Frank Miller’s 1986 mini-series The Dark Knight Returns was, more than any other book, largely responsible for the grimmer tone of Batman stories in subsequent years. Its legacy is still felt today – not just in the overall atmosphere of several comics, movies, and TV shows, but specifically in the depictions of Batman himself.
However, one thing that many of these depictions seem to miss is that Miller’s Dark Knight wasn’t always a stoic, tragic figure enveloped in gloom and humorless bitterness or rage. In fact, there are quite a few instances of him smiling:
The Dark Knight Returns #2
I’m not saying Frank Miller’s reputation for darkening the Caped Crusader is entirely unearned, far from it. Yet I think a lot of creators have disregarded a big part of what made Miller’s original take on the character so cool – the allure is not so much seeing a version of Bruce Wayne who is doomed to be Batman, it’s seeing one who is cursed to enjoy it in his own gleeful, twisted way.
When you revisit DKR and, especially, its first proper sequel, 2001’s Dark Knight Strikes Again, it’s pretty clear that, for all the brooding and macho posturing, a lot of the time Batman is actually digging the hell out of being Batman:
The Dark Knight Strikes Again #2
Sure, more often than not, it’s not just a smile. Miller’s Dark Knight tends to grin in a menacing way, suggesting smug bemusement or at the very least a vicious, pitch-black sense of humor… Still, this is one side of the character that doesn’t show up often enough, in my opinion, and it can result in some genuinely fun moments.
Frank Miller’s later works and public statements make it very hard to give him too much love – he has deservedly fallen out of grace with many Batman fans. Hell, even some of his earlier stuff has not aged that well. But if there is one thing we owe Miller, it’s panels such as this one:
