Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Frank Miller's landmark 1986 miniseries for DC redefined Batman for a new era, presenting an aging, grittier Caped Crusader forced out of retirement in a dystopian Gotham. With Miller writing and drawing every page, this four-issue story stripped the character down to his rawest elements, pitting him against both classic foes and a jaded public. Its grim, psychologically intense take on the hero and its influential visual storytelling reshaped the superhero genre for decades to come.