The Multiple Personality Theme in The Dark Knight Returns

To be completely honest, I am really not that familiar with the world of comic books / graphic novels, so the nuances of the art and design of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns are essentially over my head at this point. What I can comment on, however, is the story of The Dark Knight Returns. And by far the most compelling part of the story for me was the multiple personality theme.
Bruce Wayne and Batman are far more than merely the tried and true template of the mild-mannered everyman and his superhero alter-ego. For Bruce, Batman is another character in and of himself, with his own thoughts and desires and even what seems to be a distinct personality. Bruce and Batman share the same body, but they don’t seem to really be the same person. For instance, beginning on page 13 when Bruce is mugged and relives his tragic origin story, Miller uses gray text-boxes to set aside an internal monologue that the reader can easily recognize as the thoughts of Batman, not the thoughts of Bruce Wayne.
Later on pages 25 and 26, as the temptation to return to crime-fighting has become too powerful, the internal voice returns, although now it isn’t merely a monologue but a conversation. The voice says, “ . . . I am your soul. You cannot escape me . . . You tried to drown me out . . . But your voice is weak . . .” Who is the “I” and who is the “you” in this conversation? The “I” is Batman, speaking to Bruce Wayne. Two minds inhabiting the same body. That seems like a cut and dry case of multiple personalities. And, of course, Bruce Wayne / Batman’s case of multiple personality disorder is made all the more interesting because his primary foe, at least in the first part of the novel, is Harvey Dent / Two Face. Batman and Two Face are essentially mirror images of each other. Each man has one foot in real life, existing as a normal person, while the other foot lies in Gotham’s criminal underworld where each man exists as some sort of spirit or caricature. Both Harvey and Bruce possess other selves obsessed with crime. It’s just that Two Face is obsessed with committing it and Batman is obsessed with stopping it.
The multiple personality theme is just one reason why The Dark Knight Returns is so much more compelling than the average comic book of previous eras. The primary conflict is essentially psychological. Miller does an excellent job of detailing Batman’s primary motivation, which is his deep-seated, irrepressible need to fight evil, for lack of a better term. Such a need rarely expresses itself in a neat and tidy way, and instead often leads Batman to engage in acts of violence that are barely distinguishable from those of his enemies. Perhaps this is why Bruce Wayne / Batman possess multiple personalities in the first place, as it is too difficult to remain a part of both worlds and act as the same person. Either way, the theme gives The Dark Knight Returns a depth and appeal that the average person would not expect from a Batman comic book.