The Dark Knight Returns

[The Dark Knight]

I completely relate to Miller's mindset here.

Then a really strange thing happened to me. All of the sudden I realized I was about to turn 29 years old, Batman's age. Then I realized I was one year away from turning older than Batman. The more this year went on the more it bothered me that I might be older than him. So finally I [decided] to fix that, and make him older than me once and for all. So I conceived of a story where Batman was at the impossibly old age of 50.

Mixed in with this I'm not interested in the younger generation or appealing to them at all. My focus is on the people I grew up with, the journey we're on and what's happening with us now. The reality of getting older I suppose, but indeed, these feelings clicked in hard for me recently.

[The Laughing Fish]

Back in 2016, Frank Miller described how symbolic Batman is in the midst of the all the chaos and political subtext in DKR, and dismissed suggestions that Batman is a fascist.

One of the things that led you to create Dark Knight Returns was a series of muggings. What happened?

There's something demeaning about the first time you're knocked to the ground and punched in the stomach and have a gun waved in your face and realize that you're completely at somebody's mercy. And they can take your life. And at that point, you'll do anything. There's something so humiliating about that. And to me that made me realize that Batman was the most potent symbol DC had in its hands. Sure, Superman can fly, but Batman turns me back into that guy who is scared and at the same time the guy who can come and save him. It's a perfect myth.

What makes him so mythic?

Batman isn't interesting because he has a cool car. It's great that he has a cool car. But he's interesting because he straightens the world out. And he brings order to a very chaotic world. Especially when you're a child. You need somebody, even if it's a fictional character, to tell you that the world makes sense and that the good guys can win. That's what these heroes are for.

Some have said you turned Batman into a fascist. Agree?

Anybody who thinks Batman was fascist should study their politics. The Dark Knight, if anything, would be a libertarian. The fascists tell people how to live. Batman just tells criminals to stop.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/a-rare-interview-frank-miller-871654/

[Slash Man]

No complaints there; I think he still understands what makes Batman great, even if it doesn't always come across in the writing. Superheroes were always about wish fulfillment, but Batman seems to have best adapted that to an older audience.