| Two-Face | |
|---|---|
 FromTwo-Face: Year One #2 (October 2008). Art by Jesus Saiz andJimmy Palmiotti. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #66 (August 1942) |
| Created by | Bob Kane |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Harvey Dent |
| Place of origin | Gotham City |
| Team affiliations |
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| Notable aliases |
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| Abilities |
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Two-Face is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. The character was created byBob Kane, and first appeared inDetective Comics #66 (August 1942). He has become one of the superheroBatman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up hisrogues gallery.
In his comic book appearances, Two-Face is the alter ego ofHarvey Dent,Gotham City's formerdistrict attorney who becomes a criminal mastermind obsessed withduality and the number two. Half of his face is hideously scarred after mob bossSal Maroni throwsacid at him. The resulting disfigurement drives him insane and causes him to make decisions based on theflip of a coin. TheModern Age of Comic Books portrays the character as havingdissociative identity disorder, with Two-Face being an alternate personality that developed as a result ofchildhood abuse. The modern version is also established as having once been an ally of Batman andCommissioner James Gordon, and a close friend of Batman's secret identity, Bruce Wayne.
The character has been adapted in variousmedia incarnations, having been portrayed in film byBilly Dee Williams inBatman (1989),Tommy Lee Jones inBatman Forever (1995),Aaron Eckhart inThe Dark Knight (2008), andHarry Lawtey inJoker: Folie à Deux (2024), in television byNicholas D'Agosto in theFox seriesGotham, andMisha Collins inThe CW seriesGotham Knights.Richard Moll,Troy Baker, and others have provided Two-Face's voice in animation and video games.
Two-Face was created byBatman co-creatorBob Kane,[1] and debuted inDetective Comics #66 ("The Crimes of Two-Face"), written by Batman's other co-creatorBill Finger, in August 1942 as a new Batman villain originally namedHarvey "Apollo" Kent, a handsome, law-abiding formerGotham Citydistrict attorney close to the Batman. Half of his face wasdisfigured when amob boss he wasprosecuting,Sal Maroni,splashed Kent with acid, resulting in his loss of sanity and turn to crime, with his crimes centered around the number2.[2][3][4][5] In creating Two-Face, Kane was inspired by the1931 adaptation of theRobert Louis Stevenson storyThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which Kane described as a "classic story of the good and evil sides ofhuman nature",[6] and was also influenced by the1925 silent film adaptation ofGaston Leroux's novelThe Phantom of the Opera.[6] Kane and Finger conceived the idea of Two-Faceflipping a coin scarred on one side to determine which side of his personality emerges: evil if the coin flip results in the scarred side, which causes him to "go on a rampage of looting and destruction",[6] or good if it results in the unscarred side, causing him to give his loot tocharity or refrain from committing a crime.[6] In Kane's autobiographyBatman and Me, Kane suggests that Finger was inspired by thepulp magazine heroBlack Bat, with their similarities as both district attorneys disfigured with acid.[6] Two-Face's last name Kent was later changed to Dent, which Kane infers was done to avoid confusion withSuperman's alter ego Clark Kent.[6]
"The Crimes of Two-Face" also introduced Two-Face's devoted wifeGilda Dent, a long-standing character in Two-Face stories.[7] Later appearances continued featuring the character's criminal life until he was cured throughplastic surgery in his third appearance and shown reformed in 1952's "The Double Crimes of Two-Face!" (Detective Comics #187),[8][5] with impostors taking Two-Face's place in later stories.[9] Two-Face made his last appearance in theGolden Age of Comic Books in 1954's "Two-Face Strikes Again" (Batman #81), in which Two-Face returns to crime; however, this story isnon-canon to the Golden Age version of the character, because only the Two-Face stories from 1942 to 1952 were assigned to DC's setting for their Golden Age characters,Earth-Two.[9]
The character was unused throughout theSilver Age of Comic Books, only appearing in the 173rd issue ofWorld's Finest Comics in 1968 which featured Batman transforming into Two-Face.[4][10] In July 1971, during theBronze Age of Comic Books,[11] Two-Face was brought back by writerDennis O'Neil and former DC editorJulius Schwartz in the story "Half an Evil" (Batman #234).[12][13] Written by O'Neil and drawn byNeal Adams, "Half an Evil" is a mystery story which features Two-Face stealingdoubloons from apirate ship; the issue also retold his origin with a recap of previous stories.[14][15][16] After his reintroduction, Two-Face was featured in several DC comics, such asThe Brave and The Bold,Justice League of America, andTeen Titans, and became one of Batman's most popular enemies.[9][17]
Following theCrisis on Infinite Earths comic event whichrebooted theDC Universe, Two-Face was reintroduced inFrank Miller's 1986 revision ofBatman's origin,Batman: Year One, as Gotham City's former crusader against crime and former ally of the Batman.[18][9] Later in 1990, Two-Face was given a revised origin byAndrew Helfer in 1990's "The Eye of the Beholder" (Batman Annual #14) which established Harvey Dent as havingdissociative identity disorder effected by thepsychological trauma from his past ofchildhood abuse dealt by his father, with Two-Face being a second personality state, and cemented Dent as being formerly part of an alliance with Batman andCommissioner James Gordon against crime in Gotham City.[19][20][5] 1995'sBatman/Two-Face: Crime and Punishment by writerJ. M. DeMatteis and artistScott McDaniel built on "Eye of the Beholder" and explored Dent's psyche and childhood with his abusive father.[21][22] Two-Face's origin was later expanded in writerJeph Loeb and artistTim Sale's 1996 Batmanlimited seriesThe Long Halloween, which incorporated aspects of "Eye of the Beholder" and explored Batman, Gordon and Dent's struggle to end Gotham'sMob during the rise of costumed supervillains.[19][5]
A reformed Dent rid of Two-Face was featured in the 2002 storylineBatman: Hush, continuing on to 2006 in the52 limited series and in writerJames Robinson'sBatman arc "Face the Face", which explored Dent having trained under Batman and taking Batman's place as Gotham's protector during Batman's one-year absence, as well as Two-Face's return.[9][23][24] In the 2006 limited seriesTwo-Face: Year One written byMark Sable, Two-Face was given a revamped origin, focusing on Dent's transformation into Two-Face during Dent'selection campaign for district attorney, as well as establishing the relationship between a young Harvey Dent andBruce Wayne, Batman's secret identity.[25]
Following DC'sNew 52 reboot in 2011, Two-Face's origin was changed by writerPeter J. Tomasi in the 2014Batman and Robin arc The Big Burn, altering the cause of Dent's transformation into Two-Face and introducing Gilda Dent's death into his origin; the story also established Dent's knowledge of Bruce Wayne being Batman, and concluded with Dent dying bysuicide.[26][27] The subsequentDC Rebirth 2016 soft reboot reintroduced Two-Face inScott Snyder's My Own Worst Enemy arc inAll-Star Batman, in which Batman tries to obtain a cure to rid Dent of Two-Face in aroad trip.[28][29] Two-Face was then featured in the 2020Detective Comics arc Ugly Heart, which showed Dent surviving hissuicide attempt in Tomasi's previous story "The Big Burn" then starting a cult named the Church of Two, before being rid of Two-Face throughbrain surgery conducted by Batman.[30][31][32] Dent is shown reformed throughout comics such as Matthew Rosenberg's 2021 limited seriesTask Force Z andDetective Comics.[33][34][35]
In 2024, Two-Face received a solo series as part of theDC All In initiative.[36]
Two-Face is a duality-obsessed criminal. Introduced in 1942 as acriminal mastermind obsessed with the number 2, Two-Face's crimes as well as his hideouts andhenchmen surround the number;[37][38] since the 1980s, Two-Face's duality obsession evolved into an obsession with the duality of man, with the character committing crimes based on his "misguided sense of right and wrong".[37]
Two-Face views himself as bothgood andevil, and relies on flipping his double-headed coin, scarred on one side, in making important decisions and deciding whether his good or evil side will prevail.[37][39]
Widely considered Batman's most tragic villain,[5][37][19][40] Two-Face was established as a tragic figure in his debut: a former law-abiding district attorney turned criminal whosedisfigurement resulted in him being shunned by society, which led to his turn to crime.[41] In his early stories, Two-Face yearns to fix his face and bring back the love of his life whom he mistakenly thinks does not love him because of his disfigurement.[41] 1990's "The Eye of the Beholder" (Batman Annual #14) reimagined Two-Face for the Modern Age as having psychological trauma from the childhood abuse he received from his father, and depicted him as being on the verge of amental breakdown as a result of his repressed trauma and the pressure of fighting crime in Gotham, and driven to a point of desperation by Gotham's corruption.[19][42][43] "Eye of the Beholder" also established Two-Face as a second personality state of Harvey Dent's dissociative identity disorder which resulted from his trauma; a psychiatrist in the story describes his condition as having "two personalities", with Dent having managed to "sublimate the second, anti-social one since he was a teenager".[5][44]
Two-Face has nosuperpowers, instead relying on his proficiency inmarksmanship andmartial arts, which was further improved after being trained byDeathstroke andBatman.[45] As a formerlawyer, the character uses his expertise incriminal law,criminology, and police procedures to devise hiscrimes.[46][47]
Before his transformation into Two-Face, Harvey Dent had a successful career as Gotham'sdistrict attorney, driven to bring an end to the city's epidemic oforganized crime. Following his disfigurement, he becomes obsessed with the number two and the concept of duality. Thus, Two-Face stages crimes centered around the number two—such as robbing buildings with2 in the address or staging events that will take place at 10:22 p.m. (2222 in military time). He was an accomplished lawyer highly skilled in almost all matters relating to criminal law and an extensive knowledge of the criminal world.[47] He is also acharismatic leader and speaker. Two-Face is a genius in criminal planning and has an exceptional character, which allows him, among other things, to stoically endure pain and recover from smudging injuries in a short time. Two-Face is a skilled marksman, and regularly uses a variety of firearms such aspistols,shotguns,grenade launchers,Tommy guns, knives androcket launchers during his battles with Batman. He primarily wields dual pistols, and has become dangerously skilled with them.
Harvey Dent has kept himself in peak physical conditions, even before his transformation into Two-Face and had exercise equipment in his office when he was an assistant district attorney. TheBatman: Face the Face story arc reveals that Batman, shortly beforeleaving Gotham for a year, trains Dent extensively indetective work and martial arts.[48] To further improve his proficiency in the use of firearms, Dent hires the sharpshooting assassin Deathstroke to train him.[49][48]
This section details the character's most notable relationships across various interpretations of the Batman mythos:
Gilda Dent in some iterations,[50] is Harvey Dent's wife. Her character debuted inDetective Comics #66, alongside Harvey, and became a recurring character in Batman stories involving Two-Face.[51]
Batman's alter-ego Bruce Wayne is the best friend of Harvey Dent, while before becoming Two-Face, Harvey was also one of Batman's earliest allies, predating Batman's partnership withJames Gordon.[52] Their friendship goes back to Harvey's first appearance inDetective Comics, in which Batman refers to him as his friend and emotionally asks him to give up his life of crime.[53] Because of this relationship, Two-Face is one of Batman's most personal enemies.[54] In the comics, it is shown that Bruce considers Harvey's downfall a personal failure, and has never given up in rehabilitating him.[52]
It is established canonically that Harvey knows Bruce Wayne is Batman. The character's knowledge of Batman's secret identity was introduced in the storyThe Big Burn from Peter Tomasi's 2011Batman and Robin ongoing series,[50][55] and is shown in subsequent comics such as Scott Snyder'sAll-Star Batman, in which they were established as childhood best friends.[55] InDetective Comics #1021, Harvey admits to Batman that he has been keeping his identity secret from his Two-Face personality to protect him.[54]
Renee Montoya and Harvey Dent have a complicated relationship, introduced by writerGreg Rucka in the sixteenth issue of 1999'sBatman Chronicles,[56] in which Renee reaches out to Two-Face's Dent persona and is kind to him.[57] Their relationship continues with the "No Man's Land" crossover storyline;[56] in one issue, Harvey sends Renee flowers for her birthday and Renee visits him inArkham Asylum.[58] Harvey develops romantic feelings towards Renee, which Renee does not return.[50] This one-sided love would turn into an unhealthy obsession with her, which would lead to her professional and personal ruin;[59] in the five-part Gotham Central story arcHalf a Life, Two-Face attempts to destroy Renee's life by framing her for murder, outing her as alesbian, and orchestrating a prison escape to make her a fugitive, so she would have nothing to keep her from returning his love.[60][61][62]
Years after the release ofHalf a Life, Rucka would reunite the two inConvergence: The Question in 2015, following his return to DC Comics after his departure from the company in 2010.[63][64] In the story, Renee saves a remorseful Harvey from killing himself and convinces him to be a good man.[65]
Rucka has talked about the characters' relationship in an interview with Comic Book:
Renee and Harvey have always had a very odd bond, as far as I've written them, going back to the very first Renee story I did for DC, "Two Down". It's never been just cop-and-criminal between them. There's a peculiar understanding between them; Renee, to me, has always been able to see the path of Harvey's madness in a way that even Batman has never negotiated. I'm not sure I'd ever call them friends, especially after what he's put her through, but Renee has always been sympathetic to him, at least, and that care, that guardianship, drives much of our story.[66]
Christopher Dent is Harvey Dent's abusive and alcoholic father, first introduced in the definitive Two-Face origin storyEye of the Beholder (Batman Annual #14). Dent would beat his son based on the flip of a coin, heads he would beat Harvey, tails he wouldn't. Because the coin was double headed, Harvey would always be beaten. The trauma Harvey received from his father's constant abuse fueled the inner torment that turns him into Two-Face.[67][68]
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Two-Face's debut and Golden Age origin story, 1942's "The Crimes of Two-Face" (Detective Comics #66), introduced him as Harvey "Apollo" Kent,[a] a handsome law-abiding Gotham City district attorney prosecuting mob boss Sal Maroni; the issue also introduced his wife, Gilda Kent,[b] who is a sculptor. During the trial, after Kent presents Maroni's lucky two-headed coin as evidence, an enraged Maroni throws acid at Kent's face and disfigures it in half. Kent, driven insane by society's repulsion and his wife's nonacceptance of his new appearance, destroys his wife's sculpture of him to resemble his disfigurement and scars one side of Maroni's two-headed coin to symbolize his appearance's duality of beauty and ugliness, then flips the coin to decide whether to become a criminal or wait for the only plastic surgeon able to fix Kent's face, who was caught in aconcentration camp inGermany, to arrive. With the scarred side of the coin being the result of Kent's coin flip, Kent decides to become a criminal with the alias Two-Face who depends on flipping his coin to determine whether to be evil or good; afterwards, with the coin landing on the scarred side, Two-Face robs a bank, then, with the coin landing on the unscarred side, gives his loot to charity, causing confusion between the police and populace, whose opinions are divided about Two-Face's morality. The rest of the issue features Two-Face committing a series of crimes centered on the number 2, one of which is stopped by Batman, who pursues and corners Two-Face after he escapes. Batman makes Two-Face a proposition to give himself up and start over, to which Two-Face replies that the coin makes all his decisions for him, then flips the coin. The issue ends with the coin landing on its edge, making Two-Face leave his life to fate,[3] with the story being resolved in "The Man Who Led a Double Life!" (Detective Comics #68).[5] Harvey Kent is cured through plastic surgery in 1943's "The End of Two-Face" (Detective Comics #80), and is shown reformed in 1952's "The Double Crimes of Two-Face!" (Detective Comics #187).[8][5]
Kent would later be framed for crimes done by imposters like his butler Wilkins,[69] Paul Sloane,[70] and George Blake.[71]
Later, Kent attends the wedding ofBruce Wayne andSelina Kyle as a guest in 1981's "The Kill Kent Contract!" (Superman Family #211).[9]
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In Two-Face's Bronze Age reintroduction, "Half an Evil" (Batman #234), Two-Face concocts an elaborate scheme to stealdoubloons from a historicalschooner, which Batman realizes and attempts to stop. As Batman approaches the ship, Two-Face finds and incapacitates him, then ties him up, leaving the ship after he lets it sink. Before Two-Face leaves, Batman tries to convince Two-Face to flip his coin to save an old man unwittingly caught in the trap by reminding him that he is both good and evil; Two-Face first disagrees until after his departure from the ship when he is unable to resist flipping his coin. With the coin landing on the unscarred side, Two-Face returns to the ship to rescue the old man, then sees Batman had escaped his restraints. Batman offers Two-Face to surrender, to which Two-Face disagrees and attempts to attack Batman, with Two-Face being knocked out unconscious by Batman afterwards. "Half a Life" also includes a recap of his Golden Age stories as his origin: from his transformation to Two-Face and his subsequent reformation to his criminal relapse, as depicted in the 1954 story "Two-Face Strikes Again!" (Batman #81), in which Harvey Dent's plastic surgery is undone after he attempts to prevent a robbery, causing his return as Two-Face.[72]
In "Threat of the Two-Headed Coin!" (Batman #258), Two-Face is broken out ofArkham Hospital[c] by a retiredUnited States Army general who hires Two-Face to blackmail theUnited States government with anatomic bomb. After Two-Face betrays the general and takes over his plan, the general reveals the scheme to Batman, then dies by suicide out of remorse. Later, in theUnited States Capitol, Two-Face interrupts aCongress meeting to carry out the extortion scheme: in exchange for not exploding the Capitol with an atomic bomb, Two-Face demands the United States government to give him two billion dollars and gemstones, with Two-Face intending to use the money to bribe people to ignore his hideous appearance and end his misery; Batman foils Two-Face's plan.[73]
Two-Face then appears in a number of non-Batman comics, such asThe Joker,Justice League of America, andTeen Titans.The Joker's first issue, "The Joker's Double Jeopardy", features Two-Face and fellow Batman adversaryJoker battling each other to prove who is the superior criminal, whileJustice League of America's 125-26th issues, "The Men Who Sold Destruction!" and "The Evil Connection", shows Two-Face assisting thesuperhero teamJustice League.[74][75][76] InTeen Titans, Two-Face meets Teen Titans memberDuela Dent who claims to be his daughter.[77]
In the 313-314th issues ofBatman, Two-Face steals a top secret missile activation code owned by the United States government and goes toNew Orleans, with Batman and United States federal agentKing Faraday reluctantly working together to trail him and obtain the code. On a float in theMardi Gras parade, Two-Face deceives an American and a Russian representative who each negotiated for the code for $22,000,000 and steals $44,000,000 from them; Two-Face then escapes from the float to a blimp, with Batman and Faraday in pursuit. Afterwards, while Batman hangs from the blimp's hatch, Two-Face flips the coin to decide whether to kill him, with Faraday shooting the coin outwards the hatch. Two-Face, declaring that his life is meaningless without the coin, leaps for it and falls out of the blimp.[78][79]
Two-Face changes his face through plastic surgery as well as his identity to Carl Ternion inBatman's 328-329th issues, and reunites with Gilda Dent to make her happy after her former husband, Dave Stevens, died. Two-Face then avenges Stevens' death by killing Sal Maroni, who had also changed his face and his identity to Anton Karoselle and had killed Gilda Dent's former husband. Karoselle's death and Two-Face and Maroni's changed identities are significant aspects of the mystery Batman solves in the story: how Ternion murdered Karoselle twice and had been acquitted for it, as Ternion admits in a video tape sent to Batman by Two-Face. Later, Two-Face runs away from Gilda Dent after his plastic surgery becomes undone, and afterwards, Batman tells Gilda Dent the truth about Ternion's actual identity and convinces her of a plan to lure and take down Two-Face: Batman disguises himself as Maroni attacking Gilda Dent as bait, and, with Two-Face chasing him, leads Two-Face to the Gotham City courthouse, where Batman and Gilda Dent convince Two-Face to rehabilitate himself in Arkham.[80][81]
In the two-issue arc "Half a Hero... Is Better Than None!" fromBatman #346 andDetective Comics #513, Two-Face escapes Arkham Asylum and puts Batman in an elaborate death trap set in a convertedhalfway house. He captures Batman and imprisoning him for a week, after which he attempts to rob arecord company named Duo Records, and is stopped by Batman's sidekick,Robin. Two-Face, having escaped the encounter, returns to the halfway house. Batman escapes by creating and putting on a Two-Face mask, causing Two-Face to release him.[82][83]
Two-Face's good and evil sides are in conflict in a four-issue storyline inBatman andDetective Comics, with his evil side being predominant. Two-Face allies with Batman villainBlack Mask's former lover Circe who convinces him to steal apharaoh'sdeath mask concealed within asarcophagus which she states to be imbued with magic that could restore his good side; this plan is revealed to be conceived by Batman, who is working with Circe to trick Two-Face into having his good side restored and have him rehabilitated. The plan doesn't work with Two-Face's evil side taking over.[84][85][86][87]
ThePost-Crisis and follow up inThe Long Halloween established this version of Two-Face as depicted as having had an unhappy childhood; his father was a mentally ill alcoholic who beat him regularly, often deciding whether or not to brutalize his son based on a flip of his lucky coin. The abuse instilled in Dent his lifelong struggle withfree will and his eventual inability to make choices on his own,relying on the coin to make all of his decisions. Dent is diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder at a young age, but manages to hide his illnesses and, thanks to an unyielding work ethic, rises up through the ranks of Gotham City's district attorney's office until, at age 26, he becomes the youngest DA in the city's history. Gordon even suspected that Dent could be Batman, but discarded this suspicion when he realized that Dent lacked the vigilante's financial resources. Dent forges an alliance with Gordon and Batman to rid Gotham of organized crime. Mob bossCarmine Falcone bribes corrupt Assistant District Attorney Vernon Fields to provide his lieutenantSal Maroni, whom Dent is trying for murder, withsulfuric acid; Maroni throws the acid in Dent's face during a cross-examination, horribly scarring the left side of Dent's face. Dent escapes from the hospital and reinvents himself as the gangster Two-Face. He scars one side of his father's coin and uses it to decide whether to commit a crime. Two-Face takes revenge on Falcone, Fields and Maroni, but is captured by Batman, leading to his incarceration inArkham Asylum.[88]
During theBatman: Dark Victory story arc, the serial killerHangman targets various cops who assisted in Dent's rise to the D.A.'s office. Two-Face gathers Gotham's criminals to assist in the destruction of the city's crime lords. After a climactic struggle in theBatcave, Two-Face is betrayed by theJoker, who shoots at Dent, causing him to fall into a chasm, presumably to his death. Batman admits in the aftermath that, even if Two-Face has survived, Harvey Dent is gone forever.[89] During a much later period, Two-Face is revealed to have murdered the father ofJason Todd, the second Robin. When attempting to apprehend Two-Face, Jason briefly has the criminal at his mercy, but lets Two-Face's punishment be decided by the law.[90] Two-Face similarly serves as a 'baptism by fire' forTim Drake, the third Robin. Two-Face has Batman at his mercy, but Tim dons the Robin suit to save Batman.[91]
InArkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Arkham's doctors replace Dent's coin with adie and atarot deck, but rather than becoming self-reliant, Dent is now unable to make even the smallest of decisions—such as going to the bathroom. Batman returns the coin, telling Two-Face to use it to decide whether to kill him. Batman leaves safely, but it is implied that Two-Face made his own decision to let Batman live.[92][93]
In theNo Man's Land storyline, in which Gotham is devastated by an earthquake, Two-Face claims a portion of the ruined city, takes up residence in Gotham City Hall, and forms a temporary alliance with Gordon to share certain territory. His empire is brought down byBane (employed byLex Luthor), who destroys Two-Face's gang during his destruction of the city's Hall of Records. Two-Face kidnaps Gordon and puts him on trial for his activities after Gotham City is declared a "No Man's Land", with Two-Face as both judge and prosecutor for Gordon's illegal alliance with him; Gordon later plays upon Two-Face's splitpsyche to demand Harvey Dent as his defense attorney. Dentcross-examines Two-Face and wins anacquittal for Gordon, determining that Two-Face has effectively blackmailed Gordon by implying that he had committed murders to aid the Commissioner.[94] During this time, Two-Face also meets detectiveRenee Montoya. Montoya reaches the Dent persona in Two-Face and is kind to him. He falls in love with her, though the romance is one-sided.[94]
InGotham Central, he outs her as alesbian and frames her for murder, hoping that if he takes everything from her, she will be left with no choice but to be with him. She is furious, and the two fight for control of his gun until Batman intervenes, putting Two-Face back in Arkham.[95]
In theBatman: Two-Face - Crime and Punishment one-shot comic book, Two-Face captures his own father, planning to humiliate and kill him on live television for the years of abuse that he suffered. This story reveals that, despite his apparent hatred for his father, Dent still supports him, paying for an expensive home rather than allowing him to live in a slum. At the end of the book, the Dent and Two-Face personalities argue in thought, Two-Face calling Dent "spineless". Dent proves Two-Face wrong, choosing to jump off a building and commit suicide just to put a stop to hisalter ego's crime spree. Two-Face is surprised when the coin flip comes up scarred but abides by the decision and jumps. Batman catches him, but the shock of the fall seems to (at least temporarily) destroy the Two-Face personality.[96] InBatman: Two-Face Strikes Twice!, Two-Face is at odds with his ex-wifeGilda Grace Dent, as he believes their marriage failed because he was unable to give her children. She later marries Paul Janus (a reference to theRoman god of doors, who had two faces). Two-Face attempts to frame Janus as a criminal by kidnapping him and replacing him with a stand-in, whom Two-Face "disfigures" with makeup. Batman catches Two-Face, and Gilda and Janus reunite. Years later, Gilda gives birth to twins, prompting Two-Face to escape once more and take the twins hostage, as he erroneously believes them to be conceived by Janus using an experimental fertility drug. The end of the book reveals that Two-Face is the twins' natural father.[97]
In theBatman: Hush storyline, Dent's face is repaired byplastic surgery, seemingly eradicating the Two-Face personality. Dent takes the law into his own hands twice: once by using his ability to manipulate the legal system to free the Joker, and then again by shooting the serial killerHush. He manipulates the courts into setting him free, as Gotham's prosecutors would not attempt to charge him without a body.
In the Batman story arcBatman: Face the Face, which started inDetective Comics #817, and was part of DC'sOne Year Later storyline, it is revealed that, at Batman's request and with his training, Harvey Dent becomes a vigilante protector of Gotham City in most of Batman's absence of nearly a year. He is reluctant to take the job, but Batman assures him that it will serve as atonement for his past crimes. After a month of training, they fightFirebug andMr. Freeze, before Batmanleaves for a year. Dent enjoys his new role, but his methods are more extreme and less refined than Batman's. Upon Batman's return, Dent begins to feel unnecessary and unappreciated, which prompts the return of the "Two-Face" persona (seen and heard by Dent throughhallucinations). InFace the Face, his frustration is compounded by a series of mysterious murders that seem to have been committed by Two-Face; the villainsKGBeast,Magpie,Ventriloquist and Scarface, andOrca are all shot twice in the head with a double-barreled pistol. When Batman confronts Dent about these deaths, asking him to confirm that he was not responsible, Dent refuses to give a definite answer. He then detonates a bomb in his apartment and leaves Batman dazed as he flees. Despite escaping the explosion physically unscathed, Dent suffers a crisis ofconscience and a mental battle with his "Two-Face" personality. Although Batman later uncovers evidence that exonerates Dent for the murders, establishing that he was framed as revenge for his efforts against new crime boss Warren White, a.k.a. theGreat White Shark, it is too late to save him. Prompted by resentment and a paranoid reaction to Batman's questioning, Dent scars half his face withnitric acid and a scalpel, becoming Two-Face once again.[98] Blaming Batman for his return, Two-Face immediately goes on a rampage, threatening to destroy the Gotham Zoo (having retained two of every animal—including two humans) before escaping to fight Batman another day. Batman subsequently confronts White, while acknowledging that he cannot attack White, as there is no explicit evidence supporting Batman's deductions, vowing to inform Two-Face of White's actions when they next face each other.[99]
On the cover ofJustice League of America (vol. 2) #23, Two-Face is shown as a member of the new Injustice League. He can be seen inSalvation Run. He appears inBattle for the Cowl: The Underground, which shows the effects of Batman's death on his enemies. InJudd Winick'sLong Shadow arc, Two-Face realizes thatsomeone else has taken over as Batman.[100] He hires a teleporter and manages to infiltrate the Batcave. When the new Batman investigates the cave, Two-Face ambushes him with tranquilizer darts, and in ahallucination he sees Dent in a red and black Two-Face themed Batman costume.[101]Alfred Pennyworth saves the hero from Two-Face's torture after subduing his accomplice, and with his help Batman convinces Two-Face that he is the real, original Dark Knight, informing Dent that his problem is that he cannot imagine Batman changing because he himself is incapable of seeing the world in anything other than black and white.[102] InStreets of Gotham, Two-Face has been at odds with Gotham's latest district attorney,Kate Spencer, also known as the vigilante Manhunter. Two-Face has recently been driven out of Gotham City byJeremiah Arkham.[103]
In September 2011,The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. Here, Two-Face's origin is revised significantly. Harvey Dent is a successful defense attorney whose clientele includes twin sisters from the McKillen crime family, Shannon and Erin. The sisters coerce Dent to become their family's legal retainer for life. They then place a contract onJames Gordon and his entire family, despite Dent's protestations. The Gordons survive the attempt on their lives, but Dent, bound byattorney-client confidentiality, is unable to dissuade the McKillens from continuing their lethal vendetta. The violent attempt on the Gordons' lives prompts Bruce Wayne to initiate and fund Dent's campaign for district attorney. Dent becomes D.A. and has the McKillen sisters prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison. After Shannon commits suicide, Erin escapes by switching places with her sister's corpse. Blaming Dent for her sister's death, Erin breaks into Dent's house, kills Gilda in front of him, and pours acid on his face, transforming him into Two-Face. Several years later, Erin McKillen returns to Gotham City to kill Two-Face, and thus reassert her control of her family's criminal operations. Her return sparks a climactic battle between her, Two-Face, and Batman. Two-Face scars McKillen with the same acid she used on him, but Batman stops him from killing her. Batman and Two-Face continue battling, with Batman trying to convince his foe to end his vendetta. Two-Face then calls Batman, "Bruce", revealing that he knows Batman'ssecret identity. Two-Face reveals that he struggled internally for quite some time over whether to kill his former friend, but decided not to because it would have violated his sense of justice. He disappears after the battle and Batman is unable to track him.
Several panels ofBatman and Robin #28 imply that Two-Face commits suicide by shooting himself in the head.
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Batman decides to cure Two-Face, doing whatever it takes. Following a confrontation with Two-Face and his henchmen -Killer Moth,Firefly, andBlack Spider - Batman takes Two-Face into his custody, until they both have to fightKGBeast. They defeat KGBeast, but are badly injured. Batman nurses Two-Face back to health, but Two-Face suspects Batman of trying to betray him and rubs acid in his eyes.[104] Two-Face and Batman mend their relationship somewhat to fight KGBeast, thePenguin, andBlack Mask. Batman tells Two-Face that he can cure Two-Face's split personality. Two-Face does not trust Batman to help him, however, and so threatens to destroy Gotham City with poison gas unless Batman gives him the cure. In the end, Batman injects Two-Face with the "cure", which turns out to be a sedative that renders Two-Face unconscious. Batman then takes Two-Face back to Arkham.
In theDeface the Face story arc, Two-Face goes to Batman for help. Harvey Dent had murdered a man whom he could not convict in trial. Two-Face says, "...Harvey's the good one. He has to be. Otherwise, what am I?", and then decides to help Batman and Gordon bring down theterrorist group Kobra. InDoomsday Clock, Two-Face is among the villains who attend the underground meeting held by theRiddler.[105] InHarley Quinn: Rebirth, while Harley Quinn's Gang of Harleys is trying to find information aboutMan-Bat, they encounter Two-Face in Arkham Asylum, where he makes threats towards the group.
The first impostor wasWilkins, Harvey Dent's butler who uses makeup to suggest that Dent had suffered a relapse and disfigured his own face. This would give Wilkins the cover to commit crimes as Two-Face.[69]
Paul Sloane becomes the second impostor of Two-Face.[106] An actor, Sloane is disfigured by an accident on the set of a biography film about Two-Face. This occurred when a prop boy working on the film got jealous at the fact that his girlfriend developed a crush on Sloane. This causes the prop man to switch out the water with actual acid that was to be used for the trial scene. Sloane's mind snaps and he begins to think that he is Dent. Sloane recovers some of his own personality, but continues to commit crimes as Two-Face. Batman confronted Sloane and managed to trick the criminal to undergo a reconstructive surgery which would cure his mental illness.[70] Sloane is reused in laterEarth-Two specific stories as Two-Face II of Earth-Two where the original Earth-Two Two-Face remains healed.[107]
After theCrisis on Infinite Earths event, Paul Sloane, with a near-identical history to the pre-Crisis version, appears inDetective Comics #580-581. InDouble Image, Harvey Dent (as Two-Face) employs theCrime Doctor to re-disfigure Sloane. Dent does this out of jealous bitterness and the hope that Sloane would commit crimes based on the number two, thus confusing Batman. At the end of the story, Sloane is once again healed physically and mentally.[108]
A new take on the Paul Sloane character is re-introduced into post-Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! as a criminal called theCharlatan inDetective Comics #777 (February 2003). In this incarnation, Sloan is an actor who had been hired by Joker, Penguin, Riddler,Mad Hatter,Scarecrow, andKiller Moth to take Two-Face's place in a scheme to kill Batman. They had originally offered Two-Face the part in the scheme, but his coin landed on the non-scarred side. During his impersonation of Two-Face, Batman discovered that this Two-Face was an impostor when he killed a security guard without consulting the coin. When the real Two-Face learns about this, he captures Sloan and disfigures his face. Scarecrow then experiments on Sloan with fear toxins. Driven insane and deprived of fear, Sloan becomes Charlatan, intending to get revenge on the criminals who hired him and complete his mission to kill Batman. Charlatan is defeated by Batman and incarcerated at Arkham Asylum.[109]
The third impostor of Two-Face is petty criminalGeorge Blake who passed himself off as a manager of an anti-crime exhibition. However, he is not actually disfigured, but is wearing make-up. Furthermore, his makeup is worn on the opposite side of his face to Harvey Dent or Paul Sloane, which easily enabled Batman to identify him as an impostor. Batman defeats George Blake and clears Harvey Dent's name.[71]
Also noteworthy is a 1968 story where Batman himself is temporarily turned into Two-Face via a potion.[110]
InBatman #700, which establishesTerry McGinnis as part of theDC Universe canon, it is revealed thatTwo-Face-Two kidnapped Terry andProfessor Carter Nichols, and tried to disfigure them in the style of theJoker. His plans were foiled byDamian Wayne, the fifthRobin and Batman's biological son. Unlike the original Two-Face, this version was born deformed and flips two coins instead of one. He is then killed when a machine falls on him.[111] Another Two-Face-Two is briefly mentioned during the course of theDC One Million storyline, when the Batman of the 853rd century comments how this villain was defeated when the second Batman convinced him that the law of averages proved his coin-tossing would ultimately cause him to make more "good" decisions than "bad" ones.
Though Harvey Dent has no superpowers, he possesses a genius-level intellect and is an expert in criminology and police procedures, helping him predict how the Gotham City Police Department will try to stop his crimes. His split personality, genius intellect and reliance on flipping a coin to make decisions make him an extremely unpredictable opponent.
Harvey Dent was not only a friend of Bruce Wayne, he was one of Batman's greatest allies within the Gotham City legal system (per Batman: Year One, their relationship predated Batman and Gordon's partnership) and one of the few city's civil servants not in the pocket of the Gotham Mob. When Harvey turned heel, Batman lost more than just an ally, he lost a friend.
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