Batman: Every version of Gotham City ranked from worst to best

5. Gotham

If there is one thing fans can agree on about Gotham City, it’s that it harbors the most unearthly and nefarious fiends the comic book world ever did see, and that’s something that Fox’s Gotham understood beautifully. As its title suggests, the Batman prequel was all about the city that morphed a young Bruce Wayne into the crimefighter of tomorrow, and that meant that we got to spend a lot of time in that city itself.

Even though it debuted in the heart of dark and realistic superhero adaptations, Gotham took its cues from the more gimmicky, outlandish and even campier Batman adaptations, so there were nods and references to the Burton movies in its architecture and the Schumacher movies in its lighting and structures. It was all very eerie, and noir, and it worked as the perfect setting for the absolute bonkers antics that went on in the show.

Gotham was alive with possibilities, and that reflected in the city. It was unnerving and enticing all at the same time, and that is the appeal of Gotham City in a nutshell. The fact that the show managed to feel this ambitious from the get-go is impressive, but the fact that it managed to sustain this level of grandeur in its overall presentation throughout its five-season run, that is phenomenal.