By Bruno Savill De Jong — To reiterate something obvious, Gotham Central is about the GCPD’s relationship with Batman. Recent issues may have obscured this as they examined Batman’s effect on ‘Gotham’ itself (the helplessness and corruption which creeps out of it), but “Lights Out” explicitly redirects conversations towards Batman’s status as vigilante. Beforehand, as set out in “In the Line of Duty”, Batman was resented by the GCPD but tolerated as a necessary remedy for Gotham’s ‘freak’ infestation. But following Batman: War Games, wherein Batman commandeered police resources to direct the GCPD and control an ensuing gang-war (who were visible in “Corrigan”) that resulted in many police-officers’ deaths, it seems to be the last straw. Commissioner Akins announced “in no uncertain terms that the GCPD and the Batman are no longer on speaking terms” but dismantling the communication device between the two, the overhanging symbol of their mutual trust. Akins removes the Bat-Signal.

The Bat-Signal obviously symbolizes the tether between Batman and the GCPD. But equally importantly, as explained in “Daydream and Believers”, the Bat-Signal was justified as “deterrent. To scare the bad guys”, using Batman as an intimidating myth that the GCPD can no longer condone. The series has always treated the Signal with bureaucratic detail, as since the police cannot officially ‘acknowledge’ Batman only Receptionist Stacy (not being a city employee) could touch it. Similarly, in typical Gotham Central fashion, the Signal does not simply ‘vanish’ but is removed in a tactile and quotidian manner by a maintenance crew. Panels of them unscrewing, hoisting and handling the Signal are interspersed throughout “Lights Out”, emphasizing the Signal as a real object whose dismantling requires active effort and a significant shift.

Gotham’s Mayor is not pleased by this change. In “Soft Targets” he sent the GCPD to round up the ‘Killer Clowns’, adamant that Batman would ‘save the day’ as he always does. Removing the Signal weakens this security, he tells Akins, but more importantly it damages Gotham’s “tourism”. It feels like a scene from Jaws, where Commissioner Akins believes Batman to be a deadly shark swimming around Gotham’s ecosystem, which the Mayor wishes to wilfully ignore. The ending of “Soft Targets” had Akins watching the Bat-Signal being repaired after police were killed, seeing the status-quo restored despite it killing off his officers. War Games is just an extension of this collateral damage, one Akins is determined to put an end to it. He uses his investigation into the Mayor’s corruption to assert his decision. He might not be able to control everything, but Akins understands the society he lives in and tries to make whatever difference he can, even if that is simply an open condemnation of Batman.

It’s a move which opens up debates inside the GCPD which have existed unspoken since the beginning, ones that are frequently raised against Batman and vigilantism. “What came first? The Batman or the Freaks?”, the Detectives ask. Does Batman undermine the laws he supposedly upholds? Or does he protect people ordinary police cannot? Some think it’s an overdue statement that condemns Batman’s lawless tactics. Others think it’s a meaningless gesture which won’t change anything, even if they appreciate why Akins made it. And some are dismayed by the broken connection with the Dark Knight, someone whose presence in Gotham means far more to them than brute force.

Despite their deep friendship shown in “Corrigan”, Crispus Allen and Renee Montoya fall on opposite sides of this debate. The Metropolis-born Allen disapproves of Batman, while native Gothamite Montoya shows a strong loyalty. Batman, she tells Allen, is what made her become a cop. As the two wait outside Allen’s trial (for the Internal Affairs investigation from “Corrigan”), Montoya tries to explain this, in what might be my favourite sequence in all of Gotham Central. Looking out the window, she suddenly says “I’ve lost count of how many times he’s saved my life, Cris”. The familiarity of ‘he’ (instead of ‘Batman’) echoes through her stilted remembrance of “when they first switched it on”. She remembers being a scared teenager, struggling to do her homework as Gotham’s water supply had been poisoned. Then, as now, she looked out her window…

What makes the moment so effective is how well-paced and inarticulate it is. This very profound memory of Montoya is not shown or properly verbalised. The experience of seeing the Bat-Signal for the first time, all the reassurance and inspiration it must have given her, cannot be fit into words. Rucka will often use silences to punctuate an emotionally resonant page. Hassan Ostmane-Elhaou made a great video-essay on Strip Panel Naked about this technique in Rucka’s layouts. As in this sequence, Rucka builds upon close-up panels of character exchanges, before the environment opens up in a wider panel. “Lights Out” is actually Michael Lark’s final issue on Gotham Central, and it captures his stoic humanistic style exceptionally well. Allen does not respond to Montoya’s memory, and after he is called into court, Montoya is left alone outside, again left staring out the window, wondering what will come next.

The same format is used between Captain Sawyer and Stacy, as they overlook the Bat-Signal’s now-empty frame atop the GCPD headquarters. Stacy’s primary function was to ignite the Signal, so its removal not only takes away her connection to her romantic fantasies from “Daydreams and Believers”, but robs her of her lunch-break spot. Now instead of feeling safe on the roof, daydreaming of Batman’s romantic protection, she gets cat-called by the builders as they break and disassemble the Signal. Her comfort zone is literally invaded, as the clean nominations that separate ‘good guys’ from ‘bad’ (regardless of tactics) are disassembled. Sawyer seemingly agrees with Stacy that Batman is “not a bad guy”. Earlier she told reporter Simon Lippman, off the record, “what else is Akins supposed to do?”. Sawyer may not agree with the course of events, but acknowledges the way they’ve played out. As the page expands out from her and Stacy onto the empty Signal, Gotham Central moves from the personal reactions to the external environment, the state of Gotham itself, whose architecture still bears the remnants of the Signal. Batman is a fundamental part of Gotham - the city being created around him – whose presence you cannot wholly remove.

There is no case in “Lights Out”, nor any dramatic action. Instead it provides a very thoughtful and reflective single issue. Taking down the Bat-Signal is a symbolic act, one that will have an ambiguous effect upon the already unsteady relationship with Batman. Batman makes his most substantial appearance in Gotham Central yet when he confronts Akins at the issue’s end, although he is still heavily shadowed and extremely terse. He tells Akins, “We’re on the same side”. This is what Akins had doubted at the end of “Soft Targets”, whether the GCPD and Batman could truly be on the “same side”. By “Lights Out” Akins has made his decision. He can no longer trust an unknowable unpredictable element, and is prepared to “destroy” Batman if their agendas ever clash. Akins is never judged over this decision. It is presented as a reasonable response to a grave issue. He does not want to fight Batman, but feels tolerating his presence contributed to their lives being undervalued. Gotham Central cannot exist without Batman, not entirely, but Akins is willing to fight to ensure their own survival. Both leave hoping that such a day never comes.

Gotham Central: Lights Out (#25)

Gotham Central: Lights Out
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists: Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano
Colorist: Lee Loughride
Letterer: Clem Robins
Editors: Matt Idelson and Nachie Castro
In the wake of the "War Games" crossover, members of the Gotham City police department look at Batman in a new light. When Commissioner Akins decides to remove the Bat Signal, he sets in motion events that severely alter Batman's relationship with Gotham Central!
Buy It Digitally: Gotham Central #25

Read more installments of Gotham Central, Case by Case!

Bruno Savill De Jong is a recent undergraduate of English and freelance writer on films and comics, living in London. His infrequent comics-blog is Panels are Windows and semi-frequent Twitter is BrunoSavillDeJo.