THE OLD ’UN YEARS

Four more times comics characters got aged-up

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

Surely the best known example of the ageing-superhero trope, Frank Miller’s 1986 comic sees a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne donning the Batsuit again after a decade of retirement.

DARE

Grant Morrison’s Thatcher-satirising 1990 resurrection of Dan Dare features a morally compromised version of the Eagle character. Now struggling to scrape by on his military pension, he agrees to act as a figurehead for the sinister Unity Party...

KINGDOM COME

In Mark Waid and Alex Ross’s 1996 miniseries, Superman reforms the Justice League after 10 years in self-imposed exile. Meanwhile, years of physical damage mean Batman has to rely on an exo-skeleton to keep crimefighting.

EARTH X

Set in a dystopian future where practically everyone on Earth has gained superpowers, this 1999-2000 Marvel series features Spider-Man in a fancy-dress costume, a greybearded Mr Fantastic, and a fat, balding slob version of Wolverine!