The Return Of A Broken Man
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 on page thirty-four 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 a man of twenty or thirty years 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, and has a bit of a drinking problem, 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.
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 figure. 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.
