How does Gotham's economy work?
How does it simultaneously support like 10 criminal master mind organizations, various ultra scientist and multi-billion dollar companies?
Is there a massive wing of the city that is just drug addicts living off the dole? Is it a major port city that specializes in importing drugs and goons?
Has this ever been really explored? What keeps normal people from moving away from a city that seems to be 90% burglars?
Gotham mines batcoins from metropolis gaming pc's
I assume Gotham is like what happened to US cities in the 60s-90s.
Whites left the city to the suburbs for a bigger home and a better environment in a self perpetuating cycle leaving inner-cities squalid and filled with poor minorities with little opportunity for good paying jobs, naturally leading to an increase in illicit and violent activities. Despite this there remain some very important industries that many family's livelihoods depend on, and they scrape by, even if they depend on a little graft and corruption to fill the leaks.
But this is a comic world so instead of gangs entirely of poor minorities in a bad situation trying to get a leg up in the world and of hardworking family men who resort to graft and facilitating crime out of necessity for their wife and kids, which would reflect the real world would be perceived as too racist and morally ambiguous, you get these 1930s era prohibition inspired organizations who are evil and greedy simply for the sake of it, making perfect targets for Batman to take down and be a hero.
outsourcing
>>78783585
I always assumed it worked the same a cities on a oil boom, like Houston. Super high crime rates with excessive spending.
>>78783986
What a delightful thread
>>78783585
Gotham is a port city.
If you want to smuggle something into the country, or out of it, you go to Gotham.
Criminals that control the city can make a living just by taking transit "fees". Or start their own operations since they can move things in and out.
It's like Long Beach
>>78783585
Probably similar to how Chicago's economy works
>>78783585
Apparently, Gotham is like its very own city state/country with an economy independent of the rest of the state/country.
Not saying it's canon, but in Batman Begins, Ra's plan is to take down Gotham for being degenerate. He doesn't want to take out the US, just one city. And his original plan for taking it down is by ruining its economy.
This doesn't make sense for 2 reasons. Usually, you blame an entire country for the views of it's citizens. Not a particular city. It makes more sense when people say, "The French hate Americans" as opposed to "The French hate New Yorkers." If Gotham was it's own country, you could very well have the sentiment, "Europeans hate Gothamites."
The second reason this doesn't make sense is that cities typically don't have self-contained economies. They support and are supported by adjacent cities/towns by means of people commuting or traveling between cities. People may work in Gotham, but live in Metropolis. People may still bring money to Gotham without living there, or they may bring employment to Gotham without living there. Also, a city also supports and is supported by the state it is in. New York state (I'm guessing that's the state Gotham would be in) is probably subsidizing some roads, a university, and other services and institutions in Gotham. Those wouldn't go under because they are paid for by New York. A city can collapse, but it would take decades.
It doesn't make for Ra's economic plan to target one city. He would have to economically collapse an entire region/state to be effective. The only way this make sense is if Gotham is it's own state, OR it's own country.
Consider that Gotham was inspired by the city seen in the film Metropolis, which iirc has a population between 50 - 100 million people. This is a good size larger than the largest population city in the world Tokyo, which has 38 million. If Gotham does have a comparable amount of people, it could be it's own country.
>>78783875
well this deserves a slow clap
>>78783585
>How does it simultaneously support like 10 criminal master mind organizations, various ultra scientist and multi-billion dollar companies?
Just going with the Italians, NYC has five major crime syndicates that have a combined total of approximately 650 made men and 7,000 associates. If anything, going by recent Catwoman storylines, Gotham has a comparatively small mafia presence.
>>78783585
Kind of weird how despite Gotham's huge economic power the US government literally abandoned it during No Man's Land (they actually did worse than abandon it, they declared it no longer part of the US and wouldn't even let anyone go in and help).
And in Arkham Knight they don't care that foreign militias took over and that a terrorist is threatening to release a WMD that would hit the entire Eastern Seabord.
>>78789359
> NYC has five major crime syndicates that have a combined total of approximately 650 made men and 7,000 associates
what do they do? I'm genuinely curious, I have no idea how crime networks make enough money for that level of manpower and bribes
>>78789445
Sam Lane ate up all the budget with his anti-Superman efforts.
>>78789475
Then why waste even more budget by building a wall around the entire city and setting up armed guards around it to shoot anyone that goes in or out? If money is the issue just leave it alone and let them do whatever
>>78789445
>And in Arkham Knight they don't care that foreign militias took over and that a terrorist is threatening to release a WMD that would hit the entire Eastern Seabord.
Man, I can only imagine what Fox News would say about Obama if that hapened
>>78789472
Despite what the media presents, most of those guys have actual jobs. Its only when you start reach management do you run into guys who have jobs on paper, but collect a salary without actually going to work.
>>78789445
I haven't read the No man's land arc yet, is it any good?
>>78789508
Gotta field test those anti-Superman walls sometime.
>>78783875
Nice.
>>78789630
It has some good stories and some meh ones since it was written by multiple writers.
Cassandra Cain debuted there.
>>78783585
>How does Gotham's economy work?
>>78789860
Do I start with Contagion and Legacy? Are these collected in any of the No Man's Land tpb?
>>78790110
Contagion and Legacy are their own story arc. No Man's Land starts with Cataclysm, as it's a direct result of the earthquake.
>>78789521
>Obama goes golfing while foreign terrorists take over American city
>Terrorists nearly release Biological Weapon against america! This wouldn't have happened under Bush!
>Donald Trump praises Bruce Wayne's heroic actions "Proof that rich guys can be heroes, who stand up when Big Government abandons us"
>>78790653
oh, I thought Contagion and Legacy was the buildup to Cataclysm. Thanks.
>>78789620
Because they have other wok, see.
>>78790974
Press then talks about Bruce Wayne for the next few weeks since Trump leads the media around by the nose.
