The Dark Knight Returns: Difference between revisions

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Since its release, a number of Miller's Batman-related works have tied into TDKR in one way or another:

* In 1987 Miller did ''[[Batman: Year One]]'' with David Mazzucchelli during his one-arc-long run in the main ''Batman'' book. Though it was supposed to be the origin of New Earth's Batman, [[Word of God]] says that it was written so that it could also serve as a prequel to DKR.

* In 1994 the much ignored ''Spawn/Batman'' came out, written by Miller and drawn by Todd McFarlane. It was an (ill-advised) crossover between the [[Spawn]] Universe and the Dark Knight Universe and [[Canon]] to both, whose only tie to TDKR was that it showed where Batman got the technology that he would use to build his power suit...and that's only a couple of pages.

* In 2001 and 2002, Miller produced a sequel, ''[[The Dark Knight Strikes Again]]''. It was more set ''around'' Batman than ''about'' Batman, being closer to a [[Justice League]] story or even a Superman story than a Batman story.

* In 2005 to 2008, Miller wrote a prequel, ''[[All-Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder]],'' which was even more controversially received than ''Strikes Again''. Though it's been on hiatus the series will return under the name ''Dark Knight: Boy Wonder''.

Though a movie deal has been kicking around [[Development Hell]] for a long time, the only real adaptation as of yet is a ten-minute segment in the DCAU, considered to be among the best adaptations of a [[Frank Miller]] work. Carrie Kelly also made a very brief cameo as a future Robin in ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'', fighting mutants in a "what-if" story. Recently, it's been announced that the [[DC Universe Original Animated Movies]] line [[The Dark Knight Returns (film)|is adapting the story in]] [[Movie Multipack|a two-part adaptation]].

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* [[Air Vent Passageway]]: The gigantic leader of the Mutant gang is behind bars awaiting trial. Batman knows that being in prison won't hurt his gang cred one bit (it helps that the Mutant leader spends his free time annoying the prison guards and bragging about what kind of havoc he will make when he gets out, instead of showing remorse) -- to break the Mutant gang, you must literally ''break'' its leader. Thus, he and Gordon arrange for the leader to escape via the prison air vents and meet Batman for a mud pit duel.

* [[Arc Words]]:

** For Batman: "Lucky" and "This would be a ___ death."

** For Gordon: "I think of Sarah. The rest is easy."

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* [[The Alcoholic]]: Dialogue from Gordon and Alfred at the start of the series suggests that Bruce is dangerously close to becoming one.

* [[Anime Hair]]: [[Coincidental Broadcast|TV reporter]] Lola Wong. See [[Fashionable Asymmetry]].

* [[Anti-Hero]]:

** Batman is a [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|type IV]]

** The Sons Of Batman are [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type V]].

* [[Ax Crazy]]:

** The Mutants, especially their leader, and The Sons of the Batman once The Mutants are no more.

** There's also the Joker, who is depicted as having a love/hate fixation on Batman that he feeds with his indiscriminate killing.

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* [[Civilian Villain]]: Happens twice, when the same psychiatrist [[What an Idiot!|declares Two-Face and the Joker legally sane]].

* [[Coincidental Broadcast]]: Used throughout for [[Exposition]].

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]:

** The Mutant leader puts his claw-like fingernails and filed teeth to good use in {{spoiler|the first fight against Batman}}.

** Batman becomes one in {{spoiler|his second fight with the Mutant leader}}, since brute force failed spectacularly the first time.

* [[Comic Book Time]]: Averted. Part of the inspiration was Frank Miller wondering "What if Batman actually got older after taking up crimefighting in the '40s?"

* [[Cool Old Guy]]: C'mon now. Batman, Alfred for being so up in the years, still serving ''and'' snarky, Jim Gordon, and even the Joker in a dark and nasty way.

* [[Could Have Been Messy]]: Averted. Sharp Batarangs are sharp no matter what they hit.

* [[Crapsack World]]

* [[Crazy Prepared]]: Well of course. You do know who this comic is about right?

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* [[Deconstruction]]: Batman's tactics spur debates on toughness on crime, while Superman's idealism makes him an ideal government cat's paw. The story also deconstructs many elements of Batman's mythos, particularly Batman's potential craziness, as well as showing what kind of [[Crapsack World|world]] would make Batman not only possible, but necessary.

* [[Depending on the Writer]]: Happens to Batman and Superman a lot but Batman's X Ray seeking missiles wouldn't be able to tell Superman from anyone else normally because Superman's X-Ray Vision doesn't actually emit X-Rays <ref> not since the [[Golden Age]] when they pulled double duty as his [[Eye Beam]] attack.</ref>

* [[Doesn't Like Guns]]: Both played straight and subverted. In issue 4, Batman invokes the trope in his speech to the Sons of the Batman:

{{quote|'''Batman''': (breaks a rifle in two ''in his hands'') This loud, clumsy, ''stupid'' thing...this is the weapon of the enemy. We do not need it. We will not use it.}}

** That being said, he will use them when they're necessary. In the first issue, he uses a rifle to shoot a grappling line between the Gotham Towers to {{spoiler|confront Two-Face and his henchmen}}. In the fourth issue, he uses {{spoiler|Commissioner Yindel's}} gun to shoot some plastic explosive. He also gets pushed into using one when taking on {{spoiler|three Mutant kidnappers who have a toddler as a hostage. The confrontation culminates with Batman pointing one of the Mutant's guns (a frigging [[BFG|M60 GPMG]]) at the last kidnapper, who is holding the hostage at gunpoint.}}

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* [[Fat Girl]]: {{spoiler|'''Lana Lang.'''}} [[I Was Quite a Looker]] is averted, though, as her usual depiction is never addressed.

* [[Flatline Plotline]]

* [[Foe Yay]]:

** Let's not talk about the [[Brain Bleach|Joker/Batman subtext here]]. More specifically, the Joker seems to be absolutely convinced he and Batman have [[Foe Yay]] going on. Batman does not agree.

** There's also a bit of subtext to the imagery of Batman analyzing the Mutant leader before their first fight, although he's completely clinical in his internal dialogue.

{{quote|'''Batman''': ...except he's got ''exactly'' the kind of body I wish he didn't have...powerful, but without enough bulk to slow him down...every muscle a coiled steel spring ready to snap...and he's ''young'', too, in his physical prime...and I honestly don't know that I could beat him.}}

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* [[Hall of Mirrors]]

* [[Handicapped Badass]]: See [[Improbable Aiming Skills]] below.

* [[A Handful for An Eye]]: During their second fight, Batman cuts the Mutant leader over the eyes to blind him with the blood, then compounds that by throwing mud in his face.

* [[A Handful for an Eye]]: During their second fight, Batman cuts the Mutant leader over the eyes to blind him with the blood, then compounds that by throwing mud in his face.

* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: {{spoiler|The Joker}} hits Batman with one just before {{spoiler|killing himself}}.

* [[He's Back]]: ...and ''how''.

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* [[The Insomniac]]: The Joker's insomnia is addressed here.

* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]: The [[Green Arrow]] is better than you at archery even with one arm... in the dark... in the rain... ''hanging upside down''.

* [[I Was Quite a Looker]]: Selina Kyle didn't age well. {{spoiler|The Joker notices.}}

* [[I'm a Humanitarian]]: One of the Mutant leader's [[Catch Phrase|Catch Phrases]] is his boasts that he will eat Batman's heart.

* [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]]:

** In one instance, Batman scares a perp (the one who had the page quote applied to him earlier on) into talking simply by {{spoiler|walking toward him; the perp falls through a window trying to get away, injuring himself, and talks after Batman tells him that he's the only person who can save him from bleeding to death.}}

** In another instance, he {{spoiler|hangs an unconscious Mutant upside-down from a gargoyle at the top of a skyscraper, puts a hand over the Mutant's face, and slowly moves his hand away when the Mutant wakes up and tries to cut a deal}}. What makes this even more effective is that the reader doesn't realize all this until it's all said and done; the sequence is drawn from the Mutant's perspective.

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{{quote|'''Mutant leader''': ...and then I'll find your new cop - your ''woman'' cop - and I will-

'''Newscaster''': The rest of the Mutant leader's statement is unfit for broadcast. }}

* [[~~Mis Blamed~~]]: In-universe example - Batman is accused by the media of inspiring a number of incidents, from a mentally-ill mob enforcer putting on a Batman costume and turning on his boss, to a very disturbed man's religiously-motivated shooting up of a porn theater. Meanwhile, a shop owner who actually WAS inspired by Batman chases off a purse-snatcher attacking an old lady. No one is hurt enough for this to make the news.

* [[Misblamed]]: In-universe example - Batman is accused by the media of inspiring a number of incidents, from a mentally-ill mob enforcer putting on a Batman costume and turning on his boss, to a very disturbed man's religiously-motivated shooting up of a porn theater. Meanwhile, a shop owner who actually WAS inspired by Batman chases off a purse-snatcher attacking an old lady. No one is hurt enough for this to make the news.

* [[Mistimed Revival]]

* [[Monster Clown]]: It should be [[The Joker|obvious]] at this point.

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* [[Pre-Mortem One-Liner]]: A variation, in that it's the '''winner''' of the climactic battle that delivers it just before he dies.

* [[Recurring Extra]]:

** The...ill-tempered ([[The Sociopath|to put it mildly]]) Byron Brassballs, who both encounters Superman (who saved the handicapped man Byron had ''knocked onto the train tracks'') and later plays a role in the Gotham riots...{{spoiler|and in a nice bit of Karmic retribution, gets his ass profoundly kicked by Batman.}}

** You could arguably count Rob and Don here, too. They keep running into Batman but hardly play a significant role in the story.

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* [[Rule of Three]]: Batman tells Robin that if she disobeys, she'll be fired. She disobeys three times, but the third time, she saves his life.

* [[Servile Snarker]]: Alfred has always been this, but in TDKR he takes it [[Up to Eleven]].

* [[Shout-Out]]:

** Corto Maltese is a shout out to an Italian comic book by that name. Strangely, the name was used in the 1989 ''[[Batman (film)|Batman]]'' movie as an apparent [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[The Dark Knight Returns]]'' without recognizing that it was already a [[Shout-Out]].

** There is also a reference to a porn star named "Hot Gates". In Greek, "Hot Gates" is translated "Thermopylae," the setting of [[300|another]] of Frank Miller's creations. However, since ''300'' wasn't released for another twelve years, the reference ''here'' is to [[The 300 Spartans]], an older film that was a favorite of Miller's, and inspired him to write ''300''.

*** Except that The 300 Spartans never used the phrase 'Hot Gates'. The reference is to both the literal translation of Thermopylae and William Golding's (now out of print) collection of essays 'The Hot Gates and other occasional places'.

** Batman's sarcastic internal monologue describing Superman quotes, of all things, ''[[Monty Pythons Meaning of Life]]''.

* [[Silent Scapegoat]]

* [[Smoking Is Cool]]

* [[Sociopathic Hero]]:

** One interpretation of Batman in this story, especially in the later chapters. [[Alan Moore]]'s introduction in one printing of the TPB specifically noted that one interpretation of Batman was "revenge-driven psychopath."

** A '''very''' generous interpretation of the Sons of Batman.

* [[Split Personality Takeover]]: Happens to {{spoiler|Two-Face after getting reconstructive surgery}}.

* [[Spotlight-Stealing Title]]: ''The Dark Knight Returns'' was originally released as ''Batman: The Dark Knight'', with "The Dark Knight Returns" being the first issue's title.

* [[Standing Between the Enemies]]: Batman does this with a [[Big No]] that occupies an entire panel.

* [[Stock Subtitle]]: "Returns."

* [[A Storm Is Coming]]

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* [[Strawman Political]]: Features vapidly meaningless strawmen for all parts of the political spectrum. Because, of course, [[Golden Mean Fallacy|that's how you make a valid point, right?]]

* [[Super Registration Act]]: Superman gets strong-armed into working for the government.

* [[Tank Goodness]]: This version of the Batmobile, which would go on to be an inspiration for the Tumbler in [[The Dark Knight Trilogy]]. It's got treads. It's got armor strong enough that "the only thing I know of that can cut through its hide isn't from this planet." <ref>He's referring to Superman, who proves the point in short order in the fourth issue</ref>. It's got machine guns. {{spoiler|"Rubber bullets. Honest."}} It's got at least two decent-sized artillery pieces. It takes up three lanes on the highway. It even has a gyro-stabilized medical bed and can be piloted home by Alfred. It's a god-damned Bat-Tank.

* [[Technical Pacifist]]: Batman will beat nine kinds of hell out of you, <s>drop you off a building</s> ''threaten'' to drop you off the ''tallest'' building in Gotham, and break every bone in your body... but he won't ''kill'' you.

* [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill]]:

** The Sons of the Batman, who have turned their over-the-top violence as former Mutants to fighting crime instead of creating it. At one point, it's mentioned that they used napalm to break up a three card monte game. One SOB, after killing the aforementioned Nixon mask robbers, took a pair of wire-cutters and sliced off the store owner's fingers on one hand because, as he put it, "you did nothing to stop them."

** The nuke that nearly {{spoiler|killed Superman}} was ''designed'' to create a "nuclear winter" scenario.

* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]: Rob and Don.

* [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]]: Also behind Batman's dislike of guns.

** [[Word of God]] says that {{spoiler|Batman didn't kill the aforementioned Mutant who held the baby at gunpoint when he shot him with another Mutant's M-60}}.

** Gruesomely played with when {{spoiler|Batman has the perfect chance to kill the Joker but still refuses to. The Joker notices... and kills himself just to screw with Batman.}}

* [[Totally Radical]]: See [[Future Slang]], above.

** Played for laughs when Carrie reprograms the Bat-Copter to accept verbal commands from her. In ''slang''.

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[[Category:Batman]]

[[Category:Superman]]