Why The Dark Knight Is Finally Coming To Gotham

Gotham is finally coming to an end in just two episodes' time. To honour the occasion, the somewhat-maligned Batman prequel will feature a fully grown-up Dark Knight in a two-part series finale, completing Bruce Wayne's onscreen journey and, in doing so, closing the door on this version of the character for good.

For all its faults, Season 5 of Gotham has largely managed to deliver on its bonkers No Man's Land-inspired premise. Everything has quite literally kicked off, and though the show still has so much to address before Bruce takes on that famous cape and cowl, fans have known since the start that he'd be suiting up when the series comes to a close. We now know that said finale will take place earlier than expected, with Fox airing the first part April 18. Episode 100, titled 'The Beginning' will air the following week on April 25.

For the last few episodes Gotham has been dealing with Bane - a very weird version of Bane, but Bane none the less - and even transplanted the famous back-breaking moment from Knightfall and applied it to poor old Alfred. He looks set to bring Gotham to his knees, which may just be the catalyst that sends Bruce away from the city, only to return as its Dark Knight ten years later.

The official synopsis reads as follows:

"As Bane (guest star Shane West) enacts his final plan for Gotham’s destruction, Gordon rallies his former enemies to save the city. Meanwhile, Nyssa al Ghul (guest star Jaime Murray) kidnaps Barbara’s newborn daughter with ambitions to raise her as her own. Then, Bruce’s decision to leave Gotham points him to his destiny, while devastating Selina in the all-new ‘They Did What?’ episode of Gotham airing April 18."

The question of why exactly Gotham is concluding by featuring Batman might seem like an odd question, especially given it's set to air during Batman's 80th birthday, but it's worth asking. The series didn't start out as a Batman prequel necessarily, and even seemed to take inspiration from DC's Gotham Central comic - which focussed on the daily lives of the city's cops - until deciding to pull a complete 180 by turning itself into a fully-fledged Batman series.

It's yielded mixed results, but when the show's cancellation was announced, it was almost inevitable that it would feature Bruce in his alter-ego. It would've been such a huge opportunity to let go to waste, but viewers will finally get to see a TV Batman in live action for the first time since the sixties next month.

Perhaps more surprising is the fact that the Bat-suit teased above looks so reminiscent of the one featured in Christopher Nolan's films. It turns out that might be intentional, as Gotham showrunner John Stephens revealed to Bam Smack Pow last year that the suit is "inspired" by the one featured in The Dark Knight Rises. You can already tell as much by looking at the cowl, but here's hoping there's a little more grey thrown into the mix as well.

Either way, Batman's entrance to Gotham is somewhat bittersweet. The show had so much potential, and whether or not you think it managed to realise it, one can only imagine what they could've done with a fully fledged Batman.

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Are you excited to see Bruce Wayne suit up as Batman in Gotham? Let us know in the comments below.