Batman: Caped Crusader Is Going To Twist One Of The Dark Knight's Best Villains
Batman villains tend to fall into two categories; the gleefully irredeemable ones (Joker, Scarecrow, etc.) and the tragic ones (Mr. Freeze, Harley Quinn, etc.). Two-Face falls, naturally, on both ends of this spectrum because he's two minds in one.
He was once crusading Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, one of the few honest officials in a den of corruption. Until, while prosecuting a case, he got acid thrown in his face, leaving half of it horribly scarred. Now he is Two-Face, a villain split between good and evil and fixated on games of chance (hence his habit of flipping a coin). Since Harvey Dent (personified in Two-Face's unscarred half) still lives, Batman often tries to pull him back to the light, never quite succeeding.
At least, that's how it usually is. The upcoming series "Batman: Caped Crusader" will be taking a different approach to Two-Face.
Vanity Fair recently published a deep-dive into the soon-arriving Prime Video cartoon, revealing much of the cast (Hamish Linklater of "Midnight Mass" is voicing Batman himself) and story details. Creator Bruce Timm, most famous for co-creating 1992's "Batman: The Animated Series," spoke of how "Caped Crusader" will portray Harvey as a corrupt district attorney who is an adversary for Batman even before he becomes a super-villain. "And then when he gets his face disfigured, for the first time in his life he actually feels empathy for other people," Timm explained. In this version, Two-Face's scarred side will represent his good side a la the two-faced Prince Zuko from "Avatar: The Last Airbender."
Harvey Dent will be portrayed by Diedrich Bader, who's previously voiced Batman several times before ("Batman: The Brave and the Bold" and "Harley Quinn"). Don't worry, for Bader can easily play smarmy a-holes too (see his role as political strategist Bill Ericsson on "Veep").
Why Two-Face is one of Batman's best villains
Timm knows something about reinventing Two-Face; he's helped do it before. "Batman: The Animated Series" initially introduces Harvey Dent as a friend of Bruce Wayne. That makes Dent's transformation in the two-part episode "Two-Face" (written by Alan Burnett and Randy Rogel) all the more tragic; Batman didn't just fail a good man, he failed his friend.
Harvey Dent having been a friend to Batman pre-Two-Face in an accepted part of Batman lore, but different versions play it differently. In Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's 1996 comic "Batman: The Long Halloween," Bruce Wayne isn't especially acquainted with Harvey but the DA is Batman's only ally in the Gotham City justice system besides Commissioner Gordon. This trio being in an alliance to take down Gotham City's mob (before Dent becomes Two-Face) was adapted into Christopher Nolan's 2008 Batman film "The Dark Knight."
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Aside from Batman and Two-Face's often shared history, each of Batman's villains is a dark mirror of him. With Two-Face, it's his split identity — and how the Bat often triumphs over the Man.
Frank Miller's 1986 "The Dark Knight Returns" featured a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne coming out of a 10-year-retirement as Batman. The book's first chapter follows his restlessness in trying to live without Batman and his failure to do so. Miller makes Two-Face the villain of this first chapter; Harvey Dent has gotten plastic surgery to repair his face, but that only destroyed his mind even further, convinced that "both sides match" now.
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The first issue of "Dark Knight Returns" ends with Batman pulling off bandages from Harvey's face and recoiling — not because it's scarred, but because it isn't and Harvey is still convinced he's a monster. Batman sadly says that looking at Harvey's face, he sees his own reflection.
The rest of Batman: The Caped Crusader's cast
In addition to Timm, "Batman: Caped Crusader" is being developed by Matt Reeves (director of 2022's "The Batman") and JJ Abrams. Comic writer Ed Brubaker (currently bringing his and Sean Phillips' "Criminal" comics to life at Prime Video) was also head writer of "Caped Crusader" season 1. While it's been a bit since Brubaker wrote Batman, he's kept writing original noir stories and hasn't lost a beat.
"Caped Crusader" is not set in the same continuity as "Batman: The Animated Series," but it uses a similar art style (Timm's own and one especially synonymous with his animated DC work). "Caped Crusader" is also explicitly set in the 1940s, whereas "Batman: The Animated Series" just used a 1930s aesthetic (old fashions and cars, black and white TVs, etc.) for a more timeless Gotham City. Batman's design (long ears, no spikes on his gloves) is designed to mimic his appearance in the original Bill Finger/Bob Kane "Batman" comics published in the late '30s/early '40s.
Vanity Fair confirmed other cast members alongside Linklater and Bader; Jamie Chung will be playing a reimagined Harley Quinn while Christina Ricci will voice Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Other cast members (in unconfirmed roles) include John DiMaggio, Minnie Driver, Haley Joel Osment, Gary Anthony Williams, David Krumholtz, and more. Other confirmed villains who will be showing up in "Caped Crusader" season 1 include Clayface, Nocturna, Firebug, and the Gentleman Ghost.
"X-Men '97" successfully revived a '90s superhero cartoon for the 2020s, so here's hoping lightning strikes twice for "Batman: Caped Crusader," which releases on Prime Video on August 1, 2024.