Exploring the origins of the immortal (literally and figuratively) Batman villain Ra's al Ghul, Dennis O'Neil and Norm Breyfogle's Birth Of The Demon flits back and forth between a modern-day duel between the bad guy and the Dark Knight, and the early days of the man who would be Ra's. Turns out a man who's been alive for 600 years has some pretty good stories to tell. Go figure. Birth Of The Demon mainly exists to show the differences and similarities between Batman and Ra's: both are equally driven, blessed with divine purpose, but Ra's doesn't have the whole moral crusade thing of the Caped Crusader. He's just kind of a nutter, but one who's really committed to killing absolutely everyone. In pursuit of that goal he goes toe-to-toe with Batman, who has bested him a few times prior to this battle. Unwilling to accept another defeat, Ra's gets especially brutal and, once he has the upper hand on his opponent, grabs a shovel and sticks into right into Batman's chest. actually stabs him with it. Bruce technically dies, his last bit of strength dragging him and Ra's into a Lazarus Pit...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
