Batman #81
Batman #81 (February 1954) is the final Two-Face story of the Golden Age and, critically, the first appearance of what DC would later retroactively designate as the Earth-One version of Harvey Dent — a continuity distinction confirmed by the fact that the Earth-Two history of the character (Harvey Kent) established that his face was never re-scarred after Detective Comics #80. The issue's lead story, 'Two-Face Strikes Again!', closes Harvey Dent's Golden Age arc with permanent consequence: an explosion destroys his reconstructed face and his plastic surgeon confirms the procedure cannot be repeated, making his relapse irreversible and giving the character a tragic permanence absent from earlier tales. The giant-coin death trap invented here became one of the most durable set-pieces in Batman mythology, directly inspiring a celebrated scene in Batman: The Animated Series and establishing the in-universe origin of the giant penny trophy in the Batcave. After this issue, Two-Face would not appear again in comics for seventeen years, until Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams revived him in Batman #234 (1971) — a gap that only deepened the character's mystique.
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The lead story, 'Two-Face Strikes Again!', was written by David Vern Reed (credited on some records as 'David Vern'), penciled by Dick Sprang, and inked by Charles Paris — one of the most celebrated creative teams of the 1950s Batman. The cover was by Win Mortimer, the book's regular cover artist under editor Whitney Ellsworth, who oversaw National Comics Publications' Batman titles at the time. The Grand Comics Database notes that writer credit for the second Batman story ('The Boy Wonder Confesses!') was revised from Bill Finger to William Woolfolk based on Woolfolk's payment records, and the penciler credit was verified to be Sheldon Moldoff working under the Bob Kane byline — reflecting the era's standard ghost-artist practice. Starting with this issue, Batman shifted from eight issues per year to a monthly schedule (excluding January, May, July, and November), a modest production expansion that reflected the title's commercial stability even as the industry faced pressure from Fredric Wertham's 'Seduction of the Innocent' campaign.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover-dated February 1954, published by National Comics Publications (DC); editor Whitney Ellsworth, cover by Win Mortimer.
- Lead story 'Two-Face Strikes Again!' is written by David Vern Reed, penciled by Dick Sprang, and inked by Charles Paris.
- Retroactively identified as the first appearance of the Earth-One version of Two-Face (Harvey Dent), distinct from the Earth-Two version (Harvey Kent) whose history ends in Detective Comics #80.
- Represents Two-Face's final Golden Age appearance; the character would not return until Batman #234 (1971), a seventeen-year absence.
- The giant-coin death trap — Two-Face strapping Batman and Robin to an oversized coin and flipping it over a bed of spikes — was directly reimagined in the Batman: The Animated Series episode 'Almost Got 'Im,' which also established the giant penny as a Batcave trophy.
- The issue contains three Batman stories: 'Two-Face Strikes Again!', 'The Boy Wonder Confesses!' (featuring the introduction of villain Mr. Camera, penciled by Sheldon Moldoff as Bob Kane), and a third story featuring Vicki Vale and the villain the Phantom Bandit.
- Dick Sprang's rendering of Two-Face's disfigured face in this issue was influential enough that Neal Adams and Dick Giordano lovingly referenced specific panels when they drew Two-Face's return in Batman #234 (1971).
- The lead story was reprinted in Batman #185 (October 1966) and later collected in Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 9 (2021).
Cast · 11 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
When the reformed Harvey Dent tries to prevent a robbery, he is caught in an explosion and reverts to Two-Face. He embarks on a new crime spree, and Batman and Robin deduce that Two-Face is going after people who commonly show two faces to the world. At a ceremony making Bruce Wayne honorary chief of a local tribe, Batman and Robin are trapped by Two-Face and strapped to a giant coin. Two-Face flips the coin over a bed of spikes, and though the gimmick is rigged to land face down, the dynamic duo manages to create a magnetic field and flip the coin so that they land safely.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).