Superman is sent to stop his old friend, and Batman humiliates him in battle before apparently dying of a heart attack. After defeating the leader of the Mutants, Batman inspires the people of Gotham, converts former gang members to his cause, and restores safety to the city, all of which results in the government labelling him a criminal and murderer. With his body old and weakened (but not informidable), Batman updates his arsenal, replacing the Batmobile with a tank and military helicopter.

In an America where all superheroes have been forced to retire by the government – notable exceptions being Superman, who continues to work unquestioningly for the authorities, and the now one-armed Green Arrow, who has become an underground leftist terrorist – Batman returns to fight the gang known as the Mutants train a new, female Robin and finally vanquish his old foes Two-Face and the Joker.

Published in four volumes in 1986 by DC Comics and collected in one volume later that year, the dark and satirical tale was credited (along with Watchmen, scripted by Alan Moore) with inspiring a period of 'grim and gritty' stories in the Comic-book field. Influential Graphic Novel by writer-artist Frank Miller, starring an aged, cynical and disillusioned Batman, who begrudgingly returns from a ten-year retirement amidst a Near-Future Dystopia that has overrun his beloved Gotham City with gang violence.

The dark returns