10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Commissioner Gordon

6. Officer Down

Commissioner Gordon Batman.jpg
DC Comics

Batman: Officer Down is a seven-part story that ran through multiple Bat Family titles beginning with Batman # 587 and ending in Gotham Knights #13. The story occurred just after the No Man’s Land arc, with Gotham City rebuilt after a devastating earthquake. The story opens at Commissioner James Gordon’s birthday party in a pub with his closest associates in the GCPD. After he leaves the party, he encounters Catwoman in an alley and is shot three times in the back by an unseen assailant.

At the hospital, Gordon’s daughter Barbara - former Batgirl and current Oracle - and Detective Renee Montoya comfort each other while Nightwing, Azrael, Robin, and Cassandra Cain's Batgirl coordinate their investigation on the shooter. When they question where Batman is, Cassie points out he is next to Gordon’s bed, a place he refused to leave until Jim was conscious.

After an investigation by the Bat Family, the assailant is discovered to be Officer Jordan Rich, a GCPD officer who was a former mob enforcer that Gordon arrested years ago and who was given a new identity through witness protection. Because the evidence against him was only circumstantial, they had to let Rich go.

Montoya wanted to kill Jordan, but Harvey Bullock stopped her. Later, it was discovered that Bullock leaked Rich's new identity to the mob he informed on, and Jordan was killed as a result.

Contributor
Contributor

John Wilson has been a comic book and pop culture fan his entire life. He has written for a number of websites on the subject over the years and is especially pleased to be at WhatCulture. John has written two comic books for Last Ember Press Studio and has recently self-published a children's book called "Blue." When not spending far too much time on the internet, John spends time with his lovely wife, Kim, their goofy dog, Tesla, and two very spoiled cats.