J.K. Simmons is going to knock it out of the park as Commissioner Gordon in the upcoming Justice League motion picture; I think that’s something that everyone can agree on. From his portrayal as J. Jonah Jameson in the Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man films to his chilling portrayal as a teacher in the movie Whiplash (to say nothing of his dozens of other fantastic roles on screen). Mr. Simmons has also released images of his time in the gym, which has shown him packing on some serious muscle. With this added weight, could we see a prep toward Gordon putting on the cape and cowl in the DC Cinematic Universe down the line? Comicbook.com Fan, D. Gordon, seems to think so. Let’s take a look at the facts.
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To give some background on the time when the “Commish” became the Dark Knight himself, we need to delve into the recent Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo story in the pages of Batman. Following an epic battle between the Joker and Batman, both were believed to have died in a cave-in during the storyline, “End Game”. Following the loss of Gotham City’s Dark Knight, the GCPD decided to enact a strange new program that saw Jim Gordon getting into shape, quitting smoking, and strapping on a “Mech Suit” fashioned after the missing Batman. While Bruce Wayne turned out to actually be alive and well, minus the loss of his memories as the Dark Knight, Gordon remained as Gotham’s Batman for dozens of issues.
J.K. Simmons has gone on record that the reason he’s been hitting the gym is simply because he loves hitting the gym! If he’ll be putting on a cape and cowl, it certainly won’t be any time soon. However, this does at least make for a great opportunity for Simmons to be the Gordon who becomes the Batman down the road. Simmons would not just wear the big clunky armor that caught so many headlines during its first appearance; the Commissioner also creates his own Batman costume, sans cape, which would be pretty neat to see Simmons don.
The DC Cinematic Universe has been taking numerous cues from the New 52 comic storylines, as seen in Batman V Superman and even in what we’ve glimpsed so far with Suicide Squad. To take a page from Scott Snyder’s legendary run on Batman wouldn’t be that far-fetched to be sure. Also, as opposed to the more realistic feel of the Nolan Batman movies, this Batman lives in a world of aliens, gods, and monsters, so a giant robot bat suit to combat them all wouldn’t necessarily be too “out there”. Introducing Jim Gordon through the new Justice League movie, rather than simply through a new Batman solo film, may show that Warner Bros has more plans for the Commissioner moving forward in the shared universe.
While Gordon becoming Batman in the comics necessitated the absence of Bruce Wayne, which is something I don’t see happening any time soon in the DC Cinematic Universe with Affleck at the helm, who’s to say we couldn’t have a fun easter egg with Jim needing to wear a robot suit for a Parademon attack or something along those lines? Regardless, it should be exciting to see what direction the WB has for J.K. Simmons in the future.
Want more articles about the man, J.K. Simmons, himself? Check out our articles below:
J.K. Simmons Wants to Show the Badass Side of Jim Gordon
J.K. Simmons Explains Viral Workout Photos and his Jim Gordon Look
Justice League’s J.K. Simmons is Impossibly Buff
J.K. Simmons Cast as Commissioner Gordon in Justice League
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