A Pair Of Two-Face Catwoman Issues

On this doubly special date, time to take a double look at two issues of Catwoman, featuring Selina Kyle, a Batman foe who became much friendly to Batman, and Harvey Dent, a former friend of Batman who became a deadly foe!

Let's just pull up to the sidewalk and take a look see, shall we?

Two-Face Part One: Two Cats In One

Two-Face escapes Arkham Asylum in Catwoman #46 (June, 1997) written by Doug Moench, penciled by Jim Balent and inked by Ray McCarthy, and has a new plan.  To steal a first edition of Stevenson's "The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde".  

The only problem....the book has already been stolen by a cat burglar.  Not Catwoman, but Alley Cat, some competition for Selina, both of whom were dealing with known fence Zee, as Alley Cat wanted to unload the book.  Zee set up a buy at a warehouse, where, Two-Face double crossed the seller (thinking the thief was Catwoman, but now knowing it was a second feline lady...), setting the warehouse on fire, trapping Catwoman alone with the book surrounded by flames!

Two-Face Part Two: Two Ways To Skin A Cat

Picking up where the last issue left off, Catwoman #47 (July, 1997) by Moench/Balent, but inked by Scott Hanna, Selina escaped the flames with the priceless tome, preventing it and herself from being engulfed by flames. as the rest of the cast had already fled the warehouse.

Selina met with Two-Face's duo, to set up another meet to sell the book.  After having a confrontation with Alley Cat at Zee's house, Selina went to await Harvey coming for the book.  Two-Face planned another double cross, but Catwoman was ready for it and captured Harvey for the Gotham City Police.  Selina even stopped Alley Cat from trying to take the book as well, turning it over to Moreland McShane (a Gotham cop charged to hunting Catwoman, whom she worked for as Selina).  Selina was left, pondering her own duality.

Two Face Plus Two Origins Grodd and Doctor Light

Secret origins were all the rage in comics for a time....and finding out here to now unknown facts on characters was an interesting idea.

So, when DC Super-Stars #14 (May-June, 1977) rolled around, here was a chance to explore the beginnings of two villains, Gorilla Grodd and Doctor Light, (but with different heroes helping them get their start as shown on this Jim Aparo cover), as well as the origins of the master of duality.....Two-Face!


But, there are dangers with this as well....

G -- As In Guardians, Green Lantern And Gorilla Grodd

First, a story where the Guardians of the Universe revealed unknown facts to the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 (Hal Jordan), about one of his early cases, in a story by Bob Rozakis, Rich Buckler and Bob Layton. 

Here, it was suggested that it was Green Lantern that, unknowingly, brought Gorilla Grodd, Solovar and the rest of Gorilla City to Earth, as an extension of one of his missions to the planet of Calor in Green Lantern #1 (July-August, 1960).

Nice idea, but impractical, as around this time, Flash was first encountering the Trickster in his own magazine, having encountered Grodd a while ago (and Flash and Green Lantern were co-founders of the JLA before this as well, with Flash encountering Grodd before the JLA formed).

A later telling of the origin in Secret Origins #40 (May,1989) by Cary Bates, Greg Weisman, Carmine Infantino and Mike DeCarlo, had the gorillas here on Earth mutated in the later 1800s by a meteor that crashed to Earth, and constructed a device to shield their city from outsiders after an encounter with some explorers (until Barry Allen stumbled upon the city later).

Double Take

The second story of the issue, by Jack C. Harris, Ed Davis and Josef Rubinstein, was an interesting exploration of the origins of Two-Face, looking at the career of District Attorney Harvey Dent, and how he worked with detective David Davis to take down Boss Moroni and the corruption of Gotham.  Dent learned that Maroni was really aiming for the detective when Dent was hit by Maroni's throw acid in the courtroom (the tragedy that led to Dent becoming Two-Face).  Oddly, his time as Two-Face served him well, as his two-sided coin deflected a bullet that would have killed him (and, as chance would have it, deflected into Maroni).

Consistent with his usual origins, but oddly lacking Batman in this tale (though slightly tied to his appearances in Teen Titans with his "daughter", the Joker's Daughter/Harlequin...a crazed bit of continuity confusion herself!).

Secret Origins Special #1 (1989) by Mark Verheiden, Pat Broderick and Dick Giordano, explored Harvey's relationship with his wife, his becoming district attorney and working with Batman, and tragic turn into Two-Face (yet that he still loved his wife, Grace - called Gilda, pre-Crisis, as he had recently saved her as Two-Face from Dalton Perry, a criminal Dent had put away in jail).

Let There Be Dr. Light

Last, but not least, is the story of Arthur Light, by Paul Kupperberg, Dick Ayers and Jack Abel, where Light invented a device that allowed him to transport to another planet, in this case, Thanagar, where he was able to steal technology that was based on light, which he used to fashion his villain identity of Dr. Light (imagination was not his strong point).  Dr. Light fought a young Thanagarian officer on his supposed first trip to Earth, Katar Hol, though he did not get the light devices back, so Dr. Light was still able to become a menace to the JLA, including Green Arrow, as well as the Teen Titans.

Problem arose with this story as well, as Katar Hol wasn't as available to be that Thanagarian police rookie (checking his extended origins in Brave and the Bold), and before the Crisis, the origin was amended to be "a Thanagarian police officer" who faced Dr. Light.

Secret Origins #37 (February, 1989) by Craig Boldman, Mike Parobeck and Ken Branch pull a Dr. Light of their own, stealing a thought from that past origin (but add to it and change it).  Arthur worked at S.T.A.R. Labs, but was a failure, until he stole the light costume from scientist Jacob Farley, who invented the costume to be a hero like the JLA, but died before he got a chance to.

The DC Super Stars issue also contained on page summaries (with earlier art) on Brainiac and the Shark...and provide an interesting look at the thoughts of creators in the 1970s, trying to link various heroes and villains (and serve as a nice example now, of some of the differences between the DC Universe, from pre-Crisis to after the Crisis On Infinite Earths!).

Two Stories Of Two-Face

What better way to celebrate today, than with two stories of Two-Face?

Here's an early pair, with Harvey Dent's return...and first appearance?

Two-Face Strikes Again!

Even with that title, Batman #81 (February, 1954) by David V. Reed, Dick Sprang and Charles Paris (under a cover by Win Mortimer), was the first appearance of the Earth-1/Silver Age Two-Face (as, on Earth-2/Golden Age, not only was Two-Face originally District Attorney Harvey KENT, but, had been cured after a trilogy of tales with plastic surgery, never to return to his split alter ego).

Here, Harvey was trying to put his criminal past behind him, but a chance robbery, with Dent going in to stop the criminals exposed him to a small explosion, undoing the surgery, condemning him to a life as Two-Face (which he permanently decided with a flip of his coin, which landed scarred side up). 

After gathering a gang, Two-Face went after others with two faces (clowns, actors) keep ahead of Batman and Robin, until Batman offered up his own identity as Bruce Wayne (receiving an award for aiding a native American charity) to lure Two-Face out, getting Batman and Robin a chance to capture him, but getting caught in Two-Face's coin trap....which they defeated, then captured the criminal.

Half An Evil

It appears returning Harvey Dent to a life of crime didn't sit well, as he didn't return to menace the caped crusader until Batman #234 (August, 1971) in a tale by Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams and Dick Giordano.

This time around, it was only Batman available to face Two-Face, who used a pair of clowns to steal a parade balloon and a book from a nautical museum.  After recounting Two-Face's origin to Alfred (how Harvey was half-scarred in court by a criminal throwing acid, cured and then redamaged in an explosion), Batman went after Two-Face and his real target, a boat at a marina, which Two-Face sinks!  Batman figured out Two-Face's real plan...to use the parade float to raise the boat later, to plunder it at his leisure.  But, by showing up, Batman forces Two-Face to speed his timetable, tying Batman to the boat and deflating the giant balloon. 

Batman convinces Harvey to flip his coin to decide if he should save Batman, and the coin comes up good, so Two-Face heads back to the sinking boat (which Batman  has already escaped, capturing Two-Face on his return).

These two tales set the stage for later interpretations of Two-Face, though for a while, mostly as a second-stringer with a fetish for coins and the number 2, later, after the Crisis On Infinite Earths, and Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, Harvey Dent was added as a friend of Bruce Wayne, James Gordon and Batman, and additional origin details elsewhere by writers such as Jeph Loeb, Marv Wolfman, Chuck Dixon and others, took Two-Face out of the realm of second stringer, and into being a tragic look at the other side of Batman's coin, a good man who could do evil when counting on chance, and not drive and determination.
      
These two stories above, as well as his original three, along with others, are reprinted in Two-Face: A Celebration of 75 Years, which came out in 2017.

Two-Face 100 Page Super Spectacular

For the second of February, it seems appropriate to shine the light at the Batman foe, Two-Face....



....with a collection of his earliest appearances (as well as a couple of extras) from 100-Page Super Spectacular #DC-20 from September, 1973, all under a cover by Nick Cardy.

Detective Comics #66

Detective Comics #66 (August, 1942) by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, is the origin of Two-Face, where the dynamic duo first meet up with Harvey Kent (that was his original last name) when they face "The Crimes Of Two-Face".  

This is when we see District Attorney Harvey Kent take acid to the face as he was prosecuting Boss Maroni, scarring half his face, making Kent use Maroni's two-headed coin (with one side now scarred as well) to make decisions, with the clean side representing good, and the scarred, evil.  Batman feels it is his responsibility to catch and rehabilitate Two-Face, but Two-Face is undecided, with his coin landing on its edge when he was deciding whether to be a hero or villain.  

Detective Comics #68

In "The Man Who Led A Double Life" from Detective Comics #68 (October, 1942) by Finger, Kane and Robinson, we get a follow up to the original tale, with Batman following up on his promise, as well as Harvey making a decision.

Putting the coin in his pocket, it is the coin that saves Two-Face when a cop shoots him in an attempt to stop the ex-attorney, making Two-Face lean to evil.  Two-Face begins crimes focused on the number two, and tries unsuccessfully to reconcile with his fiancee, Gilda, hiding half his face with help from a make-up artist (which eventually fails, leading Two-Face into a vendetta with the artist, and the artist's son to want revenge on Two-Face).  Batman stops this series of events.

All-American Comics #88

JSAer, Dr. Mid-Nite faces a villain called the Tarantula in this reprint from All-American Comics #88 (August, 1947) by John Broome and Alex Toth, with the Tarantula thinking he has figured out Dr. Mid-Nite's secret identity of Dr. Charles McNider.


Thankfully, Dr. Mid-Nite was able to blackout Tarantula's suspicions....

Flash Comics #95

Dinah Drake gets an order at her flower shop...from the Black Canary (her alter ego) in Flash Comics #95 (May, 1948) by Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella in "An Orchid For The Deceased.

Investigating as Black Canary, she ends up at the home of Andrew Masters, who has been murdered...and Black Canary has been framed!  Turns out Masters' niece committed the crime and the frame, because Masters changed his will to leave his money to Black Canary.

Adventure Comics #66 

Starman is next up, with his tale of "The Case Of The Camera Curse" from Adventure Comics #66 (September, 1941) by Gardner Fox and Jack Burnley.


Starman (Ted Knight) faces off against Cuthbert Cain, who uses a special camera powered by voodoo magic to steal men's souls, who takes a picture of FBI agent, Woodley Allen, to keep him from interfering with Cain's plans.


Starman turns the tables on Cain using his own Gravity Rod, using Cain's camera on him, making Cain disappear and breaking Cain's hold on Allen....

Blackhawk #13

Blackhawk and his fellow aviators face off against femme fatale Fear for the second time in Blackhawk #13 (Winter, 1946) with art by Bill Ward.



The lady Fear gets help from Starra, who has managed to control a small European country by marrying it's prince, Ghor, to face off against Blackhawk and his men, but it doesn't end well for Starra, being killed by Fear as Starra was not able to manipulate Fear as well as she did her husband. 


Fear also realizes how strong her feeling are for Blackhawk...

More Fun Comics #66

Spectre is called on to fight evil once more in More Fun Comics #66 (April, 1941) by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily.


This time, Spectre has to stop giant creatures who are menacing his home of Cliffland, but he is surprisingly weakened by their green eyes.  Spectre follows the creatures to a museum, where he learns their secret...that they live within the paintings!


After destroying the painting that housed the monsters, the Spectre saves his girlfriend, Clarice Winston, from criminals who were menacing her.

Sensation Comics #71

Fighter Wildcat (Ted Grant) shows up next, with "The Count That Never Ended from Sensation Comics #71 (November, 1947) by Robert Kanigher and Gil Kane.

This story features a battle between Wildcat and his foe, the Huntress, as she tries to hurt Ted by kidnapping Wildcat's assistant, Stretch Skinner, so that Ted will have to miss a championship fight.

Wildcat is able to free Stretch from the Huntress, then take out the imposter Huntress had replacing Ted Grant in the ring.

Detective Comics #80

Finally returning to Batman with Detective Comics #80 (October, 1943) featuring "The End Of Two-Face" by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson.

Harvey escapes prison to go on a criminal rampage, but accidentally shoots his fiancee, Gilda, during his spree.

This causes Harvey to want to reform, helping Batman defeat his gang, and Batman gets a doctor to perform plastic surgery on Two-Face, theoretically ending the menace of Two-Face forever (or at least until Batman #50 of 1948, but that's another tale...).

Gotham Guide with Penguin, Riddler and Two-Face

With the Secret Origins Special #1 (1989), under a cover by Brian Bolland (who had success with Joker in Batman: The Killing Joke), Batman tried to discourage documentary film maker Steve Jones from making a movie about Batman's villains (in the linking story of "Original Sins" by Neil Gaiman, Mike Hoffman and Kevin Nowlan)...and what follows was suppose to be 3 stories about the origins of Batman foes Penguin, Riddler and Two-Face (as well as why Batman warned off the filmmaker.....with a behind the scenes appearance of the Joker for extra emphasis, no less).



A little on the beginnings of these villains as presented in this issue (and a little more as well!).

Penguin

Oswald C. Cobblepot first appeared in Detective Comics #58 (December, 1941) by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, and was drawn in the DC Who's Who (packet 5 of the looseleaf version of 1990) by Jim Aparo.

In "The Killing Peck", Oswald was getting revenge on an old nemesis from earlier in his life, who tortured the boy who loved books and birds, making him eat fish and wear a suit, leading him down the route to becoming the Penguin in this story by Alan Grant and Sam Keith. 

Riddler

Edward Nigma came to be in Detective Comics #140 (October, 1948), by Bill Finger, Dick Sprang and Charles Paris, but didn't become a bigger Batman villain until the 1960s, with the DC Who's Who (packet 5 of the looseleaf version of 1990) by Kieron Dwyer and Dennis Janke).

When is an origin not an origin?  When it's "When Is A Door" by Neil Gaiman, Bernie Mireault and Matt Wagner, with the film crew following the Riddler through an old warehouse full of oversized novelties (once a feature of Batman comics in the 1950s), and the Riddler making odd commentary on it all, leaving his origins a question.

Two-Face

Harvey Dent flipped into Batman's life in Detective Comics #66 (August, 1942) by Bill Finger and Bob Kane  (though he was Harvey Kent back then), and was rendered in the the DC Who's Who (packet 11 of the looseleaf version of 1991) by Chris Sprouse and Dick Giordano.

Two-Face was almost portrayed as a hero in the untitled story in the Special, by Mark Verheiden, Pat Broderick and Dick Giordano (and he is only a coin flip away from being one, after all).  Still the district attorney who had acid thrown in his face by Boss Maroni, this story explored how Two-Face could be a hero, saving Grace (who was the one telling this Two-Face story to Steve Jones), and how he saved her from Dalton Perry (a criminal who was looking for revenge against Harvey, by kidnapping Grace).

A nice collection of tales, featuring some of Gotham's greatest criminals, which, when they first appeared in the Golden Age, only had Batman in common, but this Special started a slight link between them....something that has been built on upon the years, and continues to this day! 

Batman Villains First

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a push on making Batman's five most dangerous foes...the Riddler, the Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman and the Joker....

but. they all started in the 1940s!

The Riddler

Edward Nigma cheated to beat puzzles, and used that ability to take on the identity of the Riddler in Detective Comics #140 (October, 1948 by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang), wherein Batman and Robin solved the Riddler's puzzles and thought him dead, at least until Detective Comics #142 (December, 1948); these two tales being Riddler's only Golden Age appearances (both reprinted in Batman Archives #7, and the first in the Batman: Featuring Two-Face and the Riddler tradepaperback). 

If not for an appearance in Batman #171 (May, 1965) and Frank Gorshin's Riddler on the 1960s Batman TV series and 1966 Batman movie (though John Astin subbed for Gorshin for a season) and being portrayed by Jim Carrey in Batman Forever...

...the Riddler might have only been a big question mark!

The Penguin

Oswald Cobblepot began his career as an art thief, stealing painting from a gallery in Detective Comics #58 (December, 1941 by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, with this tale bring reprinted in the Batman Archives #2, Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told tradepaperback #2, and in Batman Chronicles #5).  This bird came back to face Batman many times during the 1940s, but didn't get his first cover appearance until his fourth appearance in Detective Comics #67 (September, 1942).

This bird came to life and rose to fame played by Burgess Meredith in Batman TV show and 1966 movie...

...and helped the screen time fly by as portrayed by Danny DeVito in Batman Returns, continuing to waddle along and threaten the Caped Crusader!

Two-Face

Harvey Kent was Gotham's district attorney, pressing a case against Boss Maroni, until Moroni threw acid at Kent, scarring his half his face and turning the lawyer to crime, using Maroni's two-faced coin (with one side now scarred) to make decisions on how to proceed, starting with Detective Comics #66 (August, 1942, by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson), and the tale concluding in Detective Comics #68 (October, 1942, where he appropriately made his first cover in his second appearance) and both tales can be found in the 100-Page Super Spectacular DC-20, Batman Archives #2,  the Batman: Featuring Two-Face and the Riddler tradepaperback, Batman vs. Two-Face tradepaperback and Batman Chronicles #7.  Two-Face's alter ego's last name was switched (with no explanation) to Dent in Batman #50 (December-January, 1948-1949).

Sadly, Two-Face never made it into the Batman TV show, but did make (appropriately) a pair of movie appearances, in Batman Forever (played by Tommy Lee Jones) and in the Dark Knight (played by Aaron Eckhart)...

...for twice as much fun as any other foe!

Catwoman

Selina Kyle began her career as a jewel thief called the Cat in Batman #1 (Spring, 1940, by Bill Finger and Bob Kane), and changed to the Catwoman in Batman #2 (Summer, 1940) after helping Batman find the Joker (with both villains escaping the dynamic duo).  Surprisingly, it took until Detective Comics #122 (April, 1947) for this femme fatale to make a cover of a Batman comic book!

Catwoman was portrayed in the Batman TV series by Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt in the Batman TV series, by Lee Meriweather in the 1966 Batman movie...

...by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, by Halle Berry in her own Catwoman movie (though she wasn't Selina Kyle), and by Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises.

Joker

This criminal was a jack of all trades, menacing Batman and Robin twice in the very first Batman issue (Batman #1 of Spring, 1940 by Bill Finger and Bob Kane), and returned again and again to menace Batman and Robin (as well as other villains like Catwoman and Penguin, as well as the whole of Gotham).  Joker made his first Batman comic cover with Detective Comics #62 (April, 1942...quite the April's Fool joke indeed!).

Joker also is one of the most popular of Batman's live action foes..

...being portrayed by Cesar Romero in the Batman TV show and 1966 movie, getting a load of him as Jack Nicholson in the 1989 Batman movie, and very seriously by Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight.

Joker and Catwoman were both in Batman #1, and all the Batman stories of that issue were in Famous First Edition F-5, Batman: The Dark Knight Archives #1, Millenium Edition: Batman #1 and the Batman Chronicles #1! 

Let no one play you for a fool as to who Batman's MAIN foe is...and if you don't know, then the joke is on you!

Though Joker has been teased on two episodes of the first season of Gotham, with promises of more in its second season, the show still focuses on everyone else...Edward "Riddler" Nygma as played by Corey Michael Smith, Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepott portrayed by Robin Lord Taylor, Harvey "Two-Face" Dent played by Nicholas D'Agosto and Selina "Catwoman" Kyle played by Camren Bicondova...all helping to build the legend of Batman.