Gotham (TV Series)

Rise of the Villains: Strike Force (2015)

Michael Chiklis: Nathaniel Barnes

Photos 

Quotes 

• [Captain Barnes talks to Jim Gordon at the police academy] 

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : Oldest in your class. Not the strongest or the fastest or even the most academically gifted either, and yet... you finished at the top of your class. Now how did you do that? I'll tell you how. You were a soldier. You saw combat while your classmates were still playing with themselves in their parents' basement. You got blood in your face.

  James Gordon : You could say that.

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : You're a warrior, Jim. So am I. But you can't carry on the way you've been, going after everyone on your own. You need help that you can rely on.

  James Gordon : With all due respect, sir...

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : What if their were a team of young cops who haven't been bought yet? Not jaded, not corrupted. Still filled with hope and faith in the system.

  James Gordon : Cadets?

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : This is the greatest academy in the country. Graduation is next week. We could grab a group of their finest before some precinct kills their spirit. Wouldn't hurt to look into it, right?

• [Captain Barnes enters the Gotham City police precinct by breaking a wooden chair on the floor] 

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : My name is Nathaniel Barnes. Captain Nathaniel Barnes. That's right. I'm your new boss. Ten-hut!

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : [Barnes looks over to a cop]  You. Clean that up.

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : You know when this place was built? Over 100 years ago. Can you imagine how many Perps have been booked in here since that time? All the murderers, rapists, thieves have been locked up? They don't make 'em like this anymore - strong, sturdy. And yet... just days ago, an escaped convict just strolls in here, into our house - our house, and murders your commissioner and nine of your fellow comrades. I wasn't even here and I'm ashamed. Are you all ashamed? I hope so. Anyone that's here that's not ashamed and angry, should resign. Right now. Huh. Some of you are lying to yourselves. I've got your files here. I've read them all. Step forward if you hear your name called.

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : [Barnes' begins reading off]  Pollard. Guthrie. Coulson. Dowler. Brooks. Perez. Hightower. You aren't ashamed. You have no shame. You're not police, you're low-life criminals. Bribery, drug abuse, extortion, racketeering... sons of bitches! You're all fired! Drop off your badges and your guns with the desk sergeant on your way out.

• [Captain Barnes phone calls Dr. Thompkins at home] 

  Dr. Leslie Thompkins : [Lee answers the phone]  Thompkins.

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : Good morning, Dr. Thompkins. Captain Barnes, GCPD.

  Dr. Leslie Thompkins : Captain Barnes. Hi.

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : I hear great things about you, Doc. Get ready to get real busy. We're gonna be sending you a whole lot of dead bad guys.

  Dr. Leslie Thompkins : Oh, uh, okay-okay.

• [Captain Barnes reminds the GCPD that crime won't be tolerated] 

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : From now on... any officer, detective, rookie or clerk who breaks the law will not just lose their job, they will go to jail. If you turn a blind eye to crime, I will bust you. If you fail to help a fellow officer because of cowardice or apathy, I will bust you!

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : [Barnes walks forward]  What the hell are you still doing here? Don't make me mad.

• [Captain Barnes meets Jim Gordon] 

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : I've read all your files. Army, Academy, GCPD. You're a troublemaker. A fighter. Is that an accurate assessment.

  James Gordon : Yes, sir.

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : Good. You're my second in command. Starting now, Jim, we're gonna fix this department and bring respect for law and order back to this city.

  James Gordon : Yes, sir. We're, uh... kind of shorthanded.

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : What, you think I cut too deep?

  James Gordon : You could have thrown out 20 more guys and not hit bottom. Fixing this department's gonna be tough. Maybe tougher than you think, sir.

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : Welcome to my unit, you sad-ass Army hump. Tough is what we eat for breakfast.

  James Gordon : [Gordon laughs quietly]  A jarhead, huh? Who would've guessed.

  James Gordon : [Barnes salutes Gordon]  Sir.

• [Captain Barnes welcomes the new recruits, The Strike Force to the GCPD] 

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : A wise cop once said, if you catch a kid smashing a window, even a small one, bust him. You let it slide, and he'll smash another one. Then he'll tag a wall, steal a bike, rob a store, maybe hold someone up. Crime unpunished is a crime itself. This city is bleeding to death from the amount of free passes we hand out. Time to put a tourniquet over that wound. From now on... no one gets a free pass. What is the Strike Force for? To send a message that this epidemic of lawlessness will no longer be treated but extinguished. With extreme prejudice. Gentleman, lady, your new uniforms.

• Captain Nathaniel Barnes : Gus...

  Gus Freeman : Captain Barnes...

  Captain Nathaniel Barnes : This is Gordon.

  Gus Freeman : Sure, I remember this guy. He argued a lot.

  James Gordon : I'd like to think I was raising questions.