Commissioner Gordon

DC Comics character From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James W. "Jim" Gordon Sr. is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane as an ally of Batman, the character was introduced in the first panel of "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" (May 1939), Batman's debut story, making him the first Batman supporting character.[2]

First appearance
Created by

(based on Commissioner James W. "Wildcat" Gordon by Henry Ralston, John Nanovic, and Lawrence Donovan)

Full nameJames W. Gordon[1]
Quick facts Publication information, Publisher ...
Commissioner Gordon
Commissioner Jim Gordon on the cover of Detective Comics #25
(November 2013).
Art by Lee Bermejo.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearance
Created by

(based on Commissioner James W. "Wildcat" Gordon by Henry Ralston, John Nanovic, and Lawrence Donovan)

In-story information
Full nameJames W. Gordon[1]
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliations
Supporting character of
Notable aliases
  • Jim (nickname)
  • Commissioner Gordon (title)
  • Batman (2015–2016)
Abilities
  • Skilled marksman and hand-to-hand combatant
  • Master tactician, strategist, and field commander
  • Police training
  • Criminology training
  • Expert detective
Close

As the police commissioner of Gotham City, Gordon shares Batman's deep commitment to ridding the city of crime. The character is typically portrayed as having full trust in Batman and is even somewhat dependent on him. In many modern stories, he is somewhat skeptical of Batman's vigilante methods, but nevertheless believes that Gotham needs him. The two have a mutual respect and tacit friendship. Gordon is the biological or adoptive father (depending on the continuity) of Barbara Gordon, the second Batgirl and the information broker Oracle. Jim Gordon also has a biological son, James Gordon Jr., a psychopathic serial killer who first appeared in Batman: Year One (as an infant).

One of Batman's most notable and enduring allies, Gordon has appeared in various forms of non-comics media; he has been voiced in animation and video games by Bob Hastings, Bryan Cranston, Jonathan Banks, and Christopher Meloni among others, and has been portrayed in live-action by Lyle Talbot in the Batman and Robin 1949 serial, Neil Hamilton in the 1960s Batman show and film, Pat Hingle in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman film series, Gary Oldman in The Dark Knight Trilogy, Ben McKenzie in Gotham as the main protagonist, J. K. Simmons in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Justice League and its director's cut, and Jeffrey Wright in The Batman. In 2011, Jim Gordon was ranked 19th in IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes".[3]

Publication history

Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Gordon debuted in the first panel of Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), in which he is referred to simply as Commissioner Gordon. The character's name was taken from the earlier pulp character Commissioner James W. "Wildcat" Gordon, also known as "The Whisperer", created in 1936 by Henry Ralston, John Nanovic, and Lawrence Donovan for Street & Smith.[4]

Fictional character biography

Jim Gordon served in the United States Marine Corps prior to becoming a police officer. 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.

In most versions of the mythos, Gordon is ignorant of Batman's identity. It is implied that Gordon could uncover Batman's identity on his own, but chooses not to in order to preserve Batman's effectiveness and maintain his own plausible deniability.

He has been married twice; first to Barbara Kean and then to Sarah Essen.

Early characterization

In the original pre-Crisis version of his history, Gordon is a police detective who initially resents Batman's interference in police business. Although Batman fights on the side of justice, his methods and 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. Gordon deputizes Batman, and thereafter Batman works with Gordon as an agent of the law.[5]

In Batman Special #1, it is 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 Wrath, a cop killer with a costume and motif inspired by Batman, who would come after Gordon for revenge years later.

Post-Crisis

Batman: Year One

The post-Crisis version of the character is introduced in the 1987 storyline Batman: Year One, written by Frank Miller. In this version, James W. 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 corrupt administration, which is in league with mob boss Carmine Falcone. 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. Gordon breaks off their affair after being blackmailed by police commissioner Gillian B. Loeb. Falcone sends his nephew Johnny Viti to kill Gordon's wife and son; Batman saves them, however, and helps Gordon expose Loeb's corruption. After Loeb resigns, Gordon is promoted to captain.

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. Gordon, during his tenure in Chicago, struggled with his wife over conceiving a child while taking night classes in criminology. He becomes a minor celebrity after a foiling a late-night robbery attempt. When he decides to investigate a corrupt fellow officer, however, the officer and his cronies assault him, and the police department discredits him in order to cover up the scandal. Gordon uncovers evidence of rigging in the city council election and brings down two of his fellow officers, which leads to his commander transferring him to Gotham.

The story Wrath Child, published in Batman Confidential issues 13–16, retcons Gordon's origin yet again: in this continuity, Gordon started his career in Gotham, but transferred to Chicago after shooting a corrupt cop and his wife (the parents of the original Wrath). The transfer was arranged by Gillian Loeb, then a captain, in an attempt to keep himself and his fellow corrupt cops from being exposed. Loeb threatens the future Wrath's life in order to force Gordon to comply with the transfer. Gordon later transfers back to Gotham around the same time Batman starts his career.

While still a lieutenant, Gordon convinces Loeb's successor 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 Batman recruiting a child to fight dangerous criminals, but soon grows to not only accept the boy but trust him as much as he does Batman.

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 Gordon Jr., 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 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.

Batman: The Killing Joke

In the 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke, the Joker kidnaps Gordon after shooting and paralyzing Barbara. He then cages Gordon in an abandoned amusement park and forces him to look at photos of a wounded Barbara 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 are intact; he insists that Batman apprehend the Joker without harming him in order to "show him that our way works".

Marriage

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. Later, Gordon suffers a heart attack; his chain-smoking over the years has weakened his heart. This event later lead DC Comics to partner with the American Heart Association to create a public service announcement to raise awareness of the danger of tobacco smoking and how it would threaten one's health.

In Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #2, shortly before their planned wedding, Arnold 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 tell him about the switch.

No Man's Land

The No Man's Land storyline takes place after Gotham is devastated 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 betrayed. He forges an uneasy alliance with Two-Face, but the partnership does not 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. An enraged Gordon barely restrains himself from killing Joker, shooting the madman in the knee instead.[2] 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.

Retirement

Gordon retires from the police force after having served for more than 20 years. 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 during the Made of Wood storyline.[6] 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.[7] Commissioner Michael Akins has taken his position, with many officers expressing reluctance to follow him out of loyalty to Gordon.[8]

After Barbara requires surgery to counter the life-threatening effects of the Brainiac virus, Gordon visits her 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 identity as Batgirl, but is pleasantly surprised to know of her second identity as Oracle.

As part of DC's "One Year Later", Gordon has once again become Gotham's police commissioner.[2] He rebuilds the Bat-Signal, but still carries the mobile Batphone that Batman gave him. The circumstances behind this are currently unknown, though there have been allusions to further corruption within the GCPD.

Blackest Night

During the Blackest Night crossover, while mourning the death of Batman during Final Crisis, Gordon and his daughter are attacked by several of Batman's enemies, who have been resurrected as members of the Black Lantern Corps. They are rescued by the current Batman, Robin, Red Robin, and Deadman, but are later attacked by Batman and Red Robin's parents, the reanimated Flying Graysons, and Tim Drake's parents.[9]

The New 52

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Jim Gordon is still the commissioner of the GCPD and a former Marine but is younger than his traditional portrayal; he still has the red hair and mustache from Batman: Year One. He is still married to his wife Barbara, and he and Barbara are the biological parents of Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl).

In Batman Eternal, Gordon is tricked into shooting at an unarmed suspect in an underground train station, resulting in a train derailing and Gordon being arrested.[10] While incarcerated in Blackgate Penitentiary, Gordon is visited by his son,[11] who makes arrangements to leave his father's cell open and provide him with an opportunity to escape Blackgate.[12] Gordon decides to remain in prison, concluding that Gotham is still worth saving and simply musing that he may just be getting old and made a mistake.[13] Gordon is released as the final assault on Gotham begins, proceeding to rally all of Gotham to stand up and take back their city to aid Batman for everything he has ever done for them.[14]

Batman

Following Bruce Wayne's apparent death in battle with the Joker during the events of Batman (vol. 2) #40,[15] Gordon took up the mantle of Batman using a mecha-style suit to fight crime in Gotham City.[16][17] Gordon later meets the currently-depowered Superman when Clark comes to Gotham to investigate evidence that the weapons currently being used against him were created in Gotham, but their initial meeting results in a fight as Superman does not believe that Gordon is the new Batman and Gordon doubts Superman due to him currently working with Luthor.[18] Although Gordon doubts Superman's abilities as a hero due to his current powerless state, he eventually works with Superman to stop Vandal Savage stealing an artificial sun created in Gotham to use as part of his latest plan, their alliance helping Gordon recognize Superman's continued merits as a hero while Superman in turn acknowledges that the new Batman gets the job done.[19] Gordon later works with the Justice League to investigate the death of a large monster, the heroes noting after the case has concluded that Batman's high opinion of Gordon's abilities as a detective were well-founded. Despite Gordon's best efforts, political issues in the department result in Mr. Bloom destroying his armor and mounting a massive assault on Gotham after seriously injuring Gordon, prompting the amnesic Bruce Wayne to try and reclaim his role as Batman.[20] The crisis concludes with Bloom defeated by the returned Batman using some of Gordon's equipment while working with his old ally. The return of the true Batman prompts the GCPD to shut down the program and restore Gordon to his role as commissioner.[21]

DC Rebirth

Jim Gordon as he appears in Batman (vol. 3) #3 (July 2016). Art by David Finch.

In June 2016, the DC Rebirth event relaunched DC Comics' entire line of comic book titles, in which Jim Gordon has a continued role in Detective Comics and the third volume of Batman. In December 2017, DC Comics ended the Rebirth branding, opting to include everything under a larger DC Universe banner and naming, and Gordon continues to be featured in Detective Comics and the third volume of Batman. For a time Gordon is corrupted by the toxin used by The Batman Who Laughs, an alternate version of Batman contaminated by the chemicals that drove the Joker insane, but Batman is able to get help from Superman in capturing Gordon and the other infected heroes until a cure can be found.

In 2021, DC began publishing a new Joker series. The first story arc is told primarily from Gordon's perspective. He has retired from public service and agrees to look for Joker on behalf of a secretive organization, with his daughter Barbara providing intelligence and communications support.[22]

Other versions

The Dark Knight Returns

An alternate universe version of Jim Gordon appears in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. This version is retired and aware of Batman's secret identity.

JLA: Earth 2

On the Anti-Matter Earth, where the evil Crime Syndicate of America live, Commissioner Gordon's counterpart is a crime boss named Boss Gordon, an ally to Owlman. Boss Gordon is the city's leading crime boss until his empire is toppled by Batman and commissioner Thomas Wayne.

Batman: Gotham Noir

An alternate universe version of Jim Gordon appears in Batman: Gotham Noir. This version is a private detective who left the police force following a failure to solve the disappearance of a judge.

Batman: In Darkest Knight

An alternate universe version of Jim Gordon appears in Batman: In Darkest Knight, Jim Gordon is an honest cop who distrusts Green Lantern (Bruce Wayne) because of his near-limitless power. Later on, Gordon changes his mind and starts investigating, but is killed by Sinestro.

Vampire Batman

An alternate universe version of Jim Gordon appears in the Batman/Dracula trilogy. This version was forced to work with Alfred Pennyworth, Two-Face, and Killer Croc to stop Batman after he was turned into a vampire. The story concludes with Gordon being crushed by debris from the Batcave roof after explosives are planted to destroy it, thus exposing Batman to sunlight and allowing him to die.

Earth-8

An alternate universe version of Jim Gordon appears in Lord Havok and the Extremists. This version is a flesh-hungry zombie who is kept in line by Bat-Soldier using a large chain.[23]

Flashpoint

An alternate universe version of Jim Gordon appears in Flashpoint event. This version is Gotham's chief of police.[24] When Gordon locates Martha Wayne (this continuity's version of the Joker) in old Wayne Manor, he goes in without backup and ends up being killed by Wayne.[25]

Earth One

An alternate universe version of Jim Gordon appears in Batman: Earth One. This version is a broken man who has given up on fighting corruption until the emergence of Batman.[26] Gordon is later promoted as police captain after arresting his corrupt predecessor.[27]

Batman: Damned

An alternate universe version of Jim Gordon appears in Batman: Damned.[28]

Dark Multiverse

Various versions of Gordon appear in the Dark Multiverse depicted in Dark Nights: Metal:

  • In the world of the Dawnbreaker, where Bruce Wayne received a Green Lantern ring after the deaths of his parents, Gordon attempts to confront the Dawnbreaker about his use of lethal force on criminals, but the Dawnbreaker kills him.
  • In the world of the Batman Who Laughs, Gordon's death contributed to Batman's final confrontation with the Joker, which led to Batman being contaminated by his foe's blood and transformed into The Batman Who Laughs.
  • In the world of the Grim Knight, where Batman's use of guns and lethal force led to him turning Gotham into a police state, Gordon was eventually able to determine Batman's secret identity with the aid of information from Alfred, who became unable to countenance Batman's use of lethal force on all criminals, allowing him to arrest Bruce Wayne.

Earth 3

Following the "Infinite Frontier" event, Earth 3 was rebooted. Like the version seen in JLA: Earth 2, Jim Gordon operated as a crime boss. After his son Jimmy Jr. was killed by criminals Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, Boss Gordon sent his minion Harvey Bullock to kill them which also led to Harvey also killing Bruce and leaving Thomas Wayne Jr. alive. Thomas Wayne Jr. in the identity of Owlman would later learn of this motive when he captures Harvey Bullock years later.[29]

Earth-89 (Batman '89)

In the universe where the films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns is set, it is retroactively established in the comic book miniseries Batman '89 that Pat Hingle's iteration of Gordon was the patrolman who found and comforted Bruce in the alley where his parents were murdered. He is later killed by Billy Dee Williams's Harvey Dent after the character becomes Two-Face. In the follow-up book, Echoes, his daughter Barbara becomes Captain of the GCPD and decides against prosecuting Bruce after discovering her father had learned Batman's secret identity at some point after the events of the first film but refused to disclose it.

Absolute Universe

An alternate version of James Gordon appears in Absolute Batman. This version is a former police commissioner and mayor of Gotham City. He loses support when the Party Animal cause chaos in Gotham and is later voted off in favor of Hamilton Hill.

In other media

Television

Live-action

Animation

Commissioner Gordon as he appeared in Batman: The Animated Series (left) and The New Batman Adventures (right).

Film

Live-action

J. K. Simmons in Justice League (2017); Jeffrey Wright as Gordon in The Batman (2022)

Animated

Video games

Lego series

Miscellaneous

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI