Saga of Ra's al Ghul (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1988.
Synopsis for "Into the Den of the Death-Dealers!"
This story is reprinted from Detective Comics #411.
Batman scales the side of the Statue of Freedom for a secret meeting with an informant inside the torch. The informant wants police protection in exchange for turning over evidence on Doctor Darkkk and the League of Assassins. Before the criminal can reveal anything however, an assassin sneaks into the chamber and stabs him from behind. He then hurls himself at Batman who manages to judo flip him away. The assassin throws a handful of spiked tetsu-bishi onto the floor and makes his escape. Turning back to the informant, Batman hears the dying man's final words. The man tells him to find Darrk on the Soom Express.
Days later, Batman disguises himself as an old woman and books passage on the Soom Express. As suspected, he finds Doctor Darrk among the passengers. Attending him is a young lady. As the train slows down, Darrk leaps from the car dragging his companion behind him. Batman sheds his disguise and leaps after them. Confronting Darrk, he soon finds himself surrounded by Darrk's League of Assassins. The assassins assault Batman with bo-sticks, ultimately knocking him unconscious.
When he awakens, he finds himself in a dungeon unmasked. Besides him is Darrk's companion, who introduces herself as Talia - the Daughter of the Demon; and tells Batman that Darrk has had a falling out with her father Ra's al Ghul and kidnapped her outside of Cairo. Darrk arrives and places Batman inside of an arena where he is forced to fight an angry bull while Talia is tied to a post. Batman defeats the bull and rescues Talia before he captures Doctor Darrk and begins marching him towards the railroad tracks. Darrk uses a gas pellet hidden in his tie to escape from Batman and then lunges at him with a knife. Talia picks up Darrk's gun and shoots him in the chest. Darrk falls back just as the Soom Express passes over the railroad tracks, killing him immediately. Shocked by what she just did, Talia falls on Batman's arms, shedding a tear.
Appearing in "Into the Den of the Death-Dealers!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Talia al Ghul (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- League of Assassins
- Doctor Darrk (Final appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Ra's al Ghul (Mentioned only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- The Soom Express
Synopsis for "Daughter of the Demon"
This story is reprinted from Batman #232.
As Robin returns home from a night of adventuring, he finds himself the target of two gunmen armed with tranquilizer darts. They shoot the Boy Wonder and take him prisoner.
Hours later, Bruce Wayne receives a photograph of his kidnapped partner along with a challenge to find him. He returns to the Batcave to investigate further, but when he arrives he finds a man named Ra's al Ghul and his servant Ubu waiting for him. Ra's' contacts have deduced that Bruce Wayne and the Batman are one in the same, and he has called upon the world's greatest detective to help him find his daughter Talia, who has likewise been kidnapped. Suspecting that Talia's kidnapping and Robin's are related, Batman agrees to aid Ra's al Ghul.
Their journey leads them first to Calcutta where they find clues linking the kidnappers to a cult known as the Brotherhood of the Demon. Batman interrogates a local thug about the Brotherhood's whereabouts and the man points them towards a building in the Alley of Widows. As Batman enters the building, a poised leopard leaps out and attacks him. Batman catches the animal's jaw with his elbow and is forced to snap its neck. With the danger past, Batman finds a map that points them towards the Himalayan Mountains.
Ra's al Ghul finances a mountain-climbing expedition and the three begin scaling the frozen mountainsides. A sniper begins firing at them, and it appears that one of the bullets strikes Ra's. Ubu pulls him inside of a crevice, while Batman deftly evades repeat gunfire. Ascending the peak, he finds a temple belonging to the Brotherhood. He enters the temple where he finds Robin bound with rope under armed guard. Batman frees Robin, and the gunmen begin to advance on him. Turning around, Batman reveals that he is not fooled by this elaborate ruse. The masked "leader" of the Brotherhood approaches him, but Batman tears the mask off of him revealing the face of Ra's manservant Ubu. He knew all along that Ra's was the true perpetrator of this crime. Ubu and Batman fight, but Batman's speed and skill prove more than a match for him. Ra's finally enters the chamber along with his daughter Talia. He confesses to staging the entire episode to see if Batman could prove to be a worthy successor to Ra's role of leader of the Brotherhood. He also reveals that Talia is in love with Batman, and Ra's wants assurances that the Dark Knight would be a worthy son-in-law.
Appearing in "Daughter of the Demon"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Brotherhood of the Demon
- Ra's al Ghul (First appearance)
- Ubu (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Joe Chill (Flashback only)
- Martha Wayne (Dies in flashback)
- Thomas Wayne (Dies in flashback)
- John Grayson (Dies in flashback)
- Mary Grayson (Dies in flashback)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Crime Alley (Flashback only)
- Haly's Circus (Flashback only)
- Wayne Foundation
- Wayne Manor
- Batcave
- Hudson University
- Himalayas
- India
Items:
Synopsis for "Night of the Living Dead!"
This story is reprinted from Weird Western Tales #13.
A trio of bank robbers, having only recently escaped from a five-year prison sentence, ride out to the hacienda of Lazarus Lane. Before going to prison, they had secreted the stolen money beneath the floorboards of Lane's home.
Arriving at the house, they find a Mexican house servant and an aging Apache taking care of the comatose Lazarus Lane. A thief named Slate grabs the servant girl by her hair, while the other, Clint, accosts the elderly Wise Owl.
Wise Owl begins muttering an Apache prayer, and suddenly Lazarus Lane snaps to life. Donning the garb of El Diablo, he attacks the men, disarming one of them with his bolas. Slate grabs the bolas and uses them to attack Wise Owl. Clint and he then rush outside where they meet the third member of their party – the Kid. El Diablo mysteriously appears in their midst and during the scuffle, the Kid accidentally shoots Clint. Just as quickly, El Diablo disappears, leaving the other two bank robbers confused.
The Kid then faces off against Slate, whom he discovers had intended on betraying him. Slate outdraws the other bank robber and shoots the Kid dead. He then takes off towards a mountain pass, but El Diablo follows close behind him on his steed Lucifer. Slate turns around and finds El Diablo resting beneath a rocky overhang. The thief fires his shotgun hoping that the canyon echoes would cause the overhang to collapse on top of El Diablo. The plan nearly works, but El Diablo steers Lucifer into an adjacent cave. Emerging from the cavern, El Diablo finds Slate charging towards him on his horse. The criminal swings at the masked avenger, but loses his balance and falls, toppling over the cliff's edge to his doom.
Appearing in "Night of the Living Dead!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Clint
- Slate
- The Kid
Other Characters:
- Lazarus Lane's housekeeper
Locations:
- American Old West
- California
- Lazarus Lane's hacienda
- California
Items:
- El Diablo's bolos and whip
See Also
Recommended Reading