James Gordon (New Earth)/Quotes

The signal goes on and he shows up. That's the way it's been, that's the way it will be. Anything else about the man I couldn't tell you.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Giant mutant cannibals... you... you're serious?

--James Gordon (New Earth)

No -- Gotham doesn't die -- not on MY watch!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Jaynes wants a headline. And I'm afraid Jason Blood's...exotic line of work will make an excellent headline. As District Attorney, he's within his rights to have you held until you're arraigned. Next thing you know, he'll be after you, Batman.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

You have your own subway station?

--James Gordon (New Earth)

So much we'll never understand. It's as if our authority ends at Gate Street.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I don't know if I can protect you on this one.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Harvey Dent. You are under arrest.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I understand you're working with a young partner now. I'd like to meet him sometime.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Your father thought he was above the law. Throwing acid in people's faces. It's time you learned you're not.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

You wear your funny clothes and your long hair. You call honest cops "pigs." You sneer at everything -- family, religion, country. And what do you have to offer? Bad music, drugs, and a talent for sitting on your butts. You don't produce anything anyone needs -- food, shelter, security. If it weren't for the people you ridicule, you'd starve. If it were up to me, I'd let you die in the streets and be collected with the trash.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

The big moments are sometimes quiet. No lightning, no thunder, no howling wind -- the mist on my face wasn't even cold. Nothing spectacular at all. Just a quiet moment that changed everything. I realized that the system wasn't working. The system wasn't working. That meant my life wasn't working. I'd have to go outside the law.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I need you to do something. It's not an easy thing. It's something where, if you're caught, I'll deny I asked you to do it.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

They traded everything they owned for a trip into darkness. They're some of the worst this city has to offer--but I'm still not sure they deserved this.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Partners are equals, Batman! When have you ever treated me like your equal? Partners, for example, tell you their plans! They keep you informed! And they sure as hell don't walk out on you in the middle of a sentence!-- If I wanted to know who you were, I could have discovered it ten years ago. And for all you know, maybe I did. Maybe I do.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

But why? Is this the gangs upping their stakes...or is this something else entirely?

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Under the mask he's just a man, like you or me. And no man, not even him, is right one-hundred percent of the time.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

This might not be the time to say it... but there might never be time again -- I hate this city -- the crime and corruption and the filth and the subway and the crowds! But... I love it, too. It's part of me, the way it's part of you. If Gotham dies, they might as well bury me with her. There've been a lot of regrets in my life, Batman. But there's one thing I won't ever regret -- that you and I fought in the same war.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I know crime better than almost any man in this city. Criminalize people, and they'll act like criminals. Tell them they're killers, they'll become killers. When people are sick, they need treatment, and help, and understanding.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Yes. I'm saying we incite people -- bad people, degenerates, to kill each other. Yes, once upon a time, that was illegal. But once upon a time, we were part of the United States of America, living under its laws and its justice system. Now we're not. There's no law. But we can still have order -- if we impose it. And we will impose it, because it's our city, and we want to live in an ordered society. We're going to take back this city -- because we think it's worth saving.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Was it worth it, Batman?

--James Gordon (New Earth)

A second chance. A do-over. Not everybody gets one... but sometimes opportunity has a funny way of favoring those who've paid the price.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I think I hear you mother calling you in for supper, Forbes. We were having an adult conversation here.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I remember when I first became a cop. It seemed easier to tell the good guys from the bad. But Gotham City has a way of confusing that issue.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Sometimes I wonder if there's any such thing as a good night in Gotham... but I'll take what I can get.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

We should have nipped this thing in the bud when this Impostor Joker first appeared. Now the whole thing has gone viral. Jokerz are popping up all over the city.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

The snow always makes me restless -- the way it buries everything. All I can think about is the footprint in the alley filling with white. The cotton thread on the windowsill loosening with every icy drip. Clues lost. They come at me in winter, the unsolved ones. The ones I couldn't crack.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Do you ever feel like... like the more good you do or try to do for people ou there, for strangers, the more the ones close to you, the ones you love, get hurt? I don't mean in general. I mean here. In Gotham. I'm not talking about the people. I'm talking about the bricks. The stone. The damn bedrock. There are times I feel a dark heart down there, Dick. A dark, malformed heart. Beating and beating.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Giant Venus Fly Traps. Stangling vines. Poison pollen. Those are Ivy trademarks. Hypodermics to the neck, not so much.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Gotham has always been a city that accepts change -- that moves forward. The older you get, the harder it is to think that way. I don't want to say it aloud, but I know the truth. Time to move forward. Stacy -- Light the candle.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

It's official, folks. You've got Jim Gordon to kick around again.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Sgt. Essen informed me that Wayne's parents were murdered by a mugger when he was eight years old. That's enough motive, I suppose, to make a man dress like Dracula and assault criminals...

--James Gordon (New Earth)

No offense, but I don't like the fact that this is becoming a habit--You and I staring down at the helpless victim of some damn lunatic!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Look, I have no regrets for being part of this...campaign of yours. We both want the same results--to see Gotham cleaned of what ails it. It's just...our methods that differ. I've also got no illusions that what you do is vitally necessary...and effective. But I can't sneak around in the shadows like this anymore. That's your path...not mine.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Always seems cold down here, no matter the time of year. And it's the one place in Gotham I can't help you. You'll be entirely on your own.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Good God! This Monster is loose in my town!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

We are the only people in this free nation who have the power to deprive a citizen of their freedom; of their liberty... The only people with the authority to hold another against their will.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I wonder if Metropolis needs a police commissioner...?

--James Gordon (New Earth)

This is a nightmare. And just like a nightmare there's nothing I can do.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I know you're not Batman--not the one who's looked out for this city! Not the one I know!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

If it's still him, he's changed. He took Bane down, but he didn't survive the encounter... not as the same man.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

A lot of things aren't ringing true lately-as if Gotham's been turned upside-down ever since Bane...and if the Batman can change the way he has, maybe Catwoman has, too.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Our jobs don't include murder, Harvey. I want to stop Falcone and the rest, but not like this. Never like this.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

There are certain things that have always gone unsaid between us...certain suspicions I've never been able to prove. But we both know you're no traitor...

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Step carefully, old friend. You've always used fear as a weapon. Now I'm afraid it's a weapon that can be turned on you!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Sure, maybe Batman cut a little red tape here and there but he did nothing any other cop on the force couldn't have done and should have done...including me.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

The man's a total psychopath. And like all psychopaths he's true to his fantasy.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Somebody called for a washed-up old cop?

--James Gordon (New Earth)

What is it, Detective Montoya? The Joker's escaped? Bane is back? Whatever it is I can handle it.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Well, I'd love to stick around for your disappearing routine, but I've got things to do downstairs. Let me know when you have something.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I'm sadder but wiser, Sarah. I got a glimpse of the truth. Outside of Gotham...I'm a joke. All I've ever been able to do is hold the line in this town. That's not good enough.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

You want to play games with me, fine, Harvey... don't expect me to like it.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

...We're the police, we protect, and it doesn't matter who was here during NML and who wasn't. Am I clear?

--James Gordon (New Earth)

This is a sick world sometimes. That isn't your fault.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

He's the only man I've ever wanted to see dead. No, more than dead. I wanted him to suffer a long and painful death. I've wanted to wipe that lousy grin off his face so long now that it actually hurts!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Why? Over the years, I've often asked myself the same question. The man has almost a maniacal drive to save innocent lives and punish criminals. I've no real idea what drives him so. But I have my suspicions... no proof... only speculations... But I'll tell you one thing. I'm sure glad he's on our side.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I've known him from the start, from the first days he showed in Gotham. I've seen him in action. Spoken to him. Shaken his hand more than once. If that was different men, then I've been in the wrong line of work for all these years. - Certanly he's been a friend to this city. Sometimes a better friend than I think she deserves.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Mad scientists. Great. The story of my life.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

The world's such a big place when you're a kid. You can go anywhere -- be anyone -- do anything you can dream. You'll be a pop star, or a spaceman, or a hero, and all your futures are golden. Then you grow. And, almost unnoticed, all your choices start to die. Five years old? You'll never be the Gerber Baby. Eleven? Too late to be a world-class gymnast. And you grow. You get a career, and a family, and a life. Then you're on a road you can't get off, and with every day the golden glow gets dimmer. But when you're a kid, you're magic. You can do anything. Then one day, you realize the infinite has compacted into the inevitable -- you've used up all your choices. The road ahead is straight, and short, and very dark.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I'm scared. I'm an old man. I can't afford to pass up a second chance... it might never come again. I love you, Sarah Essen.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

In other words...book Tommy Mangles yourself. Because I quit.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

The whole city's become a threat to their lives--danger and death bound in every brick of every bulding.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

I'm investigating murder, doctor. I can barge into Hell if I want!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Hmm. Hell's way beyond my jurisdiction!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

No -- Gotham doesn't die -- not on MY watch!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

This morning I informed Mayor Dickerson of my intention to retire. As of midnight, after over twenty years, I'll no longer be a cop. [...] There's one more thing I want to say. Each of you has honored me with your service. Each of you has made me proud.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

What's there to understand, exactly? You're training some kid to follow in your footsteps! Putting him in the path of bullets and madmen!

--James Gordon (New Earth)

You told me that everyone needs a friend. You've been mine. I hope to God that I've been yours.

--James Gordon (New Earth)

Another Halloween.

--James Gordon (New Earth)