Hamilton Hill (DC)

Hamilton Hill is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Hamilton Hill

Hill won the Mayoral Election thanks to Thorne's manipulation of Arthur Reeves. (Detective Comics v1 #511)

In his first act as Mayor of Gotham, Hill made good on his campaign promises and asked Gordon for his resignation within 24 hours otherwise he would be impeached. (Batman v1 #345) Gordon complied reluctantly and following Thorne's instructions, Hill appointed Peter Pauling as the new Police Commissioner. (Batman v1 #346)

However, not long after this, Thorne came to the wrong conclusion that Hill and Pauling were conspiring against him and tried to eliminate them. He only managed to murder Pauling as he was promptly stopped by Batman. With Pauling dead and Thorne deemed insane, Hill remained free due to a lack of evidence against him. (Batman v1 #354) This also left Hill no choice but to reinstate James Gordon as Police Commissioner. (Batman v1 #355)

When Hill noticed Gordon's declining health, he decided to appoint the troublesome police officer Harvey Bullock as Gordon's assistant. (Batman v1 #361)

This was with the intention of undermining Gordon's determination. Bullock's attitude and apparent improved performance relative to Gordon's, were part of Hill's plan to get rid of Gordon once and for all. (Detective Comics v1 #528)

Hill and Bullock conspired together to soil Gordon's good reputation and to give him as many troubles as they could. (Batman v1 #362)

Notes

• Hamilton Hill was created by Gerry Conway and Don Newton where he made his first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #503 (February, 1982).

In other media

Television

• In the DC Animated Universe, Hamilton Hill made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
  • In Batman: The Animated Series, Mayor Hamilton Hill made his first appearance in the animated series where he was voiced by actor Lloyd Bochner. Hamilton Hill began as a successful lawyer in private practice. He took the same commuter train as Temple Fugate. One day, trying to give Temple some advice, he recommended that he vary his rigid schedule, unknowingly causing him to be late to an important appointment. This triggered the chain of events which led to the birth of the Clock King and a long-standing vendetta between the two. Unaware of Temple's fate, Hill ran for public office and was elected Mayor of Gotham City. In his role as mayor, he would oversee many projects to improve the city. He supported the building of Stonegate Penitentiary with sponsorship from the Wayne Foundation, as well as the dedication of a new courthouse and improved public transport. In professional terms, he proved to be a capable politician. As mayor, he expertly dealt with a number of crises while in office. He was able to gloss over the problems he faced while in office and win re-election at least once. For the most part, he had a good if occasionally adversarial relationship with James Gordon but because of their differing approaches of solving problems the two clashed. One of these subjects was the activities of Batman, of whom Hill greatly disapproved, although Hill's opinion of Batman would change drastically for the better when the Dark Knight saved his son, Jordan Hill, from the Joker. Temple Fugate reappeared during Hill's re-election bid. Though at first, he worked to publicly discredit and embarrass the mayor, he eventually tried to kill Hill, but Batman prevented it at the final stroke. This act won Batman Hill's full trust and respect. Hill would also be saved several times by Batman from villains, such as H.A.R.D.A.C., Scarecrow, Lock-Up, and once again from the Joker and Fugate.
  • In Batman Beyond, Hamilton Hill did not appear but Terry McGinnis attended Hamilton Hill High School (Hill High) in the animated series set in the future.
• In The Batman, Hamilton Hill appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the two-part episode "The Batman/Superman Story" where he was voiced by actor Lex Lang. This version was show as being African-American who became mayor after Marion Grange's resignation.
• In Young Justice, Mayor Hamilton Hill made a brief appearance in the animated series episode "Alpha Male" where he was voiced by actor Corey Burton. Hill went on a hunting trip to India, hoping to shoot an Indian tiger. He rejected support from local guides, as he dismissed them as superstitious. Without them, he tracked the animal down, but as he lined up the shot, the tiger was captured by the Brain instead. Monsieur Mallah attacked Hill and his drivers for discovering their plot. He survived, and the media had their fun with the claim that he was attacked by a 'guerilla gorilla'.
• In Harley Quinn, Hamilton Hill appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Jim Rash. First appearing in the first season episode "The Line" during a video conference with Harley and her crew, he takes on a more significant role during the third season which premieres with him in an election against Gordon. Although impaled by a pipe following a bus crash, he survives and maintains a commanding lead over Gordon in the polls until Two-Face Gordon's campaign manager poisoned him.
• In Gotham Knights, Hamilton Hill appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Randall Newsome. This version was an ally of the Court of Owls who owed a debt to them which he repaid using his position as mayor. He was ultimately killed by them after he had served his purpose.

Films

• In Batman Returns, a character inspired by Hamilton Hill named Roscoe Jenkins appeared in the setting of the live-action film where he was portrayed by Michael Murphy. Industrialist Max Shreck planned to take over Gotham by building a machine designed to siphon Gotham's power but disguised as a power plant, but was opposed by Jenkins, who was also mentioned to be a friend of Bruce Wayne. In retaliation, Shreck groomed Oswald Cobblepot to discredit and usurp Jenkins as mayor by having the Red Triangle gang cause chaos and havoc in the city and frame Batman for murder. Bruce managed to expose both Oswald and Shreck, and Jenkins continues his term as mayor until being replaced by an unnamed African-American mayor as seen in Batman Forever.
• In Batman: Under the Red Hood, Hamilton Hill was referenced in the animated film. He was mentioned in a newspaper clip that showed that Jason Todd when he was Robin had saved Mayor Hill's life.

Video games

• In Batman Vengeance, Hamilton Hill appeared in the setting of the video game where he was voiced again by actor Lloyd Bochner.
• In Batman: Arkham Origins, Hamilton Hill was referenced in the setting of the prequel video game set in the Arkhamverse. It was said that he made his money in insurance where he made it so that customers were never paid their money. Later, he came to be mayor of Gotham City where it revealed that the election was rigged and that he worked on behalf of a number of 'masters' among which included Rupert Thorne. Hill was trying to recover from the events on Christmas Eve, with his administration being investigated after the exposed corruption. He still had not decided who would succeed Gillian B. Loeb as police commissioner, but many suspected that he would name Peter Grogan. However, on New Year's Eve, evidence that linked Grogan to the Maroni Family was leaked to the press. After Batman captured Mr. Freeze and the Penguin, Hill announced his resignation from the Mayor's office. The news reported that Hill's resignation meant that Grogan would likely not be appointed Commissioner.
• In Batman: The Telltale Series, Hamilton Hill was shown as being the mayor of Gotham City in the video game. In the past, he along with Thomas Wayne and Carmine Falcone were all allies of one another where they secretly ruled Gotham City. The three engaged in illegal actions and corruption with them gaining their wealth in this manner. Hill later hired the gunman Joe Chill to murder Thomas and Martha Wayne when they were walking in Crime Alley. Members of the public were unhappy with his term in office and Harvey Dent was leading a campaign in the upcoming elections to replace him. After allegations of fraud and corruption against the Wayne family, Mayor Hill authorised a police warrant for the GCPD to search through the family's assets. During a public debate, the Penguin along with the Children of Arkham managed to take every hostage where Hill was killed by Oswald Cobblepot.

Appearances

• Detective Comics v1: (1982)

Links

Internal Links

• William Borg

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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