Review: "Heads or Tails," the Two-Face segment from Walt Simonson's "The Judas Coin" (2012)

[about_faces]

Four months have passed since the release of Walt Simonson's excellent new graphic novel, The Judas Coin, so I think it's finally time for me to examine the story's Two-Face segment, Heads or Tails, in full, exhaustive, spoilery, scan-heavy detail.

Comments

[about_faces]

Now, onto the actual story commentary!

I totally see the Modesty Blaise resemblance here. Should I read that strip? I never have, and I've got a few hundred copies of them reprinted in those issues of Comics Revue magazine where I got all of the Batman comic strips, so I could certainly catch up on one large chunk, if it's worthwhile.

I'm not sure if I agree about Harvey being so particularly attached to that one specific coin. While I can't point to any specific stories, I'm almost certain I've heard reference to Harvey either replacing his coin or using replacements that others have given him - the point is the link to fate and random chance that the coin gives him access to, not the coin itself.

True, but it wasn't so much that ONE specific coin I meant as much as that he only uses two-headed coins that are scarred on one side. For all versions of the character, it's integral to how he identifies himself after the scarring as having two heads, one ruined/evil, and almost all subsequent versions of Harvey's origin have spun out from this idea. Having it be just a coin--no matter how valuable--doesn't fit with the symbolism that Harvey craves at the core of his obsessiveness. Now, if the Judas Coin had two heads, and if he were willing to deface one side of this priceless magic coin, that would be different.

... therefore what I imagine happening is Two-Face acquiring two suits in his size - one a Fioravanti, one a tacky old who-knows-how-he-got-it checked one - dropping them off at the tailor he frequents and instructing him to cut both in half lengthwise and sew the right half of one onto the left half of the other. He may think of it as a perfectly reasonable investment, but the poor tailor was probably scandalized.

Oh god, I can only imagine what Kittlemeier must think at the prospect of having to slice a Fioravanti in half! Because yes, as far as I'm concerned, Kittlemeier from Neutral Ground is canon.

Oooh, I like your reading of that scene too. I don't think she meant it like that (it's been a while, but I think that she read the "I was thinking of you"/"So was I" as Harvey speaking in terms of base self-preservation from Sawney/Morgana's wrath), but now that I think about it, it may indeed be likelier that Bruce is warning Harvey not to mail that coin. What throws me off is how quickly Bruce is thinking that IMMEDIATELY after Harvey kills Sawney, because that made me feel like the "it's not worth it" was related to Sawney's murder, not about Harvey sending that mail. But your reading makes a bit more sense, even if that means there's a failure in the narrative to make that transition. Then again, maybe the failure is just on my part as a reader for not getting all that in the first place. In any case, I like both our readings.

I've actually been thinking about that idea recently: that Batman is Harvey's good side, and that Harvey is COUNTING on Batman to provide the counterbalance in his life. If that's what's going on here in a subtle way, that'd be very cool. I would love to see a story explore that idea. It might even involve Two-Face saving Batman's life, because even the worst parts of Two-Face would realize that they'd NEED Batman to provide that counterbalance, otherwise Harvey would probably shut down entirely. That's a powerful idea.

[psychopathicus]

I can hardly speak as a Modesty completist - I own a few scattered collections of it that I picked up in a used bookstore - but from what I've read of it, yes, it's worth reading. It's great adventure/spy movie stuff, and features one of the most iconic female leads in comics, along with one of the best platonic male/female relationships. (I actually mention it in one of my articles on MRFH, 'Top Five European Comics that Deserve US Movie Adaptations' - a bit old at this point, but it's there if you care to snoop through the archives.)
I seem to recall a B:tAS comic where Harvey is supplied with an ordinary quarter that he scars one side of with a knife, so it's not completely unprecedented. I do agree, though, that it would be somewhat un-Harveylike behavior to deface something he regards as talismanic - if he genuinely believed in its power, he'd handle it with kid gloves.
I actually was talking about Harvey shooting the trapped thug instead of Batman, not his mailing of the coin - but now that you mention it, it could work that way as well.
If that were true, then choosing to actively murder Bats would be, for him, a form of suicide. This may be why he's never actually gone through with it.