Double Feature: Harvey's final (and Two-Face's first) appearances in THE BATMAN ADVENTURES (#9,22)

[about_faces]

Harvey Dent's final appearance in the DCAU (and Two-Face's first appearance in The Batman Adventures comics) coincides with the brief, remarkable tenure of new series artist Mike Parobeck. Taking over from Ty Templeton and joined by original inker (and all-around all-star of Batman comics) Rick Burchett, Parobeck's pencils helped shape The Batman

Comments

[psychopathicus]

Yeah, 'Little Red Book' is a nicely dynamic issue. I've got it in one of the collections you linked to, but I never realized that was volume two. Huh. You live and learn.
I find it significant that, while it's emphasized here that Two-Face needs the coin to make decisions, he does not have to use it when it comes to Thorne. "What's between me and Thorne is personal." In short, both his good and bad sides are in agreement on this one.
There's a bit of a difference between this "need the coin" moment and that in 'Two-Face Part 2'. There it was Two-Face freaking out because he didn't have the ability to make the decision to kill Thorne - something that, as mentioned above, both parts of him want (at least to some degree). Here (or so I see it), it's Harvey who's breaking into a cold sweat - not because he wants to kill Batman, but because Two-Face does, and he can't make the conscious decision not to. If the coin is the only real link to Harvey, then it's more or less his lifeline, the only way he can stop Two-Face from taking

[about_faces]

In short, both his good and bad sides are in agreement on this one.

Well, it's possible that he flipped for Thorne before the issue started, which is what gave him cause to escape in the first place. Nonetheless, it's entirely possible that both sides agreed on Thorne, since a later story by Ty Templeton showed that it is indeed possible for both sides to agree on certain things without the need to flip.

... and flipping it is the only way to either give him a chance to stop Two-Face, or sit back and absolve himself from guilt. (Hey, he didn't make the decision - it was the coin.)

Totally. That said, I find it interesting that no writers have ever tried going that route. If Harvey himself is ever addressed, he usually blames himself entirely and wants to kill himself. He's eager to take on all the blame, even for the things that--as a mentally ill person--he really has no true control over. Of course, in cases like DeMatteis' Crime and Punishment, that goes hand-in-hand with the mentality of an abused child, thinking that it was

[psychopathicus]

I suppose that if you interpret good and evil as 'responsibility' and 'irresponsibility' (which is a little oversimplified, I know, but it is one interpretation I've heard), Harvey's good side would have to hold himself responsible, since to him, that's what being good means. (This especially might be true if the roots of his madness go back to childhood, where 'evil' can be replaced with 'bad' - and 'bad', as it applies to children, is usually defined by adults as 'being irresponsible'.)
Incidentally, are you into European comics? I ask because there's another comics-related article I wrote over on MRFH which addresses the subject:

http://mutantreviewers.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/top-ten-european-comics-that-deserve-us-movie-adaptations/

Check it out, if you're interested.

[lego_joker]

You know, this is the second time (see what I did there!) that I've seen Gordon act anything close to immature.

The first was in one of Doug Moench's Brozen Age stories. I forget the issue, but it was shortly after Catwoman had re-surfaced after her latest Comic Book "Death", and half the issue consists of her date with Batman. Which is... actually kind of healthy and functional, compared to post-Crisis Cat-Bat "romance".

The other half of the story consists of Bullock ranting to Gordon about how he refuses to believe in Catwoman's reformation. Mind you, this is pre-Crisis Bullock, so he's destroying some part of Gordon's office with every sentence he speaks. Anyhoo, while he's ranting, Gordon can be seen doodling on a little notepad, which features a caricature of Bullock suffering horrific, cartoonish injures and the words "AT LEAST CATWOMAN NEVER DESTROYED MY OFFICE!".

Oh, Doug Moench. U so wacky.

[about_faces]

Huh. Yet another way that B:TAS resembles the sensibilities of Bronze Age Batman! Damn it, I still need to find those Moench issues! So damn rare and/or expensive!

Also damn it: I like Pre-Crisis walking-disaster-area-with-a-private-movie-loving-side Bullock! He's all the fun of Post-Crisis Bullock with more complexity and less "walking suicidal disgraced failure who would have made Montoya's life hell if he knew that she was a lesbian," thank you, Greg Rucka.

[yaseen101]

" Post-Crisis Bullock with more complexity and less "walking suicidal disgraced failure who would have made Montoya's life hell if he knew that she was a lesbian," thank you, Greg Rucka."

RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

This makes me feel less inclined to read Half A Life.

[abqreviews]

I like to think he depends on the coin here because, just as how "Big Bad Harv" will always be there to keep Harvey from truly reforming by subconciously influencing his actions, Harvey will always be there to keep Big Bad Harv from going all out monster, by subconciously influencing his actions. That said, I do like the idea of him depending on the coin because he sees it as some kind of lost link.

And yes, which coin it is shouldn't matter.

Also, if I ever get disfigured and decide to renew my interest in music, I'm totally going to start a band called the "Disfigured Duo". I'm sorry, but haunting opera houses is sooo passe.

[about_faces]

I like to think he depends on the coin here because, just as how "Big Bad Harv" will always be there to keep Harvey from truly reforming by subconciously influencing his actions, Harvey will always be there to keep Big Bad Harv from going all out monster, by subconciously influencing his actions.

I agree, but again, that's the real tragedy: as far as everyone but Bruce and Grace is concerned, Harvey already IS an all-out monster. If he's inside there struggling, it's a incredibly lonely battle, one where even his momentary victories go entirely ignored. And that's not even taking into consideration the incredibly depressing turn of events awaiting us in the next comic review in this series!

[box_in_the_box]

One of the biggest problems with any Two-Face origin is that none have convincingly explained why he became a crime boss.

See, I always thought this was more of a commentary on GOTHAM than anything else, because it's not just Two-Face for whom this question becomes a problem.

Set aside Catwoman and the Penguin, who aren't actually part of the Arkham Asylum crew anyway, and the out-and-out mob bosses and corrupt industrialists like Maroni and Falcone and Thorne, and the remainder of Batman's rogues are clinically insane, and while that justifies them setting up oversized Sprang deathtraps and trying to patent Jokerfish and every other fucking thing well enough to work for the purposes of the genre, how in the holy living fuck do any of them manage to recruit any henchmen?Harley Quinn, yeah, she hooks up with the Joker because she's about as batshit as he is, but even by the relative standards of dullard faceless hirelings who exist only to perpetuate the Law of Inverse Ninja, who chooses to go work for the guy who might randomly

[lego_joker]

See, this is why I think it's best to show the Rogues' henchmen as relatively young people, in their mid-20s or so. The sort of daredevil idiots that have something to prove, or just want to rub shoulders with homicidal lunatics.

And the chance that they'll die horribly? That just makes the adrenaline rush all the sweeter.

[box_in_the_box]

Also, I think it was stated that while the Joker may kill you for a laugh, there is an equally high chance of pulling in a ridiculous amount of money just from one job.
-Nobody

[about_faces]

Combine that with the Joker's celebrity status, there could be a great deal of fame/infamy to come with working for the Joker and surviving to tell the tale.

[anonymous]

I think my favorite parts of "Good Face, Bad Face" are how much detail and emotion Harvey's unscarred side gets. The cover is kind of bland, but the smirks and looks of sheer panic and confusion make up for it. And there's always something to be read into when the artist chooses to show one side and not the other.

[about_faces]

I totally agree. It's so much more detail and emotion than he gets in the actual animated series! It's another reason why I love the comics, sometimes moreso than even TAS proper!