Gotham returns tonight for its fourth season with an opening arc appropriately titled "A Dark Knight," as it traces the beginning of Bruce Wayne's career as the city's masked protector (but don't expect anyone to actually call him Batman). For most dramas, such an iconic tale would be the main storyline, driving much of the 22-episode season. However, this is Gotham, which furiously spins multiple plots like so many plates, threatening to fly off and strike the audience at any given time.

RELATED: How Gotham Season 4 Can Be Saved From Itself

In addition to Bruce's journey, there's Selina Kyle's almost-parallel rise, Oswald Cobblepot's scheme to control the city's underworld, Edward Nygma's virtually inevitable attempt at revenge, the return of Jonathan Crane as the Scarecrow, the arrival of DC Comics villain Professor Pyg, and whatever it is Ra's al Ghul has planned from the shadows. And that's only for starters.

A frenetic Season 3 dramatically altered the landscape of the city, as the Tetch virus unleashed the darkness within anyone it infected, Bruce Wayne was replaced with a clone, Nathaniel Barnes was transformed into the murderous Executioner (hand blown off, his whereabouts are unknown), the Court of Owls was decimated, Ivy Pepper was (weirdly) aged to adulthood, Butch Gilzean was revealed to be ... someone else, and Fish Mooney exited stage left, this time for good.

With so much happening on Gotham, it may be difficult to keep track of where the key players are as the Fox drama heads into Season 4. Therefore, we bring you up to date below.


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Jim Gordon

Jim Gordon has run the gauntlet in the first three seasons of Gotham. Introduced as a fresh-faced homicide detective to the city's criminal underbelly, he fakes to death of (then) low-level criminal Oswald Cobblepot, learns his fiancée Barbara Kean is a murderer, murders corrupt billionaire Theo Galavan only to be framed for another, becomes a bounty hunter, rejoins the Gotham City Police Department, learns his late father was a member of the Court of Owls and then joins the secret society in order to bring it down from within, and infects himself with the Tetch virus, which brings a person's deepest desires to the surface, and imbues him with super-strength even as it drives him insane.

jim gordon on gotham

Woven into much of that madness is Jim's roller-coaster relationship with Dr. Lee Thompkins, an Arkham Asylum physician turned Gotham medical examiner. The two were engaged, only for them to break off their relationship when Jim was framed by Edward Nygma. By the time Gordon had cleared his name, Lee had already gotten engaged to Mario Calvi, son of mob boss Carmine Falcone. Mario is infected with the Tetch toxin on their wedding day and attacks Lee, only to be killed by Jim. Later injecting herself with the Tetch virus, Lee is cured in the Season 3 finale by Jim and leaves Gotham.

Bruce Wayne

Bruce Wayne on Gotham

Kidnapped by the Court of Owls and replaced by a doppelganger, Bruce Wayne spends a significant part of the third season being trained, and brainwashed, by the mysterious Sensei to become Gotham City's protector. Alfred Pennyworth rescues Bruce and kills the Sensei, who nevertheless detonates the Tetch virus, throwing the city into chaos. Still in the thrall of the Sensei, Bruce escapes police custody to seek out the Demon's Head to complete his training and fulfill his purported destiny as the protector of Gotham and the heir of Ra's al Ghul.

Ordered by Ra's to kill a captive Alfred, Bruce stabs his father figure, an act that breaks the Court's control over him. At the urging of Ra's himself, Bruce uses water from what's almost certainly a Lazarus Pit to save Alfred, who convinces him to find his "true north," and let that guide him. Seemingly fulfilling Ra's al Ghul's desire to see him to become his "knight in the darkness," Bruce embraces a new role as Gotham's masked vigilante. He'll continue that journey in Season 4, with some assistance from Lucius Fox.

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Oswald Cobblepot

Ironically, given the sometimes-spineless nature of the character, Oswald Cobblepot's rise and fall and rise again forms as much of the spine of Gotham as does Jim Gordon's meandering path to redemption and Bruce Wayne's path to becoming the Dark Knight. An undisputed master, and all-too-frequent victim, of the art of the double-cross, the once and future Penguin clawed his way from Fish Mooney's umbrella boy to crime lord to mayor of Gotham.

Oswald Cobblepot on Gotham

But Oswald spent much of Season 3 at war with Edward Nygma, his one-time ally and (unrequited) love interest turned chief rival. After a series of twists and turns, Cobblepot ended up once more on the edge of a Gotham pier, seemingly about to be murdered by The Riddler. But the ever-calculating Penguin outsmarted Nygma, leaving Victor Fries to turn his enemy into an ice sculpture -- the perfect centerpiece for the grand opening of the Iceberg Lounge, and a reminder not to allow love to cloud his judgment.

Edward Nygma

Frozen Riddler on Gotham

Ah, poor Edward Nygma. The awkward, lovelorn forensic scientist struggled against his darkest urges, only to become a murderer -- OK, serial killer -- and a master manipulator who now prefers to be addressed as The Riddler (for the record, Oswald Cobblepot refuses to call him that). Allying himself with Cobblepott, Nygma helps him to get elected as mayor of Gotham, and is named as chief of staff in return.

It's likely their partnership was doomed from the start. However, it's jealousy that tore it apart, as Cobblepot ordered a hit on Nygma's girlfriend, which became a declaration of all-out war -- with Nygma, Barbara Kean, Tabitha Galavan and Butch Gilzean on one side, and Cobblepot, Ivy Pepper, Victor Fries and Bridgit Pike on the other. Just when it seemed Nygma would rid himself of Cobblepot for good at the end of Season 3, the tables were turned, and Nygma was left as nothing but frozen decor for the Iceberg Lounge. Odds are, he won't remain on ice for long, though.

Barbara Kean

Barbara Kean on Gotham

Gotham is frequently cruel to its residents, and there's perhaps no greater testament to that than Barbara Kean, wealthy gallery owner and ex-fiancée of Jim Gordon turned Arkham Asylum inmate and gangster. As if attempts on her life weren't enough, she became romantically involved with a man who turned out to be a serial killer, who kidnapped and brainwashed her, then forced her to murder her own parents. Psychologically shattered by the experience, she was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, only to escape as part of a botched attempt to kill Jim that ended with her in a wedding dress, and in a coma.

Later released from Arkham by Hugo Strange, Barbara opened The Sirens nightclub with business and romantic partner Tabitha Galavan, and the two join with Edward Nygma and Butch Gilzean to destroy Oswald Cobblepot's criminal empire, with the intention of her becoming queen of the underworld. At the end of Season 3, she seemingly killed Butch -- of course, we know he's coming back in a different form -- after learning that he and Tabitha were plotting to betray her. In turn, Barbara was electrocuted in a fight with Tabitha and (again) seemingly killed. However, Barbara is depicted on the Season 4 poster and, briefly, in the latest trailer, so apparently that didn't take.

Butch Gilzean (aka Cyrus Gold)

Butch Gilzean on Gotham

One of the biggest twists of the Season 3 finale wasn't the shooting of Butch Gilzean by Barbara Kean, but rather the subsequent revelation that the mob enforcer's real name is Cyrus Gold, better known to DC Comics fans as Solomon Grundy. Shot point-blank in the head, the longtime henchman (first to Fish Mooney, then to Oswald Cobblepot and, finally, to Barbara) was left comatose, laying the groundwork for him to return as the super-strong zombie.

Gotham's producers have made no secret that's going to happen in Season 4, and in spectacularly comic book fashion: When Gotham General Hospital needs to free up beds, administrators simply dump the vegetative Butch into Slaughter Swamp. He'll reemerge from its murky waters in a new form, and with a new (and unlikely) ally: Edward Nygma.

Ivy Pepper

poison ivy on gotham

During a season in which Gotham's proto-Joker Jerome had his face removed, reattached, and then literally punched off by Jim Gordon, the aging of Ivy Pepper still may be the weirdest, and potentially creepiest, development. Introduced in the pilot as an abused child, she was orphaned when her mentally unstable father was shot dead while attempting to kill Jim, and her mother committed suicide shortly thereafter. A friend and ally of Selina Kyle, Ivy encountered Bruce Wayne's doppelganger, subject 514A from Indian Hill, and ran afoul of a resurrected Fish Mooney, who feared the girl would reveal her plans. Fish ordered fellow Indian Hill escapee to use his aging power to kill Ivy, who escaped but fell into a drain pipe and was swept away by the current.

However, Ivy emerged from the water as a fully grown woman. She later revealed herself, in her new form, to Selina, and rescued Oswald Cobblepot after he was shot by Edward Nygma and thrown off a pier. After nursing Oswald back to health, she helped him to recruit "an army of freaks," Victor Fries and Bridgit Pike, so he could exact revenge. At the end of the season, Ivy went to the aid of an injured Selina, and used her plants to heal her friend following her encounter with 514A, and helped Oswald to develop the Iceberg Lounge.

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Selina Kyle

An orphaned thief with ever-shifting alliances -- Fish Mooney, Oswald Cobblepot, Bruce Wayne, herself? -- Selina Kyle has proved time and again that, above all else, she's a survivor. No longer the "helpless" street urchin saved from kidnappers by Jim Gordon, she's been an important ally not only to him but also to Bruce, whom she helps to save on more than one occasion.

Selina Kyle on Gotham

When she threatens to expose Bruce Wayne's clone, Subject 514A, to Alfred Pennyworth in Season 3, Selina is pushed out a window and her body swarmed by stray cats in an homage to 1992's Batman Returns. She's found by police and taken to a hospital, where Ivy Pepper nurses her back to health with the help of her plants. Her relationship with Bruce strained, Selina turns to Tabitha Galavan, and tries her hand at the bullwhip, saying that she's "done just surviving"; she wants something more out of life.

Harvey Bullock

harvey bullock on Gotham

In a city whose corrupting influence is virtually inescapable, Harvey Bullock has somehow climbed his way out of Gotham's gutters. Introduced in Season 1 as a crooked cop as likely to beat a suspect as he is to do the bidding of Fish Mooney, Bullock nevertheless becomes a loyal partner and valued mentor to Jim Gordon.

After being demoted, Bullock resigned from the Gotham City Police Department and found work as a bartender. However, he rejoined the force following an attack on the precinct for the group of ex-Arkham Asylum inmates known as The Maniax, and became acting captain after Nathaniel Barnes was hospitalized. He remains in that position at the end of Season 3, where he's reunited with Jim, now free of the Tetch virus.

Alfred Pennyworth & Lucius Fox

Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox on Gotham

Bruce Wayne moved a giant step toward becoming Batman in the Season 3 finale, when he took to heart the words of a hospitalized Alfred Pennyworth, who said, "Find something you really care about, and you protect it at all costs, and when you find it, you'll never be lost again." Alfred was undoubtedly meaning a person, but Bruce's "true north" turns out to be Gotham itself, and in the final moments of the season, the teen donned a mask to begin his crusade against crime.

As Bruce sets off on that perilous path, we'll see Alfred moving from guardian and mentor to a more familiar role, as (occasionally reluctant) operational support, moral compass and master of excuses ("Rock-climbing!").  Likewise, tech genius Lucius Fox, the former Wayne Enterprises executive turned GCPD science expert, will quickly learn Bruce's secret, and become the young vigilante's armorer.

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Fish Mooney

One of the big surprises of Gotham's first season was the death -- OK, make that "death" -- of mobster and nightclub owner Fish Mooney at the hands of her former umbrella boy Oswald Cobblepot. (If we've learned anything in three seasons, it's that a "watery grave" is hardly ever that.) Fish's body was recovered and stored at the Indian Hill facility beneath Arkham Asylum, where she was revived through the experiments of Hugo Strange, which imbued her with the ability to control those with whom she came in contact.

Fish Mooney on Gotham

Escaping Arkham with some of her fellow Indian Hill test subjects, Fish hatched a plan to force Strange to create more monsters to form her new gang, and eventually left Gotham with him, ordered by Oswald not to come back. However she did return, and saved Oswald from Edward Nygma and his allies. They schemed to have Strange create an antidote to the Tetch virus ravaging Gotham, in hopes of forcing the city to pay a ransom, but Fish was accidentally killed by an infected Jim Gordon. Fish told Oswald with her last breath that she's died too many times already, something echoed by one of the show's producers, who said the character won't be back.

The Scarecrow

Scarecrow on Gotham

Introduced in Season 1 as the son of biology teacher Gerald Crane, inventor of an anti-fear formula, the teenage Jonathan Crane as conflicted about helping his father murder people using their worst fears. Jonathan was injected by his father with a serum that was intended to eliminate all fear. However, he overdosed and was last seen strapped to a hospital bed and hallucinating that he was being stalked and attacked by a monstrous scarecrow.

Crane is back with a vengeance in Season 4, clad in a Scarecrow costume drawn directly from the comic books, terrorizing all of Gotham with his scythe and fear gas, even as Oswald Cobblepot attempts to license crime in the city as part of his plan for a "Pax Penguina."

Ra's al Ghul

After all the buildup to the introduction of Ra's al Ghul, one of Batman's most formidable adversaries, his actual arrival was a little ... anticlimactic. Appearing largely in shadow in the final two episodes of Season 3, the Demon's Head urged a brainwashed Bruce Wayne to join him as his heir and manipulated him into stabbing a captive Alfred Pennyworth before revealing that the healing (and convenient) waters of a Lazarus Pit.

After some maniacal laughter and talk of a prophecy that Bruce would become his "knight in the darkness," Ra's disappeared, leaving the future Batman to his destiny -- at least for the time being. The Demon's Head returns in Season 4, undoubtedly to continue his manipulations from behind the scenes.


Returning Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox, Gotham stars Ben McKenzie as James Gordon, Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, Robin Lord Taylor as Penguin, Cameron Bicondova as Selina Kyle, Erin Richards as Barbara Kean and Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth.