The Goriest, Most Brutal Moments in Frank Miller's Graphic Novels

When the Joker starts talking, wise characters know not to listen. He has a knack for persuasion, especially when it comes to the weak-minded. In the The Last Crusade, a prequel to The Dark Knight Returns, Miller explores the Joker's twisted nature when he reveals an inmate at Arkham has eaten his own fingers at the Joker's request. And the violence doesn't stop there. The inmate keeps saying that he wants to eat more of himself because he tasted so delicious. Yum!

One of the best portrayals of the complicated Batman/Joker relationship comes from Miller's groundbreaking The Dark Knight Returns. Batman comes out of retirement after years of sitting idle so he can save Gotham one last time. In the process he awakens the Joker from a nearly catatonic state, and they face off one last time. Their battle ends with both Batman and the Joker injured and the police closing in. To get the final laugh, the Joker breaks his own neck while cackling like a maniac. His twisted last act works, as the police then see Batman as a threat that needs stopping. 

Perhaps one of the creepiest villains Frank Miller ever put to page was Kevin the Cannibal. Appearing in Sin City: The Hard Goodbye, Kevin remains silent throughout the story, and it somehow makes him even more unsettling. Kevin moves silently and uses his sharp fingernails to gouge the eyes of his victims. But that doesn't prevent him from meeting a gory end. Marv cuts off all of his limbs and lets animals devour the mess that's left. Creepy until the very end, Kevin remains silent throughout his death. He only smiles. 

Superman stands for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. He represents all that is good and inspires people to live better lives. This makes it especially jarring for readers when he gets reduced to a withered husk in The Dark Knight Returns. While trying to prevent a nuclear war, Superman receives the brunt of a full-on nuclear blast. And the results don't look very pretty. His body basically becomes crumpled-up newspaper. The image makes it appear that the organs inside him evaporated, leaving only an empty skin suit. 

In a lot of comic books, cities get completely destroyed. To make things right again, writers will employ some kind of magic that makes everything OK in the end. You can't just wipe out an entire city of people right? Well, Frank Miller can. In the Dark Knight Strikes Again, Brainiac and Lex Luthor wipe out Metropolis, vaporizing everyone Superman has ever cared for, including Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and Lois Lane. As you can imagine, this makes the Big Blue Boy Scout a tad angry and he sets out to get his very gory revenge. 

Don't mess with crazy Hawk people. Lex Luthor found that out the hard way. In one of the final scenes of The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Batman takes a horrific and gory beating from Lex Luthor, but it turns out Batman planned the whole thing as a way of distracting him. When the time comes, a vengeful Hawkboy sets the trap for the bald egomaniac. He beats Luthor to death while a very bloody Batman cheers from the sideline.