We Believe in Harvey Dent

I wonder... when people think of the best Two-Face stories, how many think of Batman/Two-Face: Crime and Punishment? It seems to have fallen into obscurity, and then, being out-of-print for over a decade certainly doesn't help matters,* but it’s one of the few to directly tackle the war inside Harvey’s head, and the years of child abuse which caused that division in the first place.

Why have no other stories looked at the abuse angle with Two-Face? I’d imagine it’s because “angsty, abused childhood” is the #1 cliched origin for villains. Now, I love how Eye of the Beholder made that cliche work perfectly for Harvey in a way that was fitting and deeply emphasized the tragic aspect of the character, but it’s such a complex, nuanced backstory that I fear for how other writers would screw it up. Thus, it’s probably best that it’s avoided by most writers... but then, J.M. DeMatteis is not like most writers. The world of comics is poorer for that.





That said, my personal opinion of this story has fluctuated over the years, all the more so recently after reading DeMatteis' Spectacular Spider-Man story, "The Child Within. So I will especially welcome your comments for this review, especially from those who've read the story in full. Is this a powerful take on Two-Face, or yet another half-baked child abuse origin?


( Someone has got to pay, behind the cut... )




*Maybe that's why Penguin Triumphant (which, like B/TF:C&P, was published to coincide with the release of a Batman movie) isn't even remembered by comic fans at large, much less rightly hailed as the greatest Penguin comic ever.

Last week, with my "JLA teams up with Two-Face... wait what?!" post (which coincidentally featured the only other meeting of Hal Jordan and Harvey, my two all-time favorite characters), lamashtar asked if I was going to post this particular issue, or if it was "too schmaltzy." I wasn't sure of either, to be honest!

Who here has read the Hal Jordan SPECTRE series (which ran 27 issues from 2001 to 2003)? I'm genuinely curious as to what anybody made of it. Personally, it was one of the more frustrating reading experiences I've ever had.

Issue #5--the topic of this week's post--is no exception, namely because it features the unlikely meeting of my two all-time favorite characters. And the results are... well... I'm still not really sure even now.





Here's the thing: when I was a teen, I loved Hal Jordan. Not as Green Lantern (although that would come later), but rather as Parallax. Considering that Two-Face is my number one favorite, I loved the idea of a fallen hero striving for redemption and justice but always screwing it up by being so darn crazy. I wanted him to actually grow as a character, to be redeemed, even exonerated. Then they killed him off in a "heroic" manner to pay lip service to his fans, then get him out of the way so that Kyle could be a special little pumpkin.

So I was very excited by the prospect of Hal!Spectre. The character would finally get some development and redemption, and be a hero again! And it would be written by the great J.M. DeMatteis! Even better!

But the actual series was... well, I'm still not quite sure what it was. For one thing, Hal just doesn't work in this kind of context. But mainly... look, I'm an agnostic who loves the stories of religion but has no personal grasp on concepts like souls and karma beyond a layman's utilitarian knowledge. And reading THE SPECTRE, I felt bogged down in all the metaphysical wankery DeMatteis was packing into every issue. Just like with so much philosophy, I responded with a mixture of "so what?" and "SO BORED."

This was made especially frustrating when my two favorite characters actually met in the pages of THE SPECTRE #5. Surely, such an unlikely pairing-off was possible only in my fanboy imagination! At least, that was before Hal became the Spectre.


( Crazy murderous ex-heroes, the question of redemption, alien ghost cop spirit guides, and metaphysical theological jibba-jabba behind the cut! )


Okay. So what do you make of this? Me, I just can't make heads or... I mean, I still don't know.

Like, the actual metaphysical stuff about karma meant absolutely nothing to me, but just flew right over my head. It all seemed so maddeningly vague: what old debts? We don't even know why poor Harvey has to suffer through this? What debts does he have to pay? How could he possibly have chosen this from a spiritual standpoint?

It was all so frustratingly unsatisfying. I suspect this could have been interesting if DeMatteis had paced it out over two or more parts, really explored what it meant for the sides to be separated like that.

If "good" Harvey (note the quotation marks) is still capable of violence, what would "big bad Harv" be capable of doing if he were unleashed? Really, it could be the Gotham version of Italo Calvino's THE CLOVEN VISCOUNT, wherein a man is split into his good and evil sides, both of whom are themselves capable of good and evil acts.

(forgive for the snobby literature reference; once I heard about the story in Mazzucchelli's brilliant graphic novel, ASTERIOS POLYP, I felt it was perfect for Harvey insight)

But no. Ultimately, this story feels too rushed, with only one insight to offer: "No, really: It Sucks to be Harvey Dent."

All that said, between this and their meeting in that JLA story, I'm in agreement with nymphgalatea when she expressed a wish for a proper Hal/Harvey teamup. Because, she said, "Hal is so very pragmatic, and has no patience for the crazy, and Harvey would take a deep and abiding delight in fucking with his head."

Seriously, I would pay good money to see J. Michael Straczynski write this as an issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, considering how he wrote Two-Face in the TEEN TITANS story and Hal in the most recent issue of TB&TB (with Dr. Fate).