“ | You were my umbrella boy, remember? You rubbed my feet when they were tired. And now look at you, the terror of Gotham. Everything I've done in my life, possibly the best thing was turning Oswald Cobblepot into... the Penguin. I couldn't destroy that. Ask him. He understands what it is to bring something into being. It is a part of you. Forever. | „ |
~ Fish Money reveals why she spared Penguin's life and revealing how proud she is of him. |
“ | Listen to me! Make this city yours, or you burn it to the ground! | „ |
~ Fish's dying words to Penguin. |
Maria Mercedes "Fish" Mooney is a major antagonist in the TV series Gotham. She is a gangster and an underling of Carmine Falcone, who plans to usurp the aging crime lord's position as the most powerful mob boss in Gotham City. She is also the former employer of Oswald Cobblepot, the overall main antagonist of the series. After being killed by Cobblepot in the war for Gotham, Fish is resurrected by Hugo Strange and gains the ability to control people's minds.
She was portrayed by Jada Pinkett Smith, who also portrayed Lida "Stony" Newsome in Set It Off.
Personality[]
Fish Mooney, for the most part, is a calm woman with a level-headed attitude and nurturing, almost motherly aura which she treats with her loyal henchmen, such as Butch Gilzean and close friends, allowing them to call her by her first name. However, Fish has demonstrated a vicious and uncontrollable temper when provoked. In these instances she is even more violent and sadistic, like a mother whose children betrays her, Fish becomes deeply hurt to the point of screaming towards Cobblepot that "[he] broke [her] heart" after discovering of his deceit. Using her cunning, ruthlessness and feminine wiles, Fish is an ambitious climber who wants all power for herself, whether it be Falcone's position in the criminal or the leader of the Dollmaker's victims in captivity by killing her opponents, systematically and efficiently.
Although intelligent, Fish is highly impulsive which, combined with a volatile temper can also affect the headway of her plans or position. She could be spiteful to those in her disfavor, prone to holding grudges and was known to never let any insult or slight pass. Namely, Fish hated being belittled for being a female criminal, especially by a man due to her hatred of men in general as she reacted with even more fury when she was demeaned by the prisoner leader, Mace and Sal Maroni, killing both immediately when they referred to her in sexist and objectifying names. The incident with Dollmaker also demonstrates Fish as a determined and strong-willed woman, without her crime empire and men to help her, she began relying her wit and will to survive, eventually return to Gotham and rebuild her crime empire with Maroni and defend what is hers to her final breath in a fight to the death with Penguin.
Physical Appearance[]
Fish is a short woman, with a spiky pixie cut black hair and hot pink-dyed tips at the front. She wears very high heels or boots that make her appear taller, along with dangling earrings and expensive clothing and glittery/shiny eyeshadow, usually golden in color, and has very long and thick eyelashes. After gouging out her left eyeball, it was replaced with a blue one by Francis Dulmacher, giving her two distinctive eye colors.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Mind control: After her resurrection, Fish developed the ability to order someone what to do against their will with a touch of her hand.
Weaknesses[]
Former Weaknesses[]
- Cellular Degeneration: Every time Mooney uses her power, her DNA deteriorates due to her body rejecting the new cells. However, the damage can be undone by not using her powers.
Trivia[]
- Fish Mooney does not originate from the comics and was created specially for the show Gotham.
- Pinkett Smith drew inspiration for the character from Norma Desmond, the main antagonist of from the 1950 noir film Sunset Boulevard, played by Gloria Swanson, and Griselda Blanco, a real life drug lord of the Medellín Cartel.
- Unlike many other "monsters" of Strange like Theo Galavan, Fish Mooney had her memories completely unscathed after her resurrection, and therefore she is completely immune from Strange's manipulation, being one of the major reasons for his downfall. But this also makes her his most important subject, as his mysterious employers wanted someone brought back with memories intact.
- The reason she never sought revenge on Penguin is that Fish sees him as something she created; much like how Hugo Strange has affection for his Indian Hill mutants. Fish is proud to have turned the once timid Oswald Cobblepot into the feared and powerful crime lord of Gotham.