Gotham Season 1 threw a lot at Jim Gordon and the other protagonists, and while they survived those events, things aren’t going to get better in Season 2. Batman may not be on the scene yet, but his future adversaries are already getting started wreaking havoc across Gotham City, as seen in this new, chaotic preview.



The 30-second promo for Gotham’s sophomore season relegates Jim and the other good guys to the side in favor of spotlighting the rise of the villains. Headlining the act is the cackling Jerome, a.k.a. the future Joker—or so we’re led to believe. In the preview, he and several other prisoners have broken free of their straightjackets and escaped Arkham Asylum with the help of Tabitha Galavan. That would be bad enough on its own, but Jerome later gets ahold of a police officer’s uniform and is causing a ruckus at the police department. Don’t worry, though. As Jerome exclaims over security footage, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” The psychopathic teenager’s demeanor may freak out most people, but Season 2 main antagonist Theo Galavan approves of his maniacal laugh, suggesting that he “use that.”

The promo also checks in on a few of the main players from last season. Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. The Penguin, has become one of the most powerful criminals in Gotham City thanks to his competitors being dead, missing or retired. After being corrupted by The Ogre last season, Jim's ex-fiancée Barbara Kean has joined the dark side and is working with Jerome and the other villains. Penguin is living the good life as Gotham’s leading criminal figure, with most of his competition being retired, missing or dead. Edward Nygma is still working at the GCPD, and it’s ironic for him to tell someone else that everyone will think they’re nuts considering that his sanity broke at the end of Season 1. Victor Zsasz is also still on the prowl, but in a city like Gotham, there’s always a need for hitmen.

Whatever the villains get up to in Gotham Season 2, whether it’s killing innocents or throwing money in the streets, the GCPD is going to have a hell of a time stopping their reign of terror. If all of the above evildoers weren’t enough for you, other villains that will be gracing the series this season include Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Mad Hatter, Hugo Strange, Calendar Man and a female Firefly. No wonder this city is eventually going to need a vigilante dressed like a bat in the future.

The villains will cause mass panic when Gotham Season 2 premieres on Monday, September 21 on Fox.