When did Batman premier?
Batman
The debut of the "Batman" television series in 1966 had a profound influence on the character. The success of the series increased sales throughout the comic book industry, and "Batman" reached a circulation of close to 900,000 copies. Elements such as the character of Batgirl and the show's campy nature were introduced into the comics; the series also initiated the return of Alfred. Although both the comics and TV show were successful for a time, the camp approach eventually wore thin and the show was canceled in 1968. In the aftermath, the Batman comics themselves lost popularity once again. As Julius Schwartz noted, "When the television show was a success, I was asked to be campy, and of course when the show faded, so did the comic books."
James Gordon (comics)
Following Bruce Wayne's apparent death in battle with the Joker during the events of "Batman" #40, Gordon took up the mantle of Batman using a mecha style suit to fight crime in Gotham City. Gordon first appears as Batman in "Divergence" #1, a DC Comics 2015 Free Comic Book Day issue, in which he is shown to be sponsored by the mega-corp Powers International. He also notes that this is "the worst idea in the history of Gotham", as he suits up, but agreed to the offer when various sources argued that there was nobody else capable of understanding Gotham the way Batman had done over the years, Gordon contemplating the merits of a Batman who works with the system rather than outside it. However, he begins to recognize the problems of this approach when he discovers that some of his past arrests have been murdered while out on parole and he is forbidden from investigating the crime himself. Gordon later meets the currently-depowered Superman when Clark comes to Gotham to investigate evidence that the weapons currently being used against him were created in Gotham, but their initial meeting results in a fight as Superman doesn't believe that Gordon is the new Batman and Gordon doubts Superman due to him currently working with Luthor. Although Gordon doubts Superman's abilities as a hero due to his current powerless state, he eventually works with Superman to stop Vandal Savage stealing an artificial sun created in Gotham to use as part of his latest plan, their alliance helping Gordon recognize Superman's continued merits as a hero while Superman in turn acknowledges that the new Batman gets the job done. Gordon later works with the Justice League to investigate the death of a large monster, the heroes noting after the case has concluded that Batman's high opinion of his abilities was well-founded. Despite Gordon's best efforts, political issues in the department result in new villain Mr. Bloom destroying his armour and mounting a massive assault on Gotham, prompting the amnesic Bruce Wayne- ironically inspired by a conversation with the equally-amnesic Joker- to try and reclaim his role as Batman. The crisis concludes with Bloom defeated by the returned Batman using some of Gordon's equipment while working with his old ally, the return of the true Batman prompting the GCPD to shut down the program and restore Gordon to his role as commissioner, Gordon musing that the world needs Batman to face its nightmares so that normal human beings can learn to cope with the more regular problems.