This classic issue features the debut of Ra's Al Ghul in "Daughter of the Demon" by Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams, and Dick Giordano. As Robin returns home from a nightly patrol, he is attacked by two gunmen. They shoot the Boy Wonder with tranquilizer darts and take him prisoner.
Hours later, Bruce Wayne receives a photograph of his kidnapped partner along with a challenge to find him. He returns to the Batcave to investigate further, but when he arrives he finds a man named Ra's al Ghul and his servant Ubu waiting for him. Ra's' contacts have deduced that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same, and he requests the help of the world's greatest detective in finding his daughter Talia, who has also been kidnapped. Suspecting that the two kidnappings are related, Batman agrees to aid Ra's al Ghul.
Their journey leads them first to Calcutta where they find clues linking the kidnappers to a cult known as the Brotherhood of the Demon. Batman interrogates a local thug about the Brotherhood's whereabouts and the man points them towards a building in the Alley of Widows. As Batman enters the building, a leopard leaps out and attacks him. Batman catches the animal's jaw with his elbow and is forced to snap its neck. The danger past, Batman finds a map that points them towards the Himalayan Mountains.
Ra's al Ghul finances a mountain-climbing expedition and the three begin scaling the frozen mountainsides. A sniper begins firing at them, and it appears that one of the bullets strikes Ra's. Ubu pulls him inside of a crevice, while Batman deftly evades repeat gunfire. Ascending the peak, he finds a temple belonging to the Brotherhood.
Inside the temple, he finds Robin bound with rope and under armed guard. Batman frees Robin, and the gunmen begin to advance on him. Turning around, Batman reveals that he is not fooled by this elaborate ruse. The masked "leader" of the Brotherhood approaches him, but Batman tears the mask off of him revealing the face of Ra's manservant Ubu. He knew all along that Ra's was the true perpetrator of this crime. Ubu and Batman fight, but Batman's speed and skill prove more than a match for him.
Ra's finally enters the chamber along with his daughter Talia. He confesses to staging the entire episode to see if Batman could prove to be a worthy successor to Ra's role of leader of the Brotherhood. He also reveals that Talia is in love with Batman, and Ra's wants assurances that the Dark Knight would be a worthy son-in-law. Reprinted in Limited Collectors' Edition C-51 (1977), Best of DC #51 (1984), Saga of Ra's Al Ghul #1 (1988), Batman: Tales of the Demon TPB (1991), Batman in the Seventies TPB (2000), Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 3 HC (2006), Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 3 TPB (2013), Showcase Presents: Batman Vol. 6 TPB (2016), Batman by Neal Adams Omnibus HC (2016), Batman Arkham: Ra's Al Ghul TPB (2019), Batman (Facsimile Edition) #232 (2019), Batman by Neal Adams Vol. 3 TPB (2020), and Batman: Tales of the Demon HC (2020).
Edited by Julius Schwartz.
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