Frank Miller
The Dark Knight Returns

The 1986 was a special year for the world of mainstream comics.

The previous year, mother DC realized that heroes with fifty years of stories behind them, managed by different authors who often twisted the characters beyond recognition, could seem unappealing, if not pathetic, to a new reader or even to a kid who grew up with carefree comics and at that moment felt the need for something more grown-up. Comics that evolved alongside the reader.

Crisis on Infinite Earths was the storyline that marked the radical renewal of DC Comics: the old Multiverse was devoured by the evil Anti-Monitor, and thus a new universe was born in which even historic characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman could have origins and characterizations that were different and more engaging for the audience of the '80s.

The origins of Superman and Wonder Woman were rewritten and the stories were told in a less naive tone. Batman, however, was good as he was. The incredibly intelligent millionaire who had seen his parents die before his eyes at only twelve years old was a compelling and engaging character, his stories (forgetting the kitsch phase of the '60s) inspired by thrillers and noir. Perfectly suited for a man who roams at night in a bat costume to protect a city that doesn't deserve him.

But if his characterization was already great, nothing prevented its expansion and adding more complexity. Frank Miller was the right man at the right time: the young man had already elevated Daredevil, until then a C-list superhero, to the podium of Marvel's most beloved characters after Spider-Man and Wolverine, with his run from 1981 to 1983, only to return in 1985 and reach the pinnacle of quality in Daredevil: Born Again. Guess what year did this masterpiece come out? In 1986. Destiny, one might say.

Since he started writing, the stories of Hell's Kitchen's red devil were immersed in a dark, gloomy, and thoughtful atmosphere. Dominating were the numerous captions of psychological introspection and visually intense action scenes.

Exactly in that style was The Dark Knight Returns produced.

We are at the height of the cold war between the USA and USSR. Batman has retired long ago following the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, he is now fifty years old and tormented by memories and guilt. Gotham City is dominated by a gang of rebellious anarchists known as Mutants, and crime is on the rise.

But Bruce Wayne's spirit cannot remain dormant forever. Inevitably, he dons the bat costume again to face a new reality, where the media see him as little more than a violent pseudofascist vigilante, the police have launched a crusade against him, and politicians seem to be playing the Third World War as if it were Risk.

It’s tough from the start: Bruce has to stop Two-Face's plans, believing himself responsible for the degeneration of his former friend, teach a lesson to the leader of the mutants, using all possible experience, and reunite with his historic enemy Joker after ten years, more insane than ever, all the while resisting the temptation to kill his adversaries, a choice that in the world he lives in seems terribly sensible.

In the dramatic ending, Batman will clash with his former ally, Superman, reduced to a government agent without critical capacity, symbolizing the individual rebellion of the unfortunate, outcast, marginalized, and torn by inner conflicts against the law of the strongest.

It is a dark story. And dark is the dystopian world imagined by Miller, where arrogance has corrupted the human spirit and caused a devastating crisis of faith in the future. But it is also a story loaded with emotion and inner strength, with self-awareness and the ability to free oneself from one's demons. Narrated with edgy and restless shading, it entered rightfully into the Olympus of DC comics shortly after publication.

It’s not surprising, then, its enormous success. A few months later, another essential work comes to light. Watchmen, of course, by the genius Alan Moore and illustrator Gibbons.

The comics world revolution that followed can only be compared to the start of Stan Lee's era. The Dark Age of Comics had begun.

In 1987, Miller returned to talk about the bat with another story that became renowned, Batman Year One.

But as I've already said, friends, that is another story.