‘Gotham’ Delves Deeper Into The Batman Mythology With New Characters

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Gotham.

Gotham has received mixed reviews from Batman fans with some disliking the emphasis on the Gotham police department and on Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie), while making the story of Bruce Wayne’s (David Mazouz) transformation into Batman just a minor subplot. The idea that Gotham doesn’t place enough emphasis on Bruce Wayne’s story may be changing with Gotham‘s second season if news of some cast additions are any indication.

There’s no denying that the development and origins of the villains of the Batman universe is a particularly interesting aspect of Gotham, and Season 1 gave Gotham fans some compelling examinations of Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Cory Michael Smith), Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Camren Bicondova).

Season 2 of Gotham will continue to develop the origins of the criminal element within the city of Gotham by introducing Dr. Victor Fries, A.K.A. Mr. Freeze. According to the Batman lore, Dr. Fries is a scientist searching for a cure for his wife, when a cryogenics accident leaves him dependent on a cryogenic suit for survival. The comic book timeline places Dr. Freeze’s introduction later in relation to Bruce Wayne’s age, so it can be expected that Gotham writers will tweak this part of the story for the sake of the series.

Also making his first appearance in season two will be the Joker. As far back as Season 1, Gotham‘s E.P. Bruno Heller spoke of plans to bring The Joker in very early in Season 2.

“You’re not going to see teases of The Joker before the end of the season, because the beginning of season two is a big Joker-oriented, or ‘how the Joker came to be’ kind of story,” Heller told ComicBook in an interview. “The beginning of season two is the very earliest origins of how The Joker came to be.”

Gotham will see a new ally for Bruce Wayne in the next season as well. Chris Chalk (12 Years a Slave, Rent) has been brought in to play Lucius Fox and has already appeared in one episode of Gotham‘s first season. In “The Anvil or the Hammer,” Bruce met Lucius during his investigation into Wayne Enterprise’s activities. Now a series regular, Chalk’s role will have him facing challenges related to Gotham’s criminal underworld and the internal investigations Bruce tasks him with at Wayne Enterprises.

Gotham will premiere its second season in September on FOX.

[Featured image courtesy of FOX/Gotham]