Background information on The Dark Knight Returns (TDKR is set in a near future crime ridden America on the verge of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Superheroes do not exist anymore (with the notable exception of Superman serving as government lackey), and an aging Batman/Bruce Wayne decides to “return” from his retirement to wage a personal war against crime and chaos). “In order for the character to work, he has to be a force that in certain ways is beyond good and evil. It is very clear to me that our society is committing suicide by lack of a force like that.” It is here argued that two powerful and recognizable narratives, terrorism and the hardboiled novel, provide the ground for this subversive, Nietzschean refashioning. The Dark Knight Return’s representation of terrorism is achieved through a process of (what we could define) ‘centrifugal repurposing’. It means that Batman villains are reconfigured to display traits normally associated with culturally defined notions of terrorism and terrorists. Each of the three main antagonists of the graphic novel (excluding Superman) display at least one different ‘terrorist’ trait. The first villain we encounter is a new character (not belonging to the Batman canon), the anonymous leader of the Mutants, the criminal gang which oppresses the city. The Mutant Leader is a Lombrosian aberration represented as a monstrous figure with razorblade teeth. He makes his first, televised appearance soon after Batman’s comeback, which endangers the gang’s control on the city: [the mutant] leader delivers a brutal videotaped warning, directed at the city fathers”. Here, we might add, the association of a terrorist technique with street gangsters – normally extraneous to these procedures – triggers an unsettling association. The words of the leader are rough and intimidating: We will kill the old man Gordon. His women will weep for him. We will chop him. We will grind him. We will bathe in his blood. I myself will kill the fool Batman. I will rip the meat from his bones and suck them dry. I will eat his heart and drag his body through the streets. Don’t call us a gang. Don’t call us criminals. We are the law. We are the future. Gotham city belongs to the mutants. Soon the world will be ours. Identify the ways in which Batman is framed within a postmodern scenario, challenging his inherent modernity and raising complex ethical and political questions.
The Dark Knight Returns challenges Batman's inherent modernity by presenting him as an aging, retired figure who is forced to confront a new, chaotic world that he no longer fully understands. The graphic novel raises complex ethical and political questions by portraying Batman as a vigilante who takes the law into his own hands in order to combat crime and restore order to Gotham City. This raises questions about the role of power, authority, and justice in society, and challenges traditional notions of heroism and morality.
Additionally, the graphic novel critiques the idea of a black-and-white morality, as Batman is depicted as a flawed and morally ambiguous character who is willing to use violence and intimidation to achieve his goals. This challenges the traditional superhero narrative of clear-cut good versus evil, and highlights the complexities of navigating moral dilemmas in a chaotic and corrupt world.
Overall, The Dark Knight Returns frames Batman within a postmodern scenario by presenting him as a figure who is struggling to adapt to a changing world, and by challenging traditional notions of heroism and morality. The graphic novel raises important questions about power, authority, justice, and morality, and forces readers to confront the complexities of navigating ethical and political dilemmas in a complex and uncertain world.