Professor Xavier is a jerk, says Kitty Pryde and X-Nation agrees, or at least the Milksops agree. We are into the beautiful Paul Smith epoch of the Claremont era of the X-books and things are cooking. We've got the final showdown with the Brood as the X-Men meet the New Mutants, Kitty (once again) proving herself to be worth of X-man status, and then a very cool and fun adventure in the sewers as the X-Men meet the Morlocks. The Milksops love these issues, and we can't believe how far we've come! We're almost up to the Secret Wars! Plus we get a great email from a fellow alumnus of our high scool, where the mascot was improbably a giant hat.

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The Milksops can't stop obsessing over Frank Miller, so we're going from Dark Knight Returns to Frank's awesome return to Marvel's Daredevil: the Born Again stories. Along with artist David Mazzuchelli, this seven part Daredevil story is one of the greatest Daredevil stories ever and one of the great Marvel comics stories. The Kingpin finds out that Daredevil is really Matt Murdock and so he... ruins Matt Murdock's life. What could be a simple one or two issue story becomes a prolonged exploration of what makes Daredevil truly a hero. We see Matt Murdock go completely insane, Foggy Nelson being a new love affair, Karen Page go on a doesnt-age-that-well struggle with drug addiction, Ben Urich stand up for getting the true story no matter what the cost -- all wrapped up in taut, lively compelling crime fiction. Oh, and the best cliffhangers in the biz!

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Brood, Brood and more Brood. The X-Men find themselves in an impossible situation when they realize that a hostile alien force has planted eggs inside of their bodies, and the only way to stop the hatching is to die! Luckily they find a simple (not) solution involving the prophet/singer leader of a fleet of peaceful space whales, spirtual bonds that heal bodies, and a rogue dragon who eats eggs. Paul Smith starts his run as artist for the X-Men and it's a great fit right away. Also Professor X gets ready to begin the New Mutants. Will is more sympathetic to the good parts of recent stories, wheras Kevin has had it with The Brood taking up so many issues. They discuss if an unenjoyable run on a comic makes the comic as a whole bad.

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The final issue of the Dark Knight Returns brings a showdown that maybe only Frank Miller was asking for: Batman takes down Superman. We see a very Batman-centered view of Superman: a sellout, a toady, an obstacle. Superman meanwhile saves the lives of millions and is rewarded with an order to capture Batman. We see Gotham collapse into utter chaos when a nuclear bomb takes away all power in the city. Batman resorts to old tech to rally the mutants and Sons of Batman to put away the guns and restore order. The Green Arrow, now with one arm, wants to help take down Supes. Yindel has a change of heart. Carrie Kelly helps Batman carry out the ultimate con. As we turn the last page, we realize Batman - the story, the character, the myth -- will never be the same again.

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Batman doesn't kill. But should he? Frank MIller's portrayal of the Joker puts this question to the test after the Clown Prince of Crime begins a murder spree in already-collapsing Gotham. Also we see glimpses of Superman, who is forbidden from being talked about on the news. We see the old mutant gang decalre themselves to be the violent sons of Batman. New Commission Yindel makes no bones about this: Batman is a criminal and should be put in jail. The stakes keep going up up up! Oh yeah, there's also creepy flying doll bombs who have full personalities?

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The X-Men stories are getting so complicated it's tough to summarize correctly. But basically we've got: a quick fight against Dracula (no big), a demon who pulls Illyana into limbo for 6 or 7 years, Professor X remembering that he and Magneto were once allies and then shaking off a coma, and the beginning of a showdown against the increasingly horrifying (to the Milksops) Brood. Kevin is still a bit "meh" on how disorganized the stories are but Will sees that the characters' back stories are being improved and strengthened for the next era of X-Comics. Plus we get a great trivia game in our mailbag, questions about villains, and some corrections!

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Issue 2 of this seminal series is the only one that features a wholly original villain: the hyper-violent, extra-brutal leader of the Mutant Gang. Batman gets a new Robin: the extremely fun and optimistic Carrie Kelly. We also see the Bat-Tank version of the Batmobile, and get hints of a SUPER guest to come later in the story. This Kevin's favorite issue and Will's second-favorite. Can the Milksops survive such a disagreement (yes, it's no big deal).

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The Starjammers are back and things get confusing! It's something to do with a missing possibly kidnapped Princess Lilandra, and a coup among the Shi'ar, and also some villains called The Brood, and also Scott's dad is back (again), and Kitty hacks into computer and there's a living ship which is a brain-dead space-whale, and also.... we meet soon-to-be X-Man Rogue! In the mailbag, we get corrected for mis-remembering the source cartoon of Horny Wolf, and consider a Doom solo movie.

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The Milksops begin their in-depth look at THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, the 1986 Batman story by Frank Miller (and Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley) that changed the character and all of superhero comics forever. We get into: the violence, the density, the intelligence, the fun (yes, this bleak world has a lot of joy in it), the tons of captions, what it was like for Kevin to read this as a wee lad. We also get into the legacy, the influence, and the absolute enormous HIT this was at the time. Takes us about 25 minutes before we actually start discussing the issue and frankly I think we were rushing.

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Hilarious Correction Department: it's Emma FROST not Emma STONE. Anyway: A rival school for mutants drafts Kitty Pryde, and Storm switches bodies with Emma Frost. Plus a cute fairy tale that charmed Will and kinda was okay to Kevin, plus the Starjammers returns as Cyclops (again?) remembers the story of his father. In our mail, we are shamed for not mentioning the Daredevil cameo in "No Way Home" plus we have to pick the worst X-Men villains and Will just sys Galactus? Go to shortboxed.com/screwit to win a copy of a 2018 pressing of Dark Knight Returns #1 signed by Frank Miller and Klaus Jansen!

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