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Whatever Happened to 'Gotham High'?

     The DC Multiverse is full of elseworlds. What if baby Superman landed in the Soviet Union? What if the Flash went back in time to save his mother? But one of the most intriguing premises remains to be answered: What if Batman and his rogues gallery all went to the same high school?
     Enter Gotham High, a cancelled animated series by Jeffrey Thomas and Celeste Green.
Photo courtesy Jeff and Celeste! Blog

     While the idea of combining the usual grittiness of the Batman mythos with what looks almost like an animated Freaks and Geeks might be a divisive idea, it could have been really interesting. The concept art is incredible -- especially those character designs on Bruce, Harley, and Killer Croc -- and the DC execs knew it. In fact, Thomas explained in a blog post, "[W]e were approached to create a spec series based off of an old drawing of mine that we then sent to DC," which is shown below.
Photo courtesy Jeff and Celeste!
     What kind of show would this have been? The synopsis gives us a clue:
We all go through incredible changes as teenagers: growth spurts, bad skin, a sudden insatiable need to uphold justice and avenge your murdered parents…. Well, that is if you’re Bruce Wayne.
As if being a freshman at Gotham High wasn’t tough enough, Bruce’s insomnia and technological fascinations are taking their toll. Instead of spending his time studying, he has begun to obsess over an emerging personality trait: Batman. But under the watchful eye of his guardian and steward, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce is forced to put his intelligence to good use: graduating high school. But given his classmates, can Bruce survive Gotham High?
     The thing is, it's difficult to tell whether this show would lean more into the comedy or drama aspects. From this and other concept art, we can see that each character is assigned to the high school stereotype that fits them best: Riddler and Penguin are always getting picked on by Killer Croc and Bane, Harvey Dent is running for class president, Poison Ivy is the popular girl, Scarecrow and Joker are the emo kids, Harley loves Joker, Clayface probably takes his acting career waaaaayyyyy too seriously, and Batgirl and Catwoman seem to be in some kind of love triangle with Bruce. That could lead to a hilarious and interesting dynamic on its own, but when you add in that Bruce is becoming Batman, more questions arise.
     Are the teen villains actually criminals in this show? Does Batman have to physically fight them, or at least thwart their schemes, or is it more of dealing with their drama? Would the show deal with the emotional weight of, say, the murder of Bruce's parents or the disfigurement of Harvey Dent, or is the point of the show to have some fun with the Batman rogues?
     It's difficult to age an adult superhero down, but it has been done skillfully before. I'll admit, I was skeptical about Iron Man: Armored Adventures following the adventures of a teenage Tony Stark, but it turned out to be one of the best animations Marvel ever created. The show made sure to explore the double life aspects of being a superhero (something the original Iron Man comics played with) and to have young Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper mostly go up against adults. It wasn't a school for superheroes, it was a normal school that just happened to have Tony Stark. The stories refused to pull punches when it came to mature themes, but it also handled them with restraint. Maybe Gotham High would have been like that, maybe not. Either way, I would have loved to see this series.
     However, it seems the concept didn't truly fade away. DC currently has a web series called DC Superhero Girls which shows characters from the DC universe in high school, and though I have yet to see it, it seems to be incredibly popular. DC also has a book called Study Hall of Justice which has a similar premise, except instead of high school, our heroes are in middle school. Batman has all of the same angst and trust issues, but this time the rage of the Dark Knight is coursing through the veins of a preteen.

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