The following contains spoilers for Batman: One Bad Day - Ra's al Ghul #1, on sale now from DC Comics.
If Batman put aside his rule against killing and 30 murders could be justified, Earth would possibly be a better place in the DC Universe.
Ra's al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins, proves this in the one-shot Batman: One Bad Day - Ra's al Ghul #1 by writer Tom Taylor and artist Ivan Reis. Living for over 700 years, Ra's has witnessed humanity's dramatic impact on the planet firsthand, but after seeing another of its species go extinct, the villain puts in place an eco-terrorism plan he believes holds "restraint" without extreme measures like genocide. Instead, the plan involves taking out key one-percenters preventing climate change and other reforms, requiring Batman's death for it to work.
Ra’s al Ghul’s Plan to Save Earth, Explained
Before garnering the Dark Knight's attention, Ra's and the League successfully kill three business moguls, their respective companies dealing in petroleum, gas, coal and spreading misinformation. Once Batman is on the case, however, Ra's kidnaps Robin Damian Wayne and lures the hero to the League's headquarters. During a heated confrontation where Ra's explains his plan and reasoning for it, Batman swears, "I will not let you kill any more innocent people." The villain responds, "I am done trying to reason with you," and stabs Batman with a sword, killing him.
With Batman out of the way, the League makes its way through Ra's' remaining 27 targets, including lobbyists, billionaires investing in their own private space travel, virus-denying media kingpins and big game hunters. The villain's plan does include casualties though, being that he is willing to murder 3,000 people just to cover up the deaths of 11. Once every name on the hit list is gone, Ra's resurrects Batman with a Lazarus Pit and informs him, "The most destructive people across the world have been replaced by those committed to a better future."
While Ra's understands Batman will never let him get away with murder, his inner dialogue explains why the hero will not publicly expose Ra's' crimes. It reads, "He knows if he speaks, he would potentially be dooming the planet. He knows he must choose between his code and his world. And there is no choice. Not even for one as stubborn as he is."
What Is the Main DCU’s Ra’s al Ghul Up To?
Batman: One Bad Day - Ra's al Ghul is the last in a series of eight one-shots spotlighting the hero's different rogues, including the Riddler, Two-Face, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Bane and Clayface. Each one-shot appears to take place in its own continuity, but in the main DC Universe, Ra's al Ghul is still committed to reshaping Earth's future. Just when he had decided to share his knowledge with the world, Ra's was assassinated in the 2022 Shadow War event, but he recently came back to life in Lazarus Planet: Next Evolution #1.
Along with Taylor and Reis, Batman: One Bad Day - Ra's al Ghul #1 is inked by Danny Miki, colored by Brad Anderson and lettered by Wes Abbott. Main cover art for the issue is by Reis, Miki and Anderson, with variant cover artwork contributed to by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bruno Redondo, Brian Bolland and Giuseppe Camuncoli. The issue is now on sale from DC Comics.
Source: DC