With Bat-Gordon nearing its end, how'd we like it?

[resipsaloquitur]

With Snyder's Batman run ending this month, I think it's worth looking back over the last year and asking how we enjoyed this. If you've been with Batman long enough, you'll remember that this is not the first time Batman's been replaced. We had a year of Azrael in the 90s followed by two months of Dick in 1994. Tim very briefly played Batman in "Sins of Youth." Dick filled in again in the 2010s when Bruce was thought dead. Of course, these were all successors to Batman who'd had some part in being trained up to take on the role. Gordon fell into it out of duty, when a corporate-government teaming determined that Gotham City still needed a Batman, even if he was a franchise one.

I've been liking it so far (and I have more thoughts up on tomorrow's "Superheavy" release over here), though the story does have the inevitable setup of "Jim's not up to the job and only the one, true Batman can handle the threat of Mr. Bloom." That's inevitable, and Snyder made no illusions about Bruce returning at the end of this. But I'm curious how the rest of you have felt about Jim Gordon as Batman and whether he's done his part while Bruce was amnesiac.

[Sardorim]

That was a short time as Batman...

[resipsaloquitur]

That was a short time as Batman...

Still longer than Dick in "Prodigal" (two months) and Tim in "Sins of Youth" (one issue). And Bat-Gordon has appeared all over, in Batman, Detective, Batman & Robin Eternal (briefly), Batgirl, Catwoman, and maybe a few other places.

[Panfoot]

I've enjoyed it for the most part. I almost kinda wish Jim would stick around as a second batman for a little while longer in 'Tec after rebirth.

[failo.legendkiller]

Jim Bat was a totally flop for me, boring and out of character, instead i've enjoyed Bruce Wayne status, loss of memory, the joker encounter and Alfred trying (foolishly) to keep him safe from his past.
Anyway i'm happy it's come to the end.

Prodigal was marvelous, DickBat and TimRobin was my favourite times.

[TickTock]

Still longer than Dick in "Prodigal" (two months) and Tim in "Sins of Youth" (one issue). And Bat-Gordon has appeared all over, in Batman, Detective, Batman & Robin Eternal (briefly), Batgirl, Catwoman, and maybe a few other places.

He had a sizable role in Robin War.

I think, overall, this went better than readers really had any reason to expect. He wasn't a perfect fit, but it was something new and fun to do with Gordon, and I really hope DC doesn't just regress him back to being a regular guy.

[JasonTodd428]

I liked the bits of him as Batman that I saw in other books but since I had dropped the main title after Endgame I'm not sure how much my input counts with everyone else here. For what it's worth I do wish it was going on a bit longer though. It was an interesting idea and direction to go. I liked that Jim gets to see things from "Batman's" perspective while actually being Batman for a time. If there's any upshot from this I think it'll change their relationship for the better since Jim will now have had experience under the cowl to draw from.

[blackbolt396]

I'm happy Bruce is back.

[Godlike13]

I thought it was a fun ride, but i can't say its leaving me wanting more.

[Badou]

Well the art was nice, but I'm glad Bruce is going to be Batman again.

[marvelprince]

It hasn't done anything for me really. Never took him serious as Batman, don't think anyone else did, and I think Jims worked with Batman and the GCPD for long enough to have an understanding that the reason Batman works is cause he's not tied with the police.

Mr Bloom is a fun villian and I've been loving Duke (who I'm anticipating will be joining new Aqualad in comic limbo once this is over) but for the most part I've been waiting for this arc to just wrap up.

[Cowtools]

IMO it's been one of the best Batman stories since Morrison left the books. It's been a great showcase for Jim Gordon, taking him out of his usual element and expanding his character. I also love the way the story explored what the symbol of Batman means to Gotham, and what might happen if it's co-opted by the military-industrial complex (which is an idea so obvious I can't believe it hasn't been explored before). The actual story itself has been well-paced, managing to pack a lot of incident and character beats into a relatively short run of issues.
I also love how they didn't draw out the mystery of what happened to Bruce, and that that was also a new and interesting take on the character. Also, know that Bruce would return to Batman sooner rather than later gave a strange air of pathos to Gordon's story.
I also thought the editor did a great job of integrating JimBats into other books in a natural, unobtrusive way. His appearances in Detective Comics and Batgirl really added to the scope of the story without ruining those books, the way crossovers usually do.
It's been a genuinely riveting and original story for me, and I hope the Batman books don't return to the status quo as if nothing happened.

It hasn't done anything for me really. Never took him serious as Batman, don't think anyone else did, and I think Jims worked with Batman and the GCPD for long enough to have an understanding that the reason Batman works is cause he's not tied with the police.

But see, that's why the story works for me: because it's exploring that idea. I don't think we the readers were ever supposed to think a police sanctioned Batman is a good idea.

[MajorHoy]

It depends somewhat on whom was writing him.

[JBatmanFan05]

Gordon as Bats was a stretching of suspension of disbelief almost to the point of Alfred-as-Batman (or 52/OYL Gotham protector Harvey Dent, anyone remember that mess?), but it was fun enough (do Batman as Robocop) and Bloom and Bruce and Joker made it all work.

Prodigal with Dick as Batman and Morrison & Snyder's B&R/Black Mirror Dick as Batman redux were just as fun or moreso and benefitted from no suspension of disbelief concerns.

[AlexanderLuthor]

Interesting idea that should have probably been an Elseworlds tale. My biggest complaint is probably that Gordon felt so out of character - the generic Marine act didn't do it for me. I would have liked it much better if Robo-Bats would have had to stop every once in awhile for a cigarette. I've gone round and round about this with people before, but I'll simply say that I don't like how Snyder portrays Batman as a tragic victim rather than a hero who overcame tragedy...but no need to argue over that one again