2. Commissioner James Gordon

You can’t have Batman without Jim Gordon; he’s been there from the first-ever story told. He’s the only police officer Batman ever truly trusts. Gordon, at times, works almost like a point-of-view character for the audience as he navigates being an honest cop in a corrupt city, where he must deal with some of his own people he can’t trust. Yet he trusts Batman through each major event that befalls the city, from poisoned water to the Joker and then losing control of the city to a madman while being left for dead by the federal government. Yet it’s the trust that Bruce has in him, as the policeman who was there for him on the night his parents were murdered and helped keep alive that small flame of faith in the goodness of people and justice, that helps lead Bruce to become Batman. His loyalty to Batman remains even through the flawed plan of the Dent Act. The climax of The Dark Knight Rises makes their connection apparent to Gordon as he finally discovers who Batman is and just how his simple act of being there for a child helped save the city and many lives.