I’m generally more of a Marvel-guy than a DC-guy, but you have to admit that Batman has some of the most intriguing villains of just about any superhero out there. This here is my tribute to one of the most conflicted villains of them all, Two-Face.

For those unfamiliar with the character, Two-Face is the result of the fractured psyche of attorney Harvey Dent, two sides of the same man fighting for control of one body. Years of childhood abuse caused him to develop a much darker side of his normally kind and just personality and the barrier between those two sides was broken when a mob boss destroyed half of his face with a vile of acid. The dark and cruel side of Harvey now unleashed, the criminal Two-Face was born, a polar opposite to everything the noble Harvey Dent once stood for. (Now that’s some cool shit right there!)

With Two-Face there is no right, and there is no wrong… there is only the coin. Every major decision that Two-Face makes is decided by the flip of his two-headed coin (one side of which is scarred just like him). If it lands pristine side up, then mercy is shown; if it lands scarred side up, then… he’s not so nice...

I pretty much tried to steer clear of the Tommy Lee Jones “Batman Forever” version of the character and stuck with a more old-school classic gangster vibe. And I thought keeping the entire picture rendered in black and white suited both that old-gangster-era vision and the character as well. One side of him is very sleek and handsome while the other side is just as polished, but entirely twisted and evil. I also tried to blur the line a bit in his face as to where one side starts and where the other one finishes as I thought it added some mystery and a touch more reality.

So in this picture he’s got the drop on Batman, and the flip of the coin will decide the Bat’s fate. I tried to get a little artsy and divide the composition in half without actually cutting it straight down the middle. So to that end, I’ve got Batman’s cape going diagonally one way and Harvey’s shadow continuing that motion in the bottom half of the piece. That also gave me a nice dark background to contrast the white side of Harvey’s suit and to help silhouette the coin. Ohhhh, check me out! I’m being all artsy!!!

Desktop version for your computer can be found here [link]

99% Acrylic paint on illustration board with only the highlight and the motion blur on the coin done in Photoshop.

Two-Face and Batman characters © DC Comics, this image of Two-Face and Batman © Walter O’Neal 2006