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Sarah Essen Gordon is a fictional character in the DC Universe, created by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli as a supporting character in the Batman mythos.

[edit] Fictional character biography

She first appears in Batman #405, part of the Batman: Year One storyline. Then simply Sarah Essen, she is a detective partnered with then-lieutenant James Gordon. She and the married Gordon start a brief affair, but when Commissioner Loeb attempts to blackmail them, Gordon ends the affair and confesses his actions to his wife Barbara. Sarah leaves Gotham for New York City soon after.

Editor Denny O'Neil later chose to revive the character as both an investigator and a love interest for Gordon. When she returns in 1990^[when?], it is explained that Sarah had married a New York cop who was killed in a drug bust. Gordon had long since divorced his wife Barbara, and the two begin a serious and open relationship, eventually resulting in Gordon proposing to her on a night when the police station is under attack a trio of electric-based super-villains. The two get married soon afterwards in Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #2 (1992).

When Gordon is fired from his position as Commissioner by Mayor Armond Krol^[when?], Sarah is given the job in his stead. She continues Gordon's collaboration with Batman and Robin but does not like the job and is happy to hand control back to Gordon when he returns. Mayor Marion Grange later promotes Sarah to serve as liaison between the GCPD and the mayor's office.

Sarah is murdered by the Joker at the end of "No Man's Land" arc (Detective Comics #741). The Joker had kidnapped dozens of infants and was holding them in the basement of the police station. Sarah is the first to reach Joker's position. The Joker tossed an infant; after she caught it, the Joker shot her in the head. In retaliation, Gordon shoots the Joker in the leg. At Sarah's funeral, her stepdaughter Barbara comments, "I always called her Sarah, and now it's too late to call her Mom."

[edit] Other versions

[edit] The Dark Knight Returns

Sarah was an unseen presence in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, an alternate future story. In it, she is his loving, stay at home wife. Gordon, by now a retiring police commissioner, inwardly repeats, "I think of Sarah. The rest is easy," as a kind of mantra. She is only glimpsed near the end, when she and Gordon embrace in silhouette.

[edit] All Star Batman and Robin

In issue #6, Gordon is talking to Sarah on the phone. Though he is married to Barbara at the time, dialogue indicates that Gordon still loves Sarah.