Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul #1 – Neal Adams, Writer/Artist
Reading Time: 2 minutes
The Neal Adams-verse, similar to the Lobdell-verse, has given us so much pain. For the past 10 years, DC has allowed Batman artist Neal Adams the liberties where he can do anything he wants. And, for the record, he has pretty much stuck to that. Between the two-part Batman: Odyssey and the sequel focusing on Deadman, these comics are surely the most peculiar books DC has ever put out.
PLOT of Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul
A completely illogical story is created. As usual, Adams’ amusing yet overblown and exaggerated dialogue ( like “I hate hate hate the breath in your mouth!”) and authentic characters like Sensei, Ra’s Al Ghul’s evil father is meaningless. What we do get, is a bizarre curiosity carried by Adams’ kinetic art. And this doesn’t even include the Hollow Earth stuff.
Even though Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul #1 is the starting of the new miniseries, it has its own outlandish enchantment.
Well, it teams Batman and Deadman against a seemingly reformed Ra’s Al Ghul. Also, an army of rioters is tearing Gotham apart. In addition, a killer robot to spice things up further.
The comic is fast and loose with continuity. Since it references both No Man’s Land and has Nightwing and two Robins. They appear without any identification. And to top that, a power crisis in Gotham has caused mass riots headed by the mysterious remote-controlled evil robot Khaos.
So, our hero Batman is hardly able to keep the riots at bay. At this time, Ra’s Al Ghul shows up and offers help. Gordon accepts, and Ra successfully portrays himself as the rational one to Batman. This is not a ridiculous claim, given how Batman reacts with yelling and threats.
The best part is Deadman constantly leaping from body to body. Gradually, he finds a smart way to neutralize the main villain even though it’s a robot with no mind to take over. Meanwhile, the “impostor Bruce Wayne” story at the end is likely reminiscent of the recent “fake Clark Kent” story in the Super-books.