S2E27 - Issue 27 - Ra's al Ghul

Third time's a charm - we finally get around to analyzing Ra's al Ghul! Anthony & Doc discuss the value of legacy, reference Hamilton for a second week in a row, and Ra's turns into Grampa Simpson on the couch. Listen now! SHOW NOTES: IntroductionBackground Created by Julius Schwartz, Dennis O'Neill, and Neal Adams in Batman #232 (June 1971)Name translates from Arabic to "the Demon's Head" or "Head of the Ghoul"Born 600 years ago in the Arabian peninsula to a tribe of nomads - became a doctor who discovered Lazarus Pits which physically rejuvenate the user, but take a mental tollOver centuries, he becomes a genius and capable fighter, but comes to hate humanity because of their destruction of the environment - becomes an eco-terrorist whose goal is to eliminate much of the world's population through a virusDeduces Batman's secret identity and determines he is the most suitable heir to his empire, so he creates a trap to kidnap Robin and test BruceDaughter Talia was also used as part of the trap - she falls in love with Bruce, and he reciprocates her feelings - they have on-again/off-again relationship that culminates in the birth of a son, DamianRa's is integral part of the Tower of Babel story, where he discovers Batman's contingency plans for Justice League and uses them with stunning efficiency - steals corpses of Thomas & Martha Wayne to keep Bruce distractedDeath and the Maidens - pits daughter vs. daughter - he manipulates Talia and another daughter, Nyssa, into turning on Batman - Nyssa stabs Ra's and Batman cremates the bodyResurrection - Ra's spirit wants to return to a physical body and plans to use grandson Damian - his father, the Sensei, dies fighting Batman, so he wants the body of another son, the White Ghost, Dusan - Ra's succeeds, but Dusan dies - Batman battles Ra's, and has him imprisoned in ArkhamNew 52 - head of the League of Assassins, and plans to create super-humans inside the bodies of sperm whales - steals the body of Damian Wayne to use for his own nefarious purposes, but Batman recovers his son's corpseIssues (14:07) Insanity as a result of Lazarus PitsBetrayal of everyone he's ever worked with has left him alone (22:34)Nostalgia bias (30:55)Treatment (35:26) In-universeOut of universeSkit (43:00)Ending References: "Finally, the Rock has come back..." - Anthony - 0:35Batman - "Where does he get those wonderful toys?" - Anthony - 6:31Geek History Lesson - Anthony - 14:02Energizer Bunny - Anthony - 16:54"You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" - Anthony - 34:58Hamilton - "The World Was Wide Enough" - Doc - 42:34Hamilton - "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" - Anthony - 42:44 iTunes: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: hereTwitterFacebookE-mailPatreon