Commissioner Gordon
Gotham City police commissioner and Batman's trusted ally.
Commissioner James W. 'Jim' Gordon Sr. is a character in DC Comics, most commonly associated with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, he debuted in the first panel of Batman's first story, making him the first Batman supporting character. As the police commissioner of Gotham City, he shares Batman's commitment to fighting crime and is one of Batman's most notable and enduring allies.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- DC Comics
- Debut
- Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)
- As Batman:
- Divergence #1 (June 2015)
- Creators
- Bill Finger (writer); Bob Kane (artist)
- Full name
- James W. Gordon
- Species
- Human
- Alliances
- Gotham City Police Department
- United States Marine Corps
- Secret Six
- Also known as
- Jim (nickname)
- Commissioner Gordon (title)
- Batman (2015–2016)
- Supports
- Batman
- Robin
- Barbara Gordon
Facts from the source article.
Publication history
Jim Gordon first appeared in the very first panel of Detective Comics #27 in May 1939, during the story "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate," where he was simply called Commissioner Gordon. His name was borrowed from an earlier pulp hero, Commissioner James W. "Wildcat" Gordon, also known as "The Whisperer," who was created in 1936 by Henry Ralston, John Nanovic, and Lawrence Donovan. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of Gordon was introduced in Frank Miller's 1987 storyline Batman: Year One. Following DC's "One Year Later" event, Gordon returned to his role as Gotham's police commissioner. The New 52 reboot in September 2011 reimagined him as a former Marine and the GCPD commissioner, married to Barbara Kean, with their biological daughter being Barbara Gordon, also known as Batgirl. When DC Rebirth launched in June 2016, Gordon continued appearing in Detective Comics and the third Batman series. After DC dropped the Rebirth branding in December 2017, he remained a regular character in those same titles.
Fictional character biography
Early in his career, Commissioner Gordon killed two robbers in self-defense, unaware their young son was watching. Traumatized, that boy later returned as the masked criminal the Wrath, seeking revenge on Gordon. When Batman first appeared in Gotham, Gordon resented his interference, but eventually recognized Batman's abilities and agreed to cooperate. Gordon deputized Batman, allowing him to work as a legal agent, though Batman kept his civilian identity secret. The Bat-Signal was installed on police headquarters to summon Batman when needed. Gordon's daughter Barbara later became Batgirl after stopping a kidnapping at a masquerade ball, fighting crime secretly from both Gordon and Batman. She eventually revealed her identity to Gordon before leaving Batgirl to run for Congress. Gordon told her he had already figured out her secret. Barbara won her election and later resumed operating as Batgirl.
Other versions
An alternate universe version of Jim Gordon appears in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, retired and aware of Batman's secret identity. On the Anti-Matter Earth, his counterpart is crime boss Boss Gordon, an ally to Owlman, whose empire is toppled by Batman and commissioner Thomas Wayne. In Batman: Gotham Noir, Gordon is a private detective who left the police force after failing to solve a judge's disappearance. In Batman: In Darkest Knight, Gordon is an honest cop who distrusts Green Lantern (Bruce Wayne) but later changes his mind and is killed by Sinestro. In the Batman/Dracula trilogy, Gordon is captured by Dracula as bait, later gathering a team of cops to stake vampires. He allies with Two-Face and Killer Croc to stop a vampire Batman, and is crushed by debris from the Batcave roof. In Lord Havok and the Extremists, Gordon is a flesh-hungry zombie kept in line by Bat-Soldier. In the Flashpoint event, Gordon is Gotham's chief of police and is killed by Martha Wayne (this continuity's Joker) when he locates her in old Wayne Manor.
In other media
Jim Gordon appears in Batman (1966) portrayed by Neil Hamilton, and in Gotham portrayed by Ben McKenzie as an idealistic rookie detective and war veteran. He appears in The Batman/Superman Hour voiced by Ted Knight, and in the Super Friends franchise voiced by Danny Dark and Robert Morse. In The New Adventures of Batman, he is voiced by Lennie Weinrib. In the DC Animated Universe, he is voiced by Bob Hastings, appearing in Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, and Static Shock. He appears in The Batman (2004) voiced by Mitch Pileggi, and makes non-speaking appearances in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. He appears in Teen Titans Go! voiced by Eric Bauza, Young Justice voiced by Corey Burton, and Beware the Batman voiced by Kurtwood Smith. He appears in DC Super Hero Girls (2019) voiced by Fred Tatasciore, and in Harley Quinn voiced by Christopher Meloni. He appears in Batman: Caped Crusader voiced by Eric Morgan Stuart, and in Bat-Fam voiced by Reid Scott. In film, he is portrayed by Lyle Talbot in Batman and Robin, Neil Hamilton in Batman: The Movie, Pat Hingle in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher series, Gary Oldman in The Dark Knight trilogy, J. K. Simmons in the DCEU, and Jeffrey Wright in The Batman.
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