speaking of changes from the comics. In the Court of Owlsstoryline, Bruce Wayne discovers the secret society of avian shot callers for the first time. I guess in the world of Gotham, Bruce discovers the Owl’s machinations at an early age saving him from the mystery he must unravel later in life.
- How did I miss this last season? During Hugo Strange’s first comic appearance way back in 1940, the mad doctor created a group of grotesque killers known as the Monster Men. In fact, many consider "The Monster Men" to be the first great Batman tale. While the early Golden Age’s Monster Men looked very different that the ones on TV, it’s really cool that Gothamdrew so much from such an early Batman classic.
- Valerie Vale continues to add something unique to the show. In fact, Vale channels more classic Lois Lane than Amy Adams has channeled in two Superman films. Vale is also quite the brilliant and quick thinking character. Think about it, back in 1989, with about twenty minutes of screen time, Kim Basinger’s Vale was kidnapped by the Joker like seventeen times. This new Vale is so much more than just a hostage in waiting.