"Allow me to relieve you of your valuables."
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- - Gentleman Ghost in his teaser
James "Jim" Craddock, also known as Gentleman Ghost, is the primary antagonist of the episode "Night Ride" in the first season of Batman: Caped Crusader.[1]
Biography[]
Early Life[]
James Craddock was a member of one of Gotham’s founding families. He built his estate of Heritage Hall on land granted to him by King George III of England. He was a compulsive gambler and squandered away much of his family fortune and nearly lost Heritage Hall. During the American Revolution, Craddock was a staunch loyalist and blamed democracy for all of his misfortunes. In time, he was forced to resort to being the highway robber "Gentleman Jim" Craddock to support himself. Eventually, his crimes caught up with him and he was hanged at the old town gallows.
Season 1[]
Characteristics[]
Personality[]
Craddock was an elitist who valued bloodline and social class above all else. As a nobleman, he believed that wealth and privilege were his by birthright. As a highwayman, he was described as a dark reflection of Robin Hood, stealing from the poor to give to himself. He prided himself on never stealing from those of high station and noble blood but happily took all he could from the so-called lower classes.
In death, Craddock's prejudices against those who he believed to be of a lower status to him were no less diminished, referring to the likes of Lucius Fox as rabble and refusing to take Harvey Dent's money due to him being someone of high social standing. He also scoffed at the Batman's - someone who he had earlier recognized as a man of high breeding - views that all men were born equally mocking him for believing such things and calling it rubbish.
Appearance[]
In life, Craddock dressed in orange and yellow finery with a powdered wig. As a highwayman, he dressed in plain riding clothes, a cloth mask, and a tricorn hat. As the Gentleman Ghost, he has a glowing blue appearance with bright blue eyes visible beneath his mask.
Powers and Abilities[]
As a true ghost, Craddock can fly, levitate objects, and move through solid objects including walls and floors. His spectral form is so unearthly cold that he can freeze a person's flesh on contact. He possesses ghostly pistols that can pierce an armored car and rides a phantom steed that is capable keeping pace with a subway train and even managed to outmaneuver the Batmobile.
Equipment[]
Pistols
Phantom Steed
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Russell Craddock - Great-Great-Great-Grandnephew
Enemies[]
Video[]
Trivia[]
- James Craddock is a dark counterpart to Bruce Wayne himself.
- They're both scions of wealth and privilege who saw their worlds crumble, adopted costume personas as a way of lashing out at the people they blame for the problems in their lives, and chose to avoid confronting the frailties and irrationalities of their own psychological makeup. But while Bruce became Batman to help others and battle against the corruption and crime that's consumed Gotham, irrationally blaming himself for a murder he couldn't possibly have stopped, Craddock became a masked highwayman out of ultraconservative rage towards democratic egalitarianism, and never accepted his own responsibilities for the downturn in his family's fortunes after he lost his money at the gaming table.