Both men grew up idolizing Thomas Wayne and some say it was Thomas Wayne's death at the hands of Joe Chill which inspired Harvey to take the path of vigilant district attorney. But when Thomas Wayne gave his life to protect the lives of his wife and child it left Martha Wayne emotionally scarred and alone. She would raise Bruce by herself, cursing the day that her husband took such foolish actions just to keep a pearl necklace. As such, Bruce would grow to be a very different man than he otherwise would have been. Every bit the brave and passionate crime fighter his father was, the more cautious Bruce would tackle Gotham's crime families via his family newspaper the Gotham Guardian. There, he and his reporter girlfriend Vicky Vale would shine a light on Maroni crime empire in order to sway public opinion and help Harvey Dent crack his case against the mobster.

Meanwhile, Harvey is becoming further and further enveloped by his case against Maroni. Unable to pay even the slightest amount of attention to anything besides the case (including his long suffering wife, Audrey) Dent discovers that Maroni was responsible for Wayne's murder - a fact he keeps from Bruce.

Lured into a trap by Maroni, Dent's entire face is left scarred by a corrosive acid while Jim Gordon's right eye is shot out at point blank range. Gordon is left in a convalescent home while Dent decides to take matters into his own hands. Donning the symbol of the Bat, Dent rips through Gotham's underground until he finds Maroni and tosses the mob boss off of the top of the Metropole Hotel.

When Batman's biggest public enemy, Bruce Wayne, finds out that the murder he slams on the front page and his best friend from childhood are one in the same, he sets out to stop Harvey before he can hurt anyone else. Returning to his family's mansion he dons a samurai suit and explains to his mother that he must stop Harvey. She begs him not to go but Bruce insists that it's his time to take a stand and try to stop Gotham from getting worse - like his father did when he was a young boy.

He encounters Harvey Dent on the rooftop and the two do battle, crashing through the window of the DA's office. Harvey lunges at Bruce but Bruce side-steps and Harvey flies out of the broken window, clinging for life to the gargoyle on the ledge.

Bruce reaches out to his friend but is only able to grasp the bat-symbol on Harvey's chest. The fabric rips and the ledge breaks loose and the two friends fall to their deaths.

After uncovering all of this, Dick Grayson is offered the position of District Attorney. Although he feels he may be a bit 'green' for the position, he accepts and vows to be the hero that this city needs - even if the guy who was perfect for the job already died trying to stop the man who only thought he was.