Two-Face Tuesdays: the Paul Sloane saga, Part 1: the other Two-Face!
So this was to be a post about the "Hal Jordan tries to fix Harvey Dent" issue of THE SPECTRE, but that's gonna require a lot more essay writing than is possible right now. I'm gonna actually have to bring in a special guest commentator (i.e. my loyal Henchgirl) to parse out that particularly frustrating story.
So instead, let's tie in the new and old years with this Two-Face Tuesday two-parter on a guy named Paul Sloane... AKA Two-Face.
"A-bwUUUHHH?!?!?!" I hear you gasp?
Actually, Sloane is one of five different Golden Age iterations of Two-Face. superfan1 was kind enough to post the original Paul Sloane story at my request a couple weeks back, along with another non-Harvey-Dent Two-Face. But Sloane is notable in that he's the only other Two-Face to actually return to modern continuity!
In Part 1, I present excerpts DETECTIVE #580 an #581, by Mike W. Barr (who writes one of the corniest Two-Faces ever, full of terrible, smackable puns) with art by Jim Baikie.
I find it interesting that this Two-Face starts by attacking a sculptor, which is the profession of Harvey's wife, Gilda. The connection is clearly meant to play on the themes of aesthetic beauty and whatnot, which lends itself to the more shallow depictions of Two-Face as a vain person who's driven crazy when he becomes ugly (although even that motivation can be used to powerful effect with a good writer.)
Batman and Robin (Jason Todd) arrive, but Jason screws up by doing the Jason thing and rushing in headlong. Two-Face gets the jump on Robin, knocks him over the head, and makes use of the Boy Hostage to get away.
The Jason-centric parts of this story were already posted here, as you may recall, which also include bits I omit, if you're interested.
During the next heist, Batman realizes that this Two-Face is ambidextrous, whereas Harvey Dent--no matter which side is in control--is right-handed. Therefore, there's only ONE explanation: there are two different Two-Faces on the loose! Soon, Batman and Gordon realize that the other one is indeed Paul Sloane.
And just like Harvey, Paul's lifeline to sanity and goodness is his crying, suffering wife. An intentional parallel? Or just a lazy cliche? You decide!
Batman sets up a sting on Sloane, which also brings Harvey Dent into the picture:
Sloane puts Batman, Robin, and Harvey into a typical same-bat-time-same-bat-channel deathtrap, which goes predictably, but Harvey gets away. In the next issue, Batman finally gets to confront Sloane in a classic method for beating Two-Face: bring in the pleading wife!
Batman, Robin, Sloane, Gordon, and the cops sweep in to disrupt Harvey's heist:
"... I thought I hated him for... for what he did. But I don't. I just kinda pity him... and in a way, that's worse."
"I know, chum. I know."
In the end, Sloane undergoes plastic surgery, and while recovering his wife assures him that "you'll be as handsome as ever."
There's not much I have to say about this story. It's frankly contrived as hell, and oy, the inking in the second half does not do Baikie any favors. Too bad Breyfogle didn't draw it. Too bad Breyfogle doesn't draw much of anything anymore.
As a bonus, here's the covers for these issues. The first one is one of my favorite Two-Face drawings of all time:
Whereas the second one is kind of cool until you wonder what the heck that one Two-Face is trying to do with his legs:
The idea of a new Two-Face is an intriguing prospect that should have been utilized while Harvey was "healed" in the years between HUSH and FACE THE FACE. A new Two-Face shouldn't be a carbon copy of the original, but should rather be used to explore themes of duality, fate, and justice in ways that Harvey Dent can't (or shouldn't), while Harvey himself could have gone on to have much more interesting character development as a wild card antihero. Not just for Harvey, but for Sloane as well, as you'll see soon enough.
Next week, Part 2: the great Ed Brubaker re-imagines Paul Sloane in 2003, published in a story that nobody noticed because everyone was reading HUSH instead.
So instead, let's tie in the new and old years with this Two-Face Tuesday two-parter on a guy named Paul Sloane... AKA Two-Face.
"A-bwUUUHHH?!?!?!" I hear you gasp?
Actually, Sloane is one of five different Golden Age iterations of Two-Face. superfan1 was kind enough to post the original Paul Sloane story at my request a couple weeks back, along with another non-Harvey-Dent Two-Face. But Sloane is notable in that he's the only other Two-Face to actually return to modern continuity!
In Part 1, I present excerpts DETECTIVE #580 an #581, by Mike W. Barr (who writes one of the corniest Two-Faces ever, full of terrible, smackable puns) with art by Jim Baikie.
I find it interesting that this Two-Face starts by attacking a sculptor, which is the profession of Harvey's wife, Gilda. The connection is clearly meant to play on the themes of aesthetic beauty and whatnot, which lends itself to the more shallow depictions of Two-Face as a vain person who's driven crazy when he becomes ugly (although even that motivation can be used to powerful effect with a good writer.)
Batman and Robin (Jason Todd) arrive, but Jason screws up by doing the Jason thing and rushing in headlong. Two-Face gets the jump on Robin, knocks him over the head, and makes use of the Boy Hostage to get away.
The Jason-centric parts of this story were already posted here, as you may recall, which also include bits I omit, if you're interested.
During the next heist, Batman realizes that this Two-Face is ambidextrous, whereas Harvey Dent--no matter which side is in control--is right-handed. Therefore, there's only ONE explanation: there are two different Two-Faces on the loose! Soon, Batman and Gordon realize that the other one is indeed Paul Sloane.
And just like Harvey, Paul's lifeline to sanity and goodness is his crying, suffering wife. An intentional parallel? Or just a lazy cliche? You decide!
Batman sets up a sting on Sloane, which also brings Harvey Dent into the picture:
Sloane puts Batman, Robin, and Harvey into a typical same-bat-time-same-bat-channel deathtrap, which goes predictably, but Harvey gets away. In the next issue, Batman finally gets to confront Sloane in a classic method for beating Two-Face: bring in the pleading wife!
Batman, Robin, Sloane, Gordon, and the cops sweep in to disrupt Harvey's heist:
"... I thought I hated him for... for what he did. But I don't. I just kinda pity him... and in a way, that's worse."
"I know, chum. I know."
In the end, Sloane undergoes plastic surgery, and while recovering his wife assures him that "you'll be as handsome as ever."
There's not much I have to say about this story. It's frankly contrived as hell, and oy, the inking in the second half does not do Baikie any favors. Too bad Breyfogle didn't draw it. Too bad Breyfogle doesn't draw much of anything anymore.
As a bonus, here's the covers for these issues. The first one is one of my favorite Two-Face drawings of all time:
Whereas the second one is kind of cool until you wonder what the heck that one Two-Face is trying to do with his legs:
The idea of a new Two-Face is an intriguing prospect that should have been utilized while Harvey was "healed" in the years between HUSH and FACE THE FACE. A new Two-Face shouldn't be a carbon copy of the original, but should rather be used to explore themes of duality, fate, and justice in ways that Harvey Dent can't (or shouldn't), while Harvey himself could have gone on to have much more interesting character development as a wild card antihero. Not just for Harvey, but for Sloane as well, as you'll see soon enough.
Next week, Part 2: the great Ed Brubaker re-imagines Paul Sloane in 2003, published in a story that nobody noticed because everyone was reading HUSH instead.