Throughout its first three seasons, we’ve seen Gotham forge its own path by reassembling the parts that make up the Batman mythos, generously reinterpreting more than a few characters. This has often been to the chagrin of staunch purists, but on the plus side, the producers can lay claim to always keeping us guessing where the story is going.
One such curveball that was thrown at us near the end of May’s finale was that of the revelation that Butch Gilzean’s birth name was, in fact, Cyrus Gold. And considering that he was shot in the head during his last encounter with Barbara Kean, we fully expect for him to be a changed man whenever he regains consciousness. In other words, he’s becoming the classic Batman villain, Solomon Grundy.
And while it stands to reason that the show’s creative minds will be holding most of their cards close to their vests, we have learned that, upon Grundy’s transformation, he’ll forge a new alliance with the Riddler and Lee Thompkins. Needless to say, this’ll sure make for some interesting television and understandably has actor Drew Powell “giddy like a school girl.”
Obviously, fans of the series are wondering just how the transition will take place. Well, according to executive producer John Stephens, what’ll appear on screen will be very close to the character’s comic book origins:
“He’s been in a vegetative state at Gotham General and so in order to clear up space for more beds, the administrators at the hospital have him dumped in Slaughter Swamp, as one does in Gotham. So he emerges reborn out of Slaughter Swamp as the character we know as Solomon Grundy.”
Additionally, Stephens also revealed that Edward Nygma will actually be the first person Grundy comes across:
“We begin the story of a very unlikely friendship between these two who are sworn enemies but now, all of a sudden in season 4, are best friends as they move through Gotham.”
Gotham returns for its fourth season on Thursday, September 21 on Fox.
