Gotham debuted a brand new and truly bizarre character in Season 4 with Solomon Grundy. The show has delved into the truly bizarre over the years so far, but nothing can really compare with the rebirth of the murdered Butch Gilzean into the zombie Solomon Grundy, all thanks to the properties of the swamp in which his body was dumped. Grundy's debut was straight out of the pages of the comics, and Gotham producers have revealed another source of inspiration for the show's version of the character: Frankenstein's monster. In an exclusive clip that will be available as a feature with the Gotham Season 4 season pass starting November 10, producers make some fascinating comparisons to Franksenstein's monster. Check it out!
It was quite clear from his very first scene that Solomon Grundy on Gotham would be a very impressionable character, much like Frankenstein's monster. He got his name from a record of the classic "Solomon Grundy" rhyme that happened to be playing when he emerged from the swamp for the first time. Grundy seemed more confused than violent when he stumbled upon the group of men, and it was only after they started brandishing fire at him that he started lashing out. As Grundy possesses incredible strength and doesn't seem to feel much in the way of pain... well, his lashing out resulted in some dead bystanders.
As executive producer John Stephens says in the clip, Solomon Grundy had the potential to develop into a number of different types of character depending on where he ended up and who he ended up with. If Grundy had emerged from the swamp into a city full of friendly folks, he might have turned out quite differently than he will after shambling back to Gotham City to join forces with the Riddler. For more of Grundy and all things Gotham, be sure to get the season pass for Gotham Season 4 on digital retailers if you haven't already. You can gain your access to this clip courtesy of the Season 4 season pass starting on Friday, November 10.
Of course, Solomon Grundy so far hasn't been all hulking behemoth. He seems to be enjoying his unlikely partnership with the Riddler, although probably only because he's not yet aware that Ed is using him as part of his scheme to try and regain his wits. Grundy will be plenty violent in the fighting ring, and his unique physicality means that he may not have much trouble dealing with any of his opponents. It should be interesting to see the contrast between the innocence of a creature who has been reborn with the violence of a killer who doesn't even need to try particularly hard to wreak havoc.
The reveal that the Riddler is using Grundy is bound to happen someday. For Ed's sake, we have to hope that he gets some of his smarts back before Grundy possibly turns on him and goes after him. Ed became a formidable villain in his own way, but he wouldn't stand a chance against Grundy in a physical fight, even if he was still at his peak intellectual level. All things considered, it should be fun to watch these two as the episodes pass.
Be sure to check out the season pass for Gotham Season 4 on digital retailers like Amazon and iTunes, beginning on November 10. The episodes that have aired so far are definitely worth watching yet again, and the convenience of a season pass should make it easy to keep up with the latest on Solomon Grundy, the Riddler, and everybody else in Gotham.
You can catch new episodes of Gotham on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. For all the shows that unfortunately won't be back on the airwaves, be sure to swing by our breakdown of all 2017 TV cancellations.
