Two-Face Tuesdays: Harvey vs. Cyborg (Vic Stone)

[thehefner]

First post to the new scans_daily! Hope I haven't forgotten how to do one of these things.

With zhinxy's permission, I'm proud to announce that I'll be doing "Two-Face Tuesdays" here for at least the next few weeks! Some installments will be more serious, others more cracky, but either way, it'll always suck to be Harvey Dent.

I'd like to start with a personal favorite. I posted this a few years ago at the original scans_daily, but now with the new digs and a rather different readership, I figure it's high time to post it again! TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT # 13 (1987) is an obscure little gem that deserves more attention, and not just because it's the first-ever comic work of a TV animation writer named J. Michael Straczynski. To this date, it's still one of the best little things he's ever written, in my own biased opinion. So without further ado:





(Note for the mods: it's a 25 page story, so I went with 8 pages. Cool?)


After watching a press conference where Cyborg is hailed as a beloved hero by the people of Gotham, Two-Face decides to pull a "Killing Joke" on the Teen Titan. He kidnaps Vic's girlfriend Cynthia, then leaves Vic a two-tone trench coat and hat with instructions to be followed if he wants to save her. Soon, Harvey has Vic running through the city, breaking into apartments and other buildings looking for clues.














I love how the two voices aren't divided by a simple "good Harvey" and "evil Two-Face," but are rather two sides of the same voice having back-and-forth conversation, with the green box (presumably the bad side) subtly manipulating the good side.

Picking up the final clue, Vic is shot at by cops who think he's some kind of monster. Reaching the breaking point, Vic comes very close to blowing them away, but he catches himself and comes to his senses. Finally, he tracks down Two-Face's hideout, ready to take out his full fury on whoever's responsible.














That line,"Going to and fro in the Earth, and walking up and down in it," is from a quote from the Book of Job in the Bible. JMS was so fond of it that he'd reuse it in at least a few other stories, such as an episode of Sci-Fi channel's "Seeing Ear Theatre" and, I think, an episode of BABYLON 5. The full passage is:

"And the Lord said to Satan, 'From whence comest thou?' And Satan answered the Lord, and said, 'From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.'

The best part? It's Job 2:2.



I hope you enjoyed this first installment of Two-Face Tuesdays! I hope to keep doing this as a regular thing for awhile, at least until RL work catches up, and/or if I get a whole Two-Face-centric blog off the ground, as I'm considering. Until then, TWOodles! Ugh, that's horrible...

Comments

[freezer]

"It's over for us. Sure the insane criminal is still out there with absolutely no reason not to do this again or worse. But let's not worry about that right now."

And Vic couldn't tell "Two-Face's" lips weren't moving?

Good story here, but too much "Wait, What?" factor to give it full marks.

[thehefner]

Putting aside the moral question of taking down Harvey to save more lives, one could suppose that this little social experiment succeeded in one small regard, which is give Cyborg a bit of pity (or at least, understanding) for how much it sucks to be Harvey. That's the best I've got.

But yeah, there are definite holes here. Also, I have to wonder why so many people didn't recognize the guy who was being hailed as a hero on TV in front of an adoring crowd earlier that day. Eh, it was early in JMS' career, I accept it because I love the rest too much.

[kingrockwell]

Oh wow, the panels where he's sitting at the terminal talking to himself, this is really good! Who was the artist?

And, in keeping with the rule of two, I figure there's no point in waiting till the afternoon, I'm gonna go ahead with my part.

[thehefner]

Chuck Patton on pencils, Romeo Tanghal on inks!

And huzzah! Yeah, I wanted to get a head-start on things, even though it's only Tuesday on my coast. Oh, wait, now it's in TWO American time zones! Well, now's the time, go for it! :)

[kingrockwell]

Hey, it isn't just your coast there, good buddy!
Patton/Tanghal, is it? I'm not wild about how Vic looks here (though his design was always a little garish for my tastes anyway), but this is a great Harvey!

[cmdr_zoom]

I like how Vic's "appearance" becomes more freakish and monstrous as (1) the witness reports become more wild and exaggerated and (2) he goes further and further out on the edge in his hunt.

[lamashtar]

Until then, TWOodles!

::kills you::

[cmdr_zoom]

No, no. You have to flip the coin first.

[thehefner]

I really do deserve that. My only excuse was that it was (and still is) late and I was (and still am) tired. Which probably explains the mad giggles.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I wonder if Vic kept the coat and hat? I can picture him playing dress-up in them on days when he's really, really fed up with the world, and wants to fantasize about showing it what for. I picture him messing around with action figures, like Wash from 'Firefly' with the dinosaurs:

"'You're Trigon, you say? Not any more, you're not! BAM!' 'No, no, you have cheated! You must flip the coin first! It is the rule!' 'You are WRONG, for I am Cyborg, not Two-Face! I NEED no coin, bwahahaha!' 'GASP! But how can this BE? For you wear the two-toned COAT!' 'That is merely a natty fashion statement, and now you are DEAD, haha, because I have blown you away! Go back to three-eyed demon hell!' 'ARRR! Curse youuuuuu, man with the half-metal fa...'"

"Uh, Vic... we need you for a... mission... Just what are you doing there?"

"*hastily hides the evidence* NOTHING! Nothing at all!"

[alias_grace]

It sucks to be Harvey Dent Vic Stone both of them.

I remember this from the first time round, about eleventy-billion years ago, and just loved it to bits back then. So thank you for reposting it!

And the third-to-last panel kills me. "I could have been him. More's the pity". Why haven't there been more recent stories (Elseworlds or during 52) with Harvey as the good guy?

[thehefner]

I always forgot this is your screen name here until I actually see the icon. Haha.

You're very welcome, thanks for saying so! I know I'm only gonna get a handful of comments with each of these little Harvey love-letters of mine, but it does my heart good to know you're in that handful.

I know, right? And what gets me is that Harvey being heroic half the time is canon established right back in his first appearance! He should be like the Eclipso of Batman's rogues gallery: hero and villain in one man!

[rhythmbandit]

This was great, but...

first panel, it looks like Vic is sittin on a bench or something... thinking about Gar and... well, I guess it's just an unfortunate choice of sound effect.