Meet Two-Face

The latest media burst from Batman: Arkham City offers fans a bio and glamorous headshot of Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face.

The following mini-biography should come as little surprise to DC Comics fans or those of us who grew up on the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm Batman: The Animated Series:

Real Name: Harvey Dent
Alias: TWO-FACE
Occupation: Professional Criminal
Base: Gotham City
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown/Grey
Height: 6 ft
Weight: 182 lb

First Appearance: Detective Comics #66 (August 1942)
? Attribute 01: Hideously scarred on the left half of his face, which he plays up with clothing that’s differently styled on one side
? Attribute 02: Extremely skilled with his weapons of choice: twin .45 automatics
? Attribute 03: Psychotic obsession with duality, designing crimes around the number two
? Attribute 04: Defers to his half-scarred coin in choices of life or death

Background Story: District Attorney Harvey Dent was one of Batman’s strongest allies in Gotham City, until a criminal threw acid in Dent’s face, hideously scarring him. The wounds fractured his psyche, and he was reborn Two-Face, a schizoid criminal mastermind  obsessed with duality. His former good-luck charm, a “two-headed” trick silver dollar, was damaged on one side in the attack, and Dent has seized on it as a reflection of his half-scarred visage. He flips it to decide the fates of his victims. Two-Face is thriving in Arkham City, rallying inmates to join his gang using tried and true campaign tactics.

Likewise, the accompanying image is basically what you would expect from a picture of Two-Face. Sharp, two-tone suit? Check. Well-coifed hairdo? Check. Horrific facial mutilation? Double check.

Some may see this as as a dull, rote take on a character as easily defined by his fragmented psyche as his contrasting aesthetics, but I see it as a sign of commitment from developer Rocksteady Studios to adhere as closely as possible to the fan-favorite depictions of Arkham City’s cast.

This is where comic book fans should breathe a sigh of relief. Rocksteady seemingly has no plans to add extraneous nipples to any part of this project.