Maggie Sawyer
| Lieutenant Maggie Sawyer | |
|---|---|
| File:Maggiesawyer.jpg | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Superman vol. 2, #7 April 1987 |
| Created by | John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Margaret Sawyer |
| Team affiliations | Gotham City Police Department Metropolis Special Crimes Unit |
Maggie Sawyer is a fictional police officer who appears in stories published by DC Comics, and has been a supporting character in both Superman and Batman comic books.
Fictional character biography
Maggie was introduced in Superman (2nd series) in April 1987, as Captain Sawyer of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit, a special branch of the Metropolis police force that handles superpowered menaces when Superman is unavailable. Maggie mostly replaced Inspector Henderson from the previous comics as Superman's main police contact.
She was added to the Superman canon following the Crisis on Infinite Earths and the miniseries that rebooted the comics, Superman: The Man of Steel. Her no-nonsense attitude made her an enemy of many criminals in Metropolis. This led to her a being constant thorn in Superman's side during the early days of his career, for she tried at times to prove the police force was more efficient than a vigilante, and even trying to apprehend him at times. Eventually, after being injured and saved by Superman during a terrorist plot, her attitude towards him warmed up.
Later stories revealed that she originally came from Star City, and had been married to another police officer until she realized she was a lesbian. The two had one daughter named Jamie. Since her divorce, Maggie has been in a relationship with Toby Raines, a reporter for the Metropolis Star.
Maggie had a close working relationship with Dan Turpin, the second-in-command of the SCU. Henderson, however, resented the fact that she gave orders to officers who outranked her and, when he became Commissioner following the Death of Superman storyline, resolved the situation by promoting her to Inspector.
Inspector Sawyer was the main character in the 1998 comics limited series Metropolis SCU.
In mid-2000s comics, Maggie has been transferred to Gotham City's police force as the head of the Major Crimes Unit, and is a significant character in the comic Gotham Central. The move has placed some strain on her relationship, since Toby did not follow her to Gotham.
Following the events of Infinite Crisis, Harvey Bullock discovered corruption in the GCPD apparently all the way up to Commissioner Akins. James Gordon returned to his former position as commissioner, and many of the cast of Gotham Central has not been seen since. Maggie Sawyer, however, does not appear to be involved and is still a Captain.
Maggie has recently been appearing in the series 52. In conversation, former detective Renee Montoya makes a reference to Toby Raines.
In other media
In the 1990s cartoon Superman: The Animated Series, Captain Maggie Sawyer was voiced by Joanna Cassidy. Toby Raines, voiced by Laraine Newman, was seen by Maggie's bedside in several hospital scenes in the episode "Apokolips...Now! part 1" (and was later seen consoling Maggie at Dan Turpin's funeral service in "Apokolips...Now! part 2"). Bruce Timm has stated in the commentary for "Tools of the Trade" those scenes were the creators' way of acknowledging her sexual orientation.
The 2000s television series Smallville episodes Insurgence, Exile, and Exposed feature actress Jill Teed playing the role of Lieutenant and later Detective Sawyer.