Review of Frank Miller's the Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade

Welp it's been a while since I've actually been able to review anything, but this is something I have wanted to blog about for the past year or so. I'm a huge fan of Frank Miller's work and his ability to bring a dark realism to the colorful and fantastic world of superhero comics.  The Dark Knight Returns (TDKR): The Last Crusade is a darker reimagining of Jim Starlin's A Death in the Family, and a prequel to his 1986 masterpiece TDKR, where Frank Miller further explores Batman's mortality and public perception. In TDKR, Frank Miller shows us a dystopian future, where Batman is retired, vigilantes are outlawed, and Superman is a hired gun for a corrupt U.S. government. Miller explores the peculiar duality of Batman/Bruce Wayne, and the brutality of crime fighting in comic books. At this point in his life Bruce is a broken man, both physically and mentally. Before this story there had been a clear distinction between Bruce and Batman, but TDKR blurs the lines. Bruce appears to be a vessel that Batman lives and operates in. There are instances where Batman speaks to Bruce and attempts to persuade Bruce to attack his asailants. Batman appears to be a demon that craves vengeance and Bruce struggles with controlling this demon. He notices that his years of fighting crime were all for nought, as he watches Gotham descend into chaos, so he decides to let the Dark Knight return despite his crippled physique. Miller does an amazing job of describing the consequences of crime fighting, something that many other author do not explore. The gritty illustrations of Bruce/Batman's deformed and mangled body really gives you a sense of what years of broken bones and torn ligaments looks like. Batman/Bruce's duality and morality are the two main motifs explored in TDKR: The Lost Crusade.

The starts with Batman and Robin, Jason Todd, apprehending The Joker and saving hostages. This is juxtaposed with or overlayed by a television broadcast (classic Miller), that praises Batman for his heroism, but questions his judgment in having a child fight crime with him. They describe it as "child endangerment," and while the voice their concerns we see panels that continuously zoom in on Robin's face as he is apprehending The Joker. Robin's face is noticeably sinister, as if the violence and brutality has taken his innocence. Batman also notices Robin's lack of empathy, and decides to make this the reason he cannot give up the Batman mantle, but throughout the story we see that he is no longer physically capable of fighting crime and that he is "addicted" to fighting crime (vengeance). There are many instances through out the book that shows Robin to be too excited by the violence and brutality of fighting crime, and because most of the story is seen through the lens of Batman's reluctance to give up being Batman it is easy, at first, to dismiss Robin as a wreckless child that does not deserve to be Batman. However, Alfre is able to provide some clarity and give a more objective analysis of Jason, and explains to Bruce that they are very much the same person, but at different stages in their lives. This conversation happens at the end of the book, and Robin happens to overhear what Bruce thinks about him, and this causes him to go out on his own to find The Joker, who has escaped for the "umpteenth" time. He ends up walking straight into a trap where he is killed, just like in A Death in the Family. The irony of the situation is that Bruce admits that Alfred is right and that he would help to mold Jason into a better Batman, and assist him from the cave, much like what Bruce does for Terry in Batman Beyond. 

If you're a huge Batman fan or just a fan of superhero comics I definitely suggest you read this and anything else written by Frank Miller, he's amazing, and my review doesn't even scratch the surface of these stories. 

ALSO! There will be more Miller! Batman: The Dark Knight: Master Race is out now!