Why Commissioner Gordon is the Best Character Ever!

Why Commissioner Gordon is the Best Character Ever!

Every comic book character is someone's favorite comic book character.
 

    This is a series of weekly articles detailing the history and significance of different comic book characters spanning as many titles and companies as I can think of. From where they began on the comic page to where they are now, including appearances in film, television and other media. I hope to help you answer some of your most burning questions such as: What are some of the essential moments and story lines throughout the characters career? What attributes does this particular character possess that sets him or her apart from the thousands of other characters throughout comics? How in such convoluted histories can one find a good starting point to begin reading the character regularly? Or how to just find a quality one off stories to get a feel for the character and their world? And while the particular character I'm covering may not be my favorite character ever, they certainly could and should be someones favorite character. And through this series I aim to show you why.

    I hope you enjoy and let me know not only what you think about this article but what other characters you'd like to know a little bit more about. Now let's get started.

COMMISSIONER GORDON (DC COMICS)

Real Name: Commissioner James “Jim” Worthington Gordon, Sr.

First Appearance: Detective Comics #27 1939

Created By: Bill Finger and Bob Kane

The Origin Story:

    James Gordon first appeared in “Detective Comics #27” as the police Commissioner of Gotham City. Initially Commissioner Gordon resented “the Batman” for constantly interfering in police business, but eventually Batman helped Gordon realize that they not only can work together but that they even need each other. And so, Gordon deputized Batman and they've worked together to thwart the various forces of evil ever since.

A Brief Comic History:(essential moments, characteristics and story lines)

    As long as there's been a Batman there's been a Commissioner Gordon. First appearing in “Detective Comics” #27 (the same issue Batman first appeared in), James Gordon has been a constant fixture in the “Bat” universe. However, because of all of the different incarnations of the character, which have drawn inspiration through comic stories, television and even film, the details of his origin vary from story to story. For instance, in “Batman Special” #1 Gordon is shown as a young cop shooting and killing two robbers in self-defense. Unfortunately, these events take place right in front of his young son James Gordon, Jr. and cause the boy to become “Wrath”, a cop killer who would eventually come after his own father seeking revenge.

    In the world of DC Comics, there's a word you will see often when looking into a characters past and that word is “Crisis”, usually in the context of “Pre-Crisis” and “Post-Crisis”. A “Crisis” in the world of DC Comics is an event that not only involves the entire DC Universe including its many “Multi-verses” but also completely changes its dynamic by the end of the story. The most infamous of these stories was “Crisis on Infinite Earths” 1985, which eliminated the “Multi-verse” from future continuity. With that in mind and your choice of headache medication in hand let's continue.

    In the “Pre-Crisis” continuity, James Gordons family consists of his daughter Barbara “Babs” Gordon who leads the double life of librarian by day and the crime fighter “Batgirl” by night. As well as his son, Tony Gordon, a college student who goes into hiding from Communist spies and later perishes in a battle with the “Sino-Superman” (Batman Family #12, Detective Comics #482) after having been reunited with his sister. The character hasn't been mentioned in the “Post-Crisis” continuity.

    In “Post-Crisis” continuity Gordons family is substantially larger and more influential to the overall story of the character. Barbara Kean-Gordon/Barbara Eileen-Gordon (depending on the writer) is Jim's ex-wife who lives with their son, James Gordon, Jr. in Chicago. Barbara “Babs” Gordon is the daughter of Jim's brother Roger and Roger's wife Thelma who died when Barbara was 12-13 and was later adopted by Jim and his first wife. When the couple divorced, Jim retained custody and it was later discovered that Jim had dated Thelma and that Barbara may actually be his daughter. In the “New 52” continuity Barbara is the biological daughter of Jim and his first wife, as well as the older sister of James Gordon, Jr.

    James Gordon, Jr. (Batman #404-#407) is James and Barbara Kean-Gordon's son who was introduced during the “Batman: Year One” storyline (1987). The character appeared almost exclusively during the “Year One” era of the Batman comics but reappeared as an adult in “Batman: The Black Mirror” where he is depicted as a psychopathic killer who brutally mutilated people for fun. He is institutionalized as a teenager after he disfigures a school-bus driver for insulting him but is released years later and begins committing a series of brutal murders. James Jr. nearly kills his mother and kidnaps his step-sister before he is apprehended by by his father and Batman (Dick Grayson) and committed to Arkham Asylum. In the “New 52 Batgirl” series, James, Jr. escapes Arkham and stalks his sister. It is revealed that he deliberately caused the divorce of his parents and James, Jr. even murders the cat their mother bought for Barbara. He also threatened to kill Barbara if she tried to contact her mother again.

    Sarah Essen (Gordon's second wife) was first referred to as Gordon's wife in the seminal “The Dark Knight Returns” before appearing as Jim's coworker whom he has an affair with during “Batman: Year One”. The two eventually marry years later but their marriage abruptly ends when Sarah is murdered by the Joker. In the aftermath of the DC event “Flashpoint” the time line of the DC Universe is altered and Gordon's marriage to Sarah Essen never takes place.

    Legendary writer/artist Frank Miller introduced the “Post-Crisis” version of Jim Gordon in 1987 during “Batman: Year One”. In this version of the character, Jim has just moved back to Gotham with his family. He sees Batman as his only ally against the mob run Gotham and its more than corrupt police force. But unlike previous versions, Jim's relationship with Batman is kept out of the public eye and even though the Caped Crusaders true identity is correctly guessed by Gordon, the matter is never fully investigated.

    In 1998, the miniseries “Gordon of Gotham” depicts the events leading up to Jim's arrival back in Gotham and shows his failed attempts to take down two corrupt cops in Chicago before he is assaulted and discredited and eventually forced to move back to Gotham.

    Further exploring the past of Jim Gordon, the story “Wrath Child” published in issues 13-16 of “Batman Confidential” explains that Gordon was initially transferred from Gotham to Chicago by then Captain Loeb in an elaborate cover up.

    After Loeb is replaced as Commissioner following the events of “Batman: Year One” the now Lieutenant Gordon convinces the new Commissioner to install a “Bat-Signal” in order to contact the Batman and frighten criminals. With Batman's help, Gordon eventually fished out the corruption seeded throughout the Gotham police force which allows Gordon to quickly rise through the ranks and officially become the police Commissioner.

    In Alan Moore's “The Killing Joke” (1988), the Joker shoots and paralyzes Gordon's daughter Barbara and kidnaps Jim and forces him to look at pictures of his wounded daughter in an effort to drive him insane, thus finally proving to Batman that even normal people can be driven to madness. Batman rescues Gordon, and to show that his methods were ineffectual, Gordon insists that Batman doesn't harm the Joker as he apprehends him.

    During the aftermath of the “Knightfall” storyline in which Batman is taken out of commission and others try and fill the role of Batman, including the mentally unstable Jean-Paul Valley, Gordon is removed from his post as police Commissioner and replaced by his wife for a brief time.

    “No Man's Land” takes place after Gotham is destroyed by an earthquake and Batman has disappeared. Gordon feels betrayed by Batman's absence and forges an uneasy alliance with Two-Face in an attempt to maintain order in the city. Their partnership quickly dissolves and when Batman returns, the Commissioner berates him for allowing Gotham to fall into ruin. In an effort to make amends, Batman offers to reveal his true identity to Gordon by removing his mask but Jim refuses to look and the two eventually mend their broken friendship. By the end of the story, Commissioner Gordon is shot by a revenge seeking criminal but makes a full recovery and an important character in the world of Jim Gordon doesn't make it out alive.

    In the "Made of Wood" storyline, after more than 20 years of service, Gordon retires from the post of Commissioner but even in retirement Jim still engages in regular visits from the Batman. An encrypted “Bat-phone” is given to Gordon by Batman after several near death experiences Jim finds himself in with the various criminal elements of Gotham.

    During DC's “One Year Later” we see that Gordon has returned to the position of Commissioner and has rebuilt the Bat-signal, though he still carries the “Bat-phone”. Though the specifics of Jim's return are still unknown, it is hinted that massive corruption in the GCPD may have led to this. Jim Gordon is still the police Commissioner in the “New 52” continuity.

Other Versions of the Character:

    Commissioner Gordon has been a constant presence in the world of the Dark Knight and the DC Universe at large since his inception. The character has become so synonymous with the portrayal of Batman in particular that he even pops up in alternate DC realities and various graphic novels. In “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” we meet a Jim Gordon who is not only nearing retirement but one who knows the true identity of “The Batman” and meets with him regularly to catch up on old times. Gordon also makes an appearance in the sixth issue of “All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder” and in “JLA: Earth 2,” an evil version of James Gordon is shown as a crime boss called “Boss Gordon”. In “Batman: Gotham Noir,” Gordon is depicted as an alcoholic private detective who has left the police force and is a former lover of Selina Kyle. Commissioner Gordon also appears in a variety of forms in other stories such as: “Batman: In Darkest Knight”, “Vampire Batman”, “Flashpoint”, and “Earth One”.

TV,FILM, and other Media:

• Neil Hamilton played a live action version of Jim Gordon in the 1960's Batman series, which featured the infamous red “Bat-Phone”, Gordon's direct line into the Bat-Cave and Batmobile. He also appeared in "Batman: the Movie".

• Ted Knight provided the voice for Gordon in “The Batman/Superman Hour".

• Danny Dark is the next to lend his voice to one of the Caped Crusader's greatest allies in the “Super Friends” series.

• Lennie Weinrib voiced Commissioner Gordon in Filmation's 1977 animated series “The New Adventures of Batman”.

• Bob Hastings lent his voice to Commissioner James Gordon several times throughout his work on the infamous “Batman: the Animated Series” which continued through the follow-up series “The New Batman Adventures”. His portrayal of the character also spread into the various feature films based on the animated series including “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” and “Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero” as well as appearances in non-Batman animated series' such as “Superman: the Animated Series”, “Gotham Girls” and “Static Shock” and even the “Batman: Vengeance” video game.

• Mitch Pileggi voices Gordon in “The Batman” where the character is the newly appointed Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department.

• The Character also appears in various episodes of “Batman: the Brave and the Bold”, an episode of “Young Justice” voiced by Corey Burton and makes a cameo appearance in “Teen Titans Go!”

• Kurtwood Smith portrayed a younger Jim Gordon in “Beware the Batman”.

• Lyle Talbot played the first live action version of Gordon in the 1949 “Batman and Robin” movie serials.

• Pat Hingle portrayed Commissioner Gordon in the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher Batman films, (“Batman”,”Batman Returns”,”Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin”) one of the only actors to appear in all four of the films.

• Gary Oldman was the latest actor to take on the role of Commissioner James Gordon on the big screen for Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.

• The Commissioner makes a brief cameo during the Martian Manhunter's interrogation in the animated film “Justice League” The New Frontier”.

• Jim Meskimen voices Jim Gordon in the animated direct to DVD animated film “Batman: Gotham Knight”.

• Gary Cole does the voice for the character in the direct to DVD animated film”Batman: Under the Red Hood”.

• Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” voices Jim Gordon in a portrayal of the characters first year in Gotham that coincides with Bruce Wayne's first year as Batman in the animated direct to DVD “Batman: Year One”.

• David Selby voices an older soon to be retired Commissioner Gordon in the two part direct to DVD animated adaptation of the classic “The Dark Knight Returns”.

• Bruce Thomas is the latest actor to lend his voice to the character of Jim Gordon in the animated direct to DVD film “Son of Batman”.

• Ben McKenzie will be the next actor to portray a young Jim Gordon in the upcoming FOX television series “GOTHAM”

• Commissioner Gordon has appeared in a number of DC's video games throughout the years and is even a playable character in “Lego Batman: the Video Game”. The other games the Commissioner appears in are, “Batman Begins: the Video Game”, “DC Universe Online”, “Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes”, “Injustice: Gods Among Us” and the popular “Arkham” video game series.

• But Gordon's work isn't done there. The Commissioner is voiced by an unknown actor in the “Batmobile” On Star commercial and the American Heart Association ran full page ads in several DC comics through 1992 showing Gordon in a hospital bed due to a heart attack caused by stress, diet, lack of exercise and tobacco use.

Recommended Viewing:

    In my humble opinion, Commissioner Gordon is one of the most vital characters in the Batman universe, if for no other reason than to help explain how the Caped Crusader can even operate in the city of Gotham. One of the best representations of the story of Commissioner Gordon is the origin story provided for him and Batman in “Batman: Year One” (paperback and Direct to DVD animated film). And while the story is set within the continuity of Batman, this particular story doesn't require any additional reading to understand what's going on. Also, without giving away too much, the events that take place in the iconic stories “Batman: The Killing Joke”(hardcover and paperback), “No Man's Land” (hardcover and paperback) and even Christopher Nolan's “Dark Knight” trilogy (DVD and Blu-Ray) depict a completely shattered world of Commissioner Gordon.

    So why is Commissioner Gordon the best character ever? To me it's about the humanity that the character brings to the various “Bat” stories he appears in. He gives the audience an in to the fantastical world around him and provides Batman with a moral compass when he's in need of some perspective. His mere existence in the world of Batman allows readers to believe that there could even be a Batman in Gotham and on a deeper level, I believe that the presence of Commissioner Gordon signifies a sense of hope. Hope that the police force in Gotham isn't completely lost. Hope for the future and hope for a better Gotham.

    I hope you enjoyed my look into Commissioner Gordon and if there's a character you'd like to know more about or if you have any suggestions on how my future articles can be even better, leave a comment below and I'll see you next time another of “The Best Comic Book Characters”.