Summary
Audiences still have two years to wait before the sequel to Matt Reeves' critically acclaimedThe Batmanhits theaters worldwide. The rumor mill is in full swing withThe Batman Part 2’sstory, going as far as to claim which actor is playing which character, only for James Gunn to pop-up on Meta’s Threads to debunk the claims. One of the most recent theories involved actorBoyd Holbrooklanding the part asTwo-FaceinThe Batman’ssequel. Gunn was definitive in his response, confirming that the announcement was fake.
If Harvey Dent/Two-Face were to appear inThe Batman Part 2,or even the eventualBrave and the Bold, how should the character be handled? It’s not hyperbolic to say that Batman’s rogues gallery is filled with nuanced characters who should receive adequate time in the spotlight. However, Harvey Dent is one character who needs two movies to tell his story because. His background isn’t as cut and dry as “he used to be a normal person, and now he’s bad.” Rather, Dent is a tragic character who audiences should feel sympathy for. Ignoring this aspect of his story would be like glossing over everything Commissioner Gordon has done forGotham City if he ever became a villain.
Harvey Dent Was One of the Good Guys
Harvey Dent debuted in 1942 inDetective Comics#66. His creation was intended to show the duality of human nature, which was inspired byThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.The only way that story works is if the good half is actually good. Dent’s backstory has been fleshed out and changed throughout the years, but one of the most popular stories,The Long Halloween, shows him working alongside Batman and Gordon to clean up Gotham City as its district attorney.
Dent makes a lot of enemies as the district attorney. It’s what led to his disfigurement originally, with the mobster Sal Maroni throwing acid on his face in the middle of his prosecution. It’s not possible to make an enemy out of somebody like Maroni for someone who’s even a little crooked. No, Dent was a good guy who couldn’t be bought —unlikeThe Batman’sDA Gil Colson (Peter Sarsgaard) who was more crooked than a dog’s hind leg. A single movie that has both Harvey Dent and Two-Face wouldn’t be good enough to drive this point home. And if a film only features Two-Face, it’s a major discredit to the character and what he represents.
Nolan Tried With The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan created the definitive on-screenBatmantrilogy with a grounded, gritty settingand relative loyalty to the source material. Of course, there were differences here and there where he took some liberties to keep everything grounded, but it was all a vast improvement compared to the Joel Schumacher films. Nolan’sThe Dark Knightin particular garnered praise from general audiences and comic book fans alike. That was in large part due to Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker, who stole the show, but Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent/Two-Face shouldn’t be overlooked.
Unlike Tommy Lee Jones’s depiction of the same character, Eckhart showed audiencesthe best that Gotham could producebefore he took a dark turn. Viewers even got to see the district attorney work side-by-side with Gordon and Batman, which is vital to his background in the comics, in an attempt to take down the corruption thatplagues Gotham City.
Nolan should have taken it a step further, though. InThe Dark Knight,Bruce’s relationship with Dent was too focused on their rivalry because of Bruce’s jealousy. Not to mention, Two-Face didn’t play that large of a role in the film. This villainous alter-ego showed up in the third act and didn’t do much to add to the overall story. Nolan also dropped the ball when it came to Dent’s duality. He got a little darker when he was looking for Rachel, pulling guns on Joker’s lackies and flipping coins to give the illusion that he would actually pull the trigger. However, build-up to his darker half simply didn’t hit the mark, and felt rushed.
Why Two Movies Would Improve Harvey Dent’s Character
A two-movie character arc for Harvey Dent would be more beneficial because it could raise the stakes. The film should the audience how good of a guy he is. Batman and Harvey Dent should work together throughout the entire film, only for Bats to have one of his closest allies turn against him.The Batmanisn’t in any position toshowcase a Jason Todd or Red Hoodstoryline, but if a movie could orchestrate that story to sort of mirror Dent’s turn to villainy, it would play well emotionally for Batman.Batman: The TellTale Seriespositioned Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent as longtime friends, making it more heartbreaking when he inevitably became Two-Face.
Giving Dent’s character two movies would let Matt Reeves (orwhichever director uses Two-Face next) to properly build up the character’s eventual turn to a life of crime. He would be as bright of a light as Commissioner Gordon, somebody who can be trusted, only to be stripped of all that trust after an attack. Audiences could follow Dent along with his bright and shining career as somebody who has total faith in the justice system, only for that faith to slowly deteriorate as criminals are let out on bail, receiving zero rehabilitation. That story could let audiences see how tragic and nuanced many comic book characters are.
