Friday, December 04, 2020

Today, Batman interrupts "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Dick!

Wait, maybe that actually was Dick. I thought this might've been the last storyline of the series before Flashpoint and the New 52: it might've been nice if there had been a big send-off like "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" but I don't think editorial wasn't that organized, or the push was for the new series, or a big closer might've been seen as a jumping-off point. Whatever, we've got 2011's Batman #710, "Pieces, part one: Lost" Written by Tony S. Daniel, pencils by Steve Scott, inks by Ryan Winn.
A somewhat despondent Two-Face tortures some mobsters to death, then in passing shoots a cop in the head, since he's lost his trademark coin. You'd think killing a cop would catch more heat--in fact, at one point they suggest the cop might survive, but based on the art, nooooo--but Batman and Gordon both act like it's another day at the office. Somewhat uncharactistically, Bats is caught on camera casually leaving the crime scene with Jim (probably because it's Dick, not Bruce) as a grinning congressman is holding a press conference in front of it, to push for taking back the streets, by increasing surveillance. In the real world he'd just be an opportunistic douche looking to score some political clout; but there's probably something more horrible to him. Meanwhile, Mario Falcone--apparently the lesser-known son of the recurring crime family--sees the news and is pissed that Two-Face would try to intimidate him. A shapely, shadowy figure suggests maybe taking care of him her way...
Later, Batman interrupts Kitrina Falcone's movie, to tell the girl she has to get out of Gotham; and Catwoman agrees. They're not her real parents! She storms off, which seems pretty obvious, even if I'm not sure why they were looking after her. At a ratty hideout, Two-Face is awoken by a phone, then a note with a picture of his coin, that leads him to an elaborate trap where he's gassed. It seems a little high-end for Mario: even tied up and kicked, Two-Face isn't impressed by him. But he's surprised by the shapely, shadowy figure--his wife, Gilda! Who puts four slugs into him. "Happy anniversary, Harvey."
Is this the end of Two-Face? Seems unlikely, but he may want to look into counselling.



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