The Dark Knight Returns - Jim Gordon's Analogy

I wanted to write on something I noticed while revisiting The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel. I immediately recognized a certain analogy which was being expressed through the words of Jim Gordon. Perhaps I'm not the first to call attention to this. Perhaps I'm mistaken. Here it goes anyway.

In the Dark Knight Returns graphic novel, in the first few pages, there is a sequence in which Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon are holding a discussion over drinks. During that discussion Gordon comments on Wayne's transition from playing the "Playboy routine" of sneakily drinking ginger ale instead of champagne to actually imbibing heavily in his later years. Gordon makes mention that it fooled some but not all, implying that he was in the know.

During this sequence the reader is aware of Gordon's knowledge of Wayne's past as the Batman. The nature of Gordon's enlightenment was not made clear, but one has to wonder whether or not the commissioner put everything together himself with his own skills of detection. Perhaps the reference to his knowledge of Bruce's charade was a way of calling attention to the fact that he's always been capable of seeing through Bruce's secrets all along. This can be supported by several instances in the comics and in the animated series, especially in the episode titled "Over the Edge."

Just a thought I had to express somewhere. If you read this and would like to discuss, please leave comments on this post. Thanks for reading.