Harvey Dent (New Earth)

Harvey Dent was the District Attorney of Gotham City, and a close personal ally of Batman. Unfortunately, the notorious gangster, "Boss" Moroni, threw acid in Dent's face, severely disfiguring it on the left side, leaving the right side unharmed. Because of his new appearance, Dent underwent a mental breakdown and became the insane crime boss Two-Face.

Earth-One

Origin

Harvey Dent's origin and transformation of Two-Face on the Earth-One universe, mirrors that of his Earth-Two counterpart. After his disfigurement, he started a crime spree as Two-Face until he was eventually stopped by Batman, who talked reason into him and convinced Dent to have his face restored with plastic surgery. After the succesful procedure, Dent became a law abiding citizen once more, but unfortunately his face was permanently scarred after he tried to stop some thieves and came withing range of a massive explosion. With his face scarred and his mind twisted once again, Two-Face returned and he started a second crime spree in which he almost succeeded on eliminating Batman and Robin, but he was eventually captured.^[1]

Dent somehow managed to escape and started a scheme to murder several shareholders of a company to seize their assets and get himself a reconstructive surgery with their money. He was stopped by Batman and Green Arrow, but they failed to capture him.^[2]

Criminal Activities

A few years later, Two-Face escaped prison and resumed his criminal activities. Two-Face gathered a small gang and started a series of robberies, with subtle relation to binary numbers. His ultimate goal was to steal a cache of gold doubloons lost in an ancient ship, and although he almost succeeded, his compulsion to obey his two-faced coin allowed Batman to stop him.^[3]

New Earth

Origins

Harvey Dent was born into a life of hardship. Growing up in a lower-class family, Dent was raised with an instinctive dislike and mistrust for the upper-class. His violent, cruel and mentally ill father frequently bullied and abused him as a child, with his favorite game being flipping his double-headed coin promising to spare the child a beating if the coin landed tails. These harsh surroundings resulted in Dent developing repressed mental illnesses of his own, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. His hard work ethic, however, allowed him to rise to become a lawyer and, eventually, the District Attorney.

He was nicknamed "Apollo" by the media, because he was charming, good-looking and seemingly untouchable. He was dedicated to his job of upholding law and order, and became one of the first supporters, allies and even friends of the Batman. At the time of his job as D.A., the worst criminal threat in Gotham was the nigh omnipotent mafia boss Carmine Falcone, "The Roman." After Dent struck several blows to the Roman's Empire, Falcone hired Mickey "The Mink" Sullivan to eliminate the D.A. However, the attempt by Mickey's gang to take out Dent failed. He forged a triumvirate with Batman and Commissioner James Gordon to bring the man down within the law, no matter what the cost. His slightly angrier temperament led Batman and Gordon to distrust him slightly, believing there was a possibility he might be the mysterious "Holiday" killer who was gunning down mob members at the time (including Mickey and his gang). The alliance ended tragically when Sal Maroni, believing Dent to be responsible for the death of his father, threw acid in his face during a trial. Dent was horribly scarred on the left side of his face.^[4]

Two-Face 0012 — Harvey Dent is no more, only Two-Face

Dent escaped from the hospital and descended into madness. He became obsessed with duality and opposites, and developed a second persona, the villainous Two-Face, to compliment the law & order obsessed Harvey Dent. As Two-Face, his trademark was crimes involving the number two. His obsession even shows in his clothes, which are usually composed of two halves made out of very different materials. He carries a double-sided coin with one side scratched at all times.

His first crime as Two-Face was the killing of his corrupt Assistant District Attorney Vernon Wells and Carmine Falcone.^[5] (Two-Face failed to kill Maroni, as he had already been assassinated at this point by Falcone's son Alberto.) Two-Face was eventually incarcerated in Arkham Asylum.

Two-Face next escaped from Arkham Asylum on the following Halloween (possibly aided by Maroni's twin sons Pino and Umberto), stole his old case files, and began the dismantling of the Falcone crime family. A new killer began following The Holiday's pattern, only this time not killing mobsters but cops. Dent saved Jim Gordon from the Hangman, as the new murderer was dubbed, and told Gordon he was not the Hangman. He continued using his alliance to the rest of Batman's Rogues Gallery to dismantle the mob. It was during this time he was having an affair with his successor as District Attorney, Janice Porter, a person he used to meet back at Gotham University when he was a professor. Porter was soon killed by Two-Face when she said she loved him.^[6] Over the the course of the year, he finally succeeded in eliminating Carmine Falcone's successor, his daughter Sofia Gigante Falcone who was revealed to be the Hangman the entire time, and even though he was taken in, Two-Face had permanently shifted the balance of power in Gotham's underworld from the mob to the so-called "costumed freaks."^[7]

History with "The Boy Wonder"

Two-Face was the reason Bruce Wayne fired Dick Grayson, then Robin, from being his partner. After a failed attempt to rescue the then D.A. from Two-Face, who also had The Dark Knight captive as well, Two-Face brutally beat Dick, scaring Batman into firing Dick.

Later, Two-Face killed a henchman who happened to be the father of Jason Todd, the second Robin.

A Lonely Place of Dying

Main article: Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying

After Todd's death, Two-Face resurfaced and carried out a number of obviously two-related crimes. Batman became increasingly obsessed with catching him, as Two-Face became fixed on taking down Batman. Meanwhile, Tim Drake tracked down Dick Grayson (who by then was operating as Nightwing and taking a break from his position as leader of the Teen Titans) and attempted to convince him to return to his position as Robin for Batman's safety. Nightwing refused and followed various clues left by Batman, meeting up with him for the attack on Two-Face's base. Two-Face collapses the building, trapping them. In the Batcave, Tim steals a Robin costume goes to the rescue. His intervention saves Batman and Nightwing and helps them apprehend Two-Face, leading Batman to accept him as the third Robin.

Knightfall

Main article: Batman: Knightfall

When Arkham Asylum was partially destroyed by Bane, Dent was among the various inmates that managed to escape the place in the ensuing chaos. Two-Face went to the old Gotham City Courthouse, which was about to be demolished and he planned to eliminate Batman. For this purpose, he tracked down and killed a crime boss in order to get his people work for him. Leaving the corpse of the gangster as a clue for Batman, Two-Face lured the hero into a trap.^[8] Two-Face then staged a trial for Batman at the old Couthouse, where he acted as judge, jury and prosecutor. Two-Face blamed Batman of betraying his trust before the accident with Sal Maroni that scarred his face and therefore, he blamed Batman for him turning into Two-Face. Batman managed to free himself during the trial and after a long chase and a battle in a nearby construction site, Batman defeated Two-Face thanks to Robin's timely arrival. Afterwards, Two-Face was arrested by the GCPD and taken to prison.^[9]

No Man's Land

Main article: Batman: No Man's Land

In the aftermath of the earthquake that left Gotham City in shambles and declared a "no man's land," Two-Face kidnapped Commissioner Gordon and put him on trial for his actions, with Two-Face as both judge and prosecutor. Gordon played upon Two-Face's split psyche to demand Harvey Dent as his defense attorney. Dent cross-examined Two-Face and won an acquittal of Gordon.

It was also during this time that Two-Face met GCPD detective Renee Montoya. Montoya was able to reach the Harvey persona in Two-Face, and was kind to him. He fell in love with her, though the romance was one-sided. After the earthquake that ravaged Gotham, Two-Face outed her as a lesbian and framed her for murder, hoping that if he took everything from her she would be left with no choice but to be with him. Montoya was furious, and the two fought for control of his gun until Batman intervened, putting Two-Face back in Arkham Asylum.

Hush

Harvey Dent 0001 — Dent's face is restored

Main article: Batman: Hush

A short time later, Two-Face met the brilliant surgeon, Dr. Thomas Elliot. Although Elliot specialized in neurosurgery, he was competent enough to repair Dent's face via plastic surgery.^[10] Dent's sanity was restored, and the menacing "Two-Face" persona seemed to be gone forever. Thomas Elliot was also the villain known as Hush, and he had hoped to manipulate Harvey into acting as one of his many pawns in a campaign against Batman. With renewed sanity, the former D.A. stood by the side of law and order and betrayed Hush, catching him in enough time to save Batman's life, and shooting him into the Gotham river.^[11]

One Year Later/The Return of Two-Face

Two-Face 0034 — Two heads are better than one.

Having regained his trust, Dent was trained and conditioned by Batman to act as Gotham's primary vigilante protector when he, Robin and Nightwing all took a one-year hiatus to train during the Lost Year.^[12] When Batman returned, a series of murders occurred implicating Harvey and involving Two-Face's M.O.. When confronted on the issues by Batman, in his anger at being distrusted, the Two-Face persona resurfaced, and talked Dent into scarring his face and returning to his life of crime.

The Great Leap

Main article: Nightwing: The Great Leap

Shortly after this, Dent went to New York City and summoned Nightwing to ask him for help keeping a former colleague and love interest, Carol Bermingham, safe from harm.^[13] Two-Face kept track of Nightwing and his past love by calling to her phone, and a few moments later, he discovered Nightwing's safe place and broke inside.^[14] Two-Face forced Nightwing to fight several henchmen while under the influence of Scarecrow's Fear Toxin. As Nightwing discovered Two-Face's scheme, Carol tried to talk to Dent, but he shot her and left him to be saved by Nightwing. However, hours later when he met the people who hired him to eliminate Carol, he learned of Carol's death and in a burst of anger he killed the criminal, blaming Nightwing for the situation.^[15] Two-Face's revenge materialized when he planned a massive attack that would've destroyed half of Manhattan, but he failed at the last minute after being stopped by Nightwing.^[16] Two-Face is taken to Arkham, where he promises Nightwing that he will get out and get his revenge.^[17]

Two-Face escaped from prison and went to Gotham, where he was allowed to stay on Gracchus's hideout. However, Gracchus betrayed Two-Face's trust when he impersonated Two-Face and scarred a famous actress and beautiful woman, Millicent Mayne. Dent decided to leave the place, sparing Gracchus's life.^[18]

Battle for the Cowl

Main article: Batman: Battle for the Cowl

After Batman's apparent death, Two-Face became one of the two major contenders for control of the Gotham underworld along with the Penguin. When Two-Face's arms shipment was attacked, he assumed that Penguin was responsible and declared war on him.^[19] Despite his loss, Two-Face still created chaos in the city until he was confronted by Catwoman, who wanted to apprehend him, but Two-Face managed to escape.^[20]

When the United States Army arrived in Gotham, Two-Face was forced to hide from the public eye, since most of the chaos created in the city was being blamed on him, despite the fact that he wasn't responsible.^[21]

Two-Face soon realized that there's another person under the Batman's cowl. He hired a teleporter and manages to infiltrate the Batcave. When the new Batman investigates the cave, he is ambushed by Two-Face with tranquilizer darts, and in a hallucination he sees Dent in a red and black Two-Face themed Batman costume. However, Alfred Pennyworth saved the hero from Two-Face's torture after he subdues his accomplice, and with his help Batman convinces Two-Face that he is the real, original Darknight Detective.

Two-Face has been at odds with Gotham's latest district attorney, Kate Spencer, also known as the vigilante Manhunter.

Since the arrest of Black Mask, Two-Face has been working at regaining his former power over Gotham. However, his plans have garnered the attention of the FBI. After he discovers a mole in his midst, he flees only to be stabbed by his own henchmen. Two-Face is left for dead, his body dumped off a bridge. Sometime later, two fishermen in the middle of a lake reel in Two-Face's water-logged body.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Toxic Immunity: Two-Face seems capable of resisting Poison Ivy's pheromones, that bends people's actions to her will.^[22]

Abilities

Law: He is also a successful attorney, and is proficient in nearly all matters pertaining to criminal law.
Firearms: However, Deathstroke the Terminator, after accepting a heavy fee has also trained him to become an excellent sharpshooter.^[15]
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Dent has also been extensively trained by Batman in Hand to Hand combat.

Weaknesses

Multiple Personalities: Two-Face does things according to chance and therefore relies heavily on his coin to make decisions, making the coin his Achilles' heel. Batman has managed to incapacitate Two-Face on his coin such as by making him lose it or stopping him from seeing the result.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Double-Headed Coin: Two-Face uses a two-headed silver dollar, one side of which is defaced, the other side clean. Flipping the coin dictates Harvey when making any significant life decisions. If the coin lands on the scarred side, Two-Face will pursue acts of evil. If the coin lands on the unmarked side, he is compelled to commit acts of good.

Weapons

Automatic Handgun: Typically Two-Face uses a variety of automatic and semi-automatic handguns to conduct his criminal affairs. He usually carries two.

Notes

Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

Trivia

Left side of the face disfigured, often seen as brownish pink. Hair is white on the disfigured side. As Two-Face, the left side of Dent's face and left hand are mutilated and discolored. Dent also suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder.
Occasionally, Two-Face will drive a "getaway" vehicle painted to reflect his personality (i.e., one side is painted green, while the other may be painted white).
Sometimes, the guns tie into his motif, such as wielding dual .22 semiautomatics or a double-barreled shotgun.
Harvey Dent is also known as Apollo, and One-Face.