Gotham City is plagued by an invasion of demons named Azmers, and only Talia al Ghul -- former beau of Batman -- may know the key to stopping them.

A preview of the upcoming Detective Comics #1064 shows Talia and her son Damian dueling under a stone pillar by the edge of a desert. Damian asks his mother to tell him the story of the warrior Farhad I Parethes, who fought wars for kings, queens and gods, and eventually grew so powerful that the gods themselves plotted his downfall.

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According to Talia, the gods set Farhad an impossible task, telling him to cross the Aras Desert but cursing him with the presence of a demonic Azmer who would battle him every day. Despite these terrible odds, Farhad successfully bested the demon until exhaustion nearly claimed his life. The sun god Maera forged a deal with Farhad, telling him he would burn the Azmer away in return for the warrior's allegiance. Farhad agreed, and successfully left the desert -- but discovered that time flowed differently outside its boundaries, and that his beloved had died during his arduous journey. Farhad swore vengeance on the gods and refused to never stand down before them, and his vow is now represented by the pillar that Talia and Damian duel under.

An Azmer Invasion of Gotham

How Farhad's promise and the desert pillar relate to the overarching story of Detective Comics remains to be seen, but Azmers have slowly been taking over Batman's home. Detective Comics #1062 opened with Batman fighting thugs who morphed into demonic forms, and Issue #1063 featured a member of the shadowy Orgham family unleashing an Azmer into a temporarily reformed Harvey Dent, once again bringing out his latent Two-Face persona. Little is known about the Orghams at this moment, aside from the fact that they are supernatural ancestors of the Arkham family and seemingly have the power to bend Azmers to their will.

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Talia al Ghul may be the key to helping Batman fight the Orghams, as evidenced by both the preview of Detective Comics #1063 and her cryptic words to her former lover in Issue #1062, after helping him defeat an Azmer: "That thing is older than you or I. Older than the Lazarus Pits, and it is far from being human... I came here to warn you, Bruce. They're coming and you are not prepared."

Detective Comics #1064 is written by Ram V, illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque, colored by Dave Stewart and lettered by Ariana Maher. The issue boasts a main cover by Evan Cagle and variants by J.H. Williams III, Martin Simmonds and Arianna Turturro. Detective Comics #1064 goes on sale Sept. 27 from DC Comics.

Source: DC