Most of the comics-based TV shows on the CW and Fox have reached their season finales, and teases abound for their fall returns. All are worth noting, but Fox's "Gotham" takes the "Holy bat-crap!" award. "Gotham" has gotten crazier and crazier with each succeeding episode, and is worth watching for that reason alone. But even this season — accurately subtitled "Mad City" — outdid itself with the two-hour Season 3 finale on June 5.
With spoiler alerts in place, let's take a look:
'Gotham'
The most obvious place to begin is the revelation that Butch Gilzean (Drew Powell) is really named Cyrus Gold. Since Butch was shot in the forehead (by Barbara Kean) and is in a coma, that might seem irrelevant. But Butch's brain-dead condition is precisely why his real name is important — because Cyrus Gold is the comic book character who becomes Solomon Grundy. Appropriately, the "Cyrus Gold" revelation happened on a Monday. Expect "Butch" to start shambling around as Solomon Grundy soon after the new season premieres this fall.
Speaking of Barbara Kean (Erin Richards), she also seemed to meet her end on the season finale, electrocuted by former lover Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas). On any other show, that would mean this popular character was gone for good. But revenants are not only possible on "Gotham," but almost commonplace, thanks to the machinations of Prof. Hugo Strange (BD Wong). Why would Barbara come back? Well, David Mazouz (who plays Bruce Wayne) told moviepilot.com on May 30 that Harley Quinn would appear in the season finale, and nobody else seems to be a candidate. If nothing else, Kean could return as a Harley Quinn prototype, just as Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan) was a Joker prototype.
As Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) said earlier this season, "Doesn't anyone die in Gotham anymore?"
'Supergirl'
The finale showed us yet another survivor rocketed from Krypton in the planet's final moments. References to "blood" and "reign" assure us that this Season 3's big bad will be a Supergirl antagonist named Reign (Odette Anabelle). In the comics, she is a human weapon deemed a "Worldkiller," and was developed by Kara's father, Zor-El.
'The Flash'
Various references to "Devoe" indicate that the Season 4 villain will be Clifford "The Thinker" Devoe, who has been a bad guy in DC Comics since fighting the original Flash (Jay Garrick) in 1943. The Thinker has had several distinct iterations, so it will be interesting to see which version (or parts of versions) will appear when the show returns Oct. 10. At least he's not another speedster!
'Legends of Tomorrow'
"Legends" will add a character named Zari Adrianna Tomaz (Tala Ashe) when Season 3 premieres Oct. 10, a Muslim-American "gray hat" hacker from 2030. She's better known to comics fans as the superheroine Isis — although I'll bet good money that code name won't be used, due to current events in the Mideast. "Adrianna Tomaz" is an homage to "Andrea Thomas," the secret identity of the character on the live-action "Isis" that aired on Saturday mornings in the 1970s.
