With the recent news of Supernatural-alum, Misha Collins, playing Harvey Dent in the new show on The CW, Gotham Knights, the character has become the talk of the town again. Harvey Dent or Two-Face is a classic example of a hero going rogue and turning into a villain. It will be fun to see what Misha Collins brings to the character.
The brilliant portrayal of the character in The Dark Knight by Aaron Eckhart has made the character even more iconic. Nolan’s Two-Face had some incredibly amazing dialogue in the film that is still memorable for the fans of the movie.
From Hero To Villain
“You Either Die A Hero Or You Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become The Villain.”
One of the most famous quotes from The Dark Knight that is still used by people even outside the fandom is spoken by Harvey Dent. He says this while he was having a casual dinner with Bruce Wayne but it holds significance as it is a foreshadowing of Harvey’s fate in the film.
Harvey is on the brink of death when Rachel is killed and he is saved by the Gotham Police. While he’s saved, his face is disfigured and he also loses his morality, which turns him into a villain. The quote can also be applied to Batman in the film because, in the end, Harvey Dent dies and becomes the hero for the people of Gotham while Batman is alive but is dubbed the villain by the public.
Believer In Luck
“You Thought We Could Be Decent Men In An Indecent Time. But You Were Wrong. The World Is Cruel, And The Only Morality In A Cruel World Is Chance.”
Harvey Dent used to be a good person before Joker killed Rachel in The Dark Knight. He believed in justice and helped Gordon and Batman achieve that through his position as the city’s DA. However, after Rachel’s death, he turned immoral and this quote speaks of his cynicism.
Two-Face conveys that one cannot remain good in modern times when everyone else is immoral. It is a quote that is relevant in the world outside the world of the film too and that is why it hits so hard.
The Joker’s Biggest Pawn
“The Joker Chose Me!”
Harvey Dent is part of the trio of Gotham’s protectors, which also includes Batman and Commissioner Gordon. Harvey feels angry about the fact that the Joker targeted him out of all of them to hurt the most.
The Joker killed Harvey’s girlfriend, Rachel. This is why he feels that he was wronged the most by Joker, so he is entitled to act the way he is acting. He is not wrong because the Joker did choose him but it was only because the Joker knew that he would be the easiest to corrupt out of all three.
Wanted Revenge In The Name Of Justice
“It’s Not About What I Want, It’s About What’s Fair!”
After losing Rachel, Harvey becomes the opposite of what he stood for. He believed in doing good for the people. But after, he started thinking only for himself. He felt that he was wronged by many people in Gotham and he started going after them one by one to exact his revenge.
The worst part is that he believed that he is not doing it for himself, but because it is the right thing to do. Hence, this shows that he doesn’t believe that he is a villain but rather a hero. Such people can never be brought back to their good side because they don’t believe that they are doing anything wrong.
Evil Side
“That’s Funny… ‘Cause I Don’t Know What’s Gonna Happen To You Either.”
After becoming Two-Face, Harvey’s dark side becomes apparent, which probably was always a part of him. He starts killing people in cold blood and this line shows how truly evil he has become.
Like The Joker, he incites fear in his victims before killing them. He says that whether they will live or die depends on a coin toss, but in actuality, he never lets them live. This feels like a villainous thing to do because it proves that he enjoys killing people who have wronged him somehow.
Going After The Big Dogs
“The Joker’s Just A Mad Dog. I Want Whoever Let Him Off The Leash.”
The Joker knows exactly how to use words and through that, he corrupts Harvey. He convinces him that Rachel’s death is not his fault, but the fault of people in power in Gotham City.
Harvey gets hell-bent on revenge after this. Instead of going after the man who killed his girlfriend, he starts killing people who were somehow involved in her death and even innocents like Gordon, who couldn’t save her.
Victimized Himself Too Much
“Then Why Was It Me Who Was The Only One Who Lost Everything!?”
Some fans may have felt sympathy for him when he said that he lost Rachel, who was the love of his life, while Batman and Gordon lost nothing. The line is emotional and viewers can see how much he is hurting due to Rachel’s death but it is not true.
Unbeknownst to Harvey, the man behind Batman, Bruce Wayne also loved Rachel equally, if not more. This shows the difference between Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne. Both of them lost the love of their lives, but while Bruce grieved after saving the city, Harvey turned his grief into anger and started hurting other people, even innocent kids. This is why Bruce Wayne is the true hero of the film and Harvey became the villain.
Heartless Killer
“Tell Your Boy It’s Going To Be All Right, Gordon. Lie. Like I Lied.”
Two-Face was not only a killer but a heartless one. He wanted Jim Gordon to hurt like he did when Rachel died. He had to lie to Rachel when she was about to die that it was going to be okay. The incident left a huge impact on him and made him malicious enough to want others to go through what he went through.
So, while Two-Face is about to kill Gordon’s son, he tells Gordon to lie to his son. It is an extremely evocative line because it demonstrates his heinousness as well as his pain.
A Man Of Fate
“Heads…You Live, Tails…You Die.”
A classic Harvey Dent or Two-Face move is tossing the coin and making decisions based on that. So, it is a no-brainer that one of his best lines that The Dark Knight trilogy fans will never forget is when he tells his victims that their life depends on a coin toss.
This quote is what makes him stand out as a villain not just in the Christopher Nolan movies but in the DC universe as a whole. Upon hearing or reading this quote, any fan will be able to easily guess that it’s from Two-Face.
Believed In Batman
“One Day The Batman Will Have To Answer For The Laws He’s Broken. But To Us… Not To This Madman.”
Before becoming Two-Face, a malicious villain, Harvey Dent was a good man. He helped Batman and Gordon in maintaining justice and order in Gotham City. Not only this, he believed in Batman and did not want him to stop being the caped crusader.
When Joker demanded Batman to reveal his identity, he took the fall and said that Batman doesn’t have to give in to a madman like Joker and accept defeat. He wanted Batman to fight against Joker because he believed that Batman has the potential to save the city from falling. Thus, this quote is a reminder of the good side of Harvey Dent before Joker corrupted him.
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