Whatever Happened to the Dark and Gritty Superheroes of Yesteryear?

Gone is the Superman that aids the U.S. government in shady overseas warfare without question; welcome the Superman that saves squirrels during Kaiju attacks.

It’s not hard to guess which characterization of DC’s iconic Man of Steel most people would prefer. Still, at different points in DC’s history, both the nationalist puppet and the golden-hearted Superman have come to life on the pop-printed page.

While drastically different characterizations exist for most popular superheroes from across the American comics canon, DC’s Batman is a particularly notable case study for this phenomenon. The “corrupt” version of Superman notoriously appears in “The Dark Knight Returns,” a classic Batman comic by Frank Miller from 1986. In a dystopian future, the government has forced crime-fighting vigilantes to back down or go undercover for the powers that be. Unlike Batman, Superman relents and becomes a pawn for the U.S. government.

Much of the praise for “The Dark Knight Returns” centers on how it explores serious, more “adult” themes, especially through the nuanced re-interpretation of Golden Age heroes as conflicted individuals with major flaws. Until the late 1970s, comics had been marketed mostly toward children, something that changed greatly with the emergence of genre-defining classics like “The Dark Knight Returns” and Alan Moore’s “Watchmen”, along with the creation of labels, such as DC’s Vertigo Comics, which were marketed toward mature audiences. This period of time — the late 1970s to early 2000s — was later named the Dark Age of American comics by fans.

This Dark Age saw a slew of comics that sought to incorporate darker elements into plot and setting, along with morally gray characterizations of once-archetypal heroes, establish themselves in the American comics canon. Readership for this genre, however, began to rapidly decline in the 2000s and 2010s, as audiences tired of authors who mistook angst for complexity.

Prior to the Dark Age, Batman’s characterization was very similar to that of 1950s Superman. Both conformed to the heroic archetype by following strict moral codes and progressing through episodic storylines with relative ease.

But by the late 1970s, readers were growing tired of these flat archetypes and repetitive plots. Attempts to recapture audience interest by DC included an ’80s run of the “New Teen Titans” and the introduction of a new Robin. Dick Grayson, the original Robin, was made the leader of the Teen Titans under the alias Nightwing, while the mantle of Robin was taken by Jason Todd, a street kid adopted by Batman. This change was meant to satisfy readers’ cravings for something new, marking a new era in the Batman canon.

Unfortunately, neither of these was as effective at winning audience engagement as they set out to be, leading DC to conduct a now-historic experiment. In response to audience dissatisfaction with the new Robin, DC put Jason Todd’s life up to a vote. Readers were encouraged to phone in and say whether the new Robin should live or die in the “A Death in the Family” storyline, which ran for several months in 1988. Robin did not make it. In fact, he was beaten to death with a crowbar and then blown up for good measure.

The positive response to Jason Todd’s violent death illustrates the shift in audience preferences by the 1980s, from the wholesome style of the 1950s Golden Age to more gritty and disturbing themes.

After a few decades, however, this somber approach started to get old. While there were many well-written stories with darker themes, audiences began to feel that angst had overwhelmed the storylines of many comics. A notable example of this is “All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder” by Frank Miller from the early 2000s. In this run, Batman recruits Robin by kidnapping him immediately after he is orphaned. An infamous panel shows Batman holding Robin up by the collar as he says, “You’ve just been drafted. Into a war.” When his cruelty is called out by other characters, Miller’s Batman justifies his behavior by saying, “I’m the goddam Batman.”

Despite the legendary reputation Miller carried after writing “The Dark Knight Returns,” audiences were quick to criticize the sloppy writing and once again flat characterization in “All-Star Batman and Robin.” This version of Miller’s Batman made Batman so morally gray, he ceased to be likable or heroic at all.

In the past two decades, DC has worked to reconcile Dark Age comics with a modern audience. The transition towards the current age of comics is marked especially by The New 52 Initiative post-2011, where a “Flashpoint” multi-verse storyline reset the DC universe. Many plot points and events from the Dark Age were ret-conned after this reset, including a lot of Batman’s more questionable behaviors.

More recently, DC has partnered with Webtoon to create exclusive series to attract the company’s younger audiences to the DC universe. Among these is “Batman: Wayne Family Adventures” by CRC Payne, a semi-slice-of-life, semi-plot-driven series where Batman acknowledges all the kids who have held the mantle of Robin and regular allies like Batwing and Huntress as members of his extended family.

This Batman is drastically different from Miller’s, making an effort to communicate with those he cares about and making himself vulnerable in the process. Instead of dark and gritty, Payne’s Batman is disgruntled and stubborn, with notably good intentions but clumsy execution. Taking a more wholesome approach to Batman’s heroism, “Wayne Family Adventures” pivots away from the Dark Age while regularly toying with material from that era.

Outside of “Wayne Family Adventures,” DC has sought to establish modern Batman as a flawed man that nonetheless tries to be better, and has matured in his middle age. Notably, in Tom Taylor’s “Nightwing” — an iconic run from the late 2010s that has rippled across the DC universe — Batman says to Nightwing (the original Robin), “I am so proud that my son has grown to be the best of us. I’m sorry if you’ve ever thought differently. I’m sorry if I failed you.”

The success of “Wayne Family Adventures” shows how, once again, the audience has changed their expectations for these iconic characters. Modern readers appreciate heroes with flaws and nuance, as long as their heart is in the right place and their principles are strong. Goodness as a heroic principle is once again fashionable.

The Dark Age gave audiences nuanced comic book characters, bold extended plotlines, and a trophy case of iconic characters. Now, the modern age finds its footing on the tightrope between complex characterization and a reinterpretation of classic heroism within modern concerns. Superman saves squirrels, yes, but he also faces up to tyrannical billionaires and corrupt politicians. Nightwing punches a mobster in the face, then changes into civilian clothing to manage his nonprofit, the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation. Batman manages to smile on rare occasions.

Whether you’re a fan of this new era or think it is ruining the DC canon: There is no doubt that it is revolutionary.

—Staff writer Micaela S. Arenas can be reached at [email protected].