The Dark Knight Returns isn’t as great as so many make it out to be. Don’t get me wrong, it has a lot going for it. Breathtaking imagery, memorable quotes, and well laid out scenes still being homaged. But a lot of people still seem to heap this praise onto it that it frankly doesn’t deserve.
First, an understanding of the story. An older Bruce Wayne has retired from Batman for many years, Gotham is currently experiencing a crime wave involving a gang called The Mutants. He begins to feel the pull and desire to put the cowl back on and go back to fighting crime. This involves him taking on enemies both old and new and ultimately ending in a fight against a government controlled Superman where Bruce fakes his own death so he can lead a new breed of crime fighters in secret. This story is often credited with making Batman serious and grounded again.
Except it isn’t. I mean sure, for people who don’t read comics or are only familiar with the 1960s Batman show. But comic book writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams should be the ones credited for that during their work on the character in the 1970s. They are the ones who would introduce the characters Ras & Talia al Ghul, who would force Batman outside of Gotham and force him to step up his game and intellect. O’Neil also created Dr. Leslie Thompkins, Azrael, Lady Shiva, and provide the concept of the character Bane. This are all characters that helped create the perception of Batman that a lot of people are more familiar with today, regardless of if you read comics or not. But the reason why TDKR gets credit is because it was hyped up for people outside of that community and also mixed in social/political commentary that that audience assumed comics just didn’t regularly include.
That assumption is false, but more importantly, while TDKR does have a lot of commentary…that doesn’t mean it is fully fleshed out or really saying anything of note. Let’s focus on a major one. When Bruce Wayne takes up the cowl and Batman…well, returns, Frank Miller has a bunch of panels showing how the media is reacting. He frames the ones saying he’s doing what needs to be done as in the right. But that means he frames the ones who question the various illegal things Batman does, including potential violation of civil rights, as being in the wrong. And the supporters of Batman don’t actually have any response to that beyond “shut up!” Frank also seems to throw in various things from the real world just to show he doesn’t like those things. Like how he makes Carrie Kelly’s parents oblivious stoners or how James Gordon apparently doesn’t approve of the vegetarian lifestyle. And while we are on the subject, that scene of Gordon shooting and killing a young black kid doesn’t exactly age well. Even if that kid was armed.
Also, I never liked how Superman was used in this story. Basically just a tool/puppet for the president to point and send to attack enemies. The story implies that some political stuff happened to force him into that situation. But my understanding of Superman would be that he would still try and be figuring out a way to peacefully get out of that arrangement because even he can tell that everything isn’t working as it should be. Maybe that’s just a me thing, but worth mentioning. And there is a lot of talk of Cold War politics that, while solid at the time, has certainly aged the book a bit.
But one thing that should really be focused on is the portrayal of Batman himself. He’s definitely more angry and stern than normal. And that works in certain spots. But overall, this would influence the writing for the main Batman for years afterwards only to bring out some of the worst in him. When Jason Todd’s death is mentioned in this story, Batman simply refers to him as a “good soldier” that served him well and…that doesn’t sit right with me. Batman’s mission is to make sure that there isn’t a kid in Gotham who has to go through the same thing he went through. Yes, his general approach to crime is like warfare to an extent. But he found and created a family, people he was grown attached to and help him remain human. That no matter how dark things get, they are a reminder he is no longer that lonely kid. But in TDKR, they make him this intensely brooding loner that while it worked fine for this story, other writers would be influenced by it in the wrong way. Making him unreasonably stubborn, unwilling to really work with the allies he is supposed to trust, to just make him an unnecessary a**hole all the time.
One last major thing - so many people are obsessed with this story. From readers to even filmmakers. There are several different Hollywood interpretations that lean into some of the lesser and worst traits of Batman. I hope they move past that soon because to always take from TDKR really limits what they can do with the character. I want to see the Bat Family in movies, I want to see a Batman outside of comics that allows himself to feel more emotional. I want them to mix in more fun into their interpretations that doesn’t always force a dark and brooding Dark Knight. Mix up the style and tone as well as it is well written!
Look - there is a lot that is worth remembering and praising from TDKR. I just think it gets too much praise and it is having a more negative longterm effect on the character.
