We’ve come to know district attorney Harvey Dent (Richard Moll), but in this two-parter we meet his repressed dark side, which threatens his campaign against crime boss Rupert Thorne (John Vernon, playing a kind of Dean Wormer by way of Scarface). Indeed, Batman is less than present in these episodes, as it’s very much a conflict between the noble DA, the crooked mobster who tries to bring him down, and the internal demons that might do the work for him – demons that manifest themselves on the literal face of Harvey Dent, who finally becomes Two-Face.
Batman: The Animated Series has played the long game with Harvey Dent, introducing him as a crusader for good, and that setup pays off in this episode. Having seen him as a force for good, a close friend of Bruce Wayne, and a figure of some popular acclaim, “Two-Face” doesn’t need to do any preliminary set-up of the character; instead, it launches into – and revels in – a mode of high tragedy. Like every tragic hero, Harvey Dent labors under hamartia, a fatal flaw that will prove to be his undoing: for Hamlet, it was indecision; Oedipus had hubris; and Harvey Dent has a repressed violent personality, which causes him to lash out when sufficiently provoked.
This psychological depth is something we haven’t quite seen on Batman: The Animated Series just yet; we’ve had very engaging villains in The Joker, Poison Ivy, and Scarecrow, but I wouldn’t say they have a fully fleshed-out psychological profile like Two-Face does. We know him intimately by the time this two-parter concludes, and we mourn for him just as we revile the villain he has become. Richard Moll deserves some kudos for the doubling act he plays in voicing Dent, wavering between smooth polish and sharp snarl, and “Big Bad Harv,” but it’s the writing that shines on this episode.
Or should I say, episodes, for how perfect it is that Two-Face gets two episodes to develop! Better still, the two episodes feel somewhat bifurcated, two distinct halves rather than a seamless whole; the first is a noir-ish gangster tragedy, while the second delves into the tropes of the supervillain, with Two-Face embracing his new identity and indulging in henchmen, a secret hideout, a new costume, and a criminal scheme that heartbreakingly still seeks to do some of the good Harvey Dent was unable to accomplish.
It’s been said that “Two-Face” is the episode when BtAS grew up, and I’d have to agree; after ten episodes, this one feels the most mature, the most thorough, and the most compelling. It’s likely due to the time given to flesh out the story and its characters – it’s no coincidence that most of the show’s two-part episodes are among its best – but I think it’s also due to the script’s willingness to take the concept seriously, to confront the tragedy at the core of Harvey Dent rather than simply run with the gimmick of twos. We have plenty more Two-Face episodes down the pike, and they’ll all pack a punch now that we know who he is and how he came to be. And “Two-Face” sets a high bar for the villains BtAS has yet to introduce. And the good news is that many of them live up to – and, in the case of at least one, exceed – the reputation of this two-part episode.
Writer: Randy Rogel & Alan Burnett
Director: Kevin Altieri
Villain: Two-Face (Richard Moll) and Rupert Thorne (John Vernon)
Next episode: “It’s Never Too Late,” in which ... I gotta be honest, I don’t remember this one at all.
🦇For the full list of Batman: The Animated Series reviews, click here.🦇
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