The aims of Ra’s al Ghul have always been distinct from those of other Batman – One Bad Day protagonists. With the philanthropic goal of protecting the world from humanity, his aims differ from those of The Riddler or Bane. With Batman – One Bad Day: Ra’s al Ghul, Tom Taylor and Ivan Reis have come together to offer a unique look at a world in which Ra’s al Ghul can chase his utopia to its purest form.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Batman – One Bad Day: Ra’s al Ghul #1!
Batman – One Bad Day: Ra’s al Ghul #1 opens seven centuries ago with violent invaders hunting the Demon’s Head. As a child, Ra’s is completely defenseless and nearly dies with his face in the dirt. Luckily for Ra’s, a pack of wolves comes to rescue him and tears his pursuer to pieces, giving him the opportunity to run away.
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In the modern world, Ra’s awakens from the deepest sleep of all — death. Taking a breath after emerging from the Lazarus pit, he awakens screaming. His fury is buoyed by the realization that the world is profoundly flawed. His daughter, Talia al Ghul, greets him and reminds him of his name. She takes him to a dying wolf, who happens to be an old companion of her father. After Ra’s aids in putting the grateful wolf to sleep, he leads a mission to attack and butcher an oil monger and his son.
While Ra’s takes care to ensure that his crimes remain quiet, Batman is quickly made aware of the murder, thanks to his father’s connections. With Batman and Robin (Damian Wayne) investigating, they discover that Ra’s didn’t cover up his tracks well enough. A gun found on the scene convinces Batman that it was murder and an autopsy confirms.
After discovering that Ra’s is hunting down the world’s business owners and replacing them with more environmentally conscious successors, Batman begins his hunt. Unfortunately for him, Ra’s al Ghul does the same.
As Robin sympathizes with the aims of Ra’s, the Demon’s Head himself appears in the Bat Cave. After Robin rejects his requests to come home, Ra’s takes him captive and awaits Batman’s arrival.
With the bait lain, the trap of Batman: One Bad Day — Ra’s al Ghul #1 is sprung, and Ra’s easily captures Batman. After trying to convince the Dark Knight to let him kill the 30 most environmentally damaging people, Ra’s eventually realizes that Batman’s will is indomitable. Left with few other choices, Ra’s stabs him in the stomach and leaves him for dead. Batman begs Robin to avoid killing, and a tearful Robin agrees — though not without stabbing Ra’s shortly after.
It’s a touching moment, but it doesn’t last. With Batman dead, Ra’s proceeds to slaughter everyone on his list. Thousands die along the way, but the environment remains undamaged. Ra’s earns his ultimate victory and basks in the glory.
After three months of murder, Robin manages to drag his father’s body to a Lazarus pit. Having achieved little else, Robin begs Batman to stand down. Batman, unsurprisingly, refuses. He demands to know the fates of the businessmen, then charges after Ra’s al Ghul.
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While Batman refuses to kill him, he and Ra’s both accept that neither can tell the world of the scheme without putting the environment in danger. To protect the future, Ra’s tips himself over the edge of a cliff and plunges to his death.
Two years pass before Ra’s wakes in another Lazarus pit. He feels no fury, and he remembers his name with ease. As Talia welcomes him, he greets her with warmth. The story even comes full circle as he accepts a wolf cub and looks forward to a brighter future.
The art of Batman: One Bad Day — Ra’s al Ghul #1 is perfect for the story of Ra’s. His distinct greens and golds are all over the issue and only ever intruded upon by the forces that Ra’s fights to defeat. The invasion and the fires that he flees from as a boy feel as terrifying as they must have to Ra’s. The serene atmosphere at the end of the issue also helps to sell Ra’s point that the world is much better off without criminal businessmen destroying it.
Yet the art is all that truly establishes his point. While his arguments are sound and drive a stake through the heart of Batman’s beliefs as well as Jason Todd can, the issue itself never answers what the future utopia will look like. The frequent time skips mean that the issue feels rushed, leaving little opportunity to present Ra’s’ golden world. Save for a few panels of a forest, there is absolutely nothing to show a better world.
The issue also fails to address the reality of his intentions. While Ra’s argues that only a few deaths are needed, future years will certainly require more murders as more businesses arise. The comic never actually addresses that problem at all.
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Outside of Batman and Ra’s al Ghul, many of the characters feel distinctly underutilized. Talia is barely present, except for a few moments of exposition. Damian is present, but his presence is hardly felt and his own skills feel wasted. In three months after Batman’s death, all he accomplishes is resurrecting Batman, while never playing any other role outside of stabbing Ra’s once. As a character closely tied to both Batman and Ra’s al Ghul, he feels unnecessarily limited. It makes Ra’s’ victory feel somewhat cheap. Other members of the family — including his newly-introduced mother Rúh al Ghul — are not present at all, which is a missed opportunity.
While Batman: One Bad Day — Ra’s al Ghul #1 provides an interesting look into the goals of one of Batman’s greatest villains, it doesn’t go far enough. More space to tell the story would have done wonders for the issue. The opportunity to explore his new world could have made the somewhat forgettable comic into the masterpiece it had the potential to be.
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