When the third season of Gotham came to an end, it was with the striking image of a young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) suited up as a masked vigilante, standing on the roof of a building, and looking over his city after stopping a crime for the first time. It was undoubtedly the beginning of Batman that many fans of the FOX series had been waiting for.

In season four, Gotham is taking the character’s growth one step further and it’s on full display in an exclusive featurette previewing the show’s return.”We see this last moment where Bruce takes on the responsibility of protecting the people of Gotham who can’t protect themselves,” Mazouz said of the final moments of season three. “The importance, the significance of that moment–of Bruce Wayne putting on a mask and stopping crime for the first time–was chilling. Going into season four, Bruce Wayne is going to embrace that and really start to be a masked vigilante.”

Chances are, embracing that lifestyle is going to be a bit painful for the teen billionaire. After all, Batman has body armor, high tech gadgets and a really cool car to help keep him safe while he does battle with some of the most legendary villains in the history of comics. Meanwhile, this young Bruce has a leather jacket, a hoodie, and a lot of attitude to guide him in jumping through windows and beating up thugs. While saving his city is a noble cause and one central to the character, he’s bound to wind up with a few scars and some very tough lessons learned after coming face-to-face with iconic baddies like Scarecrow, who will be haunting Gotham when it returns.

However, given this season’s subtitle is “A Dark Knight,” don’t expect something like a supervillain spraying fear gas at people to slow down Bruce’s evolution into Batman. It’s his destiny.

How excited are you to see Bruce Wayne become a vigilante when Gotham season four premieres Thursday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on FOX? What other classic Batman villains do you hope the series tackles? Sound off in the comments below or tweet me at @ChrisHayner!

Images: FOX

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