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In Gotham's criminal justice system, the people are represented by three separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders; and the Batman, who makes criminals piss their pants when his signal lights up the night.
In General
- Badass Longcoat: While it's not universal, several members of the GCPD wear trenchcoats or longcoats, which goes well with the gritty atmosphere of Gotham.
- Badass Normal: Most of them are just regular humans who constantly deal with insane and gimmicky criminals, with varying degrees of success.
- Dirty Cop: The GCPD used to be full of this, but ever since Gordon took charge, most of those police officers have either been dismissed, imprisoned, or ended up killed.
- Took a Level in Badass: Before the age of Batman and Jim Gordon, the GCPD was highly inefficient and corrupt, but thanks to their efforts the corruption ring has been exposed and systematically dismantled, slowly turning it into a respectable force of law.
Deputy Mayor James "Jim" Gordon
James Gordon is one of Batman's first supporters, helping him fight against crime and corruption in Gotham City. He eventually rose to the rank of Deputy Mayor in the Gotham City Police Department, and continues to be one of Batman's greatest allies.
- Action Dad: While not as active as before, he's still an experienced law enforcer.
- Badass Normal: With more emphasis on "normal", compared to the Bat-family, that is. He still isn't someone who you want upset with you.
- By-the-Book Cop: While he does allow a vigilante to patrol the city, he will absolutely not tolerate said vigilante killing anybody.
- The Commissioner Gordon: The Trope Namer, although he's been promoted to Deputy Mayor.
- Connected All Along: He's an Old Friend of Joe Siry from back when they were both a GCPD.
- Happily Married: To Sarah Essen.
- Honorary Uncle: He's seen as this by Julie and Sara Pezzini due to his friendship with Joe Siry.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He trusts Batman and knows he's doing the right thing.
- Retired Badass: He may no longer be on the front lines, but he still has decades of experience.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Batman often agonizes over whether or not he should be officially let in on the secret, and suspects that Gordon is too good of a cop not to have figured it out already.
- The Stoic: Gordon's developed something of a reputation for holding himself together pretty well.
Chief of Detectives Sarah Essen-Gordon
Jim Gordon's only wife and mother of Barbara and James Jr. She was the Captain of the Major Crimes Unit while her husband was the police commissioner. After he became deputy mayor and Ellen Yin became commissioner, Sarah was promoted to Chief of Detectives.
- Action Mom: She is the mother of Barbara and James Jr. and the police commissioner.
- Composite Character: Of Barbara Gordon Sr. and Sarah Essen.
- Happily Married: To Jim Gordon.
- Honorary Aunt: Just like Jim, she's seen as something of an aunt by Sara and Julie Pezzini.
- Number Two: For her husband, even more so than Harvey Bullock.
- Older Than They Look: She looks very good for someone who's almost 60.
- Power Trio: Has formed one of sorts with Ellen Yin and Maggie Sawyer.
- Related in the Adaptation: From a brief fling, to Gordon's wife and the mother of Barbara and James Jr.
- Spared by the Adaptation: She survives Earth-27's version of the "No Man's Land" storyline. However, in this scenario she's forced into a Sadistic Choice by the Joker to let her mentor, Dave King, die and make her watch. The alternative would've been a dozen kidnapped newborns.
- Statuesque Stunner: She qualifies at 5'8"/173cm, and doesn't look bad despite her age.
Lt. Harvey Bullock
Harvey Bullock was once a corrupt GCPD cop, until he turned over a new leaf and made a conscious effort to be an honest lawman. He is now one of Jim Gordon's most trusted officers.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: He's actually a pretty good detective when he wants to be, but he's usually just too cynical to give a damn about anything.
- Cigar Chomper: As seen on his picture as a GCPD Lieutenant.
- Donut Mess with a Cop: Harvey Bullock's love of donuts goes without saying.
- Genre Refugee: From looks to disposition, Bullock would be quite at home in a contemporary Film Noir.
- Hardboiled Detective: Bullock is every bit tough and cynical.
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Pulls this one on Renee Montoya before taking the matter into his own hands.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He might be aggressive and foul-mouthed, but he was for a time one of the few decent cops in Gotham before Jim Gordon and Batman arrived.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Renee Montoya.
- Undying Loyalty: To Commissioner Gordon.
Det. Renee Montoya
See The Outsiders page
Det-Sgt. Crispus Allen
- Action Dad: Father of Jake Allen, Mal Allen, Andrea Allen and Diego Morales, and a pretty experienced GCPD Detective Sergeant.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Rather than being killed by a Dirty Cop named Jim Corrigan, he was shot in the line of duty and seemingly died, only to make a miraculous recovery. Unbeknownst to him and his partner, he had actually been revived by The Spectre while Jim Corrigan passed away.
- Adaptation Origin Connection: The one who convinced him to rethink his life choices, which would lead him to go to college and eventually join the GCPD, was a police officer named Jim Corrigan, the previous host of The Spectre.
- Affectionate Nickname: Cris and Crisp.
- Back from the Dead: During a gunfight between terrorists and vigilantes, he took an energy bolt to the side and passed out from shock, but when he was declared dead, he recovered thanks to the Spectre, even if he doesn't remember it.
- Cool Shades: Wears some nice, green tinted shades.
- Demonic Possession: He's a host of The Spectre.
- Disappeared Dad: His father is unknown, so he was raised by his single mother Violet Allen.
- Family Man: He's married with two (previously three) children.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: After being shot in the line of duty, he was attended by the woman who would eventually become his wife, Doris.
- Happily Married: To his wife Doris Allen. When she found out that Crispus had another child from a previous relationship, she wasn't pleased, at least at first.
- Heroic Host: He tries to use the powers of The Spectre for good.
- Irony: Allen respects Batman, but views Bruce Wayne with withering contempt.
- Legacy Character: Became the newest Spectre after the death of Jim Corrigan.
- Nepotism: Subverted. While his son Diego Morales joined the GCPD, nothing indicates he pulled any strings to help him, letting him rise through his own merits.
- Only Sane Man: For the GCPD, whenever Gordon's not around.
- Outliving One's Offspring: His son Malcolm "Mal" Allen died before him.
- Platonic Life-Partners: He's best friends with Renee Montoya.
- Related in the Adaptation: He's the father of Diego Morales, born from a brief fling between him and Rebecca Morales. He's also the father of Andrea Allen, of whom he was unrelated to in the comics.
- Secret-Keeper: Found out Renee was The Question during a fight against Black Spider and Whisper A'Daire, and he after talking about it in the aftermath, he kept the secret and remains as one of her closest allies.
Captain Maggie Sawyer
Formerly an officer of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit, Maggie Sawyer is currently the newest Captain of the Gotham City Police Department and the wife of Kate Kane/Batwoman.
- Action Mom: She's the mother of Jamie Sawyer and a GCPD captain who kicks ass.
- Amicable Exes: Maggie once dated Alex Danvers. She also remains on good terms with her ex-husband James.
- Badass Normal: Maggie is a skilled close-quarters combatant. While having no formal instruction outside of her police academy instruction, Maggie does like to keep her skills fresh by routine sparring. She has managed to wrestle Scarecrow to the ground, take down trained assassins like David Cain, and once fought the Red Hood (Jason Todd) to a stalemate in order to prevent him from beating the Joker to death with a crowbar (though Oracle had heard she now regrets she did that).
- Birds of a Feather: As Kate and Maggie have a nearly identical build, the two keep all their clothes in a single large closet and often borrow from one another. Kate has apparently tried to get Maggie to wear the Batwoman suit but that is a line Maggie isn't willing to cross, citing that the SCU tried out full-body armored jumpsuits for a while and they are something Maggie swore she'd never wear again.
- Desk Jockey: Maggie's office is decorated with a lot of knick-knacks that seem out of place in a Gotham workplace, like Superman coffee mugs and Metropolis Sharks jerseys and banners. She also prefers to read the Daily Planet for her news.
- Determinator: Maggie is her own worst enemy. She often second guesses herself or her capabilities and doesn't know how to take a compliment. She often underestimates what she is capable of doing, even when confronted with evidence of her many accomplishments.
- Happily Married: With her wife Kate Kane. Maggie proposed to Kate at some Metropolis Diner which is where the two were meeting Dan Turpin for lunch when they overheard the news that same-sex marriage was now legal in New Jersey.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Maggie is considered to be an excellent shot by the GCPD with her monthly firearms qualification scores constantly ranking in the 'Superb' category.
- Incompatible Orientation: With her ex-husband James Sawyer. She was married to a man for a brief time, but pretty quickly realized that she was lesbian and that it just wasn't going to work out.
- Insistent Terminology: Because she was once married to a man, some of her co-workers think that Maggie is bisexual. She is quick to correct them.
- Lethal Chef: Zig-Zagged. From what Barbara heard, Maggie is a terrible cook... but a pretty good baker. As described by Jason Bard, "her brownies are like a dream, oozing with marshmallows and drizzled in caramel".
- Official Couple: With Kate Kane/Batwoman.
- Rank Up: She's eventually promoted to Captain of the Major Crimes Unit of Gotham PD.
- Secret-Keeper: To Her wife Kate Kane when she revealed her identity as Batwoman, which led the pair into a relationship. This relationship would lead to a happy marriage.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Averted. Although as a member of Batman Incorporated, like Lucius Fox, Maggie doesn't want to know who Batman is.
- Shipper on Deck: It was Maggie's idea to set up Kate's ex, Renee, with Maggie's ex, Alex. Renee and Alex are currently dating.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: She's actually a reddish blonde, but she has green eyes and is the wife of Batwoman.
- Sorry, I'm Gay: Maggie's old boss, Dan Turpin, once asked Maggie out, unaware she was a lesbian. The way she broke the news to him was by telling him she "don't drive standard anymore". This apparently was what brought Turpin around to realizing just how homophobic the Metropolis PD was and nearly overnight he became an outspoken supporter for LGBT rights. Apparently, Superman was surprised by this news as well.
- Statuesque Stunner: She's the same height as her wife, 5'10"/178cm tall.
Commissioner Ellen Yin
- Canon Immigrant: She originates from The Batman cartoon instead of the comics.
- The Commissioner Gordon: Has inherited the position from Gordon.
- Fair Cop: Yin is quite attractive for a police detective.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She acts cold and dismissive at first, but it is later shown that she cares deeply for Ethan and admits that Gotham needs the Batman, becoming his ally in the process.
- Power Trio: Has formed one with Sarah Essen and Maggie Sawyer.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Ellen tells Bruce she figured out his secret. The secret is that Bruce wasn't a "spoiled, arrogant playboy" he made himself out to be.
District Attorney Marian Grange
Jolene Marian Grange is Gotham's current District Attorney and the wife of Linwood Porteous.
- Action Mom: Mother of two and she's an expert martial artist and markswoman, which is necessary for her job as DA of Gotham.
- Black Boss Lady: District Attorney and one of the main law enforcers in Gotham outside of the police department.
- Character Tics: Marian has a tendency to play with her ring on her necklace whenever she is waiting for something important. If she's playing with her necklace while in a courtroom, most of her staff know not to bother her with anything trivial or she's likely to go ballistic on them.
- Composite Character: Marian Grange is combined with Pooch's wife Jolene.
- Disappeared Dad: Her father Lee Grange was an attorney killed by the mob, probably under orders from Carmine Falcone.
- Fainting: She, understandably, fainted when she found out her husband was apparently killed and declared a traitor, forcing her to remain in bed for the remainder of her pregnancy.
- First-Name Basis: She's the only one who refers to her husband by his first name rather than his nickname. He in turn is the only one who calls her Jolene rather than Marian.
- Happily Married: She and her husband were very happy together, although currently they're estranged due to his status as a fugitive.
- Hello, Attorney!: She's a rather attractive attorney, even if she's a mother of two.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Earl Cooper, the uncle of her eventual husband Linwood.
- One Degree of Separation: Neither she nor Roselynn are aware that her husband and Lynn's thought-to-be-dead brother are part of the same unit.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She can actually stand up to Amanda Waller, which very few can do.
- The Rival: Sees Roselynn Stewart-Pierce as her rival.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: She has recently started clashing with Amanda Waller concerning how they do things, especially after she lost her bid as Gotham City Mayor.
Captain Jason Bard
- Friend on the Force: He was handpicked by Jim Gordon himself and helps the Bat-family whenever he can.
- Happily Married: With Sasha Bordeaux.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Wears a leather jacket.
- Honorary Uncle: He's the godfather of Helena Wayne.
- Perma-Stubble: Has a five o'clock shadow.
- Secret-Keeper: He's privy on the identities of the Bat-family.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Uses them and serves as head of forensics in the GCPD.
Det. Sonia Alcana
See the Gotham City page
Lt. Michael Washington Lane
Click for Azrael 2.0
A Gotham police officer that was changed into the new Azrael after he took the Suit of Sorrows.
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: He's african-american while his predecessor is caucasian.
- Big Damn Heroes: He arrives just in time to help Angel and Simeon fight off Hyper-Adapter.
- Chest Insignia: Michael Lane's Suit of Sorrows has a Christian cross on it, though before he took the suit, the cross was modeled after the bat-symbol.
- Dark and Troubled Past: His son was killed during a gang-war, which led his wife to commit suicide. On the same year his brother and sister were killed by Victor Zsasz.
- Deadpan Snarker: When he wants to be.
- Flaming Sword: Unlike Jean-Paul, he wields one.
- Knight Templar: He's not nearly as bad as the previous Azraels but can still act pretty extreme, forcing the rest of the Batfamily to hold him back a bit.
- Legacy Character: Becomes the second Azrael.
- Mission from God: Mikey is convinced that he's on one of these, though considering how around the bend he is, thanks to the Suit of Sorrows...
- Religion is Magic: The Suit of Sorrows is with this.
- Vigilante Man: Just like the original Azrael.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: The Suit of Sorrows is said to have driven all of its wearers insane.
Det. William Gorski
See the 8888 Cluster page
Det. Diego Morales
- Big Eater: Diego has to eat whenever he gets nervous. He can often be found enjoying his weekday lunch hour at Gotham Dwag. It's likely he'd eat there all the time if his wife would allow it.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Diego is a flirt, He loves his wife, but he's got an wandering eye and tends to get himself in trouble as he's unable to stop himself from hitting on any pretty girl that so much as flashes a smile in his direction.
- Fanboy: His mancave has a number of trophies he considers to be priceless — including a batarang given to him by Black Bat and a picture of him with Red Robin, Black Bat, and Spoiler in front of some bank robbers suspended from a lightpole. He also has a picture of him with Lucas Lee at a comic convention with writing that reads "Swears to me. -Lucas Lee".
- Happily Married: Despite the flirting with other women and the occasional fight, he and his wife Dizzy are very much in love.
- Jumped at the Call: After spending years without a real purpose, he eagerly joined the GCPD and eventually rose all the way to Detective, mostly thanks to his inquisitive nature and acting background.
- Lazy Bum: Diego tends to look for the simplest and easiest solution to each and every one of his problems. He often neglects paperwork and puts off chores. He recognizes that he's lazy and will try to find other ways to repay those closest to him that put up with him — such as buying Will Gorski drinks and meals in exchange for Will doing their paperwork; or taking Isabelle out for a fancy dinner every Sunday night without fail to get out of doing dishes and folding laundry.
- Pop-Cultured Badass: Diego is an avid consumer of media associated with caped crusaders, both fictional and real. He is a big fan of the Retaliators franchise and is able to recite the entirety of the extensive movie catalog's dialogue at a moment's notice.
- Raised by Grandparents: Since his mother was busy with her studies and career, early in his life he was raised by his grandparents Hector and Sarah Morales.
- Related in the Adaptation: He's the son of Crispus Allen, born from a brief fling between him and his mother Rebecca Morales, who wrote about the Ghostbusters in the IDW comics. His grandfather is Hector Morales, a member of the DV8 in the comics. His wife is Isabelle "Dizzy" Cordova-Morales from 100 Bullets, while his stepson is Santiago Cordova. His half-sister Andrea Allen is a user of the H-Dial in the comics.
- Street Smart: Diego has experience working undercover in the criminal underworld of Gotham City. He knows who many of the influential criminals are. He knows many places where black market exchanges are done for drugs, weapons, and other illicit goods. He also maintains a number of connections that act as informants.
- Team Member in the Adaptation: Like Will, rather than a Chicago PD officer, he's part of the GCPD.
- Undying Loyalty: Though Diego does not consider this to be a fault, he is a loyal friend, husband, and father — even loyal to a fault. He has only ever loved one woman, only loves one kid, and has only ever had a one true friend. Though Diego is a loving son to his parents and loves his grandparents and half-siblings dearly; Isabelle, Santiago, and Will are what he considers to be his true family. He is willing to put himself in personally unfavorable and risky situations to protect them.
