Harvey Bullock (DCAU)
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| Detective Harvey Bullock
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| Doug Moench |
Detective Harvey Bullock, a DC Comics hero and supporting character of Batman, consistently appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, and several of the related series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, played by Robert Costanzo.
Contents |
[edit] Appearances
- On Leather Wings
- Christmas With the Joker
- Nothing to Fear
- Pretty Poison
- P.O.V.
- It's Never Too Late
- Joker's Favor
- Vendetta
- The Laughing Fish
- Heart Of Steel, Part II
- Moon of the Wolf
- I Am the Night
- Off Balance
- The Man Who Killed Batman
- Harley and Ivy
- Shadow of the Bat, Part I
- Shadow of the Bat, Part II
- Blind as a Bat
- A Bullet for Bullock
- Harley's Holiday
- Lock-Up
- World's Finest, Part I
- Holiday Knights
- Torch Song
- Over the Edge
- Mean Seasons
- Critters
- Animal Act
- Legends of the Dark Knight
- Girls' Night Out
- Hard as Nails (Static Shock)
[edit] Movies
[edit] DC animated Universe history
In Batman: The Animated Series, Detective Harvey Bullock is only vaguely similar the comic books version. While he is still a staunch opponent of the Batman, and has something of a gruff, tough guy exterior, he is much more benign (and closer to the later Pre-Crisis version), no doubt owing to an overall need to tone down certain elements of the Batman mythos to make them more acceptable material for a kid's show. However, in On Leather Wings, he still begins as an ally of Major Hamilton Hill against Batman and Gordon's wishes. Over the series, Bullock tends to alternate slightly in his role and nature. At times, he is nothing more than an oafish, incompetent comic relief character (like in Pretty Poison or Joker's Favor), while other episodes show him in a more serious context as a capable detective. Many episodes blend both of these aspects, like in P.O.V.. In which, he and officers Renee Montoya and Wilkes were questioned about how and why an important bust failed. It was indeed Bullocks fault, but in his recounting, he lies to improve his case and make his partners look bad, the voice over contrasts with what happens, the clear implication being that what we see is what really happened. He is shown as a clumsy, impatient, cop that doesn't do things by the book and spoiled the operation, but also as a very capable fighter, being able to take all the criminals in a fight. In the end, as always, he was trying to do what he believes is the right thing.
As an antagonist of Batman he is also very dangerous and capable. In the series, the most impressive operation he handles against Batman is in On Leather Wings, is when after Man-bat robs several laboratories, thinking the mutant is actually the Dark Knight, Mayor Hill put him in charge of a S.W.A.T. team to apprehend him. His next chance comes after, in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman is once again confused by the authorities with a criminal (the Phantasm in this case), and thanks to Councilman Arthur Reeves, Bullocks gets to lead an impressive police chase operation against the bat, which is about to succeed when Andrea Beaumont rescues him.
Although disliking Batman at first, Bullock develops a gradual begrudging respect for the Dark Knight as Batman kept saving him in several occasions. For starters, he is saved from a fire during the P.O.V. incident, in The Laughing Fish, Batman saved him from from a shark; in Vendetta Batman cleared his reputation; in Heat of Steel Batman saves him from H. A. R. D. A. C., an evil computer that kidnapped several important characters ofGotham City to replace them with robots; and finally, in A Bullet For Bullock Batman teamed-up with him to help him discover and stop a person threating to kill him. By The New Batman Adventures season he was definitively on Batman's side almost as much as Gordon.
At first he worked on his own, but by the later episodes of the first season he starts being paired with officer Montoya and they both learn to respect each other. Also at the same time, some episodes like Joker's Favor, The Man Who Killed Batman, I'm the Night and the two parter Shadow of the Bat reveal that he really respects and cares for Comissioner Gordon.
As a though cop with shot temper, Bullock has several enemies of his own. Bullock earned the scorn of ex-wrestler and criminal kingpin Killer Croc after he sent him to prison for killing a trade union member. Croc swore revenge on Bullock, and when he escaped in Vendetta, attempted to frame the detective for murder. It is also revealed Bullock has an ugly story with Rupert Thorne. In "A Bullet For Bullock", an episode directly adapted from Detective Comics #651, Bullock thinks the person threating to kill him is mobster Tony the Shark, an old foe who was previously arrested and sent to prison by him, but the responsible ended up being his own land lord who apparently wasn't abble to take his messiness anymore.
It is also revealed that Bullock knows the existence of the Batcomputer, but how Bullock gained this knowledge is unrevealed. Bullock later made small guest appearances in Superman: The Animated Series and Static Shock.
[edit] List of enemies
- Killer Croc
- Rupert Thorne
- Tony the Shark
- The Joker
- Batman (now an ally)
[edit] Batman Adventures history
In the comic based on the animated series, Bullock mockes and humilliates the Oswald Cobblepot, a. k. a. the Penguin, while he was campaining, and as a result, when the former crook becames mayor, the detective is fired. As with the DCU version, he became a private detective. Ironically, his main client was Batman, who hired him to gather evidence against the Penguin.
[edit] Design
[edit] See also
| Batman: The Animated Series characters | |
|---|---|
| Heroes: | Batman | Alfred | Robin / Dick Grayson | Batgirl | Robin / Tim Drake |
| Villains: | The Joker | Harley Quinn | The Penguin | Catwoman | Two-face | Poison Ivy | Rupert Thorne | The Scarecrow | Ra's Al Ghul | Talia | The Mad Hatter | The Ventriloquist and Scarface | Clayface | Killer Croc | Mr. Freeze | The Riddler | The Phantasm | Bane | Man-bat | Firefly | The Ninja | The Clock King | Baby Doll | Roxy Rocket | Hugo Strange | Doctor Milo | Maxie Zeus | The Terrible Trio | Calendar Girl | H.A.R.D.A.C. | Red Claw | Roland Daggett |
| Supporting Characters: | James Gordon | Harvey Bullock | Summer Gleeson | Leslie Thompkins | Lucius Fox | Renee Montoya | Earl Cooper | Hamilton Hill | Andrea Beaumont | Carl Beaumont | Matthew Thorne | Thomas and Martha Wayne |
| Other heroes: | The Creeper | Etrigan the Demon | Jonah Hex | Zatanna | Supergirl | Batwoman | The Gray Ghost |
