Commissioner 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.
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".
Publication history Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Gordon debuted in the first panel of “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” in 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.
The post-Crisis version of the character is introduced in the 1987 storyline Batman: Year One, written by Frank Miller.
As part of DC's "One Year Later", Gordon is once again Gotham's police commissioner.
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Jim Gordon is the commissioner of the GCPD as well as a former Marine. He is married to Barbara Kean, with Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl) their biological daughter.
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.
Fictional character biography Pre-Crisis Early law enforcement Early in his career, Gordon kills two robbers in self-defence without realising that their young son is watching. Traumatised by his parents' deaths, the boy dedicates his life to taking revenge upon Gordon and other representatives of the law.
Emergence of Batman When Batman begins operating in Gotham, Gordon initially resents his interference in police affairs. Although Batman fights crime, his disregard for ordinary police procedure causes tension between them, while his success in solving cases and apprehending criminals embarrasses the police by comparison. Gordon eventually recognises that Batman's abilities and resources can assist the department.
Although Gordon regularly socialises with Bruce Wayne, his first face-to-face meeting with Batman does not occur until Batman approaches him to propose cooperation. Batman persuades Gordon that they can protect Gotham more effectively by cooperating. Gordon accepts the proposal and begins sharing information with him during investigations. He subsequently deputises Batman and permits him to work as an agent of the law, although Batman continues to operate independently and conceals his civilian identity.
As their partnership develops, the Bat-Signal is installed on the roof of police headquarters, allowing Gordon and the department to summon Batman when his assistance is required. Gordon becomes Batman's principal contact within the Gotham City Police Department and regularly consults him during major investigations. Despite their close professional relationship, Batman continues to withhold his secret identity from Gordon.
The Wrath Twenty-five years after Gordon kills the two robbers, their son returns to Gotham as the masked criminal known as the Wrath. Using methods and equipment resembling Batman's, the Wrath targets Gordon and attempts to murder him on the anniversary of his parents' deaths.
Daughter's vigilantism Gordon's daughter Barbara Gordon later creates the identity of Batgirl after intervening in an attempted kidnapping while attending a masquerade ball. She begins fighting crime independently and initially conceals her activities from both Gordon and Batman.
Barbara later decides to reveal her identity to Gordon before abandoning her activities as Batgirl to seek election to the United States Congress. Gordon tells her that he had already deduced her secret and had remained silent because he believed that she would eventually disclose it herself. Barbara subsequently wins election to Congress and later resumes operating as Batgirl.
Post-Crisis Early career in Gotham After serving in the United States Marine Corps, James Gordon starts his law enforcement career in Gotham. As a young cop, he shoots and kills a corrupt cop and his wife in self-defense in front of their son. Gordon's transfer to Chicago is arranged by Captain Gillian Loeb, in an attempt to keep himself and his fellow corrupt cops from being exposed. Loeb threatens the child's life in order to force Gordon to comply with the transfer.
Chicago During Gordon's tenure in Chicago, he struggles 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.
Return to Gotham Gordon is transferred back to Gotham City after spending more than 15 years in Chicago, discovering his wife is pregnant with his son shortly after. 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. Gordon's relationship with Batman is kept out of the public eye whenever possible. He retaliates against an intimidation attempt by corrupt fellow officers with equal violence. He has an extramarital affair with a fellow detective, Sarah Essen. Gordon breaks off their affair out of guilt. Falcone sends his nephew Johnny Viti to kidnap Gordon's wife and son; Batman saves them, however, and helps Gordon expose police commissioner Gillian B. Loeb's corruption. After Loeb resigns, Gordon is promoted to captain.
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. The first Robin, Dick Grayson, becomes Batman's sidekick. Gordon initially disapproves of Batman recruiting a child to fight dangerous criminals, but grows to not only accept the boy but trust him as much as he does Batman.
Police Commissioner 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 is partially dissuaded from this belief, when Batman has Robin dress up as Batgirl while Barbara is on the roof with her father. Gordon continues to believe his daughter is indeed Batgirl, but does not confront her about it.
Kidnapping by Joker 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".
Second 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.
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: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #2 Batman saves James Jr., while Gordon, Essen, Flass, and the judge are trapped and must work together to escape.
After Bane breaks Batman's back,Knightfall Jean-Paul Valley and Dick Grayson assume the role for a brief period and do not tell Gordon about the switch. Gordon is removed from his post as commissioner and replaced by his own wife, due partly to his own disinclination to trust Batman.
Earthquake During the Cataclysm storyline, Gotham is devastated by an earthquake and isolated from outside assistance.No Man's Land 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.
After the earthquake, the Joker kills Sarah Essen. An enraged Gordon barely restrains himself from killing Joker, shooting the madman in the knee instead. 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