One of Batman’s Biggest Allies Had a Villainous Family Member

Despite his reputation as a lone wolf, Batman has one of the largest supporting casts in comics. It makes sense, after all— Bruce Wayne learning to let people into his life and help him in his crusade against crime furthered his development in a way staying isolated never would have. Batman has many allies, from the Robins to the Batgirls, with Commissioner James Gordon as one of his most prominent. Gordon predates the rest of Batman’s supporting cast, first appearing in Detective Comics #27 alongside Bruce Wayne.

While Gordon is a remarkably notable character, his life has always had darker elements, especially with his family. From his divorce from his first wife to his daughter Barbara getting paralyzed to the death of his second wife, Sarah Essen, the Commissioner has gone through intense suffering. Unfortunately, his son, James Jr., is another major source of suffering for Gotham City’s Commissioner and his family. While seemingly unremarkable, James Jr. is one of the most depraved villains in Batman’s gallery of rogues, all hidden behind a facade that almost appears normal and well-adjusted. As a result, he’s the black sheep of the Gordon household and, in a way, a bit tragic— though none of that negates the suffering he inflicted on Gotham City and those closest to him more than any villain in a costume ever could.

Who Is James Gordon Jr.?

Despite his father’s first appearance being the same as Batman himself, James Jr. wouldn’t be introduced until 1987’s Batman #407– more famously known as the finale of the iconic “Batman: Year One” storyline. Leading up to its finale, fans saw Jim Gordon’s wife, Barbara— not to be confused with her niece and adopted daughter, who later became Batgirl— go through each trimester of pregnancy, eventually giving birth shortly before the events of the finale. During this issue, the infant James Jr— nicknamed J.J.— would be kidnapped by some corrupt members of Gotham City law enforcement who threatened his life. Upon being horrifically thrown off of a bridge, Batman jumped over and saved him. That moment of bravery was when Jim Gordon began to trust the Dark Knight, forming their iconic bond then and there.

James Jr. reappeared as a toddler in one of Batman’s best stories, The Long Halloween. While he wouldn’t be in the story for long, it was nice for fans of Frank Miller’s classic storyline to see a character from it return in a new setting. Possibly due to the terrifying incident he experienced at such a young age, James Jr. would later exhibit psychopathic tendencies in his childhood, something believed to be occasionally provoked within children by trauma. He had a habit of torturing animals— including owls, possibly foreshadowing the “Court of Owls” storyline— and engaging in generally odd and unsettling behavior, such as digging through Jim’s files, toying with his gun, and even playing mind games with his father and family.

One incident even involved the staging of his own kidnapping at the hands of a Joker impersonator, all to make it look like the Clown Prince of Crime was still haunting the Gordon family. At one point, a close friend of his sister Barbara’s went missing and was never found, with her believing that James Jr. was to blame. Though there was never direct confirmation and there was another likely candidate for who took that woman’s life, James Jr.’s childhood behaviors certainly left the reader wondering if Barbara’s hunch was correct.

The Actions of the Commissioner’s Son Were Terrifying

In the “Batman: The Black Mirror”storyline by Scott Snyder, Francesco Francavilla, and Jock, it’s revealed to the reader that James Jr. left his mom’s home in Chicago and traveled the country by himself for a short period. James’ cross-country trip followed a psychiatric evaluation that diagnosed him with Antisocial Personality Disorder. He was prescribed an experimental medicine to influence empathetic response within his mind. While Jim was shocked by the news— Barbara less so, as she had always suspected James Jr. to be psychopathic— he was encouraging of his son’s new venture with his experimental medication.

However, most of the story was a mystery about a killer running amok in Gotham. As much as Jim and Barbara wanted to believe otherwise, they soon learned that James Jr. was not taking his medication, and his empathy remained entirely absent. While it may have been clear to readers that James Jr. was guilty, Snyder’s depiction of the Gordons’ realization that their son was the serial killer near the story’s climax is painful to witness.

Revealed to fans in a horrifying send-off to one of the early issues of the storyline, James Jr. had kidnapped, tortured, and killed one of his childhood bullies and stuffed his body in his closet. In a shocking revelation, Barbara discovered that James Jr. had reversed the effects of his medication, seemingly making him more prone to apathy and less capable of empathy— but the issue was that the medicine would leave little impact on an adult. Instead, James Sr, Barbara, and Dick Grayson— who was, at the time, Batman— realized that James Jr. had planned to use the medicine to poison a large amount of baby food over time, potentially causing Gotham’s young to become cruel monsters in adulthood.

Becoming a serial killer with a body count at an unknown level, James Jr. proved himself to be a dangerous psychological threat to Gotham City upon his return. His worst crime was not harm he directly inflicted upon another. Rather, it was breaking the Joker out of prison and having him attack his mother, poisoning her with Joker toxin. While Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson were able to cure James’ mother, the damage was done, and they knew they had to stop him at any cost.

James Gordon Jr.’s Demise Was Tragic

Though James Jr. was arrested at the end of the “Batman: Black Mirror” storyline, likely destined for a lifetime of prison, DC had other plans for him. He would sporadically appear through the New 52 in various roles— first facing off against his sister with their mother’s life at stake before he became an analyst for the Suicide Squad. He then found some redemption by foiling the plans of the Batman Who Laughs alongside his father and Bruce Wayne’s Batman.

However, following the Rebirth relaunch, James Jr. would reappear in Batgirl, playing a role in Barbara’s story as part of the Joker War storyline. Despite his past as a killer, James Jr. would try to repair his relationship with Barbara, which was never that of normal siblings. It’s unclear exactly how Barbara and James Jr. are related, as many writers in the Post-Crisis era went back and forth on whether or not Barbara was Jim Gordon’s biological daughter or his niece that he adopted as a daughter.

In Batgirl, James Jr. offered his services to help Barbara track down a killer who hunted redheads, having a fleeting moment of altruism and compassion for his sister as he feared she would be a target— which was tragically cut off far too soon. As it turned out, James Jr. had developed Dissociative Identity Disorder, with a “peaceful” personality and a “violent” personality taking turns controlling him. Unbeknownst to James Jr.’s peaceful personality, he was, in actuality, the killer he was helping Babs track down. Eventually, their hunt would lead them to a lighthouse where James Jr. believed the next murder would occur. When the time came for the next life to be taken and James Jr.’s violent personality started taking over, he put together the pieces of what was happening.

James Jr. would take his own life before he could hurt another person, tragically leaving Barbara without the brother she had just learned to love. What made the situation worse was the fact that Jim Gordon was the first cop to arrive on the scene, and Barbara was unable to explain the circumstances of James’s death or her secret identity to her own father. Though James Jr. and Barbara never had a good relationship, with a childhood filled with fear, the death of James Jr. was felt as he was still a close family member, which Barbara doesn’t have a lot of anymore.

That Wasn’t the End for James Gordon Jr.

Gotham City’s Court of Owls had frequently clashed with Batman since their debut in the New 52 era. However, they made things personal with Barbara Gordon when the Court of Owls resurrected her brother to use him as one of their undead soldiers known as the Talons. Barbara operated as Oracle and worked alongside Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Gordon as Batgirl during the Infinite Frontier era.

The Court attacked Oracle using a talon, though she quickly deduced that it was her resurrected brother. She incapacitated him by dropping the temperature, which was a common technique for dealing with Talons. While the Court of Owls hoped to hurt Oracle and her father by using her deceased brother, it only further drove the former Batgirl to find a cure and bring her brother back without the Talons’ dark corruption.

James Gordon Jr. has been a part of Batman’s history for decades. He has presented not only a unique villain for his own father, Commissioner James Gordon, but other members of the Batman Family as well. He officially tangled with Dick Grayson’s Batman and carried on his long-time feud with his sister while she operated as Batgirl. He’s become a terrifying threat that even death couldn’t stop, and it remains to be seen whether he will return as an ally they can never trust or let the villain take over once again.