8 Smartest Decisions In DC Villain History

8. The Al Ghuls Get Their Heir - Batman & Son

Batman and Son Talia
DC Comics

Ever since the al Ghuls were first introduced back during the Bronze Age of comics, their one goal has been to recruit the Dark Knight as an heir to the League of Assassins, and to marry Talia to continue the lineage. They've been vexed in their efforts for decades thanks to Batman's refusal to kill people, and y'know, engage with eco-terrorism, even while Bruce harbours feelings for Ra's' daughter.

So, concocting the ultimate plan, Talia decides to spend the night with Bruce (who doesn't take his mask off, FYI), and uses his DNA to create a baby in an artificial womb. The League would then raise this child, waiting for the right moment to send it to the Caped Crusader to disrupt his crimefighting efforts.

As most will probably have gathered by now, this child was Damian Wayne. Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's Batman & Son details the plot, and even shows Bruce's biological progeny actively disrupting the Bat-family at the age of ten. He's young, brattish and also a living weapon; quite the quandary, even for the World's Greatest Detective.

As far as plots go, it's actually pretty ingenious. If you can't get the heir you want, have a child, send him to disrupt the old heir (who's incidentally also the biggest threat to your own schemes), while also learning from him, and you're left - in theory - with the ideal candidate.

Of course, Damian sees through his mother's machinations in the end. He's now a Robin, and Talia? Well, she's seen better days.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.