| We will not let these killers and these robbers and these rapists and these thugs win...Not on my watch. | „ | |
| ~ Mayor Aubrey James to the citizens of Gotham. |
Aubrey James is a recurring antagonist in Gotham.
James is the corrupt Mayor of Gotham City, who was in the pocket of mob boss Carmine Falcone, and is a minor recurring villain, being very much a cog in the great machine of corruption that has developed in Gotham. He truly has very little control of his city, but his lack of proper management is partially why Gotham is such a terrible place to live.
In Season 2 he was abducted and forced to resign by Theo Galavan. However, he was saved by Detective Jim Gordon and named Galavan as his kidnapper which led to Galavan's arrest, although he later revoked that statement in front of the court. In the third season, James is once more on his way to become mayor again, but is opposed by Oswald Cobblepot, who announces his candidacy as well. Cobblepot wins the election, succeeding James as mayor of Gotham City. After Oswald had vanished and is presumed dead, James becomes mayor once more only to be immediately kidnapped by Edward Nygma. With Gordon's help, he escapes captivity unharmed.
He is portrayed by Richard Kind, who also played Longbourne in Disney's Treasure Planet.
History[]
Season 1[]
Following the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Mayor James appeared to convince the public that the killer would be caught, while putting great pressure on the police force to find the killer. Knowing that the death of the cities only beloved philanthropists could cause outright rioting.
Later on, when child abductions of the homeless kids were going on, the Mayor devised a solution were publically he would be sending the few photogenic children. While the rest he would simply have imprisoned in a juvenile detention facility. Never the less he was genuinely horrified when the kidnappers managed to take a whole school bus of children, and demanded they find them. Especially as it would be bad publicity for himself.
However the Mayor was later caught in a power struggle between crime bosses Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni over the Arkham land deal. As such, Maroni sent hitman Richard Gladwell to kill him. Gordon arrived in time to save him, but the Mayor insisted in taking most of his money with them, delaying them long enough for Gladwell to arrive. Bullock managed to kill Gladwell. But fearful of the two crime lords, the Mayor organized a compromise so that both parties would come away with profits.
Later on, as part of there plan to try and bring down Falcone, believing they were both about to die. Harvey Bullock and Jim Gordon arrested Mayor James, and took him with them when they went after Falcone. Falcone however managed to outmaneuver them, and forced them to let the Mayor go.
He then began putting pressure on Captain Essen to find the Russian mafia, who had kidnapped bomb specialist Ian Hargrove. Gordon however called him out on the fact he used Blackgate prison to keep the insane in despite having no facilities for helping them. Which is how they managed to break Ian out. To counter the bad press, James reopened Arkham Asylum, despite the place not being fully refurbished yet.
Following the murder of Dick Lovecraft, James framed Gordon for the murder, pushing the idea that Gordon was an overzealous cop who had driven the man to suicide. He then gave him the choice of either quitting the force, or taking a job as head guard of the newly opened Arkham Asylum. Gordon took the job, but promised he would be back.
Season 2[]
| “ | Don't fret so! You're part of a great endeavor. A great cleansing. Monsters are coming Mr. Mayor...Monsters who will cleanse this city in blood and fire! | „ |
| ~ Galavan to Mayor James when he asks why Galavan is doing this to him |
At the retirement ceremony of Commissioner Gillian Loeb, it is noted that Mayor James could not attend, sending Galavan instead. At night at Galavan's apartment it is revealed that Theo had the mayor kidnapped and forces him to wear a box over his head. Galavan then blackmails James into calling his secretary, telling her that he run of with a women and will send written instructions shortly. James agrees. The next day, James is on the front page of the newspapers.
While Galavan talks to four of the Maniax, they are disturbed when Mayor James enters the room, followed by Galavan's sister Tabitha and minor crime boss Barbara Kean, who whip him just for fun. James, due to the box on his head, can't see where he is going and runs into a wall which knocks him out.
At the gala at the Gotham Children's hospital, Tabitha asks Deputy Mayor Kane if there is any word on James' disappearance. Kane says that there are no clues at all and that the whole case is a mystery.
Weeks later, in a conversation with his sister, Galavan makes clear that James is still alive. Theo managed to succeed as Mayor as part of his plans for taking over Gotham. However the police managed to track down James who gave Theo's name as his kidnapper, subsequently leading to his arrest.
However, while everyone expects Gordon to give the necessary statement to put Galavan behind bars forever, he instead says that it was Cobblepot who captured him and forced him to lie. Due to this testimony and the lack of evidence, Galavan is released.
Season 3[]
Mayoral Campaign[]
Aubrey James is present at a GCPD press conference regarding the escaped Indian Hill experiments. He takes issue with reporter Valerie Vale calling the experiments threats, as they are victims by Hugo Strange. He tells reporters that he approves of the "bounty hunters" searching for the experiments, because the sooner the experiments are captured, the sooner they can get help and proper treatment. He ignores Vale when she reminds him that all the experiments were former Arkham inmates. Valerie continues bombing James with questions until the man claims that the situation is firmly in hands. He is called a liar by the arriving Cobblepot, who reveals that he saw gangster Fish Mooney leading the experiments. As police and the mayor ignored his pleads, he now directly implores every citizen in Gotham to find Mooney.
At a press conference, James reminds the people that since Galavan's death, the office of mayor has been vacant. He tells them that the council that has ruled Gotham since, has come for him, offering him to become mayor until the elections and that, against his will, he has decided to accept. The conference is once more disrupted by Penguin, who openly calls out James about the corrupt past of Gotham under James' leadership. After a short argument, Cobblepot reveals that he has come to announce his candidacy for mayor, and that the mayor should be chosen by the people of Gotham, thus he announces that an emergency election should be held forthwith.
Later, James calls at Cobblepot's election office and asks to speak with Cobblepot alone. James calls him a lunatic and claims that people will see right through him. He also claims that he has the judges, unions and the GCPD behind him, while Cobblepot has nothing. When Cobblepot replies that he has himself, James laughs and calls him psychotic. Cobblepot moves to attack him, but three armed men storm the room and the bartender also grabs a gun. Cobblepot smiles, sarcastically commenting that James seems to be always a step ahead, only to reveal that every other patron in the restaurant is one of his men and equally armed. Penguin calms the frightened James, claiming that he will not kill him to not spoil the election. He pins a Cobblepot-badge on James' breast before leaving.
Kidnapped by the Riddler[]
James later loses the election and Cobblepot becomes mayor. After Cobblepot is shot and nearly killed by Edward Nygma, James is re-instated as mayor. However, this makes him a target for Nygma, who recently renamed himself the Riddler. When Gordon and Bullock visit James and warn him about Nygma's plans, he dismisses their concerns while also eating some candy. Eventually, he starts to feel his stomach cramp and believes that he has eaten too much of the candy. When he plans to take his blood-sugar pills, however, each pill is riddled with a small question mark and both James and Gordon realize that Nygma is indeed after James. They deliver James to the nearest hospital where Nygma has already taken over the communications room. Gordon is being distracted by a tape Nygma plays over the hospital's loudspeakers. Meanwhile, dozens of injured bikers are brought into the hospital as a result of the bomb Nygma had Barbara deliver. The remaining bikers who are not injured swiftly provoke a fight with the GCPD when the police refuse to let them into the hospital and during the chaos, Nygma who is disguised as a police officer confronts James. He kills James' two guards and flees with the mayor while the police are still fighting the bikers.
James is brought to Nygma's lair where he is interrogated by both Nygma and Kean. When Kean speaks, James recognizes her voice from his captivity. James is afraid to betray the Court of Owls, claiming that they will know, but when Barbara threatens him with another box for his head, he reveals all he knows. After Nygma now has proof the Court exists, he openly challenges them by hijacking a TV broadcast, showing himself with James as his hostage and asking rhetorical questions about the Court that rules Gotham.
To prevent Nygma from revealing the existence of the Court, Gordon calls him and promises to reveal everything about the Court if Nygma comes to the GCPD precinct. Nygma agrees but orders the precinct to be evacuated. When he arrives, he arrives with James who has a bomb strapped to his neck to which Nygma holds the trigger. Nygma orders Gordon to tell him what he wants to know, threatening to blow up James should Gordon refuses, but Gordon just tells Nygma to go through with it and kill the mayor. Nygma does not believe that Gordon is being serious and once again threatens to blow up James. When Gordon still does not reveal anything, Nygma presses the trigger, but nothing happens. Gordon then reveals to Nygma that there is a radio frequency jamming the signal of Nygma's trigger. Although temporarily set back, Nygma regains his composure and claims that this changes nothing. He aims his gun at James, still threatening to kill the mayor if he does not get answers about the Court. Gordon pulls a car key out of his pocket and tells Nygma that if Nygma lets the mayor go, Gordon will drive Nygma to the Court. Although Nygma senses a trap, he is not able to let the riddle go unsolved, thus agreeing to Gordon's proposal. He gives James permission to flee and James immediately runs out of the building.
When weeks later, the Court of Owls activates a bomb containing Jervis Tetch's "Alice" virus, James calls in the National Guard to deal with the situation.
Season 4[]
Three months after the deployment of the virus in Gotham, James is no longer mayor. His successor, Burke, is just as corrupt as James, however.
Season 5[]
Ten years following the cataclysm, James had been reelected as mayor of Gotham, while Gordon has been made police commissioner. Gordon meets with James revealing his plan to resign from the role. James later attended the opening of the new Wayne Tower in which Bruce Wayne is expected to put in an appearance after being away a decade, however ends up being kidnapped again by a recently released Edward Nygma, who ties up James and planned to blow him up with a bomb during Bruce's arrival. Nygma's schemes are thwarted by Kean, Lee Thompkins and Selina Kyle. James later orders Bullock to be taken to Blackgate Penitentiary following him being set up for the murder of an Arkham Asylum prison guard.
Episode appearances[]
Season 1[]
- "Pilot"
- "Selina Kyle"
- "Arkham"
- "Penguin's Umbrella"
- "Harvey Dent"
- "Lovecraft"
Season 2[]
- "Rise of the Villains: Knock, Knock"
- "Rise of the Villains: Tonight’s the Night"
- "Rise of the Villains: The Son of Gotham"
Season 3[]
- "Mad City: Better to Reign in Hell…"
- "Mad City: Look Into My Eyes''
- ''Heroes Rise: The Primal Riddle''
Season 5[]
- Legend of the Dark Knight: ''The Beginning...''