Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again

AUTHOR: Miller, Frank

ARTIST: Frank Miller (illustrator); Lynn Varley (colorist); Todd Klein (letterer)

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION: 2001-2002

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2002

Publication History

Originally published as a three-issue miniseries, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again was the long-awaited sequel to Frank Miller’s original Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986). Both the popularity of The Dark Knight Returns and its open ending made a sequel seem obvious. However, because of a falling out between Miller and DC Comics, it took nearly twenty years to get the project started. The series was supposed to be released over the final three months of 2001, but was delayed because of the September 11, 2001 (9/11), terrorist attacks.

The story’s themes of a totalitarian government, fake president, and the use of war to subjugate the American people, in conjunction with images of a destroyed and ash-covered Metropolis, gave DC Comics pause in releasing the rest of the series. The final issue of the series was eventually released in July of 2002. Though not as well received as its predecessor, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again was eventually collected into a trade paperback in 2004, after being published in hardcover format in 2002. It was republished in the Absolute Dark Knight (2006), a deluxe hardback edition that collects both of Miller’s Dark Knight tales into one book.

Plot

Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again is the sequel to Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which chronicles the adventures of an aging Bruce Wayne, who has retired from his role as Batman. In a world in which totalitarian puppet governments have numbed the populous and superheroes are only remembered as stories or legends, Bruce Wayne decides to return to his role of Batman and fight for his own form of justice. Since the events of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Bruce Wayne has stayed in hiding after faking his own death. He has spent these years training a small army and putting together plans to free his former teammates to take down the oppressive American shadow government run by Lex Luthor and Brainiac.

Batman’s first order of business is to free Ray Palmer, the Atom. Batman sends Carrie Kelly (as Catgirl), his second in command, into the research lab where the Atom has been shrunken down and imprisoned in a petri dish through experiments in marine biology.

After being freed, the Atom helps Catgirl rescue the Flash. After Luthor kidnapped his wife, the Flash was imprisoned and forced to run inside a giant electrical turbine to power one-third of the United States.

Batman’s initial actions begin to destabilize the hold Luthor and Brainiac have on the United States, so they turn to three other superheroes they have been able to manipulate: Superman, Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel. To manipulate the heroes, Brainiac has taken hostage Superman’s bottle city of Kandor, nuclear weapons have been pointed at Wonder Woman’s Paradise Island, and Captain Marvel’s sister Mary has been taken prisoner by the government. These dire situations are used to persuade the three heroes to put Batman in check.

Superman flies to Batman’s cave hoping to persuade him to stop. However, upon Superman’s arrival, Batman launches a full-scale attack, with the help of the Atom, the Flash, and Green Arrow. Disoriented, caught off guard, and covered in kryptonite napalm, Superman is ordered by Batman to leave his cave.

With Superman temporarily out of the way, Batman continues to break Luthor’s grip on the United States. To show Luthor he is serious, Batman attacks Luthor’s offices directly. After eliminating the guards, Batman comes face-to-face with Luthor and tells him his false government will be toppled.

Meanwhile, in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, located in the Antarctic, Wonder Woman finds Superman recovering from his fight with Batman. The narrative reveals that Wonder Woman and Superman have a daughter, who is living on Paradise Island. She has her father’s Kryptonian powers and her mother’s Amazonian fighting spirit. Superman makes Wonder Woman promise to keep her hidden so Brainiac and Luthor will not have anything else to take away from him.

The reappearance of superheroes and their actions against the government catch the attention of both the public and other retired heroes. As the tides of battle start to turn against Luthor and Brainiac, they prepare their final gambit by faking an alien invasion of Metropolis; Brainiac promises to release Kandor if Superman throws the battle with the fake invader. Though the Atom urges him to help Superman in Metropolis, Batman heads to Arkham Asylum to free Plastic Man. As the battle rages in Metropolis, other superheroes decide to come out of retirement.

Waiting for many of these aging heroes is a new Joker, who starts to kill them off one by one. Luthor uses the chaos and civil unrest to take revenge on other retired heroes. He nukes part of Costa Rica, where Hawkman and Hawkwoman live, killing the heroes, but failing to kill their two children.

In the ash and destruction of Metropolis, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman are dispatched easily when they attempt to come to Superman’s aid. Superman is prepared to give up his life; however, before Brainiac can deliver the final blow, Superman’s daughter, Lara, intervenes and destroys Brainiac’s body. Batman decides to take advantage of the reappearance of Superman and reveals himself to the assembled audience at a concert in Gotham, signaling a new age of heroes.

With public support on his side, Batman decides to bring all of his plans together. He contacts Green Lantern, who left Earth years ago, and allows himself and Lara to be captured by Luthor and Brainiac. While in Brainiac’s fortress, Lara asks Brainiac to let her see Kandor. When he does, the Atom, who was hiding in Lara’s tear duct, sneaks into the miniaturized city and releases the inhabitants. Free and irradiated with yellow sun, the inhabitants of Kandor now possess enough power to help Lara completely eradicate Brainiac.

In Luthor’s offices, Batman is held captive and submits to a vicious beating from Luthor, biding his time until Green Lantern arrives and destroys the space cannons Luthor has pointed at Earth. Now free, Batman sits back as Hawkman’s son arrives and kills Luther. With Luthor and Braniac defeated, Batman receives a distress call from the Batcave where the new Joker has captured Catgirl and is preparing to kill her. Batman rushes to her aid and is able to save Catgirl. In an attempt to kill the Joker, Batman initiates the cave’s self-destruct sequence, and the Joker reveals his true idenity as the former Robin, Dick Grayson. Because of Grayson’s new advanced healing ability, Batman decides to throw himself and Grayson into the volcanic crater opening under the cave. At the last moment Superman scoops up Batman and returns him to the Batmobile, where Catgirl is recuperating.

Characters

•Batman, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne, is the protagonist. Wayne is a former socialite and millionaire. Thought to have died after the events of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman is nearly sixty years old and has been in hiding, raising an army of followers, called Batboys, to combat the new evil he sees in the corrupt puppet government of the United States.

•Catgirl, a.k.a. Carrie Kelley, formerly Robin, has taken on the guise of Catgirl (in homage to Catwoman). Though young, she is Batman’s trusted second in command. She is responsible for much of the training and discipline of the Batboys. She is also the first person sent on some of Batman’s most important missions, including the missions to free the Atom and the Flash. She is told that of all the heroes, the new Joker hates her the most.

•Lex Luthor, with Brainiac, runs the United States through the use of a hologram that the American people think is the real president. He controls and manipulates many of the most powerful superheroes by keeping their loved ones hostage. He has imprisoned other heroes or uses their powers for greed.

•Brainiac is Luthor’s second in command and provides much of the technology that allows Luthor to control the United States. He is also in possession of the bottle city of Kandor, a miniaturized Kryptonian city, which he and Luthor use as leverage in getting Superman’s cooperation. Braniac disguises himself as an alien craft that attacks Metropolis in an attempt to bring the rebelling populace under control. Eventually, Lara destroys Brainiac and frees the inhabitants of Kandor.

•Superman is a pawn of Lex Luthor and Brainiac. He has a daughter, Lara, with Wonder Woman. Advancing age has weakened him, and when he tries to confront Batman under Luthor’s orders, Batman and a handful of heroes beat him easily. Eventually, when he is pushed by his daughter and Batman, he fights back.

•Lara is Superman and Wonder Woman’s daughter. She has the attributes of both her parents: Kryptonian powers and Amazonian warrior spirit. Initially, she is kept hidden on Paradise Island so Luthor and Brainiac cannot use and manipulate her. She attempts to persuade Superman to rise to his abilities. Batman incorporates her into his plans, and she surrenders to Brainiac to ensure the release of the inhabitants of Kandor and to kill Braniac.

•The Joker is a reimagined version of the classic Batman villain, one whose mission is to destroy old superheroes. His face and makeup are reminiscent of the iconic image of this Batman villain, but his costumes change continually. His victims include Martian Manhunter, Creeper, and the Guardian. During his battle with Batman, he is unveiled as Dick Grayson, formerly Robin, and his psychological makeup has been manipulated by Luthor through radical gene therapy. He is eventually thrown into a magma crater that is opened in the Batcave.

Artistic Style

In comparison to Miller’s earlier works, the pencils in Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again can best be described as thick and chunky. Miller uses neither photorealistic nor highly detailed illustrations, instead relying on visual iconography to communicate with the reader. Characters are distinctively male or female; Miller tends toward a number of objectifying, curvy “cheesecake” poses for some of his female characters. With colorful, easily recognizable characters in iconic clothes, Miller is never too precise about bodies or features.

Superman is recognized as Superman because of the giant “S” shield on his chest. Wonder Woman has her iconic star-spangled shorts, and Batman has his bat insignia and distinctive fletched gloves. The reliance on visual iconography goes beyond just character identification. When Catgirl refers to her shoes as “Chucks” the reader can see the distinct image of Chuck Taylor sneakers.

In conjunction with Miller’s thick line work are Lynn Varley’s bright, garish, and blurry colors. Colors shift between traditional effects and high-tech computer effects. The combination of Miller’s line work and Varley’s colors makes for a constant string of cartoonish caricatures. Regardless of tone, each scene is rendered in the same over-the-top style. Miller and Varley go as far as creating their own cartoonish two-panel Battleship Potemkin (1925) step sequence. All of this works as a counterpoint to the hyperrealism of mainstream comics of the time. In comparison to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again moves away from dark and gritty to bright and loud.

Themes

The major themes of Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again are politics, the distinction between good and evil, and sexuality. The idea of politics shows up mostly as disgust for politics of any kind. Heroes such as the Question and Green Arrow are portrayed as extreme right- and left-wing ideologues. They eventually even show up as talking heads arguing during news broadcasts. Even the battle that Batman is fighting is not against a traditional costumed villain but against a government that has brainwashed its people into complacency and belief in a holographic image. More than a physical battle, Batman is fighting a battle of ideology, which also underscores the distinction between right and wrong.

The villains are so irredeemably evil and the heroes so completely good that any action they take is painted wrong or right, respectively. Like Luthor, Batman does his fair share of manipulating individuals to get what he wants, but because Batman is working toward a greater good, his manipulations are also good, while Luthor’s are always evil. When Superman chastises his daughter for her ideas of using their powers to take over the world, he does so because he is intrinsically good.

Finally, the idea of sexuality, in relation to the heroes and their powers, permeates the story. With Superman, in particular, there is a distinct connection between his Kryptonian powers and his virility. After seeing him defeated, Wonder Woman questions how she could have loved a powerless and impotent hero. To prove himself, Superman has sex with Wonder Woman; the act is so powerful that it causes hurricanes, tidal waves, and volcanic explosions. In contrast, Batman’s power has not diminished with advanced years. He is still able to take hits from the bad guys and give back as much as he gets; his sidekick is a young girl who is romantically enamored with him.

Impact

Though the project was long awaited, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again was not as highly acclaimed as its predecessor. People expecting the slow-paced, controlled storytelling of the original were surprised to find a story that seemed out of control and at a breakneck speed. The long delay between the release of the first issue and final two issues also soured readers’ initial response to the series. In the aftermath of 9/11, the theme of a lying government did not sit well with readers, who wanted to trust their government to keep them safe.

The series did mark an important turn from the dark and gritty comics that had grown in popularity during the 1990’s to a brighter and lighter style of superhero storytelling. The book also applied many of the strange gimmicks that found their way into the DC Universe during the Silver Age. Readers who were unfamiliar with ideas such as the bottle city of Kandor or heroes such as Hawk and Dove or Saturn Girl were left clueless to inside jokes and even major plot points. Nonetheless, though not considered as strong as it predecessor when first released, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Back has aged well.

Further Reading

Millar, Mark, and Steve McNiven. Wolverine: Old Man Logan (2009).

Miller, Frank. All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder (2008).

Pope, Paul. Batman: Year 100 (2007).

Bibliography

Knowles, Christopher. Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes. San Francisco: Weiser, 2007.

Miller, Frank. Frank Miller: The Interviews: 1981-2003, edited by George Milo. The Comics Journal Library 2. Seattle, Wash.: Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

Wolk, Douglas. Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean. Cambridge, Mass.: De Capo Press, 2007.