Everything That Happened To Harvey Dent After Tim Burton's Batman (2024)

Billy Dee Williams plays Harvey Dent in 1989’s Batman, but his in-continuity story did not end after the film. 1989's Batman is one of the superhero genre’s most influential films, helping to establish the modern superhero blockbuster that dominates pop culture to this day. After 1992’s controversial Batman Returns, Burton’s Batman continuity continued with Joel Schumacher’s more lighthearted Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, but these films now comprise one of two branching timelines following the events of Returns. The other continuity, which includes Sam Hamm’s Batman ’89 comics and the upcoming DCEU film The Flash, continues the story of William’s Harvey Dent, including his transformation into Two-Face.

Billy Dee Williams notably accepted the offer to play Harvey Dent in Batman because he believed he would be playing Two-Face in a future installment. Williams played the role of Dent well but unfortunately never got to play a live-action Two-Face, as he was replaced by Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever. Batman ’89 retains the visual and narrative stylings of Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns while adding new characters and lore to the continuity, such as Drake Winston (an original version of Robin) and a reimagined version of Barbara Gordon. The story of Harvey Dent, who retains the likeness of Williams, continues after the events of Batman.

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Harvey Dent Dates Barbara Gordon

Batman ’89 introduces several new major characters to the Burton Batman universe, with Barbara Gordon being one of the most prominent. Unlike most iterations of Barbara Gordon, the Batman ’89 iteration is a sergeant in the GCPD who is engaged to Harvey Dent at the start of the series. There are few solid hints that Barbara Gordon will become Batgirl in any potential future story arcs of Batman ’89, but she is characterized as a well-intentioned police officer who learns Batman’s secret identity by the end of the series, making her potentially an ally or dangerous enemy to Bruce Wayne.

Dent Leads A Campaign Against Batman

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Batman ’89 picks up where Batman Returns leaves off, with Batman not yet in good graces with the GCPD. Although Batman defeated The Joker and gifted the city with the Bat-Signal at the end of 1989’s Batman, he was framed as the murderer of the Ice Princess by the Penguin in Returns. To make matters worse, Batman’s vigilante activities inspire a gang of criminals called the “Batmen” who operate under the pretense of protecting Gotham and find themselves in a gang war with a group of criminals who pattern themselves after the late Joker. Despite Batman’s heroism, the GCPD sees him as the root of this latest wave of chaos.

While Batman is secretly working with Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Dent begins working towards apprehending the hero and discovering his secret identity. While Dent and Harvey Bullock unsuccessfully attempt to trap Batman with a false summons via the Bat-Signal, Dent and Barbara Gordon come close to deducing Batman’s identity by studying a computerized Batarang and discarded components of the Batmobile that had been left behind in Batman Returns. Dent incorrectly guesses that multiple vigilantes all use the Batman gear and moniker, with a dream sequence depicting them as Michael Keaton’s successors to the Batman role, such as Val Kilmer, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson.

How Billy Dee Williams' Harvey Dent Becomes Two-Face

Sam Hamm’s Batman ’89 comics have a stronger focus on characterization than the two Burton films, resulting in a detailed backstory for Harvey Dent and a goal of helping his home neighborhood of Burnside. During the gang war between the Batmen and the Joker Gang, the Royal Autobody (run by Jerome Otis, a close friend of Dent’s) is lit on fire, leading Harvey Dent to rush into the building to rescue Otis’ employee, Drake Winston. The rescue attempt goes awry and Dent’s face is scarred by burning battery acid, giving him a horrifying new appearance. To make matters worse, Dent inhales toxic fumes from the acid, damaging his psyche.

Related: Batman 1989: Did The Joker Kill Everyone In The Museum?

As he recovers from his injuries, Harvey Dent hallucinates a more sinister version of himself which soon manifests as an entirely separate personality. Without the support of the police and with seemingly only months to live due to the toxins he had inhaled, however, Harvey forms a gang to back him up in his fight to save Gotham’s “soul,” putting him at odds with both Batman and Barbara Gordon, as well as the former’s allies, Robin and Catwoman. While Batman Forever skipped over Two-Face’s origin in its branching timeline, Batman ’89 makes Harvey Dent’s turn to villainy a gradual and tragic transformation.

Two-Face Kills Commissioner Gordon

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Commissioner Gordon, despite having relatively minor roles in both Batman and Batman Returns, is a key character in the Burton Batman mythos. In early versions of the first film’s script, Gordon was going to be shown comforting a young Bruce Wayne the night his parents died, and while the scene did not make it to the final cut, it is referenced and canonized in a newspaper headline shown in the film as well as used in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Gordon’s role is expanded in Batman ’89 with his direct partnership with Batman, though it is tragically cut short by Two-Face.

Towards the end of Batman ’89, Two-Face brutally demonstrates how far he has fallen when he murders Commissioner Gordon, who he had taken as a hostage. Gordon insults Harvey Dent’s integrity to the point where he ignores his decision to keep Gordon alive (and thus defies his coin flip) and fatally shoots him. Gordon notably survives both sequels to Batman Returns in Joel Schumacher’s branching timeline.

Two-Face's Burtonverse Death Explained

Having learned Batman’s secret identity shortly after Commissioner Gordon’s death, Two-Face has a final confrontation with the Dark Knight in the Batcave, where he attempts to coerce him into becoming his hired muscle. Rather than simply defeat his friend, Batman tries to convince Harvey to redeem himself, but these efforts are interrupted by Catwoman, who sends Two-Face falling to his death. Although Catwoman and Batman had been allies throughout Batman ’89, her murder of Harvey Dent reignited their rivalry. Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent may have had a small role in 1989’s Batman, but his character is expanded on and tragically falls from grace in the Batman ’89 comics.

Next: Batman Returns: Does Catwoman Have Superpowers?