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| Name: |
Harvey Dent
| Alignment: |
Lawful Good
Neutral Evil.
| Affiliation: |
Gotham City (District Attorney)
Gotham City PD
Gotham City's Socialites via Bruce Wayne
Nelson & Murdock, Attorneys at Law via Matthew Murdock
| History: |
Harvey Dent was born in Gotham to Harry Dent, a respected officer of Gotham City Police Department, and Lucy Dent, a middle school teacher. He was born five years after his brother, Murray Dent.
Murray was less than pleased with the new arrival. It took 5 years for his coldness to turn to cruelty, and he began engaging in abusive behavior away from the eyes of their parents. This quickly grew boring for Murray, and he became vindictive, physically assaulting Harvey. Most often, he used a coin that Harry had given him, a misprinted Silver Dollar with two 'face' sides - Murray would bait the young Harvey into believing that the coin was fair, and dictate that a 'tails' side would allow Harvey respite for the night - obviously, each game resulted in 'heads', and more abuse from Murray. Eventually, Harvey's injuries became obvious, and Murray's behavior was at least suspected, if not outright known. Murray was talked to quietly, given suggestion, sometimes separated from his brother - but ultimately, any public concerns were quelled, and Harvey's suffering was swept under the rug by way of his father's police connections.
Harvey was young, but he was angry. Angry at his powerlessness against his brother, angry at his parents - his supposed protectors - and their readiness to ignore his plight, angry at the injustice that even his young mind could understand was present. He repressed the anger, pushing it into a ball deep inside him, knowing such anger was useless in the face of his troubles. Eventually, the repression fractured Harvey's psyche, and formed a second personality inside his mind - a vindictive, aggressive personality, born of anger and persecution, desiring nothing but destruction and retribution. Harvey dubbed this personality 'The Hangman'. Harvey wrestled with this personality throughout his life, constantly keep control, but fighting for it every step of the way.
Murray Dent lived until fifteen. Shortly after Harvey's tenth birthday, Harry and Lucy Dent took several nights out to celebrate their twentieth anniversary, opportunities Murray did not pass on. Murray engaged Harvey in a game involving cloth ties and hot water, once again using the coin. Once again, Harvey was fighting for control over his own self. Harvey lost. The Hangman awakened.
At that point, Harvey's body was controlled by an engine of pure rage and punishment. The Hangman surprised Murray with his anger-fueled strength and speed, pulling free and overpowering Murray. A melee ensued - and in the fracas, the water Murray had been using was spilled, splashing over a mains plug. The sparks set alight to the sheets, and both Dent children found themselves in the midst of an inferno. The Hangman, rage spent, retreated, and Harvey came back, face to face with fire. Blinded by panic, Harvey ran, some abstract part of his mind drawing him to snatch up Murray's fallen Silver Dollar on the way out. Murray Dent lived until fifteen.
Life changed immediately. Harvey's mother, Lucy, left her job and went near-catatonic, never stepping out into public. Harvey's father, Harry, was stricken ill by grief, suffering a heart attack and retiring from the police force, using saved pay and a sizable pension to support his remaining family. He began to drink, resentment for his surviving son growing inside him as his shell-shocked mind started to blame Harvey for Murray's death. Harvey withdrew from his parents, feeling The Hangman more than ever after its first taste of control. He turned to the coin, kept secret from his parents, using it as a tool for repression - he would assign his control to the 'face' sides, much the same as Murray had assigned his, and flip it whenever he felt The Hangman press upon him, gaining resolve when the coin landed, always showing 'heads'.
Harvey came to be heavily interested - and personally invested - in the concept of Justice, coming to regard it as a cosmic force, a natural rule as much as gravity. He saw the fates of his family as examples that supported these beliefs, and began to see himself as an arbiter of that force. Entering high school at 14, he set himself as quickly as he could on a path that would head toward the world of Criminal Law.
Harvey did well at school. He took Crime&Punishment as extra credit and graduated with high honors, getting into the Columbia and then Harvard Law to study Criminal Law, Justice, and the Penal System, during which time he struck up a lasting friendship with Matthew Murdock, despite the distance between their cities. He worked hard, graduating with a promising future ahead of him. Harvey Dent began to practice law immediately, serving justice as best as he could in Gotham's courtrooms.
It was during university that Harvey tried to take control of his mind once again, and he sought psychiatric care. He found himself a patient of Gilda Vernon, a doctor of psychology and medicine who had set up her own office. Together, they began to effectively treat Harvey's psyche and other personality, and The Hangman's influence on him was weakening - though he still kept his silver dollar. However, Harvey soon found himself thinking too much of the intelligent, beautiful Gilda, and cut off their patient/doctor relationship - in favor of a romantic affair that quickly deepened in emotion. Harvey and Gilda were married in the first year of his practicing law, and they were happy.
It took two years of law in Gotham and avoiding the pockets of crime lords for Harvey to finally land the position of Gotham's District Attorney - and at 26 years old, he was the youngest the city had ever seen. He worked quickly to begin the war against Gotham's organised crime, and particularly Carmine Falcone, that Harvey had been planning since his graduation. They drew the attention of GCPD - mainly the corrupt majority of the force - but more importantly, James Gordon, an honest cop in a dishonest town. They began to work together, making fair headway in their mission - but eventually, hitting a block where the criminals they were after had hidden themselves behind the law.
It was the emergence of the enigmatic vigilante that became known as the Batman that proved a breakthrough in Dent and Gordon's efforts against the mob. While Gordon was adamant with the Batman's status as an outlaw, it came to light that this man was one they could trust - and Gordon and Dent eventually struck up an uneasy alliance with the vigilante, allowing them, through him, to fight Gotham's mafia in areas the law would have otherwise restricted them.
It took a year, but together, the three were a true threat to Falcone's empire. Their final breakthrough came about by Carmine's own hand, an orchestrated tragedy that was intended to scare Harvey off, but only galvanized him with fury: a hit upon his wife. With her gone, Harvey felt The Hangman more than ever, but able to retain control and channel his grief and anger into one last surge at his campaign - and he finally managed to charge Carmine and make it stick, sending the crime lord to Blackgate. Harvey, Gordon, and Batman had won - but Harvey was left wondering at what cost.
Now, Harvey fights Gotham's crime alongside Gordon and Batman, with his good friends Bruce Wayne and Matthew Murdock to support him, although he still feels he has only one true companion.
It's me.
| Supporting Cast: |
Bruce Wayne, trusted friend.
James Gordon, war comrade.
Matthew Murdock, uni buddy.
Batman, vigilante.
The Hangman.
| How (if at all) does the New Frontier version of your character differ from the original?: |
Harvey's got a chopped-up backstory that lays the building blocks of the character while keeping him fresh and revitalized - although this is very much a pre-villain Dent.
I'm still here.
