Batman Vol 1 587

From DC Database

"Officer Down - Part One:
These Are Your Rights"

Gallery

Batman Vol 1 #587
March, 2001

Executive Editor

Mike Carlin

Cover Artists

Durwin Talon

Writers

Greg Rucka

Pencilers

Rick Burchett

Inkers

Rodney Ramos

Colourists

Noelle Giddings

Letterers

Willie Schubert

Editors

Bob Schreck, Matt Idelson

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Batman #586

Batman #588

Appearing in "Officer Down - Part One:
These Are Your Rights"

Featured Characters:

• Commissioner Gordon
• Batman (Bruce Wayne)

Supporting Characters:

• Harvey Bullock
• Renée Montoya
• Crispus Allen
• Catwoman (Selina Kyle)

Villains:

• Jordan Rich

Other Characters:

• The Gotham City Police

• Eric Cohen
• Andy Kasinsky
• Thomas Burke
• Dagmar Procjnow

Locations:

• Gotham City
• Gotham City Police Headquarters

Items:

• Nine Handcuff Keys

Vehicles:

• The Batmobile

Synopsis for "Officer Down - Part One:
These Are Your Rights"

It's Commissioner Gordon's birthday, and the GCPD throw him a party at the local pub. After kindly receiving gifts from his officers, Gordon reveals he has brought gifts for them, himself, as well. He withdraws a pocketful of handcuff keys and passes them out, and after the initial curiosity, gives his explanation.
Number One, as a cop, handcuff keys are always the one thing you can never find when you need them.
But Number Two, the handcuff key is a powerful symbol of what makes Police Officers unique, as regular people, over anybody else. They are the only people in the country who have the power to remove someone's freedom. And while it is a neccessary task, it is also a weighty one. There are no pure evils, and every person they take away is somebody's child, somebody's husband, somebody's brother. The awesomeness of their responsibility is easy to forget, but has to be remembered at all times. Meanwhile, despite having told him he hadn't gotten him anything, Batman patrols with his police radio much more dedicatedly than normal, offering as his present to Jim a night where none of his officers would need to be called away from his party.
When Gordon's done talking, having promised Barbara he would be home early, he leaves the pub, and meets Catwoman in the alley outside. Several shots ring out, and a confused Gordon hits the ground with three bullets in his back.

Notes

• This issue is "Part One" of the seven-part storyline, "Batman: Officer Down." The reading order is as follows:

• Batman #587 (Part 1)
• Robin #86 (Part 2)
• Birds of Prey #27 (Part 3)
• Catwoman #90 (Part 4)
• Nightwing #53 (Part 5)
• Detective Comics #754 (Part 6)
• Gotham Knights #13 (Part 7)

Trivia

• For his birthday, Commissioner Gordon also receives a lamp with a gilded base sculpted like a naked woman, and an extremely nice first edition copy of Raymond Chandler's "The Long Goodbye".

See Also

• Discuss Batman Vol 1 587 on the forums
• Cover gallery for the Batman series

Recommended Reading

• Gotham Central
• Batman: GCPD
• Batman: Gordon's Law

Links and References

• No external links.