Fox has released the first full length trailer for Gotham and it looks fantastic. I’ve already made my anticipation for this series known and that enthusiasm remains unabated. It looks beautiful and there are plenty of directions for them to go in with the rich cast of characters that they’ve assembled. If Arrow is truly the example of how DC translates into television, then this show has the potential to more than live up to its promise.

While Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D has improved since Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Gotham looks like it’s hitting the ground running. They’re allowed to use actual major DC characters, albeit in their origin story form, instead of having to write around them. You’ll never have to wonder “Why wouldn’t Batman just come in and solve all of this?” because Batman is a child. While DC/Warner Bros. is trying way too hard to assemble the Justice League in order to compete with The Avengers that Marvel/Disney carefully assembled in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this actually works to Gotham‘s advantage over S.H.I.E.L.D.. They don’t have as much to live up to or explain away.

My optimism still remains cautious because Fox was recently up to old tricks, airing episodes of Almost Human and Enlisted out of order and never giving them a chance to build an audience. This just means that I can almost contain my enthusiasm because this looks gorgeous.

Also, I’ll admit that I have a huge Ben Mackenzie crush.