Tim Burton's Version of Two-Face Fixes Batman Forever's Worst Mistake
Warning: contains spoilers for Batman '89 #5!
Tim Burton's Batman, released in 1989, was one of the most important moments for the Caped Crusader on film — but the third film in the series ruined the director's plan to make a comic-accurate villain. Two-Face, debuting in 1995's Batman Forever, was quite a departure from his comic book self, engaging in rapid-fire comedy on par with the Joker. Unfortunately, a massive error regarding Harvey Dent's characterization wouldn't be corrected until 2022 with the release of Batman 89 #5.
Before Tim Burton's Batman, non-comic book readers judged the Dark Knight by the 60s Adam West television series, which was an outright comedy by design. While the series is fondly remembered by many viewers, the DC fans invested in the dark comics wanted a big-screen adaptation that matched the tone of the source material. Batman and the sequel Batman Returns fulfilled that promise, but Warner Bros. believed the latter film was perhaps too dark; they hired Joel Schumacher to replace Burton as part of an overall bid to considerably lighten the tone of the franchise. Unfortunately, while Batman Forever contained Two-Face as one of the villains, it wasn't the villain audiences were promised.
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The villain, played by Tommy Lee Jones, is extraordinarily campy and even rivals the Riddler in the theatricality department. Unfortunately, he's not accurate to the comic: in one memorable scene, Two-Face continues to flip his signature coin to obtain a desired result — something that rarely, if ever, happens in the comics. Batman '89 corrects this by showing Two-Face obey the coin: upon kidnapping Commissioner Gordon, Dent says «I
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