Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is an American Comic Book series written and pencilled by Frank Miller and published between February to June 1986 in 4 issues. The story follows an aged Bruce Wayne who comes out of retirement as Batman to combat new and old foes alike.

Why The Dark Knight Returns

 * 1) Like Watchmen, released around the same time, it defies the morally straight superhero tropes and tells a much darker and more mature story.
 * 2) On that note, the story is very well written, giving Batman more moral ambiguity but still making him likeable while also depicting a more grungy version of Gotham and a faithful recreation of the 1980s and the nuclear conflict. It also gives a bit of social commentary towards hypocrisy in the "america first" mentality.
 * 3) Frank Miller's signature narrations do a wonderful job building up the atmosphere of a scene and backstory as well, not to mention the dialogue in them is very well done.
 * 4) Pretty good artwork that clearly took a lot of time to do, along with great character designs.
 * 5) Does a great job depicting an aged superhero, notably in how Batman is a bit less capable in his later years due to the limitations his age has put on him and how he gets beaten or defeated more often.
 * 6) The Joker and Two-Face return, now with more character development and being even more threatening than they already were before.
 * 7) Carrie Kelly is an amazing new Robin, in addition to being the first girl to carry that mantle, she's also very likeable and well-developed as well. She's also a very competent sidekick rather than ever being a damsel in distress.
 * 8) An iconic issue wherein Joker terrorized an amusement park inspired a lot of scenes in other Batman comic books and media as well.
 * 9) The animated movie adaptation does a fantastic job adapting the source material, even if it did have to tone some things down.
 * 10) Introduces the Sons of Batman, basically a vigilante group that tries to rid Gotham of crime, but doesn't exactly follow Batman's moral code.
 * 11) An iconic battle between Batman and Superman that also inspired several stories and Batman V. Superman, one that is absolutely awesome.
 * 12) Spoilers: An awesome ending where Bruce defeats Superman, then fakes his own death (though he doesn't fool Superman) and unites the Mutants and Sons of Batman under his cause to train new warriors and keep Gotham safe long after he's gone.
 * 13) Lots of iconic lines in comic books, like Bruce's "May the best man win" exchange with Superman.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The artwork, while pretty good, can look a little uncanny at times and not aged well.
 * 2) Some characters make inflammatory comments, like in the 80s. For example, one guy says he hopes "Batman goes after the homos next". Though keep in mind that this was back in the '80s, long before homosexuality was accepted by the general public.
 * 3) * Luckily, that line was changed to "my landlord" in the movie.

Trivia

 * Another change the movie made from the comic involves a scene where a plane crashes into a skyscraper after a nuclear warhead brings down all the power in the U.S. In the movie, the plane simply crashes onto the ground, most likely due to 9/11.
 * A Batman story titled "A Death In The Family", was 2 years after it's first 4 issues came out which does show how Jason Todd died while The Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade, a prequel revealed that differently.