We can't go all this way without talking about the two biggest characters we're introduced to at the very start of the first episode of Gotham. Weirdly, we spend the first few minutes in the company of a young girl in a pair of fetching green goggles who climbs around the city's rooftops with ease, coming down to the ground only to pickpocket a guy in a suit and steal a bottle of milk from somebody's groceries, which she uses to feed a poor feline living on the street. Yep, this is a young Selina Kyle, better known as Catwoman (Catgirl?), who is given away here by the costume she currently wears in the comic books. She also bears witness to the murder of the Waynes, something which seems to inextricably tie her to the young Master Bruce for life... Child actors don't tend to be all that great, but 12-year-old David Mazouz acquits himself rather well here. He's believably distraught immediately after the killing of his parents, and just the right level of brooding later without tipping over into caricature or adolescent sulking. Besides trying to conquer fear by standing on the roof of Wayne Manor we don't actually get that many hints at his future as Batman, but the bond with the young Selina Kyle - who we don't see again until the end of the episode, as she vaults the wall around the Manor and looks meaningfully up at it - looks like it's going to be a big deal. Which, again, is straight out of the comics, as Batman and Catwoman consummated their on-again, off-again romance a couple of years ago. Which we hope won't happen for a while in Gotham because, again, 12-year-olds. Gross.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
