Originally published on Patreon
I really didn't like the first entry in this new series of one-shots; mainly because the writer of that book seemed to think the best way to write a Riddler story was to have the character forget their entire thing, and just do anything that any other villain could do. It forgot that it was supposed to be telling a story about The Riddler, about what makes that character who they are. Thankfully, Mariko Tamaki has decided to write a Two-Face story that's actually about the character; and the series has been put back on track.
This story begins with a flashback to a time when Two-Face was a villain, where Harvey Dent was buried deep inside, and death and cruelty seemed to be all he cared about. Jumping forward in time, we meet Harvey in the present, where he's once again in control, and the Two-Face personality is locked away.
When Harvey, who's been given another chance at being a good man, comes to Batman with a threatening note that was sent to his father, he asked his friend/enemy for help. His father is being targeted at his upcoming 88th birthday party, and Harvey wants to make sure nothing bad happens to him.
Whilst Batman is willing to try to help, wanting for his old friend be we well and good again, Stephanie is wary about trusting him; but agrees to assist, along with Cass. Batman is unable to find out who's behind the note, but when things start to appear suspicious at the party, it looks like the threat might be very real.
I really liked this story. It's a great spotlight on the mind of Harvey Dent and Two-Face, how the two of them work together, and the history that he has with Bruce and Batman. Bruce really wants Harvey to be okay, to be the good man that he once knew. He's willing to give over his time to help him, and give him extra chances even when others aren't.
And I love the fact that Steph calls him out on this. She doesn't let him pretend this is any other case, and gets him to admit he's going above and beyond because of who it is. It's a nice thing to see, as the family confronting Bruce about stuff when he steps out of line is always a good thing.
The book also gives over a lot of time to looking at Harvey and his father, their relationship, and the way that Harvey is trying to put his life back together. You begin to root for him, and want him to succeed, even though history tells us that this reformation is likely only temporary.
The book has really nice art in it too, provided by Javier Fernandez, and Jordie Bellaire, and the book captures a lot of the dark and gloomy essence of Gotham city. They also manage to make Harvey look scarred, but not evil, and it's clear when he's each personality, as in the flashback Two-Face looks much more cruel than the kindly Harvey in the present. The action moments are also done really well, and the Batgirls both look great.
Overall, this was a huge improvement on the previous issue, and what I was hoping for from this series.
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