Warning! Spoilers ahead for Joker #2.
In the latest issue of DC Comics' The Joker, Batgirl's biggest secret just changed the Bat-Family's history. In the new series, former Commissioner Jim Gordon has just been offered an obscene amount of money to track down and kill the Joker, the world's most wanted criminal after last year's Joker War and his alleged recent attack on Arkham Asylum. While one would assume that the typically by-the-book cop would easily refuse the job if it meant killing the Joker rather than bringing him in, Gordon has reached the point where he's willing to entertain the idea of permanently ending Joker's evil once and for all. However, because he needs Batman's help, he omits his true intentions and uses the perfect distraction to keep the Dark Knight's focus elsewhere.
In the first issue of the series from writer James Tynion IV and artist Guillem March, Jim Gordon is well and truly tormented by the Joker and all of the terrible things he's done not just to Gotham on a grand scale, but also to Jim and his family personally. Not only is Joker responsible for the recent death of his son, but he's also the one who paralyzed his daughter Barbara and tortured Jim himself in The Killing Joke. Combined with the fact that Gordon is no longer the city's police commissioner, it seems as though Gordon seems fairly open to doing the unthinkable and killing the Joker.
However, Jim determines that he needs Batman's help in Joker #2, asking him for some of his resources such as a means of contacting him beyond the traditional Bat-Signal as well as access to his files on the Bat-Computer. While Batman agrees, Gordon has him under the impression that he's simply going to track Joker down in order to call Batman so they can bring in the Clown Prince of Crime together. The Dark Knight also assigns Batgirl/Oracle to be Gordon's main point of contact, but Batgirl is smart, knowing that there's something deeper Gordon isn't sharing. However, before she and Batman can press the issue, Gordon plays the ultimate distraction card, revealing that he's apparently known that his daughter has been Batgirl for years.
It's a pretty epic move on Gordon's part, as it completely throws both Batman and Batgirl for a loop (and they're two of the smartest people on the planet). It also serves as the perfect means for Gordon to evade what would have been an inevitable line of questioning from Batman as to Jim's true intentions when he does find Joker. However, he convinces Barbara to work with him when the two of them meet in person, promising that if he can't convince her that killing Joker is the right thing to do, then he won't do it. Regardless, the fact that Gordon was simply waiting for the opportune moment to reveal that he's known Batgirl's biggest secret is fairly impressive and seems to have paid off. However, it does retroactively changes how fans may look at Batgirl and Bat-Family stories from years past now that they know that Gordon has known about his daughter's secret life as a vigilante for a while.
Now that Barbara's secret is out there and she knows that her father knows, it's going to be interesting to see how the pair work together to track down Joker going forward. While they be more protective of each other? Will emotions get in the way? Jim is already in a precarious position considering how much he's already been affected by Joker. Here's hoping Jim and Batgirl have what it takes to face the Joker in future issues of the series from DC Comics.
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