CREDITS: Written by Dennis O'Neil (not only Ra's al Ghul's creator, but one of Batman's most seminal and celebrated comics writers) and Len Wein; directed by Kevin Altieri.
REVIEW: In the 70s, Denny O'Neil had Batman leave Gotham and become an International Man of Adventure, and the Bat's reason for doing so was Ra's al Ghul, the "Demon's Head". That's the story that's been adapted here, and the production goes all out, taking its cues not from the superhero noir the show has promoted 'til now (though Robin sneaking into his room and getting captured has some FANTASTIC lighting cues in that style), but from James Bond films - the mad villain who wants to bring about a New World Order using a lethal satellite, the deadly female spy, the hella strong henchman, aerial stunts, the countdown clock - and Indiana Jones - cultists, booby traps inside temples, that gorgeous caravan shot, that sweeping music - and of course, from both, the idea that our hero should hop around the globe to exotic locations. The Demon's Quest is a feast for the eyes and the imagination.
The Bondian feeling is right out of the original comics story, with definite inspiration taken from On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Draco wanted Bond to marry his daughter Tracy much in the way Ra's does with Talia. And so yes, much of the first episode is a runaround in which Ra's tests the "Detective" to see if he is worthy of his daughter's love and of taking over his empire. The script captures well Ra's megalomania, not only because his genocidal plan is mad - and dramatically illustrated in black and white stills too - but because he thinks nothing is important but his world (the one he has, i.e. Talia, and the one he wants to make). And seeing as being reborn from the Lazarus Pit seems to make one go temporarily insane, we can infer that repeated use is definitely dangerous to one's sanity. He may not rant and rave, but Batman is still right in his evaluation. Of all the eco-warriors Batman has had to face, Ra's is the most drastic by far.
It's an extended duel of minds, with Batman definitely earning the "Detective" moniker, but with a lot of action beats too. The martial arts sequences are well animated, but almost feel too brief because so much is packed into the episodes. We still have the clever way Batman beats the panther, the dangerous escape from the Himalayas (Wayne Tech Nepal?! Haha!), and a truly epic scope. The romance between Batman and Talia gets short shrift when all's said and done, at its most romantic when she kisses a key into his mouth so he can escape, but he rejects her at every turn, then leaves her with a kiss... Mixed signals, there, Bruce. They're making sure they get all the comic's famous beats in, but can't follow through in this format. And that's me struggling to find something to complain about.
IN THE COMICS: Closely based on Dennis O'Neil's "Daughter of the Demon" (Batman #232, June 1971) and "The Demon Lives Again" (Batman #244, September 1972), the episode nevertheless adds the Lazarus Pit apocalypse via Ra's satellite. And of course, Batman only kisses Talia, he doesn't father Damian in the process. Batman fights a leopard, not a panther, in the comics, as well (and doesn't resort to snapping its neck!).
SOUNDS LIKE: Helen Slater and David Wagner reprise their roles as the al Ghul family.
REWATCHABILITY: High - A gorgeous sweeping adventure filled with thrills. Top notch.
Comments
In other words, I took it not as mixed signals but as 'I do care about you, I am interested, and I wanted you to know that even though I wouldn't be shotgun-weddinged, I'm not averse to the possibility of a future between us.'
Actually, in a complete sap, total fanservice kinda way, that's why I loved Pendant Audio's 'Earth-P' DCU fan audios. It was a shipper's paradise, really. ;-) I've yet to forgive DC for cease-and-decisting that away...
I don't remember that part of the story, but I would watch the hell out of it.
The lighting is very dark here. Batman's costume frequently loses it's blue highlights and is drawn as blacks and dark greys. This slightly anticipates the TNBA redesign.
I feel Talia has lost some of her character h. In "Off Balance" she had a lot more agency, whereas here she seems to be a bit more the "love-struck daughter", under her fathers thumb. Her outfit is ridiculously sexy, though. Plus, bonus marks for going barefoot in both the feezing cold and boiling heat. Girl is hardcore.
Small trivia note: Either TMS or Kevin Altieri repeat a visual trick they did back in Two-Face Part 1, where a fight goes on whilst we focus on a person sat down turning their head left and right to look at it (Candice in that episode, Robin in this one).
Small points on part 2:
- Apparently Ra's has rigged his bases to explode at the press of a single button. A button just randomly placed in a hallway. Health & Safety would have a field day with that.
- Dick has his "Robin" hair out of costume for the first (and possibly only?) time. I guess there's no-one around in Nepal to make the connection.
- Bruce manages to guess where Ra's's base (how on earth do you do possesive "s" with that name) is located because the satellite flies over the Sahara Desert. The desert that's 3.6 million square miles/9.4 million square kilometers in size, comparable to the USA. "The Riddler's base is located somewhere in the US, Batman". "Thanks, Robin. Just drop me off in Florida and I'll walk around the country until I find something suspicious."
- The imagary of middle-eastern men sitting on camels carriny rifles can be a bit...dodgy nowadays. Ra's is both good in that he broadens the racial scope of Batman's villains (although I'm still not 100% what race he is. Talia always looks pretty white to me), but it does require the writers and artists to tread somewhat carefully. There were a couple of moments in Batman, Inc where it could be read as "rich white folk beating up poor dark-skinned folk". I wonder if they'd animate it slightly today.
- It's a crying shame we didn't get to hear David Warner shout "Are you man, or fiend from hell?A"
In any case, I don't think that Talia is especially feminist in this. Her motivations are driven by obedience to her father, and her one act of defiance comes because she has fallen in love with a man. Again, the "obedient woman turned by the heroic man" is a valid story (hell, James Bond does it almost every movie), but it's definitely not feminist. However, if you're arguing that the recent Batman, Inc story of Talia standing up to her father is "feminist", then I guess? I mean, Talia is supposed to be the age she appears. She hasn't used a Lazarus Pit. That means she was likely born sometime after 1985. She travelled and received an eduction around the world. The idea that she herself would think that she's incapable of running the League of Shadows/Assassins is slightly ludicrous nowadays.
(I did simplify the story somewhat. She's not just "rargh I can do anything a man can do". She views her father as being in her way of getting revenge on Batman for "stealing" their son, and so she just knocks him down and takes over his organisation. It makes her pretty terrifying.)
To me, failing to recognize that reality (and accepting that as the reason Ra's sought a male heir) is logical- which doesn't require the writers to approve of or agree with such beliefs- but retroactively suggesting Ra's is sexist is a much clumsier, much sillier way to explain it that doesn't require the authors to recognize any culture or standards but their own (and apply those standards to all times and places)... and thus inherently lazier, clumsier writing.
That said, Talia is CLEARLY fit for the job; just considering the culture it seems (based on the BTAS portrayal, at least) to take place in, I don't think it requires Ra's 'not realizing that because he's sexist' as a solution as to why she hasn't been considered sufficient 'heir.'
(...Ummmmm, 'stealing' her son? Way I remember, she kinda dropped him off with Bruce and peace'd out? :-) I assume the story developed further since I left off.)
That said, I'm still going to disagree with your point. :) You seem to be saying that Talia should recognise Ra's "culture" and go along with it, which I think it both an enormous disservice to her character, and also not how things work. Children challenging their parents beliefs is a constant, both in fiction and in reality. The woman has run LexCorp, so the idea that she wouldn't bristle against her father insisting on a male heir makes less sense that her going on with it.
You also seem to be implying that a "western culture" doesn't have right to critise other cultures where women have less rights and power than men. I strongly disagree with that. It doesn't matter if it comes from a cultural basis or being raised by less-enlightened parents... a belief that half the worlds population is inferior based on gender is wrong. Cultural sexism is still sexism.
It's even more ludicrous as an argument in a Batman comic. As I said, Ra's is a 600 year old eco-terrorist. His followers are already going to have strange ideas and beliefs before we get going. There are plently of ways that Talia can win over his followers, either through intelligence, cunning, or power (I don't think we actually see how she takes over. She just turns up at her father's house, reveales his men actually all work for her, and then puts him under house arrest so that he won't interfere with her plans. As I said, it's not an important part of the story.)
Anyway, Batman Inc is great. You should allrread it. Unless you don't like Morrison, I guess, in which case, er, don't.
Likewise, if Ra's' definition of 'heir' is different, and if only THAT definition of heir is going to be accepted as leader of his empire, then it is not sexism to not consider someone who doesn't fulfill those requirements.
And no, I'm not saying that a western culture doesn't have a right to criticize other cultures. What I'm saying is, western culture is not the only dang culture out there, and that's reality. Let me try a metaphor instead. As far as I know, both orthodox Jewish Rabbis and Muslim Imams are male-only roles within their culture and religions. (I could be wrong; I am neither of the Jewish nor Muslim faith. But let's assume that's the case for the point of the illustration.) Now, if an elderly Rabbi or Imam was looking for a new cleric to take their place, they would be looking for a male to succeed them in their place of worship when they died. Now, if one of them had a daughter with an attitude like Talia's, she might well be saying 'he never considered me, even though I know my Torah/Koran- clearly a sexist!' But, that would not be a true statement of the theoretical Rabbi/Imam in question (or at least, not necessarily; it would still be possible for either to be one, but not directly for that reason). Not considering her would not be a value judgement on her, nor would it be an act of sexism... she would just not be under consideration because she does not fulfill the requirements, religious and cultural, of the post, nor would the congregation accept her as the new cleric.
Now, maybe you'd see the theoretical rabbi/imam not challenging that standard as sexism, too; at which case, we are at an impasse. But my point would be the same in that theoretical preacher's case; neither devaluing nor ignoring his daughter, but merely not considering her because one of the requirements for the post is 'a male successor.' And even if he bucked the trend, as you seem to consider Ra's should, and decided to appoint her anyway, those she would be chosen to lead would just leave or seek out another leader; therefore, practically, with his followers still operating within that culture, it would be contrary to his goals of maintaining legacy leadership to do so. So likewise, for the purposes of achieving his aims, she does not meet the requirement of 'being an heir that my followers would follow.' Likewise, not a judgement on her capability, or a gender-based slight... just an acknowledgement that within the reality of the culture, she would not be able to fulfill the function he wishes to fulfill.
However, the writers *framing* it as a sexist issue acts as if Western culture is the only culture in existence, and its standards are the only standards in existence, and then sets up a situation and judges Ras within it using those standards. To use another metaphor, it's like the abortion debate. Each side acts as if their beliefs are the only conceivable beliefs that any person on Earth can hold, and then judges the other side based on that. ('I believe that life begins at conception, and ANY SANE PERSON clearly believes the same, therefore advocates of abortion are horrible people and clearly just value their own convenience over someone else's life!' 'I believe that it is a woman's right to have an abortion and ANY SANE PERSON clearly believes the same, therefore anyone that doesn't want a woman to have an abortion clearly hates women because there is no other rational belief or logical explanation for holding such a position.') Neither belief that they attribute to their opposition is actually TRUE, but since they filter the other person's position solely through their own beliefs, they attribute a false motivation to someone who is acting based on beliefs and standards outside their own frame of reference.
Either way, another MEGA multi-poster, so- I will have to bow out at this point. In essence, I am taking many words to say 'while I do not condone these standards, they do exist in the world, and I don't think it was necessary to make Ra's a sexist in order to have him operating within them for pragmatic reasons (i.e. that's where he spent centuries building an empire, long before he had a daughter, and he doesn't have the time to go through building a whole new powerbase in a more Western-idealized region, nor does he want to risk centuries of work to save the whole earth, east and west, in order to try and affect a cultural revolution).'