Author: Frank Miller
Title: The Dark Knight Returns
Genre: Graphic Novel
Year: 1986
Pages: 220
Origin: read online during September 2012
Nod Rating: 4 nods out of 5
2012 was to be the year of the Bat. Christopher Nolan’s climactic ending to his Dark Knight trilogy was released to screams of… well, perhaps indifference. Accusations of plot holes and long bouts of tedium were thrown at the director, all of which detracts from the material that Nolan gleamed from the atmospheric and emotionally charged comics from the 1980s. Key among these was Frank Miller’s visualisation of a particular dark and violent tale of the Batman; and it is interesting to trace the origins of the recent hype and hysteria back to the 1980s, and in Miller’s work, in particular.
The Worm has previously taken the time to read and review one of Miller’s previous works on the Dark Knight legend, Batman: Year One (see below for a link to that review). Of greater importance was his setting of an older Bruce Wayne in a bleak and troublesome world, far away from the camp of previous incarnations of Batman from the 1960s and 1970s. Issued in four parts during 1986, Miller assumes the creative force and direction of this series: writing and doing the principal pencilling, it was later left to other talents to complete the visual art; including Klaus Janson (Inker), John Costanza (Letterer) and Lynn Varley (Colourist). The series’ renowned title – The Dark Knight Returns – in fact, alludes to the first issued comic; the remaining titles including The Dark Knight Triumphant, Hunt the Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Falls.
Having retired his cape for the past decade, Wayne returns as Batman after a realisation that he cannot escape from the mountain that are his scarred memories (the old chestnut of the death of his parents, as well as the haunting memory of a long, lost former Robin employee). Donning the outfit once more, he takes to the streets in what has become a city that has lost all hope of progress and success; old foes are taken down, including Harvey Two Face (who despite surgery, cannot escape the dual personality of his nature: both good and evil), as well as new ones in the form of a vicious gang called the Mutants. Such actions provide the causation of other events, including the birth of a vigilante group called the Sons of Batman, as well as the reawakening of a previously catatonic Joker (the trading of escalation between the forces of good and evil well used by Nolan in the blockbuster The Dark Knight in 2008). Such is the mayhem of the city during these issues, with Superman called in to pacify the situation, ending in a climatic fist-fight between the two legends.
Superman himself is never seemingly far away from a large DC comic book involving Batman, much to the chagrin of the Worm; however, Miller uses his presence here to contrast the two roles and personalities of the two heroes. Superman is welded to authority, the good boy who never does wrong; whilst Batman is the dark, lurking presence who deals in the shadow of night in the underworld. The ending is a perfect way to the end the series, with Miller fittingly commenting on society and the possibilities of dealing with the wrongs in the world at that time.
Thematically, The Dark Knight Returns is a triumph in including issues of great importance to the eighties (such as the threat of the Cold War and the power of the media). Television plays a massive role – in moving the story forward as well as in highlighting the negative effects it can play in society. There is constant cutting away from the action to read an interview and comments from “experts” and leaders in Gotham society: criticising the efforts of the Batman to bring justice to the city’s criminals. Undoubtedly, Miller would have rich pickings for today’s role and power of social media and how this may influence how a vigilante such as Batman could operate. Such thematic links are aided by the great illustration and interesting dialogue that Miller provides.
However, there are inclusions that disrupt these positives, including that of a new Robin. In a teenage female form, it is perhaps the ending result of the character’s transformation that makes most sense to readers (the former male Robin having played a subservient role to the forceful tutoring of the older Batman); however, it is none the less annoying because of it. More concerning is the direction of the comics, from issue one to issue four: from a seeming desire to position Batman in a real world with real limitations, to the involvement of supernatural powers such as Superman and Kryptonite.
Miller later returned to this version of Wayne-Batman, writing and illustrating a sequel in the twenty-first century, The Dark Knight Strikes Again. The Worm will continue reading and delving into Miller’s twisted, cynical – but yet strikingly familiar – world.
Buy it here:
Read the Worm’s Batman: Year One review right here:
