138 DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, THE
beginning with issue #51 in 1991 and lasting to issue #62 (in which the entire issue
was devoted to this title). Th e fi rst series of DHP was canceled in 2000.
In 2007, MySpace Dark Horse Presents (MDHP) began as an exclusively on-line
monthly title, with content later available in collected trade paperback editions. MDHP
again spotlights independent creators as well as established names.
D. R. Hammontree
DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, THE. The Dark Knight Returns (1986) is one of the most
influential Batman stories ever written, as well as a landmark in comics writing in
general. Frank Miller’s re-imagining of DC Comics’ icons Batman and his alter-
ego Bruce Wayne, Superman, the Joker, and even Green Arrow established the
tone and character of DC Comics in general and of Batman specifically for the
two decades since its publication. Originally released as a four-part miniseries from
March to June 1986, The Dark Knight Returns tells the story of a middle-aged Bruce
Wayne who is unable to accept his life after Batman. Following an escalating wave
of violent crimes perpetrated by the Mutant gang, Wayne reassumes the mantle of
Batman to fight for Gotham City.
Set in a dystopian Gotham some 10 years after Batman’s retirement, the fi rst install-
ment (also titled “Th e Dark Knight Returns”) chronicles the initial challenges faced by
a much older Batman attempting to deal with a diff erent world than the one he left.
Diminished physical abilities and a changed political climate serve mainly as a backdrop
for Batman to hunt and capture one of his classic foes, Two-Face.
Th e next installment, “Th e Dark Knight Triumphant” pits Batman head-on against
the Mutant gang, which he manages largely to eliminate. Th e Mutant leader, younger
and in far better physical condition, hands the aging Dark Knight a severe beating, from
which he is rescued by the intervention of 13-year-old Carrie Kelly, who becomes the
new Robin. Learning from this encounter that he can no longer “fi ght like a young man,”
Batman arranges for the Mutant leader to escape from prison, and challenges him to
a fi ght in front of the remaining members of the Mutant gang. After defeating their
leader, Batman becomes the new icon for the Mutant gang, who now call themselves the
“Sons of Batman” and fi ght crime in his name.
In “Hunt the Dark Knight” Batman faces his arch-nemesis the Joker, who awakes
from his catatonic state in Arkham Asylum upon hearing of Batman’s return. Follow-
ing the Joker’s killing sprees on a late-night talk show and at the Gotham Fair, Batman
fi nally resolves to break his vow against killing and breaks the Joker’s neck. Ultimately
unable to bring himself to kill even his most deadly and deranged enemy, Batman merely
paralyzes the Joker, who manages somehow to kill himself by worsening his neck injury.
Th e police force, now headed by Ellen Yindel after James Gordon’s retirement, arrives
just in time to fi nd Batman standing over the Joker’s corpse.
“Th e Dark Knight Falls” fi nds Batman hunted by not only the police, but also by
the United States government, which sends Superman to apprehend his old friend
for breaking a vaguely discussed truce between the government and superheroes. Th e
