In honor of the Gotham season finale, we look at how Gotham City has evolved throughout Batman history.

Gotham City began its comic book life as one of countless ficitonal cities inspired by New York City.

Gotham was still an amalgamation, to be sure, but it was a sensible one.

It maintained its northeastern roots, it was just a city you had never gotten around to visiting.

The Gotham City of television was a glistening West Coast port city.

Though not deeply developed, this city fit its hero.

Ad content continues below

Decent people shouldnt live here, theyd be happier someplace else.

Gotham had harsh Winters…but theneverythingin Gotham was harsh.

This would become the general aesthetic of Gotham City, and remains so to this day.

[He was] Imagining what New York looked like from a foreigners perspective.

Burtons black and spiky Batsuit matched the late Anton Fursts Neo-Gothic Gotham.

The 1989 film presented a disjointed, illogical piling of architecture on top of other architecture.

As Burton described toAnton Furst, Gotham City should look like hell burst through the pavement and grew.

In 1992, the release ofBatman Returnsbroadened this idea.

Welch played more with interiors than Furst, creating a twisted cartoon feel which permeates the entire film.

Perhaps Welchs greatest contribution comes from the fresh fallen snow and flowing water that dominated his additions.

Gotham City moves in new ways inBatman Returns.

The Batman of Burtons movies is a direct product of his city.

Gotham is hopeless, crime ridden, and run by buffoons.

Figures like Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent are little more than pawns of the vast criminal conspiracy.

The Dark Knight lacks true allies and the hope they could bring him.

The kind of guy that might back Johnny Gobs off a roof and not bother to catch him.

The kind of guy who might blowtorch an evil Russian clown.

He was the Batman of his Gotham.

Brutal and, perhaps, insane.

Batman: The Animated Seriespiggybacked off of this, but made one important modification.

Even some of the oversized objects from the classic comics returned.

Liberated by animation, this Batman could be as over the top or as subtle as the story needed.

Producer Eric Radomski made the innovative call to put the backgrounds on black instead of white.

At night, you only see elements, you fill in the gaps.

Radomski noted in a 2004 interview.

Oh, and it had blimps!

Thats pretty cool, too.

Like HR Giger covered in neon.

Admittedly influenced by the 60s TV show, …the sense of scale heightened to be bigger than man.

as Ling put it.

Batman returned to the admirable superhero he had once been.

Batmans city had lost its meaning, and in turn, Batman lost his.

It took Christopher Nolans Batman Begins to put Batman back in the public eye.

Nolan ultimately chose a new home for his vision of Gotham City, Chicago.

The Second City was the perfect place to build a new Batman.

In a sense, the Chicago of 2005 was already Gotham City in the minds of the public.

A more believable site to hide in the shadows.

While downtown has its fair share of neon, most of the city maintains an older, darker design.

At the turn of the Millennium, Chicago checked all of the boxes for a good Gotham.

Nolans Gotham is also perhaps the closest to the contemporary comic portrayal.

While maintaining the crime and corruption of Burtons version, Nolan introduced Batmans many allies into the film world.

Hed even have Catwoman and Robin on his side by storys end.

TheDark Knight Risesfurthered this.

Gotham is more than just a city in Nolans films.

InBatman Begins, Ras Al Ghul targets the city as the cause for modern corruption.

Batman, a product of the city and its citizens, proves him wrong.

Batman proves both of them wrong.

In the Nolan films, BatmanisGotham.

Though city may be brutal, dark and twisted, but at its core it is good.

And evil cannot destroy good.

What makes a town so crazy?

What makes a town so out of control that villains begin to wear costumes?

Beautiful, lush interiors transition into the digitally modified skyline, creating a city that feels just beyond reality.

Gothamshoots in New York and this was an important requirement to the shows creative team.

With a solid following,Gothamhas an opportunity to do something that hasnt even been done in the comics.