Harvey Bullock (comics)
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This article is about the DC Comics character. For the real life TV-movie writer, please see Harvey Bullock (writer).
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Harvey Bullock is a fictional character from DC Comics' Batman titles named after real life television writer Harvey Bullock. Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, Bullock was originally a crooked detective under instructions from Gotham City's Mayor Hamilton Hill to sabotage Commissioner Gordon's career. His method of doing so was to pretend to be exceedingly clumsy, thereby spoiling whatever Gordon was trying to do, seemingly accidentally. After inadvertently giving Gordon a heart attack, Bullock turned over a new leaf. His character later developed into a well-meaning cop who (probably) was exceedingly clumsy, similar to the later animated version. Subsequent to this, he was a Bishop in the spy organization Checkmate.
Post-Crisis, Bullock was perhaps the most controversial police officer in the Gotham City Police Department. His colleagues in the Major Crimes Unit will swear up and down that he is a good cop, despite his reputation for taking bribes, police brutality, and ties to organized crime being on the top. However, he also has elements of the earlier character including a fondness for doughnuts and a hidden sentimental streak. He displayed his integrity as one of the police officers who stayed in Gotham City during the No Man's Land incident.
Bullock has also been one of Batman's biggest foes on the GCPD, but has not gone to the extremes that others have to apprehend the vigilante. His last partner on the GCPD was Renee Montoya.
It is believed that Bullock is the one who gave up the location of James Gordon's shooter to the Mafia, as the shooter himself was actually in the witness protection program. Having resigned from the force following this, he appeared occasionally as a private detective in Gotham Central.
As part of DC's "One Year Later" Bullock has returned to the GCPD, with the understanding that he is not allowed a single mistake this time. The circumstances behind this are unknown, the only clue so far being the line, "Six months since Harvey Bullock made his discoveries." Batman and Bullock have made their peace, agreeing to give each other a second chance.
[edit] Other media
His animated counterpart in Batman: The Animated Series is only vaguely similar to this persona, and is voiced by Robert Costanzo. While he is still a staunch opponent of the Batman, and has something of a gruff, tough guy exterior, he is much more benign (and closer to the later Pre-Crisis version), no doubt owing to an overall need to tone down certain elements of the Batman mythos to make them more acceptable material for a kid's show. Bullock tends to alternate slightly in his role and nature. At times, he is nothing more than an oafish, incompetent comic relief character, while other episodes show him in a more serious context as a capable detective. Many episodes blend both of these aspects.
He was featured prominently in the episode "P.O.V.", in which he and two other officers were questioned about how and why an important bust was such a colossal failure. In his recounting, the voice over contrasts with what happens on screen, the clear implication being that what we see is what really happened, while Bullock's voice over tells quite another story, one in which he is painted in a much more positive and competent light. The effect given in the series is that of an honest, if not exactly by the book, cop who "looks" like the stereotypical corrupt officer.
Although disliking Batman at first, Bullock developed a begrudging respect for the Dark Knight when Batman saved him from from a shark in "The Laughing Fish". It is also revealed that Bullock knows the existence of the Batcomputer, but how Bullock gained this knowledge is unrevealed.
Bullock earned the scorn of ex-wrestler and criminal kingpin Killer Croc after Bullock sent him to prison for killing a trade union member. Croc swore revenge on Bullock, and attempted to frame him for murder in the episode "Vendetta."
In "A Bullet For Bullock", directly adapted from Detective Comics #651, Bullock teams up with Batman to find out who is behind several attempts on his life. This version of Bullock later made small guest appearances in Superman: The Animated Series and Static Shock.
In the comic based on the animated series, Bullock was forced to resign after Oswald Cobblepot became mayor. As with the DCU version, he became a private detective.
It has been speculated but not confirmed that Bullock was the inspiration for the character Lt. Max Eckhardt in the 1989 Batman film.
