Batman ’89 Reveals How Billy Dee Williams Became Two-Face

Warning! Potential spoilers for Batman ’89 #2 by DC Comics below

DC Comics Batman ’89 comic continues to build on the lost plot points of the Tim Burton universe, as Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent just suffered the accident that will turn him into the villain Two-Face. In Batman ’89 #2, Dent attempted to save the life of Drake Winston, but after entering a building engulfed by flames, he fell to the ground and was knocked out as acid and flames quickly made their way to him.

Legendary actor Billy Dee Williams portrayed Harvey Dent in Batman, where the character promised to help stop crime in Gotham City as the Joker became a major threat. However, his transformation into the villain Two-Face never happened on-screen, as the actor didn’t appear in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, and the character was recast as Tommy Lee Jones in Joel Schumaker’s Batman Forever. Batman ’89 is a sequel comic to Batman which has introduced lost characters including Marlon Wayans’ Robin and continued the adventures of Burton’s iconic universe, including showing Dent’s transformation to Two-Face.

In Batman #89 #2 by Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones, Leonardo Ito, and Clayton Cowles, Harvey Dent visits Burnside, the place where he grew up. The story intertwines with Drake Winston (Robin), a mechanic who’s servicing Dent’s vehicle. Dent seeks out Drake’s photographic memory for car parts to help him get leads on the Batmobile but is met with resistance for being a cop – as a curfew and the National Guard has been deployed across Gotham City to stop Batman. Dent receives pushback from the GCPD over comments he made about people of Burnside being treated differently, with one cop lighting the garage he was just at on fire. Dent heroically breaks into the engulfed garage to save Drake, who’s still inside but is knocked out after falling through the stairs. Dent’s face lays on the ground as battery acid and fire spills towards him.

It certainly appears Dent will see the side of his face burned off by flames and chemicals, leading him to become Two-Face. It’s quite the setup for the villain, as Dent was causing some real change in his city. Soon, readers will find out how the incident leads him down a darker path.

Batman ’89 #3 previews have teased Dent’s transformation into Two-Face following the incident in the series’ second issue. While fans of Batman might not have gotten to see Williams become Two-Face in Tim Burton’s Batman films, the continuation is finally making it happen more than 30 years later. It’s exciting to see, even if it’s bad news for Dent. For those wanting to see how Billy Dee Williams’ Dent becomes Two-Face, Batman ‘89 #2 is in comic book stores now.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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