Score: 7/10.
Total cost of saga: £20 +
Synopsis:
Ra's Al Ghul needs a vessel to return from the dead and targets his grandson (and Batman's 'son') Damian. Meanwhile, the Sensei attempts to thwart these plans using his master assassins and the vital powers of the Fountain of Essence (for full synopsis with spoilers see Wikipedia entry
What's good?
Some fun historical snapshots of Ra's through the ages, decent scraps between Damian and Robin, Nightwing outwitting Batman, generally good art, the insect girls. Sensei's ruck with Bats at the Fountain of Essence is terrific, with a broken Bats refusing to fall, outlasting the Sensei's two minute stamina. The way Bats finds Ra's hideout is novel, using Waynetech echo-locators rather than having had to have been initiated by a 2000-year old monk, or somesuch. The fate of Ra's is well-done, where instead of 'dying' again, he is placed in Arkham under a false identity and kept sedated, thanks to Bruce Wayne's intervention.
What's bad?
Ninjas. When are superhero comics going to treat the common or garden Ninja with respect? Whilst, say, Elektra is always shown as being a master assassin, every other Ninja in the big DC and Marvel titles is typically portrayed as cannon fodder. So whilst you get a moments thrill whenever Elektra is surrounded by the hand, or in this case Wayne manor is attacked by hundreds of Ninja, you just know they are going to be toasted by Nightwing, Damian, Robin, and (ludicrously) Alfred. Also the 'master assassins' that work for Sensei (including Merlyn, the poor man's Green Arrow) are rubbish. Bats goes through them like a knife through butter, with a throwaway comment that the Fountain of Essence must be helping him. A real shame; remember the Deathstroke fight againt the JLA in Identity Crisis? There he had to think of each weakness and how to use the league against each other, nothing as inspired here, sadly.
Should you buy the trade paperback? No.
