Batman: Birth of the Demon

Ra's al Ghul Saga #3

by Dennis O'Neil

If you're looking for the definitive Ra's Al Ghul story, look no further than his origin story, written by none other than the father of the Demon's Head himself, Denny O'Neil. Along with artist extraordinaire Neal Adams, O'Neil created Batman's deadliest foe way back in the 1970's, but it wasn't until 1992 that he sat down to pen Ra's' riveting back story, a sweeping tale set six-hundred years ago that reveals the tragic nature of Ra's past. Batman is determined to destroy every Lazarus Pit in the world. Before he can, he must face his former love, Talia and learn the true origin of the Demon's Head. Fully painted artwork by Norm Breyfogle!

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Dennis "Denny" O'Neil was a comic book writer and editor best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.

His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

Batman: Birth of the Demon is Ra’s Al-Ghul’s origin story – and it’s so astoopid!

Set hundreds of years ago, Ra’s was once the kind and gentle Middle Eastern doctor to the Salimb (an Arabic king) – middle middle middle, he becomes the evil Demon’s Head who hates Batman and wants to destroy humanity.

I’ve never understood the adulation so many (admittedly older) readers have for Denny O’Neill – this guy is such a bad writer! Maybe back in the day his work wasn’t as noticeably crappy but compared to the calibre of writers Batman fans read today, like Grant Morrison, Paul Dini, Scott Snyder and Tom King, O’Neill’s stuff nowadays looks amateurish at best.

All of the pieces in Ra’s origin are clunkily ticked off. Why does he hate Batman? He hates death and death, in his dreams, takes the form of a giant bat. How did he figure out how to build Lazarus Pits? From a dream. How did he figure out how they worked? Another dream. Where did he get the “Demon’s Head” title from? Some random god these people worshipped. Totally contrived hackery!

Ra’s is “dying” and Batman gets infected with toxic waste in two plotlines that go nowhere, and Batman and Ra’s fight pointlessly at the end to no effect. Norm Breyfogle’s weirdly grainy art looks like it was coloured in crayon!

Batman: Birth of the Demon was thoroughly terrible! A dumb, tedious origin poorly told and badly written by a talentless incompetent. Ra’s isn’t among my favourite villains from Batman’s rogues gallery but he deserves better than this.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ra's al Ghul's origin told for the first time. It is OK. This is supposed to be a sequel to Son of the Demon but O'Neil completely ignores the story of Talia's mother from that, changing who she was for no good reason. Just something I thought was odd.

Norm Breyfogle's art is the real star here. It's fantastic. He adds a nice horror element to some of the horrific events in Ra's backstory. It's a shame Breyfogle never got to draw any true horror comics. He always brought a macabre look to his Batman art that I loved.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know some of this story line has been re-conned out of the Batman history but man is it a great read. I remember when this first came out and was so unlike the regular Batman comic stories. Excellent art and writing make this a very enjoyable read. Very recommended

[Vinicius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Não está entre minhas histórias favoritas do morcego, mas o arco O Nascimento do Demonio é brabo demais. A história do Ra's Al Ghul foi muito bem escrita e trabalhada, a luta dele com o Batman foi muito boa (poderia ter tido mais quadros mas ainda assim foi incrível) com umas viradas de quadros sensacionais, com uma arte diferenciada

[Dr Rashmit Mishra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been scouring through various book stores for the birth of Demon books I found this finally in a local book store I recently came upon .

The book uses Dennis O'Neil's storytelling abilities to depict the background of one his most famed Creation The Demon himself aka Ra's Al-Ghul . Ra's has been one of the most formidable foe of Batman over the Years and Dennis O'Neil has been credited as his creator but like most of Batman's Rogue Gallery Ra's past has yet been Untold so Dennis O'Neil partners with Neil Adams to create this book . The most striking features of this book has got to be Neil Adams Artwork and while the story is OK I believe it could have been much better , Overall it's a good book but sadly not a masterpiece.

Also plea for help I am still looking for the other Ra's Al-Ghul Saga books so if anybody has it in ebook format do contact me

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. So yes yes i know Denis O' Neil wrote this, and he did essentially bring about Ras Al Ghul, but that doesn't stop me from saying this is okay. So Batman is basically going to the different pit locations and stopping Ras from using the pits, essentially cutting off his life line. Talia goes to a pit and tells batman Ras origin story, which is for most of this book, a huge flash back. At the end it gets more exciting, but for me it was mostly boring, because Ras is great villain but hes origin is tragic and not really that interesting compared to The Joker or Bane for example. The artwork was pretty good though, Norm Brefogle!!! But ya overall an okay read.

[William O’Pomegranate · Rating 2 out of 5]

The is 1 star Batman story and a 3 star story about an ancient mad scientist.

[Ｆｒａｎｋｈ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comic book is the origin story of one of Batman’s formidable foes: Ra’s al Ghul. Written by the ever amazing Dennis O’Neil, the mythos of Ra’s awakening from man to beast is exemplary, a tantalizing tale of revenge and rebirth that is ripe with tragic losses, quasi-philosophical dreamings and destitution of humanity. Ra’s has always been an enigmatic character long before Liam Neeson played him in Nolan trilogy.

Written in a language long forgotten, the story traces the origins of an exceptional individual As soon as he was born, a prophesy was foretold about his existence: he will become either a savior or a destroyer. Years after, Ra’s lived in an kingdom as a promising physician whose kindness was taken advantage of by a cruel prince. When the prince fell ill, he felt responsible for his health and while he slept in a desert during his travel, he begins to actively beseech a demon in his dreams. Afterwards he stumbled upon the Lazarus Pit and had cured the prince with its magical properties. But he was repaid by the prince with pain and the loss of his wife Sora.

Ra’s became desperate and was drawn to the demon Bisu of his dreams and that led him to a path that transformed him not only physically but spiritually as well. He was locked in an internal moral struggle with this beast until he became the monster himself. Losing his wife has hardened him beyond recognition and having an immortal life enabled him to use it for darkness and vengeance. He becomes entangled with Bruce Wayne centuries later after his daughter Talia falls for the caped crusader. Their conflict has span for years until their confrontation in the desert. The fight sequence was extraordinary; just pages and pages of painfully visceral images that assaulted my senses. In the end, Bruce Wayne was the victor and he declared himself alive and whole. He tried to dig his way through the sand for any sign of Ra’s body and found his Batman costume instead.

A panel later his Batman mask changed into the demon’s head (the object that Ra’s has named himself after). The harrowing implication was hard to miss. While Ra’s fulfilled his destiny to be the destroyer, Bruce has found his place as the savior, just as the prophesy foretold. And as he stood there alone in the desert where the daybreak has found him as a new man, Bruce Wayne was filled with savage joy.

It was quite an intense experience to read the 116 pages of this lavish book. It’ definitely exhilarating.

RECOMMENDED: 9/10

[Paweł · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cudnie namalowana opowieść o początkach Ras'al'Ghula. Komiks ten dodaje głębii postaci złoczyńcy, którego trzeba docenić za jego upór i determinację. Nieśmiertelny, zgorzkniały, praworządny i diabelnie wyrachowany.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one was…not good.

If you want some background of Ra’s Al Ghol, then you should probably look somewhere else as Dennis O’Neil’s attempt at a biography of one of Batman’s most mysterious antagonist leaves a whole hell of a lot to be desired.

Really there isn’t anything here to even commend because it’s boring and cliched without any memorable moments. The bulk of the story is an absolute slog in which we witness Ra’s’s life and journey to bad guy…and let me tell you, I was crawling out of my skin with boredom. There’s a decent intro but that’s totally pointless as nothing is explained and even Bruce Wayne falling into a river of toxic waste is just thrown away and basically forgotten.

I do have to admit I liked Breyfogle’s art. Obviously it’s not amazing or world altering but it was different for the time and tried to look unique.

[Baal Of · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less bad than the Bride of the Demon follow-up that I read last month (yeah, in the wrong order), but it's not particularly good. The writing is clunky and the premise is completely absurd. The Batman mythos is not well served by the descent into mysticism that feels like it was just cobbled together from miscellaneous bullshit at random - toxic waste, acids, poisons and ley-lines all come together to grant immortality; just throw it all in a pit, and dunk for smoother skin and better health. Right. I know it's a comic book, but fuck that's pretty lame. And then all the dream revelations. Sloppy writing, mediocre artwork. Another for the discard pile.
At least it didn't have the added embarrassment of having Talia prancing around in front her father in skimpy lingerie like the aforementioned BotD did.

[Fugo Feedback]

Por algún extraño motivo, tenía marcados tomos anteriores de esta "colección" pero no este. Lo conseguí bastante barato pero con muchísimas páginas pegadas que cuando intenté despegar se hicieron mierrrrda. Espero que aguanten una lectura por lo menos.

[Otto René · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una muy buena historia del murcielago que refleja el lado mas mistico de la mitología de batman. He visto criticas hacía este cómic que tan solo reflejan el poco entendimiento que tuvieron de la obra, esta historia no trata de contarse en un sentido realista, ni siquiera coherente, si no que intenta contarse como si de una leyenda se tratase, un mito, un escrito religioso perdido en la tierra de una civilización muerta, la obra incorpora elementos como epifanias, profecías, demonios y dioses, todo en un manto religioso y antiguo, no busquen aquí una historia detectivesca.

La pelea final es sumamente espiritual, habrá gente molesta con que batman sobreviva y que sea curado magicamente por el agua, pero ESE ES EL PUNTO, batman es purificado por fuego y agua luego de hallarse enfermo, lo que podría ser una forma de decir que se hallaba infectado del mal, del pecado, al igual que Ras, es venciendo al demonio que logra redimirse y purificarse, casi que resucitando como alguien nuevo.

Todo este misticismo se acompaña de un dibujo sublime con un manejo del color y la iluminación espectacular, no es una historia perfecta, pero PARA NADA es un desastre.

[Joe Kucharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A revisit from 1992
Denny O'Neil first created Ra's al Ghul and has done a lot with the character. The Birth of the Demon graphic novel provides the character's origin. And the origin story is well done. All full of loss and heartbreak; revenge and murder; all for the sake of love. And life.

Norm Breyfogle provides painted art for the book. Breyfogle was the definitive Batman artist of the early and mid-nineties. His rockstar visuals here prove his talent.

The story definitely suffers with its bookends featuring Batman trying to track down and stop his enemy where exposition dialogue fills the pages. The mano y mano fight at the conclusion - something always fun to see - seems tacked on for no reason other than to provide an action sequence.

Still, the origin tale, which fills the majority of the book, is worth the admission price.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ra's al Ghul is probably the villain that people who aren't as familiar with the comics tend to overlook, especially compared to the rest of Batman's rogue's gallery. But I would place him second probably only to the Joker in terms of candidates for Batman's archnemesis. One of the few villains to have deduced Batman's identity, basically immortal, and every bit Batman's equal in terms of hand-to-hand combat and genius. And his daughter Talia is one of Batman's most enduring love interests, and the mother of his son. All of the ingredients add up to one of the most intriguing villains in all of comics. So it was bound to happen that he would get an origin story, given that he has lived over 600 years because of the Lazarus pits. Honestly, I wish I had read more stories explicitly dealing with him, because I remember having a lot of fun with this one.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman: Birth of the Demon: Dennis O'Neil is hands down my favorite Batman writer of all time. Many of his best Batman stories feature Ras Al Ghul. What makes him one of Batman's greatest villains-- is that he really is a mystery. I get the temptation to give him an origin. And as his co-creator, O'Neil would be the best writer for the job. I went in being apprehensive. Since he is just the type of villain that would be ruined if you knew too much.
But luckily, while you get more than you did in any other story, you don't get TOO much or too much that wasn't already implied in other stories. (Sadly, some things that contradict other stories that at least at the time were thought to be canon... but huge other can of worms there.)

[Gustavo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Última parte de la saga de R'as al Ghoul, en donde se cuenta el origen del ecoterrorista. La historia es 85% R'as y 15% Batman, que sirve como disparador, y está bastante bien... digamos que no tiene nada particularmente fantástico en cuanto al guión. El arte, por otro lado, si es algo diferente e interesante, con un estilo muy pictórico y una paleta con tonos super brillantes que a mi particularmente me gustó mucho.

[Sotofunkdamental · Rating 4 out of 5]

La historia de origen de Ra's Al Ghul, guionizada por Dennis O'Neil y dibujada por Norm Breyfogle. Si quieres saber más sobre este villano, éste es el cómic perfecto. Argumento: "Historia arrolladora ambientada hace seiscientos años que revela la naturaleza trágica del pasado de Ra's Al Ghul. Batman está decidido a destruir todos los pozos de Lázaro del mundo. Antes de poder hacerlo, debe enfrentarse a su antiguo amor, Talia, y descubrir el verdadero origen de la Cabeza del Demonio".

[Tim Lapetino · Rating 5 out of 5]

A phenomenal origin story of one of Batman’s greatest enemies, Ra’s al Ghul. This sweeping tale features fantastic printed artwork by Norm Breyfogle. It’s more of a Ra’s-focused story than Batman, but really fleshes out the character Denny O’Neil created decades before. Highly recommended for Batman fans, especially for those of us of an older vintage. :)

[Gloria Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still not a big Ra's fan, but this is solid stuff, especially the end fight, and its got some gorgeous art. I'm not equipped to speak about the orientalism intrinsic to the Ra's Al Ghul character which gets brought to the forefront here, but as a epic revenge story, Ra's' origin is compelling if ultimately unnecessary, but given a nice context in Bruce's conversation with Talia.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Che mina, mi è piaciuta un sacco.

Disegni spettacolari, storia coinvolgente che prende gli stilemi più classici della narrativa come amore, vendetta, rivalsa, ci aggiunge un pizzico di Batman e di esoterismo vecchia scuola, ed ecco confezionata una storia di origine davvero ben scritta, che racconta il passato di uno dei personaggi più importanti della famiglia del pipistrello.

[Cliff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, the art is fantastic here; it's what sells the book, really. So little of Batman's actual presence here. I don't really care now about Ra's secret origin. I think it was better to have kept his origins shrouded in mystery to add to his ever fascinating creepiness.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 4 out of 5]

El origen del enigmático villano contado por su creador, uno de los mejores guionistas en la historia del detective quien teje un relato de amor, traición y venganza con sabor a aventura clásica. A destacar la labor gráfica de Norm Breyfogle en que el quizás sea su mejor trabajo.

[bruno giordano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esperaba una continuación a la historia anterior pero me saque de onda cuando vi que se trataba más bien de una historia de origen de Ra's. Si bien esta bien hecha si que fue bastante pesada de leer y perdia el interés de tanto en tanto.

[Francisco Becerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The “definitive” origin tale of Ra’s al Ghul. Although very entertaining, dramatic and well paced, it fails to explain in depth how Ra’s discovered the properties of the Lazarus’ pits, or why he is an ecoterrorist, or how he gets his fanatical soldiers. Still a great tale about a great villain.

[Jon Shanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing by Dennis O'Neil, telling what almost comes off like a classic Arabian knights fable, with Norm Breyfogle pulling off the finest art I've ever seen him produce, to create a dreamlike quality to the story.

[booksbylusi ;) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,75 ⭐️
Me ha gustado más que la primera parte, el origen de Rahs me ha parecido súper interesante y tanto el guion como el dibujo han sido muy acertados y cuidados. La verdad es que no podía soltarlo y me lo he leído prácticamente del tirón

[dillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

Such a great story with some incredible visuals. I do think that there's a bit too much going on which makes it lose its focus on the centre themes here. But when the focus is purely on Ra's decent into madness and the Batman's year long attempts to stop him, it's amazing

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is beautiful and at times horrifying. The story of Ra's origin is exciting and does a good job of establishing who he is and the path he walked to become the Demon's Head. The climax of the book has Ra's face Batman in the present day in an exciting and dramatic confrontation.

[✿ K.B ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice Ra's Al Ghul origin story with beautiful art. It is a must read if you wanna know where Ra's comes from and why he hates Batman.