Post by gordon on Jul 24, 2009 12:37:31 GMT -5
JAMES WORTHINGTON GORDON
Nicknames:Referred to as Jim by his friends, but most people just know him as Commissioner Gordon. It isn't uncommon for some people to address him as Jimmy though, despite his disliking for the nickname.
Alias[es]: N/A
Age: 44
Physical Appearance:
Gordon isn't the largest or most overbearing cop on the force. He has an average build, although he does try to workout and train whenever he can find the time.
He has dark brown hair, accompanied by a thick moustache and normally sporting a pair of thick framed reading glasses. Being the commissioner, he spends many late nights at the police station or out on cases, so he often shows the effects of sleep deprivation.
As far as attire goes, it all depends on the occasion. But more often than not, he's seen wearing a trench coat over a plain and cheap shirt and tie that could be found in the men's department of any clothing store.
Distinguishing Marks:
No visible distinguishing marks aside from the odd scar that could be found on his body from years of shootouts and altercations with criminals. But none of these would be noticed unless someone was actively looking for them.
Played By: Gary Oldman
Strengths:
Intelligence
Gordon has keen detective skills that have been honed from years of working on the police force. Very little is able to get by him unnoticed, as he often examines every situation and crime scene thoroughly and hastily.
Combat Skill
Some underestimate his physical ability, seeing him as more of a paper pusher than someone that can hold his own. But he has been trained in numerous combat tactics and can easily subdue most suspects he comes across without having to resort to a firefight.
Leadership Qualities
Gordon also possesses the desired leadership skills to head the GCPD as the Commissioner. Gotham has always been known for it's crooked cops, but since Gordon has been Commissioner, he has been able to command the loyalty of many police officers old and new in his department.
Weaknesses:
Obsession
Gordon is extremely dedicated to his work. On one hand this works well for the GCPD, but on the other, it has caused him to become somewhat obsessive with stopping crime in Gotham. He often neglects his family and home life to put in overtime. He is known to work for weeks at a time with little rest.
Dependance
Ever since Batman began cleaning up the streets and lowering the crimerate, Gordon has seen him as an ally. But he has also come to depend on him a little too much. Instead of relying on his own men, he will often hold out on help from Batman. Now that The Batman seems to have disappeared, Gordon feels on his own for the first time in a long time.
Distrust
Thanks to corruption in the police force and his previous experience with crooked cops and politicians, Gordon has grown to become somewhat untrusting. While he is often given no choice but to rely on the other officers in the GCPD, he still finds it difficult to trust them, and even has a hard time putting his faith in Batman despite how much he has come to rely on him.
Personality Traits:
Honesty
While he can be rough with suspects and there's no love lost when it comes to the criminals that plague Gotham, Gordon still tries to be an honest and hard-working individual. A rarity in Gotham City these days. He tries to instill a certain level of trust between himself and his fellow officers and of course the vigilantes that watch over Gotham.
He is always honest and forward with his family as well.
Cynicism
Working on the police force for over twenty-years has given Gordon a certain cynical view on life. He's seen enough bad deeds go unpunished and enough criminals get away with horrible acts to make him give into pessimism. He realises that his best hope for cleaning up Gotham is Batman - a masked stranger that patrols the city in tights and a cape - this doesn't help his cynicism.
Loyalty
Over the years, Gordon has proven himself to his peers to be one of the few cops that can be trusted. He's loyal to all those that deserve his attention and will stop at nothing to please his friends and family.
Secret(s/)Motive(s): Gordon isn't much for secret motives, but part of him has considered further investigating the true identity of Batman, just out of his own personal curiosity if anything.
Family Members:Barbara Eisleen Gordon (wife); James Gordon Jr (son); Barbara Gordon (neice)
Partners:Normally works alone, but has previously partnered with Detective Arnold Flass. He also works and collaborates with Batman and his partners.
History:
James Gordon spent the early part of his life in Chicago with his wife Barbara. He served briefly in the Special Forces, learning many skills and techniques with hand-to-hand combat, but Jim's aspirations were set on becoming a cop. He joined the Chicago PD and quickly began to climb the ranks, but after realising the corruption that was in both the police department and the local government, he was transferred to Gotham City.
In Gotham, Gordon hoped that he and his wife could start anew, but unfortunately he found Gotham to be much worse for wear, with even more corruption in the police force. He was one of the few detectives that was clean, making the other officers nervous, even resulting in a number of Gordon's peers assaulting him.
It was around the same time that The Batman emerged and began cleaning up the streets.
Gordon initially saw Batman as a criminal and nothing more than an out of control vigilante. He spent many months trying to track him down and learn his identity. He even came close on a few occasions, but he soon he realised that he may have been playing for the wrong team, noticing the non-stop corruption in his police department, which seemed to all be condoned by the then-commissioner Gillian Loeb.
After Batman helped bring down Loeb and a number of other crooked cops, Gordon started viewing him as an ally rather than a criminal, and soon began working with him and collaborating on cases. Especially those of more "special" cases with the likes of The Joker.
Since then, Gordon has risen the ranks of the GCPD to become the Commissioner. But this role has put a cramp on his family life. His marriage with Barbara often suffering as his wife copes with the depression and loneliness of being a stay-at-home wife to the Commissioner of Police.
Since moving to Gotham, they have had one child, James Gordon Junior. But they have also since had to adopt "Babs," Jim's neice.
Currently, in the wake of the earthquake that levelled Gotham, things have become harder than ever. More and more criminals and psycopaths are wandering the streets and the numbers on the police force are thinning, and now Batman has seemed to have disappeared leaving a lot on the shoulders of Jim Gordon.
Your Name: Alex
Age: 19
Means of contact:corgantron@gmail.com (I can be added to MSN, or you can just email me).
Passphrase: Accept
Roleplay example:
The Bat-Signal seemed to pierce a hole in the night sky. Normally this light brought hope for the sufferers on the streets, and struck fear in those that would prey on the less fortunate. But now, it only brought disappointment. For the last two weeks, Jim Gordon had left the Bat-Signal on at night, hoping that The Dark Knight would come gliding in onto the GCPD rooftop. But he hadn't. In fact, there hadn't been any reported Batman sightings in a while now.
Jim stood next to the spotlight, one hand buried into his pocket to try and keep it warm. The other hand holding a cigarette. He had been on the roof for half an hour waiting.
The Commissioner of Police has more important things to do than to wait on the roof for a vigilante that won't even show up, Gordon thought to himself as he shut the light off and the sky returned to the complete darkness.
As he walked back into Police Headquarters, he began to wonder about the worst case scenario. What if Batman had given up? This city needs someone like Batman to inspire hope. That's something that Gordon could never do.
The night was cold, and eerily quiet considering recent events. Gordon stepped out onto the street from police headquarters, hoping that a walk would clear his mind.
But a walk in Gotham City's present state could also be misconstrued as a death wish or attempted suicide. At least without something to defend oneself with. But Gordon always carried his sidearm. His 9mm handgun that he felt through his jacket pocket. He liked to check and make sure it was still there, and easy to reach in case he needed quick access to it.
He often wondered how Batman was able to fight crime without having to ever resort to using a firearm. He pondered this further as he wandered down the street, being ever weary of his surroundings.
People had been afraid to leave their homes recently, and most of the people that were seen on the street were probably up to no good.
Gordon noticed something a few blocks ahead. The only other two pedetrians he could see. A man and a woman on a street corner. They appeared to be having somewhat of a heated argument.
Elaine worked two jobs. One was waitressing at a local cafe, and the other one was a small-paying telemarketing job. With both jobs combined she barely made enough to pay the rent, and she couldn't afford to move out of Gotham. Since the earthquake, she had to move in with her ex-boyfriend since her home was too far damaged.
Her ex-boyfriend, Liam, was a bipolar manic depressive. Somedays he loved living with her again, and other days he downright hated her. Today was one of those days.
They had been arguing about her living in his home for the last thirty minutes. The argument had escalated in Liam's apartment to the point that he grabbed Elaine by the arms and forced her against the wall, his face just centremetres away from hers, shouting out hateful abuse. All of a sudden she remembered all too clearly why she broke it off with him in the first place.
Figuring he would leave her alone if she went outside - out in public - she threw the frontdoor opened and walked out into the cold night. No one seemed to be about, with the exception of a silhouette of a single man in the distance. She figured she would wait outside for a few minutes until Liam had a chance to cool down.
Just as she was about to let her situatio get to her emotionally, Liam stepped outside after her and continued the argument. Grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. She began to cry. He hated that she had invited herself back into his life, after it took him so long to get over her. And now he wasn't in control of his own actions.
He took no notice of the figure swiftly approaching them. He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a cheap and nasty looking pistol. A tear escaped one of his eyes as he pointed it at Elaine, Elaine whom was now crying and had her eyes closed, ready to take this final piece of abuse from Liam.
But then a set of hand's wrestled the gun from Liam's grip. Commissioner Gordon struggled with the unstable man, thrashing about on the sidewalk. It took one stiff elbow to the man's jaw to knock him to the ground. Gordon threw the pistol to the road and pulled a pair of handcuffs from his jacket pocket before restraining the deranged man in them.
He looked up to Elaine, "Are you hurt?" he asked.
She shook, feeling like she might throw up from the fact that Liam had tried to murder her. But she managed to shake her head to the Commissioner.
As Gordon waited for the squad car that he radio'd to take his prisoner in, he thought more on the altercation, and how much easier it would have been to just pull his gun on the man instead of trying to wrestle him to the ground like he did. His job would be a lot easier if he could just declare a state of martial law and shoot anyone like this maniac, but he wanted to prove that things could still be done by the book, and that things can eventually return to normal that way in Gotham City.
