State Your Opinion on A Character

[Anubis]

My moneys on him being a previously banned poster or something.


Aww man, this was an awesome thread too. Somebody's gonna have to take it up. The Marvel one too for that matter.

 

[SuperFerret]

Probably for bringing up Carnage in the Marvel version of this thread. If so, the mods are doing something right.

 

[Hound55]

You guys are missing the point here with the Question. Yes, he is a detective, but comparing him to Bruce or Tim is apples and oranges. Go watch CSI and then watch Chinatown. Both are technically about detectives, but the results couldn't be more different. Whereas Bruce and Tim will have the Bat-Computer analyze the dirt off of a guy's boot and cross it with the Oracle database of Middle-Eastern clay dealers, The Question will be at the docks making life hell for guys until he gets what he wants. Whereas Batman (in comics moreso than film) is a forensic driven detective, The Question is a gumshoe -- a street level do-gooder who is out to find connections and will find himself over his head time and time again because he's not afraid to ask the questions others won't. Now, obviously, my analysis of The Question is based mostly on Vic Sage (whom God-willing, will return in the coming months), but all of these attributes could be seen with Montoya as well. Frankly, if she would get her **** together and act like the Montoya of old instead of being such a *****, I would have no problem with her taking up the mantle. She just needs to deeper and not be so afraid of sounding crazy. Frankly, I think her character was wasted in Final Crisis. 5 Books of Blood could have been her finding out about the oncoming storm before anyone else, but instead it was just a lead-in to Revelations and had her become a cult leader (for realz!?). Like Hawkman, I do not believe the world is ready for a Question feature film yet, but the way he was used in JLU was incredibly well done and if that could translate, you'd have one excited Wompster.
Now, as for the New Age mystic side of the character that was actually surprisingly evident in 52, I'm not sure where I stand on it. I've only read the beginning of the O'Niel series of the Question, so I was never able to see how that side of the character evolved. Honestly, going back to Chinatown, I have a hard time seeing such a paranoid hardnose shamus believe in such nonsense. Even the advanced martial arts of the characters puts him too close to Batman. The Question should be a scrapper, a rough-house, a fighter, a man who's not afraid to ask . . . The Question.

Personally, I'd love to see a Vic Sage Question TV series put together... Have a number of stand alone eps leading to a wider conspiracy wrapped up at the end of each season (you know the type...)

The New Age Mysticism and zen stuff came early on in the Denny O'Neil stuff. Richard Dragon didn't just teach hm how to fight... It was good to see a lot of references to that and deep stuff from the character's past in 52.

 

[sandwraith]

My moneys on him being a previously banned poster or something.


Aww man, this was an awesome thread too. Somebody's gonna have to take it up. The Marvel one too for that matter.

Yeah...someone needs to keep the ball rolling.

 

[WompuM]

I'll keep it going. I want to get back on the Hype! wagon anyway.

As I said in my previous posts, comparing Question to Sherlock is apples and organges. Sherlock uses deductive reasoning with a focus on detailed forensic evidence. Question is all about finding connections even if the connections don't make sense. He is a conspiracy theorist gumshoe. He could work on screen, yes, but not in a big budget Guy Ritchie action romp. It would work better as a Chinatown, Maltese Dragon type.

 

[WompuM]

Anyway how about:

Is the character worth having beyond his origin story? Is he too gimmicky to be a worthwhile character and is he kept around only because of nostalgia?

 

[Spike_x1]

I think Harvey works great, but you definitely need the right kind of story for him to work and stand out properly, like Dark Victory, The Long Halloween, or how he was used in No Man's Land.

Dent is in good shape and has experience brawling, so I can buy him getting in the occasional cheap shot when confronted one on one with Batman, but he's obviously going to end up with a flat surface where his face(s) used to be in an actual physical fight with Batman or his crew. And he needs to be different from other gang leaders, beyond the number 2 gimmick, which is just a surface detail.

I'm not a fan of the lesser Two-Face stories that you hear about (although I can only think of one offhand), where he just robs the 2nd National Bank, or whatever. I mean, sure, he probably needs to fund his operations somehow, but I feel those stories aren't making the best use of his character, but at the same time, finding a proper use for his character is kind of tricky.

Still, he's very smart, organized, and is a charismatic leader, so if there's a story that calls for the Gotham rogues to team up, Two-Face is probably the best candidate to lead them. But he'd need to have the proper kind of motivation and all that jazz.

 

[Anubis]

Yeah, I dig Two-Face. Mainly due to the Animated Series.

When written well, he's easily one of Batman's top rogues. Which is saying something.

 

[Kitsune]

And...Tenfold got Banned. Why?

Maybe someone had to "Hush Tenfold"

 

[SuperFerret]

I'll have to flip a coin.

 

[Anubis]

 

[twylight]

Oh, lawls SF... lawls...

Anyway, I have no opinion on him one way or another. Read maybe one book with him (Gotham Central) and I enjoyed that particular arc. It really drove home the split-sides and was enjoyable.

 

[Anubis]

I liked in Robin Year one where he beat Dick nearly to death with a baseball bat.

I don't know why......

 

[kytrigger]

He's definitely one of those characters that can either be great or awful depending on how they're written. I tend to roll my eyes at anything that is just him robbing 2nd street on the second of the month or something, but when they actually develop both of his personalities, they make for pretty good stories.

One of the only things that I actually want to read of Montoya's Question, would be a story about her and Two-Face again like in Gotham Central.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Two-Face all depends on the writer for me. He's got such a clearly defined schtick that there's really nowhere to go with it at this point, so it comes down to whether the writer can craft a great story around him or not. If they can, he tends to come across as a truly chilling representative of order--the ultimate by-the-book, anal-retentive bureaucrat gone horribly wrong. If not, he comes across as a guy in a silly suit with a gimmick.

 

[E-Man]

Two-Face is an excellent example of how bad Gotham is in the comics. Here you have a guy who really was good, and tried to change things in such a horrible city. He was one of the good ones who tried to make it work, but it literally blew up in his face. I can see how that would send a guy over the edge. Working all of those hours to make things work, but your only thanks come in the form of acid in your face. In a way it explains the need for Batman along with giving him a reason to be so obsessed with his job. It shows that even the good people like Dent get corrupted, and I could see how Batman really blames himself for not being faster to save Harvey.

 

[Wolfwood]

E-Man stole my answer.

But yeah, when I saw Two-Face, something similar came to mind. To me he's a walking representation of Gotham itself and that's what I like most about him.

 

[chiefchirpa]

Must be a real coward. Years of being upholder of justice and then all of a sudden becomes aligned with the crooks and their crimes just because he can't beat them?

Two-face = coward or just a plain liar who pretends to do good for sometime in life.

PS: there, edited, thanks

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

chief, someone on the boards was just saying yesterday that they got an infraction for posting up that 'p' word with out censoring it.

 

[sandwraith]

Two-Face spent his whole childhood getting whipped by his dad which essentially created a dark side to his persona.

A lot of people think the scarred side represents the "Evil" side to Two-Face. Here's the mind-***k: maybe it's the other way round.

I remember a scene in the Dark Knight Returns when Two-Face, his face fully restored confronts Batman about how he was "a good sport" and its okay since now "both sides match" and he demands to know what Batman sees. One panel depicts Harvey Dent as he was restored, the next, a Dent with his face fully scarred. All Batman replied was that he saw "A reflection".

Interpret that how you want.

As for me, Two-Face represents the duality of all people. We want to do good but somewhere down the line we tend to find the alternative a LOT more easier. So how does Dent skirt the line between good and evil? Chance. The Great Equalizer.

 

[WompuM]

 

[Mystirious]

I liked in Robin Year one where he beat Dick nearly to death with a baseball bat.

I don't know why......

Do you not like Dick 'Nubsy

I dig the stories about Two Face that showcase just how fractured his personality is like the No Mans Land stories. Basically any time Greg Rucka writes him it'll be an interesting story

 

[Lord]

He could be cooler

 

[WompuM]

. . . how so?

 

[DrCosmic]

Two Face doesn't do much beyond his origin story. He has potential, like all characters do, but different people go different ways with him. Is he duality? Is he Gotham? Is he a bureaucrat?

But the gimmick he has, chance, is a lot of fun to play with, and he has that personal connection with Batman so you can't let him go, because you always have that string to tug on. But it says a lot about the character when you have to retcon them to make them more interesting.