A Broken Man In A Broken City
Renowned comic extraordinaire Scott McCloud believes that comics have been in presence for a relatively long time. He argues that many fine works of art are mistakenly classified as other works of art rather, as opposed to being referenced as comics. (Pekilis) McCloud also clarifies the basics of the genre, including the progression of time, portrayal of movement, and broad interpretation by the reader as elements unique to comics. (Pekilis)
The way is then paved for McCloud to divulge into what in his opinion, is one one of the most critical tools to use in a comic, “an icon. ” McCloud defines an icon as “Any image used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea,” and claims that the combination of icons with unusually realistic backgrounds allows readers to immerse themselves in a character and furthermore break down the respective plots and themes of the comic. (Pekilis). In Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, protagonist Bruce Wayne’s alter persona, otherwise known as Batman, is an essential icon to the plot of the story. It is an icon made to highlight the consistent identity struggle that both Bruce Wayne and the city of Gotham battle throughout the comic, in which such struggle parallels both Bruce’s internal conflicting remedies, and Gotham’s failure to cleanse itself from crime. McCloud believes that the unique mixture of iconic characters and realistic backgrounds in a novel or comic allows the reader to immerse themselves into the plot and absorb the character’s dilemmas at a more fundamental and deep level. In the case of Frank Miller’s comic, the iconic characters (coupled with the iconic city) perfectly resemble this notion.
In the beginning of “The Dark Knight Returns,” the reader is informed that Batman has not been sighted in nearly ten years, and that the citizens of Gotham have come to assume that he has either passed away or gone out of commision entirely. Miller details the fact that Bruce Wayne has been purposefully repressing Batman for the last ten years, dating back to when he vowed never to allow Batman assume any form of control over his human self. (Ditto) In spite of the fact that the voice of Batman is never specifically heard at this point of the story, Miller makes Bruce Wayne’s anguished effort to suppress the Batman very apparent from the beginning, as he explains that Batman “struggles relentlessly, and hatefully, to be free” (Miller). (Ditto) In fact, Bruce Wayne highlights the hardships he must encounter, as he explains that Batman feasts on him on him when he is at his lowest of points. He does this by essentially dragging him to the batcave (Ditto) “when the night is long and his will is weak” (Miller). Albeit confronted with an unbelievable allurement by Batman, Bruce Wayne remains firm and consoles himself of the control he has over his more humane persona, specifically thinking to himself, “I will not let him break free. I gave my word” (Miller). Although Bruce Wayne’s self-control is strong, Batman’s need for escape is arguably greater. This becomes overt to the reader midway through the first part of “The Dark Knight Returns,” when the voice of Batman is witnessed for the first time in the comic, indicating an alteration in the strife for control over their shared body. Batman attempts to assert his dominance over Bruce Wayne in the following sequential methods (Ditto): By impugning him, mainly verbally, Batman berates Bruce Wayne, and tells him, “you are puny, you are small. ”
This is followed by Batman by emasculating him, and even de-personifying Bruce, telling him that his body is nothing “but a hollow shell. ” His final method is simply to establish is superiority, telling Bruce that he is incapable of stopping him, regardless of his merits. (Miller). (Ditto) It is quite curious for Miller to assign such a glaring weakness in his protagonist, especially one who stands for strength and power. This emphasis on a struggle for identity is Miller’s way to introduce the parallel between Bruce and Gotham. Both Bruce and Gotham are being ripped apart from within, causing an imbalance in their respective lives (in Gotham’s case the city’s criminal activity) that can only be resolved when they each unite respectively unite as one. Miller’s use of Batman as an icon is the one constant intertwining Bruce and the city of Gotham in their conditions at the beginning of the comic. It is only fitting that it is this same icon that eventually brings unity to both Bruce and Gotham. Despite being relentless and unable to escape, Batman stays caught inside the body that is presently controlled by Bruce Wayne.
Furthermore, Frank Miller compares Batman's imprisonment to that of a man punished inside a jail cell, by visually representing his symbolic struggle throughout page twenty-six. In the first panel, the shutters emit a shadow that resembles a prison bar over the debilitated and nearly disabled Bruce Wayne, who is even forced to lean over a table for support (Ditto). This representation continues in the fourth panel, where the reader is given a glimpse from inside “the prison. ” radiating a feeling of no possibility of escape for Batman. (Ditto) Such representation is countered in panel 7, which features a fairly brighter scene, with the flying bat suggesting a possibility for escape. (Ditto) Throughout the page, the warring perspectives of Bruce Wayne (the dark panels) and Batman (the light panels) continue in their battle for control over the single body that they share. In the end, the possibility of escape is realized in the final panel of the page in which the flying bat crashes through the window, representing the symbolic freedom that Batman has finally attained. (Ditto) Such constant reminiscence of ‘no escape’ can be compared to Gotham’s equally burdening fight for ridding itself of crime. While Bruce and Batman’s struggle leads to Bruce’s ultimate hibernation, Gotham’s efforts to embody a clean city identity yields more and more crime. Neither conflict seems to be resolved until Miller crosses these two conflicts, hence the underlying foundation of the plot for the The Dark Knight Rises.
While Miller hints at it throughout the opening of the comic, as criminals are aggressively punished and innocent civilians are rescued by a mysterious force, it is made quite clear that Batman has fully emerged from his extensive and costly slumber. (Ditto) Hence, for the first time in “The Dark Knight Returns,” the explicit physical anomalies between the characters of Batman and Bruce Wayne are brought to light. Bruce Wayne is fifty-five years old and does not look or feel a day younger, while Batman is an athletic specimen of a man, in his twenties who is in his peak physical condition. Likewise, the reader is now able to see the ample mental disparities between the two characters: Bruce Wayne is serene, obedient, with a knack for alcohol, while Batman is an emblem of violence and brutality. (Darcell) This sudden transformation is then mirrored by one of Gotham’s very own, Harvey Dent. The first couple panels of page fifteen portray the employees at Arkham Asylum walking through the halls as they pass the Joker’s room before arriving at Two-Face’s. (Ditto) The following seven panels are not essential to the scene necessarily, but call attention to and target the transition from panel seven to panel eight; the emergence of Two Face, and his new embodiment of evil. (Ditto) Miller paints a scene in where a plastic surgeon and a physiatrist discuss the fact that Two-Face has been miraculously “cured,” both physically and mentally, and was preparing to have his new face unveiled. Miller’s goal in this excerpt of his comic is to perceive the purposeful parallelism that is apparent between the physical split in structure of the panels, and the split personality of Two Face. (Ditto) This merger of content and form approaches its apex in the transition from panel twelve to panel thirteen.
In panel twelve, a doctor introduces one half of Harvey Dent to the other half, and in panel thirteen, Harvey horrifically takes in his new face for the first time in a mirror. Panel thirteen marks the monumental point where Harvey Dent sees himself as a whole man. Such notion is reinforced by the alternating structure of the panels, starting off divided, then finishing whole. In hindsight, the same can be said about the development of both Bruce and the City of Gotham from the beginning to end of the comic. Miller chooses to incorporate Harver’s deterioration as a demonstration of the effect of Gotham on one of their purest civilians. Essentially, the crime ridden town had reached a level of toxicness to the point where it was able to swallow up its district attorney, and turn him into one their greatest villains. Such levels of extreme could only be reached due fundamental issue with the city of Gotham; in this case being the city’s continuing identity crisis, which allowed for corruption and crime to seep in and ruin even the best of its civilians.
Across his comic, Miller precisely relies on two distinct entities to preside throughout his entire plot: Bruce / Batman, and the city of Gotham. The two exhibit a lack of identity stability, and are prohibited from maximizing their respective potential and goals until they achieve such stability. With Bruce, it was the lingering struggle between himself and Batman. For Gotham, it was finding the most sustainable way to bring wide spread peace for its people, by establishing an adequate form of leadership that represented everything its citizens stood for. It is the realization of identity for these two prominent pillars in Miller’s comic that ultimately brings closure and peace to Bruce Wayne, and his beloved city of Gotham.
