|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
Two-Face Part I is an episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series. The episode portrays the origin story of the villain Two-Face and it also marks the first appearance of characters as Grace Lamont, Nora Crest and Candice. This episode was also the first produced episode to include the iconic villain Rupert Thorne.
Two-Face, Part I is the tenth episode to be produced and the 17th episode to be aired.
Synopsis[]
Though the ever calm Harvey Dent puts on a happy face in his bid for re-election as Gotham's District Attorney, he can't still suppress the psychopathic split personality of "Big Bad Harv" - a side that's given horrifying half form when crime boss Rupert Thorne's plan to blackmail Dent goes awry in a chemical factory.
Plot[]
Harvey Dent has a nightmare in which he is confronted by a mysterious doppelganger, flipping a coin over and over again. Dent is awakened by his secretary Carlos from the D.A.'s office and heads out to talk to Commissioner Gordon about a raid on a derelict building occupied Rupert Thorne's gang, heavily armed with stolen weapons and supplies from Gotham's Army depots. With Batman's help, the gang is captured.
Dent loses his temper
Dent publicly congratulates the police and thanks Gordon, but one of the captured crooks taunts Dent with the assurance that he and his cohorts will soon be free, and splashes mud all over Dent's suit. To everyone's shock, Dent goes berserk with fury and attacks the handcuffed man. A second later, he reverts back to his normal, courteous self. Gordon asks Dent about his paroxysm and Dent says, "I don't know. I guess he just hit the right button." Meanwhile, Thorne orders his right-hand woman Candice to find something dirty about Dent's past.
At a campaign party to raise funds for his election as Gotham's District Attorney, Dent has another violent outburst when he is told that Thorne's men have been released due to an incomplete warrant. Bruce Wayne tries to calm him, but Dent shouts him away and only calms down with the intervention of his fiancé, Grace Lamont. Bruce advises him to seek psychiatric help, to which Dent reluctantly agrees.
"Big Bad Harv"
While Candice eavesdrops, Nora Crest hypnotizes Dent and an alternate personality known as "Big Bad Harv" surfaces. "Harv" is resentful of Dent and produces a coin which he compulsively flips. When Crest snaps her fingers. Dent resurfaces and is shaken by "Harv's" actions, stating that he used to be able to repress him before. Nora suggests Dent admit himself to a psychiatric hospital for a few days, but Dent says that it will destroy his campaign entirely. He agrees to continue the therapy sessions.
At a campaign party, it is revealed that Dent is about to win a landslide victory in the reelection. Dent decides to celebrate this by proposing to Grace. However, he receives a call from Thorne, who summons him to a meeting, or else "Big Bad Harv" will be exposed. Noticing Dent's strange behavior, Bruce dons his Batman disguise and follows him.
Thorne confronts Dent at a derelict chemical plant, having acquirde his psychiatric file. The file reveals the origins of Dent's dual nature: in his childhood, he was led to believe that he had seriously injured a bully in a moment of rage, which caused him to bury his anger so deeply that it manifested as a separate persona. When Thorne threatens to leak Dent's file to the media, "Big Bad Harv" emerges and attacks Thorne and his henchmen, with Batman reluctantly intervening. Thorne flees the office with the file, pursued by Dent. One of Thorne's cronies opens fire at Dent, accidentally hitting an electrical switchboard and causing a live wire to fall into a vat of chemicals. The resulting explosion tears through the catwalk and leaves Dent severely injured.
Dent is rushed to a hospital, where a doctor says that a plastic surgeon will repair his facial scars. Once the bandages are removed, however, the medical team is horrified by his disfigured appearance. Grace walks down the hall to Dent's room when she hears a horrible scream and sees Dent burst out of his room, clutching his face. He turns, revealing that one-half of his body has been mutated by the chemicals, making him seem half-human, half-monster. Grace faints at the sight. Dent, muttering a rueful farewell, disappears through the hospital's window.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kevin Conroy | Batman/Bruce Wayne |
| Bob Hastings | Commissioner Gordon |
| Richard Moll | Harvey Dent/Big Bad Harv/Two-Face |
| Murphy Cross | Grace |
| Mari Devon | Summer Gleeson |
| Bob DoQui | Doctor |
| Matt Landers | Frankie |
| Diane Michelle | Candice |
| Linda Gary | Dr. Nora Crest |
| Marc Tubert | Carlos |
| John Vernon | Rupert Thorne |
- This article uses material from the Two-Face, Part I article at the DCAU Wiki and is licensed under the CC BY-SA License.