User:TheJoebro64/drafts/TDKR

The Dark Knight Returns is an American comic book written and illustrated by Frank Miller. It was published by DC Comics as a four-issue limited series from February to June 1986. Since its initial publication, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions.

At the beginning of The Dark Knight Returns, Bruce Wayne, who once fought crime in Gotham City as the vigilante Batman, has been in retirement for ten years. When a vicious gang of youths known as the Mutants emerges and terrorizes the residents of Gotham, Batman resurfaces. His return leads to confrontations with the Mutant leader, his old enemies Two-Face and the Joker, and ultimately Superman.

Background

 * Cover Batman's debut as a grim, brutal vigilante, and how he lightened over the years. How some writers attempted to return him to his darker roots
 * Frank Miller: work on Daredevil, Ronin

Development

 * https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-legends-revealed-406/
 * https://www.cbr.com/batman-dark-knight-returns-original-plot-frank-miller/

Collected editions

 * https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/12/04/dc-comics-publish-dark-knight-returns-in-three-different-ways-in-2019/

Synopsis
In a dystopian Gotham City, Bruce Wayne, once the superhero Batman, lives as a bored bachelor. Wayne retired as Batman after Jason Todd, his sidekick Robin, was murdered by the Joker ten years ago. Crime has skyrocketed in Batman's absence, and a gang, the Mutants, terrorizes the city. Wayne decides to resume his role as Batman after a TV broadcast of The Mark of Zorro reminds him of his parents' murder. On the first night of his return, Batman stops multiple assaults, including one on two young girls, Carrie Kelley and her friend Michelle. He then attempts to foil an armed robbery, where he learns that the men involved are working for Harvey Dent, previously known as the criminal Two-Face. Dent had undergone extensive therapy and plastic surgery financed by Wayne to return to society. Soon afterward, Dent hijacks Gotham's television and announces his intent to hold the city for ransom with a bomb. When Batman defeats Dent, he realizes that Dent's mind has completely warped into his Two-Face persona.

Themes

 * Rebirth