30 in 30 - Day 16: Face to Face

[Brandon Shepherd]

My favorite villain.

 

My favorite Batman villain is Two-Face, once Harvey Dent, district attorney for Gotham City, on the side of the law. I always thought Two-Face to be a more realistic villain in Batman's rouges gallery. When I say realistic, I do not mean that I believe a man can have acid thrown on his face, survive and become scarred on exactly one half of his face, forming a perfectly straight line down the middle. What I find to be real about all of this, is a man whose inner demons come to surface as a result of being disfigured. This is much more believable than a man in green tights with question marks all over him.

 

In the early days of comics, Two-Face was a villain comprised of gimmicks, robbing the Second National Bank of Gotham, committing crimes based on the number two. Two-Face has become a much more complex character over the years, suffering from multiple personality disorder and paranoia. I suggest Batman: The Long Halloween if you would like to read a great Batman story, the transformation of Harvey Dent to Two-Face is explored in this story.

 

I like a villain who is tortured, complex and interesting, Two-Face fits the bill. Harvey Dent was an awesome DA, he had it all. A handsome man with a bright future, he also had his demons, due to a troubled childhood. Comics from the last twenty years or so have explored Dent's childhood, an alcoholic father is involved. Dent became the youngest D.A. in Gotham's history, he took on the mob and it cost him. As a result of acid scaring him in court room, the once good Dent became Two-Face, one of the Dark Knight's deadliest foes. I enjoy the many Two-Face covers in the Bat books, Batman Annual #14 (1989) by Neal Adams tops the list. The classic cover to Batman #234 (Aug. 1971) is also a good one.

 

I like to idea of a dual personality, a man in constant struggle. I look at Two-Face's coin as a way to avoid responsibility; he relies on the flip of a coin to make his decisions. His coin is two-headed, one side scared, the other side not. Relying on the flip of a coin is a clever way to avoid guilt if you ask me, Two-Face can kill a man and say it was the coin, convenient.

 

What comic should I read next? Let's flip for it!

 

Brandon

 

See more journals by Brandon Shepherd

[SW3D]

Cool cover! Adams can do no wrong!

 

My favorite Bat Villain happens to be The Riddler... You know... That green guy with all the questions... Edward Nigma... followed closely by Scarecrow. I once liked the Gentlemen Ghost as a kid because I thought the concept was cool but not so much as an adult. For sheer ferocity and brute force I love Killer Croc.

 

Two-Face never did it for me... and the Tommy Lee Jones version in Batman and Robin always made me cringe!

 

But Nolan and Eckart's take gave the character a high dose of realism and believable backstory. I walked away from Dark Knight feeling very sorry for Harvey Dent but also terrified at the pathological monster he had become.

 

When you look at it, as you mentioned, Batman's Rogue Gallery has some truly demented villains... which is why they are all housed at Arkham Asylum.

 

SW3D

[Brandon Shepherd]

My second favorite Bat villain would be Ra's al Ghul, there are so many good ones that it would be hard to rank, Scarecrow, Bane, Poison Ivy, Hush and so on.

 

I like the version of Two-Face in Dark Knight, I kept thinking about how he would more than likely die of an infection or at least need eye drops for the one eye, also wouldn't his mouth dry out? Sometimes it's hard to just watch a movie!

[kaholo1256]

Awesome points and being a huge Neal Adams fan always a find a good Neal Adams cover eye catching. As for me I would have to say favorite Bat Villain would have to be Ra's al Ghul. Having been created by Adams and Denny O'Neil cannot wait until this coming weekend to attend Wizard World Austin and get my copy of 232 signed by the gentlemen.

[Brandon Shepherd]

K,

 

Batman #232, Wizard World Austin, #232 signed by Adams and O'Neil? Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! I would love to have a copy of the Batman Annual #14 singed by Neal, it would be quite a show piece. Have fun at Wizard World!

 

B

[SW3D]

That would be sweet! If you get that done, please share with a journal: pre and post signature/grading. And have some greenbacks ready for Mr Adams!

 

It's good to see you back Brother!

 

SW3D

[Garlanda]

I always thought of his coin as an analogue to his figurative former master: the scales of justice. Whereas he had spent his life carefully applying facts to tip the balance, his "second" life as Two-Face was just the opposite where fate was decided by the caprcious flip of a coin.

 

P.S. I also dig the pseudo-go-go checks cover banner.

[Brandon Shepherd]

I always thought of his coin as an analogue to his figurative former master: the scales of justice. Whereas he had spent his life carefully applying facts to tip the balance, his "second" life as Two-Face was just the opposite where fate was decided by the caprcious flip of a coin.

 

Very astute observation, Garlanda! I like how complex Harvey Dent/Two-Face really is. There has been some talk on here about collecting birth month covers, check out this cover from my birth year, April, 1982.

 

[Garlanda]

I think it's kind of funny that Batman is implying that there's an appropriate level of split-personality, but this is too much!

 

Also, why is Two-Face's bad-side hand green? I thought he was only affected on his face. Did he do that to himself to complete the transformation?

[Brandon Shepherd]

Check out Batman #329, Two-Face's court!

 

 

Good question about the green hand, it's Two-Face, not Two-Body!