What should the age difference between Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne be?

[Micael]

We all know how close their relationship is and how their partnership usually works. What's the age difference you have in mind when seeing them interacting and what dynamic do you think suits them best:

- Long time friends with Gordon being slightly older. Batman respects him like an "older brother"

- Long time friends with Gordon being old enough to serve as a sort of father figure to Batman. He respects him like he would with a father

- A combination of both

[MajorHoy]

Maybe +/-fifteen-to-twenty years difference?

Somewhere between the "older brother" and "father figure" vibe.

[Daedalus]

- Long time friends with Gordon being slightly older. Batman respects him like an "older brother"

This - they reshaped Gotham city together and their partnership goes back decades. I think this was really cemented from The Long Halloween, Year One, etc., in which they are very much contemporaries/equals in the beginning. Yes, Jim is slightly older, but not by more than 10 years.

[Frontier]

I guess it depends on the interpretation but I think 10 years age difference is fine.

[MajorHoy]

I guess it depends on the interpretation but I think 10 years age difference is fine.

But ten years might be a bit short if you want Jim Gordon to be a young cop when Bruce's parents are killed.

[Daedalus]

But ten years might be a bit short if you want Jim Gordon to be a young cop when Bruce's parents are killed.

I thought that was a Nolan addition, unless I'm mistaken - comics Jim moved to Gotham from Chicago at around the time Bruce became Batman, or so Year One leads us to believe.

[AmiMizuno]

I think 10-15 years is good

[MajorHoy]

I thought that was a Nolan addition, unless I'm mistaken - comics Jim moved to Gotham from Chicago at around the time Bruce became Batman, or so Year One leads us to believe.

But I think some other writers since "Year One" (which was nearly 35 years ago) have picked up on the idea of Jim having relocated to Gotham City when Bruce was still a boy.
(Did Snyder also use that idea?)

[Micael]

I thought that was a Nolan addition, unless I'm mistaken - comics Jim moved to Gotham from Chicago at around the time Bruce became Batman, or so Year One leads us to believe.

How old would he be in Year One realistically though? We know that he had served in the army and that he was experienced enough to be a police lieutenant. Can't see him still being in early 30's when he comes back to Gotham.

[RobinGA]

If Bruce is 28, then the gap is larger. I would think that Gordon would at least be in his 50s.

[Daedalus]

But I think some other writers since "Year One" (which was nearly 35 years ago) have picked up on the idea of Jim having relocated to Gotham City when Bruce was still a boy.
(Did Snyder also use that idea?)

This may be true - someone posted a panel in another thread in recent days of a young cop Jim Gordon alongside a young kid Bruce Wayne. I had forgotten about that (though I've never read the original story, so I don't know about the context).

Perhaps we can have it both ways if he was a rookie cop when the Waynes were murdered - he'd be in his early 20s by then, and the 10-year age difference still works.

How old would he be in Year One realistically though? We know that he had served in the army and that he was experienced enough to be a police lieutenant. Can't see him still being in early 30's when he comes back to Gotham.

He'd be appropriately aged at early 30s for a lieutenant at the police force with military background. Plenty of police departments have a fast track for servicemen, and even without that, police lieutenants in their 30s are not uncommon. I did a quick google, and roughly 20% of the country's police lieutenants are younger than 40 (source: Zippia, Police Lieutenant Demographics, if you want to check).

[Daedalus]

If Bruce is 28, then the gap is larger. I would think that Gordon would at least be in his 50s.

Bruce can't really be 28 now. He was already Batman when James Gordon Jr. was a baby, and Jr. is a 20-something now. Bruce must be in his mid-40s at least, which lines up with Clark's age.

Even without Jim Jr. to take in consideration, Damian is already 14, and he was conceived when Bruce was already Batman.

[Mutant God]

Around 20 I think

[Restingvoice]

The most common depiction is closer to father figure

He will need to be already a beat cop when The Waynes is shot to be available for either comforting Bruce or killing Wrath's parents or both. Bruce is between 8 to 12 year old.

Then he was transferred to Chicago after said Wrath incident.

He will need to still have red hair when Bruce started becoming Batman at 25-26 and Barbara Eileen will need to already have a young daughter. (All of the Robins should also already born at this point except Damian)

He will have grey hair by now

So... 15 years-ish?
The Waynes Death: 8+15 = 23
Year One: 25+15 = 40
Present: 41+15 = 56

[SiegePerilous02]

Going by full publication history and all appearances, he's been full gray haired since Bruce's debut as Batman. So I'd at least 30 years older