History WesternAnimation / BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns

* BaldWomen: All of the female Mutant members.

* JigglePhysics: Bruno

* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Given his line of work, Batman is an expert at moving and dodging in ways which cause gun-wielding opponents to miss, and Robin is a small, fast target. However, the extent to which Batman gets away with being under direct gunfire gets ridiculous later on, with entire SWAT squads firing at him whilst he is thigh-deep in water at a range of less than 10 metres and missing.

** Many of the news anchors arguably come across as more impartial and empathetic than in the comic.

* RealityEnsues: When Bruce takes up the mantle of Batman once again, ten years of retirement shows its effect on him when he can barely pull himself up a rope and his joints start to ache.

* OhCrap: Carrie has a a couple of these:
** When Bruno spots her and starts shooting at her.
** When she catches that Superman [[spoiler:knows Bruce is still alive]].

* IsThatTheBestYouCanDo?: During the final battle between Batman and Superman...

* HypocriticalHumor: One of the people being interviewed about crime in Gotham goes about on a long speech of how they should use a diplomatic approach and reeducate the Mutants back into society. He then immediately adds that he would never live in the city.

* GoryDiscretionShot: Semi-Averted. Abner is still seen getting his head chewed up by the roller coaster gears, but his girth hides the actual damage inflicted. All we see is his blood and Carrie's horrified expression.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Discussed during the final showdown betwen Batman and Joker:
-->'''Batman:''' No more! All the people I've murdered by letting you live.

--> I made you lose control...

** During Batman's initial strike against the mutants, one of them accidentally drops a grenade near others in a similar manner to one of the persian magicians in Film/ThreeHundred.

* TheLopsidedArmOfTheLaw: {{Averted|Trope}} in the first half as Batman helps out the GCPD deal with the Mutant Gang and the rest of the criminals while Gordon does his part. {{Downplayed|Trope}} After Yindel ascends as Commissioner and Batman is branded Public Enemy Number One while still keeping ComicBook/TheJoker in the same rank of priority [[spoiler:only ranking him higher when the Joker kills himself in a way which incriminates Batman. And then played {{Straight|Trope}} when the Coldbringer nuke explodes and Batman is a mayor factor in stopping Gotham from devolving into the lawlessness that affected the rest of America, the Government sends in Superman (with a hefty amount of National Guard support) to ''kill him, [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill collateral damage be damned]]'']].

* MovieMultipack: It was initally divided into ''Part 1'' and ''Part 2'', though it was later released with both movies combined into a deluxe edition.

** Early on, a couple of Mutant gang members try this on Bruce. They leave without attacking because "he's into it".

* MutualDisadvantage: In Batman's final fight with Superman, both are suffering from their own disadvantages; Superman is weakened from taking a nuclear blast to the face, along with the lack of sunlight from the fallout, and Batman is 50 years old using PoweredArmor that while able to lift and swing around dozens of tons of weight, is still not enough to do any lasting damage to Supes.

** The rookie cop catch a glimpse of Batman and said "Did you see that?". A line first spoken (also by a cop) in the beginning of "On Leather Wings", the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', and the first entry of the Franchise/{{DCAU}}.

* NoSwastikas: Averted with Bruno, but ''still'' toned ''way'' down from the comic: not only doesn't she have the assless chaps that show off her Swastika-covered buttocks, but Rob and Don's armbands don't have Swastikas on them like they do in the comic.
* NoodleIncident: Oliver Queen lost his left arm in unspecified circumstances, but he strongly implies that Superman tore it off, as he [[ItsPersonal wants some payback]] against the "schoolboy". An earlier conversation between Bruce and Clark all but confirms this; Clark claims he didn't want it to go that way, but "[''Oliver'']''... made it necessary''"

* OldSoldier: Many of these heroes just won't retire

** Superman is also around the same age as Batman, despite not looking it, and is still as powerful as ever... [[spoiler: until he takes a nuke to the face...]]

--> "You ''have'' gotten old!"

* TheLopsidedArmOfTheLaw: {{Averted|Trope}} in the first half as Batman helps out the GCPD deal with the Mutant Gang and the rest of the criminals while Gordon does his part. {{Downplayed|Trope}} After Yindel ascends as Commissioner and Batman is branded Public Enemy Number One while still keeping ComicBook/TheJoker in the same rank of priority [[spoiler: only ranking him higher when the Joker fakes his death to incriminate Batman]]. [[spoiler: And then played {{Straight|Trope}} when the Coldbringer nuke explodes and Batman is a mayor factor in stopping Gotham from devolving into the lawlessness that affected the rest of America, the Government sends in Superman (with a hefty amount of National Guard support) to ''kill him, [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill collateral damage be damned]]'']].

* CombatPragmatist: Batman as always. He defeats the Mutant Leader in their second fight by luring him into a mud pit so it’ll slow him down, cuts him just above the eyes so the blood will blind him, targets his bandaged nose and nerve clusters in his deltoid to take out his arm then headbutts him, breaks his legs and beat on him while he’s down.

* TheEighties: The film goes out of its way to not update the setting of the comic. Commissioner Gordon fought in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (while he could still be alive in the present day, he would be nearing 100), Ronald Reagan is President, the Soviet Union is still very much around, television and other technologies match up with the time period, and the film even uses 80's style synth music in a lot of cases.

* TheEighties: As per the original story, the film makes no real attempt to update the setting, even using 80's style synth music in a lot of cases.

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Rob and Don.

The cast of voice actors includes Creator/PeterWeller (''Franchise/RoboCop'') as Batman, Creator/ArielWinter (''Series/ModernFamily'') as Carrie Kelley, Wade Williams (''Series/PrisonBreak'') as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, David Selby (''Series/DarkShadows'') as Commissioner Gordon, Creator/MichaelMcKean (''Series/LaverneAndShirley'') as Dr. Bartholomew Wolper, Creator/MichaelEmerson (''Series/{{Lost}}'', ''Series/PersonOfInterest'') as ComicBook/TheJoker, and Mark Valley (''Series/HumanTarget'') as Superman. Many of the tropes in the [[ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns original comic]] apply to the film.