| Commissioner Gordon | |
|---|---|
Detail from the cover art for Detective Comics #779 (Feb. 2003). Art by Tim Sale |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) |
| Created by | Bob Kane Bill Finger |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | James Gordon |
| Supporting character of | Batman |
Commissioner James Gordon is a fictional character, an ally of Batman that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Gordon made his debut in the first panel of this comic, making him the first Batman supporting character to be introduced.[1]
In most incarnations of the Batman mythos, Gordon is the Police Commissioner of Batman's home of Gotham City. He shares the hero’s deep commitment to ridding the dark and corrupt city of crime. In Golden and Silver age comics and on the 1960s Batman television show, Gordon fully trusts, and is even somewhat dependent on Batman. In most modern stories, he is somewhat skeptical of Batman's vigilante method but recognizes the necessity of Batman and the two have a mutual respect and tacit friendship. Gordon's relationship with Batman as his contact in the police is comparable to the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Lestrade. He was the husband of Barbara Kean Gordon and, after his divorce, of Sarah Essen Gordon. Gordon is also the father of James Gordon Jr. and the father or adoptive father, depending on the continuity, of Barbara Gordon, the first modern Batgirl and later Oracle and then Batgirl again.
Gordon is an important part of the Batman mythos and has appeared in most other media adaptations of the character. This has included video games, animation, and the live-action films. Gordon has been played by Lyle Talbot in the serial film Batman and Robin, Neil Hamilton in the television series Batman, Pat Hingle in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher film series and Gary Oldman in the Christopher Nolan film series.
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In most versions of the Batman mythos, Gordon is at one point or another depicted as Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department. Gordon frequently contacts Batman for help in solving various crimes, particularly those committed by supervillains. Generally it is Gordon who uses the Batsignal to summon Batman, and it has become a running joke of sorts that the Dark Knight will often disappear in the middle of the discussion when Gordon's back is turned. Gordon is usually silver-haired, tall and thin with a mustache and glasses. In most incarnations, he is seen wearing a trenchcoat and a tie along with a suit. On occasion, he wears a fedora. He is also sometimes pictured with a cane, although it is not revealed why he uses it. Because DC Comics retconned its characters' history in the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, and because of different interpretations in television and film, the details of Gordon's history vary from story to story.
In the original pre-Crisis version of his history, Gordon is a police detective who initially resents the mysterious vigilante's interference in police business. He first appears in Detective Comics #27, in the very first Batman story, in which they both investigate the murder of a chemical industrialist. Although Batman fights on the side of justice, his methods and phenomenal track record for stopping crimes and capturing criminals embarrasses the police by comparison. Eventually, Batman meets up with Gordon and persuades the detective that they need each other's help. Batman is deputized and works with Gordon as an agent of the law.
In Batman Special #1, it's revealed that Gordon, as a young cop, shot and killed two robbers in self-defense in front of their son. The results of this event would lead the boy to become the first Wrath, a cop killer with a costume and motif inspired by Batman, who would come after Gordon for revenge years later.
The post-Crisis version of the character was introduced in the 1987 storyline Batman: Year One, written by Frank Miller. In this version, Gordon is transferred back to Gotham City after spending more than 15 years in Chicago. A man of integrity, Gordon finds that Batman is his only ally against the mob-controlled administration. One of the most significant differences in this version is that Batman is never deputized and Gordon's relationship with him is kept out of the public eye whenever possible. It is also added that he is a special forces veteran who is capable in hand-to-hand combat; he retaliates against an intimidation attempt by corrupt fellow officers with equal violence. He is depicted as having an extra-marital affair with a fellow detective, Sarah Essen, due to friction in his marriage. Essen and Gordon correctly posit Batman's identity at one point, but never investigate their guess more fully in order to confirm it. Gordon breaks off their affair after being blackmailed by the corrupt Police Commissioner, Gillian B. Loeb.
The 1998 miniseries Gordon of Gotham takes place nearly 20 years prior to the current events of the DC Universe and two months before his arrival in Gotham in Batman: Year One. It reveals that Gordon, during his tenure in Chicago, struggled with his wife over conceiving a child while taking university night classes in criminology. He becomes a minor celebrity after a foiling a late-night robbery attempt. However, after deciding to investigate a corrupt fellow officer, he is assaulted and discredited. Gordon then uncovers evidence of rigging in the city council election and brings down two of his fellow officers, which leads to his commander recommending that he take a detective position opening in Gotham.
The story Wrath Child, published in Batman Confidential, issues 13-16 explains that Gordon is transferred from Gotham to Chicago for 15 years as part of a plan by Gillian B. Loeb, then a captain, in a cover up (of events that would lead to the creation of the first Wrath), Gordon having shot a dirty cop and his wife while they were sneaking out of a warehouse; Gordon complies when Loeb threatened to kill the boy. Gordon transfers back to Gotham around the same time Batman starts his career.
While still a Lieutenant in the force, Gordon convinces the Police Commissioner who took over after Loeb's disgrace to implement the Bat-Signal as a means to contact Batman and also to frighten criminals. It is around this time that the first Robin, Dick Grayson, becomes Batman's sidekick. Gordon initially disapproves of a child joining in Batman's adventures, but soon grows to not only accept the boy but trust him as much as he does Batman.
In the following years, Gordon quickly rises to the rank of Commissioner after he and Batman weed out corruption within the department. After the death of his brother and sister-in-law, he adopts his niece, Barbara. Soon after he adopts Barbara, he divorces his wife, who returned to Chicago with their son James, while he retains custody of Barbara, who eventually becomes Batgirl. Gordon quickly deduces the heroine's true identity, and attempts to confront her about it, going so far as to search her bedroom for proof. However, he was semi-tricked out of this belief, when Batman (after sanctioning Batgirl officially) had Robin dress up as Batgirl while Barbara is on the roof with her father. Gordon would continue to believe his daughter is indeed Batgirl, but would not confront her about it again, until years later.
In the 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke, the Joker kidnaps Gordon after shooting and paralyzing Barbara. He then cages Gordon in the freak show of an abandoned amusement park and forces him to look at enlarged photos of his wounded daughter in an effort to drive him insane, thus proving to Batman that even seemingly normal people can lose their minds after having "one bad day". Batman eventually apprehends the Joker and rescues Gordon. Despite the intense trauma he has endured, Gordon's sanity and ethical code is intact; he insists that Batman apprehend the Joker without harming him in order to "show him that our way works."
Soon after Sarah Essen returns to Gordon's life, they rekindle their romance and get engaged. However, Essen cannot comprehend why Gordon needs Batman so much, which occasionally puts a strain on their relationship.
In Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #2, shortly before their planned wedding, former Lieutenant Flass (Gordon's former partner) beats Gordon and kidnaps James Jr. for ransom in exchange for letting a corrupt judge go free. Batman saves James Jr., while Gordon, Essen, Flass and the judge are trapped and must work together to escape.
For a brief period following the Knightfall and Prodigal storylines, Gordon is removed from his post as Commissioner and replaced by his own wife, due partly to his own disinclination to trust Batman after two substitutes — Jean-Paul Valley and Dick Grayson — assume the role and do not bother to tell him about the switch.
The No Man's Land storyline took place after Gotham is destroyed by an earthquake and isolated from outside assistance. Inside Gotham, Gordon struggles to maintain order in the midst of a crime wave. Batman is mysteriously absent for the initial three months, and Gordon feels somewhat betrayed. He forges an uneasy alliance with Two-Face, but the partnership doesn't last; Two-Face kidnaps Gordon, putting him on trial for breaking their "legally-binding" alliance. Gordon escapes, however, and later meets with Batman once again. In this confrontation, Gordon berates Batman for letting Gotham "fall into ruin". Batman offers to prove his trust by revealing his secret identity, but Gordon refuses to look when Batman removes his mask. Eventually, the two repair their friendship.
At the end of the No Man's Land storyline, the Joker kills Sarah Essen-Gordon. An enraged Gordon barely restrains himself from killing Joker, shooting the Joker's knee instead.[1] Not long afterward, Gordon is shot by a criminal seeking revenge for a previous arrest. Though seriously injured, he survives, and eventually makes a full recovery.
Gordon retires from the police force after having served for more than 20 years. He remains in Gotham, and occasionally enjoys nighttime visits from Batman. Despite being retired, Gordon often finds himself drawn to a series of life-and-death circumstances, such as the Joker sending him flowers during Last Laugh, or being contacted by the temporarily-reformed Harvey Dent to stop Batman from killing the Joker, to being kidnapped by Francis Sullivan, grandson of one of Gotham's notorious serial killers, during the Made of Wood[2] storyline. After the attack by Sullivan, Batman gives Gordon an encrypted cellphone, the so-called Batphone, in case he needs to contact him, which also carries a transmitter in case of trouble.[3] He also still has contacts with the country's law enforcement agencies, which the sheriff's departments request Gordon to contact Batman to help investigating a series of unusual murders on a suburb territory outside the city's limits; it turns out to be a paranormal case involving black magic, occult rituals, and the supernatural.[4] Commissioner Michael Akins has taken his position, with many officers expressing reluctance to follow him. Even Harvey Bullock at one point attempts to humiliate Akins in front of other officers.[5]
After Barbara requires surgery to save her life from the Brainiac virus, Gordon visited his adopted daughter in Metropolis. She reveals to him her current role as Oracle, as well as her past as Batgirl. Gordon admits that he knew of her life as Batgirl, but is pleasantly surprised to know of her second career as Oracle.
As part of DC's "One Year Later", Gordon has returned to the role of Commissioner;[1] as of the year-long jump he has been back in the job for 3 months. He rebuilt the Bat-Signal, but still carries the mobile Batphone that the Dark Knight gave him. The circumstances behind this are currently unknown, though there have been allusions to extreme corruption within the GCPD. These allusions are supported by events within Gotham Central, especially involving Detective Jim Corrigan. Most recently, Gordon survived an attempt on his life by the Joker (Batman #655), who had drugged him with Joker Venom in an attack on the GCPD. He was taken to the hospital in time.
During the Blackest Night crossover, while mourning the passing of the original Batman, who was apparently killed in action during Final Crisis, Gordon and his daughter witness Green Lantern crash into the Bat-Signal, after being assaulted by a reanimated version of the deceased Martian Manhunter.[6] After offering the hero a spare car, the Gordons then find themselves fighting for their lives against the reanimated versions of the original Batman's rogues gallery at Gotham Central, where Gordon makes short work of serial killer Abattoir (in Black Lantern form) with a shotgun. They are rescued by the current Dark Knight, Robin, Red Robin, and Deadman, but are later attacked by Batman and Red Robin's parents, the reanimated Graysons and the Drakes.[7] While Batman and Red Robin battle the Black Lanterns, Robin takes the Gordons to their underground base. It is later shown that Alfred Pennyworth tends his wounds (Gordon is unconscious, thus protecting the team's secret identities) along with Barbara's at the bunker's infirmary.[8]
Recently, Gordon's long lost son, James Jr., has seemingly returned, a discovery that gravely disturbs Gordon. He was caught on camera around the same time all of the exotic birds from the Zoo were inexplicably released. James Junior's involvement in this crime and those shown in flashbacks to his past has yet to be determined.
Gordon is still the commissioner of the GCPD, but with some changes. One of them is of him having the red hair and mustache, from Batman: Year One.
In most versions of the mythos, Gordon is ignorant of Batman's identity. There is usually the implication Gordon is smart enough to solve the mystery, but chooses not to in order to preserve Batman's effectiveness and maintain his own plausible deniability. In the 1966 Batman film, Gordon explicitly states his desire not to know for such a reason. In Batman: Year One, Gordon claims not to see the unmasked Batman well (whom his wife at that time, Barbara, also sees) because he doesn't have his glasses on. Gordon suspects early on that Bruce Wayne may be Batman, though he never follows up on his suspicions, although Sarah Essen is correct in her suspicions, even guessing Bruce's motivation. In Batman: The Animated Series, Gordon has implied he deliberately avoids deep investigation on the subject of Batman or Batgirl's identity (that of his own daughter, which he seems more sure of but cannot acknowledge it because that would put him in an uncomfortable legal position).
Likewise, in the 1980s Detective Comics storyline Blind Justice, the world at large incorrectly supposes Batman is dead and Gordon comments to Bruce Wayne that Batman has earned the right to retirement if he so desires. He then rather pointedly asks Bruce's advice on whether or not he should reveal that Batman still lives.
During No Man's Land, Batman attempts to regain Gordon's trust by revealing himself, but Gordon refuses to look at him, stating that if he wanted to know Batman's identity, he could have figured it out years ago, and even cryptically saying, "And for all you know, maybe I did."
During the Hush story arc, while working with Superman, Batman discusses whether or not Perry White has figured out Superman's secret identity. Theorizing that White is too good a reporter to not have figured it out, he draws the same comparison to himself and Gordon, stating that Gordon is too good a cop to not have figured it out. In that same story arc, Gordon, in an attempt to stop Batman from killing the Joker, tells Batman to remember who his role models are (his parents) and the beliefs they instilled in him. Plus, he asks Batman to remember who and what made him who he is, a rather obvious reference to the criminal who gunned down his parents in front of him, suggesting that Gordon knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman.
Barbara reveals her identities to her father in Birds of Prey #89. Gordon then reveals that he was well aware of her status as the first Batgirl all along, though he purposefully avoided looking into what she was doing after she was paralyzed. Batman chides her for revealing herself, saying it was a mistake, but she counters that, while he taught her to fight criminals, it was her father who taught her to be human.
In Blackest Night: Batman, Gordon is present when Deadman refers to the current Batman as "Grayson" and after the current Robin took Gordon and his daughter to the new Batman's underground base. It is implied that Gordon is unconscious when they meet Alfred Pennyworth.
In Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, Gordon and Bruce Wayne are portrayed as close friends, with Gordon having discovered his identity years before.
In the Batman: Year 100 storyline which takes place in 2039, Captain Jim Gordon, grandson of Commissioner Gordon, finds an old laptop in the attic of a country home owned by Gordon and discovers a secret file which he assumes contains long-lost information on Batman. After unsuccessfully trying numerous passwords with relevance to the Batman universe he inputs "Bruce Wayne" and is granted access to the file contents.
In Pre-Crisis continuity, James Gordon was the biological father of Anthony "Tony" Gordon. Originally referred to as a college student, Tony later disappeared while hiding from Communist spies. He was later reunited with his sister Barbara and perished in a battle with the Sino-Supermen (Batman Family #12, Detective Comics #482).[9] In Post-Crisis continuity, there has been no mention of Tony Gordon.
Barbara "Babs" Gordon is the biological daughter of James Gordon in Pre-Crisis continuity. She also leads a double life as a librarian and as costumed crimefighter Batgirl. Barbara is also the link of the DC Universe Oracle. Her father found out her secrets.
Barbara Eileen (Batman: Turning Points) (or Kean, depending on the writer) Gordon is Gordon's ex-wife. In one Post-Crisis story, Gordon and Babs visit the grave of his late wife. However, this story is later retconned when it is revealed that she is not dead, but instead they are divorced and she is living in Chicago with their son, James Gordon Jr.
During the "One Year Later" storyline, Gordon makes a slight reference to his ex-wife "doing well." Melinda McGraw portrayed Barbara Gordon in The Dark Knight. Grey DeLisle voiced her in Batman Year One.
Barbara "Babs" Gordon (later Batgirl and Oracle) is the daughter of Gordon's brother Roger and Roger's wife Thelma. When Babs was 12 or 13, Roger and Thelma died. Babs moved to Gotham City and lived with her uncle, aunt and cousin. Eventually, Gordon and Barbara adopted her. However, the couple divorced and Gordon retained custody of Babs, while Barbara moved to Chicago with James, Jr. (Secret Origins #20). It has recently been revealed that Gordon had an affair with Thelma, and might be the biological father of Babs (Batman: Gotham Knights #6).
Gordon and his wife, Barbara Kean-Gordon, are the parents of a son, James Gordon, Jr. (Batman #404-407).[10] James Jr. and his mother moved to Chicago after the divorce. After his introduction in Batman: Year One, the character appeared almost exclusively in comics set during the Year One era, and went virtually unmentioned in present day. This changed when the character re-appeared in Batman: The Black Mirror, which introduced the now adult James Jr. as a recovering sosciopath seeking redemption from his father. This was proven to be just a ruse, as James was secretly plotting to add a psychosis-inducing chemical into baby formula from Dr. Leslie Thompkins' clinic. After nearly killing his mother, and capturing his step-sister, he is apprehended by Batman (Dick Grayson) and Jim Gordon and brought to Arkham.[11]
Sarah Essen (Batman Annual #13, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #2) was first referenced as Gordon's wife during the future tale The Dark Knight Returns. She first appeared fully in Batman: Year One as a co-worker with whom Gordon has an extra-marital affair. After realizing they could not be together, she transferred out of state. Years after Gordon divorces his wife, Sarah returns to Gotham, and the two continue their relationship. After marrying Gordon, Sarah is murdered by the Joker at the end of the No Man's Land storyline.
James Gordon appears in the limited series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which presents a future where a retiring Gordon not only knows Batman's identity, but is good friends with Bruce Wayne. He then makes a cameo on Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Now retired, he wrote a book about Batman, who was believed to be dead.
Gordon is also referred to in the first issue of the series, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, set in the same universe as and prior to The Dark Knight Returns. He made a full appearance on issue #6, as a police captain, having a conversations with his ex-partner, Sarah Essen, about Batman. He's still married to Barbara Kean Gordon, who is now an alcoholic, and has a son James Jr. Just as other continuities, his daughter, Barbara, who is fifteen, becomes Batgirl. Frank Miller has commented that the series is set in his Dark Knight Universe, which includes all of the Batman works by Frank Miller, therefore Barbara's inclusion confirms that Gordon had two children during Batman: Year One, at least in Miller's version of the continuity.
On the Anti-Matter Earth, where the evil Crime Syndicate of America live, James Gordon's counterpart is a crime boss named Boss Gordon, an ally to Owlman, and it is implied that he had an affair with Martha Wayne. Boss Gordon is the city's leading crime boss until his empire is toppled by Batman and Commissioner Thomas Wayne.
In a world where Superman was never found by the Kents, reference is made to Gordon having been murdered shortly before the events of the story, resulting in Gotham's police department being granted extra powers of authority in his absence, although these are never fully explained.
In the Elseworld title Batman: Gotham Noir, Jim Gordon is an alcoholic hard-boiled private detective who had left the police force following a failure to solve the disappearance of a judge. He is Selina Kyle's former lover and Bruce Wayne's wartime partner.
In the Elseworld story Batman: In Darkest Knight, Jim Gordon is an honest cop who distrusts the Green Lantern (who in this reality is Bruce Wayne) because of his near-limitless power. Green Lantern comes to him in order to find the identity of the man who killed his parents, but he rebukes him. Later on, he relents and goes over the files and narrows it down, but he is then interrupted and killed by Sinestro, who ruptures his heart.
In the Vampire Batman Elseworld trilogy that began with Batman & Dracula: Red Rain, Gordon learns that a coven of vampires, led by Count Dracula himself, is behind a series of murders. Dracula captures him, but he defies the vampire even as he is bled from a cut on his neck. In the sequel Batman: Bloodstorm, he and Alfred collaborate to form a team to eliminate a new family of vampires in daylight while they sleep, culminating in him and Alfred being forced to stake Batman after he succumbs to vampirism and drains the Joker's blood. The third part of the trilogy — Batman: Crimson Mist — sees Gordon and Alfred forced to work with Two-Face and Killer Croc to stop the vampire Batman, who has already targeted and killed Penguin, Riddler, Scarecrow and Poison Ivy. The story concludes with Gordon being crushed by debris from the Batcave roof after explosives are planted to destroy it, thus exposing Batman to the sunlight and ending his reign of terror.
In Lord Havok and the Lord Havok and the Extremists #3, an alternate version of Gordon, known as Zombie Gordon is featured as part of Monarch's army. A flesh-hungry beast, Zombie Gordon is kept in line by Bat-Soldier, via a large chain.
In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, James Gordon is the chief of police, instead of being commissioner, and also works with Thomas Wayne, who he knows is Batman.[12] Later, Gordon tries to convince Batman that he does not have to fight villains by himself, however Batman refused. When Gordon locates the Joker was in old Wayne Manor, he goes in without any help or backup. Gordon is then tricked into shooting Harvey Dent's daughter, having been disguised as the Joker, as she had been taped to a chair and had her mouth taped shut with a smile painted on the tape. Joker then appears and slashes Gordon's throat, who then dies by Joker venom before Batman confronts her.[13]
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