Comic Review: Matt Wagner's "Batman: Faces" (1992)

[about_faces]

Preface: This story deals with sensitive subjects, mainly concerning circus sideshow performers, and I'm not quite sure what the protocol is when it comes to discussing such people. Google didn't yield much in the way of help, so if I end up saying anything incorrect, inappropriate, or offensive, please let me know and I shall change the review

Comments

[psychopathicus]

You know, I've always thought that the Yin-Yang was a silly choice for a Two-Face 'emblem' when it's used that way, but it actually works pretty well here. Why? Simple - it's not a symbol of duality, it's a symbol of integration, which is Harvey's theoretical goal in this story. He wants a place of equality and harmony for those who haven't received it - you could do worse than a Yin-Yang for something like that.
That reaction of Wren's is just a wee bit over the top, all round. I can't pretend that I know how I'd react in such a situation, but I'm reasonably certain that panicked screaming would not be on the agenda.
Why exactly was Harvey killing those plastic surgeons? Did we ever get a reason, or was he just taking out his frustrations on them while carrying out his other plan?
I think the idea is that at least some of the assembled were actually fine with the idea of going to the island; it's just that it wasn't the unanimous decision that Harvey was trying to present it as. It's implied that Manon probably is, given the vehemence with which she rips into Wren, as well as "Cousin Herve", who seems to be at least cooperating willingly if not actively taking part. Not to mention the person with the... flesh-bulbs, whatever you'd call that, who suggests offing Batman. There are willing participants, it seems; it's just that they're in the relative minority.
The key issue, for me, is whether or not those extra hands are functional. If they are, I can understand keeping them; if they're not, I can see no reason to.
That "vertical hermaphrodite" reminds me strongly of an old Golden Age comic I once read. I don't know if you've ever encountered the hero Crimebuster, but at one point he encountered the one-shot villain "He-She", who was an ex-circus freak who had turned to crime. One half of... well, for lack of a better term, his body was that of a rather brutish-looking man, the other was that of a beautiful woman. It's a weird little story, if you can find it.
While I agree with you that this would have worked very well as a Penguin or Croc story (assuming it was the deformed version of Ozzie, of course), I think in the final analysis it actually works well as a Two-Face story precisely because he's merely scarred. He may think of himself as a freak, but in the final analysis he's merely a victim of acid burns. In an obsessive quest to be part of a community, he has distanced himself from the 'genuine' freaks still further, in that they've had all their lives to come to grips with their deformities. Sure, some of them may be bitter and morose about their lot in life, but overall, they've accepted it with more grace than Harvey ever has. That encounter with "The Man With Two Faces" holds the power it does because he's a reflection of what Harvey has convinced himself that he is, but which, in fact, he is not - he's just a madman grasping at illusions while the genuine articles are just going out and living their lives. If Ozzie or Croc were in the same position, it might still hold power, but it would be of a very different sort.
Anyway, I too am off to guzzle turkey before long, so I'll be back in a couple of days. Here's hoping that both our Thanksgivings go well!

[about_faces]

You know, I've always thought that the Yin-Yang was a silly choice for a Two-Face 'emblem' when it's used that way, but it actually works pretty well here. Why? Simple - it's not a symbol of duality, it's a symbol of integration, which is Harvey's theoretical goal in this story. He wants a place of equality and harmony for those who haven't received it - you could do worse than a Yin-Yang for something like that.

Yeah, I was wondering if I should try touching upon that always-tricky topic of whether or not Yin-Yang and Taoism is appropriate for Harvey, how often that symbol has been used for him, etc. Ultimately, I didn't feel up to the task, so I'm glad you've brought it up. It honestly never occurred to me that its use here may have been appropriate, even if it's in a manner that's somewhat muddled by the fact that Wagner has Harvey outright describe it as being related to duality.

Why exactly was Harvey killing those plastic surgeons? Did we ever get a reason, or was he just taking out his frustrations on them while carrying out his other plan?

The only reason we're given is by Batman, who deduces that the murders were all diversions while Harvey carried out the real plans to securing Wren's confidence, blackmailing D'Urberville, and obtaining the Gothzeppelin (and kidnapping the pilot) for transportation. On one hand, this seems like an unnecessarily messy plan that would only serve to utterly sabotage his main goal. On the other hand, it's not entirely insensible for Harvey to keep Batman distracted on a series of flashy, violent murder mysteries while he carries out his main goal more subtly through blackmail and manipulation. So the distraction was great in theory, but the way he did it probably proved to be his undoing.

Besides that, though, I could imagine that killing the plastic surgeons was the vengeful flip side to his (theoretical) quest for justice for the freaks. He's striving to give them their utopia, but at the same time, he's also lashing out at the "beauty merchants" who represent the broken, cruel society that oppresses his people in the first place. I wish this had been explored better, as that fits in better with Two-Face's ideology more than the mere fact that he's got two schemes running at the same time.

If Ozzie or Croc were in the same position, it might still hold power, but it would be of a very different sort.

Yeah, I think you're right. This story does work in its own right for entirely different reasons, and it couldn't have been used for this same purpose with any character but Harvey. Still, if Wagner was shooting for a story where Bruce's assessment at the end actually held true, he might have done better to have gone with Ozzie or Croc, who might have more genuinely sought after justice, however twisted.

Thanks! Right back at you! :D

[psychopathicus]

The ironic thing about his killing of the "beauty merchants" is that they're the very people who could help him - in fact, have indeed done so in various different versions of his story. After all, mental issues aside, his malformation is only skin deep; a good plastic surgeon could fix him right up, were he to let them (unless, of course, we're talking about the stories where the scarring is 'too extensive' or some such). One could therefore view his killing them off as a conscious abnegation of his own potential normality; by wiping out those who could fix his scarring and de-Two Face him (at least on the outside), he's insisting that he's (as BR Penguin put it) "a genuine freak", and therefore has a place as part of the group that he's gathered around himself, and deserves his spot as their leader. Otherwise, the shallowness of his motivation is revealed to him, and he cannot and will not face up to it.
So, have a good Turkey Day?

[psychopathicus]

...Whoops, replied as an Anonymous; sorry about that.