Commissioner gordon



Commissioner James Gordon is a fictional character, an ally of Batman who appears in comic bookspublished 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, James Gordon is the Police Commissioner of Batman's home ofGotham City. He shares the hero’s deep commitment to ridding the dark and corrupt city of crime. In Goldenand 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 byLyle 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.

Fictional character biography
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 retconnedits 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.

[edit] Early characterizations
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.

[edit] Batman: Year One
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 intimidationattempt 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 deduce 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.

[edit] 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 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 are intact; he insists that Batman apprehend the Joker without harming him in order to "show him that our way works."

[edit] 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.

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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.

[edit] No Man's Land
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-dc-ency_1-1" style="line-height:1em;">[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.

[edit] Retirement
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1em;">[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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height:1em;">[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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1em;">[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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height:1em;">[5]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.

[edit] Return
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">As part of DC's "One Year Later", Gordon has returned to the role of Commissioner;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-dc-ency_1-2" style="line-height:1em;">[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.

[edit] Blackest Night
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1em;">[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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1em;">[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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1em;">[8]

[edit] The Peter Pan Killer
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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. After more violence, it is shown James Jr. is slowly murdering his way through people who have seemingly wronged him in the past.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1em;">[9]

[edit] The New 52
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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. There were also changes with his family; He has never been married to anyone other than Barbara Gordon Sr. He and Barbara are also the biological parents of Barbara "Babs" Gordon (aka Batgirl).

[edit] Gordon and Batman's identity
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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).

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">When Hugo Strange attempted to determine Batman's identity early in his career, he began his research by focusing on muggings and murders committed in the last few years, prompting Gordon- upon learning of Strange's research- to reflect that Strange had already made a mistake as he was underestimating the physical demands that would be required for Batman to have reached his current level of skill, suggesting that Gordon had already considered such an avenue of investigation (Even if he decided not to follow it up).

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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."

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">At the conclusion of Batman: The Black Mirror, Gordon strongly implies to Dick Grayson that he is aware of the secret identities of Grayson and the Waynes, when he thanks Grayson for everything he had done for him over the course of the story. Grayson attempts to brush this off, thinking Gordon meant only the forscenic assistance he had given, from which Gordon cuts him off, saying "I mean, thank you....for everything." A long moment of silence follows, and Grayson accepts his thanks.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">As in most continuities, Gordon decides in the Christopher Nolan trilogy that he prefers to remain ignorant of Batman's identity and agrees that his anonymity - even in death - has sociological value. Immediately prior to Batman's apparent self-sacrifice near the end of The Dark Knight Rises, Gordon learns the truth when Batman makes a reference to Gordon's kindness to him as a child. Following Batman's apparent death in a nuclear detonation, Gordon attends Wayne's empty-casket burial with Blake and Wayne's/Batman's confidants, Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox.