The Dark Knight Returns Turns 35

Ahoy Captain Cats here and today we are going to talk about one of the most important comics that came out of one of the most important years in comic book history and that book is The Dark Knight Returns.

The Dark Knight Returns (TDKR for short) was created by Frank Miller, Klaus Jonson, and Lynn Varley and was a four-issue mini-series that ran from February till June of 1986 and it was nothing like any that DC Comics has ever published before.

TDKR tells a story that is set in 1986 in a dystopia Gotham City with a twist. The twist is that Batman AKA Bruce Wayne is 55 years old and gave up being Batman after the death of Jason Todd years prior. We also see some of Batman’s allies and villains have aged as well and this time around James “Jim” Gordon knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne. We see after some events in this series we see Batman come out of retirement but not like before, he was more gritter, practical, more savage, and if needed will kill, so pretty much he was Judge Dredd. We were also introduced to a new Robin via Carrie Kelly and would later become a beloved fan favorite for the years to come.

This mini-series also quietly answers some questions such as Batman/Bruce Wayne who is really who, would Batman ever cross the line and break his one rule, and who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman?

While the series did have two other entries years down the road, TDKR and other comics of this nature set off what would be titled “The Year Comics Grew Up.” If you are new to comics or want to see why this book and like others that came out in 1986, read this mini-series or watch the animated film of the same name.