tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post115438005338007093..comments2024-03-27T19:04:14.544-05:00Comments on The Absorbascon: Terror of the Two-Headed Coin, Part 2Scipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16217376618860561999noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154569030176684442006-08-02T20:37:00.000-05:002006-08-02T20:37:00.000-05:00Harvey Dent, DicemanHarvey Dent, DicemanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154550550402875892006-08-02T15:29:00.000-05:002006-08-02T15:29:00.000-05:00Two Face has abandoned any concept of free will, a...<I>Two Face has abandoned any concept of free will, and would never be frustrated at the turn of the coin.</I><BR/><BR/>This probably isn't canon any longer, but in "Half a Hero--" (Batman 346) & "--Is Better than None" (Detective 513), Two-Face keeps our favorite nemesis locked up for a week (or two?) <B>until</B> the coin turns up scarred, meaning he can kill him. He flips the coin every day, but doesn't release him when the unscarred side comes up repeatedly.<BR/><BR/>And when it comes up scarred, I believe he says, "At last..."Your Future Leaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02711374793168578314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154529353004105692006-08-02T09:35:00.000-05:002006-08-02T09:35:00.000-05:00In the first Two-Face story, DA Harvey Kent was ni...In the first Two-Face story, DA Harvey Kent was nicknamed "Apollo" by the press because of his dashing good looks. Presumably, it was because he was so darn handsome to start with that the shock of having half his face burned off drove him over the edge. Hey, I don't make this stuff up.<BR/><BR/>-MindbenderAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154489557562895942006-08-01T22:32:00.000-05:002006-08-01T22:32:00.000-05:00How come they never used Two-Face in the 1960s Bat...How come they never used Two-Face in the 1960s Bat-Man series? Can't you just see James Garner as Two-Face? That would have been so cool!<BR/><BR/>Great essay, Scipio. In the 1970s, my first exposure to Two-Face was in one of those 13" X 10" Collector's Editions, a reprint of the newspaper comic where he was Harvey Apollo (I think, haven't seen it for years). <BR/><BR/>I also had a DC Special that had a SECRET ORIGIN for Two-Face where the big secret was that he wasn't really the intended target of the gangster's acid-throwing. (That's the secret?) But they called him Dent! But in the other one, his name was Apollo! WTF?<BR/><BR/>Two-Face is awesome.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154474930861425512006-08-01T18:28:00.000-05:002006-08-01T18:28:00.000-05:00In the page displayed, it's kind of funny how happ...In the page displayed, it's kind of funny how happy Harvey "Kent" is when crime wins the coin toss.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154463267010569382006-08-01T15:14:00.000-05:002006-08-01T15:14:00.000-05:00Damn, you need to write this up as a submission to...Damn, you need to write this up as a submission to DC!<BR/><BR/>One thing that fascinates me about Two-Face is how many different strongly-held, but essentially incompatible, interpretations there are of him.<BR/><BR/>Chuck Dixon once wrote on his site that he and Denny O'Neil had a friendly but irreconcilable (save that O'Neil had the deciding vote as editor) disagreement over whether Two-Face would ever "override" the verdict of the coin.<BR/><BR/>O'Neil saw Two-Face as essentially a pawn of fate who *must* do as the coin commands. Dixon saw him more as an evil man who uses the coin to justify his evil acts. Someone who'd basically go "OK, best two out of three" when the coin came up with something he didn't *want* to do.<BR/><BR/>I think Dixon's is probably closer to the mark, because of one crucial factor that's always in Two-Face's control: *WHEN* do you flip the coin? He doesn't flip for every damn thing he does, it's only for certain key actions.<BR/><BR/>But I can see validity (dramatic, psychological, or both) in all sorts of different approaches.David Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985574193396205518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154450558610169642006-08-01T11:42:00.000-05:002006-08-01T11:42:00.000-05:00Wonderfullly done. Two-Face is one of the most com...Wonderfullly done. Two-Face is one of the most compelling and interesting characters in all comics and it's a shame a writer hasn't delved deeper into his problems or his history. You should examine more villains like this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154441365849835242006-08-01T09:09:00.000-05:002006-08-01T09:09:00.000-05:00Even when I haven't got the time to visit comics b...Even when I haven't got the time to visit comics blogs on a daily basis, I still insist on stopping by here. Posts like this are exactly why that's the case. I never really found Two-Face a compelling villain. He's so off my radar screen that I'd forgotten he'd even been cured by Loeb in Hush, though that may be because Hush itself wasn't on my radar. It would be fantastic if someone were to take up your interpretation of Two-Face for a few issues and really let Batman steep in the moral complexity of his rival. It never occurred to me how much Two-Face's hyper-rationality offsets the Joker.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154431688757009902006-08-01T06:28:00.000-05:002006-08-01T06:28:00.000-05:00"By the way, what trade did you get those scans fr..."By the way, what trade did you get those scans from?"<BR/><BR/>The original Two-Face trilogy appeared in Detective 66, 68, and 80.<BR/><BR/>The entire trilogy was reprinted in the DC 100-page Super-spectacular #DC-20.<BR/><BR/>You can find the first two stories in "Batman, featuring Two-Face and Riddler", and the third in "Batman in the Forties".<BR/><BR/>Naturally, they are all available in the Batman Archive Volumes 2 & 3, which I recommend, so they can be read in the context of contemporary stories.Scipiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16217376618860561999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154425657584094362006-08-01T04:47:00.000-05:002006-08-01T04:47:00.000-05:00...hey, that *is* a good idea.And as for Anonymous......hey, that *is* a good idea.<BR/><BR/>And as for Anonymous's comment: Note that Two-Face is a villain, not a hero, even anti. Which makes him an especially interesting contrast...<BR/><BR/>Well-done essay, Scipio.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154406800390071432006-07-31T23:33:00.000-05:002006-07-31T23:33:00.000-05:00"Every coin flip is determined by a writer who kno...<I>"Every coin flip is determined by a writer who knows the outcome."</I><BR/><BR/>Now there's an idea... a Two-Face story where the writer actually flips a coin at each decision point, and has to abide by the results.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154405440392762172006-07-31T23:10:00.001-05:002006-07-31T23:10:00.001-05:00I suppose I look queer... but I'm not ashamed any ...<I>I suppose I look queer... but I'm not ashamed any more! Now I flaunt my two sides...</I>.<BR/><BR/>Uh, is he becoming a supervillain or coming out of the closet?<BR/><BR/>Anyway, the real irony of Two-Face's dichotomy between justice and luck is that there is no luck in a comic book. Every coin flip is determined by a writer who knows the outcome. There was no way that coin was going to come down good side up. Harvey Dent was always going to become Two-Face.Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14772087090448461047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154405432678525232006-07-31T23:10:00.000-05:002006-07-31T23:10:00.000-05:00"he represents that idea that we will lose (or aba..."he represents that idea that we will lose (or abandon) the ability to make any difference between the two... that he muddles the differences between good and evil"<BR/><BR/>Isn't that the basic premise for <B>every</B> anti-hero in comics?<BR/> <BR/>And <I>that</I> is why Two-face will never be interesting again <BR/>everAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-1154404291923796122006-07-31T22:51:00.000-05:002006-07-31T22:51:00.000-05:00So, the difference in opinion seems to be whether ...So, the difference in opinion seems to be whether Harvey should be incapable of making decisions or apathetic to the decision making process. I've always thought of him as being unable to make decisions, based largely on Grant Morrison's <I>Arkham Asylum</I> graphic novel. I can also buy the "fate screwed me so let's see if you get a good flip or a bad flip" to decide what happens to you.<BR/><BR/>What I don't like is when Two-Face makes his decision and tries to justify his actions based on the coinflip. While I can see how the henchman could be killed in those two frames either way, I can't see how District Attorney Harvey Dent could justify crippling a policeman because he got a "good flip."<BR/><BR/>By the way, what trade did you get those scans from?Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09121753196275244950noreply@blogger.com