What to Know About after Almost 40 Years, DC Just Reintroduced a Villain From Batman’s Most Iconic Story

Every hero has to start somewhere. Origin stories are more than simple recollections of how a hero took up their crusade against injustice. In many ways, they are their own art form and subgenre. A bad origin story can get the job done, but a good origin story can inform everything about how a hero operates and what they stand for. Like with any type of story, it’s very, very rare for a flawless origin story to be put to page, but when it’s done, it’s truly immaculate. Spider-Man’s fatal mistake taught him responsibility, and Superman’s journey across the stars to a loving family captures his inherent homeliness. Yet, not even their best adaptations can hold a candle to Batman’s number one origin, “Year One.”

This iconic story completely redefined Batman for a new era. It both modernized and grounded Batman’s origin, painting a beautiful tapestry of Gotham’s darkness and perfectly tying Batman and Gordon together. Every modern Batman story works on the foundation “Year One” laid down. Now, DC is bringing back a key element of this amazing story in the form of one of its best characters, Detective Flass. This disgraced ex-cop was instrumental in the story and the corruption of Gotham, and as of Batman: Bad Seeds – Gotham Central #1, he’s officially back in Gotham.

A Corrupt Mirror of Gotham’s Depravity

One reason “Year One” worked so well is that it focused on making Gotham City feel alive. It spent a huge amount of time drawing us into this cesspool of crime, and no one was a better window into that than Detective Flass. He was the perfect soldier for the various corrupt parties, from the mayor to the various crime families. Flass was a musclebound, selfish brute who took pleasure in exerting the authority his badge brought him. He was the ultimate footsoldier, the living representation of every corrupt cop and failed system that let Gotham fall into the disrepair it was in.

Time and again, the comic used Flass as the hand of Gotham’s evil. He assaulted Jim, was the first cop Batman directly took out, and was an essential voice in bringing down the crime families with his testimony. He had a scant few appearances here or there since then, appearing once in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #2, where he kidnapped James Jr. and nearly killed Gordon, and again in Batman: Dark Victory #3, where he was killed by the Hangman Killer. Even Flass’s fall from grace showed how Gotham’s old evils had been beaten back by Batman, but now, as of Batman’s newest big event, Flass’s return could show why those evils aren’t dead for good.

A Return to Old Form and Evolved Corruption

In Gotham Central #1, the disgraced ex-cop now works as the head of Commissioner Vandal Savage’s TUCOs, his personal militarized police force. Flass led the charge organizing the GCPD in hunting down vigilantes, using Poison Ivy’s assault on Gotham as an excuse to crack down on mask-related crimes. He was a presence looming over the story, instructing an officer to chase down Anarky to reclaim money the villain stole from a gang that Savage liked. Of course, Gordon refused to listen to him, but what really makes Flass interesting is how similar his new role is to his old, and why that’s important to what Gotham is.

In the time before Batman, Gotham City was a den of crime families and mobsters, very old-school, but now it’s overrun with supervillains and immortals, all intent on making it their own. Flass working for Savage is a perfect showing of how this is Gotham’s new normal. This city can elect Poison Ivy, let Savage have full control of the police, and let supervillain gangs control their daily lives. Gotham never lost that old corruption. Instead, it evolved to be ruled by supervillains, and now, it’s evolved again for those supervillains to reign just like the mobsters did, just with a much more iron fist.

Flass is Vandal Savage’s corrupt mouthpiece, enforcing his will by parroting leadership calls and demanding obedience from the GCPD. He has monumentally more power than before, but at the end of the day, he’s still just an extension of Gotham’s corruption. Savage and Ivy are the real villains here, but Flass is enforcing their will with his blind allegiance to power and privilege. Flass is a fantastic tool to show how crime in Gotham has truly come full circle. We have supervillains acting as mobsters and corrupt politicians now, which is incredible and the perfect time for Flass to make his comeback.

What do you think about bringing back Flass for this new role? Let us know in the comments below!

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