Thanks to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, there’s quite a bit of discourse surrounding this particular Batman story. His defenders often site it as a source to justify their Batman killing people, and his detractors post panels from the Frank Miller comic to prove them wrong. To which the defenders loudly sing the chorus of “I Can’t Hear You,” their favorite war cry, and on the battle goes, doomed to repeat itself until the heat death of the internet.
Me? I don’t want any part of that. I just want to talk about a Batman story that I really, really like. One of my personal favorites, actually!
*Note: I’ll be specifically talking about the animated movie adaptation. Both of them, at once, because how else am I supposed to watch them? One at a time? Like a normal, sane person? Is that how little you think of me?
The tale begins in a high-speed race. Bruce Wayne, old and gray, pushes his car to its absolute limits and beyond. When the safety systems are activated, he rips them apart and pushes the dying vehicle even harder. The race car flips, explodes, and Bruce gets away just in time with barely a burn.
This opening scene gives you everything you need to know about this version of Bruce Wayne. He’s reckless, borderline suicidal, and despite his age and supposed retirement, he is still very much the Batman. Even his helmet has little bat ears!
Following this, we get some news report exposition on the current state of Gotham. In short: shit’s fucked. Again. Batman retired ten years ago, Gordon is about to do the same, and the city is being terrorized by a gang called the Mutants.
Your standard fare in Gotham City.
Cut to a swanky bar. Bruce and Gordon share a drink and reminisce on old times. We learn some important things here. One: Gordon knows who Batman is. Cool. Two: Bruce has been isolating himself, cutting off contact from Dick Grayson. Our beloved commissioner is excited to retire, yet it seems our equally beloved bat doesn’t share the sentiment.
Also: this movie has my favorite version of Commissioner Gordon. He’s your sweet veteran grandpa with a heart of gold and a fountain of wisdom. At the same time, this dude can be stone cold and badass! Every scene with him is a highlight, especially in Part 2!
On his way home that night, Bruce is ambushed by a pair of Mutants. They’re wagging their knives, spitting future slang, being generally threatening. But Bruce doesn’t back down; he balls his fists and tells them to take a shot. Less intimidated and more disgusted by the old man’s pain fetish, the two thugs back off.
Meet the Mutants. They’re far from the burly mob thugs standard to Batman stories. Rather, they’re a veritable army of teenagers in an edgy experimental phase. They latch onto the strongest figure around, morality be damned, and build their identity around that person’s appearance and beliefs. Alas, they live in Gotham, so they’re ‘strongest figure’ is a psychotic lunatic.
At least, until they latch on to the actual strongest figure in Gotham.
That night, Bruce is haunted by nightmares. Flashbacks to his parents’ deaths, various news casts detailing horrific crimes, giant bats, y’know, standard Batman fare. Heading down to the cave, however, Bruce doesn’t take up the cowl and go out to unleash incredible violence. Rather, he pulls back a sheet to reveal not a bat, but a Robin’s costume.
Like many Batman stories, ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ is built upon the foundation of ‘Death in the Family.’ Jason Todd’s gruesome fate has had a profound and palpable effect on Bruce in this story. You can feel how badly he wants to become Batman again right from the start of the film. Yet one reminder of his fallen protégé is enough to bring him back down to earth and silence the compulsion.
Or so he claims.
The next morning, we swing by Arkham Asylum (now an actual medical facility instead of a moldy old set of revolving doors) to catch up with some familiar faces. A creepy figure who definitely isn’t a clown lays in a catatonic state. More importantly: Harvey Dent, having undergone therapy and plastic surgery, is ready to re-enter civilian society and put his life of crime behind him.
Or so he claims.
Surprising no one, Harvey disappeared almost immediately. This, along with another bout of PTSD, is the straw to break the camel’s back. Bruce flees to his balcony in the rain, listening as his own voice speaks to him through the storm, and he can resist its call no longer. Donning the costume once again, the Dark Knight returns (get it?) and rains down hell upon the criminals of Gotham.
On the surface, this is a glorious and badass return. Batman is going around beating the hell out of some truly despicable assholes, the music is amazing, and he’s fucking terrifying! But beneath the costumed rampage of justice, the film plants a little seed of concern in the viewer. Bruce retired, and from what we understand, he did it for a fairly good reason. This feels less like a triumph and more like an addict relapsing. Just replace meth with punching bad guys in the face.
Rumors of Batman’s return quickly spread throughout Gotham. Except he’s not the only one. Two-Face is back at crime, and he’s up to something big. Some awesome detective tag-teaming between Batman and Gordon later, and they find out what: Harvey’s got two bombs, and he’s gonna use them to kill thousands. As he himself declares on live TV, his entire face wrapped in bandages.
So Batman does the Batman thing and stops him. With Harvey pinned down, the Dark Knight peels his mask away, determined to see what Harvey did to himself.
Only he didn’t do anything. Harvey’s face is still ‘fixed.’ But the rest of him isn’t. All the therapy and surgery didn’t do a thing to help him heal. To him, it was all one long, cruel joke played at his expense. Try as he might to escape, Two-Face can never escape what he really is. To which Bruce quietly responds:
You and me both.
This scene is a massive punch to the gut. It draws a powerful parallel between our protagonist and antagonist; both are men controlled by their personal demons, unable and unwilling to get the help they know they need. Just as Harvey will always be Two-Face, so too will Bruce always be Batman. To try and be anything else would be to deny themselves. It’s no longer a choice; it’s a curse.
News quickly spreads of the Batman’s now fully confirmed return. Yet it’s not the heroic homecoming one might expect for the legendary Caped Crusader. Some praise his reappearance, seeing his vigilantism as the boot needed to kick Gotham back into shape. Others see him as a menace to society and everyone around him, a violent vigilante whose actions will only beget greater violence. The question on everyone’s mind: is Batman truly a hero?
This debate is at the heart of ‘The Dark Knight Returns.’ What makes it exceptionally interesting to me is that neither side is necessarily wrong. Yes, Batman does what the police can’t and puts injustice in its place. On the other, evil far worse than the usual fare always rises up in his wake, and more innocent people die because of it.
Part 2 highlights this argument perfectly with the Joker’s return. Throughout the first part, the Clown Prince of Crime was a useless vegetable. Yet at the mere mention of his beloved Batman, he returns to life like a devil rising from Hell. The resulting massacre is one of his most brutal yet, leaving hundreds of bodies dead at his feet within only two days. All because Bruce decided to put the god damn cape back on.
Well, that, and they willingly let him on to a talk show with hundreds of guests. The worst criminal in Gotham history, and they just… let him do whatever the fuck he wants. Instead of just… telling him no and locking him up again. Hell, both Batman and the cops KNOW he’s up to something and they STILL let him on the show in the first place!
Sometimes I can’t help but feel like Gotham deserves it.
Even Batman himself acknowledges this! As he confronts the Joker for the final time, he fully admits that he should have killed the clown a long time ago. That he’s haunted by all the people who have died not because of the Joker, but because Bruce continued to show the madman mercy. His loathing and regret become so powerful he nearly breaks the one rule, almost giving the Joker what he wants! The iconic villain isn’t around for long in this story, but god damn does he make an impact!
Getting back to the plot: Batman’s return is starting to inspire others to rise up against crime. Among these is a young girl saved by the Caped Crusader on his first night back: Carrie Kelly. Or as she’ll soon be known: Robin.
Unofficially. At least, until Batman faces down the Mutants and their leader. After a brutal fist fight that leaves Bruce on death’s doorstep, Carrie swings in to save the day, buying the Dark Knight just enough time to squeeze out a win. Too injured to walk, he needs her to carry him to the Batmobile (which is just a fucking tank in this version, and I find that hilarious; imagine the Justice League shows up to your city, all the heroes are flying around being heroic and inspiring, then Batman roles up in the god damn terror tank and shooting rubber bullets at everyone he sees). One broken arm splinted and an introduction later, and Carrie Kelly is made an official member of the Bat Family.
Carrie is one of my favorite versions of Robin. She’s quick-witted, sassy, and highly intelligent. When it comes down to a fight, she’s as reliable as any Boy Wonder, managing to save Bruce time and time again from near certain death. Yet she’s still very clearly a kid; she needs Bruce just as much as he needs her. Their relationship is super sweet, and it cements the simple fact that Batman needs a Robin perfectly. She’s an excellent addition to the story.
It also highlights Bruce’s obsessive crusade. He doesn’t refer to her or Jason or Dick as his wards, his kids, or even his students. To him, they’re all soldiers waging a war. It’s his twisted way of justifying putting Carrie at risk, even knowing full well what happened to his last Robin. Even so, he comes to care for her just as deeply as he did her predecessors.
Now, to wrap up this jumbled mess of a plot synopsis, let’s fast forward a bit and talk about the bit You-Know-Who ruined. We gotta talk about Superman.
Unlike the one-man army that is Batman, Superman is the ultimate boy scout in this movie. A government gopher. He acknowledges that he’s an alien and conforms to the rules of human society. Specifically: American society. Which blatantly takes advantage of this respect, making the Man of Steel the USA’s secret weapon in the Cold War. Truth, justice, and the American way indeed.
The argument between Clark and Bruce isn’t some dumb shit solved by even dumber shit, as He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named would have it. Rather, it’s the ultimate culmination of the argument at the very core of this entire story: should there be a Batman? On one hand, his vigilantism has massive consequences for the world and people around him. On the other, the system that would have him removed is so corrupt and inept that they provoked Russia into nuking them! It’s a fascinating conflict that makes use of the two characters’ opposing beliefs very well.
Most importantly: Batman doesn’t try to kill Superman. He beats him black and blue and scares the shit out of him, yes. But he makes it a point to not do anything even remotely lethal. Because of course Batman isn’t gonna try and kill Earth’s most powerful hero; they might disagree, but Bruce still fully acknowledges that Clark is a godsend for humanity. Even so, the Dark Knight can’t rest easy until he puts the fear of god into the Man of Steel. It’s a badass fight, a prime example of why a conflict between these two heroes is such a compelling idea to begin with.
Also, Green Arrow is here. He’s cool. Superman cut his arm off, so he wants payback.
I’d normally be super mad about that, but Clark seems to regret it, and I can kinda see where he was coming from, so I’ll give it a pass.
This time.
Of course, we gotta talk about the cast. Peter Weller plays the perfect old and grizzled Batman. Ariel Winter is flawless as Carrie Kelly. David Selby is one of the best actors to ever play Commissioner Gordon! Michael Emerson is downright chilling as the Joker! Mark Valley plays the stern but caring Superman brilliantly! Let’s not forget Robin Atkin Downes as Green Arrow; man’s voice is solid gold!
We’ve also got to show some love to the animators. These champions brought the comic to life to spectacular effect. Of the animated Batman movies, this one is definitely among the best looking! Just to name a few, we have key animator Hun Park, character designer Melchior Zwyer, and background key designer Andy Chiang. You can learn more about them and the rest of the production crew in the link here.
‘The Dark Knight Returns’ is one of Batman’s best stories. A compelling exploration of the character’s morality and mental state, with some truly badass moments, memorable lines, and excellent characterization for every member of the cast. There’s so much cool stuff I didn’t even mention, like the Sons of Batman, Corto Maltese, definitely-not-Ronald-Reagan, the general, the mud pit fight, the blackout and the fire, there’s so much more to discuss! I could go on for days!
But I’ll stop here for today. For now, I’ll simply bid you all a good night.
And if any of you try to defend Batman V Superman…
…I’ll be back for you.
Jonah's Books & Rants 
Leave a comment