The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul **Spoilers if not read run***

[Ryan_Jones95]

I've just picked up the Robin and Nightwing sections of this story and read it through with my already collected Batman and Detective books and really enjoyed it.

I thought it had a few great moments-

Robin almost siding with Ra's, Batman getting mortally wounded by Sensei only to keep on fighting then going into the fountain of life, Robin and Nightwing fighting against each other , Alfred kicking Ubu's arse and then the story ended with Ra's being drugged up and left in Arkham under a different identity!!!

I've read a few bits on this and other forums about this story and it didn't seem to have been very popular I just wanted to know why?

Whats everyones opinion on this story? and if you didn't like it why?

[Choppa]

I think the biggest reasons for not liking it are:

1. Ra's like just died and he's back already. The story in general seemed pointless and the potential for his death hadn't really been explored yet.

2. Tim acts totally out of character when he decides to bring back all of his dead friends and family and then actually fights Dick when he tries to stop him.

3. The whole thing wasn't very cohesive and probably would have been better with just one writer.

4. There were like four preludes. There was a prelude to a prelude!

5. Bruce and Talia's interaction felt really mischaracterized.

6. Damian...enough said.

7. The arguably best part of the story was teh epilogue ('Tec 840) which I don't even think is in the trade. When your epilogue is the best part of your story, somethings wrong. At least there was only one though.

[Ryan_Jones95]

I've only started picking up Batman since Morrison took over so i'm not overly familiar with how Bruce and Talia's relationship should be or how long its been since Ra's died but I felt that Tim going off the rails was completely believable when you bear in mind his age and the deaths of both his friends and family in the last year and half and the arrival of Damian.

I've not got the hatred of Damian that other bat fans have I know he's an annoying character but I think Morrison's writing him that way were meant to dislike him and its obviously worked.

I agree on the on same writer for the whole story it would have made sense and made a more cohesive story.

[Tanjint]

I liked it but it could have read smoother with one writer, though Dini, Morrison, and Nicieza all did great jobs in my opinion.


Also art, I could have gone for all Tony Daniel art in this story but Ryan Benjamin was an unexpected revelation.

now my thoughts on Choppa's thoughts:

1.People complain about the pointlessness of the this story, but I think it's perfectly logical considering Ra's presence in Morrison's previous arc, Batman and Son.

2.It's always amazing to me when people say characters act 'out of character' when the character in question has just gone through some INTENSE SHIT. People say Morrison mischaracterized Magneto in NXM, but fail to remember that Magneto had just witnessed 16 million of his people DIE. This being his SECOND holocaust. You'd be ready to tear up NYC too! That said, not only has Robin recently lost a girlfriend, best friend, and father (whoah now!) and that alone would be logical for how he was being handled in the story, but Geoff John's Titans work makes it very clear how obsessed and affected Tim was by Superboy's death alone. In Teen Titans, he was trying to ressurect conner repeatedly. This made perfect sense to me.

3. Agreed, but once more I do appreciate the goodness Dini, Morrison, and Nicieza managed to put out.

4.This is true, which is why I waited for the trade which collected all the preludes.

5. I haven't read the original Bruce/Talia stories so I guess I can't really say, but based on what I do know about them, the development of their interaction as in the story made sense to me.

6. I think Batman and Son made a great case for Damian. To me it's similar to JMS spider-totem stuff....perhaps the totem idea is not the most Spider-Man idea out there BUT the way the JMS handled the Peter's reaction to this insane situation was SO Spider-Man.

perhaps having a son is not the ideal situation for Batman (who ironically just adopted one, making Batman and Son even better imo), the way Morrison handled Batman handling the situation was PURE Batman. All that "You have dishonored your sensei!" macho stuff was exactly how Bruce should have handled his assassin brat...I was quite charmed by it all.

7. Damn, I really hope they put this in the next detective trade because I have the ra's hardcover...but I kinda do think this may be in there...I'm gonna check.

-T

[Tanjint]

what happened in tec 840, choppa? I'm at work and can't check my issues for at least a few hours.

-T

[Ryan_Jones95]

Detective 840 - Batman gets in a fight with Hammond Carter aka The Globe he owns a particular globe that has every Lazurus Pit location on it.

Ra's turns up and they fight and Ra's tells Batman that he's establishing his new base of operations in Gotham.

Batman escapes and talks to Alfred about the situation and comes to the conclusion that although Ra's took over his son's body some of his son's mind is still at work and the lingering remnants of the sons consciousness is still trying to win his fathers approval and by killing his fathers greatest enemy it would mean White Ghost's redemption wether Ra's consciously recognizes it or not.

Batman uses his detective skills to figure out Ra's new base and then attacks him beats him and then drugs him up to his eyeballs and puts him in Arkham Asylum under a different identity and instructions to keep him on round the clock medication.

Brilliant ending and another great part of the story.

[Choppa]

1.People complain about the pointlessness of the this story, but I think it's perfectly logical considering Ra's presence in Morrison's previous arc, Batman and Son.


Just to be clear, these aren't my opinions. They are what people were saying when the story came out.

Second, there's a difference between a story being pointless and it making sense. The complaint isn't that he came back, but that he came back so soon.

[Tanjint]

i read through the whole crazy crossover quite quickly so some aspects of that sound familiar, and i remember the story ending with a detective issue.....is the last panel kind of a corny family moment between alfred, tim, dick, and bruce?

-T

[Tanjint]

sorry choppa. was just responding to the thoughts, not tryint to attack you and did not mean to misquote you

-T

[Ryan_Jones95]

No the last panel was really dark and had Batman swinging away from Arkham saying Welcome to Gotham!! If you haven't read it I'd definitely pick it up its a great way to wrap up the story!!

The last cheesy panel your talking about was at the end of the Ra's story and thats one part of the story i'll agree wasn't very good!!!

[Tanjint]

it was an okay enough part and it seemed cool but what you're describing sounds way more awesome.

so Batman is saying 'welcome to gotham' sort of in response to Ra's plans to make his base of operations in Gotham? That's hella bad ass.

I like trades way more than issues so I figure they'll have this ish(840) start off the next Dini collection?
-T

[robbieglenn]

what happened in tec 840, choppa? I'm at work and can't check my issues for at least a few hours.

-T

Do some work then ! haha.

[pariah-1972]

I really liked it cept for Ryan Benjamin's artwork.

I didn't really understand the beginning part with the guy in the chinese face mask
did the mask make him turn against his partner? or was he waiting in the wings all along? and if so why?

[pariah-1972]

Also having Alfred beat up ninja's was pretty stupid.

[Tanjint]

no it's not, alfred's a military medic who takes care of himself and has been kidnapped a thousand times. he'd be foolish not to have any combat readiness.

-T

[Choppa]

no it's not, alfred's a military medic who takes care of himself and has been kidnapped a thousand times. he'd be foolish not to have any combat readiness.

-T

That makes him able to fight Ninjas??

[Tanjint]

well, i imagine after about his 50th kidnapping, Batman has given him some more intensive training. It's comics, he's Alfred. In the words of Gob Bluth, COME ON!

-T

[brundlefly]

"Resurrection" was a seemingly interminable ninjas-versus-Bat Family fight, with brief breaks for exposition that never got around to explaining how Ra's "returned" to begin with (since his body was cremated at the end of Death and the Maidens). Then Ra's is immediately taken off the shelf and put right back into character limbo in the story's epilogue. So what was this overwhelming (and too-soon) need to bring him back to life for? And let's not even mention the pointless twist with the Sensei. "Ra's, I am your father! Oh wait, now it's time for me to die. Later, then."

The only intriguing possibility in this story was the one they swerved to avoid (Ra's takes Damian as his host, so now one of Bruce's worst foes lives on in the body of his biological son. That would be an interesting change to the Bats/Ra's rivalry, as well as thankfully expunging Damian, the bratty "Eric Cartman" of the Bat-Rogues gallery). An overall failure as a story, imo, which is a shame since Morrison, Nicieza, and Dini were all involved as the writers.