James Gordon (Gotham)

James Gordon
Gotham character
James Gordon (Ben McKenzie)
First appearance	"Pilot" September 22, 2014
Created by	Bruno Heller (Gotham) Bill Finger (James Gordon) Lawrence Donovan (James Gordon) Henry Ralston (James Gordon) (James Gordon)
Portrayed by	Ben McKenzie
Information
Full name	James Gordon
Gender	Male
Occupation	Police officer
Family	Unnamed father† Unnamed mother†
Significant other(s)	Leslie "Lee" Thompkins Barbara Kean (ex-fiancée)
Children	Unborn child
Nationality	American
Police career
Department	Gotham City Police Department
Years of service	2014 – Present
Rank	Detective 1st Grade

Detective 1st Grade James "Jim" Gordon is a fictional character that appears in the Fox TV series Gotham. He is portrayed by Ben McKenzie. He is based on the character of the same name created by Bill Finger, but credited to Bob Kane, that debuted in the first panel of Detective Comics #27 (May 1939).

Fictional character biography

Season 1

As his first case, Detective Jim and his partner, Detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) were assigned the case of Thomas and Martha Wayne's murder. After arriving at the crime scene, Jim comforted the Wayne's son, Bruce (David Mazouz), who had survived the ordeal, promising him that he would do everything in his power to find the murderer and bring him to justice. Though several of his colleagues berated him for doing so, insisting he and Bullock drop the case as it would bring unwanted attention, Gordon continued looking for leads anyway, determined to keep his promise to Bruce. After several cold leads and unproductive interrogations, Jim was taken to Fish Mooney's nightclub by Bullock to see if they could further their leads on the investigation. The two detectives were led to a recently paroled felon named Mario Pepper who was rumored to have attempted to sell Martha Wayne's stolen pearl necklace. After arriving and interrogating Pepper at his apartment, the detectives requested to search the premises. Nervous because of this, Pepper made a run for it. After making the two chase him through the streets of Gotham, Jim cornered Pepper in an alleyway in which the two fought and Pepper bested him in combat. Bullock, however, shot him before he could kill James. Returning to Pepper's apartment, the GCPD found Martha Wayne's pearl necklace within a box belonging to Pepper.

Jim would later go onto discovered Pepper was simply framed and wasn't the Waynes' murderer, after being questioned to whether he had taken any part in the heinous act by Barbara. Nevertheless, Jim mentioned the possibility to Bullock, not sure of whether his partner would tell him the truth, Jim went to Fish Mooney in search of his answer, finding out from her that the Mario Pepper was in fact, framed. He was then beaten and captured by Fish Mooney and her associates. Bullock later went searching for him, and was captured alongside him. The two were freed by Carmine Falcone (John Doman), the head of the Falcone crime family in Gotham, as well as an old friend of Jim's deceased father. In return, Jim was asked to kill Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), a former umbrella man for Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), who had snitched to the Major Crimes Unit. However, when brought to the docks and faced down with the decision of whether to kill Cobblepot or not, Jim faked Cobbelpot's death, pushing him into the river, and ordering him never to come back to Gotham.^[1]

After his gun was used to kill Dick Lovecraft (Al Sapienza), a corrupt billionaire, Mayor Aubrey James (Richard Kind) reassigned Gordon to Arkham Asylum as a guard.^[2] He was later reinstated as a homicide detective by Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb after capturing a serial killer who had escaped from Arkham during a prison riot.^[3] Jim then blackmails the Commissioner into naming him the President of the Gotham City Police Union.^[4]

Season 2

After the events of the first season, Gordon found himself demoted to patrol officer while Bullock resigned rather than face demotion. A month later, he was fired by Loeb for pushing his partner, Officer Franks. He is later reinstated as a Detective after Penguin threatens Loeb into retirement and the appointment of Captain Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara) to Commissioner.^[5]

In "Rise of the Villains: Worse Than a Crime", Gordon, upon realizing that there is a strong possibility that Theo Galavan (James Frain) will escape justice for the second time, takes him to an isolated place outside Gotham where Penguin beats him mercilessly in order to avenge his mother until Gordon stops him and shoots Galavan dead. In the same episode, he learns that Lee is pregnant with his child.^[6]

Personality

Jim is the opposite of his colleagues in Gotham City being one of the few citizens with a position of power, though non-corrupt. Jim has a strong moral compass to do what is right, this being the driving force behind several of his action such as sparing Oswald Cobblepot's life, promising Bruce Wayne to find his parent's murderer, and his dedication to rid Gotham of crime and corruption.

Jim does not, however, always act in his own best interests, his passion for justice taking him out on a limb. He struggles often to understand others' perspectives, having such a black-and-white worldview himself. He also has the obsessive focus on justice which is a later hallmark of the Batman, since he manages to sit opposite Lee Thompkins (Morena Baccarin) in a restaurant while she's wearing a beautiful and rather low-cut dress and think about nothing but the case.

Career

List of assignments

• Junior Detective, GCPD Homicide (September 22, 2014 – November 24, 2014)
• Guard, Arkham Asylum (January 5, 2015 – January 19, 2015)
• Junior Detective, GCPD Homicide (January 19, 2015 – May 4, 2015)
• Patrol Officer, Gotham City Police Department (September 21, 2015)
• Detective, GCPD Homicide (September 21, 2015–Present)
• President of the Gotham City Police Union (March 2, 2015–Present)

Ranks

• Detective 1st Grade^[1]
• Officer^[7]
• Detective 1st Grade^[3]
• Officer^[5]
• Detective 1st Grade^[5]

Partners

• Detective Harvey Bullock, GCPD (September 22, 2014 – May 4, 2015)
• Officer Franks, GCPD (September 21, 2015)^[5]
• Detective Harvey Bullock, GCPD (September 28, 2015–Present)

Kill count

1. Patti's henchman – Shot^[8]
2. Richard Gladwell – Shot (w/Harvey Bullock)^[9]
3. Isaac Steiner – Shot^[10]
4. Assassin – Shot^[2]
5. Assassin – Shot^[2]
6. Gerald Crane's henchman – Shot (w/Harvey Bullock)^[11]
7. Dr. Gerald Crane – Shot (w/Harvey Bullock)^[12]
8. Regan – Shot (w/Harvey Bullock)^[13]
9. Trope – Shot (w/Harvey Bullock)^[13]
10. Jason Skolimski/the Ogre – Shot^[14]
11. Maroni's henchman – Shot^[15]
12. Maroni's henchman – Shot^[15]
13. Maroni's henchman – Shot^[15]
14. Maroni's henchman – Shot^[15]
15. Ogden Barker – Shot^[5]
16. Theo Galavan – Shot^[6]

Portrayal

In September 2013, it was reported that Fox was developing a TV series centred on James Gordon's early days as a police detective and the origin stories of various Batman villains.^[16] In February 2014, McKenzie was cast as the lead character.^[17] When describing his character in an interview, McKenzie stated that Gordon "is a truly honest man. The last honest man in a city full of crooked people. He's not an anti-hero, he’s a true hero – but he will have to compromise."^[18]

References