On the eve of the U.S. election, tensions between America's left and right have boiled over to the point of street riots. Carrie Kelly has now succeeded Bruce Wayne and become Batwoman, the new Caped Crusader. Lara - the love-child of Superman and Wonder Woman - has become disillusioned with humanity. She's accompanied by her little brother Jon - a metahuman with potential far greater than Superman's.
Lurking in the shadows and pulling the strings to the Trump presidency are none other than the tyrant New God Darkseid and the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker.
Tropes in The Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child
- Ambiguous Situation: Is the Joker back from the dead, or is this a completely new Joker?
- Big Bad Duumvirate: The Joker and Darkseid work together to disillusion the U.S. citizens and destabilize the free world.
- Came Back Strong: When Darkseid uses his Omega Beams to chase Lara, she does the obvious and tricks the beams to hit Darkseid. Rather than destroying the weilder of their power, the Omega beams merely destroy Darkseid's current physical body. He quickly resurfaces in a new form and resumes his conquest.
- Creepy Child: Jon Kent is a Pint-Sized Powerhouse who looks like he was drawn by Tim Burton.
- The Man Behind the Man: Donald Trump (at least the president) is a fabrication that the Joker used to sneak into the White House.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: The Joker is Donald Trump and Darkseid is Vladimir Putin. One ascends to the presidency with the aid of the other, who makes it no secret that he wants to destroy America.
- Villain Has a Point: Darkseid's mastery of Anti-Life is depicted as little more than simple oration. His influence is so powerful that Bat-chick briefly succumbs to it, saying that he makes too much sense.
