The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 is based on a comic book story arc by Frank Miller and is about a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne returning as Batman after a 10 year hiatus. In this world superheroes were banned due to the government so it wasn’t just him but all superheroes. Bruce Wayne went against that ban in Part 1 due to a dangerous gang called the Mutants terrorizing the public, the disappearance of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face and as always, the memory of his murdered parents. Part 1 ended with Batman defeating the leader of the Mutants with the help of his new Robin, 13-year-old Carrie Kelley, and as a result the gang renamed itself Sons of Batman and vowed to fight criminals instead. The return of Batman of course brought endless media coverage and controversy and that gave a spark to his archenemy, the Joker, who was in a catatonic state for years in Arkham Asylum

This movie basically starts with the age-old question: is Batman responsible for the creation of his enemies such as the Joker or are they responsible for his creation? Well what matters in this movie is that the Joker’s psychologist, the new commissioner and the US government believe in their own way that Batman is responsible for those villains. As in part 1, the psychologist, Bartholomew Wolper, is against Batman and the Joker uses that in his usual manipulative way to portray himself as a changed man and that Batman was responsible for his homicidal ways. And the Joker convinces Wolper to take him on a talk show so he could tell his side of the story and what he suffered at the hands of Batman. And no longer does Batman have a friend in the Commissioner of Gotham because Gordon’s successor, Ellen Yindal, orders Batman’s arrest and has no problem if lethal force is used against him. And since the government banned superheroes 10 years ago, the president wants Batman to stop as well and in order to do so covertly calls on, yep you guessed it (or maybe not), Superman who has been moonlighting from time to time as a government operative. So even though Batman clearly defeated a menace he wasn’t responsible for in part 1 the old saying that no good deed goes unpunished holds true in the sense that he’s now treated as public enemy number one by the authorities.

Part 2 started off right where part 1 left off with the Joker coming out of his catatonic state and with him fascinated by all the media coverage Batman is being given and the controversy it’s causing. Batman meanwhile is shown fighting crime full-time with his new Robin trying to capture a criminal by the name Bruno to uncover more information about Joker’s plans for his TV appearance. This encounter is interrupted by Superman who wants to talk to Batman about his coming out of “retirement.” After agreeing to discuss it the next day, Superman explains to Bruce that his coming out of retirement is causing problems for the government and is in violation of an agreement that was made with all superheroes 10 years ago. Other superheroes are mentioned briefly and Batman wasn’t the only one that had a problem with that agreement at the time. Before Superman leaves to handle more pressing business dealing with a conflict with the Soviet Union over the island of Corto Maltese he warns Batman that if he has to come back it wouldn’t be as pleasant a visit. And since the President is still trying to handle things covertly it’s being portrayed publicly as just a local issue the local authorities have under control. Also the new commissioner issues an arrest warrant for Batman because…well basically for being Batman.

All of this gives the Joker enough leeway to unleash his terror on Gotham once again and torment Batman. And he wastes no time in doing so. The irony of the police trying to stop Batman while he’s trying to stop the Joker while the Joker was trying to succeed in his murderous plot shouldn’t be missed. The obsession with wanting to stop or blame Batman resulted in a situation where the police were actually protecting a homicidal maniac and that was what the Joker expected. One with a no-kill policy was deemed a worst threat than one who killed so many just for enjoyment. There’s no drawn out cat and mouse game, the Joker kills everyone in the studio including the psychologist and escapes. As shocking as that might have been the priority for the authorities didn’t change. It was still about stopping Batman. And of course it was still up to Batman to stop the Joker from murdering more people and get to the bottom of his schemes. There’s a brief appearance by Selina Kyle aka Catwoman who is used by the Joker to control a congressman who calls for a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union in an attempt to escalate that conflict. So to avoid spoilers I won’t give all the details of the confrontation between the Joker and Batman. Nor will I compare it to the comics these movies were based on. I will say that the confrontation was satisfying. The action in this movie was brutal and even though it felt slightly outlandish on a couple of occasions it wasn’t done as a way to distract from a weak story line or animation. I think it came to an inevitable conclusion and gave a little insight into how Batman does feel somewhat responsible for every murder the Joker committed. And it wouldn’t be like the Joker if he didn’t achieve one final way to make Batman’s existence more difficult. I also feel the movie did a good job overall in showing that Batman is indeed bigger than the Joker and what he fights for is bigger than the Joker.

And Batman’s fight doesn’t end with the Joker. The police manhunt intensifies and just apprehending Batman is no longer treated as an option. It’s solely lethal force. And even though the conflict in Corto Maltese is ending, the Soviet Union fires a nuclear weapon as a parting gift. That can’t be blamed solely on the Joker of course but his antagonization through a congressman didn’t help. Superman prevents it from hitting its target but the detonation creates an EMP that results in all electronic equipment across the US being crippled. So there’s a complete blackout in Gotham. Here is where seeing Part 1 helps somewhat because the actions of the citizens of Gotham are understood a little bit better. This is where the movie shows the need for Batman and how his actions actually impact Gotham and he’s definitely a force for good. Let’s just say there is a resolution with the new commissioner and I felt the movie handled that new found understanding well. Only thing left was a resolution with Superman. That should be the easiest right? So what Superman is nearly invulnerable. The title of the movie has Batman in it.

The confrontation between Batman and Superman takes place due to Batman not going back in retirement. The President completely ignores that Gotham is the safest place in the US during this complete blackout so Superman is dispatched again and this time to handle Batman once and for all. The action in this part was great and the battle was as expected between two heavyweights trying to beat but not kill the other. And the dialog between the two dealt a little bit more with national authority and the question of superheroes being as much a danger to society as their villains. The ending to this movie was a really good one in my opinion. No disappointments here. There’s even a cameo of another superhero but you have to watch it to find out

Summary
I think it is possible for someone to just watch part 2 without being completely lost because there’s a quick synopsis of part 1 given in the beginning and it is a standalone movie. However watching part 1 will definitely help in understanding everything going on. As soon as I finished part 1 last year I couldn’t wait for part 2 to be released. As a Batman fan I loved the first part and the way it ended to create the setup for part 2. The Joker was back and this was a more brutal and unforgiving Gotham than before so I was wondering how the Joker would take advantage of that and try to undo what Batman just accomplished. And add to that an inevitable confrontation with Superman due to superheroes being outlawed and the potential for part 2 to be even better than part 1 was all there. After watching them both multiple times I now like part 2 a little bit more than part 1. Make no mistake these are mature movies set in a dark, disturbing world but it shows triumph over that. Batman and Superman aren’t mortal enemies obviously and so the movie handled that very well and the ending also respected that. The sick homicidal nature of the Joker was captured extremely well even in the context of this brutal world. The DC Universe Animated Studios has done a great job to date with its movies is a very worthy addition to that collection. It’s a must own for Batman fans and gets more enjoyable with each viewing.