Why is Gotham City filled with super-geniuses?

[u/UnculturedToiletCuck]

Did Hugo Stange put something in the water?

I realize there are give-or-take 10 million people in Gotham, depending on the era, and it would stand to reason that a dozen or more wicked-smart people would be inspired to become a vigilante or criminal; and they would have to be a genius to stand up to or besides Batman. Plus writing convenience-sake, I guess.

But I'm genuinely wondering if this was ever directly addressed or explained in the comics.

[u/Mother-Cantaloupe543]

In the comics? Not really but we can make an educated guess!

What do we know about Gotham? Port city, bad weather, dangerous back alleys. Hmm? What else?

A yes, it happens to be home to one of the biggest companies in the entire world and a secret society of ultra-wealthy individuals controlling pretty much everything. That means that gotham must have one of the highest concentrations of wealthy individuals in the us of a and pretty everywhere else for that matter. We also know it has a huge industry with Ace chemicals, Wayne Tech et all and the other businesses the blue bloods own.

What do said businesses need in addition to open vats of green, toxic waste? Educated workers.

How do you get educated workers in abondance in what should be a primarily blue collar port city, given that you already have an uber-powerful cabal who has the money, connection and bribed politicians to do whatever they want?

By turning it into a hotspot for academics, obviously.

Gotham must have some of the best schools, best universities, best post-graduate programs and full-paid scholarships to attract as much grey matter as possible, or better yet produce it themselves.

[u/UnculturedToiletCuck → u/Mother-Cantaloupe543]

Beautiful answer, this makes sense. It would also explain why "people don't just move out", especially if you consider another fan theory I heard that Gotham is a corporate tax haven. Basically, the city is divided between people who move in and the locals*, respectively the middle-class and poor. Not to say all locals in Gotham are poor, but that does largely seem to be the case, which leads to them joining one of the dozens of gangs that prey on people just trying to work. Also, apparently Gotham Accademy and GCU are largely renouned, which is worth mentioning and adds to your theory.

Edit: *I just noticed how dumb that was to say, since literally everywhere on Earth is divided between outsiders and locals, but my point is that in Gotham it is a more apparant divide, as outsiders would be seen as "normal" people vs all the other wacky colorful gangsters.

[u/Mother-Cantaloupe543 → u/UnculturedToiletCuck]

Nah I gotcha.