'Faces' explores that idea in depth - with every character and motive having two sides.
It begins with Two Face escaping, seemingly deciding to do so on the flip of his scarred coin. Then the story flashes forward in time, two years later, where Two Face's plan begins.
Bruce Wayne is at a masquerade ball, where we learn he is desperate to purchase an island from a man called D'Urbeville. No reason is given for this desire, although we can assume Bruce Wayne wanted to build a Bat-island, or something similar.
Two Face's first victim is one of the guests at this masquerade - his mask stuck to his face, so that when it is removed when he struggles to breathe, his face is torn off. This victim, and all of the others, is a plastic surgeon. Two Face appears to be on a crusade against people who try and promote beauty as the only way that someone can be accepted in society. Of course, as a villain who is obsessed with duality, this mass murder is just a cover for his real plan.
Batman rushes away from the ball in pursuit of Two Face's real target - a large jade yin yang symbol (which bears more than a passing resemblance to Batman's giant coin from the Batcave). During this daring heist, we see that Two Face has begun to gather some unique henchmen - twins names Romulus and Remus and a man with snake-like skin on his face. This is just scratching the surface of the outcasts that he has begun to gather though.
Nelson Wren, the broker who is arranging the deal between Wayne and D'Urberville is approached by a mysterious woman named Manon, who seduces him, and then soon after a mysterious masked man name Count Enance. These two, who are both duplicitous themselves, convince Wren to help them secure the island for themselves. This leads to an excellent full page scene with a birds eye view of a track, where Wayne tries to haggle with Wren to improve on the offer made by Enance.
Meanwhile, Batman is investigating the plastic surgeon murders, tracking a potential victim down to the theatre, but is unfortunately too late to stop the crime. Again we see that Batman is not without his flaws, unlike later on in his career where he is super competent and can take down entire alien races by himself. Instead he stumbles and struggles to get to the bottom of the plastic surgeon murders before he realises Two Face's true motive.
Count Enance is revealed to be Two Face, in perhaps the least shocking reveal ever, and at the end of the first issue we see the full extent of his gang of freaks. His plan is to use the island to create a safe haven for the outcasts, including himself, with the yin yang symbol as their crest. In a sense he is trying to create his own Batcave, the similarities made clear with the giant jade ornament and the blimp which he also steals later on.
Finally the pieces fit together for Batman, who realises that the plastic surgeon murders were a ploy to distract him from the real crimes. He discovers that Two Face blackmailed D'Urberville (another character leading a double life) and races to stop his plan. He is subdued though, and tied to the front of the blimp. Luckily he has some acid to spare, and releases himself to save the day.
An excellent story, in my opinion, which showed Two Face in a different light to the usual mobster. He has a genuine cause here, one which some might say is noble, although he goes about it the wrong way. Sure, he murders several people horribly and kidnaps circus freaks against their will, but he does it because he sees himself as a protector of the outcasts. In the end, the freaks turn on Dent, and tell him that they are happy with who they are. They are freaks, but at least they not like Dent - a monster.
Great artwork here, which is disturbing and fitting with the horror elements of this story. And great writing too from Wagner, who has gone from strength to strength since his tale of the 'monster men' of Hugo Strange right back at the beginning of the timeline. Highly recommended.
Next up - Ten Nights of the Beast
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