Gillian B. Loeb
| Gillian B. Loeb | |
|---|---|
Gotham City Police Department |
Gillian B. Loeb is a fictional character in the DC Universe who serves as an enemy to Batman's ally James "Jim" Gordon in DC Comics publications.
The character was portrayed by
Publication history
Loeb first appeared in
Fictional character biography
Post-Crisis
Loeb is introduced in
Enraged, Loeb assigns Gordon to lead a task force with the sole purpose of arresting Batman. The vigilante proves frustratingly elusive, until the GCPD finally manages to corner him in an abandoned building following an impromptu rescue on the street. Loeb fakes a demolition order to have a bomb dropped on the building before sending in a heavily armed SWAT team to search for a body. Batman manages to escape, though not before humiliating Loeb further by easily overcoming his pursuers.
When Gordon (alongside assistant district attorney Harvey Dent) begins surreptitiously helping Batman, Loeb blackmails him with evidence of his extramarital affair with Sgt. Sarah Essen. Gordon is able to thwart Loeb's plan by confessing his indiscretion to his wife Barbara.
Eventually, Batman, Gordon, and Dent expose Loeb's ties to the Falcone mob and he is forced to resign. According to Gordon, Loeb's replacement, Jack Grogan, is just as corrupt. Gordon becomes the department's commissioner a few years later.
In
A younger Loeb appears as a captain in flashbacks in "Wrath Child" (Batman Confidential #13-16), where he arranges Gordon's transfer to Chicago for fifteen years after Gordon shot a corrupt cop and his wife in self-defense. Loeb fears the news could bring him and other corrupt cops down and threatens Gordon with the death of the cop's son to force him to accept the transfer.
Loeb is referred to in DC Comics' Hitman series. Moe Dubelz, one of Gotham City's most powerful mob bosses, says that Loeb helped his criminal empire to flourish by keeping the police at bay, in return for generous payments. Dubelz remembers Loeb's term as commissioner as the "good times" for his organization.[1]
Loeb appears in Matt Wagner's limited-series comic Batman and the Monster Men (2005–2006) under the name "Joseph Loeb", a likely reference to writer Jeph Loeb.
The New 52
In 2011,
Later during the Zero Year storyline, Riddler attacks GCPD blimps, while taking over the city's power grid and allowing the city to be flooded by a hurricane, causing many to crash; Loeb is among those killed as a result.[3] After the crisis is resolved and the Riddler is captured thanks to the efforts of Batman, Gordon, and Lucius Fox, Gordon is appointed the department's new commissioner a month later.[4]
In other media
Television
- Loeb appears in the Sarah Essenis sworn in as the new police commissioner.
- Loeb was mentioned in the Batwoman season finale episode "O, Mouse". A news report compared the feud between Batwoman and Jacob Kane with the feud between Batman and Loeb.
Film
- In Darren Aronofsky's script for a planned Batman: Year One film, Loeb was the master of organized crime in addition to being commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department.[10]
- Loeb appears in Batman Begins, portrayed by Colin McFarlane. Loeb is African-American and there is no indication that he is corrupt. The film shows him as a good-hearted person and a policeman willing to do his duty. At the film's beginning, he informs a young Bruce Wayne that they have caught Joe Chill shortly after the mugger killed Bruce's parents. When Bruce takes up the mantle of Batman and takes Carmine Falcone down, Loeb, having since been promoted to commissioner, still voices his disapproval of vigilantism in Gotham, but Batman being hailed as a public hero after saving Gotham from Ra's al Ghul implies that Loeb has changed his mind about Batman.
- McFarlane reprised his role in Police Commissionerof Gotham after Loeb's death.
- Loeb appears in the animated adaptation of Batman: Year One, voiced by Jon Polito.
Video games
- Loeb appears in Black Mask, at Blackgate Prison in retaliation for keeping his men behind bars, even though he was under Black Mask's payroll. "Black Mask" tells Loeb that his organization is moving in a direction that Loeb simply isn't part of before forcing Loeb into a gas chamber and killing him. He reappears in a hallucination caused by Copperhead's poisons, saying that Batman could have saved him if he arrived sooner. Loeb also is the subject of three extortion tapes by Enigma. The first is him conversing with Black Mask on how to deal with James Gordon regarding his strong moral compass. The second is him telling Harvey Bullock to work with Gordon in an attempt to dig up any potential blackmail material to force him to bend to their will. The last one has him telling SWAT leader Howard Branden to hunt down Batman after the latter managed to intimidate most of the SWAT team into taking sick days before taking a call from Martin Joseph. The truth about Loeb's connection with Black Mask later caused protests enough that in the "Cold, Cold Heart" DLC, Mayor Hamilton Hillannounced his resignation.
Novel
- In the novelization of The Dark Knight, Loeb's first name is given as Perry rather than Gillian. In The Dark Knight viral campaign however, he is referred to as Gillian B. Loeb as in the comics.
- In Batman: Fear Itself, Loeb is mentioned as wanting to transfer Blackgate Prison.
See also
- List of Batman Family enemies
References
- ^ "Scan of the page of the Hitman issue in which Loeb is mentioned". Retrieved 2010-12-30.
- ^ Detective Comics (vol. 2) #25. DC Comics.
- ^ Batman (vol. 2) #29. DC Comics.
- ^ Batman (vol. 2) #33. DC Comics.
- Welcome Back, Jim Gordon". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 13. January 26, 2015. Fox.
- Everyone Has a Cobblepot". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 18. March 2, 2015. Fox.
- Beasts of Prey". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 19. April 13, 2015. Fox.
- The Anvil or the Hammer". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 21. April 27, 2015. Fox.
- All Happy Families Are Alike". Gotham (TV series). Season 1. Episode 22. April 28, 2015. Fox.
- ^ Brian Linder (December 6, 2000). "Aronofsky Talks Batman: Year One...Again". IGN. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
