Summary
Despite his loner reputation, Bruce Wayne’sBatmanfamously has an entire family of vigilantes helping him protect Gotham, as well as his fellow Justice League heroes to safeguard the world. Yet despitehis love for Dick Grayson’s Nightingand close friendship with Clark Kent’s Superman, there’s one crime-fighter that Batman respects above either of them, considering them his most most stalwart partner.
Batman names the ally in question in Greg Ruck and Rick Burchett’sBatman: Legends of the Dark Knight #125. The story is part of the epicNo Man’s Landevent, which sees Gotham decimated by an earthquake, then cut off from the rest of America. After months trying to hold law and order together among the people who refused or were unable to evacuate, Jim Gordon finally meets back up with the Dark Knight. But while Batman thought he was reaching out to an ally, Gordon greets him with rage, asking if there was ever any respect between them.Batman replies,“There’s no man or woman living that I respect more than you.”
In his attempt to communicate his respect for Jim Gordon, Batman acknowledges him as his true equal and"partner.“When words aren’t enough, he unmasks in front of Gordon, who shields his eyes because he doesn’t want or need to knowwho Batman is under the cowl.
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Batman Respects Commissioner Gordon More Than Any Costumed Hero
Gordon Was Batman’s First and Longest-Running Partner
In the beginning ofNo Man’s Land, Batman finds himself trapped in the Batcave after Wayne Manor collapses due to the earthquake. He then splits his time finding ways to access the outside world and using his political clout as Bruce Wayne to try and lift the ban on travel in and out of the destroyed city. Sadly, these efforts take Batman off the street during the opening days of the quarantine, and Gordon watches as various supervillains overrun the city, founding their own gangs and claiming territory. The remaining police form their own ‘gang’ in response, known as the Blue Boys, and Gordon loses good officers and innocent civilians before Batman’s symbol starts appearing around town, spread by a mysterious new Batgirl. This heightens Gordon’s sense that Batman is active in Gotham but hasn’t reached out, leading to their incredibly tense meeting inBatman: Legends of the Dark Knight #125.
While Commissioner Gordon isn’t as visually iconic as Robin or Superman, he has always been Batman’s first crime-fighting ally in Gotham (with the potential exception of Alfred Pennyworth.) Gordon made it possible forBatman to work alongside the GCPD, and was integral to both crushing organized crime and rooting out the corruption endemic to Gotham’s police force. Gordon is also perhaps the only crime-fighter Batman works with who he hasn’t taken a hand in training (even Superman has been given combat lessons by the Dark Knight.)The fact that Gordon can keep up with the world’s greatest detective purely through his own talent and experience shows why Batman is so in awe of the one man as committed to saving Gotham as he is.
Batman’s immense struggles with trust in his personal relationships means that his explicit respect for anyone is noteworthy, and it’s even more significant that he volunteered his respect for Gordon in such a specific and exclusive way. As far asBatmanhas traveled and as much as he has learned, his true mission in life is to safeguard Gotham, and right from the start - right up until the modern day - Jim Gordon has been the person standing by his side, reckoning with all the same horror and heartache.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
