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Harvey Dent (also known as Two-Face) was Gotham City's amiable and courteous district attorney and one of Batman's strongest allies until Sal "Boss" Maroni threw acid in his face, hideously scarring him. It also fractured his mental state, causing him to become Two-Face, a schizoid criminal mastermind obsessed with duality and the number two. His former good luck charm, a "two-headed" silver dollar with one side deface has been seized on as a reflection of Dent's half-scarred visage. He flips it to decide the fates of his victims. Despite Batman's efforts to reform his former ally, Dent is consumed by his fixation on chance and his crimes are designed to prove out his diametric philosophy.
Background[]
Publication history[]
Two-Face first appears in Detective Comics #66 with the name Harvey "Apollo" Kent; later stories changed his name to "Harvey Dent" to avoid an association with Superman (Clark Kent).
The character only made three appearances in the 1940s, and appeared twice in the 1950s (not counting the impostors mentioned below). By this time, he was dropped in favor of more "kid friendly" villains, though he did appear in a 1968 issue (World's Finest Comics #173), in which Batman declared him to be the criminal he most fears. In 1971, writer Dennis O'Neil brought Two-Face back, and it was then that he became one of Batman's arch-enemies.
In his autobiography, Batman creator Bob Kane claims to have been inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, specifically the 1931 film version which he saw as a boy. Some inspiration was also derived from the Pulp magazine character the Black Bat whose origin story included having acid splashed on his face.
In the wake of Frank Miller's 1986 revision of Batman's origin (see Batman: Year One), Andrew Helfer rewrote Two-Face's history to match. This origin, presented in Batman Annual (vol. 1) #14, served to emphasize Dent's status as a tragic character, with a back story that included an abusive, alcoholic father, and early struggles with bipolar disorder and paranoia. It was also established, in Batman: Year One, that pre-accident Harvey Dent was one of Batman's earliest allies. He had clear ties to both Batman and Commissioner Gordon, making him an unsettling and personal foe for both men.
Fictional character biography[]
Pre-Crisis[]
The Pre-Crisis version of Two-Face is Harvey Dent, Gotham City's handsome young District Attorney. A mobster throws acid in his face during a trial, scarring half his face. Driven insane by his reflection, he renames himself Two-Face and goes on a crime spree, deciding with a flip of his lucky coin whether to break the law or perform acts of charity. Batman and Robin eventually capture him, and he is rehabilitated thanks to plastic surgery.[10] Later stories, however, depict him as returning to crime after being re-disfigured.
Post-Crisis[]
The Post-Crisis version of Harvey Dent is depicted as having had an unhappy childhood; his mentally ill father, Harry, beats him regularly, often deciding whether or not to brutalize his son based on a flip of his lucky coin. The abuse instills in Dent his lifelong struggle with free will and his eventual inability to make choices on his own, relying on the coin to make all of his decisions. Dent is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia at a young age, but manages to hide his illnesses and, thanks to an unyielding work ethic, rises up through the ranks of Gotham City's district attorney's office until, at age 26, he becomes the youngest DA in the city's history. Gordon even suspected that Dent could be Batman but discarded this suspicion when he realized he lacked the financial resources of Batman.
Dent forges an alliance with police captain James Gordon and Batman to rid Gotham of organized crime. Mob boss Carmine Falcone bribes corrupt Assistant District Attorney Vernon Fields to provide his lieutenant Sal Maroni, whom Dent is trying for murder, with sulfuric acid; Maroni throws the acid in Dent's face during a cross-examination, horribly scarring the left side of Dent's face. Dent escapes from hospital and reinvents himself as the gangster Two-Face. He scars one side of his father's coin, and uses it to decide whether to commit a crime. Eventually, Two-Face takes his revenge on Fields and Maroni, but is captured by Batman, leading to his incarceration in Arkham Asylum.
During the Batman: Dark Victory story arc, the serial killer Hangman targets various cops who assisted in Harvey Dent's rise to the D.A.'s office. Two-Face gathers Gotham's criminals to assist in the destruction of the city's crime lords. After a climactic struggle in the Batcave, Two-Face is betrayed by the Joker, who shoots at Dent, causing him to fall into a chasm, presumably to his death. Batman admits in the aftermath that, even if Two-Face has survived, Harvey is gone forever.
During a much later period, Two-Face is revealed to have murdered the father of Jason Todd. When attempting to apprehend Two-Face, Jason briefly has the criminal at his mercy, but lets Two-Face's punishment be decided by the law. Two-Face similarly serves as a 'baptism by fire' for Tim Drake. When Two-Face has Batman at his mercy, Tim dons the Robin suit to save Batman.
In Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Arkham's doctors replace Dent's coin with a die and eventually a tarot deck; but rather than becoming self-reliant, Dent is now unable to make even the smallest of decisions—such as going to the bathroom. Batman returns the coin, telling Two-Face to use it to decide whether to kill him. Batman leaves safely; but the implication made is that Two-Face chose to let Batman live.
In the No Man's Land storyline, in which Gotham is devastated by an earthquake, Two-Face claims a portion of the ruined city, takes up residence in Gotham City Hall, and forms a temporary alliance with Gordon to share certain territory. His empire is brought down by Bane (employed by Lex Luthor), who destroys Two-Face's gang during his destruction of the city's Hall of Records. Two-Face kidnaps Gordon and puts him on trial for his activities after Gotham City is declared a "No Man's Land", with Two-Face as both judge and prosecutor for Gordon's illegal alliance with him; but Gordon plays upon Two-Face's split psyche to demand Harvey Dent as his defense attorney. Dent cross-examines Two-Face and wins an acquittal for Gordon, determining that Two-Face has effectively blackmailed Gordon by implying that he had committed murders to aid the Commissioner.
In Gotham Central, Two-Face meets detective Renee Montoya. Montoya reaches the Dent persona in Two-Face and is kind to him. He falls in love with her, though the romance is one-sided. Eventually in the Gotham Central series, he outs her as a lesbian and frames her for murder, hoping that if he takes everything from her, she will be left with no choice but to be with him. She is furious, and the two fight for control of his gun until Batman intervenes, putting Two-Face back in Arkham.
In the Batman: Two-Face - Crime and Punishment one-shot book, Two-Face captures his own father, planning to humiliate and kill him on live television for the years of abuse he suffered. This story reveals that, despite his apparent hatred for his father, Dent still supports him, paying for an expensive home rather than allowing him to live in a slum. At the end of the book, the Dent and Two-Face personalities argue in thought, Two-Face calling Dent "spineless". Dent proves Two-Face wrong, choosing to jump off a building and commit suicide just to put a stop to his alter ego's crime spree. Two-Face is surprised when the coin flip comes up scarred, but abides by the decision and jumps. Batman catches him, but the shock of the fall seems to (at least temporarily) destroy the Two-Face aspect of his psyche.
In Two-Face Strikes Twice, Two-Face is at odds with his ex-wife Gilda Dent, as he believes their marriage failed because he was unable to give her children. She later marries Paul Janus (a reference to the Roman god of doors, who had two faces). Two-Face attempts to frame Janus as a criminal by kidnapping him and replacing him with a stand-in, whom Two-Face "disfigures" with makeup. Batman eventually catches Two-Face, and Gilda and Janus reunite. Years later, Gilda gives birth to twins, prompting Two-Face to escape once more and take the twins hostage, as he erroneously believes them to be conceived by Janus using an experimental fertility drug. The end of the book reveals that Two-Face is the twins' natural father.
Hush[]
In the Batman: Hush storyline, his face is repaired by plastic surgery, and only the Harvey Dent persona exists. He takes the law into his own hands twice: once by using his ability to manipulate the legal system to free the Joker, and then again by shooting the serial killer Hush. He manipulates the courts into setting him free, as Gotham's prosecutors wouldn't attempt to charge him without a body.
Return to villainy[]
In the Batman story arc Batman: Face the Face, that started in Detective Comics #817, and was part of DC's One Year Later storyline, it is revealed that, at Batman's request and with his training, Harvey Dent becomes a vigilante protector of Gotham City in most of Batman's absence of nearly a year. He is reluctant to take the job, but Batman assures him it would serve as atonement for his past crimes. After a month of training, they fight Firebug and Mr. Freeze, before Batman leaves for a year. Dent enjoys his new role, but his methods are seemingly more extreme and less refined than Batman's. Upon Batman's return, Dent begins to feel unnecessary and unappreciated, which prompts the return of the "Two-Face" persona (seen and heard by Dent through hallucinations). In Face the Face, his frustration is compounded by a series of mysterious murders that seem to have been committed by Two-Face; the villains KGBeast, Magpie, the Ventriloquist, and Orca are all shot twice in the head with a double-barreled pistol. When Batman confronts Dent about these deaths, asking him to confirm that he was not responsible, Dent refuses to give a definite answer. He then detonates a bomb in his apartment and leaves Batman dazed as he flees.
Despite escaping the explosion physically unscathed, Dent suffers a crisis of conscience and a mental battle with his "Two-Face" personality. Although Batman later uncovers evidence that exonerates Dent for the murders, establishing that he was framed as revenge for his efforts against new crime boss Warren White, AKA the Great White Shark, it is too late to save him. Prompted by resentment and a paranoid reaction to Batman's questioning, Dent scars half his face with nitric acid and a scalpel, becoming Two-Face once again. Blaming Batman for his return, Two-Face immediately goes on a rampage, threatening to destroy the Gotham Zoo (having retained two of every animal—including two humans) before escaping to fight Batman another day. Batman subsequently confronts White, while acknowledging that he cannot attack White as there is no explicit evidence supporting Batman's deductions, vowing to inform Two-Face of White's actions when they face next face each other.
On the cover of Justice League of America vol. 2 #23, Two-Face is shown as a member of the new Injustice League. He can be seen in Salvation Run. He appears in Battle for the Cowl: The Underground, which shows the effects of Batman's death on his enemies. In Judd Winick's Long Shadow arc, Two-Face realizes that there's another person as Batman. He hires a teleporter and manages to infiltrate the Batcave. When the new Batman investigates the cave, Two-Face ambushes him with tranquilizer darts, and in a hallucination he sees Dent in a red and black Two-Face themed Batman costume. Alfred Pennyworth saves the hero from Two-Face's torture after subduing his accomplice, and with his help Batman convinces Two-Face that he is the real, original Dark Knight, informing Dent that his problem is that he cannot imagine Batman changing because he himself is incapable of seeing the world in anything other than black and white. In Streets of Gotham, Two-Face has been at odds with Gotham's latest district attorney Kate Spencer, also known as the vigilante Manhunter. Two-Face has recently been driven out of Gotham City by Jeremiah Arkham.
The New 52[]
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Two Face's origin is revised significantly. Harvey Dent is a successful defense attorney whose clientele includes twin sisters from the McKillen crime family, Shannon and Erin. The sisters coerce Dent to become their family's legal retainer for life. They then place a contract on James Gordon and his entire family, despite Dent's protestations. The Gordons survive the attempt on their lives, but Dent, trapped by attorney-client confidentiality, is unable to dissuade the McKillens from continuing their lethal vendetta. The violent attempt on the Gordons' lives prompts Bruce Wayne to use his resources to initiate and fund Dent's campaign for district attorney. Dent becomes D.A. and has the McKillen sisters prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison. After Shannon commits suicide, Erin escapes by switching places with her sister's corpse. Blaming Dent for her sister's death, Erin breaks into Dent's house, kills Gilda in front of him, and pours acid on his face, transforming him into Two-Face.
Erin flees the country and remains in hiding for many years. She is forced to return to Gotham City to reassert her control of her family's criminal operations by killing Two-Face. Her return sparks a climactic battle between her, Two-Face, and Batman. Two-Face scars McKillen with the same acid she used on him, but Batman stops him from killing her. Batman and Two-Face continue battling, with Batman trying to convince his foe to end his vendetta. Two-Face then calls Batman, "Bruce", revealing that he has known Batman's true identity for some time. Dent reveals that he struggled internally for quite some time over whether to kill him, but decided not to because it would have violated his sense of justice. He disappears after the battle and Batman is unable to track him. Several panels of Batman and Robin #28 imply that Two-Face committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
DC Rebirth[]
In DC Rebirth rebooted universe, Batman decides to cure Two-Face, doing whatever it takes. Batman takes a road trip outside Gotham City and stumbles upon Two-Face's henchmen, Killer Moth and Firefly, and eventually Black Spider. Batman gets the upper hand and takes Harvey with him, but Two-Face tries to get rid of Batman, only to fail horribly. Furthermore, both Two-Face and Batman have to deal with KGBeast. They have a fight against the Beast, and eventually get rid of him, but are both heavily injured, especially Dent. Batman takes care of Two-Face, but Harvey thanks him with a surprise attack by his men. He takes out Batman and pours some acid into his eyes and shows him how it feels to see the world blurry.
Over the course of time, Batman and Duke Thomas take them out. But Two-Face and Batman have to face off against KGBeast, Penguin and Black Mask, barely managing to escape. Batman tells Two-Face he has a cure for him. Two-Face, who desperately wants the cure, tells Batman that he won't remove the poisonous clouds over Gotham unless Batman hands it over. In the end, Batman injects the cure, but it has no effect on Harvey, since it is really a sedative and knocks Two-Face out. In the end, Batman takes Two-Face back to Gotham.
In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Two-Face is among the villains that attend the underground meeting held by Riddler that talks about the Superman Theory.
In Harley Quinn: Rebirth, while Harley Quinn's Gang of Harleys is trying to find information about Man-Bat, they run into Two-Face while at Arkham Asylum, where he makes threats towards the group.
Personality[]
Physical Appearance[]
As Harvey Dent[]
Harvey Dent was a slender fair skinned man, with black hair and mustache, and blue eyes. He wore a business suit.
As Two-Face[]
After the accident, Two-Face's left half of the face is horribly burned to a reddish color, exposing some of the veins. His left side of his hair colorized white or purple, and his left half of the suit is colorized red.
Powers and abilities[]
Before his transformation into Two-Face, Harvey Dent had a successful career as Gotham's upstanding district attorney, proficient in nearly all matters pertaining to criminal law.
Following his disfigurement, he became obsessed with the number two and duality, and thus staged crimes centered around the number two—such as robbing buildings with '2' in the address or staging events that will take place at 10:22 p.m. (2222 in military time). Two-Face has also proven to be a genius in criminal planning, and has constantly demonstrated a high-level of intelligence in plotting heists as a brilliant and respected mastermind in the criminal underworld. In addition, Two-Face is a skilled marksman, and regularly used a variety of firearms such as pistols, shotguns, grenade launchers, Tommy guns, knives and rocket launchers during his battles with Batman. To further improve his proficiency in the use of firearms, Two-Face hired the sharpshooting assassin Deathstroke to train him.[28] He primarily wields dual pistols, and has become dangerously skilled with them.
The Batman: Face the Face story-arc revealed that Batman had previously trained Dent extensively in detective work and hand-to-hand combat enhancing his already proficient talent in both. It was shown he was a vicious fighter in past stories already, and by present time, possessed skills rivaling military fighting level. His training by Batman and Deathstroke likely contributed to this.
Appearances[]
Live-action Appearances[]
Films[]
Batman (1989)[]
Harvey Dent, played by Billy Dee Williams, as he appears in Batman.
Harvey Dent was recently elected politician. He hates Batman seeing him as a "freak" and wants to take him down. He isn't seen or mentioned in the sequel Batman Returns.
Batman Forever[]
Two-Face, played by Tommy Lee Jones, as he appears in Batman Forever.
Harvey Dent served Gotham City as District Attorney. He was an ally of Commissioner James Gordon and Batman. While Dent questioned mob boss Sal Moroni in court, Moroni managed to retrieve a hidden flask of acid and threw it on Dent. Batman became aware of that plot, and ran through the courtroom to save Dent, but arrived too late. The acid splashed against the left side of Dent's face, and horribly disfigured it, while the right side was protected by his notepad.
The acid burned far enough through Dent's head that part of his brain was damaged, and made him half psychotic and homicidal. Dent was eventually arrested and committed to Arkham Asylum. Two-Face escaped from his cell on the second anniversary of his arrest, and his escape was discovered by Dr. Burton, who then contacted the GCPD.
Two-Face and his thugs robbed the Second Bank of Gotham. They took hostages and looked like they were going to get away when Batman intervened and stopped the robbery. Two-Face trapped him and a guard inside an acid filled safe, but Batman escaped and saved the horrified guard. Batman pursued Two-Face by boarding his helicopter. However, Two-Face escaped before he crashed his helicopter into the Statue of Justice over Gotham Harbor.
At his hideout, which was split in half like his personality, Two-Face had two henchwomen, Sugar and Spice, who worked for him. Spice favored his 'dark', scarred side, while Sugar favored his 'good' side. Two-Face traveled to the circus looking for Batman. The circus held a fundraiser that was attended by Gotham's elite, and Two-Face concluded that the odds were excellent that at least one of them knew the Dark Knight's identity if they weren't Batman himself-, and he threatened to blow the place up unless his enemy turned himself over (although the subsequent riot in the circus prevented Bruce Wayne from obeying his order). Two-Face was responsible for the origin of Robin because, when The Flying Graysons tried to stop him, they were all killed by him apart from Dick, the youngest Grayson, who went on to join Batman as Robin after he stopped his bomb.
At his hideout, Two-Face met Edward Nygma, who adopted the mantle of The Riddler, where Two-Face initially wanted to kill him for invading his lair, but Riddler stated his case, and Two-Face decided via coin flip whether he killed or allied with him. After his coin landed on heads, Two-Face stole enough money to fund Nygma's company, and the two gained knowledge through The Box and discovered Batman's true identity at Nygma's party. Following that, they traveled to Wayne Manor and the Riddler destroyed the Batcave. Two-Face, on other hand, had his henchmen attack Bruce and Dr. Chase Meridian while he flipped his coin, which kept landing on the good side, and prevented him from doing any wrongdoing. As soon as the scarred side came up, Two-Face fired his pistol at Wayne, which grazed him in the head. Two-Face wished to finish him off, but the Riddler intervened, then they left, kidnapped Dr. Meridian, and left behind a riddle.
At Claw Island, where Two Face hid, Batman and Robin got separated. Robin had the opportunity to kill Two-Face, but didn't want to be like him. Two-Face used that to capture Robin. Two-Face and the Riddler then tried to make Batman choose between Chase and Robin but Batman destroyed The Box, which permanently defeated the Riddler, and saved them both. Two-Face showed up, and was poised to kill them, but Batman reminded him of his coin. Two-Face flipped his coin to decide if he would shoot Batman, but Batman tossed a handful of identical coins into the air. Two-Face panicked and tried to find his coin but stumbled and fell into the pit on a watery bed of spikes. His exact coin then fell good side up into Two-Face's open palm before he sunk underwater, dead.
Batman & Robin[]
Three years later, when Bane broke into Arkham Asylum's property locker to get Mr. Freeze's suit, Two-Face's unique costume was glimpsed hanging on a shelf, but it was unclear if that meant that he had survived his fall and was captured or if it was simply a costume that he left behind during his last escape.
The Dark Knight[]
Two-Face, played by Aaron Eckhart, as he appears in The Dark Knight.
Two-Face started out as Harvey Dent, Gotham City's newly-elected District Attorney and "White Knight," and friend of Bruce Wayne (Batman). The Joker, knew Batman's connection to Dent and Rachel Dawes, his fiancée; kidnapped them both and strapped them to two time bombs. Joker told Batman their locations, but gave him only enough time to save only one. Batman chose Rachel, but when he got there, he found Dent instead.
Dent got rescued (against his wishes, as he wanted his fiancée saved) and Rachel burst into flames, and died immediately in the explosion. The left half of Dent's face got burned. Angry, the former D.A. took up the name "Two-Face" and wanted revenge on those whom he believed were responsible for Rachel's death: the Joker, Gordon, and Batman. The Joker convinced Two-Face that he was just acting on impulse before he provided him with a Smith and Wesson 64 fully loaded with ammunition, to which he flipped his newly burnt coin for his life. The coin came up on the clean side, so the Joker lived. Two-Face then found Wuertz who was one of the corrupt police officers involved. The coin then landed on the burnt side and Two-Face shot and killed Wuertz. He then confronted mobster Sal Maroni who told him that Ramirez was another corrupt officer who was involved. Two-Face then flipped the coin which landed good heads for Maroni, but bad heads for the driver whom Two-Face then shot and killed, which caused the car to tumble and presumably killed Maroni as well. Finally, Two-Face then confronted Ramirez who pleaded that she needed the money for her mother who was in the hospital. The coin came up good heads and Two-Face instead knocked Ramirez unconscious. Two-Face then captured Gordon's wife, daughter and son, and called Gordon to have him meet him "where his (Two-Face) family died" (the building where Rachel died).
Two-Face met Gordon there, where he planned to judge Gordon's son. At the time Gordon was trying to risk his life after unsuccessfully pleading for his family's lives, Batman showed up fast and joined Gordon in asking Two-Face to spare Gordon and his family. Having been manipulated by the Joker, Two-Face's hatred for the Joker is gone and instead blames Gordon. Batman asserted that Two-Face should point the gun only at those who were responsible. Agreeing, Two-Face promptly shot Batman through the stomach when the coin landed on bad heads. Then, assuming this has killed Batman, he spares himself when the coin came up on good heads. After he decided to continue judging Gordon's son, Two-Face flipped the coin. Before he could decide the fate of Gordon's son, Batman, who was wearing body armor and is unharmed, tackles Dent off the ledge of the roof to his death when breaking his neck.
Batman and Gordon agreed to cover up Dent's villainous acts by putting the blame on Batman, due to fear of the public losing hope if they found out what happened. Dent's death was used to create a new law dubbed the "Dent Act," whereby anyone with criminal affiliations would be convicted without trial or parole.
The Dark Knight Rises[]
Only archive footage and a photograph of Dent is seen. When Bane found out about the truth about Dent, he used it in his crusade against Gotham. After the battles were over, the Dent Act was eliminated and all of Dent's other accolades were retracted.
Television[]
Batman (1966)[]
The 1960s Batman television series developed several tentative scripts for Two-Face, but (likely due to broadcast standards at the time) never produced any of them. The most prominent of the scripts, submitted by famed author Harlan Ellison, was eventually adapted into the 2015 comic Batman '66: The Lost Episode.
Gotham[]
A pre-disfigured version of Harvey Dent appears on the live-action TV series Gotham, portrayed by Nicholas D'Agosto. He first appears in the season one episode "Harvey Dent" in which he is portrayed as the Assistant District Attorney of Gotham City. While Harvey is shown to have a passionate personality, he has been shown to have an aggressive side.
Elements of Dent are put into Riddler and Nathaniel Barnes. Edward Nygma suffers from a split personality and has a recurring arc in which he tries to deal with his darker side. Nathaniel Barnes Executioner persona is similar to The Judge.
The Flash[]
The character of Two-Face is alluded to on the live action TV series The Flash. In the season three finale "Finish Line", Vibe refers to Savitar as 'Two-Face' due to the significant scars on the right side of Savitar's face; there is no indication whether this means there's an actual version in this reality to inspire Vibe's choice of name or just a coincidence.
Titans[]
Two-Face makes a cameo appearance in the season finale of Titans, titled "Dick Grayson", in which the eponymous character is placed in a dream world created by Trigon, where Batman has gone on a killing spree, taking out his greatest enemies one by one; Two-Face is among them, since his dead body can be seen holding his coin inside his cell at Arkham Asylum.
Animated Appearances[]
Television[]
DC animated universe[]
The Harvey Dent version of Two-Face made many appearances in the DC Animated Universe, voiced by Richard Moll.
Batman: The Animated Series[]
Initially, Batman: The Animated Series depicted Harvey Dent as not only Gotham City's preeminent District Attorney, but also a best friend to Bruce Wayne (whose alter-ego he remained blithely unaware of). Though leading a prestigious life and happy engagement to fellow attorney Grace Lamont, he nevertheless began to succumb to his dissociative identity disorder (supposedly stemming from a lifelong repression of anger after a childhood bullying incident) during the stress of his reelection campaign. This was exacerbated by crime boss Rupert Thorne, who stole his therapy records to use as blackmail material; under Thorne's taunts, Dent gave in to his alternate personality Big Bad Harv, who savagely attacked Thorne's gang. A shootout ensued, and though Batman arrived in time to help Dent, his efforts inadvertently triggered an explosion that severely scarred the left half of Dent's face and body. Subsequently, Dent (and his alternate personality) abandoned any hope of a "normal" life, and began waging a vendetta against Thorne as the coin-flipping criminal Two-Face. Thorne later tricks Grace into luring Two-Face out, and holds both at gunpoint. Two-Face overpowers Thorne and attempts to kill the mobster, but Batman stops Two-Face and sends him to Arkham Asylum. Two-Face is depicted as a crime boss and supervillain in his own right for subsequent episodes.
In the episode "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne", Two-Face has a fierce bidding war with the Joker and the Penguin regarding Batman's secret identity at Hugo Strange's auction. Two-Face is later shown alongside Poison Ivy, the Penguin, Killer Croc and the Joker in the episode "Almost Got 'Im", during a poker game where each villain brings up a respective encounter with the Dark Knight. In Two-Face's story, he tied Batman on top of a giant coin. When flipped, it would either crush Batman or break all Dark Knight's bones. But Batman secretly stole his trademark coin and use the jagged edge to cut through the ropes, capturing Two-Face and his gang. When Poison Ivy asked him what happened to it, he said that "they let him keep [the coin]".
In the two-part episode "Shadow of the Bat", Two-Face manipulates Gil Mason into infiltrating Gotham's justice system as the new Deputy Police Commissioner. Mason's high level of practical abilities earned Commissioner Gordon's trust, and the two eventually arrest Thorne. Although Two-Face and Mason frame Gordon for working with Thorne, they are eventually exposed by Batman, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon. In the episode "Trial", Two-Face acts as the 'prosecutor' when Batman's rogues gallery hold the Dark Knight prisoner at Arkham Asylum in a kangaroo court.
In the episode "Second Chance", Dent undergoes cosmetic surgery to destroy Two-Face's personality permanently. But before he can go through with the operation, he is kidnapped by thugs under Two-Face's orders in an attempt to remain in control of Dent's psyche. Eventually, Batman and Robin recapture Two-Face, and is later grateful to Bruce as he's returned to Arkham.
The New Batman Adventures[]
Two-Face returns in The New Batman Adventures. In the episode "Sins of the Father", Two-Face is indirectly responsible for Tim Drake's transformation into Robin. He had Shifty Drake on the run and led to his ex-henchman's death, motivating Robin to join forces with Batman and Batgirl in order to bring Two-Face to justice. The episode "Judgement Day" reveals that Harvey Dent's psyche fragments again in the form of The Judge (voiced by Malachi Throne), a court-themed vigilante who apprehends criminals by using extreme measures. Neither Two-Face nor Dent are aware of The Judge's existence within their shared mind, and the Judge is unaware that he is Two-Face, and attempts to murder Two-Face several times. Two-Face also tries to hunt down the Judge, deciding to kill a corrupt city councilman who supported the Judge to send a message. The Judge is defeated by Batman, and the final scene of the episode shows The Judge putting the Two-Face personality on trial.
Batman Beyond[]
Although Two-Face doesn't appear in Batman Beyond, an android replica is seen in the episode "Terry's Friend Dates a Robot" and is also mentioned in the episode "Betrayal". When asked about his fate, show creator Paul Dini stated that his character was cured and returned to his career in politics, moving to Los Angeles and working as a lawyer for a major motion picture studio, doing very well at that job.
Justice League[]
Two-Face is seen in the Justice League animated series. In the episode "A Better World", an alternate reality version makes a cameo appearance as a lobotomized janitor in the Justice Lords' dimension. In the series finale "Starcrossed", Two-Face's coin is seen on display in the Batcave to which the Flash (Wally West) uses to flip on top several Thanagarian soldiers.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold[]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by James Remar (in "The Fate of Equinox!" and in "The Mask of Matches Malone!") and by Richard Moll (in "Chill of the Night!"). He first appears in "Legends of the Dark Mite!" as part of Bat-Mite's fantasy. In the teaser of "The Fate of Equinox", Two-Face is taken down by Batman. He makes a cameo in "Mayhem of the Music Meister!" singing with the other villains at Arkham Asylum. In "Sidekicks Assemble!", he is one of the villains Robin, Speedy and Aqualad face off against during a simulation in the Batcave. In "Chill of the Night!", Two-Face is one of the villains bidding for a supersonic weapon held by arms dealer Joe Chill. He joins the villains in attacking Chill when they learn that he was indirectly responsible for Batman's creation, before escaping the scene. He also appears in "The Mask of Matches Malone!", where Two-Face is pursued by Huntress, Black Canary and Catwoman.
Young Justice[]
Paul Sloane appears in the Young Justice cartoon series, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. He appears in the episode "Image", as one of the actors on the fictional sitcom Hello Megan, of which Miss Martian is a fan of. In the episode "Nightmare Monkeys," Paul Sloane once worked with Garfield Logan on Space Trek 3016 as Gretchen Goode praised their performance.
Beware the Batman[]
Harvey Dent appears in Beware the Batman, voiced by Christopher McDonald. He serves as Gotham's District Attorney, and takes a stand against vigilantes like Batman and Katana to help his campaign as Mayor. Desperate, he secretly begins working with the supervillain Anarky to bring Batman down, and they later hire the mercenary Deathstroke to kill the Dark Knight. Deathstroke uses Dent as bait to lure Batman, but his attempt on the Caped Crusader's life is unsuccessful. Later, Dent intervenes another battle between Batman and Deathstroke (dressed as Batman) in the Gotham Armory. The altercation causes a massive explosion, in which Dent's face is scarred. Now wrapped in bandages, Dent attacks Batman and even Anarky, who mockingly dubs him "Two-Face". His sanity unraveled and his career ruined, Dent declares that he has "plans" for Gotham as he unwraps his bandages denying the viewers the chance to see what the scarred side looks like as he walks off into the night.
Teen Titans Go![]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face makes a cameo appearance in the Teen Titans Go! animated series.
Justice League Action[]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face appears in Justice League Action, voiced by Robert Picardo. In the episode "Double Cross", the Penguin had hired Deadshot to take out Two-Face. As part of Batman and Firestorm's plan to apprehend Deadshot, Batman has Plastic Man pose as Two-Face after apprehending him. During this plot, the real Two-Face escapes from Firestorm's custody. Both Two-Face and Deadshot are defeated by Batman, Firestorm and Plastic Man. This incarnation has developed a second personality, which causes Two-Face to have a argument with himself.
Films[]
DC animated universe[]
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker[]
A model of Two-Face is seen in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
Justice League vs. the Fatal Five[]
Two-Face appears in Justice League vs. the Fatal Five, voiced by Bruce Timm. He serves as a guide for Star Boy, who is imprisoned in Arkham due to the present day not having the correct medicine to balance out his mental instability.
DC Universe Animated Original Movies/Animated Movie Universe[]
Batman: Year One[]
Harvey Dent appears in Batman: Year One, voiced by Robin Atkin Downes.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns[]
Harvey Dent appears in the two-part animated adaptation of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, voiced by Wade Williams. His face is repaired, seemingly curing him of his split personality. However, its later revealed that Harvey had perceived his scarring on the other side of his face; as a result, he suffers from the delusion that his entire face is now scarred. As a result, he loses all former trace of his sanity and simply calls himself Face, planning to attack Gotham.
Son of Batman[]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face makes a cameo appearance in Son of Batman, flipping his coin in his Arkham Asylum cell.
Batman: Assault on Arkham[]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face makes a non-voiced cameo appearance in Batman: Assault on Arkham. He appears as one of the Arkham inmates who are broken free from prison by the Joker, and takes part in the chaotic battle against the police. He later tries to escape in a police car after a short shootout, but Killer Frost freezes his head and pushes him aside to steal the car for herself.
Batman: The Killing Joke[]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face makes a cameo appearance in Batman: The Killing Joke. He has inadvertently dropped his coin outside his cell and is seen futilely scratching the door of his cell in Arkham Asylum.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight[]
Harvey Dent appears in Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. Instead of being a supervillian this time, Harvey is simply a "two-faced" womanizer, despite his marriage. While a friend to Bruce Wayne, Harvey becomes jealous the actress Selina Kyle chooses Bruce as her lover; in bitterness, he tricks the GCPD into thinking Bruce is Jack the Ripper until the end of the film, where Gordon is exposed as Jack.
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay[]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face appears in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, voiced by Dave Boat. He is shown in the film's beginning having been captured by Professor Pyg on which Two-Face's evil side demanded Pyg to start the surgeon operation to make him scarred on both sides, purging Harvey's persona completely. The operation, however, was interrupted by Scandal Savage and Knockout capturing Pyg. As Harvey's personality voices his gratitude, he is knocked unconscious by Knockout with a punch.
Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants[]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face appears in Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants, voiced again by Troy Baker. Two-Face is seen in his cell in Arkham Asylum when the Penguin and Mr. Freeze break into it. Two-Face's coin lands on its moral side when they offer to free him, causing him to decline.
Lego films[]
The Lego Batman Movie[]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face appears in The Lego Batman Movie, with Billy Dee Williams reprising his role. This version of Two-Face is modeled after Billy Dee Williams' rendition of the character from the Batman film where his scarred side has purple hair, a scarred eye, near-exposed skull, and dripping skin.
Lego DC Batman: Family Matters[]
Two-Face appears as the main antagonist in Lego DC Batman: Family Matters voiced by Christian Lanz.
Batman vs. Two-Face[]
The Harvey Dent iteration of Two-Face appears in Batman vs. Two-Face, voiced by William Shatner. This version is set in the continuity of Adam West's Batman television series. In the film, Harvey became Two-Face after Hugo Strange's experiment to extract the evil out of Gotham's criminals goes haywire and half of Harvey's face is exposed to their extracted evil essence. After being stopped by Batman and Robin for his crime spree, Harvey is supposedly cured from Two-Face after a surgery, but it's revealed that Two-Face hid himself beneath Harvey's skin and uses the former district attorney's desire to re obtain his old job to set up Batman and Robin. He captures them and deduces their secret identities (as Bruce was a close friend of Harvey's) and leaves them to the other villains before flying in the sky with the evil extraction to turn the whole town into Two-Faces. Batman and Robin eventually stop him and Harvey manages to fight off the evil inside of him to become himself again. Due to repressing Two-Face, Harvey doesn't remember Batman's secret identity months later.
Batman Ninja[]
A Feudal Japan version of Two-Face appears in the anime film Batman Ninja, voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa and Eric Bauza in Japanese and English respectively. Two-Face was one of Gotham's villains to be pulled into the past. After two years, he gained control of a daimyo's territory and became allied with Gorilla Grodd; he pretended to side with Joker and Harley to gain access to the Quake Machine (which is what sent them to the past.) He replaces his American coin with a contemporary Feudal era coin.
Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[]
Two-Face appears in Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles voiced by Keith Ferguson. Unlike the comics where he is mutated into a humanoid mandrill, he instead becomes a literally two-faced cat mutant with two tails and three eyes. He was defeated by a mutated Batman when he threw him out the window.
Printed Media[]
Comic books[]
Video games[]
Merchandise[]
In Popular Culture[]
Relationships[]
This section details various members of Harvey Dent's family across various interpretations of the Batman mythos.
Family[]
Gilda Dent[]
Gilda is Harvey's wife in most comic-book incarnations. Gilda wanted to have children with Harvey but his busy schedule precluded this. This led Gilda to become the serial killer known as Holiday, who killed several key members of Carmine Falcone's criminal empire. Gilda fled after Two-Face's first arrest and disappeared. Two-Face constantly denies the chance for plastic surgery and a life with Gilda again but has stated that Harvey Dent is a married man. In the New 52 reboot, Gilda is a socialite whom Bruce Wayne introduces to Harvey at a graduation party. She is killed in front of Harvey by Erin McKillen.
Christopher Dent[]
In Batman: Two-Face - Crime and Punishment, Harvey Dent's father is renamed Christopher Dent, although he is once again characterized as a mentally ill alcoholic who frequently abused his son. Harvey represses this trauma for years, fueling the inner torment that eventually turns him into Two-Face.
Murray Dent[]
Batman: Jekyll & Hyde reveals that, when he was a child, Harvey Dent had an older brother, Murray Dent, who died in a fire because his brother was too scared to save him. The comics explain that Murray is Harvey's second personality, and that Harvey's father abused him because he blamed him for Murray's death.
Quotes[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
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