League of Assassins
| League of Assassins | |
|---|---|
| File:Loassdc.png Merlyn, Talia, Ra's Al Ghul, the Hook, and the Sensei | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Strange Adventures #215 November (1968) |
| Created by | Denny O'Neil Neal Adams |
The League of Assassins is an organization of killers formerly led by Ra's al Ghul, an enemy of Batman in the DC Comics Universe.
History
Doctor Ebeneezer Darrk
Ebeneezer Darrk or Doctor Darrk was the first man assigned to head the League of Assassins by Ra's Al Ghul, he was seconded by the Sensei. Darrk kidnapped Talia after a falling out with Ra's, Batman rescued Talia and Darrk died in the process.
Members of the League demonstrated willingness to die at a word from Ra's. They have included some of the most dangerous assassins in the world including Lady Shiva, David Cain, and master archer Merlyn.
The Sensei
Under the direction of the organization's second leader, the villainous Sensei, the League became more brutal, and rebelled against Ra's' rule. This version of the League is best known for two assassination. As part of an initiation process, the operative known as the Hook was assigned to murder Boston Brand (who became Deadman after his death). Additionally, Professor Ojo successfully brainwashed the Bronze Tiger, turning the master figher into a League operative and thus enabling the League to defeat Batman and murder Batman's friend Kathy Kane (Batwoman in pre-Crisis continuity). Not long afterwards, the insane Sensei - no longer motivated by anything but a desire to raise assassination to an art - attempted to cause an artificial earthquake in order to kill a number of diplomats gathered for peace talks. Although Batman was unable to prevent the earthquake, ultimately it was only The Sensei himself that died in the disaster, and control of the League returned to Ra's.
It was (most likely) shortly before Sensei's rebelion that Ra's, tired of the fickle loyalties of his warriors, assigned David Cain to create a perfect bodyguard. For this reason, The League attempted to train Cassandra Cain from birth to be the ultimate assassin, unknowingly giving her the skills she would use as the hero Batgirl.
Nyssa al Ghul
After the death of Ra's, his daughter Nyssa formed a new League. Lady Shiva was recruited to serve as Sensei to this incarnation of the League, with the intent that Cassandra Cain would lead the warriors themselves.
Nyssa's League included the warriors Shrike, Kitty Kumbata, Wam-Wam, Joey N'Bobo, Tigris, Momotado, Krunk, White Willow, the twin warriors Los Gemelos, Ox, "Mad Dog", Alpha, and Cristos. The new League was present when Mr. Freeze's wife Nora Fries was brought back to life as the monstrous Lazara, and several members died in the resulting chaos. Several more members died when the insane "Mad Dog" went on a killing spree.
Cassandra Cain
Although most of its members died or defected, the League survived the Infinite Crisis' aftermath under the control of Nyssa, until she was apparently killed in a car explosion. Cassandra Cain has taken over the League as its new leader.
Other Media
In the motion picture Batman Begins (2005), the League was instead called the League of Shadows, and existed to fight what Ra's perceived as injustice in the world. They trained Bruce Wayne for some years, until he could best any of the League in single combat, but he rejected them when the time came for him to kill a criminal, having realised that he must retain his compassion or he would become like the criminals he fought. The League's original base was destroyed in the subsequent battle as Bruce fought Ra's, but either enough men escaped the blaze or Ra's had other groups in the world, as they eventually attempted to strike at Gotham. Despite their best efforts, Bruce Wayne, now Batman, was able to fight off four members of the League single-handedly before challenging Ra's himself. Whether the League shall return in a sequel is unknown.
In the Batman: The Animated Series Ra's League was also known as The League of Shadows. It first appeared under the control of a character loosely based on Count Vertigo, simply called Vertigo, who filled a role similar to that of Ebeneezer Darrk. Interestingly, in the comic book Batman: The Gotham Adventures (based on Batman: The Animated Series, it was revealed that the League of Assassins existed as a serparate entity from The League of Shadows (although both groups served Ra's al Ghul). Much like their counterpart in the mainstream DC Universe, this version of the League of Assassins was responsible for the murder of Boston Brand, creating the ghostly hero Deadman (which might make the events canon in the DC animated universe, since Deadman's murder was referenced in that continuity). The Sensei, however, was loyal to Ra's in this continuity, and faced with either living out the last of his years in prison or defying Ra's wishes, he chose a third option: suicide.