Chris Sims on Two-Face
Sep. 27th, 2010 10:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
about_facesChris Sims--comic blogger extraordinaire of The Invincible Super-Blog and Comics Alliance, as well as a Batman superfan in his own right--gives a pretty damn well dead-on summation of why Two-Face is an enduring but difficult and inconsistent character, and why such a major villain so often gets overshadowed and ignored.
Sims' writing there is a must-read for ALL Batman fans, not just fans of Two-Face. Sims isn't writing from the fan perspective I would, since he outright admits that Two-Face is probably his least favorite of the Major Batman Villains. I won't lie, that admittance saddens me--just as I was saddened when my own Henchgirl told me she feels the same about Harvey--but that's easy to understand when you consider how tricky the character is to write, for reasons that Sims himself explains eloquently.
But while Sims personally doesn't care for the character, he has a perfect grasp on what makes him work, citing "Eye of the Beholder" first and foremost as the greatest Two-Face comic to date, and then recommending the little-known Brubaker story "Dead Reckoning," which I'll be posting here sometime soon. I've always felt that it was "the story "Hush" wanted to be," but it's gratifying to see a person like Sims write those very words.
Hell, he ignores the work of Jeph Loeb entirely! That pleases me to no end. While I don't hate the Harvey of The Long Halloween and Dark Victory as much as I hate the stories themselves, it's frustrating that so many people think that those are the go-to Two-Face comics. But ah, that's another rant for another time (along with my not-sure-if-disagreement with the idea that The Dark Knight is the pinnacle for Harvey Dent stories).
But Sims raises a point that I do find troublesome, perhaps because he may be right:
I've often thought that, appropriately enough, there are really only two stories you can tell with Two-Face in a leading role. The first is the Origin Story, which hits most of the high points that you mention, including the fact that he's a fallen hero. ... The other type of Two-Face story is the one where he's healed, and we explore whether repairing the physical can also put a broken mind back together (SPOILER WARNING: No).
I disagree with Sims, but more out of my belief that a good writer can do anything with a character of such richness as Harvey. The problem is that the character is in a deadlocked position in terms of growth or development, and while there have been attempts, they've been forgotten (Janus), wrong-headed AND forgotten (the Judge), or just plain undone. The character seems to work best as a dark mirror for the heroes, but what can one do with him in a leading role?
I'd think the answer would be to look to characters like Etrigan and Eclipso, to explore the hero/villain-in-one-body aspect, and to really emphasize the heroic side of him. Go back to his roots and remember that this is a guy who gave his stolen money to charity half the time, and show the internal and external struggles this character would face. While dealing with his own warring sides, he'd also have to handle dealings with the capes, the cops, the mob, the other rogues, and any of a number of other groups, none of whom would have any reason to entirely trust or side with him. That's where I'd start, but that's just one idea.
What do you folks think? Are there really only two stories one can tell with Two-Face in a leading role?
Sims' writing there is a must-read for ALL Batman fans, not just fans of Two-Face. Sims isn't writing from the fan perspective I would, since he outright admits that Two-Face is probably his least favorite of the Major Batman Villains. I won't lie, that admittance saddens me--just as I was saddened when my own Henchgirl told me she feels the same about Harvey--but that's easy to understand when you consider how tricky the character is to write, for reasons that Sims himself explains eloquently.
But while Sims personally doesn't care for the character, he has a perfect grasp on what makes him work, citing "Eye of the Beholder" first and foremost as the greatest Two-Face comic to date, and then recommending the little-known Brubaker story "Dead Reckoning," which I'll be posting here sometime soon. I've always felt that it was "the story "Hush" wanted to be," but it's gratifying to see a person like Sims write those very words.
Hell, he ignores the work of Jeph Loeb entirely! That pleases me to no end. While I don't hate the Harvey of The Long Halloween and Dark Victory as much as I hate the stories themselves, it's frustrating that so many people think that those are the go-to Two-Face comics. But ah, that's another rant for another time (along with my not-sure-if-disagreement with the idea that The Dark Knight is the pinnacle for Harvey Dent stories).
But Sims raises a point that I do find troublesome, perhaps because he may be right:
I've often thought that, appropriately enough, there are really only two stories you can tell with Two-Face in a leading role. The first is the Origin Story, which hits most of the high points that you mention, including the fact that he's a fallen hero. ... The other type of Two-Face story is the one where he's healed, and we explore whether repairing the physical can also put a broken mind back together (SPOILER WARNING: No).
I disagree with Sims, but more out of my belief that a good writer can do anything with a character of such richness as Harvey. The problem is that the character is in a deadlocked position in terms of growth or development, and while there have been attempts, they've been forgotten (Janus), wrong-headed AND forgotten (the Judge), or just plain undone. The character seems to work best as a dark mirror for the heroes, but what can one do with him in a leading role?
I'd think the answer would be to look to characters like Etrigan and Eclipso, to explore the hero/villain-in-one-body aspect, and to really emphasize the heroic side of him. Go back to his roots and remember that this is a guy who gave his stolen money to charity half the time, and show the internal and external struggles this character would face. While dealing with his own warring sides, he'd also have to handle dealings with the capes, the cops, the mob, the other rogues, and any of a number of other groups, none of whom would have any reason to entirely trust or side with him. That's where I'd start, but that's just one idea.
What do you folks think? Are there really only two stories one can tell with Two-Face in a leading role?
