16. The "Imitation Batmen" Are Straight Out Of The Dark Knight Returns
Like its predecessor, The Dark Knight nods toward Frank Miller's 1986 masterwork The Dark Knight Returns. The "imitation Batmen" who show up at the beginning of the movie, hoping to help Batman take on Scarecrow, are clearly inspired by Miller's "Sons of Batman", a reactionary group who were inspired by Batman but had no qualms about carrying firearms. In The Dark Knight Returns, Batman ultimately leads the Sons of Batman into "battle", restoring order to Gotham City; in The Dark Knight, he simply dismisses them as amateurs. ("I'm not wearing hockey pads!")