20 Things You Didn't Know About Batman Begins

4. What Is Up With Gordon's Kids?

The Dark Knight (2008) Gordon being a family man €“ even if it€™s a broken family €“ is a core element of the character: Batman€™s a lone wolf, he€™s had numerous girlfriends, and while he builds a surrogate family he never quite builds a home€but Jim Gordon always has a wife or a daughter or a loved one put in the line of fire because of what he does. He€™s a good cop doing his best to clean up the city, but there€™s a higher personal cost for him, in many ways, than there is for Bruce Wayne. The Nolan films carried over this aspect of the character; one wishes, however, that they€™d kept a slightly closer eye on the continuity of that family. In Batman Begins, we see a very brief scene in the Gordon€™s home €“ a baby (who looks like a little boy) being fed by Jim€™s wife, Barbara, while he puts the trash out. It€™s never really specified in the films how long The Dark Knight takes place after Batman Begins €“ most fans seem to guesstimate six months to a year €“ but suddenly, James Gordon Jr. has grown up to be at least five or six, and he has a sister, who looks to be at least two and who is presumably named Barbara. Which also means that Jim and Barbara Gordon named their kids€Jim and Barbara. Ego, much? So, is The Dark Knight supposed to take place several years after Batman Begins, or is James Gordon Jr. the Batman universe equivalent of Robin Williams in Jack?
In this post: 
Batman
 
Posted On: 
Contributor

C.B. Jacobson pops up at What Culture every once in a while, and almost without fail manages to embarrass the site with his clumsy writing. When he's not here, he's making movies, or writing about them at http://buddypuddle.blogspot.com.