To keep Gotham standing and a place ripe for business, the crooks have their own court, and there’s only one person who can run it. Your Major Spoilers review of Two-Face #1, awaits!
TWO-FACE #1
Writer: Christian Ward
Artist: Fabio Veras
Colorist: Ivan Plascencia
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Editor: Rob Levin
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 4th, 2024
Previously in Two-Face: After years of internal conflict, both halves of Harvey Dent have reached an uneasy peace. Now Harvey will use his skills as an attorney to resolve the conflicts of Gotham’s weirdest and most dangerous criminals.
COURT’S IN SESSION
Two-Face #1 opens with a brief, mostly visual recap of how Harvey Dent ended up as Two-Face. Things then transition to The White Church, a court of sorts run by Gotham’s criminal element. The first case on the docket is between a member of The Falcone Family against Victor Zsasz for the unauthorized killing of one of Falcone’s lieutenants. Harvey is representing Victor and begins by explaining what Victor’s M.O. is. This leads to some arguing and eventually leads to Victor taking a woman hostage. Harvey is able to talk down Victor and then reveals that Zsasz also marks his victims, and the Falcone gangster doesn’t have a mark. It’s then revealed that the initial plaintiff was the true culprit. Afterward, Dent and Judge Reaper consider that something bigger is happening in Gotham.
A GREAT PREMISE THAT NEEDED A BIGGER BANG
Two-Face #1 starts off great, with a strong intro and a few amazing initial scenes in the courtroom. After that, though, things mellow out a bit, and the wildness of a court run by crooks for crooks kind of just becomes a standard courtroom drama. It works perfectly fine as a courtroom drama, as well as can be done in the comic book format, but there’s a sense that this needed something to really capitalize on the premise, and that thing just isn’t here. Also, the hinted-at bigger plot and an ongoing thing with Zsasz feel completely unnecessary and don’t help either the courtroom premise or the personal Harvey Dent stuff. Now, while the courtroom stuff isn’t stellar, the inner turmoil of Harvey Dent is handled much better. The dynamic of a Two-Face who is in control of his two personalities, but still has to fake the more psychotic side, while that side is still talking to him, is a really fun dynamic that shows a lot of promise based on the few scenes we get in this issue.
GIVING THE LETTERING ITS DUE
It’s not every day that a comic book premise gives the lettering a chance to be an integral part of the story. But, we get just that in Two-Face #1. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou pulls a great little trick that plays on Harvey’s split personalities while also keeping in mind his surprise reveal at the end. Other than that, the opening montage has a great use of purple and red to emphasize what Harvey is narrating. This whole issue has a lot of small examples of the visuals and the writing working together to help tell the story, which is always going to get a thumbs up from me.
BOTTOM LINE: SOME STRONG MOMENTS, BUT UNFOCUSED AND DOESN’T GO FAR ENOUGH
Two-Face #1 succeeds at introducing itself as an intriguing look at Harvey’s mental state and the way its fragile nature manifests itself both internally and externally. As a story that’s set in a court run by Gotham’s criminal element, it comes up short. There isn’t enough here to set this apart from a typical courtroom drama, which leaves this issue feeling like a clear example of untapped potential. Also, the inclusion of some ongoing plot threads comes off as unnecessary and more like filler than elements I want to follow up on in future issues. It’s nice to look a,t though, and some attention to detail by the coloring and the lettering elevates this issue in fun ways. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Dear Spoilerite,
At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.
Two-Face #1
On one hand Two-Face #1 is a visually impressive look at its central character. On the other hand it’s a run-of-the-mill courtroom drama.
-
Writing6
-
Art8
-
Coloring8
At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.