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This page is about the character from the Joel Schumacher film. For the character from the Tim Burton film and Batman '89 comic book series, see Two-Face (Burtonverse). For other uses, see Two-Face (Disambiguation).

Main Article

"One man is born a hero, his brother a coward. Babies starve, politicians grow fat. Holy men are martyred, and junkies grow legion. Why? Why, why, why, why, why? Luck! Blind, stupid, simple, doo-dah, clueless LUCK! "
―Two-Face[src]

Half man and half madman, Two-Face was the alias of former Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent. After he received disfigurement and brain damage by a mobster's acid on the left side of his face, Dent became a bloodthirsty, eccentric, and homicidal maniac with a penchant for using a coin that determined all of his actions. Two-Face targeted Batman for his apparent responsibility in the event and for capturing him. He was also responsible for the origin of Batman's crimefighting partner Robin.

Biography[]

Becoming Two-Face[]

DentJones

Dent at the trial where he would get scarred.

"For your dying pleasure, we are serving the very same acid that made us the men we are today!"
―Two-Face to Batman and the security guard.[src]

Once Gotham's District Attorney, Harvey Dent worked to arrest and convict Sal Moroni, a prominent mobster in the city. During a trial, he questioned mob boss Sal Moroni in court. Unknown to anyone, Moroni managed to smuggle a hidden flask of acid into the court and threw it on Dent. Though able to protect the right side of his face in time, the acid splashed against the left side of Dent's face and horribly disfigured it. Batman had learned about the plot, but arrived too late to save him.

According to news reports, the acid burned far enough through Dent's head that part of his brain was damaged. This damage made him develop a second personality that was psychotic and homicidal, who was dubbed "Two-Face". Embracing his dual personality, he often referred to himself in the plural. Using a double headed coin, one side scarred, to make decisions, he went on a crime spree. Dent was eventually arrested by Batman and committed to Arkham Asylum.

Batman Forever[]

Escape from 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 Lady Gotham statue over Gotham Harbor.

At his new hideout, which had decor split in half like his personality, Two-Face had two molls, Sugar and Spice, who worked for him. Spice favored his 'dark', scarred side, while Sugar favored his 'good' side.

Murdering the Flying Graysons[]

Two-Face circus BF

The coin tells Two-Face to murder the Graysons

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 with an orb containing two hundred sticks of dynamite inside an orb unless his enemy turned himself over (although the subsequent riot in the circus prevented Bruce Wayne from obeying his order). Two-Face then murdered a family of acrobats known as the Flying Graysons when they tried to stop him, three of them were killed by him after deciding with the coin, that landed on the scarred side. Dick, the youngest Grayson, who had disposed of the orb during the killing was the only one left. With this action, Two-Face had made an orphan and an enemy of Dick who was now after his blood.

Alliance with the Riddler[]

The-Riddler-and-Two-Face-batman-forever-1261838 544 304

Two-Face teaming up with the Riddler.

At his hideout, after another unsuccessful attempt to kill Batman, Two-Face met Edward Nygma, who adopted the mantle of the Riddler, the master of puzzles and quizzes. Enraged at his lair being invaded, he wanted to kill the new comer right there and then, but the Riddler stated his case, saying that he would help him solve the mother of all riddles Who is Batman? in exchange for helping him steal production capital for his company. Intrigued by Riddler's offer, Two-Face decided via coin flip whether he killed or allied with him; Heads, he accepted his offer or Tails, he would kill 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 the other hand, had his henchmen attack Bruce and Dr. Chase Meridian while he flipped his coin three times, each for the three people in the manor (Alfred, Chase and Bruce), which kept landing on the good side, and prevented him from doing any wrongdoing. As soon as the scarred side came up on Bruce's turn, 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.

Battle on Claw Island[]

TwoFacedeath

Two-Face falling to his death.

At Claw Island, where Two Face hid, Batman and Robin got separated. Robin had the opportunity to kill Two-Face, but decided that his actions would make him no better than the monster who killed his parents. 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 briefly reverted to his Harvey persona, describing Batman as a true friend, and 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 real coin then fell good side up into Two-Face's open palm before he sunk underwater, dead.

Legacy[]

B & R Criminal Property Locker

Two-Face's outfit in Arkham Asylum

One of Two-Face's costumes was seen hanging from a shelf when Bane broke into Arkham Asylum's storage room. It was unclear if it had been left over from his last escape or taken into storage after his defeat. Some also speculated that he had survived his fall and was captured, the suit being confiscated after being committed.

Behind the Scenes[]

Writing[]

Two-Face's responsibility in Robin's origin is loosely based on Tony Zucco's actions, the murderer of the Flying Graysons in the comics. Two-Face had involvement in Jason Todd's origin in Post-Crisis continuities.

Casting[]

Jones' Two-Face was originally intended to be the same character as the version of Dent seen in Tim Burton's Batman film at the start of development. Tommy Lee Jones was the first actor cast by Joel Schumacher for the third movie, while Michael Keaton was still negotiating to appear. Schumacher always envisioned Jones for the role, as they had previously worked together on a courtroom drama, The Client. Jones had worked with Peter MacGregor-Scott on Under Siege and The Fugitive. Jones' villainous role in Under Siege had given him a reputation for playing an intense villain and Schumacher initially wanted to take the Batman franchise into the direction of a more grounded thriller in the vein of Under Siege and The Fugitive which is why Schumacher put Peter MacGregor-Scott in place as producer with Tommy Lee Jones as the main villain. According to Jones, he was reluctant to accept the role and was eventually convinced by his son Austin, who was a fan of Two-Face from the cartoon series.[1] By the time the time of prepping and filming the movie, Schumacher and studio decided to go for more wild, psychedelic visual style with a more lighthearted family friendly tone. The Riddler also seemed to take center stage as the main villain though Jones remained the the actor with top-billing on the credits.

Makeup design[]

Red TwoFace

Baker's original red paint test

Two-Face's design was originally going to be more graphic, with a bulging eyeball and exposed teeth on the left side. Rick Baker wanted to portray these iconic qualities early in the design process. However, these were quickly vetoed to make the film more family friendly.

Filming[]

By all accounts, Jones did not get on well with Riddler actor Jim Carrey. While Jones was dining with his wife and son, Carrey rudely approached their table to greet/confront his disgruntled castmate at a dining hall after filming wrapped. Tommy Lee Jones responded by confessing "I hate you. I really don't like you... I cannot sanction your buffoonery".[2]

Deleted Scenes[]

In the deleted opening of the film, Two-Face captured a guard whilst escaping Arkham and strung him to a ceiling fan, leaving a message written in red graffiti "the Bat must Die." . The scene in question follows Dr. Burton as he discovered this. The opening was cut from the final film, due to concerns about how grim it might seem to children and families about the implied violence. The scene was kept in the novelization and comic adaptation of the film. In its place, the sequence of events were reshuffled to open the movie with Batman suiting up in the Batcave as the slow build up to Batman's appearance did not go over well during test screenings. Jones also appeared in a straightjacket for a interview tape from his days being treated at the asylum.

Reception[]

Two-Face's portrayal in Batman Forever has faced large amounts of criticism over the years, particularly for the manic style and more jovial personality compared to the traditional depiction. This interpretation was also not as dependent on the coin, in one scene placing a hostage in peril despite it landing on the good side, whilst another shows him flipping it three times moaning until he got the desired outcome, rather than trusting the coin. Jones also showed delight depending on the outcome, rather than blindly following the toss. He also rarely displays the Dent personality. Some have accused Jones of either trying to outdo Jim Carrey's Riddler or emulate Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker in Batman. The recasting from Billy Dee Williams to Jones also received backlash, due to nonsensically changing from a "black" to a "white" actor. Debi Mazar admitted she was disappointed when she found out she would not be working with Billy Dee Williams. Joel Schumacher always disliked the idea of using Billy Dee Williams, mainly because he couldn't see Williams portraying such an evil and insane villain, as Williams had always been typecast as a smooth, charismatic ladies's man. Tommy Lee Jones was actually the first actor cast for the movie, long before any other stars like Rene Russo signed on. Once Michael Keaton exited the project, Schumacher no longer felt pressure to be "guided by the past" and Schumacher's take on Gotham was allowed to more original. Schumacher then decided to "go younger" for the entire cast, going so far as to fire Rene Russo but for reasons unknown Jones was never never replaced with an appropriately younger actor once Keaton left the project. The change in actors is often cited as turning point in continuity, with Schumacher creating a new vision for an entirely separate incarnation of Batman. This is further evidenced from modern creators with the license to generate more content on projects like Batman '89: Shadows and the Flashpoint movie wanting to distance their work from any Schumacher imagery. Schumacher himself also cut the Kenneth Frequency character out of the movie, the only character that made direct references to the two previous movies. All other references are vague and opened ended enough for this to be considered a separate reality entirely.

Trivia[]

  • "Harvey Two-Face" played up the "two" gimmick to the point where Two-Face even referred to himself in the plural, except for two instances when he said: "I'll call you dead, is more like it!" in response to the Riddler's introduction when he broke into his hideout, and in the film's climatic showdown, when he told Robin: "I'll see you in Hell." while he hung on the edge of a cliff. The other "two" themes of half white and half black were: his hideout; his guns (one automatic and one revolver); his suit, and his two molls Sugar and Spice. His henchmen’s guns have a Yin-yang symbol.
  • Unlike with the Joker and Penguin deaths previously, Two-Face was intentionally killed by Batman's direct agency and he watches Two-Face fall to his death, making no effort to save Dent as he had just done for his friends. Although he attempted to kill Joker by punching him off the building, the resulting death is accidental after Batman tethered Joker's leg to the building and happens because of Joker's refusal to let go the ladder, causing the gargoyle to break loose. Penguin also died by chance, stepping backwards into his own toxic waste while swatting at a swarm of bats.
  • Two-Face's trademark costume was seen in storage at Arkham Asylum in Batman & Robin.
  • The scene where Batman threw multiple coins in the air was similar to one from the episode "Two-Face: Part II" from Batman: The Animated Series.
  • The first animated version of Tim Drake, whose father also worked for Two-Face and was later implied to have been murdered by Dent.
  • In Mark Protosevich's script Batman Unchained, Two-Face reappeared as a hallucination of Scarecrow's Fear Gas. Dent would've appeared in court with the other supervillians testifying against Batman.

References[]

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