James Gordon (DC)
James Gordon is a male comic character who features DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
James Gordon
James Gordon completed police academy, and his first day on the beat he met his childhood friend Hank Weber, who was managing his father’s jewellery story for the first time. They celebrated their accomplishments as adults, but their joy was short lived when Hank was robbed and shot by Daryl Richmond. Gordon comforted his friend, promising him he’d have justice. Gordon pursued Daryl into the subway, and Daryl shot him in the leg, but the pain would not slow Gordon down. He arrested Daryl, who’d already hidden the jewellery, saying he’d keep the secret of where he’d stashed them to the grave. (Batman v1 #328)
The Phantom Eye interrupted television programming to present a live crime, bemoaning the fact that neither the Gotham police nor Batman were there to stop it. Commissioner Gordon and batman located the crime scene, but couldn't figure out how the Phantom Eye knew to film. The Eye interrupted several more broadcasts to present scenes of crime on the streets of Gotham. during one filming an imposter Batman arrived and was unmasked as big game hunter Byron King. Gordon and the police spoke to Byron, and gave him protection, fearing the underworld would make him and his son a target. The real Batman wasn't able to get close to them, and when the police saw him they thought he was an imposter come to kill King. Batman and Robin made several public appearances to prove the real deal, but each time the Phantom eye undermined them with footage of King acting as Batman. King moved his treasures from his mansion, saying he was relocating to hide his identity and protect his son. Batman realized he was not the real king when he referenced bagging a one-horned rhino in Africa, which Batman knew was native to India. The Dynamic duo stowed away on his boat, and "King" was revealed as the Phantom Eye, who'd cooked up the whole scheme to steal King's fortune and occupy Batman with proving his identity. Batman and Robin captured him, and freed the real King and his son, who were tied up in their basement. (Detective Comics v1 #192)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Joker chose fellow inmate Arthur Rankle, a serial killer who raped and killed eighteen women before Batman took him down, as his apprentice. After teaching him everything he knew he orchestrated his escape. He told Joker he’d need two men to help him carry out his big kill, and Joker sent him Dr. Thomas DeGeorge, a doctor who was locked up after it was discovered he was causing seizures in his patients so he could save them and seem a hero, and Calvin Marshall, a brute full of rage who killed a nun in broad daylight for rejecting his advances. He had DeGeorge knock on a woman’s door, in tears that his dog was lost, and when she let him in Calvin came close behind and brutally slaughtered her. Rankel filmed the incident, and mailed it to the police under the alias DeMille. The authorities, believing Calvin to be DeMille, saw how sloppy his methodology was, and were convinced he would easily be caught after making a mistake. Weeks later Rankel and his crew had killed 23 more women and Commissioner Gordon was frustrated that he didn’t have a single lead. He met with Batman and said he suspected they weren’t dealing with a simple madman, they were dealing with a lunatic with a purpose, and Gordon suspected he was after Batman. Batman contacted Oracle, and after hours of research she came up blank, but planted the idea that Batman was looking for more than one unsub. Batman confirmed the hypothesis when he realized the fingerprints left behind at the crime scenes were identical except for their size, and knew the unsubs were using false fingerprints. Batman confronted Professor Milo, who connected Rankel with his associates, and he spilled his guts, but Joker had foreseen this and told Rankel to get ready to ambush Batman. Batman defeated Calvin and Thomas, and when confronted Rankel begged Batman not to hurt him and gave up. Rankel was returned to GCPD custody and Joker laughed his head off at the present he’d gotten Batman for their anniversary, 5 years from the day they first met. (Batman: Joker’s Apprentice v1 #1)
Three men were brutally murdered in Gotham, sliced to ribbons and having their hearts ripped out. Batman kept having nightmares about the crimes, with himself in the role of killer. Batman and Gordon both investigated, and acknowledged that it reminded them of a series of crimes seven years previous. No one was ever convicted, but young Luci Boudreaux had precognitions of the murders, and claimed to be a white witch. Luci and her family were ostracized, and Luci branded mentally unfit, but with the Wayne Foundation's help she was remanded into the custody of her parents. Batman went to Luci for guidance. She knew he was Bruce Wayne, and her occult studies told her the killer was performing a ritual to open up the gates of Hell to gain supreme power. Two more would be targeted for murder, with the locations of the victim's drawing a cross across Gotham. She knew Batman feared his nightmares, and told him he was acting as a barrier between Hell and Earth, but with three murders committed the netherworld was cracked open, and demons would plague Gotham. Batman mapped out possible locations where the murder would strike, and reported to Gordon, who sent his men to the Robinson Art Museum while Batman patrolled Gotham's elevated railroad. Batman saved a woman from being murdered by a demon on the train, but Gordon reported that his men were murdered at the museum. Batman interviewed huongong Mizizi, who told him to map a crippled cross, and Gordon worried that Batman was behaving more erratically and violently. After another consult with Luci Batman realized the last victim would be killed at the Gotham Cathedral. He found Luci's parents there, with Cicily, the killer, trying to sacrifice her husband Absalom. She despised that her husband and adopted daughter both possessed power, and reasoned that if she gained her own supernatural abilities they could be a family again. Batman saved Absalom, and a demon emerged from Hell to claim Cicily's soul. Luci astral projected to the church, destroying the demon with the pureness of her soul, but she couldn't save her mother, although she assured her soul's escape from Hell. (Batman: Harvest Breed v1 #1)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Gordon once served as a marine and served in the United States military. (Divergence v1 #1) At some point, his wife left him and his children with him being deeply hurt by the separation yet never re-married. (Batgirl v4 #5)
As a young police officer, one of his acts was killing the serial killer Wesley Mathis with the mans son Barton Mathis being taken into foster care. (Detective Comics v2 #3)
Powers came to convince him to volunteer himself for the program to become the new Batman that was part of the GCPD and used to maintain the peace. The position meant that only a few people were aware that Jim Gordon was the new Batman who utilised a powered suit to help maintain order in the city. He did not operate as a lone police officer but instead worked alongside them and other agencies with checks and balances used to ensure the job was done properly. For this assignment, he had to train rigorously to be able to operate in the field and had to live in a special apartment at the main facility. (Batman v2 #41) He then had to contend with superpowered criminals within the Narrows who had been given 'seeds' that gave them their powers with this being the work of a mysterious arms dealer named Mister Bloom. (Batman v2 #42) In the hunt for the arms dealer, he followed a trail to the Devil Pigs gang leading to a fight with them where he fell into an ambush. (Batman v2 #43) Overwhelmed by his attackers, the armoured suit was deployed on auto-pilot to assist Gordon with this being remotely piloted by his support team. It came to recover him and return him to base thus escaping the armed gang that were shooting at him. (Batman v2 #45) As a result of the incident, Geri Powers decided to fire James Gordon and replace him where he would publicly resign at a dinner event to show that he was standing down. Mister Bloom later attacked the event where he killed many of the attendees with Gordon as Batman managing to stop him from murdering more people and forcing him to flee the scene. Powers then decided to keep Gordon as Batman and had him deployed in the Narrows to hunt down Mister Bloom who was tracked to Blossom Row. (Batman v2 #46) Confronting the villain, his powersuit the Rookie was taken over by Mister Bloom who had used a transmitter to take it over and nearly had it kill Gordon. Batman was then forced to detonate the missiles in the Rookie's shoulders thus destroying the armoured suit. He was then beset upon by Mister Bloom who intended to kill him and release the seeds into the city. However, Gordon had used his suits magnetic capabilities to cry the capabilities of the seeds thus ruining an entire supply of them. Angering Mister Bloom, the villain attempted to murder Gordon for thwarting his plans but found his abilities were not working as a result of the blocker within the Rookie. This allowed Gordon to recover and knock out Mister Bloom who as taken into custody. (Batman v2 #47)
Batman later came to learn that Gordon was one of the infected and confronted his old friend. This led to a battle with Commissioner Gordon deploying the Rookie Batman suit. Superman intervened in the fight where he destroyed the Project: Batman suit whilst Batman himself managed to apprehend Gordon. They then set about looking for a cure for him and the others that had been infected by the Batman Who Laughs. (Batman/Superman v2 #3)
Afterwards, Arkham Asylum came under a deadly Joker Toxin attack that killed 500 people in an event that came to be known as A Day. By this point, Gordon was no longer associated with the police but was plagued by nightmares about the Joker. Around this time, he was approached by a woman named Cressida who wanted a meeting with the former Police Commissioner. She and her associates had found a trail of the Joker who had left Gotham City and wanted James Gordon to help in the manhunt for the villain. They even offered an unlimited budget where they wanted him to kill the Clown Prince of Crime before he could perpetrate another deadly attack whilst he was away to recover from his wounds. At first, Gordon refused but he came to re-consider the proposal as he saw it as an attempt to end the evil of the Joker once and for all. (The Joker v2 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
As Batman, he wore a uniform that resemble the original Batsuit though lacking a cape and had a holster for a stun gun that he could use to apprehend targets. (Batman v2 #41) The inner suit was equipped with a digital camouflage allowing the user to become invisible. (Batman v2 #42) The fingerprints could emit an electrical charge allowing them to shrink the molecules in glass thus allowing the user to remove windows without the need to shatter the glass to gain entry into a structure. (Batman v2 #43)
Gordon came to refer to the powered suit as the Rookie. A Nimble Auto Program was later installed that allowed targets to be assigned with the armoured suit working on auto-pilot. This allowed it to be deployed to assist the pilot when they were out in the field. Thus, it was able to operate on its own on a basic level and used contextual material to achieve its goal. It was also able to take basic commands from its pilot after it was familiarised with their voice. (Batman v2 #45) The armored suit was constructed of nano-carbon making it tough and able to handle a great deal of damage. (Batman v2 #42) Missile launchers located on the shoulders could fire a wide range of armaments at enemies. (Batman v2 #45)
Notes
- James Gordon was created by Bill Finger, Lawrence Donovan, Henry Ralston and John Nanovic where he made his first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #27 (May, 1939).
Alternate Versions
- In Superman v1 #353 (1980), James W. Gordon appeared in a Just Imagine alternate world setting where he was a patrolman who found the crashed ship of the baby Kal-El who had landed in Gotham City on Earth. He took the child to the Wayne family where he said that without any parent claiming that he had no choice but to place the boy in an orphanage. However, Thomas and his wife Martha Wayne decided to adopt the boy who they named Bruce Wayne. Whilst moving in an alleyway, they were ambushed by hitman Joe Chill but were saved as his gunshots were stopped by Bruce Wayne due to his alien physiology. Jim Gordon arrived to arrest Chill who revealed that he had been hired by Lew Moxon. With this knowledge, he had Moxon arrested and was promoted to Sergeant Gordon with the Wayne's revealing the powers available to their adoptive son Bruce Wayne. Gordon kept the boys secret as he felt he would not have a moments peace if his nature was revealed to the world. James Gordon later became Commissioner and helped foster Bruce's talents until he became Superman.
- In JLA: Earth-2 (2000), an Earth-3 James Gordon was shown to reside in this version of the world that resided in the Anti-Matter Universe with him being an criminal gang boss that served Owlman and known as Boss Gordon.
- In Gotham City Garage v1 (2017), an alternate James Gordon was shown to reside on this Earth in the dystopic world of the Garden. He had a daughter that was Barbara Gordon who joined the ranks of the Lexes law enforcement who served Governor Luthor and he also adopted Kara Zor-El who was raised as Barbara's sister Kara Gordon.
In other media
Television
- In Batman, Commissioner Gordon appeared in the setting of the 1960s live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Neil Hamilton.
- In The Batman, James Gordon was introduced into the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Mitch Pileggi.
- In Gotham, the character was the protoganist of the prequel series where he was portrayed by actor Ben McKenzie.
Films
- In The Dark Knight Trilogy, James Gordon made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
- In Batman Begins, James Gordon made his first appearance in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Gary Oldman.
- In The Dark Knight, James Gordon returned in the live-action sequel where he was portrayed again by actor Gary Oldman.
- In The Dark Knight Rises, James Gordon appeared in the final instalment of the live-action trilogy where actor Gary Oldman once more portrayed the character.
Video games
- In Batman: Vengeance, Commissioner Gordon appeared in the setting of the video game where he was voiced by actor Bob Hastings.
Appearances
- Detective Comics v1: (1939)
- Batman v1:
- Batman v2:
- Detective Comics v2:
- Batman/Superman v1:
- Batman/Superman v2:
- The Joker v2: (2021)
External Links
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