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title = The Dark Knight Strikes Again
''The Dark Knight Strikes Again'' (also referred to as DK2) is a ''. OVERVIEW It was originally published as a three-issue one-volume editions. Like its predecessor, this story takes place in a timeline that is not considered Canonical in the current Continuity of DC Comics . The story also doesn't seem to follow any of DC's continuity after the '' Crisis On Infinite Earths '' as Barry Allen (the Silver Age Flash who died in the Crisis) is still alive. ''DK2'' was considered controversial upon its release by some comics fans, as it was considered to be a repudiation of effects that the original ''Dark Knight Returns'' had on American Superhero comics (the creation of the so-called "grim n' gritty" movement), and a celebration of the Surrealist and high-energy eccentricity of the superhero tradition. Colorist Lynn Varley used ''DK2'' as a platform to experiment with computerized coloring, partially influenced by the Art Deco movement, and generally used a much bolder palette than in the darker ''Dark Knight Returns''. SYNOPSIS After going underground, " Dictatorship . In a series of raids on government facilities, Batman's soldiers release from captivity aging superheroes including Atom , Flash and Plastic Man ( Elongated Man is recruited from his job as a commercials spokesman by the Flash), while Green Arrow was already working with Batman (as seen in the end of TDKR). Superman , working for the government, is ordered by the "President" (a front for Lex Luthor and Brainiac ) to stop Batman. He confronts Wayne at the Batcave , but is defeated by Batman and the other superheroes. Meanwhile, Batman's raids have not gone unnoticed by the Media . After being banned for years, the freed superheroes have recaptured the public imagination, becoming a fad among youth. At a concert for the pop group "The Superchix", Batman and the other heroes make a public appearance, urging their fans to rebel against the oppressive government. An Alien monster lands in Metropolis and begins to destroy the city, but Batman, convinced it is a trap, does not respond. Superman and Captain Marvel come out of hiding to fight the threat, but the monster is revealed to be Brainiac, who coerces Superman (using the bottle city of Kandor ) into losing the battle in order to crush the people's faith in superheroes. Captain Marvel is killed defending citizens from the carnage, but Superman is saved by his and Wonder Woman 's daughter, who has been carefully hidden by the pair until now. She destroys Brainiac's monster body, but now that the government knows she exists they demand she be handed over. Realizing Batman was right after all, Superman, Wonder Woman, and their daughter join him and assist in his plan, destroying the power source of the dictatorship and inciting but is seemingly invulnerable to injury. Batman recognizes the assailant as Dick Grayson , the first Robin , who has been genetically manipulated and is criminally insane. Unable to kill Grayson by any other means, Batman blows up the entire cave, igniting an underground volcano, only to be saved by Superman at the last minute and brought to Carrie in the Batmobile . ANALYSIS Political Themes The graphic novel contains Caricatures of several prominent members of the first administration of President George W. Bush , including John Ashcroft , Ari Fleischer , and Donald Rumsfeld . The president is revealed to actually be a hologram controlled by Lex Luthor , a satirical commentary on the controlled media image of modern politicians, as well as the common perception that Bush is somehow subservient to either Vice-President Dick Cheney or to the "corporate elites". The novel mocks American liberals, who are depicted as ineffectual whiners, and conservatives, who are shown to be greedy and self serving. The general public is ignorant and childish, varying between condemning the superheroes, and demanding that they save them from evil. Many of the characters have strong political views, such as Green Arrow , a Marxist revolutionary, and The Question , a radical Libertarian . Superman quotes Batman as saying that the superheroes "have to be criminals", and comes to agree with him at the end of the novel. Batman also says that he has been ignoring the real problem, going after petty criminals when the real monsters rose to government power. In sum, the novel contains themes of individualism, personal freedom and advocates a strong ethical viewpoint, rather than modern, relativist views of right and wrong. The graphic novel's conclusion can be interpreted as anti-democratic. Superman asks his daughter, "What shall we do with our world?" In other words, Luthor's dictatorship is replaced by a non-democratic Oligarchy of heroes from the Silver Age of DC Comics . As a Satire of the Super Hero Genre ''The Dark Knight Strikes Again'' can also be viewed as Miller's satire of the very 'grim & gritty' movement which he helped set into motion with ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns''. He parodies various trends that were abundant in making post-1980s comics more 'realistic' and 'adult' such as costume changes, cybernetic limbs, and extreme violence. The book can also be seen as Miller's direct rebuttal to another graphic novel which satired similar trends in the superhero genre, '' Kingdom Come ''. However, where ''Kingdom Come'' has a more optimistic perspective on DC's heroes and superhero comics generally, Miller is far more cynical. Controversy ''DK2'' concerned some comic fans due to Miller's take on Batman, seeing the character as being "unheroic" rather than the traditionally selflessly heroic superhero. Some also felt that Miller's work on '' Sin City '' had influenced ''DK2'' too much and had turned the story into something which was not the direct sequel to ''DKR'' that some fans were expecting. Also raising concerns among comic fans were accusations of Homophobia within the story, as well as suggestions of a sexualised relationship between Batman and Robin. However, the sexual nature of the relationship is not something which is clear and remains just fan speculation. TRIVIA The holographic puppet-President, "Rick Rickard," is a throwback to ") suddenly vanishing from the face of the Earth, becoming immortalized in the process; a stark contrast to Miller's stereotypical suave but non-existent puppet. At one point during the chaos at the end of the book an "orphanage" is blown open and hundreds of misshapen children escape who are very similar in visual and dialogue description to the "wireheads" from Miller's " Martha Washington " series of comic books. During the last part of the story, one of Miller's characters uses several throwing stars shaped like swastikas. The same weapon was used by his character Miho in the Sin City novella, The Big Fat Kill . The weapon is also used in the film version of Sin City . EXTERNAL LINKS
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