Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artists: Jae Lee & Sean Phillips
Rating: 6 of 8
Batman
Jekyll & Hyde
There are always two sides to any coin. That applies to people, too. There's the brighter, kinder side we show the world... and the darker, crueler one we keep to ourselves. Most of his life, Harvey Dent acts on lesser devils and here, he tries to get Batman to do the same.
Throughout, he's tormented by childhood memories, revealing a part of him we never knew, possibly revealing just how deep his scars really go. One of my favourite parts of the story's the way Harvey switches back and forth between Harvey - the calmer, more level headed personality - and Two-Face, his crueler, unstable half. It really felt like the Banner and the Hulk, with each half fighting for control.
In both cases, one half considers the other darker, more destructive, needing to be suppressed, while the other feels it's counterpart's weaker and should be pushed aside. It's a very interesting dynamic and one I like seeing explored here. Dent's attempts to bring out Batman's darker half give us one of the greatest moments of the mini, with Batman having a rare display of vulnerability in front of Commissioner Gordon. It was really refreshing to see, especially as he never usually shows a vulnerable side to Gordon.
Overall, this is a really good story, well worth reading. Though, near the end, I did have a slight problem with Batman not being as focused on stopping individual acts of violence as I'd expect he would. I'm also not really sure what the ending meant, but maybe it's just open to interpretation. Ultimately, Jekyll & Hyde's definitely well worth a read and, if you're a Two-Face fan, you won't be disappointed.
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