Are the Cities In the DC Universe Allegorical?
Are the cities in DC Comics films and TV series allegorical in nature?
For example:
Is Gotham City considered to be an allegory of New York City/Brooklyn
Central City the allegorical Kansas City/Detroit/Chicago?
Metropolis the allegorical Boston/Philadelphia?
Star City the allegorical Pittsburgh?
Or are they meant to be fictional cities in the DC universe that exist next to the real US cities of New York/Boston/Philadelphia/Chicago/Detroit,etc.?
Marvel makes barely any mention of fake city names, and almost always uses real city names in their universe.
Best Answer
It is because DC already had a well fleshed out places in Metropolis and Gotham City. It would have issues on continuity if they suddenly change them. I believe they decided to keep their own city names to have more freedom in their storytelling needs.
Also worth noting that they also use real world areas in some of their books.
(eg. Wonder Woman lives in Washington DC, The Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle lives in El Paso Texas and found the scarab in Egypt)
Also, in the DC Universe Atlas, Gotham is based in an area near New Jersey, and Metropolis is in the south end of the Delaware Bay.
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Do real cities exist in the DC Universe?
While there are many Central Cities in the real United States, the one that Barry Allen runs around in both comics and CW TV show is a fictional city located on the edge of the state of Missouri (as per not only current comic book continuity, but also references in The Flash TV show and Young Justice animated series), ...What cities do Metropolis and Gotham represent?
It is commonly portrayed as having an Art Deco style of architecture, much like New York City. The skyline and many of the notable landmarks in Metropolis are based on real-life landmarks in New York City. Frank Miller has said that "Metropolis is New York in the daytime; Gotham City is New York at night."What city is Starling City based on?
Star City (Renamed to Starling City in Arrow) is located in Seattle or near Seattle. In the comics, Green Arrow moved to Seattle, so I would say Star City is very near Seattle, probably in the same state.What city does Central City represent?
Central City, like Star City, is represented by Vancouver, British Columbia. It is also represented by Portland, Oregon.Top 5 Best Cities in DC Comics
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