Batman (TV series) crime-lab at the Batcave, rushing to the villain's secret hideout, falling into the pre-arranged trap. By relying heavily on a formula, it became easy to spoof various elements of that formula. The typical story begins with a villain's caper (such as stealing a fabulous treasure, kidnapping a prominent person, or attempting to take over Gotham City). In his office, Commissioner Gordon, along with Chief O'Hara, learn of the crime and the culprit. Helpless to stop the villain, they contact Batman via the Batphone – a bright red telephone that provides a direct phone link to Batman (be it at Wayne
Superhero fiction vigilante, necessarily at odds with official social authority figures, illustrated both by the relationship between Batman and retiring police commissioner James Gordon, and by the symbolic slugfest between the Dark Knight and Superman, now an agent/secret weapon of the Federal government of the United States. Miller continued his treatment of the Batman character with 1987's "" (Batman issues #404-407) and 2001's "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" (also known as "DK2"). "DK2," the long-awaited follow-up to "The Dark Knight Returns," contrasts the traditional superhero-crimefighter character with the politicized characters that evolved during the 1990s; this was, perhaps, epitomized by "The Authority"