Line #153 ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tdkr_2860.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''"The rain on my chest is a baptism - [[HesBack I'm born again...]]"'']]
3	%%
4	-> ''"There are seven working defenses from this position. Three of them disarm with minimal contact. Three of them kill. The other'' - [KRAKK] - ''hurts."''
5	-->-- '''Batman'''
6
7	''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' is a four-issue ComicBook/{{Batman}} comic book miniseries written and drawn by Creator/FrankMiller and published by Creator/DCComics from February to June 1986.
8
9	In this storyline, Batman has been retired for ten years, alcoholic and consumed with grief after the death of Jason Todd, the second ComicBook/{{Robin}}[[note]]a full '''two years''' before ''ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily'' canonized this, mind you[[/note]]. ComicBook/{{Superman}}, still as young and handsome as ever, has become little more than an icon, answering to the government and trying to stay as neutral as possible. Commissioner Gordon is weeks away from retirement, ComicBook/TheJoker has been silently locked away in Arkham for years, and ComicBook/TwoFace is about to be released back into the world with a brand new skin. In Batman's absence, and in the midst of a killer heat wave, Gotham City is overrun with crime, plagued by a monstrously violent gang known as The Mutants. After encountering a Mutant gang in the alley where his parents were murdered, Bruce Wayne resurrects Batman, aided in his renewed crusade by Carrie Kelley, a 13-year-old girl who becomes the third Robin. Defeating the Mutants, though, turns out to be child's play compared to what Batman faces next...
10
11	''TDKR'' is a seminal comic book work, with a gritty, unique style that's draped in the best of FilmNoir techniques. Batman is a bitter, angry figure who [[PrivateEyeMonologue narrates much of the story with philosophical musings]] and breaking down his methods. [[KentBrockmanNews News broadcasts shed light]] on the political debates surrounding Batman's influence, positive and negative, on the criminal underworld. The art itself is moody and atmospheric, [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black and grey dominate every page]] and [[SplashOfColor the use of red and yellow are eyesores]]. It is often considered as influential as ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' in demonstrating the possible "[[TrueArtIsAngsty maturity]]" of the comic book medium, and, for good or bad, together with ''Watchmen'' it ushered in MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks. It was also highly influential in the DCU's recasting of Batman and Superman's relationship: no longer are they perfect friends, The World's Finest, but rather somewhat distant and distrusting (if respectful) of each other.
12
13	Since its release, a number of Miller's Batman-related works have tied into TDKR in one way or another:
14	* In 1987 Miller did ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'' with David Mazzucchelli during his one-arc-long run in the main ''Batman'' book. Though it was supposed to be the origin of New Earth's Batman, it also is meant to serve as a prequel to ''Dark Knight Returns''.
15	* In 1994 ''Spawn/Batman'' came out, written by Miller and drawn by Todd [=McFarlane=]. It was a crossover between the ComicBook/{{Spawn}} Universe and the Dark Knight Universe and {{canon}} to both, whose only tie to TDKR was that it showed where Batman got the technology that he would use to build his power suit.
16	* In 2001 and 2002, Miller produced a sequel, ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain''. It was more set ''around'' Batman than ''about'' Batman, being closer to a ComicBook/{{Justice League\|of America}} or even Superman story than a Batman story.
17	* In 2005 to 2008, Miller wrote a prequel, ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder''. It eventually went on hiatus, and was meant to return as ''Dark Knight: Boy Wonder''.
18	* In 2015 to 2017, a third book titled ''ComicBook/DarkKnightIIITheMasterRace'' ran, co-written by Miller alongside Creator/BrianAzzarello with art by Miller and Andy Kubert.
19	* In 2016, Miller and Azzarello wrote a prequel book, ''The Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade'', with art by John Romita Jr., detailing Jason Todd's stint as Robin and how he was killed by the Joker.
20	* In 2019, a book titled ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturnsTheGoldenChild'', written by Miller once again and drawn by Rafael Grampá, was published under the rated-R imprint Creator/DCBlackLabel.
21	* Also in 2019 and published under the ''DC Black Label'' imprint was ''Superman: Year One'', a three issue prequel focusing on Superman which was written by Miller and the art was provided by John Romita Jr. Despite the name it has nothing in common with ''Batman: Year One'', with each issue instead focusing on major events throughout Superman's life such as his childhood in Smallville to meeting Batman and Wonder Woman.
22
23	There have been a handful of animated references to TDKR as well. The first is a ten-minute segment in the DCAU, considered to be among the best adaptations of a Frank Miller work. Damian Wayne's child, who resembles Carrie Kelley, also makes a very brief cameo as a future Robin in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', fighting mutants in a "what-if" story. One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' featured a future version of Darkwing that was heavily influenced by TDKR's depiction of Batman in the later issues.
24
25	In 2012 and 2013, WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies released [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns an animated film adaptation]], told over [[MovieMultipack two]] [[DividedForAdaptation parts]].
26
27	Creator/CryptozoicEntertainment held a Website/{{Kickstarter}} campaign [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cze/the-dark-knight-returns-the-game to fund]] ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns -- The Game''.
28
29	A couple of elements from this story were borrowed by several ''Batman'' adaptations:
30
31	* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'', especially with ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.
32	* The Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse's second film, ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', serves as a [[PragmaticAdaptation partial adaptation]] in addition to telling an original story.
33	* The Bruce Wayne played by Creator/KevinConroy in ''Series/{{Crisis on Infinite Earths\|2019}}'' borrows a lot from TDKR Batman as well.
34
35	----
36	!!This miniseries contains examples of:
37	[[foldercontrol]]
38
39	[[folder: A-E]]
40	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: While he still won't be winning any beauty contests, Joker is much more fit and muscular than the unhealthily lanky frame of most other incarnations and his face displays more conventionally handsome features.
41	* AdaptationalCurves: Joker is usually depicted as being very lanky and gaunt. Here, however, he looks like he could bench-press a truck. It's all the more shocking once you realize he's been catatonic in Arkham for a decade. He is also depicted as [[AdaptationalAttractiveness vaguely handsome looking]] in comparison to other depictions.
42	* AirVentPassageway: The gigantic leader of the Mutant gang is behind bars awaiting trial. Batman knows that being in prison won't hurt his gang cred one bit (it helps that the Mutant leader spends his free time annoying the prison guards and bragging about what kind of havoc he will make when he gets out, instead of showing remorse... and he also ''assassinated the Mayor in horrific fashion'') -- to break the Mutant gang, you must ''break'' its leader. Thus, he and Gordon arrange for the leader to escape via the prison air vents and meet Batman for a mud pit duel.
43	* TheAlcoholic: Dialogue from Gordon and Alfred at the start of the series suggests that Bruce is dangerously close to becoming one, if he's not there already. Once he resumes the mission, it's never mentioned again.
44	* AllLovingHero: Zig-zagged. Superman values ''all'' life on Earth. As he tries to recover from being caught in the Coldbringer's blast, his internal monologue admonishes Lola Wong for assuming that his attempt to let it detonate somewhere safe was anything remotely close to "harmless", citing all the small animals that live there that have now basically been atomized. However, during his time in the Corto Maltese, he can be seen clearly dealing with Communist forces with lethal measures.
45	* AntiHero:
46	** Batman is an UnscrupulousHero or PragmaticHero, being more ruthless than his original DC counterpart.
47	** The Sons Of Batman are more or less {{Nominal Hero}}es, as their "crime-fighting" is just as violent as their crimes when they were Mutants.
48	* AntiVillain: ComicBook/{{Superman}} is a PunchClockVillain overlapping with HeroAntagonist in this miniseries. He only reluctantly fights against Batman under orders from the US government.
49	* AppropriatedTitle: ''The Dark Knight Returns'' was originally released as ''Batman: The Dark Knight'', with "The Dark Knight Returns" being the first issue's title.
50	* ArcWords:
51	** For Batman: "Lucky" and "This would be a ___ death."
52	** For Gordon: "I think of Sarah. The rest is easy."
53	* ArcVillain: Each issue focuses on a different antagonist for Batman to fight, each highlighting a different kind of foil for Bruce.
54	** Issue 1 deals with Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face again, serving as a mirror to Bruce's internal conflict with the "Batman" persona who wants to live again. Dent's fall coincides with Bruce embracing the Batman once again.
55	** Issue 2 has the Mutants and specifically their young and fit leader, a counterpoint to the old and worn down Batman. Their struggle highlights the question of whether Bruce can truly still do this at his age.
56	** Issue 3 has the Joker, whose vicious rampage has Batman questioning how effective he really is without killing criminals while also operating as a example of how Batman, in the minds of people like Dr. Wolper and Commissioner Yindel, inspires the very maniacs he fights.
57	** Issue 4 finally has Superman, whose subservience to the government runs opposite to Batman's anti-authoritarian vigilante mindset.
58	* ArtEvolution:
59	** Miller's rendition of Batman starts off rather traditional if not bulkier. It's only as the book goes on that noticeable wrinkles start appearing on his face and his posture begins hunching over, a not-very-subtle visual tell to how injuries, stress, and general wear and tear of jumping back into being Batman after 10 years out of the cowl are wearing on him.
60	** Batman starts off more or less in the typical Neal Adams design with baby blue cowl and yellow oval around the symbol. After being beaten by the Mutant leader, he switches to a darker cowl and oval-less symbol, hearkening back to the darker, more vicious version of the character from his pre-Robin years in the Golden Age.
61	* AttemptedRape:
62	** One of the first crimes Bruce stops after he redons the cape and cowl is stopping an assault by grabbing the attacker and pulling him through a window. Neither Batman nor what he does are shown.
63	** It’s likely that the Mutants accosting Carrie and her friend in the arcade would have raped them had Batman not intervened.
64	** Another assault with rape overtones is prevented by Batman late in the story. This time, Batman laughs as he breaks the assailant's bones.
65	* AuthorAppeal:
66	** According to Frank Miller's intro to the graphic novel, the entire story grew from his refusal to accept that he could be older than Batman, who he saw as a perpetual father figure. Up until this point, Batman was always 29. The first comic book was released when Miller was also 29.
67	** Miller has stated Batman’s more brutal methods towards criminals in the book was a result of him being mugged in New York multiple times by 1986 and wishing someone could just stop the rising crime rate at the time by whatever means necessary.
68	* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Par for the course with Batman, right down to his fights. The page quote is one such example, as he takes down an armed criminal coming up behind him in a dark room by breaking his leg with a kick.
69	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Superman's behavior after his fight with Batman shows he genuinely respected him and had no ill will against him, even willing to cover for Bruce afterwards.
70	* AxCrazy:
71	** The Mutants kill indiscriminately and with an almost childish glee; one even mentions that they have a quota for murders. Their leader is just as deadly, openly proclaiming that he'll kill Batman and Gordon and eat their hearts.
72	** The Sons of the Batman don't lose any of their viciousness once they break away from the Mutants, they just start targeting criminals.
73	** The Joker is depicted as having a love/hate fixation on Batman that he feeds with his indiscriminate killing.
74	--->'''Joker (inner dialogue)''': They could put me in a helicopter and fly me up into the air and line up the bodies head to toe on the ground in delightful geometric patterns like an endless June Taylor dancers routine -- and it would never be enough. No, I don't keep count. But you do. And I love you for it.
75	* BadassBoast: The Mutant leader and Batman exchange them [[spoiler:in the mud pit]].
76	-->'''Mutant Leader:''' Batman! Face me, fool! [[HulkSpeak I kill you! I eat you heart!]] I show you who rules Gotham City!\
77	'''Batman:''' ''rises up out of the mud where he's been hidden'' Okay, boy. [[BringIt Show me.]]
78	%%ZCE* BadFuture: Batman is gone for ten years and ''everything'' goes to hell.
79	%%ZCE* BananaRepublic: Corto Maltese.
80	%%ZCE* BatmanGambit: Bruce uses quite a few over the series. Even his final trick relies on [[spoiler:knowing Clark will let him go]].
81	%%ZCE* BigBad: The US President, who [[TakeThat bears more than a slight resemblance]] to then-current President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan.
82	* BigBlackout: An electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear explosion causes electronics to stop working across the entire U.S.
83	%%* BlackHelicopter: The Batcopter.
84	* BookEnds: Inverted
85	--> [''at the opening, as Bruce's racecar crashes''] This would be a good death, but not good enough.\
86	[[spoiler:[''at the finale, as he begins his life in the shadows, training his army''] This will be a good life. Good enough.]]
87	* BrassBalls: {{Subverted\|Trope}} by Byron Brassballs. With that name, you'd think he'd be an exemplar of courage, but he's really a DirtyCoward and complete asshole who [[{{Pun}} brazenly]] justifies his sociopathically self-centered behavior and actions in his interviews.
88	* BreakingTheFourthWall: As Batman guns down the Mutants in the city dump from the Batmobile, he swears in his inner monologue that he's firing rubber bullets. There's seriously no way he's not trying to directly convince the reader he's telling the truth.
89	* BreakTheCutie: This is essentially what happens when [[spoiler:Carrie sees the bodies of the Cub Scouts who took the poisoned cotton candy from the Joker]]. Batman's internal dialogue lampshades it. Pushed along further with her fight with Abner when he ends up decapitating himself via a low hanging awning on the rolled coaster they’re on. When Batman radios her in the next issue, she’s ''still'' frozen in trauma over it.
90	* TheCameo: Creator/HarlanEllison of all people appears on a newscast to speculate on [[ApocalypseHow how badly]] the nuclear war with the Soviets will end. He's never actually depicted on-panel, but the dialogue is pretty spot-on:
91	-->"... be eating our own babies for breakfast."
92	* CapeWings: The imagery is {{invoked\|Trope}} when Batman uses his cape to appear to break his fall when confronting the police during the Joker's attack on ''The David Endochrine Show'' and the Joker later on at the fair. The cover art used as the page image above also invokes this imagery.
93	* CheapCostume: Carrie Kelly's Robin suit is an off-the-rack costume. She even appears to paint the frames of her glasses black to better emulate his mask for her first patrol.
94	* ChestInsignia: [[JustifiedTrope Turns out]] the bat symbol on Batman's chest serves an actual purpose, as [[BulletProofVest it's bulletproof]].
95	-->'''Batman (internal):''' Why do you think I wear a target on my chest? I can't armor my head.
96	* CoincidentalBroadcast: News broadcasts provide {{exposition}} by describing the direct effects of the characters' actions or set up future plot developments. For example, Batman's return is followed by several panels where the reader is shown how certain citizens view him as a menace, while others praise his vigilante actions.
97	* CombatPragmatist:
98	** The Mutant leader puts his claw-like fingernails and filed teeth to good use in the first fight against Batman, and also gives him a [[GroinAttack devastating crotch kick]] and hits him with a crowbar.
99	** Batman becomes one in his second fight with the Mutant leader, since brute force failed spectacularly the first time. He takes advantage of how the mud hinders their movements, uses nerve strikes to cripple the Mutant leader's arms, and blinds him [[AHandfulForAnEye with both blood and mud]].
100	* CoolOldGuy:
101	** Alfred is so up in years, yet is still serving ''and'' snarky.
102	** Peppi, a middle aged restaurant owner in Gotham, beats away a mugger with his rolling pin.
103	* CrapsackWorld: Between the Mutants, the heat wave, and general decay, Gotham has become a rather nasty place to live.
104	* CrazyPrepared:
105	** Issue one: Batman brings a rifle with a grappling hook to his fight with Two-Face just in case he picked the wrong tower to perch on. [[spoiler:He did.]]
106	** Issue two: Batman meticulously plans his second fight with the Mutant Leader.
107	** Issue three: Batman somehow has a perfect disguise of a known GCPD detective just in case he needs to pull info from Yindel.
108	** Issue four: Batman explicitly prepared for a Soviet EMP attack by maintaining horses and an emergency plan for a blackout. He also synthesized Kryptonite in case he ever had to fight Superman.
109	* CurbStompBattle:
110	** Batman's first fight with the Mutant Leader, a hulking, feral, bloodthirsty brute with filed teeth and claws in the prime of his life. Batman gets badly mauled and beaten and is only saved by Carrie Kelley's intervention.
111	** Turned around in Batman's second fight with the Mutant leader. He uses his brains instead of pure brawn, and while he doesn't come away unscathed, he does win decisively.
112	--->'''Batman:''' You don't get it, boy. This isn't a mudhole, it's an operating table. And I'm the surgeon.
113	* DarkerAndEdgier: Robin kills. Batman mutilates. ComicBook/TheJoker's massacres are graphically portrayed. Superman openly kills Soviet troops in faraway lands. Creator/FrankMiller lays out his [[StrawmanPolitical grim feelings]] of [[{{Eagleland}} America]] for all to see.
114	* DatingCatwoman: Literally; it's never said outright, but Selena's voicemail to Bruce is a huge hint, they kiss before [[spoiler:Batman and Robin go after the Joker]], and Gordon has to restrain her from physically attacking [[spoiler:Superman]] after [[spoiler:Bruce Wayne's funeral]] concludes.
115	* DeadpanSnarker:
116	** The Joker lays the snark on thick, but only truly descends into the cackling madman we're familiar with [[spoiler:in his final moments as he twists his head around]].
117	** Alfred is very weary of Bruce's resumed holy war against crime which he demonstrates by being as catty as possible.
118	* DeathByDisfigurement: Toyed with. [[spoiler:Batman breaks the Joker's neck just enough to cause paralysis. The Joker finishes the job by himself, both to frame Batman for his death and to spite Batman.]]
119	* DeathSeeker:
120	** Bruce has become one by the start of the story, and after he becomes Batman again, he frequently remarks on how certain things would be good or bad deaths as the story progresses.
121	** Batman suspects that [[spoiler:Harvey Dent]] has become one due to what's happened to him, and by the time his arc is complete, it's proven to be correct.
122	** After [[spoiler:Batman paralyzes the Joker]], the latter decides death (especially when [[spoiler:he gets to frame Batman for it]]) is preferable to his current predicament and [[spoiler:happily finishes breaking his neck]].
123	* {{Deconstruction}}:
124	** Batman's tactics spur debates on toughness on crime. The story also deconstructs many elements of Batman's mythos, particularly his potential insanity, as well as showing what kind of [[CrapsackWorld world]] would make Batman not only possible, but necessary.
125	** Superman is heavily deconstructed, especially the characterizations from the 1950s onward where he was written as a model citizen and patriot. The character's morals are portrayed as being too rigid and simple to stand up to the messy complications of reality, such as what a law-abiding patriot is supposed to do when given orders from a senile and self-centered president. The numerous covers depicting Superman fighting in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII are also reexamined by showing the consequences of Superman going to war and just how ugly that would be.
126	** The concept of Robin is examined on how practical or healthy having a KidSidekick actually is. Batman notes that Two-Face used to refer to Dick Grayson as "the boy hostage." Batman's retirement is at least partially based on the death of Jason Todd[[note]]who was the official Robin at this time in the main comics, and who would not experience [[ComicBook/BatmanADeathInTheFamily his actual death story]] for a couple more years[[/note]]. Carrie, despite being seen as TheAce in the mind of Bruce, is consistently put in situations where she almost dies. The entire scenario with the Joker obviously traumatizes her. The concept itself is pointed out to be illegal when Yindel, upon seeing Robin with Batman, adds child endangerment to the list of charges against Batman.
127	** The Joker's conflict with Batman reveals just how much death and destruction is left in their wake because Batman lets the Joker live. Much of Batman's internal monologue in the third issue is devoted to him seriously examining whether upholding his no-kill rule is really worth it in regards to the Joker. Also, the operatic nature of their conflict has the Joker all but confirming he treats their "relationship" as a twisted kind of romance.
128	* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: [[spoiler:Batman beats Superman.]] Or at least got the better of him. Not without some trickery, and [[spoiler:Superman holding '''WAY''' back]], but still.
129	* DemandingTheirHead: The Mutant leader demands to be brought the head of Commissioner Gordon so he can mount it on his torch and "carry it through the streets" like a trophy.
130	* DependingOnTheWriter: Happens to Batman and Superman a lot, but Batman's X-Ray seeking missiles wouldn't be able to tell Superman from anyone else normally because Superman's X-Ray Vision doesn't actually emit X-Rays [[note]]not since the GoldenAge when they pulled double duty as his EyeBeam attack.[[/note]]
131	* DespairEventHorizon: Batman suspects that [[spoiler:Harvey Dent]] has been pushed across this. In their final confrontation, it's confirmed by his dialogue and emotional breakdown.
132	* {{Determinator}}: Bruce/Batman. Despite being [[spoiler:gutshot and stabbed multiple times by the Joker and shot at several times by the police, Batman still manages to elude them by getting to the Bat-Copter]].
133	* DieLaughing: [[spoiler:Joker]] laughs the entire time [[spoiler:he's twisting his head around to finish breaking his neck]], leaving a grin on his face as he dies.
134	* DistaffCounterpart: Carrie to Robin, and hanging on Bruce's every word she becomes more and more like him.
135	* DoesntLikeGuns:
136	** Played straight at first in issue 4, as Batman invokes the trope in his speech to the Sons of the Batman:
137	--->'''Batman''': ''breaks a shotgun in two with his hands'' This loud, clumsy, ''stupid'' thing... this is the weapon of the enemy. We do not need it. We will not use it.
138	** That being said, he will use them when they're necessary. In the first issue, he uses a rifle to shoot a grappling line between the Gotham Towers to [[spoiler:confront Two-Face and his henchmen]]. In the fourth issue, he uses [[spoiler:Commissioner Yindel's]] gun to shoot some plastic explosive. He also gets pushed into using one when taking on [[spoiler:three Mutant kidnappers who have a toddler as a hostage]]. The confrontation culminates with [[spoiler:Batman pointing one of the Mutant's guns (a frigging [[{{BFG}} M60 GPMG]]) at the last kidnapper, who is holding the hostage at gunpoint.]]
139	--->[[spoiler:'''Mutant''': I'll do it man, believe me! Believe me!]]\
140	[[spoiler:'''Batman''': ''Shoots the mutant and rescues the child'' I believe you.]]
141	* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Throughout the fight between [[spoiler:Batman and Superman]], Supes makes it clear from the start that [[spoiler:he doesn't want to kill Bats]] and practically begs him throughout to just give up so he doesn't have to.
142	* DyingSmirk: Batman manages to defeat [[spoiler:the Joker, leaving him physically paralyzed. The Joker mocks Batman one last time and proceeds to snap his own neck while laughing.]] When Batman incinerates the body, [[spoiler:the Joker's]] smoldering corpse is still grinning...
143	-->'''Batman''': Stop...stop ''laughing''.
144	* TheEighties:
145	** A lot of the action and political commentary stems from real-world politics of the period, in particular [[spoiler:the U.S. - Soviet arms race]], which comes to a head in part four.
146	** Much of Gotham is heavily borrowed from New York in the 80s--rising crime stats, violent street gangs, and a general grimy aesthetic.
147	* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Of a sort. At the start of the story, Bruce has a mustache, but after a sleepwalk (or psychosis-driven fugue; it's not made clear which) into the Batcave, Alfred notices that he's shaved it off...and he didn't realize he'd done it.
148	* EyesAlwaysShut: The reporter Lola Wong. Even when [[spoiler:Two-Face shoots a missile into the skyscraper where their studio is located]], she never opens her eyes.
149	* EyeScream: [[spoiler:The Joker]]'s right eye is struck by a batarang during his final battle against Batman.
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder: F-J]]
153	* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Batman fakes his death in the final chapter.]] It fools everyone except Superman, whose enhanced hearing lets him pick up a faint heart beat.
154	* FalselyReformedVillain: Happens twice, when the same psychiatrist declares Two-Face legally sane and recommends the Joker make a talk show appearance as part of his rehabilitation.
155	* FanDisservice: Bruno is a muscular buxom lady wearing basically nothing... and she's wearing swastika pasties.
156	* FashionableAsymmetry: The newscaster Lola Wong always wears asymmetrical earrings, and has [[AnimeHair a triangular hairstyle]] that is much higher on one side than the other.
157	* FatalMethodActing: InUniverse, The Joker makes his grand comeback by murdering everyone on ''The David Endochrine Show'', including David himself and Ruth Weisenheimer.
158	* FearlessFool: Gets some {{deconstruction}} in Harvey Dent, who at the climax of their confrontation leans so far out of his helicopter to try to shoot Batman that he falls from it, with Batman (not knowing for sure that it's actually Dent) noting that whoever it is has Dent's lack of sense of self-preservation. The deconstruction comes from Dent being a DeathSeeker who may have done that on purpose.
159	* FeelingTheirAge: Batman starts as a RetiredBadass, but soon returns to crime-fighting. Throughout the story Batman keeps on lamenting how slow he's become, culminating in the fight between him and the Mutant leader, who is, as Batman himself states, "in his physical prime". [[spoiler:Batman loses, but only because he "tried to fight like a young man". Later he beats the Mutant leader with some CombatPragmatist moves.]] After his fight with the Joker (which included being gutshot and stabbed repeatedly) and subsequent escape from the GCPD, his age shows yet again to the point of losing consciousness.
160	* FlatlinePlotline: Batman's ultimate plot in the fourth issue is to [[spoiler:remove himself from the public spotlight by faking his death]]. Being Batman, [[spoiler:he kills himself for a while using a special drug, using the fight with Superman both as a cover and as an excuse to work out his anger and frustration with Superman]].
161	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Due to age and rust, Batman isn't as stealthy as he used to be. The thugs he's pursuing in the first chapter hear floorboards creaking under him and note that "[...] he never used to make noise before." This bites him hard in the third chapter when the Joker hears one of the funhouse mirrors creaking under his weight and shoots him as he breaks through it.
162	* {{Forgiveness}}: Bruce Wayne has forgiven Joe Chill for killing his parents, finally understanding that all he ever wanted was money before the situation escalated. In spite of this, his Batman mindset still wants to punish him for robbery and murder in general. This is in contrast to the newer generation of criminal whom Bruce thinks is more "pure" in savagery and evil than Joe Chill ever was.
163	-->'''Bruce''': He flinched when he pulled the trigger. He was sick and guilty over what he did. All he wanted was money. I was naïve enough to think him the lowest sort of man.
164	* FreudianExcuse: A psychiatrist blames Batman for making the Joker into a raving loon. [[spoiler:He might have a point, but the Joker kills him.]]
165	* FunWithAcronyms: Sons Of the Batman = [=SOBs=]
166	* FutureSlang: The Mutants are all over this one. "Balls nasty!"[[note]]a strong epithet[[/note]], "spud" vs. "slicer-dicer"[[note]]rookie Mutant vs. long-timer[[/note]], "chicken legs"[[note]]women[[/note]], and many others.
167	* TheGhost: Dick Grayson is mentioned sporadically throughout the book, but he never appears. A cryptic bit of conversation between Bruce and Gordon reveals that he and Dick haven't spoken in many years, which Gordon laments, especially given Jason Todd's death.
168	* GodzillaThreshold: Discussed at length. During Commissioner Gordon and his replacement Yindel's first conversation, she asks him why he's allowed a vigilante like Batman to operate in Gotham. Gordon talks about the first time he heard the UrbanLegend that UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt let [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Pearl Harbor]] happen in order to get the US into WWII and stop the greater evil of the Axis. He went back and forth on whether it was morally acceptable if true, until he realized the whole thing was "too big" for him to judge. Later, after Batman [[spoiler:rallies the Sons of Batman and the Mutants to quell the mass riots]], Yindel finally realizes the same. When asked by an officer if they should do something, she can only respond "No. No. He's too big." Later, a news blurb shows her dodging questions about the police being lax in enforcing her warrants against Batman.
169	* GoingColdTurkey: When Bruce takes up the cowl again, he quits the sauce. He doesn't have any withdrawal issues, possibly because Batman is an even stronger addiction.
170	* GoodNewsBadNews: The President has a very cheerful way of telling the American people about the dangers of nuclear fallout.
171	-->Well folks, I've got good news and bad news. Heh... The good news is that the Soviets have withdrawn their forces from the island of Corto Maltese.... And the bad news, well... It looks like those Soviets are pretty bad losers, yes they are...
172	%%* GrandfatherClause: The Bat-signal is discussed here.
173	* GroinAttack: Happens to Batman at the foot of the Mutant leader during their first fight. He's able to fight through the pain, but it clearly messes him up and the Mutant leader is able to take advantage of his weakness later in the fight.
174	-->He shows me what a fast kick is. Something explodes in my midsection. Sunlight behind my eyes as the pain rises.
175	* HallOfMirrors: Batman chases the Joker into a house of mirrors at the fair. [[spoiler:The Joker gut-shoots him after he gives himself away trying to come through a mirror.]]
176	* AHandfulForAnEye: During their second fight, Batman cuts the Mutant leader over the eyes to blind him with the blood, then compounds that by throwing mud in his face.
177	* HandicappedBadass: At some point prior to the beginning of the comic, [[spoiler:Superman]] caused Green Arrow to lose his left arm, which he is still bitter about. It hampers him but doesn't make him any less effective of an archer.
178	-->I want a piece of him. Just a small piece will do...for old times' sake.
179	* HandsOffParenting: Carrie's parents seem to have trouble remembering that she even exists.
180	* HannibalLecture: [[spoiler:The Joker, paralyzed from the neck down,]] hits Batman with one just before [[spoiler:killing himself]].
181	-->'''[[spoiler: Joker]]:''' [[spoiler:You won't get far. But then, it doesn't matter if you do. They'll kill you for this. And they'll never know you didn't have the nerve. I'll see you in hell!]]
182	* HateSink: Everything [[{{Jerkass}} Byron Brassballs]] says and does is custom-made to make you want him to get his ass kicked...and he only appears twice.
183	* HeatWave: Gotham has been stuck in one for a while at the start of the series.
184	* HeroicBSOD: In the first issue, Bruce, lost in thought, wanders to the spot where his parents were killed and is confronted by Mutants. Their dialogue (casually talking about killing Bruce and having a ''quota'' for murders, and then dismissing Bruce as their target just as casually because he's "into it") shakes Bruce to his core, as he started the confrontation equating them to his parents' killer in his head.
185	--> '''Bruce''': No. Not him. Not him. He flinched when he pulled the trigger. He was sick and guilty over what he did. [...] These... These are his children. A purer breed. And this world is '''theirs'''.
186	* HesBack:
187	** Batman returns to superheroics after 10 years in retirement.
188	--->'''Reporter''': Police phone lines are jammed with citizens describing what appears to be a siege on Gotham's underworld... by the Batman.
189	** The Joker was stuck in a catatonic state since Batman's last appearance. The hero's return prompts him to regain his mobility and bloodlust.
190	** The media, police and the public in general collectively freak out when Two-Face returns.
191	* HonorBeforeReason: Batman knows that it's best if [[spoiler:he just shoots the Mutant leader in the dump]], but he can't bring himself to cross that line... and it nearly gets him killed.
192	* HulkSpeak: The Mutant leader's dialogue is laced with this, but he can talk normally when he wants to, implying that it's done to play up his monstrous image.
193	* HumanShield: As Batman's chasing the Joker through the fair, the Joker tries this with one of Carrie's friends. Batman promptly tags him with a handful of batarangs.
194	* HumanWeapon: Superman here is nothing but an icon who reports directly to the President, who gives him orders that include waging a one-man war in a BananaRepublic, [[spoiler:stopping the nuclear strike that follows (he doesn't completely succeed)]], and [[spoiler:assassinating Batman]], all of which he does without question.
195	* IAmTheNoun: This is the climax of the "breaking the shotgun" sequence.
196	-->'''Batman''': Tonight, ''we'' are the law. Tonight, ''I'' am the law. ''Let's ride.''
197	* IFightForTheStrongestSide: Once the Mutant leader is defeated, the gang disintegrates into [[GangOfHats a number of splinter groups that define themselves by whatever figurehead they're following]]; the only thing that remains consistent is their use of violence.
198	* IWasQuiteALooker:
199	** Selina Kyle didn't age well. [[spoiler:The Joker]] notices.
200	** Lana Lang has gained some weight in the last ten years.
201	* ImAHumanitarian: One of the Mutant leader's {{Catchphrase}}s is his boasts that he will eat Batman's heart. He also [[spoiler:rips out the mayor's throat with his teeth while in captivity]].
202	* ImpliedRape: It's implied that the Joker assaulted Selina during his visit between her change of attire (a dress and later, a Wonder Woman costume), the fact that said costume is wrinkled, Selina's face being bruised, and the fact that the Joker used mind control lipstick on her. Her comment to Batman when he finds her is also very telling--"Bruce - he's worse than ever!"
203	* ImprobableAimingSkills: The ComicBook/GreenArrow can precisely shoot an arrow at [[spoiler:Superman]] despite only having one arm, being in the dark and under the rain, pulling the bowstring with his teeth, and all while ''hanging upside down''.
204	%%** Whether you think Batman was aiming for the Mutant or not, the gun he was firing was definitely not meant to be fired with one hand. He's lucky he didn't kill the baby himself. Context?
205	* InformedAttribute: Doctor Bartholomew Wolper is considered the psychological expert on the Batman, but when his arguments include the idea that Batman is responsible for his villains' actions, it's hard to treat the man as a qualified expert when he has made such a significant error.
206	* InnerMonologue: Batman talks more to himself than any three other characters talk to anyone else put together.
207	* InsaneNoMore: Bart Wolper is the psychiatrist for both the Joker and Harvey Dent while they're in Arkham, and declares both to be sane since the Joker is basically catatonic prior to Batman reappearing and seems calm and collected after, and Harvey's split personality appears to be gone after his new face is revealed to the public. The real result is that Dent becomes a DeathSeeker who believes his face is completely destroyed, and the Joker kills hundreds in a poison gas attack on live TV, with Wolper being killed by the robot that delivered the gas.
208	* InsaneTrollLogic: The Joker's psychiatrist, Doctor Bartholomew Wolper, argues that the Joker himself didn't commit his crimes, Batman did, ''through'' the Joker.
209	* TheInsomniac: The Joker, the night before his appearance on ''The David Endochrine Show'', is shown lying in bed unable to sleep and looking rather haggard.
210	* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: {{Subverted\|Trope}}. Batman doesn't have to actually get violent with perps to get info. Instead, he lets their fear of him do his work for him, although in some cases a bit of setup is needed.
211	** In one instance, Batman scares a perp (the one who had the page quote applied to him earlier on) into talking simply by [[spoiler:walking toward him; the perp falls through a window trying to get away, injuring himself, and talks after Batman tells him that he's the only person who can save him from bleeding to death]].
212	** In another instance, he [[spoiler:hangs an unconscious Mutant upside-down from a gargoyle at the top of a skyscraper, puts a hand over the Mutant's face, and slowly moves his hand away when the Mutant wakes up and tries to cut a deal]]. What makes this even more effective is that the reader doesn't realize all this until it's all said and done; the sequence is drawn from the Mutant's perspective until the last panel.
213	--->'''Batman (internal)''': It was tough work carrying two hundred and twenty pounds of sociopath to the top of one of Gotham's Twin Towers. The scream alone is worth it.
214	* JunkieParent: Carrie Kelley's parents are so wasted that they don't even notice when she runs away until long after she's gone.
215	[[/folder]]
216
217	[[folder: K-O]]
218	* KryptoniteFactor: Weaponized by Batman in the climactic fight against Superman--part of his plan for the fight is for Green Arrow to shoot Superman with an arrow tipped with an ampule of synthesized kryptonite. Superman [[ArrowCatch catches the arrow]], but it explodes and releases the kryptonite as an aerosolized powder that significantly weakens Superman, enough for Batman's attacks to actually draw blood.
219	* LadyLooksLikeADude: The police mistake Carrie for a boy.
220	* LetThePastBurn: In the final issue, Alfred burns down Wayne Manor so that nobody can look through it for evidence or clues after Batman's identity as Bruce Wayne is revealed to the public while [[spoiler:faking his death]].
221	* TheLopsidedArmOfTheLaw: Law enforcement puts way more effort into stopping Batman than the Mutants or the massive crime wave seizing Gotham.
222	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: During the first assault on the Mutant Leader, Batman sardonically assuages the concerns of Kelly and the reader that BatmanGrabsAGun is not at play here.
223	-->'''Batman:''' Rubber bullets. Honest.
224	* LiteralMetaphor: The governor is almost strangled by actual [[ObstructiveBureaucrat red tape]].
225	* MachoMasochism: During the first fight between Batman and the Mutant leader, Batman shatters the Mutant leader's nose with a punch. However, despite blood pouring out of where his nose used to be, he starts ''laughing''. Batman realizes that he let himself get punched just to show Batman that he could take it, and this angers Batman so much that he starts pounding the Mutant leader to see how much punishment he can take. However, this is when the Mutant leader decides to stop toying with Batman and delivers a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
226	* MadeOfIron: Subverted. The aged Batman absorbs a '''lot''' of punishment throughout the series, and every injury clearly pushes his body to the breaking point. He's noticeably slower in each subsequent chapter, and Alfred laments that he won't be able to effectively patch him up much longer.
227	* ManBitesMan: The Mutant leader puts his filed teeth to good use against Batman [[spoiler:and the mayor]].
228	* MediaWatchdog: The public broadcast of the Mutant Leader's video after his capture is cut off after a few sentences...with good reason.
229	-->'''Mutant leader''': ...and then I'll find your new cop - your ''woman'' cop - and I will-\
230	'''Newscaster''': [''looking disgusted''] The rest of the Mutant leader's statement is unfit for broadcast.
231	* MenOfSherwood: The Sons of Batman VigilanteMilitia made up of ex-Mutants takes a while to become non-violent enough for Batman to trust them, but they help break up a riot after a blackout, and [[spoiler:help stock his new Bat-cave after he fakes his death at the end]].
232	* MistakenDeathConfirmation: During the climactic fight between Batman and Superman, Superman hears Batman's heart starting to become arrhythmic and slow down and thinks that Batman is deliberately fighting him to the death, and is completely convinced when Batman finally dies. However, at his funeral, Superman hears Batman's heart start back up and realizes that he faked his death, but decides to keep this a secret and leaves [[SecretMessageWink with a wink at Carrie Kelley]].
233	%% * MistimedRevival
234	* MonsterClown: ComicBook/TheJoker returns, with Selina noting that the Clown Prince of Crime is worse than ''ever'' after he attacks her.
235	* MuckingInTheMud: Batman sets up a rematch with the Mutant Leader in a mud pit, thereby slowing both of them and negating his opponent's speed and agility advantages.
236	* MuggingTheMonster: {{Defied\|Trope}}. The Mutants who are about to attack Bruce at the beginning realize that not only is Bruce really big and strong-looking, but he doesn't seem to be afraid of them, and even looks like he's "into it", and they decide to head to the arcade instead.
237	* NeckSnap:
238	** [[spoiler:Batman]] snaps [[spoiler:the Joker]]'s neck, but it only paralyzes him. [[spoiler:The Joker finishes the job for him.]]
239	** Bobbie kills Dr. Wolper at the TV studio by flying in and snapping his neck.
240	* NeverForgottenSkill:
241	** The story starts off with Bruce Wayne retired for ten years and an alcoholic. However, once he puts the Batsuit back on, he demonstrates that ten years of retirement and alcohol have not caused him to forget his skills at all.
242	** Even more impressive, the Joker has been straitjacketed in a padded cell for over a decade when he learns of Batman's return [[spoiler:and can barely speak, "b...b...b...b...BATMAN! ... Darling!"]], but returns to the world [[InstantWakingSkills ready for action]].
243	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: While Batman's return helps save Gotham from the CrapsackWorld it has become in his absence, it also causes the Joker to snap out of his 10 years of catatonia and gives him a motive to return to crime.
244	* NixonMask: Used by a group of convenience store robbers who are slaughtered by one of the Sons of the Batman.
245	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
246	** Miller later said that he based the Mutant Leader's speech patterns on Creator/MrT.
247	** Two of the Joker's victims were David Endochrine and Ruth Weisenheimer, who were clearly based on Creator/DavidLetterman and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
248	** The President is unnamed but obviously UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan.
249	** The Joker has a passing resemblance and aura similar to Music/DavidBowie, especially his Thin White Duke phase.
250	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Once the Mutant leader decides he's had enough of Batman in their first fight, he gives Batman a few really hard punches, breaks his right arm, and then starts beating him with a crowbar. [[spoiler:Robin's intervention]] is the only thing that saves him from getting killed. Fortunately, Batman learns his lesson, and their second fight ends with the tables completely turned.
251	* NoodleIncident: A young boy running past reminds James Gordon of something ''really'' unpleasant.
252	* NotListeningToMeAreYou: Alfred persuades Bruce to donate to:
253	-->'''Alfred:''' ...the Committee for the Prevention of Obsessive Behaviour in Middle-Aged Men.\
254	'''Bruce:''' Write them a check.
255	* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: This one is followed by a sequel called ''The Dark Knight Strikes Again''.
256	* OhCrap:
257	** The Joker realizes Batman isn't screwing around this time when [[spoiler:he gets a batarang [[EyeScream in the eye]].]]
258	---> ''Joker grabs one of Carrie's friends and puts his gun to her head''\
259	'''Batman (internal monologue)''': No, Joker. You're playing the wrong game. The ''old'' game. Tonight you're taking no hostages. Tonight I'm taking no prisoners.\
260	[[spoiler: ''cue batarangs'']]\
261	'''Joker''' ''runs away shooting wildly'': Out of your ''mind''--
262	** When the Mayor tries to negotiate with the Mutant Leader, Gordon has one just before [[spoiler:the Mutant tears out the Mayor's throat...with his teeth]].
263	--->I hear a nervous giggle and an animal growl. I hear handcuff links snap.
264	** A disguised Carrie has this reaction at Bruce Wayne's funeral, when she realizes that Superman [[spoiler:has heard Batman's heartbeat restart]], revealing that [[spoiler:he faked his death]]. But Superman reassures Carrie with a wink that he'll keep the secret, as long as [[spoiler:Batman lies low]].
265	* OldSuperhero: One of the central themes of the overall plot is how age affects Batman in everything he does, from his tactics to combat to his overall state of mind.
266	* OlderHeroVsYoungerVillain: The mid-50s Batman vs. the Mutant leader, who is "young [...] in his physical prime."
267	* OstentatiousSecret: As [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Ollie]] points out to Bruce.
268	-->Sure, you like to play it mysterious, but it's a '''loud''' kind of mysterious. Especially lately.
269	[[/folder]]
270
271	[[folder: P-T]]
272	* ParentalObliviousness: Carrie Kelley's parents are shown taking drugs and not paying much attention to her. [[ExaggeratedTrope Taken to extremes]] when they occasionally forget Carrie exists.
273	-->'''Parent #1''': [''visible only as a trickle of dope smoke''] ...Hey...didn't we have a kid?
274	* PersonOfMassDestruction: Superman is treated as the best deterrent against nuclear warfare.
275	* PluckyGirl: Carrie, who at the age of 13 gets herself a Robin costume and goes out to fight crime armed only with a slingshot and a few firecrackers, and who earns Batman's respect by attacking the ''goddamn Mutant Leader'' when he's just about to defeat Batman. She downplays the perky associations of this trope, tending to be more sarcastic than outright cheerful, but she's spirited as hell and, apart from the occasional BSOD, never gives up.
276	* PoweredArmor: Batman dons a highly advanced suit of armour (among other things) to fight ComicBook/{{Superman}}.
277	* PreMortemOneLiner: Inverted, in that it's the '''winner''' of the climactic battle that delivers it just before he dies.
278	-->I want you to '''remember'''...the one man who '''beat''' you...
279	* ProfanityPolice: Batman cuts off a kid — whom he just rescued from gunpoint seconds ago — encouraging him to "kick [the Joker's] ass" with a "watch your language, son".
280	* PunchClockVillain: The President notes he really doesn't ''want'' to bring the Batman down, saying he'd have given him a medal in younger days, but all the chaos and public outrage over his one man war on crime is forcing his hand. Likewise, Superman is not happy about much of what he has to do but does the job nonetheless.
281	* RecurringExtra:
282	** The... ill-tempered ([[TheSociopath to put it mildly]]) Byron Brassballs, who both encounters Superman (who saved the handicapped man Byron had ''knocked onto the train tracks'') and later plays a role in the Gotham riots... [[spoiler:and in a nice bit of karmic retribution, gets his ass profoundly kicked by Batman]].
283	** Rob and Don keep running into Batman but hardly play a significant role in the story.
284	* RedemptionInTheRain: The shot of fifty-five-year-old Bruce Wayne appearing as Batman for the first time in ten years, during a thunderstorm.
285	--> '''Batman''': I'm a man of thirty--of twenty again. The rain on my chest is a baptism--I'm born again.
286	* ResurrectionGambit: [[spoiler:Batman's]] ultimate plan in the last chapter is to take himself out of the public spotlight by faking his death. However, [[spoiler:he knows that Superman will be the government's tool to stop him and actually faking death won't fool his super senses, so he takes a drug that actually does kill him by stopping his heart after a couple of hours, but restarts his heart later on. The problem is that Superman hears his heartbeat start back up while he's in his coffin. Fortunately, he simply winks at Carrie Kelly (the new Robin) and leaves, keeping Batman's secret.]]
287	* {{Retirony}}: Inverted, Commissioner Gordon proves he is still a badass by living till his planned retirement.
288	%% * RevengeOfTheSequel
289	* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: The little kid robots that the Joker uses to [[spoiler:poison the talk-show audience and the amusement park attendees]] not only talk but all seem to have nasty little personalities of their own.
290	* RightOutOfMyClothes: A serious version. When Superman hears [[spoiler:the nuclear missile headed toward Corto Maltese]], he takes to the air so fast that he leaves his civilian clothes and ''glasses'' hanging exactly where he left them--''while sitting in a Jeep''.
291	* RobotKid: Abner builds androids that resemble young kids. Joker uses them to spray poison gas everywhere, and they can also be remotely detonated.
292	* RuleOfThree: Batman tells Robin that if she disobeys, she'll be fired. She disobeys three times, but the third time, she saves his life.
293	* TheScapegoat: Batman is accused by the media of inspiring a number of incidents, from a mentally-ill mob enforcer putting on a Batman costume and turning on his boss, to a very disturbed man's religiously-motivated shooting up of a porn theater. Meanwhile, a shop owner who actually ''was'' inspired by Batman chases off a purse-snatcher attacking an old lady. No one is hurt enough for this to make the news.
294	* SeeYouInHell: [[spoiler:Joker]] says this to Batman [[spoiler:before breaking [[NeckSnap his own neck]]]].
295	* ServileSnarker: Alfred has always been sarcastic, but in TDKR he ''really'' lays it on thick, as he is at first very unhappy with the way Bruce has let himself go in his retirement from the cowl, and is even more unhappy when he goes back to being Batman because it not only makes him seem like he's forgotten the lessons of the past, it means Alfred has to patch him up again when he's hurt.
296	* SettingUpdate: In the original stories the version of ''The Mark of Zorro'' that Bruce saw as a child was [[Film/TheMarkOfZorro1920 the 1920 version]]. Miller updated it to [[Film/TheMarkOfZorro1940 the 1940 version]], putting Bruce's birth date in 1932 and making him a man in his mid-50s by the time of the story.
297	* ShockAndAwe: The third weapon Batman uses against Superman in their climactic fight, after the missiles and sonic gurn, is tapping into Gotham's power grid via connections between his armor and the light pole he's standing near, grabbing Superman's head, and hitting him with a '''massive''' electrical shock, essentially a taser on super-steroids.
298	-->'''Batman:''' [''internal''] And it has to end here--on this filthy patch of street--where my parents died... where I can use the city's power--every watt of it--to fry your brain.
299	* ShootTheHostageTaker: Batman solves a hostage situation by doing this. It's not clear what happens to said hostage taker, but given that Batman used an [[{{BFG}} M60 machine gun]] and was low on options, the odds aren't looking in their favor.
300	* ShoutOut:
301	** To an inept crook who was a running gag in Miller's ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' days:
302	---> '''Thug 1''': Can't be Batman. Turk say he killed Batman.\
303	'''Thug 2''': Turk says lots.
304	** Batman narrates, word-for-word that "I'm [[ComicBook/BornAgain born again]]."
305	** As Two-Face is lamenting [[spoiler:how (in his mind) his face has been completely destroyed]], says "I'm fixed, all right!" to Batman, lampshading [[Film/AClockworkOrange Alex's similar comment]] about how his treatments to curb his violent tendencies ultimately failed.
306	** Corto Maltese is a shout-out to [[ComicBook/CortoMaltese the famous Italian comic book by Hugo Pratt]]. Strangely, the name was used in the 1989 ''Film/{{Batman\|1989}}'' movie as an apparent ShoutOut to ''The Dark Knight Returns'' without recognizing that it was already a ShoutOut.
307	** There is a reference to a porn star named "Hot Gates". In Greek, "Hot Gates" is translated "Thermopylae," the setting of [[Film/ThreeHundred another]] of Frank Miller's creations. However, since ''300'' wasn't released for another twelve years, the reference ''here'' is to both the literal translation of Thermopylae and William Golding's (now out of print) collection of essays 'The Hot Gates and other occasional places'.
308	** Batman's sarcastic internal monologue describing Superman quotes ''Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife''.
309	** The scene with the pimp in the cab is basically right out of the Creator/ClintEastwood film ''Film/MagnumForce''.
310	** One of the civilians watching the Soviets' missile strike on the TV news is dressed in a ComicBook/{{Marvelman}} costume (an especially deep cut, since this was ''before'' it got reprinted and continued by American publishers).
311	** There's a newsreader named Creator/HarlanEllison.
312	* ShowWithinAShow: BBC's ''Superman on Trial'' docudrama depicts this story as an InUniverse fictional story created after talks Frank Miller had with Batman. Batman notes it's not something that happened, but something he's ''afraid'' of happening.
313	* SidekickGraduationsStick: PlayedForDrama; Bruce and Dick Grayson haven't spoken in seven years at the story's onset, and this is used to indicate Bruce's post-retirement withdrawal.
314	%% * SilentScapegoat
315	* SonicStunner: After hitting Superman with missiles, Batman uses a sonic gun on him. It shatters the light on the light pole he's standing beside, and his narration notes that the same happens to every window on the block; Superman actually gets a nosebleed from it, but he's able to quickly grab the gun and crush it.
316	* SpitefulSpit: After [[spoiler:the Joker's death]], Batman pauses just long enough to spit in his corpse's face before making his getaway.
317	-->I waste one second...with a goodbye.
318	* SpitefulSuicide: [[spoiler:After Batman nearly breaks Joker's neck, Joker finishes the job himself after the only witnesses have fled, leaving Batman to be accused of murder.]]
319	* SplitPersonalityTakeover: Happens to [[spoiler:Two-Face. The reconstructive surgery fixed his face, but seeing himself whole broke his mind and left his evil side in control.]]
320	%%ZCE* {{Squee}}: Most of Carrie's scenes with Batman.
321	* StandingBetweenTheEnemies: Batman does this with a BigNo that occupies a panel, confronting the Sons of the Batman as they're preparing to go on a rampage after the power failure cripples the city.
322	* AStormIsComing: Invoked in the weatherman's report on the storm that accompanies Bruce's return as Batman.
323	--> '''Weatherman''': ... like the wrath of God, it's headed for Gotham.
324	* TheStrategist: Batman knows he cannot win a direct fight against Superman, so he comes up with an elaborate strategy to defeat him. [[spoiler:After testing the limits of Superman's powers and tiring him out with a variety of weapons, Batman arranges for Green Arrow to shoot his opponent with a Kryptonite-tipped arrow, severely weakening him. The Man of Steel then suffers a tremendous beatdown that only ends when Bruce suddenly suffers a heart attack.]]
325	* SubordinateExcuse: Carrie has a crush on Batman that would do Joker proud, and in the comics she dearly loves him. She dresses as Robin and fights crime, hears the Mutants are gathering at the dump and follows Batman there, because she loves him and wants to be close to him.
326	* SuperRegistrationAct: Superman gets strong-armed into working for the government.
327	* SymbolicallyBrokenObject: The pearls of Martha Wayne's necklace [[RippingOffTheStringOfPearls fall and scatter]] after she is shot.
328	* TakeThat:
329	** The Mutants can be seen as a TakeThat to "angsty", rebellious teen superheroes made popular by Creator/MarvelComics. Fittingly, they're named "The Mutants" (Creator/StanLee's working title for ''ComicBook/XMen''), they wear red shades that look a lot like [[ComicBook/XMen Cyclops' visor]], and they despise adult authority figures. They form a perfect contrast to Batman, who's the epitome of the "traditional" DC superhero--an adult hero who's driven and fearless, and has zero tolerance for crime.
330	** Batman's first batsuit, which is heavily damaged during his first fight with the Mutant Leader, bears some resemblance to the suit worn by Adam West in the [[Series/Batman1966 1960s series]]. His later decision to switch to a darker suit symbolizes him shaking off his previous depiction as a campy wisecracker and returning to his darker roots.
331	** UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan is portrayed as a folksy buffoon who thinks country wisdom can run a country and almost starts a nuclear war.
332	* TankGoodness: This version of the Batmobile is a tank that takes up three lanes on the highway, has got armor which Batman says can only be cut by something from another planet[[note]]He's referring to Superman, who proves the point in short order in the fourth issue.[[/note]], and is equipped with machine guns and at least two decent-sized artillery pieces. It also has a gyro-stabilized medical bed and can be piloted home by Alfred. The tank would go on to be an inspiration for the Tumbler in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' and one of Batman's vehicles in ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague''.
333	* TechnicalPacifist: Batman will beat you, ''threaten'' to drop you off the ''tallest'' building in Gotham, and break every bone in your body... but he won't ''kill'' you.
334	* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill:
335	** The Sons of the Batman, who have turned their over-the-top violence as former Mutants to fighting crime instead of creating it. At one point, it's mentioned that they used napalm to break up a three card monte game. One SOB, after killing the aforementioned Nixon mask robbers, took a pair of wire cutters and sliced off the store owner's fingers on one hand because, as he put it, "you did nothing to stop them."
336	** The nuke that nearly [[spoiler:killed Superman]] was ''designed'' to create a "nuclear winter" scenario.
337	* TheoryTunnelvision: Doctor Wolper is so fixated on the idea that Batman is the problem that he even argues that ''the Joker'' is a "victim" of Batman's psychosis.
338	* ThoseWackyNazis: Bruno, a burly woman working for the Joker, has swastika pasties on her boobs and butt cheeks for no reason other than to hammer in that she's bad news.
339	* ThouShaltNotKill:
340	** Gruesomely played with when [[spoiler:Batman has the perfect chance to kill the Joker]] but still refuses to. [[spoiler:The Joker notices... and kills himself just to screw with Batman.]]
341	* TooDumbToLive:
342	** Dr. Wolper, and the entire studio audience/host for the talk show which the Joker attends. At one point, Joker even announces that he's going to kill everyone in the room, but [[GenreBlindness Wolper dismisses it as a simple joke]]. A few minutes later, the villain's robots fly in, filling the entire studio with deadly toxins.
343	** The Mayor meets with the Mutant Leader alone, with no guards or security. [[ManBitesMan It doesn't end well for him.]] Gordon [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] how dumb it is.
344	* TotallyRadical: Along with the Mutants' FutureSlang, it's played for laughs when Carrie reprograms the Bat-Copter to accept verbal commands from her. In ''slang''.
345	-->'''Batman:''' [''to Bat-Copter''] Boosters! [''nothing happens''] '''Boosters!''' [''nothing happens''] What...\
346	'''Carrie:''' Peel.\
347	[''cue Boosters'']
348	* TruthInTelevision: At the beginning, two Mutants try and mug Bruce Wayne. They turn out to be {{Dirty Coward}}s when he sees them, they take into account his size, and run off when he stands his ground and is prepared to fight. It's common in RealLife for thugs like the Mutants to only target those who cannot defend themselves, and want nothing to do with those who can.
349	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The entirety of the comic is set 10 years into the future after Batman's last appearance and answers the question "What happened to Batman after he retired?"
350	[[/folder]]
351
352	[[folder: U-Z]]
353	* UnfulfilledPurposeMisery: The Joker has been completely catatonic ever since Batman's retirement. But as soon as he hears that HesBack, all his criminal instincts return to fight Batsy once again.
354	%%* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Two-Face to the Joker.]]
355	* UtilityBelt: Prominently featured in the first issue. Batman uses items from it to [[spoiler:defuse one of Two-Face's bombs]], and does a mental run-through of its items in boredom while he's waiting for [[spoiler:Two-Face to make his move on Gotham's Twin Towers]].
356	* VigilanteMilitia: Several members of the defeated Mutants gang become true believers and declare themselves the "Sons of the Batman." Unfortunately, they clean up the streets with the same viciousness that marked their prior affiliation, and Batman has to take them under his wing... if only to train them in a way that protects Gotham City from their idea of "crimefighting."
357	* VillainInAWhiteSuit: Traditionally the Joker is a SecondaryColorNemesis with green hair, a purple suit, and green/purple plaid accessories. After his release he dresses in a white suit, although he still has the green hair. Combined with the chalk white skin this gives him a ghostly, overexposed appearance.
358	* VitriolicBestBuds: Frank Miller's interpretation of Batman and Superman's relationship is that 'these two people do not like each other'.
359	* VomitingCop: Alluded to. After [[spoiler:ComicBook/TheJoker kills everyone at the TV studio]], somebody tells the commissioner that one of the rookies got sick and had to go home.
360	* WeakButSkilled: Batman, as best shown in his fights with the Mutant Leader. The first time, Batman, insecure about his old age, takes on the Leader, who's in his physical prime, and gets his ass handed to him, only being saved by Carrie's intervention. In their second fight, Batman, realizing he lost the first time because he "tried to fight like a young man", goes about it intelligently by handicapping the fighting area, using a mudhole to limit his opponent's movements, and using his superior experience in fighting techniques to overcome the Leader's physical superiority.
361	* WhatTheHellHero: From Alfred after Bruce waxes on about Carrie's qualities as Robin:
362	--> '''Alfred''': Very well, sir, I shall come right out and say it. Have you forgotten what happened to Jason?
363	* WorfHadTheFlu:
364	** Despite having been catatonic for a decade and his injuries, Joker has a distinct edge over Batman. The same Batman that fought his way through a police SWAT team and stopped at the Batcave only to get supplies to investigate Joker's plan for the county fair before finally catching up to Joker in one night. Not only is Bats on his second wind for their final battle, but he's making the same mistake he did with the Mutant Leader: he's letting his feelings cloud his judgement against a much calmer opponent.
365	** This also applies to Superman when he fights Batman. He's not at 100% after the nuclear missile, as Batman notes the missiles he shoots at Superman wouldn't have been able to hit him otherwise.
366	* WouldHitAGirl: When Yindel holds Batman at gunpoint in the Tunnel of Love and tells him to freeze, Batman punches her in the face, breaking her nose and glasses and knocking her out.
367	* YouAreAlreadyCheckedIn: A detective shows up at a crime scene, talks to Police Chief Yindel, and walks away. He then shows up again, coming from the other direction. Yindel points at the departing cop and yells "Stop that man!". The next panel is him leaping onto the Batcycle.
368	* YouAreTheNewTrend: Rather than ignoring the Sons of the Batman, he recruits them as his own personal army after disarming them and all but calling them out for being fools in their old tactics. Admittedly, he had stopped them from following their previous leader who was proclaiming "This is our chance to [[KillItWithFire raze Gotham]]... to '''purge''' Gotham."
369	%%* ZeerustCanon: The sequel.
370	[[/folder]]
371

Context ComicBook / BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns