TOP 10 RA'S AL GHUL COMICS!

Ra's al Ghul (the Demon's Head) is perhaps Batman's most unique adversary. Instead of being a flamboyant criminal or psychopath in Gotham City who gets sent to Arkham Asylum upon defeat, he's an immoral international terrorist with a vast empire who seeks to destroy 90% of the world's population! He also has one of the most unique relationships with the Dark Knight, as Ra's greatly respects his adversary and considers him the only worthy man to be his heir, but Batman will obviously never concede to his warped world view. The fact that Ra's daughter, the lovely Talia, is fiercely loyal to her father while being deeply in love with his arch nemesis only further enriches their dynamic.

And thankfully, such a rich dynamic has made for a lot of great stories over the years and I've selected what I consider to be the ten best outings to feature the Demon's Head. Let's begin!

10.) Dependence

by Greg Rucka & Shawn Martinbrough

After months of tracking and battling the enigmatic terrorist known only as Whisper, Batman has finally found her location and discovered who she works for: none other than Ra's al Ghul (who else?) Batman must now discover what the madman's latest scheme is and put a stop to it, but to do so he's going to need help from the ever-conflicted Talia.

The plot here may be standard, but what really makes Dependence shine is the characterizations of all involved. The Batman/Ra's/Talia dynamic is firing on all cylinders here, receiving one of its strongest portrayals. Ra's ruthlessness but respect for his adversary, Batman's determination to stop him at any cost and Talia's loyalties forever being tested by the man who raised her and the man she loves. It may be simple, but great execution goes a long way in securing Dependence a spot on this list. 

09.) New Age Dawning

by J.M. DeMatteis & Graham Nolan

After Vanessa Fisk, the wife of Wilson Fisk a.k.a. the Kingpin of Crime, falls deathly ill, her husband becomes desperate to find a cure for his wife's ailment. The Kingpin is soon approached by Talia al Ghul who informs the crime lord that her father has the resources to save Vanessa's life -- if he agrees to assist them in their latest scheme. Valuing his wife's life above all else, the crime lord agrees. Knowing the catastrophic destruction that Ra's al Ghul and the Kingpin can unleash if they join forces, Batman and Spider-Man join forces to put a stop to this deadly alliance. 

A Spider-Man and Batman team up should be enough to sell most people on this comic, but thankfully the story itself is also of high caliber. Ra's al Ghul and the Kingpin have many great interactions, with the latter being in a desperate state and the former doing everything he can to take advantage of said desperation. Ra's truly is a master manipulator here as he plays on both Wilson's love for his wife and ego as New York City's top gangster.

However, the Kingpin isn't as swayed as he lets on and the two villains soon find themselves locked in a battle of wits, not only with their two respective adversaries, but with one another. Pitting Ra's al Ghul and the Kingpin together for this crossover was a stroke of genius and perfectly plays into both characters' strengths. 

08.) The Demon Laughs

by Chuck Dixon & Jim Aparo

 

Having failed to defeat Batman time and time again, Ra's al Ghul abducts and partners with the one being who has fought the Caped Crusader more than any other: the Joker! The Demon's Head enlists the Jester of Genocide's aid in his latest scheme to cleanse the Earth and kill the meddlesome detective once and for all, but partnerships with the Joker never end well.

Ra's al Ghul always tends to be far removed from the rest of Batman's rogues gallery, so the concept of him teaming with one of them is always interesting. However, Ra's partnering with the Joker himself takes the intrigue to a whole new level, as the two villains are on the total opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of personality. Whereas Ra's is a dignified and proper nobleman (in his own way) who takes matters very seriously, the Joker is a crazed, unkempt lunatic who takes nothing seriously. As such, this makes for a lot of fun interactions between the two, as the Demon's Head is both angered by the Clown Prince's insolence, as well as impressed by his undeniable intellect. 

And as one would expect, the Joker has his own agenda: to completely undermine Ra's. However, while most of the story leads you to believe that the Harlequin of Hate has the upper hand (like he typically does), that ends up not being the case. Without giving away the specifics, the Demon's Head is one of the few villains to thoroughly and believably outwit the Joker. That feat alone makes The Demon Laughs a must-read for any fan of either character.

07.) Bride of the Demon

by Mike W. Barr & Tom Grindberg

In his latest quest to "purify" the planet, Ra's al Ghul plans to repair the Earth's ozone layer, no matter how many lives are lost in the process. He also plans to sire an heir through Evelyn Gracye, a past-her-prime actress whom the Demon's Head has fallen for. Naturally, Batman must put a stop to Ra's plans before the can come to fruition, but this time the Demon's Head is taking the fight to his foe.

The premise here is rather straightforward once more, but what really makes Bride of the Demon great is once again, the execution. The action and characterizations are in top form here, with the most intense sequence being when Ra's and the League of Assassins arrive at Wayne Manor to prevent the Dark Knight's interference, causing poor Talia to once again choose who to side with.

Evelyn Grayce also proves to be an interesting character, as her and Ra's genuinely grow to care about one another. It's a shame that her character never returned after this story since she had a lot of potential. Regardless, Bride of the Demon succeeds at being a thrilling action/adventure tale with spot on characterizations all around, making it an easy choice for this list.

06.) Death and the Maidens

by Greg Rucka & Klaus Janson

Desperate to prevent Batman from destroying any more of his precious Lazarus Pits, Ra's al Ghul offers the Dark Knight a deal: if he leaves the Pits alone, Ra's will give him a potion that temporarily allows him to communicate with the dead, or more specifically, Bruce Wayne's parents! As the World's Greatest Detective ponders this offer, the Demon's Head must contend with the reemergence of his long-lost, secret daughter, Nyssa! 

Batman's moral dilemma here is engaging enough on its own, but what really steals the show here is Ra's al Ghul's fascinating relationship with Nyssa. Many of his best stories tend to highlight the twisted sense of honor and moral code underneath Ra's ruthlessness, but Death and the Maidens demonstrates just how callous and cruel the Demon's Head can truly be. As manipulative as Ra's is with Talia, he's infinitely worse with Nyssa. For the crime of daring to leave her father's side and seek out a life of normalcy, Ra's condemned and abandoned Nyssa (and his grandchildren) to years of imprisonment in the Nazis' Concentration Camps!

 

Nyssa survives this horrific ordeal, but her children don't. And ever since, she has declared war on her father, vowing to topple his entire empire by any means necessary -- which spells gloom for her sister Talia. But Ra's, ever the master manipulator, never lets on that his vengeful offspring is playing right into his hands. Death and the Maidens expertly explores the dysfunctional al Ghul family dynamic like no other.

05.) The Lazarus Affair

by Marv Wolfman, Irv Novick & Frank McLaughlin

Upon discovering that Gregorian Falstaff, a corrupt businessman seeking to take over Wayne Enterprises, is merely a patsy, Batman sets out on a globetrotting adventure to uncover the true mastermind. Accompanied by Robin, Catwoman, Agent King Faraday and even Talia al Ghul herself, the team soon come across the hidden Infinity Island, where the mastermind is revealed to be none other than Ra's al Ghul. Ra's plans to lure the Dark Knight into a trap, eliminate him and gain control over Wayne Enterprises for himself, adding to his vast criminal empire.

The Lazarus Affair contains some of the best buildup out of any story on this list, as Batman and co. don't reach Infinity Island until much later in the arc, first having to deal with Gregorian Falstaff and all of his machinations. Once our heroes do finally come to Infinity Island, they are quickly captured and at the mercy of the Demon's Head. This all culminates in an epic finale rife with action, as well as a very interesting depiction or Ra's. For once, Ra's is after Bruce Wayne instead of Batman, seeking the billionaire's vast wealth and resources for his own nefarious purposes. The Ra's and Talia dynamic is also great here, with Ra's becoming increasingly enraged that his precious daughter constantly sides with her beloved over her father. 

This all culminates with one of the more brutal clashes between the Caped Crusader and the Demon's Head, with the former pushing the limits of his no kill rule. 

04.) Tower of Babel

by Mark Waid & Howard Porter

Recognizing the threat that the Justice League poses to his latest scheme, Ra's al Ghul targets each member of the team with a series of carefully orchestrated and precise contingency plans. Shockingly, the plans are all a success as every Leage member is incapacitated one by one. However, there's a twist: these contingencies to bring down the League actually came from Batman!

While Tower of Babel is most famous for its depiction of the Dark Knight's preparation and paranoia, it's equally excellent for its depiction of the Demon's Head. The fact that Ra's managed to successfully infiltrate the Batcave and steal top secret plans from right under the nose of the World's Greatest Detective has to be one of his most impressive feats. Also of note is how Ra's decides to keep Batman distracted while the League is meticulously dismantled: he digs up and steals the bodies of Bruce Wayne's parents, offering to revive them in the Lazarus Pit!

Tower of Babel has to be the Demon's Head at his most deviously effective, so how could I not place it on this list?

03.) Saga of the Demon

by Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams

After Richard Grayson is abducted from his dorm room by unknown assailants, Bruce Wayne is approached by a mysterious figure by the name of Ra's al Ghul. Ghul informs Bruce that his daughter, Talia, had also been kidnapped the same night as Richard and he requires the Batman's help to save her. Not having any other leads, Bruce accepts, only there's far more to Ra's al Ghul and his daughter than meets the eye.

The earliest appearances of the Demon's Head are still among the character's best, as everything from Ra's desire for Batman to be his heir, Talia's conflict between her father and her beloved and the usage of the infamous Lazarus Pits are all established here. Ra's really did come onto the scene with a bang, as he was easily the most unique and large-scale adversary the Caped Crusader had faced up to this point. 

Each chapter of this saga only reveals more info on the enigmatic ecoterrorist, increasing the intrigue as the story progresses. 

 02.) Birth of the Demon

by Denny O'Neil & Norm Breyfogle

After being poisoned during his latest hunt for Ra's al Ghul, a not-long-for-this-world Batman meets with Talia in order to learn of her father's whereabouts. Instead, the Dark Knight is given the full breakdown of Ra's past, from a humble physician to a vengeful mass murderer and finally, to the Demon's Head.

Birth of the Demon at long last provides the origin of Ra's al Ghul and it is easily one of the best backstories of any Batman villain. Beginning life as a well-intentioned physician who only wants to save lives, Ra's soon encounters the evil and cruelty humanity is capable of when he saves the life of the wrong person. Losing his wife and his freedom, Ra's is put through the wringer here as the kind-hearted healer is slowly replaced by a hate-filled monster hell bent on revenge.

Despite the atrocities he will soon commit, Ra's still manages to be very sympathetic here as the readers are made to completely understand why he became the way he is. Birth of the Demon also contains the single best battle between the Dark Knight and the Demon's Head during the story's climax, as both parties go at one another with everything they have. This might actually be the greatest Ra's al Ghul story ever written, but there happens to be one I like slightly more. 

01.) Son of the Demon

by Mike W. Barr & Jerry Bingham 

In his hunt for the international terrorist Qayin, Batman ends up asking Ra's al Ghul for help upon learning that he and Qayin are old enemies. The Demon's Head agrees to aid the Caped Crusader, but only if he marries his daughter and becomes his second in command. Knowing that Qayin is planning a doomsday scenario and has limited time to stop it, Batman agrees. However, the Dark Knight soon finds himself giving in to his long-repressed feelings for Talia as the Daughter of the Demon soon finds herself pregnant with her beloved's child!

This right here is the ultimate Batman/Ra's al Ghul tale for many reasons. For starters, we finally get to see the two become the allies that Ra's has always wanted, making for a nearly unstoppable duo. There exists great respect between the two men, despite their world of differences and we get to see how much more effective the two are as friends rather than foes. Even more so, Batman's romance with Talia has never been stronger here, as the two are finally happy together, with the Demon's Head fully approving of their relationship.

This joy naturally doesn't last, as Tragedy strikes in the form of Qayin, but it's fascinating to see what could have been if Batman and the al Ghuls managed to stay on good terms. The climax is also fantastic as an enraged Batman goes after Qayin with everything he has. Son of the Demon is Ra's al Ghul firing on all cylinders as a character and has rightfully earned the top spot on this list as such.