Ahead of the new Frank Miller one-shot The Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child, DC Nation has released a preview image from the upcoming comic with a potentially controversial depiction. In the art, none other than The Joker can be seen standing in front of posters for President Donald Trump while wearing an American flag themed suit, seemingly preparing to campaign for him. Written by Miller and featuring art by Rafael Grampa, The Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child will be released tomorrow with its Trump-themed art intact. You can see it for yourself below!
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In “The Golden Child,” Carrie Kelley — now fully realized as Batwoman — and Jonathan Kent will team up to be a bizarre and unpredictable riff on the “World’s Finest” combos of the past. Bizarre, in part, because Jonathan Kent is a toddler but, possessed of super-intellect (a power mostly used during Superman’s Silver Age adventures), he has become what Miller describes as a “floating Buddha.”
OK Joker pic.twitter.com/9ADyAkdyGc
— DC Nation (@thedcnation) December 9, 2019
“Jonathan did really evolve since DK3,” Miller told ComicBook.com. “He’s in it himself, but what comes next — Lara as the daughter of Superman, having all the power and fury and sturm und drang, to all of a sudden have the boy being this floating Buddha with all the wisdom of Krypton, seemed irresistible. In Dark Knight Returns, Carrie comes in and is really the daughter of Batman. And Lara in DK2 as the rather surprising daughter of Superman, and the third one, we’ve got Jonathan.”
Miller wanted to explore what he calls the “turbulent” relationship between Batman and Superman in most modern comics — that, of course, is a relationship that both he and The Dark Knight Returns had no small part in shaping over the years. But rather than doing it with two old men over drinks, Miller moved the dynamic on to the next generation and asked himself, what would it look like if the daughter of Batman was suddenly somewhat responsible for a being as powerful as the child of Superman and Wonder Woman?
“Partly what I’m up to, I’ve got to admit, is a bit of fun,” Miller said. “I’m playing off the very turbulent relationship I gave Superman and Batman. In this situation, it’s almost a reversal, in that Carrie is working with a boy who’s very much her junior, and is just discovering things — just discovering what people are. As innately wise as he is, she’s showing him the ropes. She’s very much a big sister…but she knows she’s dealing with an atom bomb in terms of power, and she’s trying to guide it.”
This marks the second major “crossover” between the DC villain and the real-life figurehead, as President Trump hosted a screening of the Joker movie earlier this year at the White House, a film he reportedly enjoyed. Trump had a brief moment with another comic book villain earlier today after the politician’s team took to Twitter to compare him to Thanos (Josh Brolin) from Avengers: Endgame.
