Gilda Dent

Gilda Dent
Gilda Dent destroying incriminating evidence against her husband Harvey Dent in Batman: The Long Halloween Art by Tim Sale.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #66 (August 1942)
Created by	Bob Kane, Bill Finger
In-story information
Full name	Gilda Dent (née Gold), sometimes "Grace"
Partnerships	Two-Face
Notable aliases	Holiday

Gilda Dent (née Gold), occasionally referred to as Grace instead of Gilda, is a fictional character who has appeared in Batman comic books since Detective Comics #66 (August 1942). Associated with her fiancé (later husband) Harvey Dent, who becomes the criminal mastermind Two-Face, she has since been a recurring character throughout various Batman stories involving Two-Face. Her largest role is in the Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale collaboration Batman: The Long Halloween.

In her first appearance Gilda Gold is the fiancée of Harvey Kent (later renamed Dent), the brilliant and handsome district attorney of Gotham City. Gangster Boss Maroni throws acid in Harvey's face during Maroni's trial, scarring half of his face and warping his mind. Because Gilda is a sculptor, Harvey believes that she worships beauty; therefore (in Dent's mind), neither she—nor anyone else—could ever love or accept a person with such a monstrously "hideous" face as his. Gilda creates a bust of Harvey, which he smashes with a mallet to symbolize his new, ruined self. Even as Two-Face begins a dual career of crime and Robin Hood-style philanthropy, however, he still longs passionately for Gilda, and she for him.

In Detective Comics # 80 (1943), she is in the audience when Two-Face and his gang try to rob a classical concert. Gilda follows Two-Face to his hideout, just as Batman and Robin burst in. When Two-Face, having the drop on the Caped Crusader, pulls his gun and opens fire upon his former ally, Gilda leaps in front of the bullet. Pleading to Harvey that she had to make him "understand… before it was too late…", she passes out, shocking Two-Face into thinking he's killed her. Two-Face turns himself in and Gilda is sent to the hospital.

When Two-Face learns from the doctors that Gilda has lost the will to live, he vows to give up his life of crime. After a final tussle with the last of his men, he undergoes plastic surgery and is released from jail after one year. His face and sanity restored, Harvey Kent promises to finally marry Gilda.