Half-Filled Glasses: “Batman: Face the Face”

A little over 20 years ago, DC comics launched a 12-issue event titled “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. The goal was to “fix” the continuity issues that is plaguing their comics (e.g. multiple Supermen, Batmen, and Wonder Women). The result was that multiple earths were “eliminated” except for one. That single Earth thrived for 20 years before it met another crisis (crises, actually, in the form of “Identity Crisis” and “Infinite Crisis”). After “Infinite Crisis”, DC “jumped” all their titles “One Year Later”, meaning all stories are taking place one year after the crisis. To account for the “missing year”, DC launched an ambitious project called “52” which would be a weekly comics covering events that happened during the “lost” year.

“Batman: Face the Face” is the first story arc of the Batman series that started “One Year Later”. Running for four issues (#651 to #654), the arc features story written by James Robinson with art from the team of Leonard Kirk, Don Kramer, Patrick Gleason, and others, and fantastic, noir-ish covers from Simone Bianchi.  In the story, we learned that Batman was gone from Gotham City for the whole of one year yet he did not left the city unprotected.  In his place, he chose a former ally-turned-enemy-turned-ally again —  Harvey Dent (Two-Face).  Apparently, Harvey has been rehabilitated and has seemingly removed the Two-Face persona from his psyche.  Or so Batman thought.

During the course of the story, we learned that somebody is murdering villains with a two-barrelled gun.  All clues seem to point to Harvey losing control again and reverting to his Two-Face persona, what with his prints all over the murder weapon.  Even Batman seems to be doubting Harvey in spite of his pronouncement that he will believe Harvey’s innocence if only Harvey tells Batman that he didn’t do it (to which Harvey gave the appropriate response that a real friend should not need any assurance).  Later on, we see that Harvey does indeed revert back to being Two-Face (a much more dangerous Two-Face, I believe, since Batman has already partly trained him prior to his going on a leave of absence from crime fighting in Gotham) although it would be revealed later on that he might not be as guilty as what the majority seems to think.

What is interesting in this arc is how the various elements leading to the birth of the “first” Two-Face are again present in the latest incarnation of the “new” Two-Face  —  a crime case, Batman, and the nitric acid.  However, whereas before the Batman seem to have been a circumstantial factor and the nitric acid an “unwilling” agent, the new Two-Face’s rebirth involves a deliberate application of the acid and a more “active” participation of Bats.  The only thing constant here is the fragile and fractured psyche of Harvey Dent.  Full circle, indeed, grotesque it might be.

Overall, this is a good story arc with consistent artwork and kick-ass covers.  Four out of five glasses for me 😉