Arnold Flass (Gotham)


 * "You just don't learn. You still wanna take me down. I'm like the phoenix. I'll just rise again and again and again."
 * —Arnold Flass to Jim Gordon[src]

Arnold Flass is a corrupt detective of the Gotham City Police Department's Narcotics department.

Working at the GCPD
At one point, Arnold Flass and his co-workers began taking over drug business of those they caught, beginning his reign of corruption and power in the GCPD with people such as the commissioner backing him.

Later Flass told Edward Nygma to back off and stop bothering Kristin Kringle. When Edward was still in ear shot, he heard Kristen tell Arnold that Nygma "is so weird."[1]

When one of his drug dealers was unable to reach their quota, Arnold killed him as a message to the others. He calls it in as a "tip" from one of his contacts, and when Harvey Bullock and his partner James Gordon come in to investigate, he is quick to tell them that it must have been a drug deal gone bad. Jim, however, became convinced that the killer is a cop when his witness is killed in the precinct. One of his men, Derek Delaware, is caught in the act by Jim and is arrested, only to immediately be released and given a cover story by Flass. Bullock then later tells Jim about Flass' corruption, making it very clear that Flass is protected, in hopes of getting him to drop the case. This only makes Jim more determined to bust him for his crimes.

After approaching Oswald Cobblepot for help, Delaware rats out Flass on tape and hands over the ice pick Flass used to murder the drug dealer and the witness. With this, Jim publicly arrests Flass, challenging the other cops to either help him or help the murderer in their midst. Flass is confident that no one will have the guts to arrest him until a couple of the officers begin to surround him. Their captain, Sarah Essen, then supports Jim and arrests Flass herself.[2]

Due to Gillian Loeb's hold on Harvey Bullock, Arnold Flass was exonerated for his crime and reinstated in the Gotham City Police Department. When encountered by Gordon, he states that he is like the Phoenix and will continue to rise. However, this "rising" is short-lived when Gordon discovers evidence of Loeb's daughter Miriam being responsible for her mother's death, and in exchange for silence, demands Flass put on trial and Loeb endorse Gordon for President of the Police Union rather than Flass as he had originally intended.[3]

Season 1

 * "What The Little Bird Told Him"
 * "Welcome Back, Jim Gordon"
 * "The Fearsome Dr. Crane"  (mentioned)
 * "The Scarecrow"  (mentioned)
 * "Everyone Has a Cobblepot"

Trivia

 * The character was created by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli and first appeared in Batman#404 (February 1987), the first part of the Batman: Year One story.