Batman: The Dark Knight #1: The Dark Knight Returns

Quick answer

Batman: The Dark Knight #1: The Dark Knight Returns is cataloged as part of the The Dark Knight Returns reading path, giving readers a specific checkpoint in that storyline rather than a generic issue listing. Gotham Vault connects it to Batman (Bruce Wayne), The Joker, Alfred Pennyworth, Commissioner Gordon (James Gordon), Batman: The Dark Knight, and the broader 1986-02-28 Batman publication timeline.

Issue summary

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is set 20 years in the future. In the absence of superheroes, criminals run amok, and a gang called the Mutants terrorize Gotham City. Bruce Wayne has been retired from crime fighting for ten years following the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. Despite Wayne's funding of the rehabilitation of Harvey Dent (Two-Face), Dent returns to crime. Bruce, overcome with the grief of what Gotham has become, as well as being unable to resist his true identity as Batman, dons the costume again and apprehends Dent, and the populace debates whether Batman is a savior or a threat to society. Notes: The cover is homage by future comics.

Characters listed for this issue

Batman (Bruce Wayne)The Dark Knight of Gotham. Billionaire by day, vigilante by night. No superpowers, just iron…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

The JokerThe Clown Prince of Crime. Gotham's chaos agent. No one knows his real story, and that's the…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

Alfred PennyworthThe man who raised Batman. Ex-SAS, current butler, permanent father figure. The only one who…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

Commissioner Gordon (James Gordon)The one good cop in a corrupt city. Keeps the GCPD running and the Bat-Signal lit. Never los…VIEW APPEARANCES ›