IMPOSTORAMA: The Fake Two-Faces! No. 6: Gracchus

[about_faces]

The most recent Impostor Two-Face might also be the dumbest. Not surprising, as he's written by Denny O'Neil: master of the shallow strawman villain, at least from his run on The Question.

Don't get me wrong: when Denny's good, he's bloody amazing. His out-of-print Ra's al Ghul origin Birth of the Demon is one of the greatest Batman comics ever

Comments

[lego_joker]

Uh... hello? Dude that tried Fanatic from the Child of Dreams manga?

I R SAD NAO. :(

And if you want to get REALLY technical, there's also an impostor that HARVEY HIMSELF sanctioned in The Batman Adventures. The one with the prison break.

[thehefner]

Well, I ASKED you in another post who the other Impostor was who I had forgotten, but you didn't say anything! Thus, I thought I was mistaken when I thought that you might have suggested another one! :p

That one still should count though, although I suppose it might get an honorary mention because it's not in regular canon, unlike the other stories. As for TAS comics, there's that and also the Hatter-controlled doctor whom Jervis had dressed up as Two-Face. Both those seem really to be pushing it, though.

[lego_joker]

Wait, what?

I DID mention the Child of Dreams impostor! Remember? The Nightwing: Year One post? I mentioned him, went into a rant about how a Death in the Family revamp should go, and you never answered?

[thehefner]

*double-checks*

Holy crap, I totally forgot that I got that comment! Sorry, I've been brain-fried with IRL stuff! Geez, I don't recall actually getting an e-mail notification about that one at all, because I hadn't seen it till now. Nuts!

[prof_pig]

I really like how Denny writes the real Two-Face in this. I love the more contained, calm, calculating perception of Harvey. I hadn't read this story before, but I appreciate you posting it, because I was really wondering who the Veil was, seeing as how she was in a lot of the battle for the cowl tie-ins. I really thought she might have some cool backstory and motivations... but it seems I was wrong.

Also, as far as Two-Face impostors go, have you read Batman: Child of Dreams? I dont believe its cannon, but the whole book is about a drug that re-write genetic material to match another person's. The main villain uses it to create a series of perfect imposters of Batman's famous rogues, including Two-Face. Just thought you might wanna check it out for your IMPOSTORAMA.

[thehefner]

Yeah, I like this take much better than him being a raving fanatic. He's bound by the coin's rulings, but only because he believes it gives his life meaning and structure.

Did she actually do anything in BftC? I don't remember. Considering that these stories came about around the exact same time, I have to wonder if she's an O'Neil original creation, or Tony Daniel's, or maybe editor Mike Marts.

Second person to bring up Child of Dreams! I read it awhile ago, but it didn't stick with me. I definitely need to reread it, and post the Two-Face stuff here, jarring as it is to see manga-flipped Harvey even if he's an impostor.

[prof_pig]

She was the narrator of the gotham gazette issues 1 & 2. I got the battle for the cowl hardcover and they were included in it. She seemed like some mysterious character, one that would eventually lead a larger role later on. I admit dissapointment having finally discovered her origin, and am now not too dispointed her character dropped off the map. Amongst everything Morrison was doing in the bat-verse she was just another character thread lost amongst all the events. Which reminds me of a another such situation. You remember in Long Shadows, how Dick discovered that Bruce had a secret file on the death of the Graysons? Whatever happened to that? I expected it to come up when Bruce came back, but it never did.

[prof_pig]

She was the narrator of the gotham gazette issues 1 & 2. I got the battle for the cowl hardcover and they were included in it. She seemed like some mysterious character, one that would eventually lead a larger role later on. I admit dissapointment having finally discovered her origin, and am now not too dispointed her character dropped off the map. Amongst everything Morrison was doing in the bat-verse she was just another character thread lost amongst all the events. Which reminds me of a another such situation. You remember in Long Shadows, how Dick discovered that Bruce had a secret file on the death of the Graysons? Whatever happened to that? I expected it to come up when Bruce came back, but it never did.

[abqreviews]

Well, at least the art's good, although Harvey himself is just a few weird shadings away from looking like Norman Osborn. But I agree, that's actually better writing for him than usual.

Millicent Mayne actually would be more interesting as a host for some kind of Batman anthology series, similar to LOTDK, but that's the horror comics fan in me talking. As a player (or non-player) in a story herself, she just seems...pointless here.

And as for Denny O' Neil writing strawman villains in THE QUESTION, well, I hope you never read the original Ditko series, or MR. A.

[box_in_the_box]

And as for Denny O' Neil writing strawman villains in THE QUESTION, well, I hope you never read the original Ditko series, or MR. A.

What's weird is, I absolutely despise both Objectivist philosophy and Objectivist fiction, and yet, I love the living hell out of Ditko's The Question and Mr. A, no matter how much I disagree with their worldviews.

[thehefner]

Same here, I find it fascinating. I've said it before, but I'd love to see a better writer try to tackle that view, although it'd HAVE to be a writer who didn't agree with it themselves. It's kind of like how atheists write much better Christian-themed stories than actual Christians.

Of course, maybe it's better that it never happen, lest Tea Party types think they have an actual hero in that kind of character. I still shudder to imagine how the hell the crazies are going to try co-opting Captain America once the film comes out (because the character doesn't actually exist for them until it's a movie, you know).

[box_in_the_box]

The JLU cartoon did a surprisingly effective job of capturing Vic's ethical perpendicularity to traditional heroism without alluding overmuch to Objectivism (aside from, you know, Vic explicitly stating, "A is A" onscreen), and I think we've already seen how an Objectivist Question would be embraced by mainstream culture, in the wake of every single positive review (and even most of the negative reviews) of Zack Snyder's movie version of Watchmen praising the shit out of Jackie Earle Haley's Rorschach, in spite of the character being a racist, misogynist, homophobic, ultra-nationalist serial killer. Hell, *I* admire the fuck out Rorschach, in spite of his politics, simply because of how indomitable he is (from his capture in Moloch's apartment to the brutality he wreaks upon his fellow inmates, he's a goddamn MACGYVER of violence). I find it hilarious how ~*shocked*~ Alan Moore is over Rorschach's audience appeal, after Moore himself spent the whole of Watchmen showing every other character wangsting and hesitating and compromising

[lego_joker]

The two books came out around the same time, it seems. I can't narrow it down any further than that.

'89 was a really, REALLY bad year for Eddie. Not even Peter "Dark Knight/Dark City" Milligan could repair the damage.

[thehefner]

In some ways, I think that story did just as much damage. It implied that the only way for Eddie to become a viable character would be to go the darker, grim-n-gritty route, since characters based on wit, intelligence, and fun had no place in Batman comics anymore.

[lego_joker]

I think that Milligan himself knew that some fans would think that, hence Batman's plea to Eddie during the climax

[ext_262094]

I like Two-Face new look in this as well as him being more contained, calm, calculating perception of Harvey Dent.