Gotham ’s nonadaptive villains have been so interesting to watch develop because the show introduces each of them at various degree in their journeys to becoming part of the classical Batman rogues ’ gallery we ’re all familiar with . Some characters ’ path have been in line with the traditional comics lore , while others are wildly reinvented .
In the show ’s current time of year — Gotham ’s 5th , and terminal — nearly all of Batman ’s most prominent enemy have become power players on the map in some capacity , and their explicit connective to their comics similitude are clear . We ’ve seen the Riddler , the Penguin , a very unusual Poison Ivy , and a immature Selina Kyle well on her path to becoming Catwoman .
When it come up to the Joker , Gotham have its prison term to carefully lay out theoverwrought , ridiculous turn of events leading to Jerome Valeska and his twin brother Jeremiahbeing the show ’s resolution to the clown prince of offense . Interestingly , Gotham made the smart conclusion of turn Barbara Kean into a much more independent , sceptred , and deadly version of Harley Quinn who came into her own power independently of the Joker — akind of reimagining Telltale Gameswould later incorporate into its game .
But the show ’s 4th season introduced a new character , Ecco , an acolyte of Jeremiah ’s who immediately satisfy a part much like the original Harley Quinn ’s in Batman : The Animated Series . Since then , it ’s been … curious to ascertain Barbara and Ecco , on the face of it two halves to Gotham ’s whole construct of Harley , operate independently of one another and illustrate how much ourideas about the lineament have changed .
While Barbara ’s become a fully - fleshed out character in the fourth dimension since she was first put in on the show , the same ca n’t be said for Ecco . for the most part , Gotham ’s wield Ecco as if she were meant to embody some of the more retrograde ideas about Harley Quinn that have been contain into her character across various iterations throughout her history .
She ’s been loyal to Jeremiah and sees being driven insane by him as a endowment . Visually , she very much reads as Harley thanks to the excellent decisions being made by Gotham ’s costume director , but Ecco ’s always lacked her progenitor ’s agency and verve . Though this week ’s episode , “ Penguin , Our Hero , ” make for Ecco to the fore in a significant direction , it does n’t feel like it ’s mean to really help her become a more nuanced persona . Instead , Ecco ’s prominent step into the public eye is a gentle reminder that too often , previous take on Harley have focused too much on over - sexualized esthetic and not nearly enough onpersonality .
With all of Gotham ’s bridges connecting it to the outside world destruct , the city ’s been engross into total anarchy as criminals fraction and claim domain for themselves while civilians are helpless in defense . reason that they must wander into the “ Dark Zone , ” the most dangerous part of Gotham where Jeremiah and his rage are said to have set up shop , Bruce and Selina set out together on understructure with barely any weapons between them and different motive . For Selina , who ’s quite recently become more than human and more cat - corresponding thanks to a special herb from Poison Ivy , beelining for Jeremiah is an exciting prospect considering his late attempt to vote out her . And her passion for the kill is something that worry Bruce .
Selina ’s bud brutality is what ultimately ends up keeping both of them dependable as they stake toward Jeremiah ’s den . Selina decides to precede stealth in favour of go about Ecco , who ’s accepting unexampled cult recruits , under the pretence of wanting to join . In Jeremiah ’s initiation process , Gotham show us just how many of Ecco ’s own personal desire she ’s set aside in party favour of his . Nothing she ’s doing is really for her or because she require to do it , but because she ’s bought into Jeremiah ’s education . There ’s a level of oecumenical repugnance and disgust that Selina has in response to Ecco and the cult because of the blood - spattered church they congregate in , but as she gets recondite into the process , it seems as if her ill will towards Ecco becomes more focused .
Over the course of the episode , Selina verbalizes how she ’s uninterested in playing by anyone else ’s rules and is principally play in her own ego - involvement , which is emphasize when she encounter Ecco , someone with a altogether different worldview . Selina and Ecco ’s inevitable battle in a drained pool surrounded by utter torso is peak Gotham and generate “ Penguin , Our Hero ” a solid venereal disease of proper Batman camp — at one point , Ecco calls Selina “ puddin ’ ” and Selina hiss back at her . But by its end , the instalment as a whole feels like a somber reflection on time when Harley Quinn ’s been reduced to being a lunatic henchwoman wearing bawdy costumes .
Ecco ’s not gone , and the episode is n’t even really saying that translation of Harley ca n’t exist . But it is saying that when she ’s draw that way , she ’s much less interesting , and is almost constantly going to terminate up getting knock around by more fully realized characters .
https://gizmodo.com/in-the-new-batman-video-game-harley-quinn-is-smarter-1819169233
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BatmanCatwomanComic Book ShowsDC ComicsDC EntertainmentGothamHarley Quinn
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