Gotham season 5’s set to take Bruce Wayne all the way to becoming Batman, and he’ll have plenty of reason to, apparently, as it seems that a huge range of the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery will put in an appearance in the prequel show’s final season. We’ve previously heard that Scarface, Ventriloquist and even Bane and possibly Harley Quinn will turn up. Now, some set photos have revealed another comic book foe who’ll be stopping by.
These snaps from shooting on Gotham in New York (via @GothamFilming) showcase a musclebound shirtless man with a spiked mohawk wearing a distinctive metallic visor. Fans have been quick to point out that this character’s a dead ringer for the Mutant Leader, a brutish antagonist from Frank Miller’s seminal The Dark Knight Returns.
The Mutant Leader wasn’t the most intellectual foe Batman ever faced, but his intimidating physique and rage made him a difficult opponent in a fair fistfight. In Returns, he’s the head of a violent street gang that’s terrorizing Gotham. It’s probably fair to say that no one expected to see these guys on the show, as Miller’s story is set at the end of Bruce’s career as the Caped Crusader, while the young Master Wayne hasn’t even suited up yet on Fox’s prequel.
That being said, it’s likely that the Mutants have been adapted to fit into Gotham‘s take on the “No Man’s Land” storyline. Following the climactic events of season 4, the city will be in disarray and locked in quarantine. It’s easy to imagine Gotham falling into chaos even more than usual and a gang like the Mutants causing havoc. After all, it’d be a neat way to have the thugs contribute to the birth of Batman instead of his end.
Gotham season 5 promises to squeeze a lot into its lean 10 episode run, and we can only hope that means the show will go out with a bang when it returns to Fox in 2019.
