The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
Science Fiction · Action · Animation · 2012
Batman has not been seen for ten years. A new breed of criminal ravages Gotham City, forcing 55-year-old Bruce Wayne back into the cape and cowl. But, does he still have what it takes to fight crime in a new era?
Movie details
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
“Old heroes never die. They just get darker.”
2012 Science Fiction · Action · Animation 1h 16m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.7 / 10
Community rating
Batman has not been seen for ten years. A new breed of criminal ravages Gotham City, forcing 55-year-old Bruce Wayne back into the cape and cowl. But, does he still have what it takes to fight crime in a new era?
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2
Sci-fi · 2013
Batman has stopped the reign of terror that The Mutants had cast upon his city. Now an old foe wants a reunion and the government wants The Man of Steel to put a stop to Batman.
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
Animation · 2013
The Flash finds himself in a war-torn alternate timeline and teams up with alternate versions of his fellow heroes to restore the timeline.
Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons
Animation · 2022
After discovering he has powers, 11-year-old Jonathan Kent and assassin-turned-Boy-Wonder Damian Wayne must join forces to rescue their fathers (Superman & Batman) and save the planet from the malevolent alien force known as Starro.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One
Animation · 2024
Death is coming. Worse than death: oblivion. Not just for our Earth, but for everyone, everywhere, in every universe! Against this ultimate destruction, the mysterious Monitor has gathered the greatest team of Super Heroes ever assembled. But what can the combined might of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern and hundreds of Super Heroes from multiple Earths even do to save all of reality from an unstoppable antimatter armageddon?!
Justice League vs. Teen Titans
Sci-fi · 2016
Robin is sent by Batman to work with the Teen Titans after his volatile behavior botches up a Justice League mission. The Titans must then step up to face Trigon after he possesses the League and threatens to conquer the world.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three
Animation · 2024
Now fully revealed as the ultimate threat to existence, the Anti-Monitor wages an unrelenting attack on the surviving Earths that struggle for survival in a pocket universe. One by one, these worlds and all their inhabitants are vaporized! On the planets that remain, even time itself is shattered, and heroes from the past join the Justice League and their rag-tag allies against the epitome of evil. But as they make their last stand, will the sacrifice of the superheroes be enough to save us all?
Superman: Man of Tomorrow
Animation · 2020
It’s the dawn of a new age of heroes, and Metropolis has just met its first. But as Daily Planet intern Clark Kent – working alongside reporter Lois Lane – secretly wields his alien powers of flight, super-strength and x-ray vision in the battle for good, there’s even greater trouble on the horizon.
Justice League vs. the Fatal Five
Animation · 2019
The Justice League faces a powerful new threat — the Fatal Five! Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman seek answers as the time-traveling trio of Mano, Persuader and Tharok terrorize Metropolis in search of budding Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. With her unwilling help, they aim to free remaining Fatal Five members Emerald Empress and Validus to carry out their sinister plan. But the Justice League has also discovered an ally from another time in the peculiar Star Boy — brimming with volatile power, could he be the key to thwarting the Fatal Five? An epic battle against ultimate evil awaits!
Batman: Bad Blood
Sci-fi · 2016
When Batman goes missing, it takes the entire Bat "family" - including Batwoman and Batwing - to keep the peace in Gotham and unravel the mystery behind the Dark Knight's disappearance.
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
Sci-fi · 2010
Batman discovers a mysterious teen-aged girl with superhuman powers and a connection to Superman. When the girl comes to the attention of Darkseid, the evil overlord of Apokolips, events take a decidedly dangerous turn.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jay Oliva
Written by
Bob Goodman
Peter Weller
Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Ariel Winter
Robin / Carrie Kelley (voice)
David Selby
James Gordon (voice)
Wade Williams
Harvey Dent / Two-Face (voice)
Michael McKean
Dr. Bartholomew Wolper (voice)
Rob Paulsen
Jeff Adams (voice)
Gary Anthony Williams
Mutant Leader / Anchor Bill (voice)
Court is in session
Put Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.