Not too many episodes are left in the fifth and final season of Gotham on Fox. Although it's definitely a bummer for fans that the show is coming to an end after five wonderfully bonkers seasons, the last batch of episodes has been building to what promises to be a fantastically Bat-tastic finale. The season is more than half over, and time is running out for the show to deliver the kinds of Batman twists that fans have been waiting for.
So, in honor of the coming end of Gotham, check out our picks for Batman twists that need to happen before the final credits roll.
A New Batcave
Gotham spent the first several seasons dropping little nods to the future Dark Knight, and Season 2 saw the unexpected introduction of a lair underneath Wayne Manor. It wasn't exactly the Batcave, as it contained answers to some of Bruce's questions about his father as well as new questions that needed to be answered. Basically, it was nowhere near ready to house a brooding vigilante, his butler, and all of his assorted gadgets.
The destruction of Wayne Manor as part of Jeremiah's twisted game with Bruce in Season 5 sets the stage for a new Batcave. If Bruce chooses to rebuild Wayne Manor on the foundation of the one that burnt down, he and Alfred could design a Batcave to suit their needs exactly. Did this more or lesson happen in Batman Begins? Yes. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't also happen on Gotham. Why else would Gotham have destroyed Wayne Manor?
Fortunately, the odds are pretty good that a new and improved Batcave is on the way, and the time jump for the finale should allow Gotham to skip the rebuilding stage that had Bruce Wayne without a classic Batcave in The Dark Knight.
The Joker Arrives
Ever since Cameron Monaghan first cackled onto the scene back in Season 1, it seemed all but inevitable that Gotham would introduce The Joker sooner or later. As it turns out, if Gotham does introduce the Clown Prince of Crime, it will definitely have been later rather than sooner, and not without a whole lot of twists and turns. With a limited number of episodes left in the series, time is running out for the Joker to appear. Surely he must!
How could a series spend five years building Bruce Wayne to becoming Batman if Batman's nemesis doesn't appear? Gotham has introduced a variety of proto-Joker characters over the years, with Cameron Monaghan playing more than one character who seemed destined to become The Joker. After Jerome was finally definitively killed, Jeremiah took over, and he is The Joker in all but name. He had the look, the laugh, and even the origin story after he fell into a vat at Ace Chemicals.
Admittedly, he looked pretty permanently down for the count after being fished out of the vat of chemicals, but Cameron Monaghan is set to play another character in Season 5. Some twisted version of Jeremiah will probably be back; the question is whether he will be called The Joker.
Dick Grayson Becomes Robin
We've known for a while that Gotham is going to end after a time jump, and the show has found a way to turn Bruce into Batman without removing young David Mazouz from the equation. Gotham will end with Batman and hopefully The Joker. Thanks to a certain episode from back in Season 1 (which also happens to be the episode that debuted Jerome Valeska), Gotham is going to need to give Batman a Robin before the end.
In "The Blind Fortune Teller" episode in the first season, Gotham introduced John Grayson and Mary Lloyd as two circus performers who'd fallen in love despite their families hating each other. The episode ended with the conflict resolved, John and Mary together, and the show dropping heavy hints that the future Flying Graysons would have a son, a.k.a. Dick Grayson, a.k.a. the first Robin.
It's not out of the realm of possibility that John and Mary Grayson had a son by this point in the Gotham timeline, and he could be the right age to become Robin by the flashforward. Poor Dick would have had to lose his parents in the process of becoming Boy Wonder. Still, wouldn't it be incredible for Gotham to end on a shot of Batman and Robin standing on a rooftop, wind in their capes as they overlook the city?
The Return Of Harvey Dent
Gotham has introduced a version of just about all of Batman's heaviest-hitting villains from the comics, but Harvey Dent is one who was written out without ever seizing his supervillain identity. Although he certainly showed a dark side and willingness to get violent if pushed to a certain point, Dent never went full bad guy, and he was never maimed to the point of becoming Two-Face.
Two-Face is one of the biggest Batman baddies not to have his origin story told on Gotham, so it would only be fitting for Gotham to bring him back before the very end. There may not be time for Gotham to give him an actual arc, what with Bane and Walker and all the other No Man's Land issues that still need to be dealt with, but couldn't Two-Face be introduced or at least mentioned in the flash-forward?
We don't need to see acid flung into his face, but Gotham should really establish that he has joined the ranks of Gotham City's most twisted bad guys. Honestly, it could even work for the show to refer to him similarly to how Batman Begins ended with a reference to The Joker without explicitly dropping the name. Besides, Two-Face does some damage to Robin in one telling of Robin's first year as Boy Wonder. If the Dynamic Duo is together, perhaps Two-Face could be their bad guy at the end.
The Future Batgirl Is Born
For a long time, the odds of the future Batgirl being born on Gotham felt pretty slim. A union of Jim Gordon and Barbara Kean was unlikely after Babs went off the deep end, becoming a murdering villainess who went after Jim and Lee on more than one occasion. Now that Babs has a bun in the oven after a somewhat ill-advised hookup with Jim in his GCPD office, a baby Barbara Gordon feels all but guaranteed.
As DC Comics fans (and fans of projects like Batman: The Animated Series) know, Barbara Gordon becomes the vigilante known as Batgirl, working with Bruce Wayne as Batman and Dick Grayson as Robin. I'm more inclined to think that Gotham will introduce a suited-up Robin than a Batgirl with a cape and cowl, but couldn't Gotham just see Babs Kean give birth to a baby girl?
Alternately, couldn't Gotham feature a quick shot of a redheaded girl in the flashforward? Barbara traditionally doesn't become Batgirl until Dick has become Robin for at least a few years. Gotham could go the route of the Arkham video games and introduce Barbara Gordon before she becomes Batgirl. At least we can be confident that Gotham won't go full Killing Joke on her if she does appear!
New Villains
At this point, it feels like there are no Bat-villains left that haven't already been introduced on Gotham. The biggest and most well-known bad guys of Batman lore have been introduced, if we accept the Valeska brothers as Gotham's versions of The Joker. Lesser known villains galore have been introduced, sometimes as no more than one-episode inconveniences, such as Magpie and The Ventriloquist in Season 5. Still, there are some Bat baddies that haven't debuted yet, and Gotham needs to mention some of them by the end.
What better way to usher in a new era of Gotham -- even if it's one we're not able to see unless fans get the surprise of the century with the announcement of a sequel series -- than by introducing a new class of criminals? The show needs some upstarts to battle Batman who aren't already acquainted with Bruce Wayne.
None of this is to say that the big bads of the majority of the first five seasons have to be down for the count by the end of the series finale, although I'm still not convinced that Barbara won't die at some point after giving birth to Jim's child. Penguin, Riddler, and Co. can still be around; some new villains should just be around as well.
Matches Malone
Gotham has technically already introduced a character going by the name of Matches Malone, but the one that needs to debut before the very end is one from the pages of DC Comics. In the comics, Matches Malone is Bruce Wayne's non-Batman alter ego. When the Caped Crusader needs to crusade without the cape and under a less famous identity than billionaire Bruce Wayne, he dresses down as Matches Malone.
A Season 4 episode saw Bruce debut a Matches Malone-esque persona, although he didn't use the name. His familiarity with the criminals of Gotham City as Bruce Wayne really makes it all the more important that he be able to blend into the masses once he begins his career as Batman. He'll need another identity to hide behind, even if that identity just comes with a change of clothes rather than a mask and cape.
There's probably not enough time left in Gotham for the show to deliver much in the way of Matches, but it could be enough just to show more of Bruce adopting a different identity and mannerisms while working to fight crime. He doesn't need to high-five a bunch of low-level bad guys and introduce himself as Matches. He could just look less like a boy billionaire in all black.
Batman: Year One
Thanks to Gotham going full No Man's Land for Season 5 and the possibility that Bruce will need to take a break from Gotham City, the show has the chance to totally reinvent the city for the flashforward. The elements of pre-No Man's Land Gotham City that didn't really fit with the Gotham City from the pages of the comics or other adaptations can be tweaked without even requiring fans to suspend disbelief. Gotham has to be rebuilt somehow. Why not to Batman: Year One standards?
Batman: Year One is a comic arc telling the story of Bruce Wayne's first year as Batman while also establishing the young Jim Gordon as one of the few good cops in the corrupt city. Obviously Gotham wouldn't be able to produce something 100% faithful to Year One, but it could definitely pay homage to the comics narrative.
Honestly, this is Gotham we're talking about. Is there anything too crazy for Gotham? Surely the show could go for Batman: Year One at least a little bit in the flashforward. It wouldn't even need to waste time on exposition, but rather show off the new and not-so-improved Gotham City. Now, speaking of craziness...
Wild Card Bonus: James Gordon Jr.
My money is on Barbara and Jim's little bundle of joy turning out to be the girl destined to become Batgirl, but let's not rule out the possibility of a twist about the baby's destiny. Could Gotham give Babs and Jim a baby boy rather than a baby girl, thus setting the stage for James Gordon Jr.?
Why would this be a big deal, other than dashing the hopes of fans who have been crossing their fingers for a baby Batgirl? Well, James Gordon Jr. in the comics is very much a villain, and he becomes a nemesis of sorts for Dick Grayson during one of the times he was wearing the cape and cowl for Bruce.
If Gotham introduces Dick Grayson as Robin, couldn't Gotham also introduce somebody who will become his enemy? It would be sad for Jim if the show ends on the reveal that his child will go on to be a baddie, and Jim deserves a happy ending after the past five years. So, I'm going to consider James Gordon Jr. as Jim and Babs' kid a wild card at this point. It could work, but should it?
The final episodes of Gotham air on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. For some viewing options once Gotham comes to an end, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule.
