There is a lot of discorse to be found surrounding Dark Knight Returns. Some of it has to do with the influence it had on Batman in the decades that followed its release. Some of it has to do with the impact it had on how people view the Superman/Batman dynamic. Some of it has to do with the political commentary. I haven’t seen anyone have a problem with the Nazi boobs that make an appearance at one point, but I’m sure there is a TikTok or a Reddit post or something on a message board that has opinions on them.

Over the years I’ve had my own views about Dark Knight Returns that are both positive and negative. Some of those views have to do with what I mentioned above, but it’s always going to be a complicated book for me. Because there will always be a part of me that is the thirteen-year-old kid that picked it up in the summer of 1989 and absolutely loved it. It, along with Batman: Year One and Batman: The Killing Joke, was one of the holy Bat texts of my generation. A trinity of stories that were essential reading. It was one of the books that was mentioned in most of the articles about the upcoming film and the magazines that tied into the movie. The page of Batman telling the cops that the men they were chasing were his was burned into my brain until I finally read it.

Dark Knight Returns is celebrating its 40^th anniversary this year. Or, more accurately, we are celebrating its 40^th anniversary because it’s a story and a story doesn’t have true sentience beyond what we give it. There are going to be a lot of think pieces and celebrations and reminisces and TikToks and YouTube videos discussing the series. Some will be out of a genuine love of the book, some of them will be a critical analysis of the series, and some will be engagement bait. I’m kicking around doing something myself.

But no matter what I read or watch and no matter what my own commentary ends up being, the fact is that, at the end of the day, I will never be able to truly let go of that feeling I had, sitting in my bedroom at the age of thirteen and reading it for the first time. Excitement, mixed with a tinge of confusion at the deeper themes and references that went over my head and a feeling that I finally got to read this book I heard so much about.

More to follow…