The Dark Knight Returns
The Dark Knight Returns begins with a Batman who no longer exists. Bruce Wayne is 55 years old, a decade into retirement, and struggling with alcoholism in a bleak version of 1986. This is a four-issue comic book miniseries from that same year. Frank Miller wrote it and illustrated it with Klaus Janson, Lynn Varley supplied the color, and DC Comics published it. It follows a worn-out millionaire who puts the costume back on and finds the Gotham City police and the United States government waiting to stop him. Why would a government treat a crime fighter as a threat? What happens when his old enemies hear that he is back? And how did one comic about an aging hero change the way an entire medium treated its best-known characters? The answers begin in a city that has forgotten what it used to fear.
More than a decade before the story opens, the United Nations has outlawed superheroes and the Joker has murdered Robin, whose name was Jason Todd. In the vacuum, a vicious gang called the Mutants has taken over much of Gotham's crime. Wayne is haunted by his parents' murder, and the gang's escalating violence finally pushes him to break his retirement. He thwarts several assaults, including one on young Carrie Kelley and her friend Michelle.
Carrie Kelley is 13 years old, with parents who are rarely around. Inspired by Batman, she buys an imitation Robin costume and goes looking for him. People keep mistaking her for the original Boy Wonder.
The Mutant Leader, an ambitious and brutal albino, publicly vows to kill Batman himself. At the city dump, Batman attacks the gang with the Batmobile, but the leader goads him into a hand-to-hand fight. His age and ten years without training leave him almost beaten to death. Kelley creates a diversion that lets them both escape to the Batcave, where Alfred Pennyworth, now in his 80s, tends his wounds. Impressed by her courage, Wayne decides to make her his new protege, and he trusts her even though Alfred objects.
A second fight ends very differently. Surrounded by the Mutants, Batman defeats their leader through strategy. Two gang members named Rob and Don have been tricked by Robin into watching this defeat at a sewage runoff pit. They soon switch their loyalty to a criminal named Bruno and rob a liquor store, only for Batman to take them out easily. The gang splinters into smaller groups, and one prominent faction renames itself the Sons of the Batman. Its members are teenagers who adopt brutally violent tactics against the underworld. Those same teenagers will later be turned into something Batman can use.
Harvey Dent spent 12 years in Arkham Asylum, and for three of them he was treated by Doctor Bartholomew Wolper. Plastic surgery repaired his face, and the doctor declared him mentally healthy. In his own mind, though, Dent is still Two-Face, and he wraps his head in bandages because he now sees both sides of his face as scarred. Batman learns that the criminals in an armed robbery work for Dent, and he warns Commissioner James Gordon, who is close to retirement. Dent then announces that he will hold Gotham ransom with a bomb. Batman defeats him and discovers that Dent's mind has completely warped into the Two-Face persona.
The Joker has been catatonic at Arkham since Batman retired. News of Batman's return wakes him. Doctor Wolper, who calls Batman's vigilantism fascist, believes both the Joker and Two-Face are victims of Batman's crusade. The Joker manipulates his caretakers into letting him appear on a late-night talk show hosted by Dave Endochrine, a character modeled on David Letterman. On the air, the Joker kills everyone with his trademark toxin. Wolper dies when a robot doll snaps his neck and floods the studio with poison gas.
Gordon's successor is Captain Ellen Yindel, a critic of Batman who declares him a wanted criminal. She begins to doubt herself after the Joker's killing spree. Batman and Robin track the Joker to a county fair while a police pursuit chases them. The Joker's henchman Fat Abner has built robotic flying dolls armed with explosives and poison gas. He attacks Robin on the roller coaster tracks and is accidentally killed in the fight.
Batman finally fights the Joker, vowing to stop him for good and feeling responsible for every murder the clown has committed. He paralyzes the Joker but stops short of killing him. Disappointed, the Joker breaks his own neck and dies. With the clown gone, the city's police turn their full attention to Batman.
At the White House, President Ronald Reagan discusses Batman with Superman and suggests that the vigilante may have to be arrested. Superman is now an agent of the United States government, and his identity as former Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent is publicly known. In his private thoughts he despises being a government tool, yet he believes it is the only way he can still save lives. His slower aging is one reason he can no longer hide who he is.
The government sends Clark to the fictional Latin American country of Corto Maltese. There he fights Soviet combat forces in a conflict that could grow into World War III. Superman diverts a Soviet nuclear warhead, which explodes in a desert and nearly kills him. He survives only by absorbing the sun's energy from the plants of a nearby jungle. The blast sends an electromagnetic pulse across the United States, and the country sinks into chaos during the blackout.
In Gotham, Batman and Robin have turned the remaining Mutants and Sons of the Batman into a vigilante gang that avoids lethal force. The effort makes Gotham the safest city in the country. Embarrassed, the government orders Superman to take Batman into custody. Superman asks to meet him, and Wayne picks Crime Alley.
Superman tries to talk Batman down, but Batman uses his inventions to fight on equal terms. Superman damages Batman's exoframe during the battle. Then an aging Oliver Queen, who lost his left arm in an earlier clash with Superman, fires a kryptonite-tipped arrow. Queen has spent years in clandestine rebellion against government oppression, including sinking a nuclear submarine. Weakened, Superman is beaten into submission.
Standing over his rival, Batman suffers a heart attack and apparently dies. Alfred destroys the Batcave and Wayne Manor before suffering a fatal stroke, which reveals Batman as Bruce Wayne, whose fortune has vanished. At the funeral, Clark hears a heartbeat and winks at the disguised Carrie before she starts digging Wayne out. The death was staged with an antiarrhythmic agent that suspended his vital signs. Wayne later leads Robin, Queen and his other followers into the caverns beyond the Batcave, ready to continue his war on crime.
Back in the 1950s, the Comics Code Authority was established, and Batman drifted away from his darker, more serious roots. The 1970s brought grimmer stories, but the public still pictured the campy 1960s Batman television series. In the comics he had become more of a father figure to Robin than the vigilante he was first conceived as.
In the early 1980s, DC Comics promoted Batman group editor Dick Giordano to editorial director, and Frank Miller was recruited to create the series. Giordano worked with Miller on the plot. He recalled that the finished version was about the fourth or fifth draft, with many detours along the way.
Miller explained his thinking in the documentary Comic Book Confidential. A Batman could be described in seconds, he said: his parents were murdered by criminals, and he wages war on crime for life. The character had been ruthless and terrifying when created in 1938. Over the years that softened, as people decided comics had to be for kids, until "no kid could relate to him anymore."
Fellow creator John Byrne told Miller during production, "Robin must be a girl," and Miller agreed. Miller said the plot drew on Dirty Harry, specifically the 1983 film Sudden Impact, in which Harry returns to crime fighting after a long convalescence. The pages followed a 16-panel grid, with each page holding anywhere from sixteen panels down to one. Giordano left halfway through because of disagreements over deadlines. Comics historian Les Daniels described Miller's disregard for deadlines as "the culmination of the quest towards artistic independence."
The ending was not the plan. At MCM London Comic Con in 2018, Miller revealed that he first intended for the police to gun Batman down while he fought them. The story got away from him, and he changed his mind.
The four issues came in packaging that included extra pages, square binding, card-stock covers and glossy paper. All of it was meant to show off the watercolor paintings of colorist Lynn Varley. At $2.95 an issue, the cost was high, yet the series sold well. DC Comics promoted it as a "thought-provoking action story," and Time said its uncertain, semi-retired hero was an attempt to reach "today's skeptical readers." More than one million comics were printed.
The naming was messy. When first published, the series was titled Batman: The Dark Knight, and each issue had its own title. Collecting the series into one volume gave the whole run the name of the first issue, The Dark Knight Returns. Some of the earliest collected editions still carried the shorter series title. Later editions include a 10th Anniversary Edition in 1996, an Absolute Edition in 2006 and a Noir Edition in 2015.
Praise has been steady. IGN Comics ranked the work first on its list of the 25 greatest Batman graphic novels and called it "a true masterpiece of storytelling." In 2005, Time chose the collected edition as one of the 10 best English language graphic novels ever written. Forbidden Planet placed it first on its list of the 50 best graphic novels. Writer Matthew K. Manning called it "arguably the best Batman story of all time" in DC Comics: Year By Year. The Sequart Organization polled comics academics, and they placed it second.
Not every reader agreed. In April 2010, Nicolas Slayton of Comics Bulletin ranked it second on his list of overrated comic books, behind Watchmen. He wrote that the comic has no central plot, leaving only a forced fight between Superman and Batman as an out-of-place climax. Some critics also debate how the story handles fascism and vigilantism.
In 2022, Heritage Auctions sold the original cover art for the first issue for $2.4 million. That made it the most expensive mainstream American comic book cover art ever sold publicly.
Along with Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns launched what fans call the Dark Age of Comic Books, also known as the Modern Age or the Iron Age. Its grim, seedy Gotham replaced the campy Adam West version from the 1960s television series. The approach proved successful enough that a wave of dark superheroes appeared, and older heroes were redesigned to match. Designer Vincent Connare has said that this book and Watchmen inspired him when he created the Comic Sans font.
In film, Tim Burton has said the comic influenced his adaptation of Batman. Director Joel Schumacher says he pitched a film of the story to Warner Bros. after Batman Forever. Michael Keaton and Clint Eastwood were considered to play Batman, with David Bowie considered again for the Joker. The project was canceled in favor of Batman: DarKnight, which was also shelved.
Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins in 2005 took its Tumbler vehicle from the book's Batmobile, a large military machine built for special purposes. His 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises borrowed more. Bruce Wayne retires for eight years, returns when he realizes a threat has come back to Gotham, and wears a leg brace echoing the comic's arm brace. A police officer even says, "You're in for a show, kid," a line from a similar scene in the comic.
Zack Snyder's 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice features an older, hardened Batman who is more willing to kill. It stages a fateful fight with Superman, who is pushed into it by Lex Luthor rather than the government. Robert De Niro plays talk show host Murray Franklin in the 2019 film Joker, a character inspired by Dave Endochrine. In both works, the Joker's interview ends with murder on the set.
Television has borrowed just as freely. In Legends of Tomorrow, Stephen Amell plays an older Oliver Queen with a grey goatee and one arm. In Gotham Knights, Carrie Kelley is a main character, and she defeats a Mutant gang leader. Batman Beyond has its aging Bruce Wayne repeat the line "never again" when he gives up the mantle.
DC Entertainment also produced a direct animated adaptation in two parts, with Peter Weller voicing Batman. Part 1 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on the 25th of September 2012, and Part 2 followed on the 29th of January 2013.
Within the Pre-Flashpoint DC Multiverse, the events of the miniseries took place on Earth-31. Miller counts Batman: Year One, published in 1987 with artist David Mazzucchelli, as part of this world. He treats the unfinished All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder as a prequel, and Superman: Year One as part of it too.
In 2001, The Dark Knight Strikes Again showed an aged Bruce Wayne returning from three years in hiding. He trains followers and fights a rebellion against Lex Luthor's dictatorial rule over the United States. The Dark Knight III: The Master Race followed in 2015, written by Miller and Brian Azzarello. In it, Ray Palmer restores 1,000 inhabitants of Kandor to full size, and they immediately begin terrorizing the Earth.
A one-shot prequel, The Last Crusade, arrived in 2016 with art by John Romita Jr. It is set ten years before the original and finds Bruce training Jason Todd as the new Robin, while critics question whether the Dark Knight should endanger a child. Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child came in 2019, drawn by Rafael Grampa. Carrie Kelley has grown into the role of Batwoman, and a Joker teamed with Darkseid threatens Gotham.
The character has traveled well beyond the Dark Knight books. In 1994, this version of Batman played a small part in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time. In 2023, he joined other Batmen from across the multiverse in Batman #135, which marked the 900th issue. A crossover one-shot published by Marvel Comics in September 2025 features Miller's Batman alongside Old Man Logan. A separate story called Showdown pits an aged Batman against an aged Wolverine, ending when Batman plants explosives on the belt buckle of his rival.
Carrie Kelley has her own future. In 2018, a young adult graphic novel was announced, written by Miller with art by Ben Caldwell. Miller said in November 2021 that it was growing because of Caldwell's enthusiasm and output.
The story has even become a game. In 2022, Cryptozoic Entertainment released a board game built for solitaire play, using extensive art from the graphic novel. It follows the story across four games that mirror the books, played as a campaign.
Updated
Common questions
Who wrote The Dark Knight Returns?
Frank Miller wrote The Dark Knight Returns and illustrated it with Klaus Janson. Lynn Varley supplied the color, and DC Comics published the four-issue miniseries in 1986.
What is The Dark Knight Returns about?
The Dark Knight Returns follows Bruce Wayne, who at 55 comes out of a decade of retirement to fight crime in Gotham City. He faces the Mutants gang, Two-Face and the Joker, as well as opposition from the police and the United States government.
How does The Dark Knight Returns end?
Batman beats a weakened Superman with help from Oliver Queen, then appears to die of a heart attack. His death is staged with an antiarrhythmic agent, and Bruce Wayne later leads his followers into the caverns beyond the Batcave to continue his war on crime.
Why is The Dark Knight Returns considered influential?
The Dark Knight Returns helped start the Dark Age of Comic Books alongside Watchmen. Its grim version of Batman replaced the campy 1960s television image and led to a wave of darker superheroes.
When was the animated film of The Dark Knight Returns released?
The two-part animated film of The Dark Knight Returns starred Peter Weller as Batman. Part 1 was released on the 25th of September 2012, and Part 2 on the 29th of January 2013.
Which movies were influenced by The Dark Knight Returns?
The Dark Knight Rises, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Joker all borrow from The Dark Knight Returns. Batman Begins took the design of its Tumbler from the comic's Batmobile.
All sources
47 references cited across the entry
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- 2BookThe Dark Knight Returns - Volume 4Frank Miller — DC Comics
- 3BookDC Comics Year by Year: A Visual ChronicleMatthew K. Manning — Dorling Kindersley — 2010
- 4Comic Book Confidential (documentary film, 1988)
- 5Hitch, Bryan (2010). Bryan Hitch's Ultimate Comics Studio. Impact Books. p. 22.
- 6NewsFrank Miller's 'Dark Knight' brought Batman back to lifeJoe Strike — July 15, 2008
- 7Frank Miller's Original Original Ending For Batman: The Dark Knight ReturnsRich Johnston — October 28, 2018
- 8MagazineBang!Gordon M. Henry et al. — October 6, 1986
- 9Press releaseDC Comics Publishes Frank Miller's Batman Sequel To The Legendary Dark Knight ReturnsBerkshire Hathaway — December 5, 2001
- 10Batman: The Dark Knight Returns ReviewHilary Goldstein — June 17, 2005
- 11MagazineTop 10 Graphic Novels: The Dark Knight ReturnsLev Grossman — March 6, 2009
- 13On Canons, Critics, Consensus, and Comics, Part 2Greg Carpenter — January 13, 2014
- 14Top 10 Overrated Comic BooksNicholas Slayton — April 27, 2010
- 15Fascism in Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s “The Dark Knight Returns”Matthew Teutsch — 2024-09-04
- 16BookHandbook of Comics and Graphic NarrativesSebastian Domsch et al. — Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG — 2021-07-05
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- 18Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1 Original Cover Art Auctions For $2.4 MillionDiego Ramos Bechara — 2022-06-21
- 19Frank Miller returns to Batman - Dark Knight Returns playground for a Carrie Kelley YA graphic novelChris Arrant — Games Radar — 11 November 2021
- 20Through the looking glass: Batman's odyssey through the multiverse finally brings him homeSam Stone Contributing writer — 2023-05-02
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- 34Batman vs. Superman: Snyder Talks 'Dark Knight Returns' Factor & AffleckFebruary 10, 2014
- 36Joker (2019): 10 Movies That Inspired Todd Phillips' Dark DC Movie28 September 2020
- 39Zack Snyder's Next Cut: No Capes AllowedBorys Kit — 2023-11-29
- 40Movie Version Of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns In The WorksBrendon Connelly — April 14, 2011
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