Broken Frontier

He is the Demon’s Head, the Immortal. For over 600 years, he has walked the Earth, amassing a legion of fanatical followers and seeking utopia in the ashes of civilization. More than even the Joker, he is perhaps the Batman’s most dangerous enemy. He is Ra’s al Ghul. And once again, he has risen. But just who is this shadowy figure?

The saga of the Demon began in Batman #232 (1971) by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams. When his partner Robin is captured by an unknown foe, Batman is forced to team with the mysterious Ra’s al Ghul, whose daughter Talia has been seemingly taken by the same kidnappers. As they journey from Gotham City to Calcutta to the Himalayas, it becomes clear that the true enemy is Ra’s himself. The kidnapping is in fact an elaborate test to determine if Batman is a worthy successor to al Ghul’s empire and a suitable mate for his daughter.

From the start, it was clear that Ra’s was no ordinary villain. Rather than a gimmicky costumed crook, the Demon had more in common with Fu Manchu or the criminal masterminds of pulp novels and James Bond films. An exotic face and name and a sinister poise set him apart from the standard Batman baddie, as did the globe-trotting international flavor of the story. But perhaps most shockingly for the time, Ra’s was the first major foe to figure out the Batman’s true identity—before even appearing on the page!

Fans would soon learn more about this terrifying mystery man. Ra’s was revealed as leader of the cult-like League of Assassins (Detective Comics #411, 1971), of which the loyal Ubu was his fiercest defender. Ra’s had been unnaturally preserved in the alchemical Lazarus Pits (Batman #243, 1971). But most chilling was his motivation. In his own twisted way, Ra’s al Ghul loves this planet and will stop at nothing to restore it to ecological balance, even if he must slaughter most of the human race to achieve this.

O’Neil, Adams, and others continued to push the envelope with each subsequent story. Bruce Wayne and Talia were temporarily married in a ceremony presided over by Ra’s himself (Batman Spectacular, 1978). A war between Ra’s and former agent, The Sensei, resulted in the murder of Batwoman, Kathy Kane (Detective Comics #485, 1979, though the character "got better" in DC's recent weekly comic, 52 ). Fans were never certain what to expect from each new tale of the Demon.

Ra’s al Ghul’s last significant appearance before the universe-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths came in the seminal Batman #400 (1986) in which he released an army of the Dark Knight’s greatest foes. This tale ended with Ra’s’ apparent death in a Lazarus Pit. But as ever, death would prove no obstacle to the Demon’s Head.

1987 marked the release of the graphic novel Son of the Demon by Mike W. Barr and Jerry Bingham. To defeat the assassin Qayin, Batman grudgingly joined forces with Ra’s al Ghul. In the time that followed, he found himself growing ever closer to Talia. The two began living once more as lovers and eventually conceived a son, though the child was given up for adoption before Batman knew of its existence.

Aspects of Son do not jive with O’Neil’s version of Ra’s’ history and thus, the book is considered non-canonical. This did not stop it from influencing later stories however and the child of Batman and Talia would be seen again.

Ra’s’ creator, Dennis O’Neil, returned to the character to finally reveal his origin in 1992’s Birth of the Demon. Here, Ra’s was a healer in North Africa some six centuries ago with a beloved wife named Sora. His discovery of the Lazarus Pits would result in the rebirth of a sultan’s son, though in a fit of madness, the prince murdered Sora. Blamed for the crime, Ra’s was sentenced to death. He would eventually escape and rally his uncle’s desert-dwelling tribe to raze the city to the ground. Burning away all that he had once been, the healer became the ruthless Demon’s Head and began his centuries-long quest to cleanse the world.

With Birth, the mystery of Ra’s al Ghul stood revealed. But his greatest crimes were still to come.

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Be back tomorrow when Broken Frontier’s look at the life of Ra’s al Ghul continues.