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Welcome to Gotham! Run while you can! By: Peter Parker
Chapter 0.5: Where to enter
Chapter 1: General knowledge
Chapter 1.1: Appropriate clothing
Chapter 2: Rogues
Chapter 2.1: Minor Rogues
Chapter 2.2: Major Rogues
Chapter 3: Vigilantes
Chapter 4: What to do if you’re attacked by a/multiple rogues (Now sectioned by different rogues/attacks)
Chapter 5: How to leave
Chapter 0.5 - How to enter
Gotham, if you couldn’t already tell, is different from most cities. I have her explicit permission to inform you that Gotham is an eldritch creature, and she doesn’t take too kindly to strangers. Whether you’ve been invited by a proper Gothamite or you just showed up (worse, always try to be invited), you must follow these rules to be able to properly enter.
1: Never sneak into the city. Always follow a path people have used before. Gotham finds it insulting to sneak in.
2: There is a train station, but only use it as your very last resort. Never ever use it unless there is no other option.
3: If you’re entering by bridge (most common way), always check the bridge accessibility before your arrival, as well as before your departure. Depending on the location, that day’s rogue attack may close the bridges.
4: There are ferries available, but if said ferry is all green, do not use it
5: If, for whatever reason, you need sanctuary, announce it immediately. Gotham needs time to determine if you’re valid or not.
Upon arrival, you will feel a sense of dread pass through your entire body. That’s normal! When that happens (usually right as you pass through the borders), wave to your nearest shadow.
Chapter 1 - General Knowledge
Never ever dump trash, nor bodies in Gotham. She will not accept them.
Never disrespect Gotham or her people, Gotham is very protective.
If you see people spray painting buildings, they have permission. You do not, don’t even try.
Always carry a rebreather around. You can get them literally at any store.If you don’t know what a rebreather is, then you probably shouldn’t enter Gotham
Batburger has a new deal where you can get a free gas mask when you order Jokerized fries. Highly recommend ordering the fires and not just for the free gas mask.
Get a taser or knife to defend yourself. Pepper spray is unreliable because many citizens wear a gas mask out in public (and even more carry one around), so if they attack you, the pepper spray isn’t going to do anything against them.
Even if you don’t know who the Robins are, you should definitely pick a favorite. More info about the Robins is in chapter 3
Make sure you’re up to date on all your vaccines! Not just the Gotham specific ones, but ones like the rabies and tetanus shots. Please, for the love of everything holy, be up to date on your tetanus shot.
Probably common knowledge, but don’t go near the Arkham Asylum. Ever.
If you see the gargoyles move, don’t worry. They do that.
If you’re planning on staying long term, get rogue insurance. The main three every insurance company recommends are the Joker, the Penguin and Scarecrow, but you can get packages for up to six rogues that you can mix and match.
If a Gothamite says “Fuck Metropolis” you’re legally obligated to say it back. No one cares if you’re from Metropolis, you have to legally say it back. If it’s written on the city hall steps, it’s a legal obligation.
Don't touch any suspicious puddles on the floor. Most of the gasses used by the Rogues are water soluble.
If you heard an explosion, no you didn't. Walk away.
If a Gothamite asks you if you want to ‘take a shot’, don’t. It can mean three things. Either it’s a bullet, or a shot of either nail polish remover or antifreeze.
Don’t go to bars in Gotham. Either it’s a mafia front, illegal betting ring or drug smuggling. If the bar isn’t a front for something, then it’s a Gothamite™ bar which is almost worse than all three combined.
Chapter 1.1 - Proper attire
As Gotham is perpetually in gloomy darkness, avoid flashy colored clothing. You will probably be mistaken for a Gotham Rogue and either hit with an improvised weapon or tased. If you *must* wear bright colors, the Gotham Rogues are in chapter 2. Avoid their colors.
Avoid wearing all purple outfits. Avoid purple and green even more.
In general, don’t wear complementary colors. Stick with neutrals or dark shades of colors. Complementary colors have the risk of being confused as a Gotham Rogue or a Vigilante, and both are not great things to be mistaken as.
If you’re (respectfully) built like a fridge, do not wear all black. It’s unlikely, because if they can see you, you’re visible, but you might be mistaken for Batman. Also avoid brown leather jackets because you will probably be shot at.
If you ride a motorcycle, do not wear bright red helmets.
If you’re wearing a nice suit, don’t. You’ll get mugged. Shabby enough suits might get you mistaken for a teacher or office worker, but your best bet is sweatshirts and casual jackets.
If your clothes have visible tags for expensive companies, you’re basically saying “Hey, rob me!” Wear casual clothes with no visible company labels.
God forbid you wear non-Gotham hero merchandise. Gotham won’t do anything to you, but her people will. Wonder Woman merchandise is the only exception, and you should wear it sparingly.
If, for whatever reason, your hair is dyed lime green, fucking undye it. You will get shot on sight.
Chapter 2.1 - Minor Gotham Rogues
Calendar Man:
Calendar Man is a tall, bald, white man. He is easily identified by his red and white costume with a cape resembling the pages of a calendar. Prior to turning to supervillainy, he was a successful inventor and now he uses his skills to build machines to carry out his plans. His attacks are most predictable, as he plans his crimes around holidays, weekends and seasons. His weapons of choice switch between wind machines, lasers and sonic weaponry. If you can, avoid traveling to Gotham during any of the mentioned time periods when Calendar Man has escaped the Arkham Asylum because he might be a minor Rogue, but he is still dangerous.
Cluemaster:
Cluemaster looks kind of like a bad Thor impersonator. He’s a tall, white male with long blonde hair, more often than not tied in a low ponytail. He usually is wearing red shirts and pants with a dark colored (either blue or black) vest with yellow gloves, yellow boots, and a yellow belt. He also usually wears a yellow mask covering his lower face. He used to leave behind puzzles like the Riddler (see below in Major Villains), but has abandoned it for more strategic schemes (and the Riddler sued him for stealing his gimmick).
Cluemaster’s main choice of weapons are quarterstaffs and pellets that can create blinding flares, incapacitating gas, smoke and even explosives.
Condiment King:
Condiment King is a medium height, white male. He has two main costumes he switches between. One is a turquoise costume with white underwear on the outside (Don’t even ask. No one knows why), white boots and gloves, ‘C’ emblem on chest and a hat in the shape of a pickle. The other is a black suit and cowl with orange boots and gloves and a gold belt with a crown emblem on the chest. His choice of weapon is arguably one of the worst. He has guns in the shape of ketchup and mustard bottles hooked up to tanks filled with condiments on his back or belt, depending on which costumes he’s wearing. Seriously, Condiment King sucks.
Firefly:
Firefly is one of the few Rogues who always has his skin covered. His suit is either white or black, with brown gloves, vest, boots and belt. He wears a metal helmet with red, bug-like eyes and mechanical wings. Firefly is a pyrotechnic arsonist and his weapon of choice is a large flamethrower. He’s also one of the Gotham Firefighters’ most hated Rogues.
Kiteman:
Kiteman is a white man with an average build. He wears a green suit and cowl with a yellow kite on both his chest and forehead, yellow visor, boots, belt and gloves (And sometimes armbands). He has a matching green kite shaped hang glider strapped to his back. Not much is known about this Rogue’s motivation, but he wants revenge on both Batman and the Riddler.
The Ventriloquist and Scarface:
The Ventriloquist is a short, old, white man with balding white hair. His outfit is usually glasses, a black suit and bowtie. Scarface is a puppet, typically wearing a blue or gray pinstripe suit and fedora. The Ventriloquist commits crimes through Scarface, and their main weapon of choice are machine guns. Don’t ask how their relationship works, no one really knows.
Polka Dot Man:
Polka Dot Man is a tall, medium build, white man. He wears a white suit covered in rainbow polka dots, a brown belt and red goggles and shoes. The dots from his costume can transform into weapons, but also has been known to use a simple baseball bat. Don’t make fun of him, he’s sensitive.
Chapter 2.2 - Major Gotham Rogues
Bane:
Bane is basically made of steroids. He's incredibly tall and unnaturally muscular due to the literal gallons of steroids flowing through his body. He wears a black mask with white around eyes and mouth, and a black tank top, belt, pants, and boots. He looks like if you gave a body builder a stripper’s outfit (no hate to strippers). His main choice of weapons are machine guns but since about half of his entire body is completely steroids, he’s extremely good at hand to hand combat. There are tubes that inject his ‘Bane venom’ into him through his neck and the easiest way to defeat him is through getting rid of the tubes because he loses his massive physical advantage.
Black Mask:
Black Mask is a major player in the crime world of Gotham. He runs one of the criminal organizations in Gotham and comes from the Sionis crime family, which can also be known as the False Face Society. His face is literally a black skull, so it’s not incredibly hard to spot him in a crowd. He usually wears a suit and tie. The suit color varies from time to time but it’s usually white, gray or black. He uses guns as his main weapon but also frequently hires goons to do his work for him. Avoid pissing him off because this man has major anger issues and will probably shoot you if you do anything. While the Sionis crime family has been in Gotham for a long time, Black Mask is slowly losing his territory to the Red Hood (see below in Vigilantes)
Clayface:
Clayface is one of the hardest Rogue to be able to spot in public because he can shapeshift to anyone or anything. WHen he’s not shapeshifted, he looks like a giant blob of brown clay. There’s not many ways you can stop him but freezing is the most effective way. Other than that, he's invulnerable. He’s both threatened Gotham and worked with Batman to save it, but avoid getting in his way if you can help it.
Catwoman:
Catwoman is a master thief and has rarely been seen by the public. When she has been seen, she’s been spotted wearing a skin tight black leather costume with cat ears on the cowl and black heeled boots. She’s both worked with and against Batman, and it’s speculated that she and Batman are in an on and off relationship. Her main weapons of choice are a whip and claws, but she is very good with hand to hand combat. Catwoman is the first member of the Gotham Sirens.
Harley Quinn:
Dr. Harley Quinn is easily identifiable by her almost alabaster white skin and platinum blonde pigtails dyed at the ends. She used to wear a full body, black and red jester’s outfit, but has since changed to a cropped red and black shirt, red and black leather jacket and tennis shoes with pom poms. Sometimes her costumes change to other outfits, but it’s almost always half black and half red with diamond prints somewhere. Her main weapons of choice are guns, baseball bats and a giant carnival hammer. She used to date the Joker, but finally dumped him for Poison Ivy and now they’re queer icons in Gotham. She also has teamed up with the Bat clan before, and is the second Gotham Siren.
The Joker:
The Joker has bleached white skin to rival Harley Quinn, toxic green hair and a giant creepy smile with red lipstick. He usually wears a purple suit and either a green shirt with a purple tie (and sometimes an orange vest), or an orange shirt with a green shirt. His ties vary from neckties and bowties but it’s most often a bow tie and dress shoes. His main weapons of choice are guns, explosives, contraptions and hired goons (often dressed in green and purple), and sometimes he has a cane with the same abilities as The Riddler, but his most dangerous weapon is his ‘Joker Venom’. His venom is a toxin, usually in gas form, that makes victims laugh uncontrollably to insanity or even death, on occasions. The Joker is a psychopath with major anger issues and no empathy. Reasoning with him will not work and your best bet is to stay quiet and hope one of the bats or birds will save you.
Killer Croc:
Killer Croc looks like an eight feet tall crocodile standing on two legs. He usually wears jeans and not much else. His skin acts similar to an exoskeleton of sorts and he also has enhanced strength. Killer Croc is also a criminal mob boss in Gotham, controlling Finger River which flows between Old Gotham and Somerset. He is unfortunately losing more and more of his human side over time so he takes some pity on others who are losing themselves as well. If you need a sponsor for an addiction you might have, you can probably ask Killer Croc provided he’s not actively murdering someone. He doesn’t really use weapons, mostly hand to hand combat because he’s a giant crocodile.
Mad Hatter:
The Mad Hatter is a very short, white male with two large buck teeth. He wears a mostly green and yellow suit, a green top hat, white gloves and a red ascot. He’s a brilliant inventor (Also known as Jarvis Tech) and makes robots and contraptions. His primary weapon is his technology that can control minds, but sometimes he uses a weaponized cane or gun. His hat is the main mind control device so if you get it off of him, then his powers will be negated. He also has a frankly unhealthy obsession with hats.
Manbat:
Manbat is pretty much what you’d expect Batman to look like. He’s a giant 8 foot tall (vaguely) man shaped brown bat. Sometimes he wears jeans, sometimes he doesn’t. Dr. Langtorm can transform into man bat by injecting himself with a serum but, after years of this he can now transforme at will. He has very sharp claws and can communicate with bats, create blasts of supersonic sound, and has echolocation, flight and enhanced strength. He is yet another Rogue who has been both an enemy and ally with Batman.
Mr. Freeze:
Mr. Freeze is a tall, well built white man. His suit is a large, cryogenic suit with red goggles and he cannot survive without it. He must be kept cold, so you can beat him by breaking the helmet or the suit enough for it to stop working. His weapon of choice is a freeze gun capable of encasing people in blocks of ice. His most recent motivation is to save his wife, and he doesn't care about much other than that.
The Penguin:
The Penguin is a short, stocky white man. He wears a black suit with white fur, a black top hat, monocle and always carries an umbrella that he uses as a cane. He mostly uses guns and gadgets, but his umbrella also can fire bullets and turn into a small helicopter that he uses to escape. The Penguin also runs a nightclub called the Iceberg Lounge that often provides cover for criminals. Avoid going to the Iceberg Lounge
Poison Ivy:
Ivy is one of the few metahuman Rogues in Gotham. She has pale green skin, bright red hair and matching red lipstick. Her usual costume is a dark green sleeveless top and pants with embroidered leaves and vines, but sometimes you can see her in casual green pants with a white lab coat over a green shirt. She can control all plant life around her and she produces various different types of pollen (sex pollen, cuddle pollen, mind control pollen, etc). Currently, she is dating Harley Quinn and has historically worked with Batman before. She really only goes after people and corporations that harm the environment, so unless you’re actively dumping oil in the water, you’re probably fine. She’s the last third of the Gotham Sirens.
The Riddler:
The Riddler is a tall, skinny twink. I'm sorry, it had to be said. He usually can be found wearing a bright green suit with purple question marks printed on it (Or a purple tie with a question mark) and a matching green bowler hat. The Riddler’s main weapon of choice is a cane with a question mark on the end. Several of his canes are merely just canes, but some can shoot bullets and one has a sword tip. Avoid coming in contact with his cane, if you can help it. He likes to kidnap people and leave clues for the Bats to find and solve, so you can usually get away if you either solve the riddles he gives you, or give him riddles of your own.
Scarecrow:
The Scarecrow is a medium height and build and literally dresses like a scarecrow with a noose around his neck and a burlap mask and switched together mouth. He was a psychologist before he was a Rogue and a brilliant chemist. He now uses his skills to create his ‘fear toxin’, which is a hallucinogenic drug that makes people see their worst fears. He uses this to commit crimes and run experiments on people. Please, for the love of Gotham, wear your gas masks.
Two-Face:
Two-Face’s whole aesthetic is everything is split in half. His left half’s skin is white with dark brown hair, and his right side’s skin is a scarred and deformed gray with crazy white hair. He always wears a three piece suit that is split down the middle with different color schemes for each half. He uses a very specific coin to decide things. If it’s ‘bad tails’, then he commits the crime and if it’s ‘good heads’, then he abides by the law. It’s been confirmed that he has DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), and his ‘evil’ personality is stuck in a battle with his ‘good’ former self. His main weapons of choice are guns, goons and gadgets and he always themes his crimes around the number 2. Two-Face is also a crime boss and his main territory is around Blackgate.
Chapter 3: Vigilantes (Plus 1 Crime Lord)
Batman:
Batman is one of the most elusive members of the Justice League, and certainly one of the most impressive. Yes, I am biased because I’m from Gotham, no I don’t care. Batman, despite what many believe, has no powers. That’s right, Batman has no powers. If you can get close enough to him, you see that his suit is a dark gray but his cape is black. He wears either a yellow or gray utility belt and that’s the only color you’ll see on him. His main weapons are Batarangs (incredibly sharp throwing knives in the shape of a bat), gauntlets and hand to hand combat, but he has been known to pull out other types of weapons.
Batwoman:
Let’s get the record straight. Batwoman is not married to Batman. They are not dating. They are cousins. Batwoman is a lesbian. Batman and Batwoman are not dating.
Anyway, Batwoman wears a black suit with red accents, a red belt, red gloves, red boots and a red bat symbol on her chest. The inside of her cape is also the same shade of red. Her main weapon she uses is a rotational tonfa but, like every other bat, is proficient in hand to hand combat as well.
Batgirl:
Batgirl is speculated to be a minimum of four different people. When she first came on the scene, she was white with blonde hair, then red hair, then white with blonde hair again but a different person than the first and finally she was Asian with black hair. Batgirl is one of the less active vigilantes and many speculate it’s because the third Batgirl is actually Spoiler, so the others have different vigilante identities. Since we don’t know much about Batgirl’s identity, we’re not going to dwell on the topic. The very first Batgirl wore a bright red, short dress with a green cape and belt, not too unlike Robin’s colors. The next Batgirl (the red head) wore a gray, skin tight suit with a yellow belt, gloves, boots, cape and bat emblem. The second blonde Batgirl wore a black skin tight suit with purple accents on the sides and a yellow bat emblem and belt. Finally, the black haired Batgirl wore a black skin tight suit with a yellow belt and yellow outline of a bat and an all black cape. All four have used a variety of different weapons, including tonfas, batarangs, and bo staffs.
Nightwing:
Nightwing is very much thought to be the first Robin. There’s no official confirmation but some people have noticed that when Robin first appeared, he did lots of acrobatics that Nightwing does at the present. He wears a black, skin tight suit with a blue bird across the chest and a black domino. More often than not, you can see him flipping off roofs with no grappling hook in sight, only to pull it out at the last second (usually accompanied by another bat shouting his name). His weapon of choice are escrima sticks but is proficient in hand-to-hand combat as well. No, he will not give out autographs.
Black Bat:
Black Bat is equally elusive, if not more, than Batman. She blends into shadows so much that you might think she’s made of shadows, and when she does come out into the light, it seems like the shadows are stuck on her. Her suit is all black with a yellow utility belt, cape with yellow on the inside and a yellow bat symbol on her chest. The similarities between her suit and the fourth Batgirl’s suit speculate that she might have been the Asian Batgirl, but since Black Bat is so elusive no one knows for sure. Her weapon of choice are batarangs, but she is incredibly well versed in hand to hand combat. If you see her, you should wave to her. She's very friendly.
Red Hood:
The Red Hood is less of a vigilante and more of a crime lord. If you ever meet him, do not call him a vigilante to his face. He might shoot you (with a paint gun. It still hurts). The Red Hood has the most informal outfit than the other Gotham Vigilantes, as he is usually seen wearing gray cargo pants, a matching gray top with a brown leather jacket over top. He more often than not is wearing a bright red helmet, but sometimes can be seen wearing a black domino instead. He blends in with civilians much better than any of the other spandex wearing freaks (affectionate) but his shirt has a bright red bat symbol printed on the chest. His main weapon of choice are hand guns, but is very proficient with other types of guns and other weapons. One notable occasion includes the time he was caught using what appeared to be an orange lightsaber against a machine gun. In case you were wondering, yes he won, yes it’s on YouTube.
Spoiler:
Spoiler is speculated to be both the female Robin and the second blonde Batgirl and has tweeted confirmation on her twitter account (@redrobinanti), but @BatmanOfficial released a statement saying that Spoiler was hacked. Later, @BatmanOfficial’s profile picture got changed to a selfie of Spoiler, so no one is really sure if anything she said was true.
Spoiler’s suit is black with purple accents, a purple cape and purple hood to match and wears a black mask to cover her lower face. Her weapon of choice is a collapsible bo staff, but she also has been seen using grappling hooks, smoke bombs and purple glitter bombs. If you dislike the color purple, avoid getting near her glitter bombs as the glitter is probably one of the hardest things to get rid of.
Red Robin:
If you meet Red Robin, you must say ‘Red Robin! Yum!”, it’s a legal obligation. He will groan and if any other vigilantes are within hearing distance, they will laugh, but he won’t get mad at you. Red Robin’s suit is mostly black with a red shirt and yellow markings on the chest, belt and inside the cape. His main weapon of choice is an extendable bo staff as well as hand to hand. Fun fact! Red Robin is banned from Twitter.
The Signal:
It’s never been confirmed but it is not exactly a secret that the Signal is a meta. They are also the only vigilante who patrols regularly during the day. The Signal wears a bright yellow and black suit with a large white bat on their chest. Their weapons of choice are modified escrima sticks, similar to Nightwing’s. The Signal also has the highest social media following at seven million followers. Their account (@thesignalreviews) mostly consists of them going to various restaurants and food trucks in Gotham and reviewing them rather bluntly, however the Signal has quite a few meme worthy tweets. Their most liked tweet was as follows:
bat signal but cooler @thesignalreviews
lex luthor’s shiny bald head is brighter than my powers. i can see him all the way from gotham. he’s currently walking down remington street.
19k comments 5.6 million retweets 7.4 million likes
Robin:
Robin is arguably more of an enigma than Batman himself. There’s many, many conspiracy posts, videos and theorists dedicated to him and honestly, rightfully so. Some of the most popular include 20 some Robins who rotate taking turns being Robin, Batman having a Robin cloning factory (those two go hand in hand), Robin being a hologram, Robin being a shapeshifter, Robin is actually a ghost (because a few years back, there was news speculation that Robin died) and more.
Currently, Robin is male presenting and has confirmed that he uses he/him pronouns. His suit is a red tunic over green pants with a black and yellow cape.
Yes he is carrying swords, yes he looks and sounds like he is ten. No he is not ten, and no he won’t hurt you (unless you do something stupid).
Chapter 4: What to do if you’re attacked by a/multiple rogues (Now sectioned by different rogues/attacks)
If it’s not immediately apparent to everyone, then some older Gothamite will probably be able to inform you of who is attacking. If it’s a gas attack, then sirens will warn you for which Rogues is currently attacking and then you can take appropriate measures.
Don’t drink any tap water or eat any unpackaged food.
Don’t go outside of wherever you are located currently
If you’re in a big building (Like a mall or hotel), you should wear your gas masks inside unless someone tells you they have an updated ventilation system.
If any of the Rogues whose names start with ‘C’ are attacking, be wary and alert, but you can in general go outside in public. Firefly, Kiteman and Polka Dot Man are also okay, but stay alert. The minor Rogues often get dealt with by some of the other bats, especially if it’s in the daytime. The only Vigilantes who only appear at night are Batman, Black Bat and Batgirl.
If the Scarecrow, Black Mask or the Joker are attacking, get inside immediately. Doesn't matter where they are or where you are in Gotham, they’re known for hiring goons to attack people for them as well. Most, if not all, business owners will let people shelter inside their buildings so look for subtle signs that might signify you can take shelter if it comes to that.
Two-Face, the Riddler, the Penguin and the Mad Hatter all might take you hostage. If it does, it’s okay. Two-Face and the Mad Hatter have a higher likelihood of murdering you, but when hostages are involved, the bats always prioritize you before the rogues.
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy have not attacked anyone (besides corrupt corporations) in two whole years! We’re very proud of them. If they’re attacking a building, don’t worry. They won’t harm you. If you try to stop them (PSA: Please, please. Do not try and stop a rogue by yourself. Please), Ivy might string you up with vines, but they’ll both worry more if you catcall them. Do not catcall them. We don’t want to break their non-murder streak because some dumbass tourist couldn’t keep their eyes to themselves.
Manbat, Mr. Freeze and Killer Croc haven’t been seen in a few months (don’t worry, this guidebook gets updated regularly. Always make sure you have an updated copy) so you most likely don’t have to worry about them. If they are attacking, just stay inside. Let the birds and bats deal with them.
Chapter 5: How to Leave
Similarly to how you need to follow a process to enter, you must follow a process to leave Gotham.
You cannot sneak out of Gotham. If you’re sneaking out, then you’re either escaping or running away from someone. Usually (no offense) outsiders have wronged a Gothamite and Gotham will not stand for that. If you’re unsure if you’re in the wrong, then you can ask your nearest shadow. If you’re not in the wrong, or if you’re in the wrong but it was accidental, the shadows will lead you to the safest place to leave Gotham.
If you’re in the wrong and it’s absolutely your fault then I’m sorry. There’s not much this guidebook can do, and you can only hope the Bats come to save you.
Happy travels!