Jim Gordon

*"I only trust you."*
―Jim Gordon to Batman[src]
Lieutenant **James "Jim" Gordon** is a member of the Gotham City Police Department and an ally to Batman. During the investigation into Riddler's murder spree, Gordon worked closely with Batman, attempting to understand and stop Riddler's games. Eventually, their investigation led to the arrest of Carmine Falcone, who was revealed by Riddler to be controlling the GCPD and city officials, only for Riddler to assassinate Falcone and allow himself to be arrested. As Riddler's final plan to flood Gotham went underway, Gordon protected Bella Reál, while Batman defeated the Riddler's Cult and protected the civilians from danger.

## Biography

### GCPD Lieutenant

#### Partnership with Pete Savage

Living in Gotham City, New York, Jim Gordon raised a family and joined the Gotham City Police Department under the rank of Lieutenant. Working under Commissioner Pete Savage, who was his old partner, and Chief Mackenzie Bock, he tried to uphold the law in any way he could.

#### Arresting Salvatore Maroni

Jim Gordon participated in the conspiracy case around Salvatore Maroni, and assisted the GCPD in busting his Drops operation.

#### Befriending a Fellow Protector

*"We've been doing this for two years, I don't even know your real name, man."*
―Jim Gordon to Batman[src]
Gordon eventually came into contact with the vigilante Batman, developing a strong working relationship with him over the two years they worked together.

### Riddler Investigation

#### Assassination of Mayor Mitchell

In Batman's second year fighting crime alongside the GCPD, Gordon helped investigate the murder of Major Don Mitchell Jr.. Over time, several more murders began cropping up, all by the mysterious serial killer Riddler. Seeing the damage, he was causing, Gordon and Batman began a tireless crusade to take down Riddler before anyone else could get hurt.

While investigating the murder, Gordon and Batman found a letter from Riddler to the vigilante, which contained a riddle. Gordon watched as Pete Savage arrived and began arguing with him to show that Batman was trustworthy. As Savage threatened to have Batman arrested, Gordon and Batman left the scene to investigate further. In the morning, Gordon attended Savage's speech about Mitchell.

#### Finding the Thumb Drive

*"Oh, this guy is hilarious."*
―Jim Gordn[src]
Not too long after investigating the crime scene, Batman invited Gordon back to Don Mitchell, Jr.'s mansion and check his garage, after Batman found out that the cipher spelled out "DRIVE". Batman found a car with shears lodged in one of the tires, the one that presumably cut off the mayor's thumb, which had been left behind by Riddler. After using the thumb drive, images revealing the mayor stepping out of the Iceberg Lounge with a woman, implying that the mayor was unfaithful. Gordon then accidentally leaked the photos to the media via his email.

#### Assassination of Pete Savage

*"What kind of demented son of a bitch does this to a person?"*
―Jim Gordon to Batman[src]
On the news, Riddler had sent in a video showing Commissioner Pete Savage with a cage over his head, and rats biting his hands. Gordon and Batman went to investigate at the morgue, and when seeing Riddler's elaborate death trap, Gordon asked what kind of demented person would do this to Savage. Batman responded by implying that Savage had it coming, to which Gordon got fired up about before Batman showed him a photo of Savage talking to a drug dealer outside the Iceberg Lounge. Gordon was shocked to find out that Savage was corrupt, and Batman said that maybe Savage was not who Gordon thought he was. Martinez then came down the stairs to warn the two that others were coming, and the two left the morgue.

#### Gil Colson's Riddles

*"Christ, it's Colson."*
―Jim Gordon[src]
At Don Mitchell, Jr.'s funeral, Gordon informed Chief Mackenzie Bock that Gil Colson had not been seen or heard from since the prior night. Gordon stopped once he realized Bruce Wayne was listening into the conversation. Just afterwards, screaming was heard outside, and a car bashed through the doors and stopped next to the casket. Gordon led other cops to the car and ordered the person inside to get out of the car. Upon doing so, Gordon realized that it was Colson, and lowered his gun. Another cop then yelled that he had a bomb on his neck, and the place was evacuated.

When it had reached nighttime, a camera was keeping watch on Colson while the Gotham City Police Department figured out what to do without Colson dying. This is when Batman arrived, and Gordon tried to defend what he was doing. The GCPD watched as Colson answered the riddles given to him by Riddler, and then saw the bomb explode, as well as Batman being knocked unconscious. Batman was then arrested and taken to Gotham City Police Headquarters, while he remained unconscious.

#### Assisting Batman's Escape

Gordan was present as Batman had been laid out on a table in the Gotham City Police Headquarters, where his pupils were checked while he remained unconscious. Once a member of the Gotham City Police Department had attempted to unmask Batman, he awoke and fought one of them off before realizing he was in an interrogation room full of other officers, including Gordon. Mackenzie Bock then confronted Batman, to which Batman responded by lashing out, before being restrained by Gordon. Batman had then questioned if Gordon was betraying him too, before Gordon then asked Bock to talk to Batman alone. Gordon then gave Batman a key and told him to get to the roof. Batman then asked whether or not Gordon would get in trouble for it, to which Gordon responded by telling Batman to punch him. When he did so, the rest of the cops chased after Batman, but he escaped.

#### Chase of the Penguin

*"A rat with wings. A stool pigeon. That's not you? The symbols in the maze, right here. It says you are El Rata Alada."
"You are El Rata? It says that?
"Why, you got something to tell us?"
"Yeah! It's, like, the worst Spanish I ever heard."*
―Gordon and Penguin[src]
Gordon was called by Batman to meet at the Bat Signal, implying he had found another clue. Batman told Gordon that in the cage, the cipher translated to "You are El Rata Alada." Batman suggested it could be the Penguin, to which Gordon agreed, and asked how they would go about getting after him. They planned to interrupt the drug deal, but Catwoman blew their cover when she tried to steal some drug money. Gordon watched as Batman chased after the Penguin, and once he was captured, Gordon asked if he was El Rata Alada, to which Penguin said that it was "La" not "El", and that he did not know what the two were talking about. The two realized they had smacked into a dead end and left.

#### William Kenzie's Confession

*"A falcon has wings, too."
"Falcone is the rat?"*
―Batman and Jim Gordon[src]
Gordon then saw the Bat Signal in the sky and arrived at the same time as Batman, confusing both of them. They went up the elevator and saw that Catwoman had caught William Kenzie and lit the Bat Signal to let the two know. Kenzie tried to play victim, by pleading Gordon for help, but after being pressured to do so, he told the three about how everyone was getting money off of the Gotham Renewal Corporation. He then told them that Carmine Falcone had ratted out Maroni to Don Mitchell, Jr. to get more money off the renewal. Catwoman then kicked Kenzie off the building and went after Falcone on her own. Gordon and Batman saved Kenzie, and then went to the Iceberg Lounge.

#### Arresting Carmine Falcone

*"I guess we don't all work for you."*
―Jim Gordon to Carmine Falcone[src]
Gordon had returned, once Batman prevented Catwoman from killing Carmine Falcone, and then brought him out to Gordon. Falcone told Gordon that Gotham City Police Department worked for him, and that he would be out of jail in no time. Gordon then showed him the many police officers waiting outside and said to him that it was not all of them. He told Falcone his rights, and then Penguin exited the Iceberg Lounge and called Falcone rat. Falcone mocked him, calling Penguin a gimp. Penguin pulled out a gun, and Falcone fell dead. Penguin was arrested but insisted he did not shoot. Batman realized that Falcone had died under a flickering streetlight, and also realized that the shot had come from a neighboring building. Martinez realized the same thing, and Batman and the cops infiltrated Edward Nashton's Apartment.

#### Arresting the Riddler

Gordon was informed by Batman that Riddler had escaped, but Martinez came in and told Gordon that a witness saw a person use the fire escape and was sitting in the corner diner. The Gotham City Police Department entered the diner, and the Riddler readily surrendered. Gordon showed him two IDs and asked which one was him. The Riddler refused to tell, but upon further investigation of his Apartment, it was revealed that he was Edward Nashton, a forensics accountant. Martinez and another cop then dragged the Riddler out of the diner, and he was taken to Arkham State Hospital.

#### Battle at Gotham Square Garden

*"Take it easy!"*
―Jim Gordon to Batman[src]
Following his arrest, vans placed strategically around Gotham City had exploded, which caused the seawalls to collapse. This then caused water from Gotham Harbor to flood into the city, trapping many people inside Gotham Square Garden. Gordon got in, trying to get to Bella Reál, knowing she was not safe. Reál refused to leave and tried to calm down the crowd.

As she was trying to calm the crowd, she was shot in the stomach by one of Riddler's Cult but saved and protected by Gordon. He asked one of the firefighters how to get up to where Riddler's followers were. When he got up there, he stopped Batman from beating up one of the cult members.

He then watched as Batman sacrificed himself by cutting an electrical wire, and fell into the water below, only for him to emerge from the water and rescue the trapped citizens.

In the aftermath of the flooding, Gordon had joined other members of the Gotham City Police Department, as they stood behind Reál, who gave a speech about how Gotham would recover in the wake of the attack.

## Personality

*"Riddler's not after you."
"How do you know?"
"You're not corrupt."*
―Batman and Jim Gordon[src]
Gordon is level-headed and steely, with his ability to keep cool in the face of danger making him a natural born leader. He is very righteous and dedicated to the law, and trusts Batman deeply. He does not show much emotion, always focused on the task at hand.

He is one of the few known public people in Gotham City who is not corrupt and is completely honorable, Gordon is also not afraid of going against powerful criminals such as Carmine Falcone and take him down.

Gordon is aware that most people in position of power are corrupt and don't do their jobs efficiently, therefore he doesn't trust anyone else apart of Batman. He is brave and can be very imposing while facing criminals which has made him one of the closest allies of Batman.

Despite his awareness of the corruption, Gordon can easily get surprised when he finds out secrets of his close co-workers such as Pete Savage, this shows that he is not so clever, at least not as much as people like Batman, Falcone or Riddler are.

## Abilities

*"You're a good cop."*
―Batman to Jim Gordon[src]
* **Expert Detective**: *To Be Added*
* **Skilled Marksman**: Gordon knows how to handle firearms, including pistols and shotguns.
* **Skilled intimidator**: Gordon is very intimidating, although not on the same level of Batman. He is very fearless and he's always the one who stands up and threatens any suspect to get a confession. When Colson interrupted the funeral of the late Mayor of Gotham with a car, Gordon was the first who stepped forward and demanded to show up and put his hands in the air. When interrogating the Penguin, he made the criminal feel uncomfortable by showing him a picture of the late commisioner's head forcing him to look and open his eyes.

## Equipment

### Weapons

*"No guns."
"Yeah, man, that's your thing."*
―Batman and Jim Gordon[src]
* **Smith & Wesson M&P9**: *To be added*
* **Mossberg 590**: *To be added*

### Vehicles

* **2016 Ford Taurus Police Interceptor**: *To Be Added*

## Facilities

* **Gotham City Police Headquarters:** *To Be Added*

## Relationships

Allies* Gotham City Police Department
	+ Pete Savage † - Former Partner
	+ Mackenzie Bock
	+ Martinez
* Batman - Friend
* Don Mitchell Jr. † - Former Superior
* Federal Bureau of Investigation
* Mrs. Mitchell
* Don Mitchell Jr.'s Son
* Gil Colson †
* Bruce Wayne
* Bella Reál - Superior
* Selina Kyle/Catwoman - Former Enemy

Enemies* Maroni Crime Family
	+ Salvatore Maroni
* Riddler's Cult
	+ Edward Nashton/Riddler
* Falcone Crime Syndicate
	+ Carmine Falcone †
	+ Oz Cobblepot/Penguin
	+ William Kenzie - Former Colleague

## Trivia

* In the DC Comics, Jim Gordon is the Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department, and one of Batman's greatest allies and close friends. He is a controversial political figure in Gotham City because of his willingness to work alongside a vigilante, but he is one of the most honest police officers in the service, on occasion struggling against corruption from within. He frequently works outside the law, when necessary, although he maintains a strict and unbreakable moral code.
* According to *The Batman: The Official Script Book*, Gordon is in his mid-forties. This places his date of birth between 1972 and 1981.

## Behind the Scenes

* Jim Gordon in *The Batman* is the sixth live-action incarnation of the character, following incarnations portrayed by Lyle Talbot, Neil Hamilton, Pat Hingle, Gary Oldman, Ben McKenzie, and J. K. Simmons.
	+ J. K. Simmons was originally going to appear in *The Batman*, with the actor expressing interest in reprising his role. However, Matt Reeves decided to recast the role, wanting to disassociate the film with the DC Extended Universe.
* Before Jeffrey Wright was cast, director Matt Reeves originally wanted Mahershala Ali for the role of James Gordon.
* This version of Jim Gordon is the first to be a character of color, while in other depictions, Jim Gordon is a white man.
* Xavier Lake was a stunt double for Jeffrey Wright in the role of James Gordon.
* James Gordon was meant to serve as the main protagonist of the cancelled *GCPD* series.

## References

Reeves, Matt & Craig, Peter (writers); Reeves, Matt & Clark, Dylan (producers); & Reeves, Matt (director) (March 4, 2022). *The Batman*.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *The Batman: The Official Script Book*
3. ↑ "The Batman: TV Spin-Off Will Reportedly Focus on James Gordon" - IGN

## External Links

* Jim Gordon on DC Database
* Jim Gordon on Wikipedia