Batman (Dark Knight Universe)

Batman
Artwork for the cover of All Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder vol. 1, 1 (Oct, 2005 DC Comics). Art by Jim Lee.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics (All-Star imprint)
First appearance	The Dark Knight Returns #1 (February 1986)
Created by	Frank Miller (concept) (Based on the original character, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger)
In-story information
Alter ego	Bruce Wayne
Team affiliations	Batman Family Justice League of America Gotham City Police Department
Abilities	Genius-level intellect Peak physical and mental conditioning Master , disguise, hacker, martial artist, acrobat-freerunner, detective, escapologist, strategist, swordsman, tactician, and marksman Highly proficient with technology and high-tech equipment, weapons, armors, & gadgets Access to vast wealth and criminal records Eidetic memory

Batman (Bruce Wayne) is a fictional character, a superhero and an alternative version of the DC Comics character of the same name. This version of Batman was created by Frank Miller and first appeared in The Dark Knight Returns #1 (February 1986). This satirical version of the character is regarded as an older, darker interpretation of the character who, after years of retirement, resumes his role of a vigilante and, eventually, a revolutionary freedom fighter.

In his introduction to The Dark Knight Returns #1, Frank Miller says that he got the idea for the character while going through a midlife crisis, while on the verge of turning 30. He later said that while he could tolerate the fact that his little brother was older than Spider-Man, the fact that he himself was getting older than Batman "was something that needed to be stopped."

Although All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder is printed under the All Star DC Comics imprint, it takes place in its own continuity outside of Grant Morrison's All Star Superman canon. According to Miller, All Star Batman is the same version of his character set in the continuity of The Dark Knight Returns (DKR), Year One (YO) and The Dark Knight Strikes Again (DKSA). The series has an abstract depiction of its historical setting, as the satirical nature of the books often requires the aesthetic setting to shift with modern times with each new title; The Dark Knight Returns retained its 1980s themes due to its commentary on Reagan-era politics, while the sequel more closely resembled Bush-era America and All Star Batman and The Master Race both resemble the nature of the contemporary "digital age". Out of all of the stories, Year One is the only one that also exists in current core DC continuity.