![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
about_facesI've been putting off talking about Batman: Arkham City ever since I read the spoil-tastic description of what seems to encompass Harvey's entire role in the game. On top of that, recent reports on how they plan to depict the Penguin also made me roll my eyes and solidified my apathy towards the game.
No, game creators, Oswald has actually NOT "always been portrayed is as quite an aristocratic, well-spoken gentleman who's got these twisted delusions of grandeur," thus necessitating you to re-envision him as "a really horrible, nasty piece of work - but still with the delusion of grandeur." Oh, so you mean, Danny DeVito's Penguin, which has subsequently influenced comics' Penguin by making his a crass, nasty, ugly, brutish thug--and subsequently a far less interesting character--more often than not? Because if that's the case, you're not doing anything different with the character to actually make him better or more compelling.
Since last week, I've been waffling as to whether or not I should finally post about B:AC now that we got a better glimpse of Harvey's character and voice in trailer where nobody noticed Harvey because they were all too distracted by Catwoman's ass:
My Henchgirl, wearing her fan-hat as the now increasingly-internet-famous (and it's about damn time!)![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dr_von_fangirl, posted her own Selina-related thoughts right here, and she nails the pros and cons better than any of the many comic news outlets weighing in with their own thoughts... none of which, I should add, are commenting on Harvey at all. Even besides the reasonable explanation of Selina!Ass by way of Selina!Badass, I fear that Arkham City Two-Face is painfully standard, and that he's not even going to receive any kind of fan boost the way Harley, Joker, and that ridiculous version of Scarecrow have. Seriously, Squishy looks like 25% Freddy Krueger and 75% Slipknot band member. And he has a fan following. Because of course he does.
As such, I still saw no need to write about this game. So hat happened? Welp, first-hand reports came out of the first ten minutes of gameplay at E3, some videos of which have made it to YouTube! Unfortunately, there's no straight-forward gameplay, just ones with creator commentary played over the top. That said, there are videos with occasional patches of clear dialogue, so for an expanded look at Harvey's intro in the above trailer, cue this video to 6:35 (picking up right at "FEEEEEAR... that's how we get respect," and notice what happens next):
Actually seeing the footage... well, it still don't look great, but there's one small but vital-to-me detail that the description in the like at top failed to mention. Let’s take a closer look at it in screencaps, all of which I’ll put behind a cut for those who want a pure gameplay experience.
Everything we’d seen of Two-Face from B:AC up to this point has been the character as we’ve too often seen him depicted, as I’ve lamented here often. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much character depth from a video game other than the standard “hideous, sneering, psycho crime lord with a gimmick.” The Catwoman trailer had just solidified my lowered expectations.
It doesn’t help that he’s opposite Catwoman, who’s never been one to bring out Harvey’s better side. For evidence of that, just wait for the eventual post where Henchgirl and I tackle his appearances in Doug Moench’s Catwoman run with Jim Balent. *Shudder.*
But much to my surprise, it turned out that Paul Dini was actually going for a proper Bad-Harvey-Good-Harvey here, something we didn’t even see much of in the wonderful Two-Face of Batman: The Animated Series. Even more surprising is that, unlike most any other Two-Face stories in the comics, the good side actually wins!
And this is what kicks off the whole “Trial” of Catwoman, which we’ve all figured out from the game trailers even before the plot synopsis was released.
Now, while we all knew that Two-Face’s role in B:AC was the worn-out trope of “Crazypants Harvey puts on a mock trial,” at least we see that the trial was the GOOD option, borne out of Harvey’s genuine sense of honor and justice. This is opposed to Two-Face’s desire for destruction and power, which is normally a random motivation even for a Hyde-like “evil personality,” but it can be argued that Big Bad Harv just wants to SURVIVE in the lawless No Man’s Land style chaos that is Arkham City, and to hold onto some semblance of control. I like thinking of it that way.
This is the only shot of Harvey I’ve seen that actually gives his unscarred side a personality other than sneering evilness. On the flip side (hurr), it also really emphasizes what I dislike about the scarring: it's bulky, less like someone whose flesh was burned away and more like he’s wearing a huge prosthetic for the role of a burn victim in some movie.
Wait, NOW I know what he reminds me of! Remember the creepy Renfield pedophile character from Let The Right One In? Here’s a spoilerific photo comparison for those of you who’ve seen the movie. Man, fuck the remake. By all accounts, it’s not bad on its own, but still way inferior to the original. In some ways, that’s worse than it being a disastrous remake that entirely misses the original’s point and deservedly falls into obscurity, like The Vanishing.
Wait, where was I? Oh right, Two-Face and Catwoman. Here’s where things get wince-inducing.
There’s another high-res YouTube video of the rest with Harvey and Catwoman which features way more gameplay and it’s in high-resolution, but the dialogue is completely obscured with interview voiceover. But at least we can see what happens, which jives with the dialogue of the written description. However, yet again, the actual gamplay shows how that description failed to accurately convey another pertinent detail. It said that Selina got loose and actually scratched Harvey on the face, as per this promo photo released several months ago, but just wait’ll you see what that “scratch” actually means when we see it in action (cue to 10:50 for the “Heads or Tails, Kitty-Cat” bit onward for about one minute):
Even though we can’t hear the dialogue clearly (although I do believe he calls Selina a “bitch,” lovely), I don’t think I’m alone in going “GYAAAAHHH OW JESUS TAPDANCING CHRIST ON A CRACKER.”
YES, THAT.
Bad enough that Harvey, for the SECOND time in his life, is left clutching his face in pain while rolling around on the courthouse floor, which I’m sure really brings back fun memories for the poor guy...
... but then when we actually see what she’s done...
Fucking OUCH! Man, Selina, I know that he was about to drop you into acid and all, but damn! Dick move! Really, what the hell is Harvey going to do? He can’t get plastic surgery! That never lasts! What’s more, who the hell knows how this’ll affect Harvey’s mental state, which is so tied up in his face only being half scarred?
I doubt we’ll get any such answers in B:AC. With Harvey snagged and hoisted by Batman by this scene’s end, it seems clear to me that Two-Face is out of the game entirely. At that point, the only things keeping me even mildly interested in Batman: Arkham City are Mark Hamill’s supposed final go-round as the Joker, the Riddler (a great shot of whom you can see in that last video if you cue to 17:10. I think he’s my second favorite character design in the game) and of course, Professor Hugo Strange. Especially Hugo, as this looks like a return to Hugo greatness that we haven’t seen in over a decade. I need to post that particular Gotham Knights story soon, even if I can’t still finish the Hugo Strange series for a few more months yet.
No, game creators, Oswald has actually NOT "always been portrayed is as quite an aristocratic, well-spoken gentleman who's got these twisted delusions of grandeur," thus necessitating you to re-envision him as "a really horrible, nasty piece of work - but still with the delusion of grandeur." Oh, so you mean, Danny DeVito's Penguin, which has subsequently influenced comics' Penguin by making his a crass, nasty, ugly, brutish thug--and subsequently a far less interesting character--more often than not? Because if that's the case, you're not doing anything different with the character to actually make him better or more compelling.
Since last week, I've been waffling as to whether or not I should finally post about B:AC now that we got a better glimpse of Harvey's character and voice in trailer where nobody noticed Harvey because they were all too distracted by Catwoman's ass:
My Henchgirl, wearing her fan-hat as the now increasingly-internet-famous (and it's about damn time!)
dr_von_fangirl, posted her own Selina-related thoughts right here, and she nails the pros and cons better than any of the many comic news outlets weighing in with their own thoughts... none of which, I should add, are commenting on Harvey at all. Even besides the reasonable explanation of Selina!Ass by way of Selina!Badass, I fear that Arkham City Two-Face is painfully standard, and that he's not even going to receive any kind of fan boost the way Harley, Joker, and that ridiculous version of Scarecrow have. Seriously, Squishy looks like 25% Freddy Krueger and 75% Slipknot band member. And he has a fan following. Because of course he does.As such, I still saw no need to write about this game. So hat happened? Welp, first-hand reports came out of the first ten minutes of gameplay at E3, some videos of which have made it to YouTube! Unfortunately, there's no straight-forward gameplay, just ones with creator commentary played over the top. That said, there are videos with occasional patches of clear dialogue, so for an expanded look at Harvey's intro in the above trailer, cue this video to 6:35 (picking up right at "FEEEEEAR... that's how we get respect," and notice what happens next):
Actually seeing the footage... well, it still don't look great, but there's one small but vital-to-me detail that the description in the like at top failed to mention. Let’s take a closer look at it in screencaps, all of which I’ll put behind a cut for those who want a pure gameplay experience.
Everything we’d seen of Two-Face from B:AC up to this point has been the character as we’ve too often seen him depicted, as I’ve lamented here often. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much character depth from a video game other than the standard “hideous, sneering, psycho crime lord with a gimmick.” The Catwoman trailer had just solidified my lowered expectations.
It doesn’t help that he’s opposite Catwoman, who’s never been one to bring out Harvey’s better side. For evidence of that, just wait for the eventual post where Henchgirl and I tackle his appearances in Doug Moench’s Catwoman run with Jim Balent. *Shudder.*
But much to my surprise, it turned out that Paul Dini was actually going for a proper Bad-Harvey-Good-Harvey here, something we didn’t even see much of in the wonderful Two-Face of Batman: The Animated Series. Even more surprising is that, unlike most any other Two-Face stories in the comics, the good side actually wins!
And this is what kicks off the whole “Trial” of Catwoman, which we’ve all figured out from the game trailers even before the plot synopsis was released.
Now, while we all knew that Two-Face’s role in B:AC was the worn-out trope of “Crazypants Harvey puts on a mock trial,” at least we see that the trial was the GOOD option, borne out of Harvey’s genuine sense of honor and justice. This is opposed to Two-Face’s desire for destruction and power, which is normally a random motivation even for a Hyde-like “evil personality,” but it can be argued that Big Bad Harv just wants to SURVIVE in the lawless No Man’s Land style chaos that is Arkham City, and to hold onto some semblance of control. I like thinking of it that way.
This is the only shot of Harvey I’ve seen that actually gives his unscarred side a personality other than sneering evilness. On the flip side (hurr), it also really emphasizes what I dislike about the scarring: it's bulky, less like someone whose flesh was burned away and more like he’s wearing a huge prosthetic for the role of a burn victim in some movie.
Wait, NOW I know what he reminds me of! Remember the creepy Renfield pedophile character from Let The Right One In? Here’s a spoilerific photo comparison for those of you who’ve seen the movie. Man, fuck the remake. By all accounts, it’s not bad on its own, but still way inferior to the original. In some ways, that’s worse than it being a disastrous remake that entirely misses the original’s point and deservedly falls into obscurity, like The Vanishing.
Wait, where was I? Oh right, Two-Face and Catwoman. Here’s where things get wince-inducing.
There’s another high-res YouTube video of the rest with Harvey and Catwoman which features way more gameplay and it’s in high-resolution, but the dialogue is completely obscured with interview voiceover. But at least we can see what happens, which jives with the dialogue of the written description. However, yet again, the actual gamplay shows how that description failed to accurately convey another pertinent detail. It said that Selina got loose and actually scratched Harvey on the face, as per this promo photo released several months ago, but just wait’ll you see what that “scratch” actually means when we see it in action (cue to 10:50 for the “Heads or Tails, Kitty-Cat” bit onward for about one minute):
Even though we can’t hear the dialogue clearly (although I do believe he calls Selina a “bitch,” lovely), I don’t think I’m alone in going “GYAAAAHHH OW JESUS TAPDANCING CHRIST ON A CRACKER.”
YES, THAT.
Bad enough that Harvey, for the SECOND time in his life, is left clutching his face in pain while rolling around on the courthouse floor, which I’m sure really brings back fun memories for the poor guy...
... but then when we actually see what she’s done...
Fucking OUCH! Man, Selina, I know that he was about to drop you into acid and all, but damn! Dick move! Really, what the hell is Harvey going to do? He can’t get plastic surgery! That never lasts! What’s more, who the hell knows how this’ll affect Harvey’s mental state, which is so tied up in his face only being half scarred?
I doubt we’ll get any such answers in B:AC. With Harvey snagged and hoisted by Batman by this scene’s end, it seems clear to me that Two-Face is out of the game entirely. At that point, the only things keeping me even mildly interested in Batman: Arkham City are Mark Hamill’s supposed final go-round as the Joker, the Riddler (a great shot of whom you can see in that last video if you cue to 17:10. I think he’s my second favorite character design in the game) and of course, Professor Hugo Strange. Especially Hugo, as this looks like a return to Hugo greatness that we haven’t seen in over a decade. I need to post that particular Gotham Knights story soon, even if I can’t still finish the Hugo Strange series for a few more months yet.
Tags:
