Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley's The Dark Knight Returns was a revolutionary storyline for the character of Batman, for the DC Universe, and for comic books in general. Seen (along with Watchmen) as the beginning of darker era in comic books, it also represented a dark turn for the Caped Crusader himself. This fits the bleak, hopeless dystopia that the story was set in, though many wondered how exactly Batman and Gotham City got to such a state.
And in 2016, The Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade by Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, and John Romita, Jr. finally showcased the days leading up to Batman's most morbid future. Not only did it give a familiar fate to a certain Boy Wonder, but in doing so, it arguably did the same for Batman himself.
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Darkened Duo
The Last Crusade finally reveals what happened to Jason Todd that inevitably led to Bruce Wayne's retirement. It's been known to involve the death of Jason Todd, but given that the event was never actually shown, fans were left to wonder how similar it would be to Jason's death in the mainstream universe storyline "Death In the Family." Much like Jason's Post-Crisis portrayal, he is increasingly violent in the story, making even the Dark Knight himself wary of his ward. This has caused the duo's relationship to become strained, as Batman begins to think twice about Jason possibly replacing him as Gotham's protector. Gotham City itself isn't in much of a brighter place, in spite of having both Batman and Robin. Though not yet a cyberpunk dystopia, the city's sun has clearly begun to set.
Things only get worse when the Dynamic Duo take on The Joker, with Jason's actions against the Clown Prince of Crime both causing further consternation with Batman and a sudden obsession in The Joker. Batman himself is also getting noticeably older and more fragile. Though still far from the rugged old man that he would become in The Dark Knight Returns, Batman's awareness of his own mortality foreshadows the broken state that he would be in when TDKR begins. The Joker himself also begins to take on the foppish, more dainty appearance that he had in Miller's other book. The media is an ever-present character in the book, questioning Batman's use of a child in his war on crime as well as foreshadowing their role in The Dark Knight Returns.
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The Last Laugh
The lead up to the book's climax introduces the Dark Knight Universe versions of Poison Ivy and a much more grounded version of Killer Croc, with the battle's Pyrrhic victory officially ending the Dynamic Duo's relationship. To make matters worse, The Joker has escaped from Arkham Asylum, with Jason going off on his own to stop him. In a twist to separate it from the events of "Death In the Family," the book has Joker's goons beat up and seemingly kill Jason. While this is happening, Batman is discussing his retirement with Alfred, as well as the possibility of guiding Jason to be better through a world without the violence that he has become accustomed to.
Robin has often be portrayed as the light in Batman's world of darkness, but with Jason murdered, it makes sense that Batman would see himself and his actions as failures and retire the cape and cowl. It also cements the fact that, in many ways, Jason was Batman's greatest failure. He had failed to take the vulnerable young man and shape him into something better, such as had been done with Dick Grayson. Instead, he became even darker and more vengeful than Batman himself. What's more, Batman's refusal to leave the lifestyle behind further emboldening him. Even if he hadn't been killed by The Joker's men, Robin's life was doomed when Batman entered into it.
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