Script: Mariko Tamaki
Art: Javier Fernandez
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Cover: Javier Fernandez & Jordie Bellaire
Variant Covers: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, & Alex Sinclair; Stanley “Artgerm” Lau; Christian Ward; Brian Bolland; Giuseppe Camuncoli & Arif Prianto
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: 7.99
Release Date: September 20th, 2022
Good, Evil, or Both?
Exploring the duality of good and evil that exists within a person by personifying the two aspects is a very old storytelling technique. There are a number of ways authors achieve this. A character might transform from one to the other as in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Or perhaps they could be split in two such as in an early episode of Star Trek where William Shatner hammed it up as evil Jim Kirk. But Two-Face’s presentation of this idea as a visual that constantly shows both halves might be the best form of this idea, and Batman One Bad Day: Two-Face #1 is a perfect example why.
Batman One Bad Day: Two-Face #1 opens on Two-Face ruminating about his father’s black-and-white worldview, follows with a flashback scene of Batman confronting Two-Face in order to save the life of a young man, and finally arrives in the present with a scene of the mayor of Gotham asking Two-Face–asking Harvey Dent–to be his D.A., offering him exactly one chance to do right lest he be tossed back in prison. Batman One Bad Day: Two-Face follows Batman as he attempts to help this rehabilitating Harvey Dent.
Anonymous threats have been made against Harvey’s father who is throwing an extravagant 88th birthday party. Worried that it is one of his enemies threatening his father and not knowing who to trust, Harvey turns to Batman for help finding the perpetrator. Much of what we see of Batman’s investigation is him pondering his friend Harvey Dent and the past actions of his enemy Two-Face. Batman believes in Harvey, and it’s for Harvey that he’s doing this favor (though he later claims it’s a case like any other).
The investigation leads to a standout scene about halfway through the issue where Batman and Stephanie discuss the case. Batman and Stephanie see the situation completely differently: Batman sees Harvey and Stephanie sees Two-Face. Neither see the other side of the man. This is the special quality Two-Face has as a character exploring the good and evil duality of human nature, and Tamaki’s script takes full advantage. Unlike Jekyll and Hyde or the two Kirks, it’s not possible to single out a good or bad person to interact with. Stephanie and Batman look at the same man but see different people. They also, somewhat counterintuitively, refuse to see the person they don’t want to. Stephanie can’t see Harvey. And Batman either can’t or won’t see Two-Face.
Most of the stories that split characters in such a way come around to the idea that this duality is not only inherent but necessary. But often those stories settle on an expression, both physically and emotionally, closer to the good side than the evil. It’s easier to accept that everyone has an evil side when it’s unseen. Two-Face’s appearance prevents that, and as such Batman and Stephanie are able to see distinct people. But if the classic idea holds true–that a complete person requires both halves–that begs the question of whether there really is a separate Harvey Dent and a separate Two-Face.
The Scarred Face
The rich exploration of identity and duality in Tamaki’s narrative is further enhanced by Fernandez and Bellaire. The two collaborate to create a visual style for the issue that is most easily described as “moody”. The comic is dark and brooding.
Fernandez showcases the scarred side of Two-Face throughout the issue, and it is seen exclusively many more times than the unscarred side. This offers a strange dual effect in its own right by reinforcing Stephanie’s insistence that they are dealing with Two-Face and not Harvey Dent while at the same time making Two-Face’s scenes with Batman and his father strangely hopeful.
Bellaire’s choice of an almost uniformly dark color palette lets up only in the final pages during Harvey’s father’s party. This is a nice bit of visual misdirection given how the issue’s final confrontation unfolds.
Final Thoughts
The story in Batman One Bad Day: Two-Face #1 is in some ways immaterial. Indeed, attentive readers will likely clue in on the perpetrator long before they are revealed. But what truly matters is the examination of Two-Face’s duality and how it might reflect the duality that is inherent in us all. It is a distinctly Two-Face comic and an exceptional one at that.
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