History ComicBook / Batman89

-->'''James Gordon:''' Tragedy doesn't ''change'' you, Harvey. It ''reveals'' you. Maybe she's finally ''seeing'' what you ''always were''--a ''spineless opportunist''. No real sense of ''right and wrong'''...just a ''finger'' in the air to see which way the ''wind'' was blowing. Now you've got your ''little coin'' to tell you what you can and can't do-- --As if you're not ''responsible'' for your own ''choices''. If you weren't such a ''pitiful weakling'', you'd be--\\

** Harvey Two-Face [[spoiler:dies by way of [[DisneyVillainDeath falling off into the abyss]], much like his original ''Batman Film Series'' counterpart in ''Film/BatmanForever''.]]

* BigBadSlippage: [[spoiler:Harvey Dent starts as a HeroAntagonist against Batman but ends up becoming Two-Face.]]

* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Commissioner Gordon and Two-Face are killed off in the final issue]].

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Issue #3 begins with Dent, in defiance of his typical origin story, carrying Drake out of the arsonist fire unscathed, becoming a celebrated national hero, and winning an almost-uncontested race for Governor. He's just about to [[TooGoodToBeTrue take down the group of mercenaries he always suspected were posing as "The Batman" with the help of Barbara, the new GCPD Commissioner]], when Jerome appears to bring him back to reality; as his fantasy begins to dissolve around him, [[YankTheDogsChain Harvey wakes up to Bruce and Drake dragging his badly scarred body out of the fire instead]]. From then on, he's haunted by the what-if of that perfect outcome, and the causality that led him here instead of there.]]

* ChekhovsGun: The giant metal (decorative) coin that saves Bruce's life during the opening shootout in issue #1 is eventually mounted as a display piece (begrudgingly) by Alfred in issue #4. In the final issue, [[spoiler:Selina drops the coin as a distraction to eventually force Harvey (holding Bruce at gunpoint) off the edge of the Batcave platform to his death]].

* ContinuityNod: The batarang Penguin planted to frame Batman in ''Film/BatmanReturns'', shows up in the police evidence file. [[spoiler: It gets taken by Two-Face and used as a ChekhovsGun in Issue #5 when Harvey throws it at Batman causing him to accidentally shoot a TranquilizerDart at Commissioner Gordon allowing Two-Face to leave taking him hostage.]]

** Just like in ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' Two-Face falls to his death, only this time it wasn't Batman's doing (not to mention this Batman initially being much less concerned for the lives of criminals than he is in those two films).

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Catwoman causes Two-Face's death, leading to Bruce rejecting her. In retaliation, Selina delivers evidence to Barbara Gordon revealing Bruce's identity. On the other hand, Bruce and Drake strike up a partnership with the latter convincing the former to try and help send the young girl from the beginning of the series to be adopted by his older sister.]]

* {{Irony}}: The details of Harvey Dent's HopeSpot in #3 -- [[spoiler: a brave rescue from the garage fire, being lauded for heroism, approached to run for political office, etc.]] -- do in fact start occurring... but for Bruce Wayne, not Harvey himself. And Bruce would rather it ''wasn't'', because it risks throwing light on his nocturnal activities.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Issue 3 features, [[spoiler:Harvey's alternate "Ideal" self visiting him in his dream while in the hospital. It's not clear from this exchange if he's truly an alternate self of Harvey or just a product of his mind. This particular universe has been confirmed as as part of the multiverse during the Arrowverse special Crisis on Infinite Earths and the dream Harvey produces a newspaper featuring Wayne's heroism that the Main Harvey could not have possibly seen at the time. However the world that Harvey dreams about at the start has Batman as multiple people and Bruce Wayne as a mere backer, something that Harvey incorrectly believes, giving evidence that his ideal self is a hallucination.]]

** Harvey Dent [[spoiler:becomes Two-Face after half his face is corroded by car battery acid while he's passed out on the floor of a burning building, which is incredibly similar to how he became Two-Face in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. The scarred half of his face is even portrayed in a similarly realistic manner as in that film (though his hair is still retains the white of his classic portrayals). His damaged side eventually turns blue, just like in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''.]]

* SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: In spite of his underprivileged life, Drake still holds onto some hope for humanity. He tells Bruce that his dark and sinister prescence might scare the bad guys, but he needs to reassure the innocent that he's protecting them.

* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Everyone from the movies is drawn to look like the actors, from Creator/MichaelKeaton as Bruce Wayne, Creator/BillyDeeWilliams as Harvey Dent, Creator/PatHingle as Commissioner Gordon, Creator/MichaelGough as Alfred Pennyworth, and [[spoiler:Creator/MichellePfeiffer as Catwoman.]] For the new characters (not in ''Batman'' and ''Batman Returns''), Barbara Gordon is apparently modeled after Creator/WinonaRyder at the time, "Dr.Q" resembles Music/{{Madonna}}, and true to the original plans for the character, Drake Winston/Robin is modeled after [[Creator/TheWayansFamily Marlon Wayans]].

* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Commissioner Gordon is killed off in the final issue]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler::Two-Face dies thanks to Catwoman, leading to Bruce rejecting her. In retaliation, Selena delivers evidence to Barbara Gordon revealing Bruce's identity. On the other hand, Bruce and Drake strike up a partnership with the latter convincing the former to try and help send the young girl from the beginning of the series to be adopted by his older sister.]]

* ContinuityNod: The batarang Penguin planted to frame Batman in ''Film/BatmanReturns'', shows up in the police evidence file.

*** Harvey Dent believes that Batman is actually a group of mercenaries set up by Gordon, which is a theory put out by Two-Face in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode ''Almost Got ‘Im''.

* AgeLift: Barbara Gordon is traditionally portrayed as a younger woman around Dick Grayson's age. In this continuity, she's old enough to date Harvey Dent.

*** One gangster in the first issue appears to be a Joker-themed Mutant fron that series.

** A subtle one to the ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'' volume which featured Burnside as a trendy hipster section of Gotham. Since this comic is set in 1989 and shows Burnside is both one of the poorer sections of Gotham and has a predominantly Black community, it subtly implies Burnside in the modern era comics only got "trendy" thanks to white gentrification.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Barbara Gordon being Harvey Dent's fiance originated in ''Wizard Magazine'' 's [[https://theculturednerd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/5757323-0770575980-tumbl-687x1024.jpg pitch]] for an [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimates]]-style reimaging back in 2003.

* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Everyone from the movies is drawn to look like the actors, from Creator/MichaelKeaton as Bruce Wayne, Creator/BillyDeeWilliams as Harvey Dent, Creator/PatHingle as Commissioner Gordon, Creator/MichaelGough as Alfred Pennyworth, and [[spoiler:Creator/MichellePfeiffer as Catwoman.]] For the new characters (not in ''Batman'' and ''Batman Returns''), Barbara Gordon is apparently modeled after Creator/WinonaRyder at the time, and true to the original plans for the character, Drake Winston/Robin is modeled after Marlon Wayans.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Drake is certain (and has multiple good reasons to believe) that Bruce Wayne is Batman, but since Bruce refuses to admit it no matter how much he prods him, he resorts to drastic measures: he's got a test tube of battery acid, and he ''will'' disfigure Wayne if he doesn't reveal the truth. Bruce immediately goes into action mode -- feinting, flipping him into a bookcase and breaking the coffee table over him -- until Drake manages to throw the tube in his face, revealing that it's water. Bruce, already impressed with his tenacity, [[YouGotGuts decides to team up with him as a partner.]]

It is some time after [[Film/BatmanReturns the Penguin's rampage]], and Gotham remains on a knife-edge. Crime is spiralling back out of control, and gangs of vigilantes have taken to wearing Batman's symbol and acting in his name to restore order -- but in addition to lacking his skill, many of them also lack his interest in justice and seem more interested in provoking the African-American residents of the Burnside district. Racial tensions are at a high, and District Attorney Harvey Dent, with one eye on helping his old neighborhood and another on advancing his political career, has decided that enough is enough; the city can no longer tolerate Batman acting outside the law with impunity. Together with his girlfriend, GCPD Sergeant Barbara Gordon -- the estranged daughter of Commissioner Gordon -- Dent decides that Batman needs to be taken down. Between being targeted by Dent and the National Guard, the return of an old love, the rise of a young challenger in a mask, a city about to explode and his own qualms about how to best fulfil his pledge to protect Gotham, Batman quickly finds himself with his hands full -- but Dent has demons of his own bubbling away just under the surface, and a unfortunate twist of luck will leave the fate of Gotham hanging on the flip of a coin...

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Issue #3 begins with Dent, in defiance of his typical origin story, carrying Drake out of the arsonist fire unscathed, becoming a celebrated national hero, and winning an almost-uncontested race for Governor. He's just about to [[TooGoodToBeTrue take down the group of mercanaries he always suspected were posing as "The Batman" with the help of Barbara, the new GCPD Commissioner]], when Jerome appears to bring him back to reality; as his fantasy begins to dissolve around him, [[YankTheDogsChain Harvey wakes up to Bruce and Drake dragging his badly scarred body out of the fire instead]]. From then on, he's haunted by the what-if of that perfect outcome, and the causality that led him here instead of there.]]

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Drake is certain (and has multiple good reasons to believe) that Bruce Wayne is Batman, but since Bruce refuses to admit it no matter how much he prods him, he resorts to drastic measures: he's got a test tube of battery acid, and he ''will'' disfigure Wayne if he doesn't reveal the truth. Bruce immediately goes into action mode -- feinting, flipping him into a bookcase and breaking the coffee table over him -- until Drake manages to throw the tube in his face, revealing that it's water. Bruce, already impressed with his tenacity, [[YouGotGuts is impressed enough to team up with him as a partner.]]

* ShoutOut: On Halloween night, several Gothamites wear costumes based on Tim Burton's other works. These include [[Film/{{Beetlejuice}} Lydia Deetz, Miss Argentina]], [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Lock, Shock, and Barrel]], and [[Film/MarsAttacks The Martian Girl]].

** Catwoman's new costume mixes elements from her original movie costume with her 90's Jim Balent design, alongside elements from the ''Animated Series'' version as well.

->'''Harvey Dent:''' With your ''backing'', Bruce...we're going to take down ''Batman''.

* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Everyone from the movies is drawn to look like the actors, from Creator/MichaelKeaton as Bruce Wayne, Creator/BillyDeeWilliams as Harvey Dent, Creator/PatHingle as Commissioner Gordon, Creator/MichaelGough as Alfred Pennyworth, and [[spoiler:Creator/MichellePfeiffer as Catwoman]]. For the new characters (not in ''Batman'' and ''Batman Returns''), Barbara Gordon is apparently modeled after Creator/WinonaRyder at the time, and true to the original plans for the character, Drake Winston/Robin is modeled after Marlon Wayans.

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Issue #3 begins with Dent, in defiance of his typical origin story, carrying Drake out of the arsonist fire unscathed, becoming a celebrated national hero, and winning an almost-uncontested race for Governor. He's just about to [[TooGoodToBeTrue take down the group of mercanaries he always suspected were posing as "The Batman" with the help of Barbara, the new GCPD Commissioner,]] when Jerome appears to bring him back to reality; as his fantasy begins to dissolve around him, [[YankTheDogsChain Harvey wakes up to Bruce and Drake dragging his badly scarred body out of the fire instead]]. From then on, he's haunted by the what-if of that perfect outcome, and the causality that led him here instead of there.]]

*** In issue #3, when he's informed that Bruce Wayne [[spoiler:dragged him out of a burning building while he was unconscious]], Harvey Dent sardonically replies "The White Knight returns."

* YourDaysAreNumbered: A particularly cruel and realistic version -- both Bruce and the [=EMTs=] point out [[spoiler:on the night of the Royal garage fire]] that [[spoiler:even if Harvey survives the night, the sulfuric acid fumes he potentially inhaled could rot away his throat and lungs, killing him by respiratory failure within six months]].