Notice! Spoilers ahead for Batman #154!All Batman Knows he's being turned upside down when one of his oldest allies has just become the number one suspect in a brutal murder case. The Dark Knight may have survived the events of Absolute Power, but his darkest days may be ahead of him.
In the days following Waller's coup, Gotham changed, both due to Batman's public works projects and the city's revitalization by the Riddler's company. But as the forces fight for control of Gotham, their leader, Mayor Christopher Nakano, has been shot and killed by an unknown assailant. Now Batman is investigating this mystery and pointing it in a shocking direction.
Jim Gordon is a suspect in Batman's latest murder case
Was Gordon seeing Mayor Nakano's wife?
In Batman #154 by Chip Zdarsky, Carmine Di Digandomencio, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles The Gotham City Police Department is on high alert following the death of Mayor Nakano. Harvey Bullock leads the investigation and discusses the case with Batman and former Police Commissioner Jim Gordon. Gordon suggests that Vandal Savage, the new city commissioner, may be behind the murder. But Christopher's assistant points Batman in the direction of Leonid Kulla member of the Court of Owls that Christopher had been dealing with recently.
Nakano's wife Koyuki is brought in and the police try to access her phone for clues. Meanwhile, Batman tracks Kull to a restaurant, where he is having dinner with the Riddler and acting mayor Jacob Horgan. The Dark Knight accuses Leonid and Riddler of killing the mayor, but both profess innocence. Unable to prove his guilt, Batman leaves the restaurant and goes to the morgue to inspect Nakano's body. and determines that Christopher struggled before he died and that the killer tried to cover his tracks.
...it is revealed that the mayor's wife was having an affair.
Batman returns to the crime scene and meets with Jim Gordon to discuss the case. As the two search for more evidence, Bullock calls Batman and tells him that they hacked into Koyuki's phone. After examining his texts, it is revealed that the mayor's wife was having an affair. As soon as this clue comes to light, Gordon points a gun at Batman, saying he was just defending himself. Batman is furious and disarms Gordon before punching him in the face while Bullock tries to maintain contact with the Caped Crusader.
Is Batman's oldest ally really an assassin?
Or is there a larger conspiracy at work?
Although Bullock doesn't definitively say that it was Gordon who Koyuki was seeing, the sudden twist at the end leads the reader to suspect that it was. Not to mention, Gordon is no stranger to having an affair, as he once cheated on his wife Barbara, with Sarah Essen. That being said, Gordon still has some denial and even if he was the person Koyuki was seeing behind the mayor's back, that doesn't necessarily mean Gordon Christopher's killer (although this gives Batman's ally a reason to eliminate Nakano).
It's hard to imagine what Gordon could be talking about if he weren't referring to the case...
Unfortunately, Gordon says and does some pretty damning things in the last few pages of Batman #154. In addition to pointing a gun at Batman (a very suspicious action), Gordon starts crying, claiming that he was just defending himself and that "I didn't want". It's hard to imagine what the hell Gordon could be talking about if he wasn't referring to the case or shooting Nakano. Then again, given the other suspects, It's not hard to imagine Batman and Gordon being played now.
Remember, one of the main players in Gotham right now is Leonid Kull, a member of the Court of Owls. This syndicate has organized and carried out more conspiracies in Gotham than any other, so it's not out of the question that they're framing Gordon. After all, he and Batman are two of the city's greatest defenders of justice. If Kull, Vandal Savage and Riddler eliminate Gordon, so they can focus on Batman and eventually conquer Gotham for his own twisted purposes.
What does the future hold for Batman and Gordon?
Batman is Gordon's only hope
Without a doubt, Batman will delve deeper into this mystery and, from now on, anything is possible. It could be that Gordon was seeing Koyuki but was innocent of killing Christopher. But it is not impossible to think that the Court manipulated events so that Gordon ended up taking Nakano's life. As angry as Batman is now, he is the only one who can make things right again by discovering what role his ally played in this shocking mystery.
Batman #154 is now available from DC Comics.