WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Robin #10, on sale now from DC Comics.

One of the things introduced in Damian Wayne's Robin series was a new piece of Ra's al Ghul's empire. For a long time, the Demon's Head has been the leader of the League of Assassins. However, over the years, the League of Assassins has been referred to, primarily in other media, as the League of Shadows. This grew to the point that the two eventually became entirely separate groups in the comics. Now, a third organization has been added to the mythology with Robin's League of Lazarus, but what is it and how does it fit with everything else?

The true purpose of the League of Lazarus was finally revealed in Robin #10 (by Joshua Williamson, Roger Cruz, Norm Rapmund, Luis Guerrero, and ALW's Troy Peteri). Since the series began, Damian has been trying to figure out what the League is and why his parents kept it hidden from him this whole time. All he had to go on was a mysterious fighting tournament held on the aptly named Lazarus Island. In the previous issue, the contest's climax resulted in the rebirth of a literal demon, one that will apparently cleanse the Earth. So why did the League of Lazarus' leader, Mother Soul, try to bring about an apocalypse, and how does it connect to Ra's?

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Mother Soul

A magical trip through the sands of time showed Damian that the answer lay long before Ra's even became the Demon's Head. Although the iconic villain was once a doctor who placed his faith in science, his mother, who would eventually become Mother Soul, grew ill and the science of the time couldn't cure her. Whilst her son put his faith in science, she put her faith in the mythical and mysterious Demon. She had visions of this demon for many years and that began her obsession with resurrecting it.

Shortly after Mother Soul's original death, Ra's started having visions of his own demon. He became obsessed with cheating death and created the Lazarus Pits, something firmly established about the character. What this series adds is that, during this journey, he destroyed every trace of the Demon his mother had been obsessed with. Believing he was mightier than any demon, he gave himself the iconic name of the Demon's Head and resurrected his mother. However, after her resurrection, her faith in the Demon grew and that was why he formed the League of Lazarus.

Ra's set up this League to look for more places where Lazarus Pits could be created. Although his obsession with the pits has always been portrayed as about maintaining his long life, Robin introduced the idea that it was also about maintaining his faith in science. As well as trying to disprove that a magical demon was responsible for the pit's properties. Ra's put Mother Soul in charge in an attempt to convert her. However, it had the exact opposite effect. Not only did her faith grow but it also spread to the other members of the League of Lazarus. This prompted Ra's to banish them to Lazarus Island, where the tournament was held.

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Robin in League of Assassins and League of Shadows

In the end, the only reason the League of Lazarus is still around is that Ra's al Ghul couldn't bring himself to kill his mother. However, it's not the first time that one of his Leagues has betrayed him. There are the two other Leagues - the Assassins and the Shadows. The League of Assassins first appeared in Strange Adventures #215, before Ra's al Ghul's first appearance in Batman #232, and was created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. They have always been Ra's' personal killers but, recently, he lost all of it, blaming Batman and the Outsiders for that.

The League of Shadows was created by James Tynion IV and Christian Duce and first appeared in Detective Comics #952. They were believed to be a myth for the longest time, to frighten both his enemies and his allies, but they turned out to have been created by Ra's to stop humanity's self-destruction. Their leader, Lady Shiva, turned them against the Demon's Head and twisted the Shadows to fit her own purpose.

The League of Lazarus betraying Ra's and going in the complete opposite direction to what he originally intended is nothing new then. Each and every one of his three Leagues has gone against their original purpose. Ra's' plans always end up in ruin and it seems there is no better example of this than his once great empire of Assassins, Shadows and the life-giving Lazarus.

KEEP READING: Will Robin Be Driven Mad By His Literal Demon?