Batman’s Perfect Nemesis Was Never the Joker (Or Riddler)

Batman’s iconic rogue’s gallery supplies fans with plenty of great stories, the most popular being his complicated relationship with his nemesis, the Joker. However, plenty of Batman’s villains offer a challenge that would really make his life difficult, in fact, it’s been argued that his nemesis could actually be The Riddler. Despite his many battles between the two, one of his villains has an even more compelling story to perfectly combat the Dark Knight: Two-Face.

There are many stories of Harvey’s fall from grace, but Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s The Long Halloween perfectly encapsulate the complicated creation of Two-Face and the potential that he and Batman’s relationship holds. Forced to face an ever-looming threat in Gotham, Batman is led down a path full of suspicion and the criminal underground. With Detective Gordon’s help, the Dark Knight is strung along until the very end, crafting a complicated relationship with the man Harvey Dent.

The potential for a budding arch-enemy fallout begins in The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale, Gregory Wright, and Richard Starkings. After a string of murders in the infamous crime family’s inner circles, Batman, Detective Gordon, and Harvey agree to help one another catch the killer. Harvey’s loyalty is called into question after an attack on his own home from a criminal organization. The Dark Knight believes this to be motive enough for the man to want to murder these criminals. Suspicion is a powerful motivator, and Batman wraps himself in it until it becomes him and even consumes him. Harvey got into his head, every move he made was under scrutiny, but it was a difficult time as the two of them considered each other friends and allies.

Both have the same desire to rid Gotham of its criminal element, but neither can agree on how they should tackle the problem. Harvey believes that, despite working to catch the Holiday Killer, he’s doing Gotham a favor by taking out a crime family. In fact, this leads to his suspicion that Bruce Wayne is working with Falcone in issue #9. He even arrests him, but when the jury lets Mr. Wayne go, Harvey gets twisted up in his bitterness. The two are locked in a dance of never-ending blame, pointing to each other while the betrayal and the hurt fester and build. Once friends, they become enemies, even while Harvey was innocent at the time.

It wasn’t until issue #11 that Harvey truly became Two-Face when acid was splashed onto his face, burning half of it. But that never meant that he was guilty of the crimes. Harvey’s spiral of madness took a steep turn for the worse under Batman’s watchful gaze. When he was proven innocent and the real perpetrator came forward, the Dark Knight would become consumed with guilt. Issue #13 showed how Batman blamed himself and displayed just how much guilt he had over blaming his friend. The events of The Long Halloween and Batman’s mistrust created Two-Face. Being forced to face a former friend and a villain of his own creation would become Batman’s greatest challenge yet and the perfect nemesis.

Together, the two of them walk a fine line between what’s right, like two sides of a coin, Two-Face and Batman are locked in a battle with the same goal in mind. They reflect each other’s desires perfectly, but with vastly different ways to achieve them. The perfect nemesis to Batman was never the Joker or even The Riddler but is a reflection of himself to an extreme, a person he created and will be forced to battle.