Afterward, the police searched the entire villa but found no trace of Batman. The incident was extremely serious.
If Batman had harbored even the slightest ill intent, the consequences would have been unimaginable. City Hall immediately approved special funding for the Gotham Police Department.
There was only one requirement: get Batman the hell out of here! Better yet, throw him straight into prison, where he would face charges carrying a three-hundred-year sentence.
Blackgate Prison also underwent a second round of reconstruction and maintenance. Armored vehicles from over thirty years ago were hauled out of storage, repainted and repaired, then converted into enclosed prison transports—the kind with turrets.
Police stations large and small across Gotham also received funding to expand their forces and maintain Gotham's safety.
At Gotham Police Department headquarters, Commissioner Loeb transferred James Gordon back from the police training academy, where he had been serving as an instructor.
There were only a handful of officers the Gotham Police Department could truly show off. Gordon might not have been to Loeb's liking, but he was undeniably capable.
Gordon was put in charge of the special major crimes unit to capture the evil Batman, and Loeb gave him a strict deadline: three months!
Before Christmas arrived, they had to catch Batman and let him spend Christmas in a special cell at Blackgate Prison!
The assignment seemed full of holes, much like old General MacArthur with his corncob pipe, making a promise to American soldiers: We'll be home for Christmas!
And as it turned out, Gordon was not so easily fooled.
After all his years of ups and downs in the Gotham Police Department, he had already been working there when Bruce Wayne's parents died. He did not form cliques, did not take dirty money, and still possessed a sense of justice.