Entertainment

Will 'Gotham's Jack Gruber Be The Electrocutioner?

by Kayla Hawkins

I think Gotham's best sequence so far was last week's cold open to "Rogue's Gallery." It had the gothic feeling of a classic Batman: The Animated Series episode, and clunky dialogue aside (geez, did they feel the need to give Isaiah Whitlock, Jr. every bad boss cliche in the book?), it quickly communicated the new status quo in Arkham Asylum. But that status quo was thrown off immediately by the escape of electrical genius Jack Gruber, who could become the Electrocutioner, if the preview for the next episode of Gotham is to be believed. Not to brag, but I did predict that Gruber's background matched up with the Electrocutioner's powers… but I also underestimated how quickly Gotham was going to come back with a bang. So if Gruber is going to adopt the Electrocutioner's identity, it will be soon. The Electrocutioner is a bit of a madman, but his origin story doesn't intimately involve Arkham.

Gruber is also developing the Eletrocutioner's electric powers. During the inmates' performance of Shakespeare's The Tempest, Gruber did not take kindly to the "Frogman" and his violent interruption. And minutes later, the Frogman was attacked, turned from a violent inmate into a vegetable. Facilitated by the assistance of "Nurse" Dorothy Duncan (who, in the only unwelcome twist, turned out to be an escaped patient who was just acting like a nurse — this made no sense), Gruber was able to use his abilities as an untrained surgeon/electrical genius to give twisted lobotomies to his victims. But before he becomes the real Electrocutioner, there are a few things Jack Gruber will need to do.

Build a New Suit

In the comics, the Electrocutioner builds himself a superpowered suit that lets him deliver a sharp shock of electricity by grabbing a victim with one glove, or complete the circuit and kill them by using both gloves. Right now, Gruber's weapon of choice is his crude version of electroshock therapy. But his first move now that he's escaped might be to find a hideout and develop his first suit.

Become a Vigilante

The original Electrocutioner was a vigilante just like Batman, except he was devoid of a moral code and killed criminals, forcing the Dark Knight to find him and take him down as his body count started to mount. While we got a slight hint of that in "Rouge's Gallery," when he took out Frogman for his undesirable behavior, we haven't heard what Gruber's plans are.

Have an Equally Evil Family

In the original comics, the Electrocutioner I was the vigilante, but his descendants took over as Electrocutioners II and III. Electrocutioner III, Lester Buchinsky, was a killer for hire who used the electric suit to carry out contract killings, in a perversion of his brother's original ideas. Instead of a brother, perhaps he could have an estranged son who takes up the mantle to honor his old man? Then, Gordon would be able to put Gruber away without messing with the comics' continuity.

Image: Nicole Rivelli/FOX