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  1. BATMAN GOTHAM: DC EXPANDED
  3. Lore

LORE PAGE III-B — GOVERNMENT & POWER STRUCTURE OF GOTHAM (1900–1980)

LORE PAGE III-B — GOVERNMENT & POWER STRUCTURE OF GOTHAM (1900–1980)

“A city ruled by power, not by law.”

I. THE MAYOR’S OFFICE — A MASK WORN BY MANY, CONTROLLED BY FEW

Across Gotham’s entire history, the mayor is not a leader —
he is a pawn.

Who controls the mayor?

  1. The Court of Owls — historically the real rulers of Gotham.

  2. Falcone & Maroni Crime Families — especially mid-20th century.

  3. Corporate blocs tied to Cobblepot, Elliot, Kane, and other elite families.

Mayors in the Golden Wayne Era (Realistic overview):

  • Publicly elected

  • Privately owned

  • Surrounded by bribery, threats, and “disappearances”

  • Typically soft on organized crime

  • Often beholden to donations from Wayne, Cobblepot, Elliot, and Falcone networks

  • Mayors who resist the Court or the mob often suffer “accidents”

Impact on Bruce Wayne’s childhood:

Thomas Wayne was frequently at odds with the mayors of his time, pushing for reforms they refused to prioritize due to criminal pressure.

This tension sets the stage for Batman’s later distrust of Gotham politics.

II. GCPD — A DEPARTMENT BUILT ON CORRUPTION, HELD TOGETHER BY FEW GOOD MEN

GCPD in this era is not a safe institution.

Key traits of GCPD (1900–1980):

  • Officers often bought their positions

  • Payoffs from Maroni & Falcone were normal

  • The Court placed key “watchmen” in upper ranks

  • Internal Affairs was a joke

  • Corruption spread through precincts like a plague

Yet within this cesspool, some true heroes existed, such as:

  • Early Gordon-like figures

  • Honest beat cops

  • Idealistic detectives

  • Reformers supported by Martha & Thomas Wayne

GCPD is Gotham in microcosm:

**90% broken

10% holding the line**

It remains the perfect environment for Batman’s future involvement:
a system too corrupt to rely on, but too important to abandon.

III. THE COURT OF OWLS — THE TRUE RULERS OF GOTHAM’S GOVERNMENT

The Court operates not like a mafia, but like:

  • A shadow legislature

  • A private senate

  • A cabal of generational wealth

  • A secret aristocracy

How they control government:

1. Placement of puppets

Mayors, judges, and commissioners are chosen, not elected.

2. Blackmail networks

They possess secrets on every major political player.

3. Economic leverage

They control banks, zoning, railroads, and unions via shell companies.

4. Selective assassination

Talon eliminations remove any threat to Court stability.

5. Psychological terror

Legends of the Owls keep old families obedient.

After retreating in 1900, they remain silent but influential —
like termites in Gotham’s foundations.

IV. THE LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS — A GHOSTLY OUTSIDE FORCE

The League backs off because:

  • They believe the Lazarus Pit is destroyed

  • They no longer see Gotham as a spiritual battleground

  • They consider Gotham “unsalvageable”

  • They focus on global targets instead

However, they maintain distant observation, watching for:

  • Industrial damage

  • Environmental decay

  • Pit reactivation

  • Shifts in political power

  • Evidence of Court manipulation

This creates a perfect setup for future League involvement in your campaign.

V. ORGANIZED CRIME — THE OPEN SECRET

By the 1950s, Gotham’s true hierarchy looks like this:

1. The Court of Owls

Silent rulers, long-term planners.

2. Old Money Families (Wayne, Cobblepot, Elliot, Kane)

Economic giants, political influencers.

3. The Mafia (Falcone, Maroni, Bertinelli)

Street enforcers, drug networks, illegal unions, corruption engines.

4. City Hall

Public face but no power.

5. GCPD

Divided between corruption and honor.

6. The Press

Several newspapers bought by criminals or silenced by fear.

This is the Gotham Bruce grows up in —
a city where everything is connected, and everything is rotting.

VI. HOW THIS SHAPES BRUCE WAYNE’S FUTURE

Bruce witnesses:

  • Mayors making empty promises

  • Police intimidated or bought

  • Judges letting criminals walk

  • Social elites ignoring Gotham’s suffering

  • Thomas Wayne fighting a hopeless war against corruption

  • Martha Wayne directly funding GCPD reform and shelters

  • Elliot family wearing the mask of respectability

  • Cobblepots losing influence and turning bitter

Gotham teaches Bruce that:

**Justice cannot be entrusted to institutions.

Only to individuals.**

This is the philosophical origin of Batman.