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133-805: Most notable as the leader of the League of Assassins , Ra's al Ghul's name in Arabic translates to "Head of the Demon ". He is the son of Sensei ; the father of Talia al Ghul , Nyssa Raatko and Dusan al Ghul; and the maternal grandfather of Damian Wayne . Stories featuring Ra's al Ghul often involve the Lazarus Pits, which restore life to the dying. The Lazarus Pits have considerably prolonged Ra's' life, making him particularly dangerous as he has honed his combat skills for centuries. Though primarily an enemy of Batman, Ra's has also come into conflict with Superman and other heroes in

266-577: A graphic novel by Tundra Press to little controversy. Milligan and artist Duncan Fegredo created Enigma for Disney Comics ' planned Touchmark imprint. When the Touchmark line was cancelled, the project moved to DC's newly launched Vertigo line in 1993. Milligan quickly followed this up with The Extremist with artist Ted McKeever . Both titles dealt with taboo subjects for a mainstream publisher, but were applauded for their handling of these subjects. Milligan and artist Mike Deodato launched

399-573: A "Fountain of Essence", which contains the qualities of a Lazarus Pit, Batman is confronted with the sight of the Sensei , who is revealed to be Ra's' father. After defeating Ra's, Sensei fights and impales Batman with a cane. Determined to win, Batman drags the Sensei into the Fountain, where he is killed for not being a pure soul. Ra's, meanwhile, has taken over the body of a Nanda Parbat monk and departs. Healed by

532-557: A "champion" to enter the League of Lazarus tournament and bond with the Lazarus Demon. Connor accepted the offer, intending to stop their plan to awaken the demon. The Shadows sent Hawke as their champion of the League of Lazarus tournament and monitored him vigilantly. Other members of the League of Assassins include: In Superman & Batman: Generations , Batman 'inherits' control of the League of Assassins after Bruce Wayne tracks down

665-530: A Lazarus Pit by Shiva, in order that the two could face each other in a final battle. Batgirl won leaving Shiva on a meat hook suspended over the Lazarus Pit. Although most of its members had died or defected, the League survived the " Infinite Crisis ", and was seen to play an important role in the Society 's worldwide prison break. Throughout the period of aftermath it remained under the control of Nyssa, until she

798-429: A block of ice, thanks to some grenades made with technology he stole from Mr. Freeze. Next, Cheshire appears next to him thanks to her teleportation abilities and steals the hat off of his head. However, he spots the teleportation device implanted in her wrist and uses an electrical shock to short it out. That causes the device to malfunction and she disappears completely. During the fight, Red Hood states that he would lead

931-460: A broken system—a system that can only be fixed by taking the next step, and culling the weak and wicked from the world. He and the others have chosen Jason to be their leader in taking the action that the world's super-heroes have been too afraid to take. Red Hood admits that he abandoned his friends because he did not want to be a killer. In response, Bronze Tiger begs the opportunity to show Red Hood how to do real lasting good. The assassins give Jason

1064-463: A child, since Cain's methods had driven him murderously insane, and Ra's had ordered the child be killed. Nyssa, however, knew that the servant ordered to carry out this execution had instead released him into the wild, explaining how it was possible to recruit him. The Mad Dog was successful in killing Batgirl (who gave her life to protect the burqa -clad assassin Tigris). She was quickly restored to life in

1197-509: A close personal friend of Batman's post-crisis). Eventually Turner's earlier training at the hands of O-Sensei (not to be confused with the leader of the League) proved too strong for the League to fully break, and when he refused to kill Batman he was forced to flee the League. Not long afterwards, the insane Sensei—no longer motivated by anything but a desire to raise assassination to an art—attempted to cause an artificial earthquake in order to kill

1330-530: A deadly virus by sending him contaminated fabrics. He then ambushes the Sultan when he leads soldiers to the tribe, murders him and his son, and proceeds to massacre the inhabitants of the city before razing it to the ground. Subsequently, Ra's declares himself "Ra's al Ghul", the "Demon's Head". Batman: Birth of the Demon provides a rough figure of 500 years for Ra's al Ghul's age. Due to living so long and being so old, he

1463-403: A debt for easing his mother's suffering during her last few hours. Ra's and the son head into the desert to seek the tribe of Ra's' birth. Ra's convinces the head of his tribe, his uncle, to follow Ra's in his quest for revenge by promising the downfall of the oppressive Sultan. By understanding the germ theory of disease hundreds of years before anyone else, Ra's is able to infect the prince with

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1596-599: A dominant phenotype of fair complexion, Ra's has also been able to opportunistically be involved in Western world global exploits such as the Age of Exploration ( Year One: Batman/Ra's al Ghul #2 (2005) by Devin K. Grayson and Paul Gulacy ) and the Third Reich ( Batman: Death and the Maidens #5 (2004) by Greg Rucka and Klaus Janson ). Ra's al Ghul's adoptive use of Arabic monikers and

1729-529: A gift after their fight. Ra's refuses to believe his enemy's passing despite the evidence, leading him to be involved in the Red Robin's (Tim Drake) quest concerning the fate of the original Dark Knight. After Drake finds proof that Wayne is still alive but lost in time after his battle with Darkseid, the former Boy Wonder cripples Ra's' organization, the League of Assassins , from within. In response, Ra's returns to Gotham to begin his attack to destroy every legacy of

1862-426: A little bit. How does he become unique? So I sort of went down the list of things that I could do that didn't offend my sensibilities as an artist and as a person that lived in the world. How do you make a person unique? And then I realized there are people that look unique, that present their personality with their physiognomy - like Jack Palance , for example. Jack Palance is incredible to look at." Raʼs al Ghul

1995-462: A master of many forms of combat, notably fencing. He also builds up vast wealth and creates The Demon , a huge international organization. According to Justice League of America (1st series) #94: It has been whispered in the darkest places for 500 years that a cartel of criminals has slowly sucked its way into the rich veins of the Earth. Many are its names spit from the mouths of men, but most often it

2128-479: A member of the League, and eyewitness testimony from former League member Onyx indicates that she kept in contact with the League, although she apparently did not see her daughter. Although most of her appearances over the years show her working independently, she apparently had some degree of League membership, and was called upon by Ra's to "rescue" Talia during the Hush storyline. In keeping with Ra's and Cain's plans,

2261-483: A number of diplomats gathered for peace talks. Batman traced Ben Turner to a hospital, foiling a League attempt to assassinate the man. Turner could not fully remember the actions of his alternate personality (although years later, as a member of the Suicide Squad , he would reveal that the League had used him to kill a number of people), but he was able to aid Batman in uncovering the Sensei's latest plot. Although Batman

2394-403: A person resulted in hopelessly psychotic children, Cain decided that he needed a genetically suited child and began searching for a possible mother. To this end he assassinated Carolyn Woosan/Wu-San, one of two astonishingly talented martial artist sisters he had seen fighting in an exhibition. Carolyn's sister, Sandra, swore revenge and tracked Cain down, only to be subdued by the combined might of

2527-600: A plot where he tries to separate Batman from his heir, Dick Grayson , shortly before Wayne officially adopts his former ward as his son. The plan fails, and Wayne and Grayson proceed with the adoption. Ra's is also featured in Birds of Prey #31–35, where he has a romantic fling with the Black Canary . The superheroine is injured and healed in the Lazarus Pit, which also restores the Canary Cry she lost years earlier. In Death and

2660-475: A six-issue run in 1990–1991, and became the regular writer of Batman in Detective Comics in the same year. During an editorial meeting, Milligan presented the idea that led to the creation of Azrael , who became Batman during the " Knightfall " crossover. Skin (art by Brendan McCarthy) was the story of a young thalidomide skinhead in 1970s London, and his attempts to deal with his disability and

2793-590: A skyscraper window and retreats from the battle. Later, in seclusion, Ra's reveals everything which happened was a test for Tim Drake, from the league, the council, the Men of Death, and the plot against Bruce Wayne. Learning of Bruce Wayne's return, Ra's muses that his next confrontation with the detective will be particularly interesting as he believes that Batman has at last had a taste of the immortality that Ra's himself enjoys. He goes after Vicki Vale and almost kills her. He spares her life only after she refuses to publish

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2926-533: A swarm of Man-Bats warning that the League of Assassins is death incarnate. When the Untitled have been cast back into the Well of Sins by the League of Assassins, Drakar plans to take Red Hood with him only for Bronze Tiger to snap Drakar's neck. Following Drakar's death, Red Hood admits that killing Drakar was necessary—a key realization for a member of the League of Assassins. Lady Shiva comments that tonight, they will see all

3059-544: A tour of the Death Market, where tools of death and murder can be bought, to fill any need provided that the need in question is killing a lot of people. After reuniting with December Graystone, Cheshire, Lady Shiva, and Rictus, Bronze Tiger calls a meeting of the council to which Red Hood is invited. Meanwhile, they are concerned about the security of the city, given the coming war. Rictus assures them that it would take approximately four hundred terawatts of power to break through

3192-466: A variety of cleverly concealed weapons and poisons. Although the League apparently had an inner circle of elite fighters as well as a large number of warriors trained in the martial arts, the League during Darrk's tenure as leader reflected his personal methodology. Following a "falling out" with Ra's (the exact details of which were never made clear) Darrk kidnapped Ra's daughter, Talia al Ghul . Batman became involved in this matter while attempting to bring

3325-513: A villain and he's equal to Batman." - Neal Adams, via SYFY WIRE Batman at 80: How To Craft The Perfect Batman Villain In the 21st century, Ra's has explicitly been established as being of Chinese (though this may no longer be canon) and Arab ancestry. In the 2007-2008 story The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul , his father was revealed to be the DC Comics character the Sensei, a warrior and combat instructor who

3458-467: A voice from within that explains that his destiny is coming to fruition, and shows him how to make the mystical All-Blades manifest in his hands. Though he does not remember what all this means, he hopes it will help, as the Untitled arrive in the sacred city. Outside the sacred city of 'Eth Alth'eban, December Graystone discovers someone he was not expecting to see waiting outside and curses himself for not realizing that this person had something to do with

3591-569: A way to eliminate the Clench virus from an ancient "Wheel of Plagues" artifact whose knowledge has aided Ra's in the creation of the disease. The long-lived madman eludes justice again. In the " Tower of Babel " storyline, in JLA #43–46, Ra's discovers Batman's contingency plans for stopping the other members of the Justice League of America , should they turn or be turned evil, and uses them to try to destroy

3724-574: A whim, merely by making physical contact with his intended host. In the New 52 , Ra's temporarily gains vast magical powers after bathing in the Well of Sins, the first Lazarus Pit. The following are members of Ra's al Ghul's family: Created by Neal Adams in 1968, the Sensei was originally introduced as a high-ranking member of the League of Assassins . He was portrayed as an aged but highly skilled martial artist. During The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul , he

3857-594: Is a member of the League of Assassins. The Sensei is a Chinese man originally from the Hong Kong region. However, Ra's' relation to the Sensei may no longer be canon due to the reveal of his father being a part of the Pre-Flashpoint/Post-Crisis DC continuity that ended in 2011. In 2021, DC introduced Ra's' mother Rúh al Ghul, an Arab woman. Ra's and the rest of the al Ghul's Arabic heritage and connection to Arabic culture has been given greater emphasis since

3990-427: Is a schism of the League of Assassins created to counter Batman's "Batman Incorporated". Batman and Aquaman head to an island where the League of Assassins are, after Ra's al Ghul had the bodies of Damian Wayne and Talia al Ghul exhumed. Batman and Aquaman storm the beach, breaking through the island's defences of Man-Bats, only to find that the source of the whales' screaming was on the island. Ra's al Ghul had ordered

4123-414: Is all part of his greater plan to ensure that his daughters will realize that he is correct in his perceptions about the world and what needs to be done to it, and that they would come to accept their destinies as his heirs. Ra's' plan works: both Nyssa and Talia become the heads of The Demon and the League of Assassins. Talia disavows her love for Bruce Wayne, and both sisters declare Batman their enemy. It

Ra's al Ghul - Misplaced Pages Continue

4256-416: Is an international criminal mastermind whose ultimate goal is a world in perfect environmental balance. He believes that the best way to achieve this balance is to eliminate most of humanity . Ra's usually tries to assault the world's human populace with a biological weapon, such as a genetically-engineered virus. He is aided in this quest by the Lazarus Pits, reservoirs of rejuvenating chemicals that restore

4389-467: Is assumed to have lost track of how old he is. Azrael #6 (July 1995; written by Dennis O'Neil ) places Ra's age closer to 450 years. As he tells Jean Paul Valley , "I appear to be a vigorous fifty. I am actually a very vigorous four hundred and forty-eight...or is it four hundred and fifty-three? I lost count during the Black Plague . No matter". In Batman Annual #25 (published in 2006), Ra's al Ghul

4522-563: Is attributed to his known paternal heritage whilst his ambitions for world conquest is often compared and traced to the likes of Alexander the Great ; an influence too shared by other family members such as Sensei ( Batman #671 (2007) by Grant Morrison and Tony S. Daniel ), Talia al Ghul, and Damian Wayne ( Batman and Robin (vol. 2) #0 (2012) by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason ) (the name "Damian" being derivative of "damianos", Greek for "to tame"). Most commonly depicted in source material with

4655-436: Is believed he really is the prisoner "Terry Gene Kase", a criminal with multiple personality disorder who has just been transferred to Arkham to finish out multiple life sentences. Along with attaching false information and a false identity to Ra's al Ghul's file, Batman attaches a false prescription of potent medication that ensures slurred speech and next to zero mobility. Despite these precautions, Ra's eventually escapes when

4788-464: Is blood of Damian's blood and the boy is in good hands. He orders the plane to tilt its angle, causing the wind shear to rip Batman from his purchase and drop down into the sea, where he is caught by Aquaman. Batman and Ra's then encounter Glorious Godfrey . Glorious Godfrey's reason to come to Earth is to retrieve the Chaos Shard, a powerful crystal once belonged to Darkseid which Ra's al Ghul revealed

4921-588: Is cursed only as. The Demon. It has a leader. A Head. The League of Assassins , one of the many smaller organizations making up The Demon, is thus sometimes called "The Demon's Fang" or "Demonfang". In his earlier appearances, Ra's al Ghul's ethnic origins were subject to change depending on the depiction and writer. He is said to have East Asian ancestry in accordance to Birth of the Demon and Byzantine/Eastern Roman as addressed by Talia al Ghul in Batman Annual #26. The significance of al Ghul's Eurasian profile

5054-469: Is depicted as a collective of assassins who work for Ra's al Ghul , an enemy of the superhero Batman . The group appeared in Strange Adventures #215 (December 1968), but did not become officially known as the League of Assassins until Detective Comics #405 (November 1970). The League of Assassins has been adapted into other media several times, predominantly in animated Batman productions,

5187-564: Is described as a "700-Year Old International Terrorist". The 700 year plus mark is used again in Batman and Robin (vol. 2) #23.3 (2013), followed by Issue #30 of the same series where over a 1000-year time span is also described in Ra's' pursuit of Themyscira . Using the Lazarus Pits to extend his life, Ra's spends the next several centuries journeying the world. He fights in the French Revolution and

5320-555: Is free of his chains almost instantly. His training with Lady Shiva sees him making short work of the League's Man-Bats. He uses that same training to best Lady Shiva herself, only to be attacked by Bronze Tiger next. In the meantime though, Cheshire (whose loyalty to the League of Assassin's returned master is waning) attempts to rescue Roy and Kori. Before long, the pair are free to aid Red Hood in his fight. Smirking, he welcomes them back, apologizing for his having deceived them. They are confused, unaware that his decision to erase his memory

5453-420: Is nearly surprised to see Batman pounding on the cockpit's windshield. From outside, Batman screams for Ra's al Ghul to give back his son, but Ra's al Ghul responds that he is blood of Damian's blood and the boy is in good hands. He orders the plane to tilt its angle, causing the wind shear to rip Batman from his purchase and drop down into the sea. Luckily, Aquaman is there to catch him. Arthur explains that all of

Ra's al Ghul - Misplaced Pages Continue

5586-490: Is revealed to be Ra's al Ghul's centuries-old father and subsequently killed. Created by Joshua Williamson and Gleb Melnikov in 2021, Mother Soul is the mysterious head of the "League of Lazarus". In Robin (vol. 3) #7, she is revealed to be Ruh al Ghul (Soul of the Demon), Ra's al Ghul's mother. Created by Greg Rucka and Klaus Janson in 2003, Nyssa Raatko ( Arabic : نيسا رعتكو ) is Ra's al Ghul's oldest known daughter. She

5719-507: Is too late for Ra's, as Nyssa stabs her father through the heart, seemingly killing him for good. To ensure Ra's will not return, Batman oversees his nemesis' cremation . In Batman Annual #26, Talia is prompted to read the history of Ra's al Ghul to her son Damian by a mysterious figure from Ra's' past: the White Ghost. Unbeknownst to her, the White Ghost plans to use Damian as a vessel for Ra's' return. However, mother and son escape before

5852-621: Is used as a scare tactic in Ra's' history promoting both his influence, and reign of terror throughout the Greater Middle East—his first eradication of a sultanate as described in Birth of the Demon , the same actions insinuated to have been repeated in Batman and Robin (vol. 2) #23.3, and direct depiction in Death and the Maidens #4. Aligning with Ra's al Ghul's character overview as an international environmental terrorist, in conjunction with

5985-521: The Elektra series for Marvel Comics in November 1996. Milligan spent the remainder of the decade writing one-off specials such as Face and The Eaters , or miniseries like Egypt and Tank Girl The Odyssey (with its co-creator Jamie Hewlett providing art), as well as acting as advisory editor to Paul Honeyford 's Fighting Figurines . Milligan and Brendan McCarthy's psychedelic comic Rogan Gosh

6118-473: The Joker , sanity). His constant exposure to the pits has granted him slightly enhanced endurance, strength, and healing but also comes with the price of a gradual onset of insanity if overused. Along with his physical abilities and resources, Ra's al Ghul has been shown to possess a certain degree of proficiency with mysticism. In an effort to guarantee his continued existence, he has on several occasions demonstrated

6251-468: The Napoleonic Wars and becomes a formidable warrior. As the world entered the modern age and industrialization began to cover much of the Earth, Ra's grew to despise the humans who he believed were destroying the world's natural beauty, thus setting him on a path of eco-terrorism. Also during this time, Ra's, his uncle, and Huwe, the son who freed Ra's from the Sultan's initial execution are all using

6384-601: The X-Men family of titles. Milligan and artist Mike Allred took over X-Force with issue No. 116 (July 2001), and immediately replaced the book's Rob Liefeld -styled team with a more satirical one: the Orphan , the Anarchist , U-Go Girl , Phat , Vivisector , Venus Dee Milo , Dead Girl and Doop . X-Force was cancelled with issue No. 129 (August 2002), and replaced by a new title, X-Statix , with Milligan and Allred continuing as

6517-639: The graphic novel Batman: Birth of the Demon (1992) by Dennis O'Neil and Norm Breyfogle . This origin story is later revisited and amended in Batman Annual #26 (2007) by Peter Milligan and David López as part of the Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul story arc. Most recent retelling origin story, Batman and Robin (vol. 2) #23.3 (2013) by James Tynion IV and Jeremy Haun , references these prior iterations of al Ghul's origin while keeping common details that lead towards Ra's' adoption of

6650-514: The Changing Man for DC Comics . This proved his most successful American comic, and came at the end of the first wave of the " British Invasion ". With issue No. 33 (March 1993), it became part of the Vertigo imprint. It was cancelled with issue No. 70 (April 1996). A one-off story marking Vertigo's tenth anniversary was published in 2003. Milligan succeeded Grant Morrison on Animal Man for

6783-852: The DC Universe. Ra's al Ghul has been featured in various media adaptations. The character was portrayed by David Warner in the DC Animated Universe , Liam Neeson in the Dark Knight trilogy , Jason Isaacs in Batman: Under the Red Hood , Dee Bradley Baker in the Batman: Arkham video game series, Matt Nable in the Arrowverse television series, and Alexander Siddig in Gotham . IGN 's list of

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6916-488: The DC universe. The League of Assassins reside in the sacred city of 'Eth Alth'eban. Lady Shiva, Rictus, Cheshire, December Graystone, and Bronze Tiger target Red Hood. They end up capturing Jason Todd and bring him to 'Eth Alth'eban so that he can help lead the League of Assassins. Red Hood has been led to 'Eth Alth'eban, where the League of Assassins resides. Bronze Tiger explains that costumed heroes have been fighting to maintain

7049-625: The Dark Knight believes that his legacy will be as eternal as Ra's, rather than tear him down in such a manner. During DC Rebirth , Ra's al Ghul is featured in Detective Comics issues #953-956 as part of the "League of Shadows" story arc, which runs from issue #951-956 (April–July 2017). Ra's al Ghul appears in Dark Nights: Metal issue #2 as a member of the Immortals, a group formed by

7182-459: The Fountain, Batman emerges and yells for Ra's. Ra's attempts to make amends with Batman after his resurrection, but Batman responds by crushing his decaying fingers. Ra's accepts this latest rebuke and, with the help of his men, overpowers Batman and captures Damian, who has arrived to try to help his father. Ra's attempts to take over Damian, but Batman breaks free just as Robin , Talia, Alfred Pennyworth , and Nightwing arrive to save him. While

7315-458: The Heretics are alive, having been taken down by a whale to Atlantis for safe keeping. In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called DC Rebirth , which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". The League of Assassins and League of Shadows are two separate organizations. The League of Assassins consists of Ra's Al Ghul's standard followers, while

7448-405: The Heretics to keep him entertained. Batman fights his way to Ra's escape aircraft. He sees Talia and Damian's bodies stored within it, and clings to the fuselage from outside as the plane takes off. Though Ra's plans to go to Paradise Island, he is nearly surprised to see Batman pounding on the cockpit's windshield. From outside, Batman screams for Ra's to give back his son, but Ra's responds that he

7581-422: The Heretics were born of a whale's womb, Arthur might be able to telepathically link up with them. He leads them out into the ocean, where an unharmed whale breaches, and swallows them whole. Batman, meanwhile, fights his way to Ra's escape aircraft. He sees Talia and Damian's bodies stored within it, and clings to the fuselage from outside as the plane takes off. Though Ra's al Ghul plans to go to Paradise Island, he

7714-535: The Lazarus Pits to prolong their lives until an incident in London . Ra's catches Huwe writing his own memoirs in their original Chinese language , despite Ra's having forbidden him to reveal the secret of their immortality. During a battle, Ra's kills Huwe and flees to a Lazarus Pit, which he uses. When he returns to their home in London, his uncle has vanished with the remnants of their historical records. Over time, he becomes

7847-524: The League attempted to train Cassandra Cain from birth to be the ultimate assassin, unknowingly giving her the skills she would use as the hero Batgirl . After the death of Ra's al Ghul, his first-born daughter Nyssa Raatko formed a new League. Lady Shiva was recruited to serve as the sensei to this incarnation of the League, with the intent that Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) would lead the warriors themselves. Reflecting Shiva's emphasis for martial arts,

7980-401: The League of Assassins are located, after Ra's has the bodies of Damian Wayne and Talia exhumed. Ra's had ordered the hunt of whales , creating genetically altered super-humans in the wombs of sperm whales , part of a plan to rebuild the League of Assassins. Inside the compound, they find that Ra's is wiping the hard drives clean, preventing data recovery. As his parting gift, he has left Batman

8113-475: The League of Assassins follow a strict regimen, carrying distinct black emblems and supplies up to their mountain lairs. These new recruits are called Ghuls , because they emerge after proclaiming their final prayers in their own prefabricated graves before initiating in various, assigned operations. Unlike the ancient Order of the Assassins, whose main objective was to halt sectarian conflicts and wars within

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8246-436: The League of Assassins in exchange that Arsenal and Starfire are unharmed. Starfire reminds Jason that she would rather die than be put in chains again. She warns him that with the last Lazarus Pit uncovered, it can strip away the Untitled's powers, which is why they have come to destroy it. They must not succeed. As she and Arsenal are escorted away, she warns Jason not to die today. As he prepares himself, Red Hood begins to hear

8379-429: The League of Shadows is the more mysterious of the two and is often considered a myth, but are said to have people everywhere and to have a plan to "bring the entire nation to the ground". At a later point in time, Connor Hawke , the estranged son of Green Arrow, washed up on the shores of an unknown island, where he was rescued by the League of Shadows. They offered him an invitation to join their ranks, as they needed

8512-409: The League to justice for a number of recent killings. Although he had connected the League to several assassinations over the years, all previous attempts to investigate had met dead-ends. Batman rescued Talia (the first time the two would meet, laying the foundation for all their future interaction) and Darrk died while trying to kill them. Under the direction of the organization's second known leader,

8645-542: The League. Both intoxicated and frightened by the levels of skill she was attaining now that she was no longer holding back for her sister's sake, Sandra agreed to be the mother of Cain's child. In return, the League spared Sandra's life, and assisted her in further training. By the time Sandra gave birth she had surpassed the entire League in skill. She left immediately following the birth of her daughter, Cassandra Cain , rechristening herself Lady Shiva . Other stories would suggest that at some points afterwards Shiva worked as

8778-428: The Maidens (2004), Ra's' other daughter, Nyssa Raatko , furious at her father for abandoning her in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II , begins plotting to destroy him, prompting Ra's to contact Batman to make a deal for access to a Lazarus Pit to give him the strength for a final confrontation with Nyssa; in exchange for the location of a Pit, Ra's provides Batman with a serum that will allow him to walk in

8911-468: The Sensei, who recently reappeared in the "Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul" storyline. " One Year Later ", Talia al Ghul forced Kirk Langstrom to give her the Man-Bat formula which she used to turn some of its members into Man-Bats. Currently, the League of Assassins and its Man-Bat Commandos are used by Talia as her personal army and bodyguards, carrying her orders and taking retribution over her enemies. In

9044-463: The Sensei. Talia, who would naturally assume control of her father's empire by default following Nyssa's death, has recently been seen in the Batman and Son storyline, leading ninja members of the League of Assassins, against Batman. At the same time, several members felt neither Talia nor Cassandra were up to the role, and, after failing to recruit Black Canary's adopted daughter Sin, gave the leadership to

9177-547: The Steve Ditko-inspired " Bix Barton ". This was first run as a black and white strip for its first outing, "Barton's Beasts"; the second strip was called "Carry On Barton" (originally "Carry On Snuffing"). The strip was very popular and was a precursor of "Devlin Waugh" and others. In 1989 he had his first work published by DC Comics . Skreemer was a six-issue mini-series (May 1989 – October 1989) drawn by Brett Ewins that

9310-451: The Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time List ranked Ra's as No. 7. Created by editor Julius Schwartz , writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams , he was introduced in Batman #232's "Daughter of the Demon" (June 1971). Adams discussed how he designed the character in a 2007 Wizard interview "First of all, Denny O'Neil started as a journalist, and so his experience with costume characters

9443-735: The Wayne Family. While his men target everyone close to the Waynes, Ra's makes a pact with Hush as part of his plans. Unknown to both men, Lucius Fox has already given Tim power of attorney leaving him in control of the Wayne Family resources. Enraged, Ra's then engages Tim Drake in combat, which ends with Tim mocking Ra's by saying that there's nothing he can do to harm the Bat Family anymore; in response, Ra's smiles and says "Well done. Detective" (a name he has only ever reserved for Batman, Nightwing and Red Hood once before). He then proceeds to kick him out of

9576-399: The Well of Sins after an encounter with Jason Todd . When he emerges, Ra's is consumed by the evil that corrupted the Untitled centuries before, and he feels compelled to rid himself of the machinations of his daughter and Ducra by killing Jason. At Ra's' command, the prisoners are brought to him, and he promises to use his newfound power to destroy them. Red Hood engages Ra's, as Essence joins

9709-485: The Well of Sins. Jason stands in his way, demanding to know who this man is. The man responds that he is the one who gave the Untitled the location of the Acres of All knowing that they would kill Ducra and return to this place. He knew they would fall here, and imbue the Well of Sins with a greater power than he had ever tasted—a power that he would now take for himself, having planned this moment for three centuries. Emerging from

9842-400: The ability to transfer his soul into the bodies of others, giving him a way to live on in the event that his physical body is destroyed and unable to be transported into a Lazarus Pit. The exact details of this process have remained inconsistent; at times it appears as though a complicated ritual is required to achieve this effect, while on other occasions he is capable of performing this feat on

9975-424: The battle currently underway in the subterranean city. Red Hood is currently leading the League of Assassins in a charge against the evil Untitled, who had the gall to use Jason's friend Arsenal against him to get into the city. Jason is confused when his swords tell him that by taking bronze shards from the great fountain at the centre of the city, they will be able to drive off the Untitled, but he hopefully passes on

10108-450: The battle ensues at Nanda Parbat, the White Ghost takes Ra's to a secluded place, where he appears to accept the fact that his death is inevitable. The White Ghost is revealed as Ra's' estranged albino son Dusan, and offers up his own body instead. Ra's performs the transfer of souls, but the White Ghost apparently dies soon afterward. Ra's resumes the battle and attempts to kill Batman, but the monks at Nanda Parbat stop him and banish him from

10241-451: The battle. She insists that he will allow Jason and his friends to leave his realm, or he will be forced to die a mortal death just as he always feared he would. Despite having destroyed the All-Caste, Ra's al Ghul's actions have led to their eventual rebirth. Defeated, he swears that he will visit great agony upon Red Hood if he ever sees him again. Batman and Aquaman head to an island, where

10374-674: The brazen move to Gotham and a subsequent ninja attack on Batman, which indirectly leads to the discovery of a map of all the known Lazarus Pit locations across the globe. Batman then infiltrates Ra's al Ghul's new Gotham penthouse headquarters and easily defeats his horde of ninjas and Ra's himself. To ensure Ra's is not a constant threat within Gotham City, Batman comes up with the false identity of " Terry Gene Kase ", and plants it along with credible photos, medical records, and police records for both Blackgate Penitentiary and Arkham Asylum . Batman takes an unconscious Ra's directly to Arkham where it

10507-443: The character's background being subject to different renditions from multiple writers; co-creator of the character, Neal Adams, has stated that the character has no specific regional/ethnic representation of any kind, necessarily. "...we created an equal to Batman, and that's what Ra's al Ghul is all about. He's not necessarily Arabic. He's not necessarily Eastern. He's not necessarily Western. He's not necessarily anything! He's just

10640-533: The city's walls. At their meeting, Red Hood wonders what it is about him that makes them think he can lead them to victory against the Untitled. Bronze Tiger admits amid jeers from his companions that he was told by Talia al Ghul that Red Hood would be the only one who could stop the Untitled if they ever attacked. This comes as a surprise to Red Hood, given that he cannot even remember what the Untitled look like. Bronze Tiger reminds that if Jason wants to do good with his life, he cannot do much better than to fight against

10773-499: The conflict between their loyalty to Shiva and Nyssa and their near-worship of Batgirl as "The One Who is All", the League split at that point, with Ox, White Willow, and Tigris pledging themselves to Cassandra. Several more members of the League (including all the defectors except Tigris) died when the insane "Mad Dog" went on a killing spree. "The Mad Dog", it was revealed, had been one of David Cain's early attempts to create Ra's' perfect warrior. The Mad Dog had been considered useless as

10906-474: The course of centuries. When in combat, he favors more ancient weaponry (as he has had more time to master them than more modern weaponry) these weapons include scimitars , katanas , spears , staffs , bolas , shurikens , smoke pellets and miniaturized explosives . Ra's' greatest tools are his green Lazarus Pits, which heal any injury including recent death and restore the user to the prime of life, but cause temporary insanity (or for those already insane like

11039-580: The creative force. Milligan proposed a character based on a resurrected Princess Diana . News spread to the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail , which strongly objected. Eventually the character was altered, as were the references to the British Royal Family . X-Statix was cancelled with issue No. 26 (Oct. 2004). Milligan wrote issues #166–187 of X-Men , teamed with artist Salvador Larroca , in 2005. He returned to The Human Target with

11172-459: The dead and dying to life; these pits have granted him a lifespan of several centuries. He regards Batman as his worthiest opponent, addressing him as "Detective" out of respect for his intellectual brilliance, and has frequently sought to make the Dark Knight his successor. He is one of the few criminals in Batman's rogues gallery to have deduced his secret identity as Bruce Wayne , but keeps silent on

11305-462: The deaths of Damian or Talia within the city he swore to protect. As his parting gift, he has left Batman the Heretics to keep him entertained. Batman reels as he sees all of the grotesque and mutated failed clones of failed Damians. As they fight for their lives, Batman warns Aquaman not to kill any of these monstrosities. They are too developmentally malformed to comprehend what they had done to those whales in being born. Suddenly, Bruce realizes that if

11438-536: The early 1980s. By 1986, Milligan had his first ongoing strip in 2000AD called " Bad Company ", with artists Brett Ewins and Jim McCarthy . "Bad Company" was a popular future war story and helped Milligan become better known. Concurrently, Milligan, Ewins and Brendan McCarthy had been working on the anthology title, Strange Days for Eclipse Comics . Strange Days featured three strips, " Paradax ", " Freakwave ", and " Johnny Nemo ". Milligan, McCarthy and Ewins produced three issues of this psychedelic comic, it

11571-479: The graphic novel Final Cut , followed by all 21 issues of the subsequent series for Vertigo. In 2006, he wrote the X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl five-issue miniseries for Marvel collaborating with artist Nick Dragotta and co-creator Mike Allred. The following year he wrote an Infinity, Inc. limited series for DC and The Programme for Wildstorm , starring a Soviet Cold War superhero. Milligan

11704-523: The group. Meanwhile, Ra's steals the bodies of Batman's parents. This theft prevents Batman from realizing Ra's is using his traps until it is too late, as he is distracted by the search for the corpses of his parents. Though defeated, Ra's does cause the temporary exit of Batman from the JLA, who now distrust the Caped Crusader. However, though some of the League resent Batman's plans, they eventually accept that

11837-416: The hunt of whales, creating genetically altered super-humans in the wombs of sperm whales. This being just one of a probable many plans to rebuild the League of Assassins. Aquaman swears vengeance on the whales' behalves. Inside the compound, they find that Ra's is wiping the hard drives clean, preventing data recovery, even as a message from Ra's plays over the intercom, chastising Batman for failing to prevent

11970-411: The identity of Batman and gets rid of all of the evidence she has to that effect. He also realizes that Vale may be a descendant of a French opponent, Marcel du Valliere, from centuries before; therefore, his business with her may not be finished. In The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), Ra's al Ghul appears in a hooded robe at the League of Assassins' city of 'Eth Alth'eban. He enters

12103-403: The information to his companions. Red Hood finds himself locked in combat with Drakar and the man discovers that what was done to Red Hood's mind was more than a simple mind-wipe. He senses Ducra somewhere within his mind. Red Hood uses Drakar's confusion to steer him toward the fountain, which hides the Well of Sins (the pool that filled the Untitled with evil). Drakar struggles, but collapses into

12236-419: The known members of Nyssa's League were all skilled in this area, and included the warriors Shrike , Kitty Kumbata, Wam-Wam, Joey N'Bobo, Tigris, Momotado, Krunk, White Willow, the twin warriors Los Gemelos, Ox, Mad Dog , Alpha , and Cristos. The new League was present when Mr. Freeze 's wife Nora Fries was brought back to life as the monstrous Lazara, and several members died in the resulting chaos. Due to

12369-650: The language itself is a result of al Ghul's settlement and cultured history both in erudition and regional pursuit of Lazarus Pit/longevity sources most commonly unearthed throughout the Greater Middle East (e.g. The Well of Sins in the Arabian Peninsula , Red Hood and the Outlaws #22 (2013) by James Tynion IV and Julius Gopez) to East Asia ( Peaches of Immortality , Year One: Batman/Ra's al Ghul #1). The use of Arabic monikers in particular (in regards to demons )

12502-461: The late 2010s. Ra's returns to prominence and comes dangerously close to realizing his dream of worldwide genocide in the " Contagion " story arc of the Batman titles. His organization unleashes a deadly virus known as Ebola Gulf A (a.k.a. "The Clench") in Gotham City , putting Batman in conflict with a force he seemingly cannot defeat. A cure is eventually located by Batman and his allies, though

12635-576: The live-action Batman film series The Dark Knight Trilogy , as well as the CW TV show Arrow , and the Fox TV show Gotham . Yasser split from the ancient Order of Assassins in a successor movement. Their followers claim to have annulled and deposed centers of civilizations such as Baghdad , Moscow , and Rome , throughout past generations in their lineage. As a part of The Demon, it's sometimes called "The Demon's Fang" or "Demonfang". The recruits of

12768-407: The long-running Vertigo series Hellblazer , and wrote that imprint's Greek Street , Additionally, for Marvel, he wrote the 2008 one-shot Moon Knight : Silent Knight , with artist Laurence Campbell . In 2010, Milligan was announced as the writer for Batman #703, a prelude to the " Bruce Wayne: The Road Home " crossover storyline, although he later clarified that he was not involved in

12901-767: The magazine Deadline . In the US, he is best known for his frequent contributions to DC Comics ' Vertigo imprint, which include the revamped DC properties Shade, the Changing Man and Human Target , a four-year run on the imprint's premier title Hellblazer , and original series Enigma , The Extremist , Egypt and Greek Street , as well as the Marvel series X-Statix , co-created by Milligan and artist Mike Allred . Milligan started his comic career with Sounds music paper's comic strip The Electric Hoax , with Brendan McCarthy , with whom he went to art school. Milligan later moved to write short stories for 2000 AD in

13034-450: The mastermind behind the outbreak is not discovered until the follow-up story " Legacy " . Learning that the Demon's Head still lives, Batman and his team circle the globe, preventing further outbreaks of the virus. Ra's allies himself with Bane , the man who once crippled and nearly killed Batman. Ra's considers Bane a potential heir to his empire, despite his daughter Talia's distaste for the criminal mastermind. Eventually, Batman deduces

13167-409: The matter due to the same sense of respect for Batman. For his own part, Batman's opposition to Raʼs is complicated by both his own respect for al Ghul's genius (if not his goals and methods) and his attraction to his daughter, Talia, which she reciprocates. Ra's al Ghul's real name, early life, and exact age have been described differently by various writers. His Post-Crisis origin story is told in

13300-407: The moniker (e.g. Ra's' occupation as a physician, his wife's death, and the annihilation of the Sultan's city). As told in Birth of the Demon , Ra's al Ghul (known only as The Physician prior to adopting the moniker) was born over 600 years before his first appearance in Batman comics, to a desert tribe in eastern North Africa , near a wealthy city governed by a Sultan . Developing an interest in

13433-509: The most powerful force for evil on the planet. Just then, sensors reveal that something is on the perimeter of the city. It is Arsenal and he is heavily armed. Arsenal is using all of his unique inventions to hold back the defensive attacks of the Man-Bat Commandos of the League of Assassins. The first assassin Arsenal encounters is December Graystone and he soon entraps the magician within

13566-503: The murky fluid. Having fallen into the Well of Sins, Drakar begs to be removed from it as he can feel the arcane power reaching back inside him, and taking the evil energy within him away. The pool strips Drakar of his power and life-force, spitting him back out as a withered old man. Turning to the remaining Untitled, Red Hood warns that they will all suffer the same fate if they do not surrender. The Untitled respond that he cannot hope to defeat them alone, but Lady Shiva responds by unleashing

13699-558: The oldest beings in the multiverse. He participates in a discussion on how they will fight the Dark Multiverse invasion. Due to his expanded life span and longevity, Ra's has accumulated vast knowledge and abilities which exceed those of Batman. These include detective skills, chemistry , physics , military tactics , economics , and martial arts , fully using his photographic memory to master all such skills. He has also gained many international contacts and an immense fortune over

13832-684: The operative known as the Hook was assigned to murder Boston Brand (who became Deadman after his death). Additionally, Professor Ojo successfully brainwashed Ben Turner (best friend and partner of Richard Dragon ), creating an alternate personality dubbed the Bronze Tiger , and turning the master martial artist into a League operative. As the Bronze Tiger, Turner defeated Batman in personal combat while another League operative murdered Kathy Kane (the secret identity of Batwoman in pre-Crisis continuity, and

13965-454: The orderlies miss his dosage once, which allows him to become conscious enough to escape from Arkham. Ra's realizes that Batman has apparently died after Darkseid 's invasion during Final Crisis . After confronting Nightwing with his knowledge, he and the hero eventually duel with swords. Nightwing defeats Ra's and earns the immortal's respect, signified by leaving his sword in the Batcave as

14098-461: The organization and accepts a deal where he and Ra's enter the same Lazarus Pit at once; Ra's has determined that if two souls enter the pit, one will perish while the other will become immortal without needing to keep using the Pit, Bruce accepts the offer and Ra's al Ghul is destroyed. With Ra's al Ghul gone, Batman uses Ra's' criminal empire to set up an anti-crime and humanitarian network by subtly changing

14231-466: The organization's goals. The League of Assassins appear in two of the Batman: Arkham games: Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961 ) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including 2000 AD , Revolver , Eagle and A1 , and helped launch

14364-423: The pit, the man introduces himself as Ra's al Ghul. Jason is under attack by Ra's al Ghul who demands to know just what his daughter Talia al Ghul saw in the boy. Having just emerged from the Well of Sins, Ra's al Ghul is consumed by the evil that once corrupted the Untitled centuries ago. Now he feels compelled to rid himself of the machinations of his daughter and Ducra by killing Jason. At Ra's al Ghul's command,

14497-498: The plan is completed. After the escape, Batman confronts the White Ghost; he fights Batman, but accidentally falls into a Lazarus Pit. As of Batman #670, Ra's al Ghul has returned, having evaded death by transferring his consciousness into the body of another. Because his host body is decaying from radiation poisoning, he needs to transfer his mind into another host body. His first choice is that of his grandson Damian Wayne , but Damian escapes to alert his father. Upon taking Ra's to

14630-449: The plans were created for the right reasons once Batman confirms that he trusts them by revealing his secret identity to the rest of the team. Talia, disillusioned with her father, leaves the League to run LexCorp for former U.S. President Lex Luthor , before selling the company to Bruce Wayne for his Wayne Foundation to aid Batman and Superman's victory over Luthor. Ra's blames Batman for his failed relationship with Talia, and stages

14763-475: The prince (who is already sadistic and cruel), emerges as a mentally unstable sociopath. He proceeds to fatally strangle Sora, on whom he has already had his eye for some time. The Sultan, unwilling to admit to himself his son's culpability, accuses Ra's of poisoning his son's mind and sentences him to a slow, tortured death in a cage with Sora's corpse. Ra's is set free by the son of a dying elderly woman, who Ra's had earlier treated. The son feels that he owes Ra's

14896-491: The prisoners are brought to him, and he promises to use his newfound power to see them dead. Red Hood, however, determines that he cannot allow it to happen. As Ra's al Ghul gathers his power, Red Hood tells himself again and again that he wants to remember what he chose to forget. At last, the images rush through his mind, and begin to reform as memories. Unfortunately, the revelation occurs earlier than Ducra had planned. Having regained all of his training with Batman as well, Jason

15029-492: The production of the issue. Following DC's 2011 relaunch , Milligan became the writer of Red Lanterns , an ongoing series which debuted in September 2011. He wrote Justice League Dark , a spin-off of the Justice League franchise, starring John Constantine and Shade, the Changing Man . up to issue No. 8 (June 2012), following which he moved to Stormwatch from issue No. 9 (July 2012). In 2017 and 2018, he penned

15162-411: The remaining Untitled dead as well, but Jason responds that they cannot simply kill without his say-so if he is to be the League's leader. Suddenly, a cloaked figure appears, noting that he expected more after coming all this way, just to find a leader of assassins who orders his warriors to sheathe their blades. The man warns that the game is over, and Jason's part in it is done, as he makes his way toward

15295-413: The sciences at an early age, Ra's abandoned his tribe to live in the city, where he focused himself on learning and experimentation. He subsequently trained as a physician and married a woman named Sora. Upon discovering the healing properties of the Lazarus Pit, Ra's managed to save the Sultan's dying son by lowering him into it. However, he is unaware that use of the Lazarus Pit can induce insanity, and

15428-429: The series Green Arrow / Black Canary #11, a metahuman faction of the League of Assassins was introduced. They were involved in the abduction of an injured Connor Hawke . This group's members included Bear, Tolliver, Ruck, Spike, Mazone, and their leader Targa. However, although they thought they were being commanded by Ra's al Ghul, they were apparently duped by an imposter Shado . In 2011, The New 52 rebooted

15561-472: The spirit world and speak with his parents. While Batman experiences his "vision", Nyssa befriends Talia and then kidnaps and brainwashes her. Nyssa plots to destroy all hope and optimism in the world by assassinating Superman with Kryptonite bullets she steals from the Batcave . While Batman stops Nyssa from killing Superman, he is unable to stop her from mortally injuring her father. A dying Ra's reveals that this

15694-416: The temple. Following his resurrection, Ra's al Ghul, in his new body, moves his base of operations to Gotham City where it is revealed that a remnant of his son Dusan's consciousness still remains within him. Since the White Ghost was his son, Ra's was able to use the resemblance between them to modify his new body's appearance to be more like his own, though he remains an albino. This arrogance contributes to

15827-415: The villainous Sensei , the League became more brutal, and it rebelled against Ra's' rule. Although the Sensei's methods closely resembled Darrk's, and the majority of the League's operatives showed little to no real skill in personal combat, the Sensei did show slightly more reliance on skilled martial artists. This version of the League is best known for two assassinations. As part of an initiation process,

15960-447: The world in general. The strip was due to feature in Crisis in 1990 but the publishers Fleetway were worried by the controversial subject matter, plus they were concerned with the use of explicit language in the story. The printers refused to print it, blaming the graphic language and controversial subject matter as a reason. The story remained in limbo until eventually being published as

16093-450: The world including Lady Shiva , David Cain , and Merlyn . For much of its current history, any member who failed in an assassination was in turn targeted by the League. Indeed, one of its best-known members, the master-archer Merlyn, was eventually forced to flee from the League, fearing for his life, having failed to assassinate Batman . In more recent years, this policy has apparently relaxed somewhat. Ebeneezer Darcel, aka Doctor Darrk,

16226-408: The world; the League of Assassins acts as an organization that is a catalyst to the reformation of decadent civilizations around the globe. The League of Assassins was founded by Ra's al Ghul (at 1013 A.D.) to be "the fang that protects the head" ( Batgirl #67, 2005). Members of the League demonstrated willingness to die at a word from Ra's. They have included some of the most dangerous assassins in

16359-522: Was always a forced experience. When the idea came to Julie Schwartz that "we're kind of reviving old characters. What do we want to do for a new character?" Denny's tendency - and I understood it totally - was not to go to a costumed character with superpowers, but to go to a Moriarty type. When Denny presented it, here I was as a comic book artist who was used to doing fairly realistic stuff having to deal with, "Hey, no costume." How do I make him unique? Because after all, we are pandering to our audience

16492-487: Was apparently killed in a car explosion. Cassandra Cain has apparently taken over the League as its new leader, although she abandoned the League at some point prior to the Teen Titans storyline Titans East , where it is revealed that she was being drugged by Deathstroke. Furthermore, it appears that Cassandra was battling for complete control of the League of Assassins with Ra's al Ghul's youngest daughter Talia, as well as

16625-587: Was born the only child to Ra's al Ghul's mistress Amina Raatko, also known as Lourdes in 18th century Russia . She would later become a Holocaust survivor. She is murdered by Cassandra Cain during the One Year Later storyline. League of Assassins The League of Assassins (sometimes known as the League of Shadows or Society of Shadows in adapted works) is a group of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . The group

16758-450: Was hidden inside the sarcophagus he crafted for Damian. During Batman Eternal , Bruce briefly speculates that Ra's is the mastermind behind most of the attacks against him that have left Wayne Enterprises bankrupt and Batman pushed to the limit. However, when he confronts Ra's, his foe reveals that, while he was invited to participate in the attack by the true mastermind , he rejected the offer as Ra's would prefer to destroy Batman when

16891-610: Was involved in 2007's Batman crossover, " The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul ", by writing the lead-in Batman Annual No. 26, as well as the parts of the storyline in the Robin monthly title. Milligan scripted for the BBC interactive animated series Meta4orce and the Sub-Mariner : The Depths limited series for Marvel's Marvel Knights imprint. In late 2008, Milligan was named writer for

17024-437: Was not a great seller but it picked up a small, loyal readership. The most conventional strip, "Johnny Nemo", had its own series, while the more quirky "Paradax" had a two-issue series published by Vortex Comics in 1987. By 1989 Milligan was swapping between strips such as "Bad Company", while still writing material in 2000AD , such as " Hewligan's Haircut " with artist Jamie Hewlett . Milligan and artist Jim McCarthy created

17157-462: Was part of a grander plan. Red Hood engages Ra's al Ghul as Essence joins the battle. She insists that he will allow Jason and his friends to leave his realm, or he will be forced to die a mortal death just as he always feared he would. Despite having destroyed the All-Caste, Ra's' actions have led to their eventual rebirth. Defeated, he swears that he will visit great agony upon Red Hood if he sees him ever again. Talia's own organization, Leviathan ,

17290-623: Was reprinted in a collected edition by Vertigo in 1996, after being first serialised six years earlier in Revolver . Milligan rounded out the decade by writing a The Human Target four-issue miniseries (April 1999 – July 1999). Milligan's film work includes the screenplay for Pilgrim (2000, also known as Inferno ), starring Ray Liotta . He scripted the 2002 adaptation of the Melvin Burgess novel An Angel for May . In 2001, Marvel Comics' new editor-in-chief Joe Quesada began revamping

17423-525: Was somewhat lost in the midst of the so-called "British Invasion" of American comics of the time. A dark post-apocalyptic gangster story, it did receive critical acclaim but did not sell well. Milligan was soon to become a regular writer for DC while still working on his more personal comics in the United Kingdom in comics such as 2000 AD , and its spin-off titles Crisis and Revolver . The 1990s saw Milligan revamp Steve Ditko 's character Shade,

17556-429: Was the first known individual assigned to head the League of Assassins by Ra's al Ghul. Darrk himself was seconded by the Sensei , a martial arts master from Hong Kong . Although many of the League's leaders over the years have been accomplished martial artists, Darrk himself did not depend on physical prowess, and as an assassin he instead relied upon careful planning and manipulation, ambushes and death traps, as well as

17689-423: Was unable to prevent the earthquake, ultimately it was only the Sensei himself that died in the disaster, and control of the League returned to Ra's. It was more recently revealed that, prior to the betrayals of Doctor Darrk and the Sensei, Ra's had grown tired of the fickle loyalties of his warriors. Ra's assigned David Cain to create a perfect bodyguard (" The One Who Is All "). After early attempts to raise such

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