You've Never Seen Batman Like This

Fox's upcoming Batman television show Gotham may not have a premiere date, but the network sure knows how to keep people engrossed while they wait (and wait and wait). It's not as though they have to worry about people ever losing interest in the Batman mythos, but we've seen so many different variations on the Dark Knight's story that it can be hard to find something new. The new Gotham featurette that was released on Tuesday proved that Fox has done the impossible — they're telling Batman's story in a way few, if any, people have done on screen before.

Let's be honest. As great as Batman is, he's not really that interesting to people until he actually becomes Batman. We all know the story of Bruce Wayne losing his parents at a very young age and going on to become that caped crusader beating the living hell out of costumed bad guys in the alleyways at night, but we've never seen it from the beginning before. Why would we? It's important to know in order to understand his motivations, but Batman isn't Batman without the batsuit.

That's how Gotham makes it clear why the show isn't called Batman. It's everything that came before Batman. It's the origin story not only of all the villains, not only of all the good guys, but of the Dark Knight himself. According to the featurette, the entire series begins with the Wayne parents getting shot in that alleyway and goes on to fill the bridge between that pivotal moment in Gotham history and any Batman movie or television series. We'll be seeing so many different villains get their start down the road to becoming the characters we recognize from other Batman media that we can't afford to miss an episode. And, to be honest, from the looks of things, the creators might actually be right about that.

Admittedly, I could just be charmed by the sight of baby Bruce Wayne brooding in three different locations — though not without just cause, considering his parents just got shot — and excited by the prospect of the relationship that is going to spring up between him and James Gordon. It's a side to their relationship that we've never seen before, a side in which Bruce is relying on Gordon for hope and guidance through the villainous cesspool that is Gotham instead of Gordon relying on Batman to do good in all the wrong ways.

It's all too easy to forget about Bruce Wayne and just focus on Batman, but, as Gotham will remind us, underneath that cowl is a scared little boy who watched his parents die and the suit is just how he ultimately chose to deal with it. Watching episode by episode how Bruce goes from little boy in mourning to costumed antihero will be the most fascinating origin story of them all.

Watch the featurette below.

Image: Fox