Protagonist & Antagonist: Harvey Dent, A Fallen Hero

Dent’s representation as a white knight shines hope to the people of Gotham. As a district attorney Dent has become the force within justice because of all the recent mobs that have gone under trial in Gotham. The ability that allows Dent to be seen as a true crime fighter compared to the masked vigilante is due to his political and judicial powers. These powers are recognized by the people of Gotham as correct and are made official from the public. An example of this is a scene where Dent is seen trialing a mob thug. Dent would say, “If you want to kill a public servant, Mr. Maroni, I recommend you buy American, Get him out of here! (Cheers from the crowd)” The mob that has plagued Gotham before cannot stop the force in which Dent represents. Usually Gotham’s mobs are more boisterous in that they are allowed to do as they please. But when Dent took over as the new District Attorney, the audience can perceive that the mob has resulted into petty planning by trying to kill him rather than trying to corrupt him. Another example of ethos is through Dent’s heroic sacrifice during a press conference regarding the Joker’s demands to reveal Batman’s identity. Harvey took matters into his own hands and presented himself as Batman. Although he knew he wasn’t the real Batman, he understood his position well. As Gotham’s “White Knight”, he realized that it wouldn’t be far from the truth to call himself Batman. Based on his merits and achievements, the people of Gotham wouldn’t disregard his potential at being the masked vigilante. After all, this was the man who locked up half of Gotham’s criminal. Based on that alone, the people of Gotham knew that if anyone were deserving to be called Batman, if would be Harvey himself.

Harvey staves off a would be assassin in the courtroom. Harvey sends 500 criminals behind bars in the largest mass arrest in Gotham's history. Harvey works in concert with Batman to get the bad guys. He's a hero. But even in his set-up, we see the seeds of his character's Deconstruction:

* Harvey is cock-sure and hell-bent on achieving his goals. As long as he's on the right side of the law, that's fine. But if he ever goes to the 'dark' side, we can anticipate him carrying with him that same single-minded purposefulness -- with negative ramifications.

* It's Harvey himself who voices this notable line: "I guess you die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain." Harvey was prepared to die a hero if Rachel could live. Unfortunately, she died and he lived, albeit with a grossly disfigured face (a turn of events which is hinted at [ironically] with Bruce Wayne's toast -- "To the face of Gotham's bright future -- Harvey Dent.")