Sunday, May 10, 2015
Two-Face - The First Domino - J.D. Coughlan
2x3 page
Panel 1: A man (Harmon) tied to a chair in a dark room. He is in his mid-60s, heavyset, and dishevelled. He has just regained consciousness, squinting in the dim light.
TWO-FACE (OP): William Harmon. Former Gotham City judge.
HARMON: Who... Who is that?
Panel 2: Over Harmon's shoulder. Two-Face stands in the shadow, his "bad side" covered in darkness, and plays absent-minded with his coin. A small table stands next to him with a bottle on it.
TWO-FACE: Every decision we make has consequences, Mr. Harmon.
TWO-FACE: Even a fifty-fifty choice can have infinite possible outcomes.
Panel 3: Close up on Harmon. He is sweating and panicked, but trying to stay calm.
TWO-FACE (OP): But we all have to live with the outcome we choose.
TWO-FACE (OP): That outcome can lead to consequences we could never even fathom.
Panel 4: Close on Two-Face. He leans out of the dark, revealing his full face with a menacing expression.
TWO-FACE: Thirty years ago, you had a fifty-fifty choice. You chose "not guilty."
Panel 5: Mid-shot of Harmon, now terrified and struggling against his bonds. In the foreground, Two-Face's hand reaches for the bottle on the table, which we see has a "HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL" warning label on it.
TWO-FACE (OP): And a teenager named Salvatore Maroni walked free from auto-theft charges. His first offence.
TWO-FACE (OP): I had to live with that decision.
Panel 6: Close on Two-Face. He holds the bottle, which we see also says "ACID" on it, up to his face, as if reading the label.
TWO-FACE: But don't worry. You won't have to live with it much longer.
END OF PAGE
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Love this look into the question of how far back one needs to - or can - go to find someone's true origin moment. A really nice idea of a could have been that might have changed Harvey's entire trajectory.
ReplyDeleteI also dig the 50/50 language and the haunting final line. Gives me some shivers.
My one suggestion would be to modify Harmon's first line to a "Who's there?" or some such, as his current one can make it seem like he's wondering who "William Harmon. Former Gotham City judge" is.
Ha, you're right about that. Originally, the opening lines were different, but I eliminated a panel and didn't adjust. My bad!
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