
Question: Has it ever been established that Gotham City is some sort of separate district similar to Washington D.C.? In the Dark Knight films it was pointed out that the license plates said "Gotham" on them rather than whatever State Gotham is located in. Here, we see Edward's drivers licenses and they also say "Gotham" on them, rather than a State name. Also, has there ever been a distinction made between "Gotham" and "Gotham City"? Because why wouldn't the licenses have the word "City" too?
Answer: In "The Dark Knight," we see Gotham State Police setting up barriers. In short, Gotham has never been shown to be anything akin to the District of Columbia, probably because Gotham is never meant to be the capital of the country.