Barbara Kean

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*"I am tired of sitting at the kids' table. If I'm right, we can have way more than vengeance. We can have it all. We don't need to go to war. All we need to do is start one."*

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—Barbara Kean to Tabitha and Solomon Grundy

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## Barbara Kean

### Family

James Gordon (ex-husband)Jason Skolimsky (lover/abuser)

### Portrayed by

Erin Richards

**Barbara Kean** is a former art gallery owner in Gotham City's Art District and Jim Gordon's ex-fiancée. Barbara is also a former Arkham Asylum inmate and a former Maniax member. She was a crime boss running The Sirens nightclub with her partner Tabitha Galavan until she was defeated and killed by the latter. League of Shadows leader, Ra's al Ghul, used the waters of the Lazarus Pit to revive her.

## Biography

### Early years

Growing up Barbara had a strained relationship with her parents, causing them to be estranged more or less. At an unknown point in her life she entered a romantic relationship with Renee Montoya, though it ended after a year. Several years later Barbara later got into a relationship with Jim Gordon while he was in Gotham's Police Academy. Eventually they fell in love and he proposed to her and became his fiancée.

### Jim Gordon's fiancée

Renee Montoya payed her a visit and attempted to convince Barbara that Jim was morally corrupt and murdered an had innocent man, Mario Pepper and killed a gangster named Oswald Cobblepot for mobster, Carmine Falcone.

Barbara is told about the child snatching case and admits his frustration that he can't go to the press. Barbara grabs the phone and anonymously phones the newspaper. When Montoya entered her home with the keys that Barbara had given her some time before while they were still together, Barbara came out of the shower with a marijuana cigarette and confronted Montoya. Barbara took the keys back from Montoya and told her that Montoya was just trying to lie to her so Barbara she would leave Gordon and return to her, but the two kissed briefly before Montoya left.

Barbara is introduced to Oswald Cobblepot under the alias of "Peter Humboldt" before he is walked out to the street by Jim. Later at her penthouse, Barbara asks Jim who was Oswald Cobblepot.

Barbara ended up confessing that she and Renee had previously been in a relationship that only lasted a year.

Barbara confronts Montoya and offered to tell her anything that she might find out in exchange for her leaving Jim alone. However, Montoya refuses because she already had a witness and a warrant for her Gordon.

After Oswald Cobblepot is discovered to be alive, Barbara was held captive at the hands of Butch Gilzean. Butch begins harassing her and reveals that Jim did not kill Cobblepot as he was told. Gordon returns home and ends quickly defeats both Gilzean and his associate. Fearing for Barbara's life, Gordon takes her to the bus station where he asks her to leave for a few days until he solved the situation. Finally, she reluctantly listens to him. She later returns to beg for Jim's life to Falcone, and he has Victor Zsasz watch her. Zsasz later brings her out to Gordon, and she apologizes to Jim.

Barbara, who totally consumed by her fear of Zsasz, got Jim's spare gun after drinking several glasses of wine. He then tried to calm her down, lying to her and telling her there were no monsters. Barbara later called Jim and he told her he had to call her back as he was in the middle of something. She later leaves when she realized that she couldn't bear the burden of which Jim had to carry.

Barbara left town and left a note for Gordon saying she's afraid and can't be brave enough to stay. Barbara later listens to Gordon call as she sleeps in bed with Renee Montoya.

Barbara was shown to have regretted leaving Gordon as Renee tries to convince her to let her talk to Gordon. Renee then decides to leave Barbara since they used to do drugs when they were together years before and she was afraid to make that mistake again. When Barbara later calls up Gordon's penthouse, Ivy Pepper answers the phone and states that she is a friend of Gordon. Mistakenly assuming that Gordon has another woman in his life now, Barbara tells her to "Go to Hell."

Barbara goes to see her parents and asks if she can stay at their house for a few days. She later comes home to find Selina Kyle and Ivy Pepper in her apartment.

She then goes to the GCPD to see Jim just to find him kissing Dr. Leslie Thompkins.

Barbara, disappointed after having lost Jim, redirected her attention to Selina attempting to advise her on how to use her beauty as a weapon against men. Selina expresses little interest in this.

### Kidnapped by The Ogre

Barbara then becomes involved with a man who is in fact, The Ogre. He is about to kill her, but he then realizes that she is the one for him.

After going to "The Wayne Charity Ball" together, The Ogre kidnaps, brainwashes and makes Barbara choose her parents for him to murder. When Jim and Harvey Bullock show up, The Ogre presses a knife to Barbara's throat. Jim shoots The Ogre, whose knife slides across Barbara's throat, cutting her. Leslie patches Barbara up and she thanks Jim for rescuing her.

While chatting with Leslie, Barbara keeps asking her how her relationship with Jim was going, then she starts talking about her parents in a negative light. To Leslie's horror, she reveals that she was the one who killed them.

Leslie recognizes that Barbara has become unstable and tries to flee, but Barbara chases her with a knife, and the two women get into a fight. Leslie manages to knock Barbara out.