Either you die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
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~ Harvey's most famous quote, and foreshadowing of his transformation into Two-Face.
“
The night is darkest before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.
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~ Harvey to the Gotham City press
Harvey Dent, later known as Two-Face, is the tritagonist of the 2008 film The Dark Knight, the second installment of The Dark Night trilogy.
Upon being elected as Gotham City's district attorney, the idealistic Dent dedicated himself to ridding the city of organized crime. However, he was horribly disfigured in an explosion rigged by the Joker that also killed his fiancee Rachel Dawes. Driven insane with grief, he became a vigilante and swore revenge on everyone he held responsible for Rachel's death, including his former allies Batman and Commissioner Jim Gordon.
Harvey is the district attorney of Gotham City, who is trying to help bring down the city's organized crime. However, after the Joker kills his girlfriend, Rachel Dawes, and disfigures his face, he goes insane with grief. The Joker sneaks into Harvey's hospital room and convinces him to go after the people he blames for Rachel's death. As "Harvey Two-Face" - the nickname Gordon's men had given him while he was in Internal Affairs - he kills the two corrupt cops who kidnapped Rachel, as well as mob boss Sal Maroni, who hired the Joker.
He then tries to get revenge on Batman and Gordon, whom he blames for failing to protect Rachel. He holds Gordon's wife and children hostage, and says he is going to kill Gordon's son to inflict upon him the pain of losing a loved one. Batman arrives and tells Harvey to confront the people responsible - Batman, Gordon, and himself. Harvey flips his coin to decide their fates, shooting Batman (who is wearing body armor) and sparing himself. Just as he is about to flip for Gordon's son, Batman tackles him off the ledge, and he breaks his neck in the fall, killing him instantly. Batman then takes the blame for Harvey's crimes so the late D.A. will be remembered as a hero and the people of Gotham will have something to believe in.
The following film in the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, reveals that Gotham's politicians use Harvey's heroic public image to pass the Dent Act, legislation that gives police enhanced powers to fight crime. Eight years later, the Dent Act has all but eliminated organized crime in Gotham, and Harvey has been honored with his own holiday, Harvey Dent Day. By the end of the film, however, Bane has publicly revealed the truth about Harvey.
Trivia[]
Harvey and Talia al Ghul are the most personal villains for Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight Trilogy. Harvey represented the idealistic version of Batman, which doesn't need a cape and gadgets to cleanse the city from the criminals. At the same time, Talia was an anti-Batman. Basically, she in The Dark Knight Rises is Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins if he drowned down in his desire to avenge his parents' deaths and agreed to lead the League of Shadows' crusade against Gotham. Ultimately, both Talia and Dent were the only villains which were killed by Batman himself.
