BFTC: Commissioner Gordon #1

One of the things I was so glad that Frank Miller did with Batman: Year One was to make Commissioner Gordon a bad ass. To me Gordon was a lot more than a cop who played second fiddle to Batman. He was the law and order in Gotham, as much an incorruptible force as the Dark Knight himself.

Gordon is tough, respected and loved by both the characters in Batman comics and us the readers. When The Joker paralyzed his daughter we felt for him, same when The Joker killed his wife, we suffered right along with him. Over the years Commissioner Gordon has become as much a hero as Batman and Battle For The Cowl: Commissioner Gordon does a great job at not only maintaining that mythos but also moving it forward.

As with Battle for the Cowl and Azrael Death’s Dark Knight this title opens with the continuing self-destruction of Gotham City. Batman is dead, the underworld knows it and making matters worse Black Mask has returned to claim the city as his own. Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon opens with Gothem’s finest cop being held prisoner by Mr. Freeze.

Freeze, like the rest of the underworld, is reveling in the idea that Batman is dead only he’s decided to teach Gotham a lesson on the proper way to grieve by trying to freeze the residents. From there Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon jumps back 24 hours and gives us a look at the events leading up to Gordon’s capture. This is really where the story begins to thrive.

What makes this installment of the Battle For The Cowl series so important is how it treats Commissioner Gordon both as a cop and as Batman’s friend. Most of us have been wondering exactly what Gordon would do. How would Batman’s “death” effect his most trusted ally and now we have the answer. Writer Royal McGraw (Detective Comics, Warlash, Crawdaddy) does a wonderful job of delving into what makes Gordon tick.

We don’t just get the tough cop ready for any situation; instead a scared and ashamed veteran, just now starting to understand how much he relied on the Dark Knight, greets us. Gordon even cops to the fact that the last time Arkham Asylum patients managed to escape Batman captured them while the Gotham Police Department “Cleaned up the mess”.

This is a serious time of reckoning for Gordon, a time where he has to confront the fact that Batman is truly gone and the city has fallen on his shoulders to fight for alone. McGraw does a masterful job of making Gordon scared without being timid and questioning without being whiney, It’s not that Gordon doesn’t want to rescue Gotham he just honestly feels like he can’t.

When we’re returned to present time, with Gordon a prisoner of Mr. Freeze, we understand that this is the catalyst the Commissioner needs. Gotham is about to be assaulted and Gordon must either rise to the occasion or fold under the pressure. His decision here will spell out not only his fate but Gotham’s as well. What will he do? You’ll have to read to find out.

Art wise Battle For The Cowl: Commissioner Gordon is pretty perfect. This is a dark story and artist Tom Mandrake (New Mutants, The Spectre) displays that with an easy handed style. It’s not sloppy but rather even keeled and smooth. His use of shadow to tell the story is well done, as is his depiction of Mr. Freeze. One of my favorite panels in the entire comic has Gordon and his men standing in front of the Bat Signal. It conveys their desire for Batman to return as well as their deep knowledge that he isn’t coming back. It’s a powerful panel done by a talented artist.

Where does it all go from here? Nobody knows and that’s part of Battle For The Cowl’s appeal. Gotham is falling apart and Batman is not coming back to help. The psychological richness of that has been painstakingly executed in these books and I’m excited to see what happens next. That’s all you can really ask of a great comic book, that it leave you wanting more.