Customer Reviews

Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

While the events of this graphic novel depict the return of Ra's Al Ghul to the land of the living, I noticed that the real theme of the story was about the relationship between a son and his father. Batman and his two adopted children, Tim Drake (the 3rd Robin) and Dick Grayson (Nightwing), join forces to protect his only biological son, Damian. In the mean time, Ra's Al Ghul is again presented as the complete opposite of Bruce Wayne, as it shows glimpses of his relationship with his father and son. While some thought the action was a little sparse, to me, the relationships explored here were far more interesting.

Damian, Bruce Wayne's son and Ra's Al Ghul's grandson, plays an integral part in the plan to bring Ra's back to life. He has been raised in the lap of luxury and has known no hardship. Naturally, he's completely insufferable, and is a very easy character to hate. In what could perhaps become a redeeming quality, however, what Damian desires above all else is the approval of his father, even though Bruce could really care less, and is much more interested in ensuring Ra's remains comfortably dead.

Nightwing and Robin, Bruce's two "adopted" sons, also seek the respect of Batman, but I think deep down they know they already have it. Neither want to fail him, but also, it seems both would rather have their biological parents back if they could. By far, the best parts of this graphic novel are the scene written by Paul Dini where Ra's tempts Robin with bringing his parents back, and the resolution of that situation later on.

The second Robin, Jason Todd, is only mentioned in passing, but it should be noted that he was killed by the Joker while looking for his biological mother. I'm not sure if that fits into this theme, choosing his biological mother over Batman, as his biological parent was still alive. Batman does feel great responsibility for Jason's death, however, and we know he considers it to be his greatest failing.

Bruce's relationship with his parents is well known. His entire crusade against crime is a result of a promise he made on his parents grave, and he desperately wants his work to be something his parents would be proud of. Alfred is his surrogate father figure, and this is the relationship that is displayed as an ideal father-son relationship in this comic. Both Bruce and Alfred try hard to protect each other and not to let down the other, they care for each other and work together.

Ra's, on the other hand, has a very destructive relationship with his father (Sensei) and son (the White Ghost). He overthrew his father as leader of their clan a young man, and in the course of this story the two attempt to destroy each other completely. Meanwhile, Ra's son, The White Ghost, has been his only faithful servant for centuries, yet Ra's never calls him by his name or refers to him as his son. Ra's only seems to appreciate The White Ghost in the very moment he possesses his body. In the end, Ra's has outlived his father who he despised, and destroyed his son who loved him unconditionally.

In this regard, Talia Al Ghul really doesn't fit in. She's one of the only women in the novel and really just seems to follow Batman and run around punching and kicking ninjas. While she's attempting to protect her son, it's clear he's not interested in her protection, and doesn't seem to think she needs protection herself. She had to be in the story, as she's Ra's daughter and Damian's mother, but there doesn't seem to be much other justification for her being there.

In the end, this graphic novel succeeded in some areas more than others. Some thought there wasn't enough action, but I disagree. Just because people aren't beating each other up doesn't mean there isn't exciting stuff going on. In all, I thought the story was very good, it provided an intriguing look into some of the relationships that make Batman interesting, and it gave a believable way to bring back one of Batman's greatest villains.

What happens when one of Batman's most powerful enemies comes back from the dead? Nothing too good, as Batman, Robin, and Nightwing and are about to find out in The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul. The story picks up with Damian, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, seeking Batman for help when his grandfather returns from the grave to use him for a new body. Soon enough, Batman is on the scene, as Robin struggles with playing second fiddle to Damian, and Nightwing gets thrown into the mix as well. The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul is pretty much a crossover of a number of Batbooks, and feature contributions from writers including Grant Morrison, Paul Dini, Peter Milligan, Keith Champagne, and Fabian Nicieza; and artists including Tony Daniel, David Lopez, Jason Pearson, Freddie E. Williams II, Don Kramer, and Ryan Benjamin among others. The biggest problem with this hardcover collection is that a majority of the book just feels uneven and disjointed thanks to having so much talent on board throughout so many books. The brilliance of Grant Morrison's run on Batman in particular gets lost in all of this, but for the most part, The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul manages to be pretty entertaining regardless. Still though, it just seems that the story as a whole could have been much better too. Flaws aside though, The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul is a decent and entertaining Batman saga that you will get some enjoyment out of, but if you're looking for some Batman stories that really prove memorable, just stick with Grant Morrison's current run.

This trade is the latest entry in what has become a subgenre all of its' own, the multi-title Batman crossover, a successful and prodigious format that still has many critics. The melding of different creative teams can be a recipe for failure, hence the saying "Too many cooks..." This story regrettably does illustrate that main flaw, the surprising and frustrating irony being that the big guns of Grant Morrison and Paul Dini are the ones who don't carry their own considerable weight and let the rest of the team and the project as a whole down. The saving grace comes from the unexpected but certainly talented pens of Peter Milligan and Fabian Nicieza with their respective Robin and Nightwing issues, and in the process make it a Robin/NW story moreso than a Batman one. The central attraction here is not so much the welcomed return of Ra's, which is still somewhat unclear and confusing, but the temptation by Ra's of Robin regarding the possible resurrection of all of the loved ones that he has painfully lost, with Nightwing right alongside him providing support and guidance. Dick and Tim have developed a wonderful relationship over the years and that is greatly emphasized here as these two brothers by choice grapple with this very enticing but potentially quite disastrous moral dilemma. For Ra's, it remains to be seen how his return will play out in the forthcoming months, including his role in the current R.I.P. storyline, and that includes Talia and Damian as well. Here Talia is once again written in a different style. A general consensus can't seem to be reached on how to portray her. Not only is there inconsistency from story to story, but in this case scene to scene. One moment she is endearingly referring to Batman as beloved, and the next impassionately as Detective, the cold and impersonal name that her father so callously calls him. Is this dichotomy a way of showing her conflicted emotions, or just poor editorial oversight? And just where do her loyalties presently lie; with her father, with her son, or with the father of her son? We may get the resolution to many of these questions soon. So despite a few flaws and some erratic artwork, thanks to Messrs. Milligan and Nicieza we have yet another entertaining but admittedly far from perfect Batman crossover. How ironic that the story's heart and soul were comprised from the very issues that were originally considered to be its' least important parts.

The story: The White Ghost, long time faithful servant of dead Batman's villain Ra's al Ghul is trying to bring his demonic, criminal genius master back to life, by recalling his life force to our world and anchoring it to a host body. The chosen one is the recently revealed son of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Ra's daughter Talia: Damian, headstrong and deadly 11-years old little killer, who recently spent a brief time under Batman's tutoring.
As the kid escapes his fate with the help of his mother, Batman coincidentally learns of the plot, upon investigating the disappearances of two ecologists.
At the same time, the deadly Sensei (sic) tries to prevent Ra's al Ghul's resurrection.
So begins a 250-pages chase and fight that spans across 2 issues each of four monthly Batman titles, pulling current Robin Tim Drake, Nightwing (the original Robin) and the mysterious (and useless...) I-Ching (sic 2) into the it all.
If you're not a batman comics' fan, you can stop reading after this next sentence (if the rating hadn't convinced you yet): The book is at best to be read while commuting and only if you don't have anything better, really. "Better" in this instance includes sleeping, by the way.
If you're a Batman fan, I bet you already own the book.
If you simply like comics, you might want to know more of this though, so I'll expand a bit here.
Despite the big names thrown on the covers, Grant Morrison and Paul Dini only wrote 4 of the 11 tales collected here, and they barely did an average job (they're expected to be way above average on their best days though...) on a crossover that is, as usual, probably heavily directed from editorial and born out of a writers' conference.
In any case, does the story work?
I believe it doesn't, as it is barely engaging and full of deus ex-machina plot devices, down to its very ending.
There is no drama at all too, because you never are really convinced that there is anything at stakes here, and even old butler Alfred can take care of multiple ninjas...
The focus of the book would be family relations (extremely disturbed ones at that...), since close relative try to kill one another or hate one another or ignore one another; temptations and danger in the relationship only affect adopted family (Batman protegees Robin and Nightwing).

SPOILER ALERT

In the end, after 250 pages, you are left with what you had from the start: Everybody survives (except a minor villain), Ra's is positively resurrected (surprise! oohhhh) and the Batman and Ra's al Ghul families are left untouched (another big "surprise"? A rift opens between Ra's and Talia, who runs away with Damian...). No Major change (if any at all) in Batman's relationship with Damian, although the kid seems to find Batman cooler than before. The biggest revelations are two soap-opera moments in which we learn that Sensei (sic) was Ra's father and Ra's was the White Ghost's father...
Individually, the writer and artists involved do manage to shine some, though.
Peter Milligan writes some nice prologue tales and competent, at moments even half-compelling story chapters, and so does Fabian Nicieza. The latter comes as no surprise, since he used to be a core X-men writer back in the Nineties, when such crossovers were all the rage. Also, Morrison and Dini doing average jobs means their chapter are decently written too. The artwork is very and much more uneven though. Jason Pearson's art is always great to look at, but Tony Daniel's and Ryan Benjamin's is at times rushed, I can't warm up to Don Kramer's and most of the others are competent artists but can be barely told apart from one another.
The book itself is designed well enough, with nice chapter headers and all covers neatly collected, variants included (many covers, by Andy kubert, Simone Bianchi and Adam Kubert, are indeed the best artwork in the book). It's a bit odd that the first Morrison issue collected here is presented as one of the three prologues, while it clearly looks like the first chapter of the actual crossover. Indicia artwork is strangely selected, and I can't figure out the reasoning behing the selections, although the Andy Kubert's covers they're mostly taken from are brilliant.
Overall, this is book is, in my opinion, for collectors only. For all the other readers: if you need to fill this gap in your Grant Morrison#s Batman run, reading the Wikipedia summary or something sounds like a better choice for your wallet and cultural needs!

Man, this coulda been somethin great. There are some truly excellent moments, worthy of the biggest Hollywood summer blockbuster. But then there are moments that pure stink up the joint. Damian is truly an awful, unlikeable, dreadful (enough adjectives?) character that is a hindrance to the development of the story. The dynamic between Batman, Nightwing & Robin is rewarding and the banter enjoyable, but it can't save other character interactions from tanking. So while there is some real fun to be had here, its a wasted opportunity. Should've been 5 stars considering the reputation of Dini & Morrison but the story never soars. You'll read it in one short sitting.

Grant Morrison, Paul Dini, Peter Milligan, and all others involved have done better, but what's been presented here is a fun, action-packed, almost cinematic story of the resurrection of one of Batman's best villains: Ra's al Ghul. Batman, Robin, Nightwing, and a whole host of others, good and bad, race to prevent Ra's from possessing the body of Batman's son, Damian Wayne, and defiling the mystical hidden city of Nanda Parbat. Although the ending is rushed and the artwork could be better, the story works and is quite enjoyable. Not one of Batman's best adventures, but quality nonetheless.

People are far too critical of this book, and it is a real shame, as the book, cover to cover is a fun read. This is a comic. Yes, I know it written in large part by Grant Morrisson, which raised expectations, but it is a comic book. It isn't meant to be Shakespeare. it is menat to entertain, and man ohhh man, does it ever. I couldn't put it down. The art is truly wonderful, and the colors masterful. The story, though far from perfect, keeps you truning the pages. And the ending is satisfying and restores a charcater that DC was insane to EVER do away with. Give this one a shot.

The funny thing about comic books is that -- no matter how hard the hero tries -- you can never keep a good (or bad) man down, and Ras al Ghul defies death (kinda/sorta) in the latest hardcover Bat-release, BATMAN: THE RESURRECTION OF RAS AL GHUL.

In a recent radio interview on Coast-to-Coast, Neal Adams remarked that he and Denny O'Neil -- in their massive stint at re-creating the Batman mythology in the 1970's and 1980's -- were tasked at one point in creating a stellar Bat-villain: much like Sherlock Holmes has his Professor Moriarity, they gave Batman his Ras al Ghul ... an almost evil mirror-image to Bruce Wayne: Ras had vastly greater wealth and power than his Gotham playboy counterpart, and he represented the worst the could have happened to Bruce had he allowed the death of his parents to push him onto a more violent, more vengeance-fueled path. Ras was the perfect foil -- where Bruce was a socialite, Ras was an introvert. Where Bruce used his influence in Gotham, Ras' playground was the entire world. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be: Ras perished in a fiery doom and was thought to have at last found rest in peace. His return, however, is far from perfect: his flesh has been denied the healing powers of the Lazarus Pit for far too long so a new host body is required ... and, lo and behold, Batman and Ras' daughter's tryst (oh, the ever lovely Talia) in BATMAN: BRIDE OF THE DEMON produced a male child -- Damian -- and now the Caped Crusader must race against time to thwart his adversary's dark plans to inhabit the soul of the son he never knew he had.

That said, there's probably as much to celebrate in RESURRECTION as there is to -- well -- loath. Young Damian is wreckless and arrogant, reminding Bat-readers of all of the worst elements regarding the short and largely unpopular career of Jason Todd (the second young man to wear the mask of Robin). The cast of characters involved in the tale to resurrect Ras grows to involve some additional mystical ne'er-do-wells, but there's very little backstory provided to justify bringing too many incidentals into the fold. And the ever-lovely Talia is present (mostly) to serve as a butt-kickin' Desperate Housewife -- the kind of Soccer-mom you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley -- and she isn't drawn particularly exotic, she never seems entirely interested in working toward the resurrection of her "deceased" father, and she doesn't appear nearly enough in the 250+ pages. Any Bat-graphic novel (this is a collection of individual issues rather than a brand-spanking-new tale) has plenty of reason to celebrate (there's a massive Ninja showdown at stately Wayne Manor very early in the tale that almost begs to be filmed); but these moments are either too few, too uninspired, or too badly drawn.

Ghulists can still celebrate, though. Ras is back -- maybe not in top form -- but let's hope the next time he rears his ugly head there will be more action, more mayhem, and much much more at stake.

This is a pretty straightforward story so it won't try anyone's patience by being esoteric. Damian is frequently described as annoying but at least he doesn't say the usual things that the boys in the Robin costume have been spewing for decades viz. complaining about Batman's emotional distance, complaining about not given enough responsibility, trust, etc. Damian don't know no better.

Overall i enjoyed this story very much. The artistry was wonderful and left me wanting more. It seems to be that many people didnt enjoy the father son storyline, but in the end, it was a great story and did its job as entertainment.