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For that, we have to go elsewhere for more insight about his feelings about both Bullock and Batman, to the story which is the single greatest appearance Harvey Dent in the DCAU. Of course, my reading of Harvey's words cannot be supported by these five seconds of screen time. I'll totally do that when you capture Batman, which I know you're TOTALLY capable of accomplishing, absolutely. Personally, I suspect that Dent there had no great personal interest in capturing Batman, so his casual line could easily be read as "Suuuuure, Bullock. Because the world simply couldn't handle two Harveys at once! The Two Harveys! Quick, somebody throw together a fabulously 80's-tastic mockup movie poster, stat! I always liked how Harvey's one line is spoken towards the other character who shares his name. "If you catch 'im, Harvey, I'll put him in jail for you." The scene then gets a second touch of irony once Hill requests Bullock's anti-Bat squad, because a smug Bullock turns to the man who actually will snap, and asks District Attorney Harvey Dent for an airtight case to be made against the Batman.Ĭut to our guy with his only line of the episode, his first words spoken in the DCAU: The camera pans to the shadowed hand in the foreground while Bullock argues against Batman by saying, "Your Honor, any nutcase that dresses up like a bat sooner or later is gonna snap!" I suspect that the juxtaposition of the flipping coin and Bullock's line was a purposeful bit of foreshadowing. Of course, he did so without first going to Commissioner Gordon, who has repeatedly opposed Bullock's desires for a tactical anti-Batman strike force.Īnd so, for a couple minutes, Bullock and Gordon debate while Mayor Hill referees and a mysterious figure in shadow watches while flipping a coin. Man-Bat, mistaken for the real Batman, has been terrorizing the city and attacking guards, and thus everyone's favorite slob cop, Harvey Bullock, has taken it upon himself to vow war on the vigilante. In this scene, the show's administrative heads of Gotham government gather to discuss the problem of Batman. It's just so lush, so fluid, so bracingly cinematic, that the ho-hum "Batman is framed by a bat-monster!" story is incredibly watchable, even if the episode itself is rather forgettable.Īs such, it's unsurprising that few people have a vivid recollection of one rather mundane, talk-heavy scene early in the episode, set in Mayor Hill's spacious, deco-tacular office: I'd consider the animation in On Leather Wings to be superior to every other episode in the show. Nonetheless, the episode made the desired impact, partially because the animation is gorgeous. And then dance for me, my pretties, dance! If you're a Man-Bat fan who disagrees, by all means, feel free to explain why in the comments! Extra points if you go "SKREE!" between every sentence. In a show that specialized in humanizing villains, Man-Bat's basic inhumanity was probably a detriment. It wasn't like the Joker, where you had to deal with people expecting him to be Jack Nicholson or Cesar Romero." Which was a smart idea, although I don't think anybody really became fans of Kirk Langstrom after that episode. Nobody had any preconceived notions about him. ![]() In a recent-ish interview, Bruce Timm said, "Man-Bat was chosen specifically because he wasn't familiar to very many people outside of comic book fans. ![]() Turns out, this was entirely intentional. I can only imagine these kids and adults-people who largely only know Batman from the Adam West show and the still-very-huge Tim Burton movies-watching this in Fall of 1992 and thinking, "What in the hell is a Man-Bat?!" At least, that's what little twelve-year-old me thought at the time. On Leather Wings ( available to watch for free, with ads, over at ) was a bizarre choice for a pilot episode, especially one that premiered in prime time for adult audiences. While there's not much to discuss about this tiny appearance, it's worth noting not only as being one of the all-too-few appearances of Harvey pre-Two-Face, but also because his presence in this pilot gives Harvey the distinction of being one of the few characters whom we can say was in B:TAS from the very beginning. Also, never mind the fact that On Leather Wings isn't the most memorable episode either. Well, to be fair, Harvey's initial appearance was so brief, so blink-and-you'll-miss-it, that his debut feels less like a cameo and more like an easter egg. Strange as it may seem, many people never even noticed Harvey Dent's first appearance in Batman: The Animated Series! I'm not just talking about people who'd never heard of the character before, but actual Batman fans who should have otherwise recognized the man who would become Two-Face! Seriously! How could this even happen?
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