10 Secrets Of Gotham City You Didn’t Know About
4. Founding Fathers With Familiar Names
In 1881, architect Nicolas Gate was commissioned to create three bridges that would bring Gotham City together. His benefactors are Alan Wayne, ancestor of philanthropist Bruce Wayne, secretly the Batman; Theodore Cobblepot, ancestor of the villainous Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot; and Edward Elliot, the predecessor to Dr. Thomas Elliot’s Hush. These three men became founding fathers and key figures in Gotham.
Nicholas and his brother Bradley had additional plans for Gotham City, including following the designs of previous architect Cyrus Pickney and beginning the construction of Wayne Tower in the center of the city. The brothers fought over a deal with a fourth man, Cameron Kane, who Nicholas rejected in favor of the Waynes. When Bradley was killed by sabotage, Nicolas went mad, blamed Kane, and killed his son, Robert. The architect spent the rest of his days in Arkham Asylum.
Alan Wayne and Robert Kane agreed that they both needed to remain unimpeachable as the “future of Gotham.” Kane named the completed Kane Bridge after his son. Alan Wayne completed Wayne Manor and married his wife Katie, who gave him a son, Kenneth, but then tragically died in childbirth. Alan himself would pass away at age 63.
As for the family of Theodore Cobblepot, who was Mayor of Gotham in 1881, they made their money in steel. It is unknown when exactly they lost that fortune before the birth of the future Penguin.