Michael Akins (New Earth)

Michael Akins
Mainstream Universe‎, 1986‎-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Michael Akins
Affiliation	formerly Gotham City Police Department
Status
Alignment	Neutral
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Former police commissioner
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Brown
Hair	Black
Origin
Universe	New Earth
Creators	Greg Rucka · Paul Pope
First Appearance	Batman: Turning Points #5 (January, 2001)

History

Little is known of Michael Akins before he moved to Gotham City, but it is known that he worked in Gateway City, where he had a traumatic encounter with a costumed vigilante named Watchdog which left both said vigilante and a kidnap victim dead.

Michael Akins was a trusted member of the Gotham City Police Department, appointed by James Gordon as Chief of Police after the city's period as a 'No Man's Land'. When Gordon was shot by a member of his own department and retired, Akins was appointed Commissioner in his place. He received a mixed reaction - some felt he was a strong leader while others felt that he was too much of a politician, playing games with city hall instead of concentrating on getting the important work of crimefighting done.

His relationship with Batman was always tense, as he respected the vigilante but resented the need for him, a feeling shared by many members of the police department. When the various gangs of the city engaged in a devastating gang war, during which Batman took actions which led to the death of a large number of police officers, Akins declared that the police department could no longer support him in any way, and that if he crossed the line, they would hunt him down. The Bat-Signal was removed from the roof of Gotham City Police Headquarters and all costumed vigilantes were declared illegal in the city.

At some point during the 'missing year', when Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman had all retired from public duty, Akins left or was removed from office. The circumstances have never been revealed, but it is known that there were significant problems with corruption in the force at the time, and Akins may have been implicated in this.

Related

• 68 Appearances of Michael Akins (New Earth)
• 7 Images featuring Michael Akins (New Earth)
• 3 Quotations by or about Michael Akins (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Michael Akins (New Earth)

Footnotes

GCPD Officer This character is or was an officer of, or held a title in the Gotham City Police Department, in any of its various incarnations. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "GCPD members" and "Police Officers" categories.