''Gotham Girls'' is an American Flash animated

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

focusing on several of the female characters of

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...

, produced jointly by

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...

and Noodle Soup Productions. The web series, which ran from 2000 to 2002, starred

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in i ...

, Poison Ivy, Batgirl,

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she is ...

Renee Montoya Renee Maria Montoya is a fictional character appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was created by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Mitch Brian for '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and was preemptively introduced into mainstre ...

and

Zatanna Zatanna Zatara () is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman (comic book), Hawkman'' #4 (November 1964). Zatanna is a st ...

in short stories of varying length about the daily lives of the characters. It takes place in the

DC Animated Universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU; also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans referring to the creators and producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini respectively) is a shared universe consisting primarily of superhero-based animated televis ...

, with Arleen Sorkin, Diane Pershing,

Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...

, and Bob Hastings reprising their roles from Batman the Animated Series and

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Br ...

. It is also the name of a related comic book series.

Flash animation series

''Gotham Girls'' is one of the few series of

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

animations made by a professional publisher of mainstream cartoons, and features professional voice-acting by the same actresses and actors as those who voiced the television series. Its use of Flash (and also

vector graphics Vector graphics is a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector display ...

) enables the animation to appear undistorted and unpixellated at any

resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

. However, the episodes do not tend to show the Symbols (the pieces used to create the flash) outside of the intended viewing area. For example, in Season 1 Episode 1 while the light beam on Harley continues off screen, her body is only drawn for the dimensions of the intended viewing area. Each episode features a mini-game or puzzle which can be played while the clip downloads, as well as an interactive feature which allows viewers to help a character make a certain decision. Other features of the website include downloadable trailers, screensavers, desktop backgrounds, internet chat buddy icons, as well as biographies of the characters, and an online version of the classic game Othello (aka Reversi) featuring the Gotham Girls. The screensavers, desktop backgrounds and internet chat buddy icon sites, however, no longer work, and simply redirect to the Warner Bros. website, as the Gotham Girls website also does. The series lasted for three seasons (10 episodes each), with each episode released month-by-month. While the first two seasons featured primarily comedic episodes, the third season attempted to make the show more serious. These episodes linked directly to '' Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero''. Dropping the magician

from its lineup and adding a host of new characters to the cast, including Detective Renee Montoya, each episode from this series tied into the next, forming a collective half-hour

whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the c ...

. The storyline also dealt with issues not seen since '' Batman: The Animated Series'', such as the corruption of the Gotham City Police Department, Poison Ivy's environmental crusade and Commissioner Gordon's wavering faith in costumed superheroes. The series takes place in the

DC animated universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU; also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans referring to the creators and producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini respectively) is a shared universe consisting primarily of superhero-based animated televis ...

. The series finale "Cold Hands, Cold Heart" aired in 2002, wrapping up the mystery and ending the website. The final episode was dedicated to the memory of

Hilary J. Bader Hilary Bader (1952–2002) was an American television scriptwriter and comic book writer known for her work on projects in the Batman, Superman, and Star Trek franchises, including ''Batman Beyond'', '' Superman: The Animated Series'', and '' S ...

, script writer for numerous DC Animated series, and who had died in 2002 of cancer. GothamGirls.com is no longer online, but the individual .swf files were still accessible until mid-2015. There is also a theory that when Dora fell into the chemicals, she turned into

Killer Frost Killer Frost is a name used by several female supervillains and superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics: Crystal Frost, Louise Lincoln, and Caitlin Snow. Each different individual in the DC Universe assuming the Killer Frost ...

, They also have numerous similarities like the voice actor

Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as ''Baldur's Gate'', '' Mass Effect'', '' Metal Gear Solid'', '' BioShock Infinite'', '' Metroid Prime'', ''Overwatch'', and '' Sta ...

voiced both of them, but this is highly unlikely.

Episodes

Season 1 (2000)

#"The Vault" #"Lap Bat" #"Trick or Trick" #"A Little Night Magic" #"More Than One Way" #"Precious Birthstones" #"Pave Paradise" #"The Three Babes" #"The Gardener's Apprentice" #"Lady - X"

Season 2 (2001)

#"Hold That Tiger" #"Miss Un-Congeniality" #"Strategery" #"Baby Boom" #"Cat -n- Mouse" #"Bat'ing Cleanup" #"Catsitter" #"Gotham Noir" #"Scout's Dis-Honor" #"I'm Badgirl"

Season 3 (2002)

#"Ms.-ing in Action" #"Gotham in Pink" #"Hear Me Roar" #"Gotham in Blue" #"A Cat in the Hand" #"Jailhouse Wreck" #"Honor Among Thieves" #"No, I'm Batgirl" #"Signal Fires" #"Cold Hands, Cold Heart"

Cast

* Arleen Sorkin – Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn *

– Selina Kyle / Catwoman /

* Diane Pershing – Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy *

– Barbara Gordon / Batgirl * Stacie Randall -

Zatanna Zatara Zatanna Zatara () is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman (comic book), Hawkman'' #4 (November 1964). Zatanna is a st ...

– Dora Smithy, Acting Commissioner Caroline Greenway, Detective Selma Reesedale * Bob Hastings – Commissioner James Gordon *

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...

– WGBS Anchor, Rogue Cop, Additional Voices *

Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...

- Additional Voices

Comic series

DC Comics produced a five-issue ''Gotham Girls'' comic book miniseries in 2003, written by Paul Storrie. It starred Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Batgirl, with each issue spotlighting one of these characters to a certain degree. The story, which took place in the

, involved a vial of chemicals that the three villainesses fought over, as they also tried to avoid capture by Batgirl and Detective Montoya. A three-issue miniseries, ''Batman: Harley and Ivy'', followed the continued misadventures of Harley and Ivy. *Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls (2012-02-12): includes Gotham Girls #1-5.

DVD release

The complete ''Gotham Girls'' series was included as a bonus feature on the DVD release of the ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...

'' television series, released by Warner Home Video on July 15, 2008. On the DVD, the animated episodes are presented in a linear fashion, with the interactive, decision-making option omitted.

References

; Book references *

External links

*
Gotham Girls @ The World's Finest

''Gotham Girls'' at DCAU Wiki
{{Harley Quinn DC Animated Universe web series 2000 web series debuts 2002 web series endings 2000s American animated television series Batman spin-off titles DC Comics limited series Comics based on television series American animated web series Catwoman in other media Harley Quinn in other media American flash animated web series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated drama television series American children's animated superhero television series Animated superheroine television shows Supervillain television shows Transgender-related television shows Television series by Warner Bros. Animation Animated television shows based on DC Comics