Character redesign: Two-Face
Nov. 26th, 2011 11:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seriousficTwo-Face, as a character, gets an inconsistent treatment. Everyone loves the pathos of his origin, but how it translates into ongoing villainy isn't so hot. You could get away with "I was scarred, so I'm going from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil!" in the old days, but nowadays you need something more subtle. Unfortunately, it's hard to come up with something more subtle, so the best stories about Two-Face tend to deal with his scarring, which is the reason why he's been scarred, cured, and rescarred about fifty times. I think his latest "plastic surgery restoration" is going to look like Mickey Rourke circa The Wrestler.
Now, don't get me wrong, the "commits crimes based around the number two" is a fun gimmick, but it works best as a throwback. It's just too odd to go from "I lost my wife! My career! My face!" to "A museum exhibit on two dollar bills? Yes! That is how I should express my angst!" So, what's a better use for a character all about duality?
Vigilante. As awful as Jeph Loeb was and is, the idea of Two-Face as an anti-hero makes sense. Harvey Dent believes in the system, why shouldn't Two-Face believe in taking the law into your own hands? There's even a great subtext to give the character: what is justice about? Rehabilitation or punishment? Harvey believes in rehabilitation. If the coin comes up heads, he's going to get that meth addict who just gunned down a convenience store clerk into a nice treatment program; after all, he's a victim of society. But if it comes up tails, Two-Face is blowing the sucker away. He is Harvey's suppressed urges, after all, and what would a good attorney want more than to deliver justice to crooks the law can't touch?
Now, not to get too fan-wanky, but I thought up a good way for this to fit into that Fourth World AU I'm always going on about, where Batman is dead, Dick Grayson leads the no-kill vigilantes, and Jason leads a gang of executioners. This Two-Face is exactly the kind of heroic sociopath Jason would love to have in his corner. Only when his coin comes up heads, Harvey Dent puts in a call to Dick with a little sensitive information.
Who better than Two-Face to play both sides?
Now, don't get me wrong, the "commits crimes based around the number two" is a fun gimmick, but it works best as a throwback. It's just too odd to go from "I lost my wife! My career! My face!" to "A museum exhibit on two dollar bills? Yes! That is how I should express my angst!" So, what's a better use for a character all about duality?
Vigilante. As awful as Jeph Loeb was and is, the idea of Two-Face as an anti-hero makes sense. Harvey Dent believes in the system, why shouldn't Two-Face believe in taking the law into your own hands? There's even a great subtext to give the character: what is justice about? Rehabilitation or punishment? Harvey believes in rehabilitation. If the coin comes up heads, he's going to get that meth addict who just gunned down a convenience store clerk into a nice treatment program; after all, he's a victim of society. But if it comes up tails, Two-Face is blowing the sucker away. He is Harvey's suppressed urges, after all, and what would a good attorney want more than to deliver justice to crooks the law can't touch?
Now, not to get too fan-wanky, but I thought up a good way for this to fit into that Fourth World AU I'm always going on about, where Batman is dead, Dick Grayson leads the no-kill vigilantes, and Jason leads a gang of executioners. This Two-Face is exactly the kind of heroic sociopath Jason would love to have in his corner. Only when his coin comes up heads, Harvey Dent puts in a call to Dick with a little sensitive information.
Who better than Two-Face to play both sides?
