(Spoiler alert. Plot details from the entire run of “Gotham” are below.)
For a brief stretch late in season 2, after her stint at Arkham Asylum, it appeared that “Gotham” might be turning Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) back into her old self. That maybe she could begin repairing her relationship with Jim Gordon and move back toward the Barbara we know from the comics. But that moment, it would seem, was fleeting.
As season 3 opens, Barbara instead remains in her gleefully violent mode that began when Theo Galavan freed her and several other Arkham inmates, who collectively formed a group called the Maniax, and had them go on a spree of bloody mayhem. That mayhem ended up putting Barbara in a coma, and after she woke up she helped out her old beau Jim Gordon with an errand — but he then promptly spurned her.
Barbara’s arc has been one of the most intriguing on “Gotham” because her comic book version is far more vanilla, marrying Jim and having a couple kids with him, one of whom would grow up to become Batgirl (in some stories Batgirl is Barbara and Jim’s niece, but the New 52 continuity, from which Gotham draws much of its basic lore, has them as her parents). But it’s hard to imagine that sequence of events playing out on “Gotham” after everything Barbara’s gone through so far.
But what if one big divergence is leading toward another? What if Barbara ends up becoming Harley Quinn?
“Gotham” showrunners have said that some version of Harley Quinn will come up on the show, and there’s a big clue in the season premiere that may be a clue as to her true identity.
First, we need to examine what producers John Stephens and and Ken Woodruff told IGN about Harley’s potential involvement in “Gotham.”
Woodruff: “You may have already seen Harley as a person that you thought you had met and known for a long time. So we always reserve the right to sort of do that as well.”
Stephens: “We don’t want to give too much away but it will definitely be someone connected to the Joker cult world that we have set up. But it’s down the road, later in Season 3 right now.”
So, when Harley is introduced down the line, we can expect it to be a character we know, and that character will have a connection to the “Joker cult world” of the show. In case you’ve forgotten, we’ve seen a character, Jerome Valeska, that has been described as a sort of “proto-Joker” — he never wore the makeup or called himself the Joker, but he did have all the hallmarks otherwise. Valeska was leader of the Maniax, and Barbara was the only woman in the group.
Valeska was killed by Theo Galavan, yes, but his Joker-esque maniacal laugh could clearly be heard in the season 2 finale as Fish Mooney and the monsters from Indian Hill were exiting their escape bus.
Meanwhile, in season 3, Barbara is back together with Tabitha Galavan and has opened a club called The Sirens. That name could very well be an Easter egg that points to Barbara becoming Harley — there was a comic series that ran from 2009 to 2011 called “Gotham City Sirens” that focused on Harley Quinn, Catwoman and Poison Ivy banding together. We absolutely already know that Selina Kyle will be Catwoman, and that Ivy Pepper’s transformation into Poison Ivy is imminent. It seems unlikely that the name of the club would be a coincidence, especially considering FOX put the club name in the official plot synopsis for the episode.
Of course, Tabitha could also be a candidate, since she’s co-owner of The Sirens. But Tabitha has long been expected to become the DC villain Tigress, and in fact when Jessica Lucas was cast in the part they actually referred to her as Tigress. She hasn’t been called Tigress on “Gotham” yet, though, and things can certainly change over time on TV.
There aren’t many other possibilities. The only overt member of the “Joker cult” we’ve met would be Jeri (Lori Petty), the woman who told Bruce Wayne where to find Matches Malone in season 2 — but that would probably be too obvious and her demeanor doesn’t seem correct anyway (they definitely should bring her back, though). Silver St. Cloud would be a possibility, as she was certainly “connected” to the Maniax as another part of Galavan’s grand plan to take Gotham, and we haven’t seen her since she and Tabitha jumped out a window midway through season 2.
Though we’ve certainly not met anyone named Dr. Harleen Quinnzel, there is, obviously, a prominent female doctor who worked at Arkham who we know well: Lee Tompkins (Morena Baccarin). But it seems really far fetched to think Lee would become a villain — though you never know with “Gotham,” I guess. There’s also Dr. Marks, the hypnotherapist who in season 1 hypnotized her patients into becoming serial killers, but she was only a one-off character, not somebody we know well.
So for now Barbara seems like the best bet. And since it would further complicate an already complicated timeline that loves to depart from the DC Comics norm, I’m all for it.
All Major 'Gotham' Villains Ranked, Worst to Best (Photos)
Who's the best bad guy on Fox's "Gotham"? We rank all the bad guys we've seen so far. This list will be updated with new villains as they come in season 3 and beyond, and as characters warrant reevaluation.
Fox
38. Harvey Dent (Nicolas D'Agosto)
Not actually a villain yet, so technically he sucks. I'm sure he'll move up once he becomes Two Face (if that ever happens). For now, he's just generally unhelpful as Gotham's DA.
Fox
37. Mr. Freeze (Nathan Darrow)
Hopefully now that he looks hilarious he'll grow a personality instead of just moping around all the time.
The "Gotham" showrunners have so far missed out by not having him back since Mr. Freeze and Firefly came along. We're due for an evil team-up of villains who carry elemental guns. Get on it.
Fox
34. The Red Hood Gang
The only reason I didn't completely forget about these guys is because there was a callback to them late in season 2.
Fox
33. The Spirit of the Goat
This is technically several people, and the actual "goat" is, I guess, the evil therapist (Susan Misner) who managed to convince people to become serial killers. Anyway, points added for excess complexity. Points subtracted for being otherwise boring.
Fox
32. Evil Bruce (David Mazouz)
Very much a dope, and yet to prove his value as part of the Gotham evilness. There's a lot of potential here, at least.
Only has two scenes, but one of them was that one where Bruce Wayne's mom and dad get murdered. Because he murdered them. In his other scene he shoots himself in the face. Points for having an efficient arc, I guess.
Fox
28. Mario Falcone (James Carpinello)
Amusing to watch, sure, but "super strong raging lunatic" is not the most inventive brand of "Gotham" villain.
A little too vanilla for "Gotham," and doesn't really fit in in the new wacky world of Batman villains. And that contrast becomes even more evident when he returned in season 3. So, yeah, get outta here.
Fox
26. Silver St. Cloud (Natalie Ayn Lind)
Finally, Bruce Wayne has met a girl who can relate to how rich he is. Unfortunately, she's also trying to kill him, and it's impossible to tell when she's being sincere. She thinks dolphins can read minds, though, which is pretty dumb even if she was just trying to be poetic. Children, ugh.
Fox
25. Basil a.k.a. Clayface (Brian McManamon)
Basil, who can shapeshift after being resurrected by Hugo Strange, brings tremendous sitcom-ish potential to "Gotham." His face is hilarious.
Fox
24. Zaardon (David Fierro)
A truly delightful fake villain who belches a blue smoky toxin. Even in death he entertains.
Fox
23. The Lady (Michelle Gomez)
Pretty much a video-game villain, having had her business ruined by single dude (Jim Gordon) who fought off her army of hired killers.
Fox
21-22. Gerald Crane and Jonathan Crane (Julian Sands and Charlie Tahan)
Tragic figures on "Gotham" tend to be pretty meh unless they are so tragic you start to feel real emotions about them. The Cranes (Jonathan will eventually become the Scarecrow) actually manage to pull that off!
Fox
20. Theo Galavan/Azrael (James Frain)
An excellent schemer who ends up foiled by Tabitha, killed by Penguin and Gordon, resurrected by Hugo Strange (who tricks him into thinking he's the 300-year-old St. Dumas warrior Azrael), then blown up with a rocket launcher by Butch. Now THAT is a fully formed character arc.
Fox
19. The Flamingo (Raul Castillo)
"It's not a job if you love what you do," Eduardo Flamingo says as he's torturing and getting ready to eat a dude. It's a little bit hard to hate this guy.
Fox
18. Richard Sionis (Todd Stashwick)
A corporate boss who makes the interns fight each other with swords to determine who gets the real job. That probably makes him my role model.
Fox
17. Father Creel (Ron Rifkin)
Not only is Creel a priest who sacrifices children, but he's also an old man who can jump real high. A double whammy of Cool Villain Things.
Fox
16. Copperhead (Leslie-Ann Brandt)
"Gotham" may be overflowing with assassin characters, but they aren't all super-memorable. Copperhead definitely is, though, despite only appearing in one episode -- she's one of the few bad guys on the show who are calm and rational instead of being unhinged in some way.
Fox
15. Poison Ivy (Claire Foley, Maggie Geha)
Possibly the most relatable character on the show: a grump who just wants all these nerds to go away. And then, once she's turned into a teenager, takes advantage of lusty men in order to steal their stuff.
Fox
14. Captain Barnes (Michael Chiklis)
Yes, ole Captain Barnes has the same affliction as Mario Falcone. BUT Barnes is played by Michael Chiklis and is the GCPD captain, so by default he's way more fun.
13. Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas)
Good with a whip, doesn't take any crap from her brother Theo, apparently is into base jumping, and stabs a guy in the neck with her heel that one time. All of this is awesome.
Fox
12. Firefly (Michelle Veintimilla)
They turned Firefly into a woman! Awesome. I'm sure the genderbending made some dude on the internet mad, which automatically puts Firefly in the upper echelon of "Gotham" villains. That she's actually cool anyway is icing on the cake.
Fox
11. Butch (Drew Powell)
Plays the straight man to basically every other character on the show -- until Penguin chops off his right hand and they start affixing tools to his stump. My favorite is the power drill.
Fox
10. The Court of Owls
They've had a hand in lots of the wacky events that have taken place so far, their masks are funny, and they almost killed Alfred. Gotta respect all of that.
Fox
9. Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan)
Sure, he's a bad person, but he always looks like he's having so much fun when he's murdering everybody. We all should admire how he does what he loves.
Fox
8. The Mad Hatter (Benedict Samuel)
Samuel is solidly theatrical, and the incredible cruelty of the Hatter in general goes a long way on a list like this.
Fox
7. Ed Nygma/The Riddler (Corey Michael Smith)
So good that I could totally watch a "Hannibal"-like show that's just about him.
Fox
6. Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong)
His totally calm demeanor and permanent condescending smile makes all those horrible experiments seem totally reasonable.
Fox
5. Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor)
It was almost sad when his stay at Arkham Asylum in season 2 mellowed him out, but the payoff was worth it: He killed the Van Dahl siblings, cooked them and then fed them to their mother. "Game of Thrones" totally ripped that off, by the way. (That was a joke. Don't @ me.)
Fox
4. The Dollmaker (Colm Feore)
If we were ranking these "Gotham" bad guys solely on the fear factor, Dr. Dullmacher's brand of body horror would probably win by default.
Fox
3. Barbara Kean (Erin Richards)
In the DC Comics annals, Barbara is supposed to marry Jim Gordon and have a kid with him, and so it's super fun that "Gotham" turned her into a murderer there for a while.
Is he the Joker, or just a "proto-Joker"? I don't know, but he's super fun and steals every scene he's in, as well as all of the ones he's merely mentioned in.
There are a handful of actors on "Gotham" who really, truly got what kind of show it was trying to be in the early going, and Jada Pinkett led the way. To our great relief she kept all her memories when Hugo Strange resurrected her. There's been a seriously troubling lack of Fish in season 3.
Fox
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We’ve got the definitive rankings of Gotham City’s baddies in Fox’s Batman prequel show
Who's the best bad guy on Fox's "Gotham"? We rank all the bad guys we've seen so far. This list will be updated with new villains as they come in season 3 and beyond, and as characters warrant reevaluation.