When Commissioner Gordon sent Harvey Bullock away from Gotham, the detective ended up working for Checkmate, one of DC’s most powerful organizations.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Checkmate #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev and Dave Stewart, on sale now.
DC’s most secretive premier spy agency Checkmate has been reformed with an all-new cast of heroes. The fallen hero Mark Shaw, who was once known as Manhunter, has been leading Leviathan as they have seized resources from some of the greatest organizations of the DC Universe. To combat the growing threat, the unknown new King of Checkmate has gathered DC’s greatest detectives. While the newest members include the likes of Talia Al Ghul, Lois Lane, and Green Arrow, there was a time when Gotham City’s own Harvey Bullock was helping oversee an earlier Checkmate’s operation.
Despite their lengthy time working together, Bullock and Jim Gordon did not always have a friendly history. Gordon had been growing tired of Bullock’s clownish behavior and grew even more irritable after Bulock broke a chair in Gordon’s office during 1987’s Vigilante #44 by Paul Kupperberg, Dave Cockrum, Rick Burchett, Liz Berube, and Albert DeGuzman. Gordon examined the papers on his desk and found an invitation for the Gotham Police Department to send a man to a three-week seminar on terrorism in Washington. As Bullock’s hijinx continued, Gordon decided it was best to send him to the conference.
Bullock made a fool of himself at the seminar, but his knowledge of the whereabouts of a notorious spy piqued Harry Stein’s interest. Stein was currently working as an operative for the Agency and brought Bullock with him to Gotham while they searched for Katia. Working with Bullock in the field proved to be a nightmare for Stein. However, Bullock’s behavior was irrelevant to Stein since he still produced results. This led Stein to bring Bullock into the Agency’s fold as a special liaison for the Gotham P.D. Bullock would continue working with the Agency until Vigilante’s death in Vigilante #50 by Kupperburg, Steve Erwin, Jack Torrance, Berube, and John Constanza.
Bullock and Stein would continue working together and Action Comics #598 by John Byrne, Kupperburg, Ty Templeton, Petra Scotese, and Costanza revealed they had formed a new organization. This issue saw Checkmate recruit Superman to prevent an assassination on a foreign diplomat. What Superman did not know was that Checkmate was only trying to prevent the diplomat’s death on American soil. As soon as he was out of the country, Checkmate blew up his plane.
Stein was given full control over Checkmate but 1988’s Checkmate #1 by Kupperburg, Erwin, Al Vey, Julianna Ferriter, and Janice Chiang revealed that Suicide Squad’s Amanda Waller was overseeing the operation. Checkmate’s first few missions resulted in them sending their operatives, dressed as knights, around the country preventing bombings by the American Supremacist Party. Checkmate would expand its influence outside of America before long, sending operatives to apprehend criminals in London and Qurac.
Harvey Bullock would continue acting as an executive for Checkmate and would even work alongside the likes of Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. Towards the end of the initial Checkmate run, Checkmate partnered with Russia in an effort to stop the villain Cypher. After that plan went south, they were ordered to pull out of the operation and this would be Harvey’s final mission as a member of Checkmate.
Bullock didn’t go into retirement after his time with Checkmate. He was seen a few months later working the streets of Gotham once again in 1992’s Batman #475 by Alan Grant, Norm Breyfogle, Adrienne Roy and Todd Klein. This issue saw Harvey back in his role as a detective in the Gotham P.D. as he witnessed Batman saving a man from falling to his death. Batman’s opinion of Bullock had not changed as he quickly ridiculed Bullock for making a joke.
Bullock has rarely stepped away from the streets of Gotham City since his return. While Checkmate is usually being operated by a group of non-powered beings, it is unlikely that Bullock will be returning to Checkmate’s third incarnation. With characters like Talia Al Ghul, Green Arrow, and Mister Bones, it seems unlikely that this team would need the assistance of Harvey Bullock once more.
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