The second and third – classic, this time – antagonists in the graphic novel are former D.A. Harvey Dent (i.e. Two Face) and the Joker, “who threaten Gotham with terrorism and mass murder” (Finigan 2010: 23). In a sequence that uncannily forecasts real events, Two Face broadcasts a pirate TV message threatening to detonate a city landmark: “I stand here atop Gotham’s beautiful Twin Towers, with two bombs capable of making them rubble. You have twenty minutes to save them. The price is five million dollars. I would have made it two – but I have bills to pay…” (TDKR, 50) The Joker, on the other hand, remains somehow more faithful to the ‘chemical’ roots of the primordial Batman canon (see Morrison 2012: 21).7 The villain murders with “deadly smile gas” (TDKR, 131) the host, guests and audience of a talk show (The David Endocrine Show) – in which he is invited to promote his own psychological and social rehabilitation (TDKR, 126-129). Later on, he slays a group of children in a fairground through poisoned cotton candy (140), before being hunted down by Batman. These two antagonists respectively epitomise traditional, bombing attacks and biochemical terrorism. We might add that TDKR villains (Joker, Two Face and the Mutant Leader) all share a privileged relationship with television – as both ideological and physical space. This common trait exemplifies the historical trend by which, in the latter half of the twentieth century, “television became the primary medium for the terrorist story, and brought the anxieties generated by terrorist acts to a fever pitch.” Terrorists grew more savvy sic about television, they threatened to take control away from broadcasters. Identify the ways in which Batman is framed within a postmodern scenario, challenging his inherent modernity and raising complex ethical and political questions in this text.

Question

The second and third – classic, this time – antagonists in the graphic novel are former D.A. Harvey Dent (i.e. Two Face) and the Joker, “who threaten Gotham with terrorism and mass murder” (Finigan 2010: 23). In a sequence that uncannily forecasts real events, Two Face broadcasts a pirate TV message threatening to detonate a city landmark: “I stand here atop Gotham’s beautiful Twin Towers, with two bombs capable of making them rubble. You have twenty minutes to save them. The price is five million dollars. I would have made it two – but I have bills to pay…” (TDKR, 50) The Joker, on the other hand, remains somehow more faithful to the ‘chemical’ roots of the primordial Batman canon (see Morrison 2012: 21).7 The villain murders with “deadly smile gas” (TDKR, 131) the host, guests and audience of a talk show (The David Endocrine Show) – in which he is invited to promote his own psychological and social rehabilitation (TDKR, 126-129). Later on, he slays a group of children in a fairground through poisoned cotton candy (140), before being hunted down by Batman. These two antagonists respectively epitomise traditional, bombing attacks and biochemical terrorism. We might add that TDKR villains (Joker, Two Face and the Mutant Leader) all share a privileged relationship with television – as both ideological and physical space. This common trait exemplifies the historical trend by which, in the latter half of the twentieth century, “television became the primary medium for the terrorist story, and brought the anxieties generated by terrorist acts to a fever pitch.” Terrorists grew more savvy sic about television, they threatened to take control away from broadcasters. Identify the ways in which Batman is framed within a postmodern scenario, challenging his inherent modernity and raising complex ethical and political questions in this text.

Answer 1

Batman is framed within a postmodern scenario in "The Dark Knight Returns" through the portrayal of classic villains like Two Face and the Joker as terrorists who use media to spread fear and chaos in Gotham. This challenges Batman's traditional role as a vigilante fighting street crime and highlights the complexities of dealing with modern threats like terrorism.

The use of television as a tool by the villains in the graphic novel reflects the postmodern reality of mass media and its influence on society. The terrorists in the story manipulate the media to spread their messages of fear and violence, raising questions about the power dynamics between the media, the public, and those who seek to control the narrative.

Furthermore, the portrayal of the Joker using chemical weapons to commit mass murder adds another layer of complexity to Batman's moral and ethical dilemmas. In facing these new, unprecedented threats, Batman is forced to confront his own limitations and question the effectiveness of his traditional methods of crime-fighting.

Overall, "The Dark Knight Returns" challenges Batman's inherent modernity by placing him in a postmodern context where traditional notions of good and evil are blurred, and the boundaries between heroism and vigilantism are called into question. The graphic novel raises complex ethical and political questions about the role of vigilantes in a society facing new and evolving threats, ultimately pushing Batman to adapt and evolve in order to protect Gotham.