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Gotham – Who Is Jason Lennon?

By Steve Lam

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Gotham returned from its spring hiatus with Beasts of Prey — which introduced a serial killer that is supposedly so scary and threatening that even law enforcement is afraid to investigate him.  Played by Milo Ventimiglia of Heroes fame, all we know about this new villain is his real name, Jason Lennon, a.k.a. the Ogre, and that he loves to romance his victims before killing them.  Is this a villain in Batman canon?  If so, he’s certainly not a famous one.

Going off of just his GCPD-given nickname, we’re going to explore the most likely candidate and see if we can find out anything about his possible origins for Gotham.

Comic History of the Ogre

The Ogre, or just Ogre as he’s occasionally called, made his first appearance in Batman #535 (October 1996).  The character’s alter ego is Michael Adams, a former street junkie who was used in a covert experiment called Project Mirakle — a study to bridge the gap between man and ape.  Michael’s strength increased as a result of the procedure, but it left him with a grotesque face.  An ape which was also used ended up having increased intelligence.

When the Ogre and the ape escape the facility, the project is shutdown.  The Ogre and the ape soon create a list of scientists responsible for what they’ve become.  One by one, the two track down the scientists and murder them while also leaving behind graffiti markings on the walls.  These acts soon attract the attention of the GCPD and Batman.  Using the assistance of Oracle, Batman is able to track down the Ogre and the ape.

Batman reaches the last scientist right before his execution.  However, the scientist had already shot the ape.  Appealing to the Ogre’s human side, Batman promises to bring the people that did this to him and his companion to justice.  The Ogre makes a point that he’s still human and shows the scientist mercy.  Batman allows him to leave in peace with the ape’s body in tow.

Gotham‘s The Ogre

Well, we can certainly say that Gotham‘s version of the Ogre is certainly not grotesque or imbued with super-strength.  Jason Lennon seems to be more of a smorgsbord of serial killer tropes from reality and fiction.  A handsome, charming man who lures women into his home only to kill them when they don’t pass a test of domestic perfection.  He might as well be a more PG-rated version of Hannibal‘s serial killer of the week.

There’s also no reason as to why he would even have the nickname “The Ogre.”  Only the other name, “The Don Juan Killer”, makes any sense.  Is this Gotham attempting to capitalize on hardcore fans and their knowledge of obscure Batman characters?

Another theory could be that he later becomes like his comic book counterpart in looks and physical strength.  But he certainly will still not have the comic version’s humanity.  Remember, the Ogre from the comics was only a junkie, not a murderer.  He only killed people who wronged him and his companion.

With only three more episodes left in the season, it’s rather late for the show to be debuting a new villain.  It seems that Jason Lennon was pretty much shoehorned in at the last minute as a plot device to make Commissioner Loeb look even more villainous.

Fox’s Gotham airs on Mondays at 8:00PM EST.

Next: Catch up on Gotham with a review of Beasts of Prey

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