Gotham City is the home of Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne, as well as Wayne’s deceased parents Thomas and Martha. The Waynes were philanthropists who were trying to rejuvenate Gotham City. Simultaneously, the mysterious League of Shadow’s society was plotting to destroy Gotham as they felt it had succumbed to corruption and must be purged. They were serving Gotham a slow debilitating death by way of economic crisis, which ultimately led to the Gotham Depression — and subsequently the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents.
The name “Gotham” is derived from an epithet for New York City that was first propagated in the 19th century. In fact, Gotham City was heavily influenced by New York City. Batman co-creator Bill Finger, however, did not want to reference New York City specifically as the setting in the Batman comics, as he wanted the locale to be relatable to people from any city in the world. From Tim Burton's Batman to, most recently, Matt Reeves' The Batman, essentially every movie version of Gotham City has portrayed the city's corruption and crime. Let’s found out why Gotham City is so corrupt by examining its history in the Batman comic books and movie franchises.
Why is Gotham City So Terrible?
Since the 15th Century, the word Gotham was used to describe places with fools for citizens. The name of Gotham City as we know it was taken from a real-life Village in South Nottinghamshire which according to legend was believed to be inhabited by simple-minded fools. The connection between real-world Gotham and the home of the Caped Crusader is alluded to in Batman Chronicles 6 “Cityscape” in which “The Mimic” blackmails another character into building an asylum for the criminally insane. The villain suggests they call the asylum Gotham after the legendary village in which “all are bereft of their wits”.
Gotham City is so terrible in large part due to the occult happenings associated with villain Doctor Gotham. The notorious villian’s origin story states that Doctor Gotham was an evil warlock who was captured and imprisoned in an underground tomb for centuries. As time passed, evil radiated out from the burial site corrupting the minds of all who came near. The tomb of Doctor Gotham would eventually become the focal point of Gotham City. When the warlock eventually arose from the tomb, he beamed with pride at the evil, maniacal city he had created and took its name for his own.
Perhaps the most obvious reason Gotham City is so terrible is that its central hero, Batman, for the most part abides by a no-kill code, due to alter-ego Bruce Wayne’s aversion to gun-violence following his parents’ death. Not to say he doesn’t try to restore justice — he does so by turning the villains over to the police, to be jailed or housed in Arkham Asylum — however, when they eventually break out, they continue on with their crime sprees. The character of Batman has evolved over the years and not every iteration of him abides by the moral standards. On-screen, of course, the no kill rule is up to the director's discretion. Historically, every version of Batman, aside from George Clooney, has broken the no-kill code at one point or another. The Batman also abides by the no-killing rule; Robert Pattinson takes the lead role as The Dark Knight, in what is said to be the most realistic portrayal of the famed superhero to date.
How Bad is Crime in Gotham City?
Gotham City has always been steeped in crime and corruption, which philanthropists Thomas and Martha Wayne sought to correct by infusing money into the economy and building a light rail affordable transit system. After their untimely deaths, however, the city further decayed as fewer wealthy people in Gotham were willing to carry on the Waynes' good work. Furthermore, the citizens of Gotham lost hope in the declining economic conditions and many of them ultimately resorted to crime to make their way. In Batman No Man's Land, the government quarantines the city of Gotham after a massive earthquake in hopes of rehabilitating the city. Adversely, the criminal element within, namely escapees from Arkham Asylum and an uprising of Gangs, began fighting for control of Gotham. Citizens were left with a difficult choice, either participate in organized crime or rely on organized crime for protection.
The main reason the crime is so bad in Gotham is because of its self-serving and corrupt police force, who are almost as bad as the villains themselves. The police in Gotham are corrupt because they are essentially owned by organized crime syndicates from low-level officers up through government offices. In the newly released The Batman, Matt Reeves tried to emulate the decayed, diseased, rotten to the core version of Gotham City not seen since Tim Burton’s Batman films.