Gotham: Nathaniel Barnes Could Become One Of These Three Villains

Image Courtesy of DC Comics

Bad Cop

First Appearance: Batman Confidential #22 “Do You Understand These Rights? Part One: You Have the Right to Remain Silent” (December 2008)

Created by: Andrew Kreisberg

Yes, there’s actually a Batman villain named “Bad Cop.” It’s a name that hits you over the head with a 2×4—but this is the most likely of characters. Why? First off, he started off as a cop—in fact, a great cop, just like Barnes. Second, he’s pretty much unknown to most people, so tweaking his backstory and origin won’t be a problem to the fans.

Bad Cop was introduced as Geoff Shancoe—a stoic good police officer for the Gotham Police Department. The Joker, after his first arrest, uses his one phone call to contact Shandoe’s wife—driving her to suicide. Falling into a deep depression, Shancoe becomes an alcoholic and watches how The Joker is able to manipulate people, even behind bars.

Reaching his limits, Shancoe intercepts The Joker’s prison transport. In the process, he shoots his own partner and Jim Gordon. However, Shancoe didn’t want to kill The Joker. He uses The Joker to draw out Batman—who Shancoe blamed for apprehending The Joker, leading to the suicide of his wife. Shancoe fails at his mission and is later incarcerated at Arkham Asylum—in a neighboring cell next to The Joker’s. It is here that The Joker drives Shancoe completely insane and brainwashes him to become Bad Cop.

Bad Cop later escapes Arkham and shoots several recruits at Gotham Police Academy. When Batman and Shancoe’s former partner arrive on the scene, Bad Cop tries to convince them to kill him. When that fails, he targets Jim and Barbara Gordon at an arcade, hoping that Jim would kill him. Barbara is able to trick Bad Cop, buying enough time for Batman to arrive and apprehend him.

The whole Bad Cop escape and rampage is later found to be a diversion for The Joker’s own escape from Arkham Asylum.

It’s a very likely chance that Barnes is transforming into Bad Cop. If Gotham is willing to modify the most sacred of all backstories—introducing a young Joker—the substitution of Barnes as Shancoe isn’t a far stretch. Both are cops, and both have an arc that deals with insanity. In fact, the most interesting aspect is that Shancoe eventually comes to blows with Jim—which will be an interesting plot twist when Barnes becomes one of Jim’s greatest enemies.

What do you think? Do agree with this assessment? What are your likely candidates? Let us know in the comments.

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