Harvey Dent (Nolanverse)



"You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villian."―Harvey Dent [src]Harvey Dent was Gotham City's District Attorney. He earns the name of Gotham City's White Knight. He gets disfigured in an explosion and manipulated by the Joker, turning him into the villainous Two-FaceIn The Dark Knight, he is portrayed by Aaron Eckhart as a tragic hero. Contents [show] BiographyEditThe Dark KnightEditDent started his campaign by bringing down any mob owned bank he could find, and arresting as many criminals as he could. After Batman captures gang leader Lau in Hong Kong, Dent puts every single one of his clients on trial at the same time. The Joker attempts to kill him at Wayne Manor during a party dedicated for him, but Bruce Wayne locks him out just in time.Disfigurement EditAfter the supposed death of Lieutenant Gordon, Dent claims to the press that he is the Batman and turns himself into the authorities. This is actually a ploy to lure out the Joker out. The Joker attacks his detainment truck with a bazooka, and Batman shows up. After the battle, his plan was successful, and Gordon (who faked his death) captures the unsuspecting Joker. Before he could make it home, the corrupt cops driving his car turn him and Rachel in to the mob.Trapped in an explosive-rigged warehouse, Dent falls and knocks over a large can of gasoline which spills onto the left half of his face. Later, as Batman is saving him and the building explodes, a spark catches on that side of his face, burning and disfiguring him into "Two-Face". Though Dent is taken to Gotham General Hospital, he refuses pain medication and skin grafts due to his grief and rage; he blames Rachel's death and his disfigurement on Batman, Gordon, and the Joker. Later the Joker breaks in and feeds him his hatred, giving him a handgun and asking him to create "anarchy". Two FaceEditHarvey "Two-Face" starts facing the corrupt cops and the mobsters one by one, flipping a coin to decide their fates. He is not seen again until the end of the film when Batman finds Gordon and his family with Dent at the building where Rachel died. Harvey proceeds to judge Batman, himself, and Gordon through the chance of coin flip, which he sees as the only fairness left in the world. Harvey shoots Batman in the stomach but before he can determine Gordon and his son's fate, Batman tackles him over the side of the building, killing Dent and saving Gordon's son.To preserve Dent's image as Gotham's hero, Batman asks Gordon to blame all the day's deaths on Batman. Hence, the police force start a manhunt for him and Gotham has a funeral for the "White Knight". The Dark Knight RisesEditAfter Dent's death, Gotham's population is convinced that he was a true hero, brutally slained by Batman. In his name, a new law was created, a law which allowed the police to clean up the streets for good, arresting criminals with no possibility of remission. Commissioner Gordon, anyway, tried several times to relieve his coscience by telling the truth about Two-Face and his death, feeling guilty for living a lie and forcing Batman to retire in name of it. His last attempt was made during the eight Harvey Dent's Day, a new celebration instituted in the hero's memory, but Gordon prefers to leave the people with their illusions on their "hero" and hides his intended speech.The truth about Harvey Dent is revealed nevertheless, when Bane, who has conquered and isolated Gotham City, steal Gordon's speech. In front of Black Gate Prison, a jail built for the application of Dent Law, the mercenary reads the paper, revealing to the world that Batman was innocent of Dent's killing, and that Harvey had become a murderous psycopath following Joker's manipulations, thus destroying the myth around Two-Face's persona and revealing that Gotham's peace has been built on a lie. RelationshipsEditTwo-Face - Villain identity.Batman - Ally until Two-Face.James Gordon - Ally until Two-Face.The Joker - Enemy.Rachel Dawes - Lover.Behind the ScenesEditAaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face: The Gotham district attorney who is hailed as Gotham's "White-Knight"; Dent's battle with the Joker turns Dent into a murderous, disfigured vigilante called "Two-Face". Producer Charles Roven described Dent as initially the "white knight of the city". Wayne sees Dent as his heir, which comes back to the theme of him realizing that being Batman will be a lifelong mission, and the tragedy that follows when Dent is corrupted. Whereas Two-Face is an evil villain in the comics, Nolan chose to portray him as a twisted vigilante to emphasize his role as Batman's counterpart, and Eckhart, who has played corrupt men in films such as The Black Dahlia, Thank You For Smoking and In the Company of Men, notes: "He is still true to himself. He's a crime fighter, he's not killing good people. He's not a bad guy, not purely," while admitting: "I'm interested in good guys gone wrong." Nolan and David S. Goyer had originally considered using Dent in Batman Begins, but they replaced him with the new character Rachel Dawes when they realized they "couldn’t do him justice". Before Eckhart was cast in February 2007, Liev Schreiber, Josh Lucas, and Ryan Phillippe had expressed interest in the role. Nolan chose Eckhart, whom he had considered for the lead role in Memento, citing his "extraordinary" ability as an actor, his embodiment of "that kind of chiselled, American hero quality" projected by Robert Redford, and his subtextual "edge".For Two-Face's make-up, Eckhart warned, "When you look at him, you should get sick to your stomach. Being the guy under all that, well, that was a lot of fun for me. It's like you would feel if you met someone whose face had pretty much been ripped off or burned off with acid ... There are fans on the Internet who have done artist's versions of what they think it will look like, and I can tell you this: They're thinking small; Chris is going way farther than people think."