If anyone has read the classic 1980s Dark Knight Returns graphic novel you'll know the premise is Batman has gone, he no longer cares about fighting crime. He does return to Gotham but is much more cynical. The passage of time has eroded his hope, his love for humanity. Had The Dark Knight Returns started out with Batman all happy and positive it wouldn't have made the graphic novel as powerful. It's the very fact Batman has changed that makes The Dark Knight an iconic chapter in Batman's comic book history. Luke is the same. Why does he have to be the same upbeat Luke? People change, the passage of time and events changes them.

Orphaned - after his parents were slain before his very eyes! - Bruce Wayne was an upbeat, fun loving, non-cynical, believer in the good in people character pre The Dark Knight Returns? 🤔

@fan_of_films said:

If anyone has read the classic 1980s Dark Knight Returns graphic novel you'll know the premise is Batman has gone, he no longer cares about fighting crime. He does return to Gotham but is much more cynical. The passage of time has eroded his hope, his love for humanity. Had The Dark Knight Returns started out with Batman all happy and positive it wouldn't have made the graphic novel as powerful. It's the very fact Batman has changed that makes The Dark Knight an iconic chapter in Batman's comic book history. Luke is the same. Why does he have to be the same upbeat Luke? People change, the passage of time and events changes them.

This is an invalid comparision. Batman's fundamental character profile did not change, unlike Luke's.

Batman left the job because he got to old for it and because of traumatic events, but he desperately wanted to return being Batman to the point of becoming suicidal.

Luke? After being depicted as the most idealistic self-sacrificing redeemer of the galaxy and of his criminal father, he suddenly becomes a slay-pupils-in-their-sleep teacher, who then does no even care to clean house but lets the Empire rise again, refuses to help and pouts on an unfindable island, and wants the Jedi to end (despite him "returning" the same in the OT).

Interesting that, but such change must be plauibly shown and explained, which did not happen in the rehash of TFA or TLJ. Bad writing, pure and simple.

@Jedan Archer said:

Batman left the job because he got to old for it and because of traumatic events, but he desperately wanted to return being Batman to the point of becoming suicidal.

Discovering that your nephew and biggest hope for restoring the Jedi is tempted by the dark side, making a big mistake, that you instantly regret, even though everyone tells you all the time that you are the greatest and bestest dude in the Galaxy. Because of that losing him to the Dark Side completely and getting most of your other students killed and the rest join the Dark Side as well.

Does that not count as a traumatic event? It's true that he doesn't want to be the great Jedi Master anymore, but that was not the point of the comparison. The point was, that a broken and disillusioned hero is more interesting than a perfect White Knight in shining armor.

I also find it odd that it is so hard to believe that he considerd to kill Ben just for a split second. Mind you he never intended to go through with the plan and was shocked at his own thoight.

Luke wasn't perfect in the OT. He failed to resist the Dark Side multiple times, disregard most of the advice from Kenobi and Yoda and almost killed his father in blind rage, only stopping himself at the last second. And he didn't even finish his Jedi Training.

It's kind of funny that Luke's reasoning why the Jedi have to die is that they were arrogant, were considered infallible and were thinking too much in black and white. That's basically what some fans are doing with Luke as a character right now.