Gotham City

Gotham City was a metropolis in New York State. It was the home of Batman, the world's greatest detective, and many of his allies and foes.

History
Gotham was founded in 1697 on the estuary of the Gotham River. Over the years, it grew in size, and its own University was founded in 1898. Because of its industrial and commercial growth, it had become a home to Wayne Enterprises. A dark city, Gotham was preyed on by organized crime, unscrupulous businesses, and corrupt officials. Now a city of 10 million inhabitants, much of its crime was fought by the ever vigilant Police Department, aided by the vigilante Batman and his associates.

Gotham City In the Future
In the 2040s, Gotham was very much changed. But while much had changed, many things remained the same, including crime, poverty, broken families, and corruption. Street gangs like the Jokerz and the T's prowled the streets, while the mayor was an individual of questionable ethics.

Districts

 * Bayside District: An area of mostly warehouses.
 * Cork District: Formerly the site of a bottling plant, later urban renewal.
 * Cranston Estates: A suburb in the mountains north of Gotham.
 * Downtown Financial District
 * Gotham Acres: Redevelopment and cheap housing.
 * Gotham Estates: A suburb of Gotham City.
 * Gotham Island
 * Gotham Midtown
 * Gotham Palisades: An area of casino's and entertainment.
 * Lower East Side: A run-down neighborhood with petty crime and prostitution.
 * Market Lane District
 * Mid River Island: An island in the Gotham River, home to a nuclear power plant.
 * Paradise Meadows: Formerly a newly developed area, it was condemned after a toxic spill.
 * Park Row
 * Riverfront District
 * Somerset District: A largely desolate area, home of Arkham Asylum.
 * Southside Piers

Future Gotham

 * Montrose District: An industrial part of New Gotham, home of Gotham Genetics.
 * Old Town District: The collective name for those buildings that survived deep into the twenty-first century.

Prisons

 * Arkham Asylum
 * Gotham City Jail
 * Gotham County Jail
 * Gotham State Penitentiary
 * Gotham Tombs
 * Levitz Prison
 * Stonegate Penitentiary

Local superheroes

 * Batman
 * Nightwing
 * Zatanna
 * Batgirl
 * Robin
 * Etrigan
 * The Creeper
 * Batwoman
 * Batman (Terry McGinnis)

Politicians

 * Mayor:
 * Hamilton Hill
 * Elizabeth Styles
 * Councilmen:
 * J. Carroll Corcoran
 * Councilman Frye
 * Councilman Green
 * Arthur Reeves
 * District Attorney:
 * Harvey Dent
 * Janet Van Dorn
 * Sam Young

Gotham versus New York City
Throughout the Batman mythos, Gotham has been assumed to be based on New York City, and in early comics, Batman's adventures actually took place in New York. It wasn't until approximately two years after Batman's comics debut that the name Gotham was used. Since the naming of Gotham City, DC has published comics taking place in New York City. In order to keep the two cities separate, in DC comics current continuity, Gotham is in New Jersey, north of Atlantic City.

In the DCAU, however, Gotham City and New York City originally seemed to be one and the same. Barbara Gordon, Dean Arbagast and Yanni Stavros have addresses listed as "Gotham City, NY", the former two complete with Manhattan area code and zip code. The suburb Gotham Estatesis placed in New York State, and a Statue of Liberty-like figure has been shown in Gotham twice. A map showed Gotham to be on exactly the same location as New York.

However, later episodes obscure the matter. Gotham is once placed in the fictitious Gotham State. New York does exist; it was first mentioned on a clock in "Prophecy of Doom", but not shown until the DCAU finale "Destroyer".

Feature films

 * Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
 * Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

Superman: The Animated Series

 * "The Last Son of Krypton, Part III" (Mentioned Only)
 * "Obsession" (Mentioned Only)
 * "World's Finest, Part I"
 * "World's Finest, Part II" (Mentioned Only)
 * "Knight Time"

Feature film

 * Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

Feature film

 * Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

The Zeta Project

 * "Shadows"
 * "Absolute Zero" (Mentioned Only)

Static Shock

 * "Hard as Nails"
 * "Future Shock"

Justice League

 * "Secret Origins, Part I"
 * "Secret Origins, Part III"
 * "The Enemy Below"
 * "Paradise Lost"
 * "Fury"
 * "Secret Society, Part II"
 * "A Better World"
 * "Hereafter, Part I"
 * "Starcrossed, Part II"
 * "Starcrossed, Part III"

Justice League Unlimited

 * "This Little Piggy"
 * "The Once and Future Thing Part One: Weird Western Tales"
 * "The Once and Future Thing Part Two: Time, Warped"
 * "Divided We Fall" (Mentioned Only)
 * "Epilogue"
 * "Shadow of the Hawk"
 * "Dead Reckoning" (Mentioned Only)
 * "Grudge Match"