Fan Casting

Batman arrives at the smoking remains of a warehouse along Gotham's waterfront. Flames crawl across the floor. At the center of the burning building lies Harvey Dent, his body scarred and battered. Weeks pass. At Gotham General Hospital, Bruce Wayne rarely leaves Harvey's bedside. Jason Todd and Barbara Gordon visit constantly, urging him to go home, rest, do anything other than stare at hospital monitors. Bruce refuses every time. One morning Harvey finally opens his eyes. "Bruce..." he whispers. Harvey manages a weak smile. "You're a good friend." For a brief moment, Bruce believes Harvey will recover. Then Harvey vanishes. No discharge. No witnesses. Gone. Batman searches the city until the Bat-Signal cuts through the night sky. At GCPD, Jim Gordon meets him on the roof. "We believe Dent found Edward Nashton. Chinatown. If you want to stop him, get there now." Batman takes Barbara with him. They crash through the apartment door to find Harvey aiming a pistol at Edward's head. Edward's wife and young daughter hide in a closet nearby. "Harvey, put it down," Batman says. Harvey laughs bitterly. "He chained me up. Tortured me. Destroyed half my life because he wanted revenge. This is his fault." He cocks the hammer. "He's not hurting anyone else." Batman lunges. He shoves Edward aside as Harvey fires. The bullet tears through Batman's armor and buries itself in his side. Bruce collapses. Edward scrambles for the fallen gun. One shot. Harvey is struck in the neck. Two-Face falls. Batman tears off his mask and crawls beside him. Harvey's eyes widen. "Bruce..." Blood fills his throat. "The city needs Batman..." he coughs. "The man who gave me Edward's address... was Joker." Bruce freezes. "Joker's coming back." Harvey dies in his friend's arms. Later, Edward swears he'll keep Bruce's identity secret. Bruce stares him down. "Leave Gotham" As Edward takes his family and disappears, Batman looks over Gotham's skyline. Somewhere out there, the Joker is smiling.