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Batman: Two-Face - Crime & Punishment

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Not every person, when confronted by tragedy or personal trauma, would go over the deep end and embrace the dark side. So why did Harvey Dent? What made him break when most would bend? Of course we are all unique individuals comprised of our own makeup and personal history, and that is exactly what this story explores. We are shown glimpses of Harvey's childhood past and the emotional scars that developed from it which, when combined with the physical scars from the acid attack, created Two Face. We are also shown the natural parallelism that exists between him and his former close friend Bruce Wayne. Both men share similar backgrounds and the inner demons that were caused by them, and which have subsequently driven them to become the men they are today, but there's the rub. What made one channel his pain toward the side of righteousness and the other succumb to his and choose the side of evil. The moral of the story is that despite the hardships that might befall us, we still have freedom of choice. Life is a constant test of difficult decisions and confusing crossroads, and whatever path we take, we must take responsibility for it. Blaming others is just a way of absolving our own guilt. Right, wrong, left, right, up, down; just flip a damn coin, let fate decide for us. It is so much easier. Batman has chosen a different path, one that involves making the tough choices, and with them the potential for severe ramifications that may follow. No one said it would be easy. These men are two sides of the same coin, one scarred and the other not. One man has chosen his life's path, the other had it thrust upon him. Which man is which, or are they both the same? What the hell, let's flip a coin.

A very dramatic, sometimes a bit melodramatic, exploration of one of the Batman's enemies: Two-Face.

The theme of the human soul being blessed by a benign and gentle side as well as being tortured by an evil, darker face has long been explored in some famous characters (Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Gollum, the Incredible Hulk). In this book, the insanity of Two-Face is explored: what drives him to evil deeds? Why did he turn out the way he did? With what we know today about the strengths and weaknesses of the human psyche, it is worth studying the deeper reasons why Harvey Dent would turn into the evil Two-Face after having acid destroy half his face. It is worth noting that, perhaps, another person put in the same predicament as Harvey might have found a way to transcend this tragedy and continue with a productive and positive life. This book tries to discover just what drove Harvey/Two-Face to become what he is, and it does it quite well too.

This is quite a good book, but a longer one might have explored the Two-Face character even better, especially one that would present more scenes showing the interaction of young Harvey with his father, both the loving and the brutal. One also wonders how much deeper the book could've been if Dent's mother was also presented -- the way she loved her family, her life, as well as her death -- and just how much it affected Harvey and his father. Also, does Harvey have any siblings? Having grown up in the same environment as Harvey, would they also become insane if they were to suffer a similar tragedy as Harvey's? Or would they be the type to "transcend" their tragedies? The book actually tries to answer this question in the scene where Batman confronts Harvey/Two-Face on stage and in front of a TV camera, where he says , "Men are what they are. Do what they do.....live with their pain and make choices....given the same circumstances, another man wouldn't have become what you've become.....we each choose what we do with our pain. Your father made his choices--and you made yours."

The character of Two-Face, as well as those other characters mentioned above, teach us that it is our own personal life choices that determine who and what we are, and it is one of evil's greatest tricks on humanity -- to deny that we are responsible for our own choices, that everyone else except ourselves is at fault -- that prevents our hurts and wounds from healing and making us better people. The book goes further as to show that what choices we make, good or evil, can affect the next generation, as Harvey's father's choices affected him. As has been said before, the evil (and good) that men do often live after them.

Overall, a very well written insight into one of Batman's most famous enemies. I just wish it could've been longer, and that we could've seen more of the young Harvey Dent.