Michael Akins
Encyclopedia
Michael Akins is a fictional character
in DC Comics
' Batman comics series. He is a man of African American
descent who was chosen to succeed long-time Gotham City
Police Commissioner
James Gordon
, who retired shortly after the end of the "No Man's Land" story arc.
. He is also thorough enough in his crusade against crime so that he caused a controversy in his office when he worked with internal affairs
to determine if GCPD
Det. Harvey Bullock
may have been responsible for the death of a man who shot and attempted to murder
Gordon.
Akins dislikes the city's reliance on Batman
, though sometimes he is forced to work with the Caped Crusader as needed. His initial reluctance to work with Batman originated from a past incident when a street vigilante
, sanctioned by Akins during his days with the Gateway City police, botched the rescue attempt of a kidnapped child; Akins blamed himself for the result, in which both the vigilante and child were killed. Akins's tolerance of Batman was further strained during the "War Games" story arc, when Batman assumed control of the GCPD, causing heavy casualties to the police. As a result, Akins ordered the arrest of Batman, had the Bat-signal
removed from the roof of GCPD's headquarters; Gotham Central
, and declared all costumed vigilantes illegal.
It is not known if Akins has friendlier relations with other Gotham-based superhero
es not working with Batman, such as Green Lantern
(Alan Scott).
As of DC's 'One Year Later
' jump as part of Infinite Crisis
, Akins is no longer Commissioner, with Gordon having resumed the position (And the GCPD's relations with Batman). Akins' reasons for leaving his job and his current whereabouts are unknown. It has been implied, however, that the recent problems with corruption faced by the department went all the way up to his office. Despite being referred to as Commissioner in an earlier issue of 52
, which covers the gap between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later and a later issue having a brief shot a welcome back party thrown for Gordon, it was not revealed there what happened to Akins.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Batman comics series. He is a man of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
descent who was chosen to succeed long-time Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
Police Commissioner
Police commissioner
Commissioner is a senior rank used in many police forces and may be rendered Police Commissioner or Commissioner of Police. In some organizations, the commissioner is a political appointee, and may or may not actually be a professional police officer. In these circumstances, there is often a...
James Gordon
James Gordon (comics)
James Worthington Gordon, Sr. is a fictional character, an ally of Batman that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane...
, who retired shortly after the end of the "No Man's Land" story arc.
Fictional character biography
Akins is an honorable man, although living in Gotham has made him lose some of his innate idealismIdealism
In philosophy, idealism is the family of views which assert that reality, or reality as we can know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial. Epistemologically, idealism manifests as a skepticism about the possibility of knowing any mind-independent thing...
. He is also thorough enough in his crusade against crime so that he caused a controversy in his office when he worked with internal affairs
Internal affairs (law enforcement)
The internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...
to determine if GCPD
Gotham City Police Department
The Gotham City Police Department is a fictional police department servicing Gotham City, as depicted in comic books published by DC Comics, in particular those tied into the Batman books.-History of GCPD:...
Det. Harvey Bullock
Harvey Bullock (comics)
Harvey Bullock is a fictional character from DC Comics' Batman titles.-Fictional character biography:Prior to the 1984-85 DC maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths, Bullock is a crooked police detective under instructions from Gotham City's Mayor Hamilton Hill to sabotage Commissioner Gordon's career...
may have been responsible for the death of a man who shot and attempted to murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
Gordon.
Akins dislikes the city's reliance on Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, though sometimes he is forced to work with the Caped Crusader as needed. His initial reluctance to work with Batman originated from a past incident when a street vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
, sanctioned by Akins during his days with the Gateway City police, botched the rescue attempt of a kidnapped child; Akins blamed himself for the result, in which both the vigilante and child were killed. Akins's tolerance of Batman was further strained during the "War Games" story arc, when Batman assumed control of the GCPD, causing heavy casualties to the police. As a result, Akins ordered the arrest of Batman, had the Bat-signal
Bat-Signal
The Bat-Signal is a distress signal device appearing in the various interpretations of the Batman mythos. It is a specially modified Klieg searchlight with a stylized symbol of a bat attached to the light so that it projects a large Bat emblem on the sky or buildings of Gotham City...
removed from the roof of GCPD's headquarters; Gotham Central
Gotham Central
Gotham Central is a police procedural comic book series that was published by DC Comics. It was written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, with pencils initially by Michael Lark....
, and declared all costumed vigilantes illegal.
It is not known if Akins has friendlier relations with other Gotham-based superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es not working with Batman, such as Green Lantern
Alan Scott
Alan Scott is a fictional character, a superhero in the and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern.-Publication history:The original Green Lantern was created by young struggling artist Martin Nodell, who was inspired by the sight of a New York Subway employee waving a red lantern to...
(Alan Scott).
As of DC's 'One Year Later
One Year Later
"One Year Later" was a 2006 storyline event running through the DC Universe. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Comics Universe following the events of the Infinite Crisis event, to explore major changes within the continuities of the many...
' jump as part of Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
, Akins is no longer Commissioner, with Gordon having resumed the position (And the GCPD's relations with Batman). Akins' reasons for leaving his job and his current whereabouts are unknown. It has been implied, however, that the recent problems with corruption faced by the department went all the way up to his office. Despite being referred to as Commissioner in an earlier issue of 52
52 (comics)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
, which covers the gap between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later and a later issue having a brief shot a welcome back party thrown for Gordon, it was not revealed there what happened to Akins.