Warning! Spoilers for Batman: City of Madness #1!!
As Batman combats crime with fear in the streets of Gotham, an eldritch horror has begun to emerge from Gotham Below, beneath the city, to seeking to corrupt the rogues and take over. Harvey Dent, known as Half-Face in the City of Madness continuity, is the first victim. While he is much like his old counterpart, Two-Face, he’s in a more dangerous position.
Batman: City of Madness #1 – written by Christian Ward – kicks off with Half-Face, whose two halves share one thing in common: the feeling that something is coming for them.
After a confrontation with Batman leads to Harvey's return to Arkham Asylum, he tells the Caped Crusader that what he's hearing is not from within himself, but from "somewhere worse than here."
Half-Face is the Batman Rogue Most Vulnerable To Madness
Batman: City of Madness #1 positions Harvey Dent to be both the first herald of the eldritch horror that is the Batman Beneath – and potentially, one of the city’s saviors. Gotham City is no stranger to madness, and it certainly runs like a vein of ore through Batman’s gallery of rogues. Harvey Dent has a different relationship to the concept, however; he is already split down the middle between his two personalities. Half-Face refers to them as “Good Harvey” and “Bad Harvey”, and Dr. Ruth Adams tells Batman that “they are divided” beyond what Dent typically experiences. She suspects a third personality may be emerging – but unfortunately for Gotham, she's wrong.
Harvey tells Batman that there is no new personality; instead the voice he hears is “a signal.” Once the monstrous Batman Below makes its first appearance, abducting a boy attempting to avenge his father, the signal gets stronger. He receives a message from an upside-down version of himself, tasking him with telling Batman that the creature has taken the boy to make a Robin. It leaves Harvey Dent in an incredible position, receiving information no one else has. Batman has no inkling of what's in store for Gotham; between the Batman Below and the villainous Court of Owls, there are many moving pieces. Half-Face could be Batman’s best chance at seeing them.
Half-Face Could Be Gotham’s Savior In Batman: City Of Madness
Half-Face seems to have a one-way line of communication that allows him to understand the Batman Below’s next move. Something is working its way into Harvey’s mind to communicate with him – that could make him an invaluable asset to Batman, or send him careening to a depth of madness he’s never reached before. Dent spent years of his life fighting for Gotham, attempting to better it through honest means, and that personality exists alongside the half that became a villain. As Batman gears up to face the otherworldly threats emerging from the Gotham Below, Half-Face may have a new opportunity to be the hero Gotham needs – if he chooses to.
Batman: City of Madness #1 is available now from DC Comics!