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about_faces) wrote2010-07-20 01:50 am
about_faces) wrote2010-07-20 01:50 am
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Two-Face Tuesday Rereun: "Choices," from BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES (DCAU)
Note: Time for another repeat of a TFT I'd previously run over at scans_daily and my personal LJ, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thehefner. It's getting harder and harder to pick which of these repeats to post here for posterity (and for the enjoyment of the two or three of you who haven't read these stories before), not just because I'm running out of old material, but because I'd love to save them for series of posts on similar themes.
Take today's issue, for instance. I could devote several posts to the Two-Face of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, not just in reviews of his more prominent episodes, but also his substantial appearances in the BTAS comics. Especially the ones by Ty Templeton. He's responsible for three of my very favorite Harvey stories of all time (OF ALL TIME!), and thanks to stories like his and today's installment, the character actually gets far better treatment than he actually received in the TV series by their last season. I look forward to exploring that epic and influential take on the character someday.
Until then, this excellent and seemingly-simple story holds up perfectly on its own, as effective in regular DCU continuity as in DCAU. The best of the BTAS comics feel less like "Batman for kids" and more like "classic Batman," and this issue is no exception. Enjoy!
So I've come to believe that the DCAU Batman comics--all four series--are collectively the finest Batman comics of the past twenty years. I might even go so far as to extend that to all superhero comics in general.
No, they're hardly revolutionary storylines, nothing that exactly seems boldly new and innovative. But their excellence lies in something far more subtle. The DCAU, at its best, understands that the heart of superheroes is rooted firmly in character, not in contrived gimmicks and twists, nor grandly conceptual plot lines. When these stories get it right, the characters seem both human and iconic. And they do it not by trying to reinvent the wheel or make some shocking revelation, but in much smaller, more powerful ways.
Case in point:
I neglected to scan the next page with Alfred and Dick in the Batcave. Pouring a cup of tea, Alfred says, "Sir... I heard about the, shall we say, dispute earlier. Although I'm sure it never crossed your mind and could not possibly care less... I have no doubt that the Master has been racked with guilt over his decision to leave you in such a... vulnerable state."
Dick stares down at the tea, with an ambiguous expression I can't quite describe. He says, "Thanks, Alfred."
In most superhero stories (and many non-super heroes in fiction as well), the hero is secure in the knowledge that what they do is the right thing. They make the moral choice, and everything turns out all right, usually.
But real life doesn't work that way. Doing the "right thing" is rarely an easy decision. But why is that? Usually, the hero risks something like physical harm, loss of money, loss of status, etc. And those are big risks, certainly. But there are other costs far more subtle, far more insidious, especially for would-be heroes.
A friend of mine hated STAR TREK: VOYAGER because Janeway always made the moral choice, and there were never any consequences. Compare that with, say, Sisko from DS9. Unless one is extremely gifted and/or very lucky, there are sometimes costs to doing what one thinks is the right thing, but not everyone will agree with the hero. Worst of all, the hero may even doubt it themselves. And there are few questions more troubling, more haunting, than "Did I do the right thing?"
Few superheroes seem to embody moral surety more than Batman, Mr. My-Principles-At-All-Costs himself. But the best writers understand that he isn't a fanatic, completely devoid of doubt and guilt. I believe Two-Face understands this as well.
Consider why he does what he does in this issue. With no other logical motivation for his actions here, we're left to conclude that Harvey orchestrated this whole thing as a way to get under Batman's skin. And really, who could torment Batman more with questions of choices, mistakes, and doubt than Harvey Dent himself: a living, walking symbol of Batman's failure? In this respect, Batman may have saved lives, but Two-Face achieved the real victory here.
Because you can't beat Batman. You can't escape him, defy him, nor kill him. But you can hit him where it hurts. For a character so driven by their "holy mission," one of the worst things you can do is make him doubt.
Stories like this are why I think the DCAU Batman comics carry far more emotional resonance and depth (while, at the same time, retaining pure iconic character integrity of Batman and his world) than all the back-breakings, plagues, earthquakes, deaths, whodunnits, whydunnits, and Morrisonian post-modern deconstructions.
So, yeah. Taken as a whole, I'd argue that they're the finest Batman stories of the decade.
thehefner. It's getting harder and harder to pick which of these repeats to post here for posterity (and for the enjoyment of the two or three of you who haven't read these stories before), not just because I'm running out of old material, but because I'd love to save them for series of posts on similar themes. Take today's issue, for instance. I could devote several posts to the Two-Face of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, not just in reviews of his more prominent episodes, but also his substantial appearances in the BTAS comics. Especially the ones by Ty Templeton. He's responsible for three of my very favorite Harvey stories of all time (OF ALL TIME!), and thanks to stories like his and today's installment, the character actually gets far better treatment than he actually received in the TV series by their last season. I look forward to exploring that epic and influential take on the character someday.
Until then, this excellent and seemingly-simple story holds up perfectly on its own, as effective in regular DCU continuity as in DCAU. The best of the BTAS comics feel less like "Batman for kids" and more like "classic Batman," and this issue is no exception. Enjoy!
So I've come to believe that the DCAU Batman comics--all four series--are collectively the finest Batman comics of the past twenty years. I might even go so far as to extend that to all superhero comics in general.
No, they're hardly revolutionary storylines, nothing that exactly seems boldly new and innovative. But their excellence lies in something far more subtle. The DCAU, at its best, understands that the heart of superheroes is rooted firmly in character, not in contrived gimmicks and twists, nor grandly conceptual plot lines. When these stories get it right, the characters seem both human and iconic. And they do it not by trying to reinvent the wheel or make some shocking revelation, but in much smaller, more powerful ways.
Case in point:
I neglected to scan the next page with Alfred and Dick in the Batcave. Pouring a cup of tea, Alfred says, "Sir... I heard about the, shall we say, dispute earlier. Although I'm sure it never crossed your mind and could not possibly care less... I have no doubt that the Master has been racked with guilt over his decision to leave you in such a... vulnerable state."
Dick stares down at the tea, with an ambiguous expression I can't quite describe. He says, "Thanks, Alfred."
In most superhero stories (and many non-super heroes in fiction as well), the hero is secure in the knowledge that what they do is the right thing. They make the moral choice, and everything turns out all right, usually.
But real life doesn't work that way. Doing the "right thing" is rarely an easy decision. But why is that? Usually, the hero risks something like physical harm, loss of money, loss of status, etc. And those are big risks, certainly. But there are other costs far more subtle, far more insidious, especially for would-be heroes.
A friend of mine hated STAR TREK: VOYAGER because Janeway always made the moral choice, and there were never any consequences. Compare that with, say, Sisko from DS9. Unless one is extremely gifted and/or very lucky, there are sometimes costs to doing what one thinks is the right thing, but not everyone will agree with the hero. Worst of all, the hero may even doubt it themselves. And there are few questions more troubling, more haunting, than "Did I do the right thing?"
Few superheroes seem to embody moral surety more than Batman, Mr. My-Principles-At-All-Costs himself. But the best writers understand that he isn't a fanatic, completely devoid of doubt and guilt. I believe Two-Face understands this as well.
Consider why he does what he does in this issue. With no other logical motivation for his actions here, we're left to conclude that Harvey orchestrated this whole thing as a way to get under Batman's skin. And really, who could torment Batman more with questions of choices, mistakes, and doubt than Harvey Dent himself: a living, walking symbol of Batman's failure? In this respect, Batman may have saved lives, but Two-Face achieved the real victory here.
Because you can't beat Batman. You can't escape him, defy him, nor kill him. But you can hit him where it hurts. For a character so driven by their "holy mission," one of the worst things you can do is make him doubt.
Stories like this are why I think the DCAU Batman comics carry far more emotional resonance and depth (while, at the same time, retaining pure iconic character integrity of Batman and his world) than all the back-breakings, plagues, earthquakes, deaths, whodunnits, whydunnits, and Morrisonian post-modern deconstructions.
So, yeah. Taken as a whole, I'd argue that they're the finest Batman stories of the decade.