Is Gotham slowly finding its groove? Even thought the Batman himself won’t appear in the new DC Entertainment show, his vast rogues gallery is slowly but surely factoring into the turf war that’s erupting between Jada Pinkett Smith’s Fish Mooney and John Doman’s Carmine Falcone. In its most recent episode (“Selina Kyle”), the series name-checked the infamous rogue rehabilitation center Arkham Asylum for the very first time, along with the New 52’s Dollmaker. Next week’s episode (“The Balloonman”) ups the ante by introducing self-mutilating serial killer Victor Zsasz (who first appeared in 1992’s Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1) and gives us a whiff of Gotham’s infamous Arkham City region. Here’s the trailer.

The balloon killings are classic Dark Knight stuff, the kind of mirthful macabre imagery that’s played a role in Batman comics since the character was created in the 1930s. Just watching a man soar to his death on a child’s plaything gives me hope that Gotham knows what it must be in order to satiate hardcore Bat fans. My appetite is further whetted by the gallery of images we’ve just received from the episode, images that you can view below. I’m especially digging how the Penguin looks like a deranged version of a very different kind of comic-book mainstay — Archie Andrews’ pal Jughead. It’s nice to see him finding work as what looks like a short-order cook. But why do I get the feeling that Oswald’s new job isn’t going to work out so well? Meanwhile, Fish Mooney continues her parade of sheer badassery. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for her.

“The Balloonman” airs Monday, October 6 at 8 PM ET/PT on Fox.

Images: Fox