So there are a few things it have been told, but are not on the List. My preferred piracy site was taken down. They will be added once I find another site so I can confirm.
I have been making a list (since 2022 if you can believe it) of reasons that Gotham is the most cursed city (merging canons across soft resets, video games, movies, and more) that so far includes:
âThere are over 100 different gangs or crime families in Gotham according to an unnamed Gotham PD officer. Real life Chicago has 55 distinct gangs or crime families.
âThe city has an extremely high crime rate (Gotham is the third for mundane crime. Hub City and Bludhaven are numbers 1 and 2).
âThe city has barely legal tax haven laws, which is the reason why so many rich people live in Gotham and how Bruce Wayne funds Batman without breaking any tax laws (In multiple canons, it is stated mostly by Lucas Fox that the only reason that Batman has gone unidentified for so long is due to Gotham's tax haven status. The only two Batmans who specifically don't pay their taxes are Lego Batman and Harley Quinn Show Batman).
âGotham has massive government corruption (most of Hush's billion dollar donation as Bruce was embezzled, there has been 10+ cases of the mayor or council taking bribes [I stopped counting], the mayor has been a villain a couple times, the mayor has been a super villain at least thrice [Joker, Poison Ivy and Arkhamverse], and regular corruption too).
âThe city has a smog problem so bad that the Flash can't run at full speed without wheezing (Speed Force is not sufficient to deal with the bad air in Gotham).
âMultiple bioweapons have been deployed in Gotham (Clench Virus, two different zombie viruses, O.M.A.C. virus, some of the stuff Doctor Death creates, etc).
âThere are more guns than people in Gotham (guns out number people in ranges from "not defined but a lot" to 10 to 1, mostly due to smuggling, depending on the canon).
âThere is a military weapons testing laboratory just outside of Gotham that suffers frequent robberies (seriously, I know the writers want goons to have military tech, but was this really the best they could think of?).
âGotham has the most unexplained disappearances of people of any city in DC US.
âGotham is home to a massive human trafficking ring that spans Gotham, Hub City, and Bludhaven (potentially more, but not stated directly).
âMultiple slums exist in Gotham (Bowery [originally a set of housing projects that turned to feral dogs to keep rent low], the Canals [Also know as the Canal District, it was once a straight up slum on a set of small islands off one side of Gotham connected by small bridges and a portion of the main island that served steam boats heading up and down Gotham River, it somehow has managed to decrease crime and become the romantic hotspot of Gotham. It is still high crime, high population of homeless buskers/panhandlers, and the waters are toxic, but it actually has tourism.), Narrows [a section of Gotham that was damaged in a fire and had people build back with no consideration for property lines or streets, making it literally narrow], Dockside [a smuggling hub that is mostly dock workers], Lyntown [a section that was decimated by the earthquake and never repaired. Has no running water or electricity], Throatcutter Hill [Also know as Cherry Hill, it is claimed to be the most violent area of Gotham by Harley Quinn], Rookery [a planes and munitions factory district that fell to ruin after a weapon went off. Now has eldritch issues that aren't really explained], the Cauldron [ethnic slum, mostly Irish], the Bottoms [the place you go when you hit rock bottom], the Lows [the place you go when you can't go any lower], Riverside [a slum along Gotham River. Most residents survive off what they can fish out of the River], East End [ethnic slum, mostly Italian], Crime Alley [once known as Park Row. Was originally the good side of town, but eventually became a high crime area], Hob's Bay [There is a Hob's Bay in both Gotham and Metropolis. Both cities share the bay and both cities have a slum with the same name. Hive of smugglers and is built along the old docks], Toxic Acres [once known as Pleasant Acres, but was the site that a disposal company "hired" by Ace Chemicals dumped chemical weapons], Hell's Crucible [a slum known for fight clubs and cults], the Village [the slum that attracts most of the homeless or poor magical beings of Gotham], the Underworld [This is more of a shanty town set up by homeless in the sewers than a slum], etc).
âGotham Bridge (Gotham actually has three and only three bridges that connect it to the mainland. All three of them are called Gotham Bridge for some reason, even if they have offical names) has collapsed at least four different times (mainly due to corruption and fraud when building a new one or repairing it. It is not clear if one of the three is prone to collapse or if all of them have had a collapse at different times) and had all three blown up several times ( all three were blown up by President Luthor, two of the three blown up by Bane at different times, and one of the three blown up by the Architect).
âGotham is the most densely populated city in DC's world (depending on canon, it has a population of between 8 and 10 million and a foot print of between 315 and 350 square miles. This population density is roughly equivalent to real life New York. Either the writers didn't think to check real life, or the writers incorrectly assumed that New York was the most densely populated city in the world.).
âGotham has been taken over by criminals/villains and had the government forced out (as defined by the government no longer being in power and requiring the federal government to retake or isolate the city, even if Batman does most of the work retaking the city) multiple times (Deacon Blackfire once, Bane thrice, Scarecrow once, Joker six times, Ra's Al Ghul twice, etc).
âGotham subway and rail system are cursed to be unreliable and never on time (this may be a joke, but given that it involves Gotham, I have doubts).
âGotham City Council has ways (that are never really explained) to keep federal inspectors out of Gotham (only specific examples are the FBI and OSHA).
âGotham has a high suicide rate compared to the real world.
âGotham has a major drug abuse problem.
âGotham has a homelessness problem.
âGotham has an even worse homeless children problem (Gotham has 1 in 5 children homeless, compared to 1 in 7 in real-life New York. I get that the writers want to make it seem reasonable Batman could keep getting new Robins, but at a certain point, it is ridiculous).
âGotham has a lot of child labor happening (exact numbers are never given, but a lot of children work in factories).
âBetween 20% and 50% of Gotham is built on reclaimed swamp ground and below sea level depending on canon (for comparison, 50% of New Orleans is below sea level in real life).
âGotham has a series of dams, levees, and sea walls that are barely maintained and in generally poor condition.
âThe vast majority of smuggling on the Atlantic Coast comes through Gotham (which is part of the reason there are so many drugs and guns in Gotham).
âGotham has a very tough and kind of cruel college that creates super villains (A lot of the Batman rogues gallery got their diplomas there, taught there, or are otherwise linked to there. Hugo Strange, Harley Quinn, the Riddler, Professor Pyg, Poison Ivy, Doctor Death, Scarecrow, Two Face, Mr Freeze, Penguin, Kiteman, Manbat, and probably more. While there are multiple other villains with degrees, they are not said to have been from Gotham University. ).
âGotham General Hospital is corrupt, has used and sold patients for illegal medical research, and was involved in an insurance fraud scandal (this doesn't even factor in the sheer number of times it has been burnt down, blown up, or taken over by organized crime).
âGotham is slightly radioactive due to a poorly maintained nuclear power plant that is currently in use (it is still within habitable limits, so Gotham City Counsel is ignoring the issue).
âMost of the city is slightly radioactive due to a failed nuclear power plant that is not in use and abandoned (Gotham is still within habitable limits. Note that this is a different power plant from the still active but poorly maintained nuclear power plant).
âMultiple mad scientist labs are legally there (Gotham intentionally has very few laws mandating ethics or limits of research).
âFor an unknown reason, Benedict Arnold is important to Gotham and has his own monument (this isn't really all that bad, but it is still slightly bad that a traitor is important to the people of Gotham).
âGotham holds the record for most continuous days of criminal violence (54 years) and Batman cried when the ongoing record ended (to put it simply, there was a 54 year stretch where there was at least one violent crime each day).
âGotham is first in DC US for police brutality (it was once joked that Harvey Bullock is responsible for most of the claims. The only reason he hasn't been fired is due to the mortality rate for Gotham Police).
âGotham Police Department has quite frankly a ridiculous casualty and death rate (half of new recruits never get through the first year, and less than 1 in 20 make it five years without being crippled, killed, or transferring out).
âGotham has the most corrupt or second most corrupt (depending on the run, either Gotham is the most corrupt with Bludhaven second most corrupt or Bludhaven is the most corrupt with Gotham the second most corrupt) police department in the DC US (one canon even goes so far as to have only one honest cop in the Gotham PD).
âFour different coroners in Gotham have been drug addicts, one was selling bodies illegally, and two were serial killers (no necrophilia that I know of so far).
âGotham Academy, the best and most elite boarding school in Gotham, is cursed, haunted, or otherwise problematic in so many ways it would need its own small list (so far, a demonic Monk who was head master and killed kids for immortality [note, he did not specifically need to kill kids, he could have killed anyone who was innocent and good, he just chose to kill kids], three different ghosts, a Court of Owls weapons lab under it, mysterious tunnels, a bloodline demon witch being named Calamity, another curse to bind the families that killed Amity Arkham to the school, and a cursed book titled *Book of Old Gotham*). Remember this is the best and most elite school in Gotham (also the Wayne Foundation has sponsorships and scholarships for low income children to go to this school. This is because it is the best school in Gotham. I really want to know about the worst school in Gotham).
âGotham Cathedral (building started in the 1790s and finished in the 1980s) was modified to funnel souls to hell by the demonic monk that was also the Headmaster of Gotham Academy. The massive shifting of souls would have helped him get out of his own deal with Satan by hiding his soul in a flood of souls and then trading all the souls for his own. While his plans failed, the church still stands and interferes with the flow of souls to the afterlife (this specifically doesn't send souls to hell since it is not active).
âCommissioner Gordon's serial killer son, JJ Gordon, may have tainted baby formula with a chemical that causes psychopathic disorders in hope of making a generation of serial killers. It is uncertain if he was successful, but up to several thousand babies in Gotham could have been exposed.
âThe legal system is extremely dysfunctional (there is no death penalty in most canons, so everyone goes to either Blackgate or Arkham, both of which are prone to escapes).
âThe Underworld Court, a neutral ground for crime families and supervillains to sue each other for interfering with each other's schemes, try traitors for betraying the various bosses, and negotiate hits in each other's territories, exists.
âMost meta humans are sent to Arkham because it is considered more secure than Blackgate and has fewer escapes (seriously, do Blackgate villains just walk out the door?).
âArkham had a literal revolving door installed by Jimmy Olsen as part of a prank war against Batman.
âThe bay around Blackgate is described as infested with vicious, man-eating sharks.
âGotham Fire Department is so underfunded and/or corrupt that they take bribes to not show up to fires and extort people to pay them before they put out fires.
âBatman has specialized suits for dealing with vampires, zombies, dragons, werewolves, demons, New Gods, Old Gods, magic users, giant monsters and eldritch horrors. While not directly terrible, it implies something about the threats in Gotham.
âThe Dark Garden preys upon Gothamites in an attempt to capture the eldritch being Jane Smith (who really just wants to be happy and human in the light) and has preyed on people in that location since before Gotham was a city.
âThere is an Old God's corpse (this old god is leaking forbidden knowledge that causes people to lose their humanity slowly and do ever more depraved acts in pursuit of knowledge) buried under Gotham.
âThere is a living old god named Barbatos (special note, some canons have instead made him into an aspect of Darkseid dedicated to making Batman suffer and Gotham worse) who is bat themed and has his own underground Gotham city (he spreads a corruption encouraging violence and vengeance).
âThe Bat Tribe, Miagani, existed on the land that would eventually become Gotham. While they unfortunately went extinct, they had some rituals that influenced Gotham to develop Bat themed protectors (possibly in a boot strap time loop) because a Man Of Bat, the avatar of their Bat God (who also happens to be a time displaced Batman), saved them at multiple points across time. They also have a Bat God that exists in the current time that may be either a time displaced Batman that somehow became a god or an alternate version of Barbatos that is somehow a good person (note, this is a theory put forth by Riddler. The real identity of the Bat God is unknown). While all of this is not necessarily bad, it does contribute to Gotham's weirdness.
âThere may be a summer home for the King in Yellow in Gotham (this is a rumor from the insane Bat Old God Barbatos. To my best knowledge, the King in Yellow has never directly appeared).
âThe door that the various old gods came through is mostly shut (emphasis on mostly, stuff leaks through).
âIn some canons, the Joker might or might not be a self perpetuating idea that infects the next person in line for or compatible with the mantle if the current Joker dies. Those Jokers claim they have plagued humanity for centuries, though the various Batmans think they are lying. Depending on the canon, the new Joker is either the one who killed the former, the next person in Gotham to have a One Bad Day then fail to resist, or the next person exposed to ultra concentrated Joker Chemicals after the current Joker dies. Batman who Laughs is one of the most famous characters infected with the Joker self perpetuating idea.
âThere are four versions of Old Gotham (some have other names, but they are all annoyingly called Old Gotham) under the city, depending on canon (a twisted eldritch version of Gotham that is buried deep under Gotham that is usually but not always linked to the bat old god Barbatos, Ghul's Wonder City, a mechanical nightmare that houses Ghul's Lazarus Pit and high tech centuries old weapons, an Old Gotham that was abandoned and buried due to a witch's magic, and an Old Gotham that just sank into the swampy island due to poor construction). Modern Gotham was built over the various Old Gothams.
âGotham has a foundation of massive stones and peices of buildings kept in place with lead mortar to prevent it from sinking into the swamp again. This massive foundation is never really explained how it is built and would have been massively expensive. Of course, the lead is leaching into the ground water.
âIn a RWBY crossover, it was established Gotham is so miserable that it attracts Grimm (creatures that feed on negativity) from a different dimension.
âDracula either moved to Gotham or had his tomb forcibly moved to Gotham.
âThe blood of the average person in Gotham is so polluted that it is slightly toxic to vampires.
âDracula's tomb attracts vampires to Gotham. These vampires end up sickly and weak due to the poor quality of blood they can hunt.
âGotham was built on the grave/resting place/home of a warlock (Adam Gotham), who is both alive and dead at the same time (cursing the land to be a place of constant misery to fuel his power).
âThere is evil floating in from the Jersey Pine Barrens (this evil floating in decreases empathy and encourages devilish behavior). Also, the Jersey Devil may occasionally hunt in Gotham, but this might just be an urban legend in Gotham. As far as I know, the Jersey Devil has not made an appearance and has only been referenced by an unnamed crazy side character.
âA literal Hell Gate is under Gotham (it is mostly sealed, but leaks enough evil to make demons feel at home. It is never stated what effect this evil has on normal people).
âThere is a smaller personal portal to Hell maintained by Jason Blood for emergencies. Sometimes demons brute force through his personal portal.
âEtrigan once compared the smell of Gotham to Hell (Gotham apparently smells of blood, ash, Brimstone [sulfur] and suffering to the Demon Etrigan or he was just exaggerating to make a rhyme).
â16 greater demons are sealed under or within Arkham (a demon lord and their court). They are in most canons buried or imperfectly sealed under Arkham and spread a corruption that encourages the seven deadly sins.
âThomas Jefferson and friends, while partying, accidentally summoned a Lord of The Pit (demon), and, not knowing what to do, buried it. Depending on the canon, this demon is either corrupting the foundation of Gotham as a whole, or is under Arkham. This singular demon is not related to the Demon lord and his court in most canons.
âArkham is cursed by its founder, Amadeus Arkham, to prey on the minds of people in the building, driving them even more insane so that no one is ever healed (note that some canons link this to the demons while other canons have them as stand alone curses affecting the building at the same time). This was done mainly because he has a hatred of the mentally ill due to abuse suffered at his mother's hands.
âArkham Asylum is haunted by Elizabeth Arkham, the mentally ill and abusive mother of Amadeus, because she is hunting for her son after he murdered her and disguised her death as a suicide. Because she can't find her son, she mostly attacks doctors in hopes of driving them insane as a "punishment" for their "crimes."
âArkham was cursed to make doctors and nurses crueler by Asmadeus in the few canons he didn't murder this mother in, mainly so that the mentally ill would always be "punished" to make sure his mother always suffer. Unfortunately the curse did not end with his or his mother's death.
â According to a prophecy, the apocalypse is probably going to start in Gotham or Metropolis (no one knows which apocalypse will end the world or when it will happen, though).
âGotham is the location of a crack in the Door to the Afterlife (this is mostly connected to Deadman. Also, this makes it harder to pass over and makes it easier for the dead to affect the living in Gotham).
âThe line between death and life is really fuzzy in Gotham because of other Deadman shenanigans and some other stuff going on in Gotham (this makes it harder to die and harder to kill people).
âIt is the second most haunted city in DC USA (they kept New Orleans as the most haunted).
âThe StarHeart, a relic of willpower related to the Green Lantern Corps was sealed in Gotham for a while, projecting the "evil" side of willpower to influence people (note that the evil side of willpower is just the aspects of willpower the Guardians of Oa did not want in their main rings and was safely used by Alan Scott, so I am not entirely sure what the effects of it are).
âThere is a strange aura that weakens green lantern power constructs in Gotham (this may be related to the StarHeart being sealed in Gotham for a while).
âIt is built on a cursed Indian burial ground (cursed so the dead never find peace and blight the living).
âGotham was cursed in the 16th century by a wizard monk to attract dragons.
âGotham was cursed by an ancient shaman (the writers never bother to define what this curse does, so it is just a generic curse).
âThere are 666 minor demons in Gotham who just live regular lives with regular jobs while waiting for the apocalypse (Baytor is the most famous and is a bartender to make ends meet).
âSpace and time are not quite right in Gotham after the Infinite Crisis Superboy punch. This led to the return of Jason Todd and made it so time moves just a little faster or slower depending on location in Gotham, and a few buildings are not the correct interior dimensions. The variance is supposedly small and mostly unnoticeable.
âGotham exists in a state of "Temporal Disruption" due to the various time travel and other time weirdness (it was never explained what this means practically, but it does not sound like a good thing, so I am including it).
âGotham is cursed by Zeus (this curse is why Gotham has, on average, 320 days of rain or overcast skies each year. Everyone is affected by SAD all the time).
âThe sewers are infested with unusually vicious mutant rats.
âThe sewers have a breeding population of mutant sewer alligators.
âAccording to Bedbug (a bedbug and mind control themed villain) Gotham is infested with genetically engineered bedbugs he created (good news, his engineered bedbug out competed the normal bedbugs. Bad news, his engineered bedbugs breed faster, are harder to kill, and can be used for mind control).
âGotham, despite being in New Jersey and having extremely cold, snowy winters, somehow, despite all logic or reason, has a native vampire bat population (The writers have never bothered to explain how the bats survive the winter and have never even provided a BS explanation. Seriously, the writers could have thrown out any explanation, but never bothered. There is a half a dozen good reason already that would have only required a single panel to confirm but the writers have given no reason. The furthest North **any** vampire bat has been found is in Southern Texas).
âGotham River and Bay have mutant fish (the fish are adapted to survive Gotham Bay and River water. Also, the Joker once dumped a chemical that caused fish to grow a Joker smile. Yes, these fish are still eaten).
âThe Bowery, one of Gotham's many slums, has a vicious feral dog problem (the residents encourage and protect the feral dogs to keep rents low. Rent lowering gunshots don't work in Gotham, but rent lower vicious dogs are a thing in Gotham).
âGotham is built over mysterious ruins from a lost civilization that the sewers run into and are a part of (the sewer alligators breed there and the ruins are seen as the Gothic and unusually large portions of the sewers).
âTunnels were built during the Cold War to connect every major building in Gotham in case of war (these tunnels are not maintained, destabilize the ground, and allow for convenient escape paths).
âGotham is blessed/cursed by a nature goddess from New Genesis to keep the toxic stuff in so that Gotham doesn't pollute the world.
âGotham is cursed by Memento (a powerful demon), using vestiges of past tragedies, to suffer the past as new horrible events (this means that Gotham is stuck with revolving tragedies).
âGotham was cursed by Spectre along with a blood curse from slain Native Americans to be a place of blood and vengeance (this was almost an Old Testament turn everyone to salt style curse, but it was weakened at the last moment).
âGotham was cursed by a witch to both bind the Wayne family to Gotham and make Gotham suffer. This was partially Bruce's fault due to time travel shenanigans.
âGotham was cursed by Deacon Blackfire (this curse was supposed to drain life from Gotham to give Blackfire complete immortality, but it is incomplete and half broken, so it does something but no one knows what).
âThere is a massive active fault line (this fault line can produce a quake that was 7.6 on the Rictor scale) under Gotham.
âThere is a magic well (this well makes regular magic easier to cast and makes Gotham attractive to magicians like Zatanna) in Gotham.
âThere is also a chaos well (chaos magic is the opposite of regular magic. The well makes chaos magic easier to cast and makes Gotham attractive to chaos users like Klarion the Witch Boy) in Gotham.
âThere is a magic shop that Zatanna frequently buys from in Gotham that has questionable morals and an inhuman shop keeper.
âGotham is built on a leyline nexus, causing it to attract magical beings (this led to the creation of the other "Mayor" of Gotham, currently Simon Dark. The other Mayor is supposed to keep all supernatural or magical beings in check while they are in Gotham).
âDue to a failed Poison Ivy plot, the grass in Gotham may be evil and aware.
âRussian mobsters with Russian backing who are trying to make Gotham worse in hopes of conquering Gotham (not sure why they would want it).
âThere is a second group of Russians (not related at all to the first group) who are trying to make Gotham worse so the US looks bad and Russia looks better by comparison (I really want to know how bad DC Russia is that Gotham makes it look bad).
âGotham has a weak dimensional wall allowing influences from the Phantom Zone (the infamous prison sub reality/dimension that has the worst of several aliens species shoved into it).
âThere is a bottomless pit under part of Gotham that leads to the abyss (also, the being in the abyss occasionally like to watch Gotham).
âThere is also a different bottomless pit that smells of dirty underwear established by the Lego Batman movie (yes, this is a joke and true. I did say it was a merged canon list).
âThere is a Dionesium pit under Gotham (Dionesium is a supernatural mineral that causes mental instability, mutation, delusions, and super powers. Some canons go so far as to link all superpowered meta humans to Dionesium and claim that Superman's spaceship drug a cloud of it to Earth). This pit also has toxic contaminants (what toxic contaminants specifically has not been mentioned).
âDue to attempted mining of the Dionesium pit, Gotham was contaminated with Dionesium dust at least twice.
âThe Dionesium pit is also leaching Dionesium and other toxic minerals into the ground water.
â Gotham River and Bay water is so polluted that Aquaman can't swim in it (note, goat milk is 87% water and, in a somewhat cursed panel, it is established that goat milk is enough water to keep Atlantians alive. Either Gotham water is less water then goat milk or there is at least one of the pollutions that is toxic to Atlantians).
âScarecrow fear toxins are in the water (at low enough levels that it only causes paranoia).
âTrace amounts of shed Clayface is in the water (this pollutant causes bodies to twist and mutate, or causes cancer depending on the story line).
âTrace amounts of Hugo Strange's monster man mutagen is in the water (this causes growth, decrease in intelligence, increased strength, hair growth, and claw formation at full strength. It is not stated what the trace amounts actually do to Gothamites).
âTrace amounts of TITIAN (a mutagenic chemical that transforms users into Bane like monsters) in the water.
âTrace amounts of Crioxin (a nerve agent made by Ace Chemicals that causes people to feel no pain, go insane, and develop slightly enhanced bodies) is in the water of one of the slums (Toxic Acres. Note that there are other chemical weapons dumped there, but Crioxin is the only one that gives super power adjacent abilities, so it gets a special mention).
âJoker chemicals are in the water (the chemicals cause mania, unstoppable laughter, and death at full concentration, but in the diluted form just causes mania and involuntary smiling).
âGotham has a higher than normal number of Lazarus pits (the pits offer revival, healing, and immortality in exchange for decreased empathy, decreased humanity, and an obsessive desire to continue living at all costs).
âLazarus pit runoff is in the water.
âThe Marsh of Madness is up river from Gotham in some canons (this marsh causes delusional homicidal madness and ego mania).
âThere is Marsh of Madness runoff in the water.
âSlaughterer Swamp is up river from Gotham in some canons, though most canons have either the swamp or marsh but not both (this swamp causes violent undead and preserves life in a twisted mockery of all that is holy and has a very evil zombie named Solomon Grundy).
âThere is Slaughter Swamp runoff in the water.
âThomas Wayne may or may not have accidentally released psychoactive drugs into Gotham's water supply (may or may not mainly because the writers keep swapping back and forth on it).
âThe tap water barely is considered water by Aquaman's hydrokinesis (and Aquaman can freely manipulate soda, which is 90% to 95% water. Gotham tap water is more or less thin sludge).
âGotham suffers from extreme levels of pollution due to being in a barely regulated industrial zone (it is legal to dump industrial runoff in Gotham River).
âThere is runoff from an unnamed well that causes increased physical abilities in exchange for homicidal violent impulses (aborted Bane plot thread from before they decided Bane should just use chemicals in his Venom).
âThere are trace amounts of Bane Venom in the water (because the well was cut. Also, the Bane venom causes slightly increased physical abilities and anger issues in the diluted state).
âGotham tap water is barely purified river water (mainly because if the water treatment plant gets too Gung Ho and purifies the water too much, they get water and a black liquid that is extremely dangerous and expensive to dispose of. So Gotham City Council decided to only have them clean the water until it was probably reasonably safe-ish).
âGotham River has its own version of Nessie (Gotham River Beast) that may or may not exist. It lives in Gotham River, but no one knows what exactly it is or if it is actually real (earliest mentioned sighting is in the 1920s by mobsters, but to the best of my knowledge, it has never been directly shown in a comic and only serves as background lore. It did get a cameo in The Doom That Came to Gotham).
âGotham has an evil real estate agent who sells failed amusement parks, theaters, and other buildings to criminals (named The Broker).
âGotham has a slightly evil carpenter (named Duffy) who specializes in death traps (her villain name is the Carpenter).
âGotham has a slightly evil crafter who makes novelty weapons (called the Maker. The writers really went deep on these names. Note that this Maker has no relation to the Marvel Maker).
âThere is a set of bars that caters to desperate people trying to get hired on as Super villain goons.
âThe Court of Owls has an underground white walled labyrinth that is used for executions and entertainment. The labyrinth is full of traps and other dangers. When the Court doesn't have people they want to execute, they kidnap random people to watch them die in their death maze for entertainment.
âPoison Ivy, as an avatar of The Green, has stated that The Green see Gotham as an infected wound upon all life (it is not clear if this is the Green's opinion, Poison Ivy's warped view of its opinion, or a mix of both, because unlike Swamp Thing, Ivy is a flawed avatar).
âThere are so many lead pipes and/or paint that Superman can't see through most Gotham homes and apartments (also note that at one point, the fumes from leaded gasoline blocked Superman, but hopefully that problem has gone away).
âA lot of homes and buildings may be filled with asbestos (this is according to Firefly, so it might not be fully accurate. The pyromaniac would probably blow the problem out of proportion).
âThere is an aura of despair and negative emotions that is slightly grating to psychic individuals (exact cause unknown).
âThere is an Atlantis Leviathan who is fated to flood the world under the docks (there are apparently seven of them and the Atlantic Ocean's is under Gotham's dock. As far as I know, the Leviathan has only been referenced once as the reason for an Aquaman team up and has never made a direct appearance).
âGotham, as in the city itself, is aware, intelligent, and has an unhealthy interest in the Bat Family (Tim Drake in particular) and interacts with Gotham through its assorted Voices such as Mayne, The Veil, and a couple others (special note, it is implied but not confirmed that the Joker can sense Gotham as a Voice, but intentionally chooses to abuse Gotham instead of helping like the other Voices). Depending on canon this is because of either an improperly sacrificed woman, a demon possessing the city that was warped by Gotham, or just a confluence of everything happening in Gotham.
âWhile not exclusive to Gotham, Kryptonite is used as an underworld currency so a fair bit goes though Gotham.
âThe dimensional wall (4th wall) is extremely thin, allowing Many Angled Ones (readers) to see into Gotham and occasionally influence Gotham.
âGotham both has an unusually high concentration of new heroes and an unusually high number of hero deaths each year (tragic backstories are really common in Gotham).
âBatmite exists, and he intentionally stirs up trouble in Gotham in a misguided attempt to help Batman semi-frequently.
âGotham has a weak dimensional wall in regards to the 5th Dimension (where Batmite is from, also referred to as the imagination dimension) so Gotham can be affected by the imagination of people at a very weak level.
âDue to the various villains like Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy's plots, the ground is unstable and the sewers are damaged.
âIn not just one, but two different canons, the founders of Gotham made a deal with a primordial evil (once a demon and once an eldritch being) for help establishing Gotham (in exchange for all the souls in Gotham at a future point long after the founders were dead and a portal that would let the eldritch being come though fully into Gotham's reality making a new plane that is hostile to all but eldritch beings, respectively).
âThe DC US government once cut off the city from the rest of the US temporarily instead of helping to recover Gotham after an earthquake (see No Man's Land. This one is hard to explain).
âGotham and Batman exist in a quasi-time loop, where if Batman dies, fixes Gotham, or other conditions occur, Gotham and Batman resets under different conditions. This leads to the multiple canons of Batman as each canon is an independent but linked reality. Fixing the city just leads to a new reality where Bruce Wayne experiences a tragic event in Crime Alley that causes a costumed person to be active in Gotham (note, not always Bruce. Sometimes Bruce doesn't even survive). This is due to higher dimensional beings (writers).
âHugo Strange may have worked with an unknown government agency to improve the genes and bodies of everyone in Gotham to create perfect soldiers (it is not stated if this project was actually successful, but some of the earlier experiments did escape into Gotham).
âThe various things in Gotham somehow came together to create The Body, a hivemind of evil soil that wanted to take over Gotham (do note it is implied that Batman destroyed them all, but I am including it because if the soil can spontaneously come alive and be evil, it needs to be on this list).
âGotham citizens, while not being meta humans technically, are empowered by everything going on in the city and are no longer baseline humans (standard thugs in Gotham are as strong, fast, and dangerous as soldiers who went through basic training).
âThe Gotham Rogues and Gotham Knights (Gotham's football and baseball teams) have a horrid track record and are regarded as bad teams (yes, this needed to be after the more than human bit). Also, fun note, Bruce Wayne is a Baseball fan as part of his cover in a couple canons.
âTrigon maintains a small force from his cult to watch or he directly keeps an eye on Gotham due to the fact that the end may start there and due to the fact Raven sometimes stays in Gotham (this gets a special mention because he is more involved personally than the beings other cults worship).
âThere are at least 17 different cults (Satanists, Cult of Chubala, Neo Nazi Doomsday cult (not just Neo Nazis, a Neo Nazi apocalypse cult. They want a nuclear war so that they will rise from the ashes as rulers. Worked with Atomic Skull briefly.), Cult of the Dream of the Endless [Insomnia does not like them or recognize them as his, but the cult does worship him], the KKK [yes, I am considering the KKK a cult], Cult of Ghul [useful idiots who worship him as a god that he doesn't want around all the time], Cult of Baal, Old God Cult [technically speaking there have been at least 9 different eldritch cults, but they are effectively the same in different canons], Cult of Adam Gotham, Cult of Trigon, Cult of Barbatos, Cult of Blackfire, Cult of Geo Populous, Religion of Crime, Children of Dionysus [Also known as the Cult of Chaos. Note, some canons have Children of Dionysus as a branch of the Religion of Crime while others have them as separate cults, so I am counting them as separate cults], The Order of Shiva, and a generic cult from the Silver Age that never specified what they worshiped).
âThere are at least 3 different shadow governments (the line between cult and shadow government is weak in Gotham. I put the Court of Owls, Black Glove, and League of Assassins in this group).
âBruce Wayne donates massive amounts of money in hopes of fixing Gotham with money. The exact amount ranges from several billion each year to the equivalent of several small countries' GDP each year. All his programs have the equivalent effect of keeping Gotham treading water and, despite his best efforts, are drained by corrupt, embezzlement, and fraud. It is stated that he (across canons) invests in at least 9 different housing projects, public transportation, gymnasiums for under privileged children, thug to employee programs to help people stop being super villain goons, has been the number 1 donor at the Policeman's Gala for 5 years in a row, has a massive fund to support museums and art in Gotham, an after school youth enrichment program, free chronic illness hospital care, free emergency room care, a fund to get bullet proof vests for all Gotham Police (unfortunately, the vests that were bought were subpar and the police chief pocketed most of the money, so a lot of officers got shot), free college education (at the college that makes super villains), a special assistance fund for victims of violent crimes, a special fund to help Gothamites afford childcare, a special fund for Gothamites to afford elder care, several homeless shelters, at least one battered women's shelter, several orphanages, a system of 82 food banks to cover every Gotham slum, a program that pays for the therapy of Gothamites, a green city initiative (this was actually sabotaged by Ace Chemicals to the point Bruce was accidentally paying to help them dump waste and not clean it up), sponsorships and scholarships to Gotham Academy (which is somehow the best school in Gotham) for orphaned or homeless kids, medical debt relief programs (a corrupt doctor at Gotham General Hospital stole most of the fund), a lawyer network for the poor, free drug rehab, a work release skill training program to help regular criminals become good citizens, and a network for people escaping from human trafficking. Despite all this, Bruce is only keeping Gotham from getting worse.
âAnd worse of all, it is in New Jersey (try reading a Batman comic and give everyone a Jersey accent).
If anyone knows anything else wrong with Gotham, let me know, and I will update my list as soon as I find another piracy site.
Yes, I do know my list is so monstrous that it requires a lot of scrolling.
Also, side note, but if anyone needs my list commented on Reddit, just drop my user name. If anyone needs my list on a site that is not Reddit, please shoot me a link. I like to read the comments that tell me of new and terrible things I have missed about Gotham.
TL;DR: The writers like to find new and exciting ways to make a mentally disturbed orphan suffer.
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