The Gotham Chronicles

Dear Warner Brothers and all fans of Batman,

With the future of the successful Smallville facing a forced demise within four to five years as Tom Welling's contract has a No Tights claus and the proven adoration of the Caped Crusader (Kevin Conroy has voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman for thirteen years, encompassing six series and three films), I propose a logical future.

While seemingly a WB darling, The Batman (2005) is an obvious attempt to cash in on the upcoming theatrical release of Batman Begins. Understandable. Had I the rights and funding, I'd do the same. Unfortunately, The Batman is a disaster and increasingly painful to watch as our beloved characters are destroyed and we are left with empty shells of the franchise fans once rushed home from class to watch.

There is one undying motto in this world and that is "You can't fight City Hall." Well, as an angered fan and screenwriter, I live by a new creed. "Lord, give me the strength to accept the things that I cannot change and the power to change the things that I cannot accept."

This is my change.


~~~~~
The Gotham Chronicles

Created By:
Joseph Button


Longfellow once said that Great men stand like solitary towers in the city of God. Some men were born for greatness while others were born to lead men to greatness. If only they knew that the security these great men fight for lies not in the light but in the dark. And if they knew that only one man could save them from the light, would they still fight the good fight?

Closely following the concept of Smallville, The Gotham Chronicles is based upon characters from the Batman comic books originally created by Bob Kane. Though the series will follow many famous, and sometimes infamous, characters generations of fans have come to know and love, we will not focus as much on Batman as we will Bruce Wayne and the strife he faced on the way to becoming the Dark Knight.

As a boy, Bruce Wayne witnessed his parents' gruesome murder at the hands of a gunman named Joe Chill and vowed revenge against all who broke the law. As a young adult, he is working to fulfill this vow by traveling the world and learning from masters of various disciplines.

We start the series with Bruce at eighteen years old and chronicle his journey from tortured youth to the stoic crusader. Everyone has seen Batmans mastery of escape artist techniques, martial arts, acrobatics, science, technology, boxing, disguises, criminology and detective skills. For the first time in history, we would see answers to the questions plaguing us since 1939 such as who taught him ju-jitsu. How did he meet his first true love Zatanna? Where did he hone his keen detective skills?

In essence, this series would add to the mythology which was fleshed out by Bruce W. Timm and Eric Radomski in Batman: the Animated Series of 1992.

Gotham City is the technology capital of the world. However, to stand center-street, one may think the city sits amidst the 1920s with the sight of cars more suited to Dick Tracy, black and white tube televisions and an architectural style labeled suitably Dark Deco.

During the day, Bruce Wayne is CEO of Wayne Enterprises, a company founded by his grandfather. Bruce struggles every day with the memories of his only family being murdered. He questions why he cant move on like any other person could. Being rich and powerful is of little interest to Bruce. He fears letting others see him at more than face value as he believes no one will understand. However, to deter others from seeing his true self, the darker, driven side of his soul, Bruce goes to great lengths convincing others that Playboy, self-centered socialite seen on the news is his true self. Deep down he wishes that were true.

However, there is far more to The Gotham Chronicles than an angst-ridden youth. Alfred Pennyworth, an esteemed gentleman of English descent, Bruces butler and the only man he truly trusts, has secrets of his own; such as an active career with the British Army. Bruce only real friend outside of Alfred, Harvey Dent, is fresh out of law school with aspirations at becoming District Attorney by any means necessary. James Gordon is the last good officer the Gotham City Police Department has. Unfortunately, if he wants to continue supporting his family, hell obey the Commissioners orders and assist in keeping the more illegal police actions safely out of the public eye. Wayne Enterprises, which is run by Lucious Foxx during Bruces trek across Europe, faces a hostile takeover from within while WayneTech, Bruces first solo business venture, is struggling to get off the ground.

Of course, weve yet to mention Arkham Asylum, a psychiatric hospital where the inmates can be more sane then the rest of society.