Analysis Of The Main Features Of Comics On The Example Of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns

Renowned comic extraordinaire Scott McCloud believes that comics have been in presence for a relatively long time, however, many fine works of art are mistakenly classified as other works of art rather than comics. He 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. McCloud then paves the way for what he views as 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.

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 is either dead or retired. Millers 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 any form of control over his human self. In spite of the fact that the voice of Batman is never specifically heard at this specific point of the story, Miller makes Bruce Wayne’s anguished affert to suppress the Batman very apparent from the beginning, as he explains that Batman “struggles relentlessly, and hatefully, to be free”. In fact, Bruce Wayne highlights the hardships he must encounter, as he explains that Batman preys on him when he is most vulnerable, by bringing him to the batcave “when the night is long and his will is weak”. 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”. Although Bruce Wayne’s self-control is strong, Batman’s need for escape is arguably greater. This becomes apparent to the reader about halfway through the first part of “The Dark Knight Returns, ” when the voice of Batman is heard for the first time, signaling a shift in the battle for control over their shared body. Batman attempts to assert his dominance over Bruce Wayne in three separate yet intertwined ways: By belittling him — Batman tells Bruce Wayne, “you are puny [and] you are small, ” by relegating him to the position of a mere vessel — Batman tells him, “you are nothing [but] a hollow shell, ” and by declaring his unstoppable power—Batman tells him, “you cannot stop me — not with wine or vows or the weight of age”.

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 caught inside a jail cell, by visually representing his symbolic struggle throughout page twenty-six. In the first panel, the window panes cast a shadow — that resembles prison bars — over the physically and mentally broken body — ruled by Bruce Wayne — who leans over a table for support. This striking symbolism continues in the fourth panel, where the reader is shown the view from inside “the prison. ” It is worth noting this perspective is much darker than the aforementioned panel, both literally, in the sense that the panel is almost entirely black and devoid of color, and metaphorically, in the sense that there seems to be no possibility of escape for Batman. However, this perspective is lightning in panel seven, both literally, in the sense that the panel itself is brighter, and metaphorically, in the sense that the flying bat offers a possibility for escape. 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.

Although it is alluded to throughout the comic, as criminals are violently assaulted, and innocent civilians are saved by a mysterious force, it becomes explicitly clear on page thirty-four that Batman has indeed come out of retirement. Here, for the first time in “The Dark Knight Returns, ” the massive physical differences between the characters of Batman and Bruce Wayne start to become clear — Bruce Wayne is fifty-five years old and has fallen victim to the weight of age, while Batman is a man of twenty or thirty years who is in excellent physical condition. Additionally, the reader can also begin to see the vast mental differences between the two characters — Bruce Wayne is peaceful, complacent, and has a bit of a drinking problem, while Batman is violent and frequently acts impulsively. The first few panels of page fifteen depict workers at Arkham Asylum walking through the halls and discussing the weather as they pass the Joker’s room before arriving at Two-Face’s. The first seven panels are not terribly important in an ad of themselves in regard to either content or form, but they gain their importance from drawing attention to, and augmenting, the transition from panel seven to panel eight — the place where content begins to mirror form in regard to the character of Two-Face. The content of panels eight through twelve show a plastic surgeon and a physiatrist explaining that Two-Face has been successfully “cured, ” both physically and mentally, and is now going to have his new face unveiled; while the structure of each of these aforementioned panels takes the form of a single image that is split into two symmetrical halves. Here it is important to recognize the deliberate parallelism that Frank Miller creates between the physical split in structure of the panels, and the split personality of Two Face This marriage of content and form reaches its climax in the transition from panel twelve to panel thirteen. In panel twelve, one of the doctors introduces one half of Harvey Dent to the other half, and in panel thirteen he sees his new face for the first time in a mirror. Panel thirteen marks the monumental point where Harvey Dent sees himself as a unified whole — a point reinforced by the complete and undivided structure of the panel, and in a broader sense, the city of Gotham itself.