Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2

Justice returns... vengeance returns... redemption comes to Gotham.

RELEASED 29 Jan 20131h 18m★ 7.9 TMDB

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.

WATCH NOTE

Conclusion of the two-part animated adaptation of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s The Dark Knight Returns. Watch Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 first; other DC adaptations are not required. The Deluxe Edition combines both parts into one narrative, so choose that presentation or the two separate films. This entry covers the feature only, excluding documentaries, previews and packaged episodes The Last Laugh, The Man Who Killed Batman and Legends of the Dark Knight. Ariel Winter voices Carrie Kelley / Robin; the legacy Robin association requires identity reconciliation and does not establish Damian Wayne’s appearance. David Selby’s Commissioner Gordon resolves to the existing James Gordon association; Michael Jackson voices Alfred. The official-credit transcription lists Townsend Coleman as Morrie and James Patrick Stuart separately as VoiceOver Radio, rather than a combined Murray / Radio Voice role. Supporting official character-profile matches and complete silent/background appearance coverage remain unresolved.

Why it matters in DC

The continuation pushes Batman's return into conflict with both an old enemy and government authority. Watching it after Part 1 makes the confrontation with Superman part of an escalating argument about Bruce's role, rather than a disconnected battle between two heroes.

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1 title to watch before Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 — 1h 16m in total.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1Story prerequisite1h 16m★ 7.7
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 is recorded as a direct predecessor to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 in Animated Elseworlds, establishing the version of this world carried into the later title.

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How this title is selected

Story prerequisites are curated. Likely prerequisites are inferred from sequel numbering or explicit synopsis references. Recommendations are earlier stories in the same continuity; background picks are separate adaptations. Series lists cover whole shows, not an episode-by-episode watch order.

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Where it fits in the DC universe

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 is title 22 of 118 in our Animated Elseworlds viewing sequence. Part 2 directly continues The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 and completes the same adaptation. The first half supplies the circumstances of Bruce's return and Gotham's response. The live-action Dark Knight trilogy and Batman v Superman draw on different screen histories, so neither belongs between these two animated parts.

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