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about_facesBatman: Year One is obviously not Harvey Dent's story. Hell, it's arguably not even Batman's story, since the main focus and arc belongs more to Jim Gordon than Bruce.
It's more about the first year of Batman being active in Gotham, as seen through the eyes of Jim Gordon. And sure, there are secondary characters who are more directly involved, such as Selina Kyle, Commissioner Loeb, Sarah Essen, Carmine Falcone, and Arnold Flass, each of whom act and react accordingly to the actions of Gordon and Batman. And then you have the bystanders such as Barbara Gordon and Holly Robinson, the characters who are largely powerless to the events going on around them.
But what about assistant district attorney Harvey Dent? He's a relatively tiny character, making fewer appearances than anyone else in the story. And yet, he's a unique character in a very important way, which we learn in the second page of the first issue, just after Bruce Wayne and James Gordon roll into Gotham for the first time:
In trademark Frank Miller fashion, exposition is revealed via newscast that Harvey Dent has once again tried and failed to bring down the corrupt Commissioner Loeb. While this panel is meant to serve as a segue into Loeb's first scene (now that we, the readers, are fully aware that Loeb is hardly a nice fella by the time he welcomes Gordon to Gotham), it also tells us that Harvey Dent was already fighting the good fight before Gordon and Batman ever arrived. In fact, based on what Miller tells us about how rotten and corrupt pretty much everyone in Gotham is, it's reasonable to assume that ADA Harvey Dent has been the sole crusader for justice in all of Gotham City.
Hell, even after Gordon starts making trouble for Loeb, Dent is still the #1 thorne in the side of Loeb and Falcone, just before they learn they're about to have much bigger problems:
It's significant that Dent is going after Flass. At this point, the only person who dared to challenge Flass' power was his partner, Jim Gordon, and even Jim--for all his badass ass-kicking prowess--is powerless to actually bring Flass to justice. Harvey's the only one trying, and he's apparently enough of a problem to bother the likes of Gotham's biggest crime boss.
By the way, that frown Harvey had in the first panel up there? That frown we would all easily associate with everyone's favorite frustrated DA? We never see that frown anywhere else in the story whenever Dent appears. Miller and Mazzucchelli made the interesting decision to depict Harvey Dent as a smirky character who's happier than a pig in shit whenever Batman acts up. Considering the character of Harvey as we know him, as well as the person he becomes, this is a detail which small but striking.
For instance, take the scene when Harvey meets Jim for the first time, shortly after Falcone is found trussed up like a Christmas ham (wait, do they truss up hams? Eh, whatever) and his prize Rolls is left to sink in Gotham harbor. With Gordon appointed as head of the Bat-Squad by Loeb, he checks out his latest suspect:
Like I said, happier than a pig in shit. After all the disappearing witnesses and dead ends, all the times that the scum have thwarted his efforts, Harvey must be utterly delighted to see someone take them down a notch, even if it means technically breaking the law to do it. This right here should say a lot about who Harvey is, and how he thinks of justice.
The detail that Falcone has apparently been keeping Harvey from achieving the office of DA is probably there to imply that taking down Falcone will clear the way for Harvey's career ascension, and therefore his fateful destiny. Unless, of course, Harvey never actually became full DA, but was just one of many district attorneys. I wonder how much that change would affect his origins?
I do love how Harvey's one of Jim's suspects, which is yet another great example of how Batman and Two-Face mirror one another, and how each man might have become the other under a different set of circumstances. Of course, they're still two separate people, as we are reminded via the reveal after Gordon finishes up:
I love that Batman was hiding behind (or under?) Harvey's desk the entire time. Moreover, the implication is that Harvey and Batman are in cahoots, partners in fighting crime long before Batman even met Gordon! Harvey is Batman's first partner, his Proto-Gordon. Hell, if you're so inclined, you could even see Harvey as Bruce's Proto-Robin, which adds a whole new dimension to Two-Face's unofficial position of being the Wacky Abusive Uncle to the first three male Robins.
From what we see here, I think it's safe to assume that Harvey is tipping Batman off about the squad, and possibly even feeding the vigilante more info about Falcone, corrupt cops like Flass, and god knows what else. Batman may have the skill, will, and freedom to act, but from what we see here, it's Harvey Dent who has all the inside info and connections, and is more than willing to share them with the man who can do what he, as ADA, cannot. Do you suppose that's what Harvey actually wishes he could do, deep down?
Even if it's an off-handed reference, I like that Gilda is mentioned as Harvey's alibi. That said, I wonder if Harvey is ever at home for much longer than between midnight and four AM. I can easily imagine him being a workaholic during all the hours that Batman isn't active, which would make for another nice mirror to Bruce. if so, poor Gilda. Either way, I think it's interesting how Jim still thinks it's possible for Harvey to be Batman, save for his lack of income. Is money all that really stood between Harvey putting on a mask and taking the law into his own hands? I wonder.
As it is, Harvey is pretty well content to spend the rest of Batman: Year One hanging back for Batman to take down the criminals, and for Gordon to book them, even if Gordon himself is completely out of the loop of Harvey and Batman's plans:
Yeah, Harvey knows exactly what he's doing there, much to Gordon's exasperation. I do like that Gordon believes that Harvey isn't crazy, as he clearly isn't. Not yet, anyway.
Notice how this Harvey Dent seems to have absolutely no issues of resentment or frustration bubbling under the surface, which is pretty much in keeping with how he was depicted in almost every origin story up to this point. Before the acid scarring drove him insane, DA Harvey Dent was always seen as a noble and normal guy with no problems whatsoever. It's very much in keeping with The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight's views on insanity, that all it takes is "one bad day" or "a little push" to make anybody go completely insane. The first story to even raise the possibility that Harvey had anything psychologically wrong with him beforehand came out a couple years later, followed by the story which completely overhauled his Two-Face origin for the Year One continuity and made his psychological scarring far more explicit even before his face followed suit.
In some ways, I like this Harvey Dent even better. He's the perfect foil to Bruce Wayne's driven angst and Jim Gordon's weary and conflicted also-angst, so that even when potential witnesses are poisoned, Harvey can lean back with confidence that he has a guardian Bat to intimidate the witnesses worse than the mob could:
Once again: happier than a pig in shit. And what's more, all these scenes are tempered by the poignant knowledge that all of Harvey's happiness here is fleeting, and that he'll rarely ever have cause to be this pleased again. He's blissfully unaware that his days are numbered, as is everyone else. Poor Harvey.
By the very end of the story, after Batman helps Gordon survive the desperate attack by Falcone's men on Loeb's orders, it's up to Harvey to actually see justice done to the villains. Even though Batman and Gordon are the heroes, it's down to Harvey to actually put the villains away. Or to try, anyway.
It's realistic enough that Loeb would escape jail, and that Dent's abilities would still be greatly limited. But he's still disgraced and replaced thanks to Dent, who only secured Flass thanks to how he planned things out with Batman and Gordon. Really, the workings for the trio partnership was already here before Eye of the Beholder made it official, and it makes one wonder how far they would have gone if only poor Harvey hadn't gotten the acid in his face. Those "What If?" questions are the stuff of great tragedy.
P.S. Of course, as I'm sure you've guessed, this post was written in anticipation of the Batman: Year One animated film adaptation, which comes out on Tuesday but is available to download on iTunes right now.
In case you're wondering: yes, I've seen it, and yes, I'm planning to give it a full review with the help of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dr_von_fangirl. We're both fighting a flu right now, but hopefully we'll have it out by this weekend. We have a LOT to say about the movie as a whole, and specifically about what it does to our two favorite characters. Does Harvey make it into the film, and if so, how much of it? You'll find out soon enough. In exhaustively obsessive detail. With ranting. And snark. Because that's how we roll.
Note: all scans are cropped from the digital copies of Batman #404-407, which were purchased at DC's official Comixology site. Sign up for an account and you can buy all four issues for just $1.99 apiece. As you can see, the quality of the scans is quite good, and taken from the recolored graphic novel rather than the crappy four-color print of the original issues. If you'd still rather prefer a hard copy in paperback, it can be purchased pretty much anywhere. Read it one way or another, if you haven't already. It's a fucking fantastic story.
It's more about the first year of Batman being active in Gotham, as seen through the eyes of Jim Gordon. And sure, there are secondary characters who are more directly involved, such as Selina Kyle, Commissioner Loeb, Sarah Essen, Carmine Falcone, and Arnold Flass, each of whom act and react accordingly to the actions of Gordon and Batman. And then you have the bystanders such as Barbara Gordon and Holly Robinson, the characters who are largely powerless to the events going on around them.
But what about assistant district attorney Harvey Dent? He's a relatively tiny character, making fewer appearances than anyone else in the story. And yet, he's a unique character in a very important way, which we learn in the second page of the first issue, just after Bruce Wayne and James Gordon roll into Gotham for the first time:
In trademark Frank Miller fashion, exposition is revealed via newscast that Harvey Dent has once again tried and failed to bring down the corrupt Commissioner Loeb. While this panel is meant to serve as a segue into Loeb's first scene (now that we, the readers, are fully aware that Loeb is hardly a nice fella by the time he welcomes Gordon to Gotham), it also tells us that Harvey Dent was already fighting the good fight before Gordon and Batman ever arrived. In fact, based on what Miller tells us about how rotten and corrupt pretty much everyone in Gotham is, it's reasonable to assume that ADA Harvey Dent has been the sole crusader for justice in all of Gotham City.
Hell, even after Gordon starts making trouble for Loeb, Dent is still the #1 thorne in the side of Loeb and Falcone, just before they learn they're about to have much bigger problems:
It's significant that Dent is going after Flass. At this point, the only person who dared to challenge Flass' power was his partner, Jim Gordon, and even Jim--for all his badass ass-kicking prowess--is powerless to actually bring Flass to justice. Harvey's the only one trying, and he's apparently enough of a problem to bother the likes of Gotham's biggest crime boss.
By the way, that frown Harvey had in the first panel up there? That frown we would all easily associate with everyone's favorite frustrated DA? We never see that frown anywhere else in the story whenever Dent appears. Miller and Mazzucchelli made the interesting decision to depict Harvey Dent as a smirky character who's happier than a pig in shit whenever Batman acts up. Considering the character of Harvey as we know him, as well as the person he becomes, this is a detail which small but striking.
For instance, take the scene when Harvey meets Jim for the first time, shortly after Falcone is found trussed up like a Christmas ham (wait, do they truss up hams? Eh, whatever) and his prize Rolls is left to sink in Gotham harbor. With Gordon appointed as head of the Bat-Squad by Loeb, he checks out his latest suspect:
Like I said, happier than a pig in shit. After all the disappearing witnesses and dead ends, all the times that the scum have thwarted his efforts, Harvey must be utterly delighted to see someone take them down a notch, even if it means technically breaking the law to do it. This right here should say a lot about who Harvey is, and how he thinks of justice.
The detail that Falcone has apparently been keeping Harvey from achieving the office of DA is probably there to imply that taking down Falcone will clear the way for Harvey's career ascension, and therefore his fateful destiny. Unless, of course, Harvey never actually became full DA, but was just one of many district attorneys. I wonder how much that change would affect his origins?
I do love how Harvey's one of Jim's suspects, which is yet another great example of how Batman and Two-Face mirror one another, and how each man might have become the other under a different set of circumstances. Of course, they're still two separate people, as we are reminded via the reveal after Gordon finishes up:
I love that Batman was hiding behind (or under?) Harvey's desk the entire time. Moreover, the implication is that Harvey and Batman are in cahoots, partners in fighting crime long before Batman even met Gordon! Harvey is Batman's first partner, his Proto-Gordon. Hell, if you're so inclined, you could even see Harvey as Bruce's Proto-Robin, which adds a whole new dimension to Two-Face's unofficial position of being the Wacky Abusive Uncle to the first three male Robins.
From what we see here, I think it's safe to assume that Harvey is tipping Batman off about the squad, and possibly even feeding the vigilante more info about Falcone, corrupt cops like Flass, and god knows what else. Batman may have the skill, will, and freedom to act, but from what we see here, it's Harvey Dent who has all the inside info and connections, and is more than willing to share them with the man who can do what he, as ADA, cannot. Do you suppose that's what Harvey actually wishes he could do, deep down?
Even if it's an off-handed reference, I like that Gilda is mentioned as Harvey's alibi. That said, I wonder if Harvey is ever at home for much longer than between midnight and four AM. I can easily imagine him being a workaholic during all the hours that Batman isn't active, which would make for another nice mirror to Bruce. if so, poor Gilda. Either way, I think it's interesting how Jim still thinks it's possible for Harvey to be Batman, save for his lack of income. Is money all that really stood between Harvey putting on a mask and taking the law into his own hands? I wonder.
As it is, Harvey is pretty well content to spend the rest of Batman: Year One hanging back for Batman to take down the criminals, and for Gordon to book them, even if Gordon himself is completely out of the loop of Harvey and Batman's plans:
Yeah, Harvey knows exactly what he's doing there, much to Gordon's exasperation. I do like that Gordon believes that Harvey isn't crazy, as he clearly isn't. Not yet, anyway.
Notice how this Harvey Dent seems to have absolutely no issues of resentment or frustration bubbling under the surface, which is pretty much in keeping with how he was depicted in almost every origin story up to this point. Before the acid scarring drove him insane, DA Harvey Dent was always seen as a noble and normal guy with no problems whatsoever. It's very much in keeping with The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight's views on insanity, that all it takes is "one bad day" or "a little push" to make anybody go completely insane. The first story to even raise the possibility that Harvey had anything psychologically wrong with him beforehand came out a couple years later, followed by the story which completely overhauled his Two-Face origin for the Year One continuity and made his psychological scarring far more explicit even before his face followed suit.
In some ways, I like this Harvey Dent even better. He's the perfect foil to Bruce Wayne's driven angst and Jim Gordon's weary and conflicted also-angst, so that even when potential witnesses are poisoned, Harvey can lean back with confidence that he has a guardian Bat to intimidate the witnesses worse than the mob could:
Once again: happier than a pig in shit. And what's more, all these scenes are tempered by the poignant knowledge that all of Harvey's happiness here is fleeting, and that he'll rarely ever have cause to be this pleased again. He's blissfully unaware that his days are numbered, as is everyone else. Poor Harvey.
By the very end of the story, after Batman helps Gordon survive the desperate attack by Falcone's men on Loeb's orders, it's up to Harvey to actually see justice done to the villains. Even though Batman and Gordon are the heroes, it's down to Harvey to actually put the villains away. Or to try, anyway.
It's realistic enough that Loeb would escape jail, and that Dent's abilities would still be greatly limited. But he's still disgraced and replaced thanks to Dent, who only secured Flass thanks to how he planned things out with Batman and Gordon. Really, the workings for the trio partnership was already here before Eye of the Beholder made it official, and it makes one wonder how far they would have gone if only poor Harvey hadn't gotten the acid in his face. Those "What If?" questions are the stuff of great tragedy.
P.S. Of course, as I'm sure you've guessed, this post was written in anticipation of the Batman: Year One animated film adaptation, which comes out on Tuesday but is available to download on iTunes right now.
In case you're wondering: yes, I've seen it, and yes, I'm planning to give it a full review with the help of
dr_von_fangirl. We're both fighting a flu right now, but hopefully we'll have it out by this weekend. We have a LOT to say about the movie as a whole, and specifically about what it does to our two favorite characters. Does Harvey make it into the film, and if so, how much of it? You'll find out soon enough. In exhaustively obsessive detail. With ranting. And snark. Because that's how we roll.Note: all scans are cropped from the digital copies of Batman #404-407, which were purchased at DC's official Comixology site. Sign up for an account and you can buy all four issues for just $1.99 apiece. As you can see, the quality of the scans is quite good, and taken from the recolored graphic novel rather than the crappy four-color print of the original issues. If you'd still rather prefer a hard copy in paperback, it can be purchased pretty much anywhere. Read it one way or another, if you haven't already. It's a fucking fantastic story.
