| “ | And what good are laws when they require men like your Lieutenant Cranston to implement them? And Ronald Danzer? You think he would've seen the inside of a jail? Or that Priest?! Why didn't the law punish him?! And I have given my life to the lost children of Gotham because I wanted to make a difference and you know what kind of difference I made?! None! Because the people running this city feed off the weak and the law protects them! And when your Mayor rounded up all those children to send off to that prison upstate, I decided "no more." I would teach them there are consequences. Why don't you ask yourself detective; who are you fighting for? A mayor in the mob's pocket? Cops on the take? Or for the weak and the innocent? Who are you finally? Oh, forget it. | „ |
| ~ Lamond to Detective Gordon on why he became a vigilante. |
Davis Lamond, dubbed by the press as "the Balloonman," is a vigilante and serial killer who served as a minor antagonist in Season 1 of Gotham.
He is played by Dan Bakkedahl, who also played Murray in Community and Graydon Ostler in Grimm.
Biography[]
Past[]
Davis Lamond is a 48 year old man who worked as a social worker in Gotham City for fifteen years and has witnessed who witnessing the corrupt inner-workings of Gotham first-hand. However, when Aubrey James sends many orphaned children to Blackgate just so that he can claim they found homes, Lamond snapped, deciding to take the law into his own hands by killing corrupt politicians, police and other figures. His method involved attaching them to a giant balloon which will take them up into the sky, and eventually burst; causing the victim to fall to their death. Although he always abandoned his equipment at the scene of his crimes to make a quicker escape, he always woew gloves, ensured that his carts are too generic to trace back to him, steals balloons from Karl Smiker who stole them from his former employer and wore masks to hide his identity.
Gotham[]
David Lamon's very first target is the extremely rich Ronald Danzer; a scam artist that masterminded a Ponzi scheme that caused many people to lose a lot of money. With Danzer out on bail thanks to being so wealthy, Lamond knows that his money will likely prevent him from seeing any justice so confronts him in the street as he tries to sneak out and ties him to some balloons which drop him to his death. Two days later, Davis confronts dirty cop Lieutenant William Cranston as a hot-dog vendor only for the cop to beat him but Lamond is still able to get a balloon around his leg and send him to his death. The next day, he targets Cardinal Quinn AKA "The Diddly Priest" who has been repeatedly accused of using his position to molest children. However, a letter found in Cranston's pocket (which had been taken from Lamond during thier fight) allows rookie detective Jim Gordon to deduce his identity as he had given Lamond the day before.
Gordon and Harvey Bullock later confront Lamond after they deduce where his hiding place must be because he works with children and the original juvenile facility had been abandoned when they moved to a new facility. Lamond takes Bullock at gunpoint and reveals to Gordon he knows he is a good man after hearing about him rescuing Gotham's less fortunate children from being kidnapped by traffickers and wants him to join him to save the city. Gordon disagrees as he feels there is a better way than murder so a frustrated Lamond shoots at him but this allows Bullock to break free and tie him to his own balloon. Lamond is helpless to stop himself from flying away but they destroy the balloon by shooting it and finally arrest Lamond who is taken away in an ambulance. Beforehand, Gordon asks him who his next victim was but Lamond doesn't clarify and feels Gotham is corrupt so he warns Gordon there will be more like him.
It is very likely that Davis Lamond later receives life imprisonment for his actions and will spend the rest of his life in Blackgate Prison.
Personality[]
| “ | Montoya: What caused Lamond to snap? Gordon: Not sure. Lamond's co-workers describe him as "thoughtful, dedicated, sweet." A few said that. Montoya: Oh great, one of those sweet cop killing vigilantes. And what about his last target? Gordon: Same profile as all the rest. Well known, seemingly respectable, actually corrupt. |
„ |
| ~ Jim Gordon about Davis Lamond's personality. |
Davis Lamond appears to be on the surface a kind, thoughtful and sweet social worker but is in actuality a ruthless serial killer that taunted and tricked his victims before killing them.
Quotes[]
| “ | Balloons! Balloons! Here, balloons! Wanna balloon? Ronald Danzer? | „ |
| ~ Davis Lamond's first words when meeting Robert Danzer. |
| “ | Gordon: Drop the gun. Lamond: I can't do that, detective. I'm not done yet! Gordon: One more time. Drop it. Lamond: You should be helping me! Bullock: You're wasting your breath. My partner here thinks you're as bad as the scum you kill. Me? I can see how you're kinda doing us a favour so don't shoot me, alright? Lamond: You believe as I do. I know you're the one who caught those child snatchers. You risked your life! Bullock: Ah, so did I? Lamond: You wanna protect the innocent?! |
„ |
| ~ Davis after taking Harvey Bullock hostage. |
| “ | Lamond: There will be more like me, Detective. You know that, don't you? Gordon: Not if we do our job. We will, I will. Lamond: You had your chance. All of you. Gordon: Who was your last target? Lamond: *grunts and then silence.* |
„ |
| ~ Davis Lamond's last words before being arrested. |
Trivia[]
- His pig mask is a possible reference to Professor Pyg. An adaptation of this character would later appear in person as a major villain in the fourth season.
- Lamond taking the law into his own hands will obviously be one of the influences for Bruce Wayne to become Batman (Bruce watches the news of Lamond's arrest). However Bruce does not condone the fact that Lamond killed people.
- He is one of the few villains in Gotham with actual noble intentions, even though he murdered his victims.
- A character named Balloon Man appeared in the comics as an enemy of Metal Men. However, this comic character relates in no way to the one in Gotham so the nickname is just a mere coincidence.
- Nathaniel Barnes would fill a similar role to Lamond during the third season of Gotham. Like Lamond, Barnes was law abiding (working for the GCPD) but lost all hope and began targeting criminals constantly let off due to the corrupt nature of the law.
- However, whereas Lamond who showed no signs of mental illness and did it on his own free will, Barnes only turned to vigilantism due to being infected by poisoned blood which drove him to madness and brought out his darker side.
- Like Lamond, Barnes tried to convince Jim to join him on his quest to eliminating the criminals of Gotham. Like he did with Lamond, Jim refused Barnes and instead arrested him.
- Barnes' vigilantism proved Lamond's warning to Jim correct that more people would turn to vigilantism to fight against the crime and corruption of the city.
- Like Lamond, Barnes tried to convince Jim to join him on his quest to eliminating the criminals of Gotham. Like he did with Lamond, Jim refused Barnes and instead arrested him.
- However, whereas Lamond who showed no signs of mental illness and did it on his own free will, Barnes only turned to vigilantism due to being infected by poisoned blood which drove him to madness and brought out his darker side.
External links[]
- Davis Lamond on the Gotham Wiki
