Gotham City

Gotham City ( GOTH-əm), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary urban setting in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by the writer Bill Finger and the artist Bob Kane, Gotham was first identified as Batman's place of residence in Batman #4 (December 1940) and has since been the primary setting for stories featuring the character. In most of its incarnations, Gotham is depicted as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the world.

Gotham City is traditionally depicted as being located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its look and atmosphere were primarily influenced by New York City, but over the years have drawn inspiration from Chicago and London as well. Architect Hugh Ferriss' designs also influenced the look and emotional feel of Gotham, particularly in its later depictions. Bill Finger said that he chose the name "Gotham", and not New York, so that readers in any city could identify with it.

Locations used as inspiration or filming locations for Gotham in the live-action Batman films and television series include Chicago, Detroit, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Liverpool, London, Los Angeles, Newark, New York City, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

Origin of name

In Jim Steranko's History of the Comics, writer Bill Finger said, "Originally I was going to call Gotham City 'Civic City.' Then I tried 'Capital City,' then 'Coast City.' Then I flipped through the New York City phone book and spotted the name 'Gotham Jewelers' and said, 'That's it,' Gotham City. We didn't call it New York because we wanted anybody in any city to identify with it."