The Mark of Batman

When I first read The Dark Knight Returns I didn't think twice about skipping over the Introduction on pp. 6-7 written by Frank Miller. I was originally going to write this response on these two pages, but upon doing some digging online I found an article by Alan Moore titled "The Mark of Batman" written in 1986. Moore demanded that "we [need] new heroes."

And that's just what Miller and Moore did. A simple flip through the The Dark Knight and the Batman Chronicles shows stark differences in the Batman/Wayne character. Miller broke down the campy, jolly, hero-y essence of Batman in the original comics to create someone human, flawed, gritty vigilante. You only need to look at how he portrays Superman and Selina Kyle to note that 1986 marked a new era of heroes; one that Miller and Moore delivered.  

Moore concludes by praising Miller for his work: "With Dark Knight, time has come to the Batman and the capstone that makes legends what they are has finally been fitted. In his engrossing story of a great man's final and greatest battle, Miller has managed to create something radiant which should hopefully illuminate things for the rest of the comic book field, casting a new light upon the problems which face all of us working within the industry and perhaps even guiding us towards some fresh solutions." I can't speak to how other comics adapted following Miller's Batman and Moore's Watchmen, but it seemed to take Hollywood another ten years to adopt The Dark Knight. In only 1997 did we see once again a campy Batman and Robin battle a pun-heavy Mr. Freeze. In 2005 Christopher Nolan began to bring out Miller's true Dark Knight, but I think an even more dynamic change came from the villain: Heath Ledger's Joker.