| “ | 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!? 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 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? | „ |
| ~ Lamond to Detective Gordon on why he became a vigilante. |
Davis Lamond is a character in the first season of Gotham. He was a vigilante dubbed by the media as the Balloonman, appearing in the episode of the same name as the main antagonist.
He is played by Dan Bakkedahl, who also played Murray in Community.
Biography
Davis Lamond was a social worker in Gotham City. After witnessing the corrupt inner workings of Gotham, he decided to take the law into his own hands and began targeting corrupt politicians, police and other figures. His method was attaching them to a giant balloon which would take them up into the sky, and would eventually burst and cause the victim to fall to their death.
His first victim was a corrupt businessman who had scammed people (which caused some of his victims to commit suicide after losing their life savings). When the man sneaks out a court to avoid the press, Lamond approaches him wearing a pig mask and attaches him to a balloon, taking him away. The next target is corrupt GCPD detective Bill Cranston. During the night after Cranston beats a drug dealer for not making enough money, Lamond targets him. Although Cranston manages to beat him down, Lamond manages to attach him to the balloon.
The next target is a pedophile priest.
James Gordon and Harvey Bullock managed to find his balloon stall in an alleyway. 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. After nearly being killed by Lamond, they manage to take him down and he 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 and warns Gordon there will be more like him.
Episode appearances
Season 1
- "The Balloonman"
Trivia
- His pig mask is a possible reference to Professor Pyg. Pyg would later appear in person as a major villain in the fourth season.
- Lamond taking the law into his own hands will possibly 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, therefore the nickname is just a mere coincidence.
- Nathaniel Barnes would fulfill 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 unlike 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 vigilante behaviour proved Lamond's warning to Jim correct that more people would turn to vigilantism to fight against the crime and corruption of the city.
