League of Assassins

In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC universe. The League of Assassins reside in the sacred city of 'Eth Alth'eban. Lady Shiva, Rictus, Cheshire, December Graystone, and Bronze Tiger target Red Hood. They end up capturing Jason Todd and bring him to 'Eth Alth'eban so that he can help lead the League of Assassins.^[6] Red Hood has been led to 'Eth Alth'eban, where the League of Assassins resides. Bronze Tiger explains that costumed heroes have been fighting to maintain a broken system—a system that can only be fixed by taking the next step, and culling the weak and wicked from the world. He and the others have chosen Jason to be their leader in taking the action that the world's super-heroes have been too afraid to take. Red Hood admits that he abandoned his friends because he did not want to be a killer. In response, Bronze Tiger begs the opportunity to show Red Hood how to do real lasting good. The assassins give Jason a tour of the Death Market, where tools of death and murder can be bought, to fill any need provided that the need in question is killing a lot of people. After reuniting with December Graystone, Cheshire, Lady Shiva, and Rictus, Bronze Tiger calls a meeting of the council to which Red Hood is invited. Meanwhile, they are concerned about the security of the city, given the coming war. Rictus assures them that it would take approximately four hundred terawatts of power to break through the city's walls. At their meeting, Red Hood wonders what it is about him that makes them think he can lead them to victory against the Untitled. Bronze Tiger admits amid jeers from his companions that he was told by Talia al Ghul that Red Hood would be the only one who could stop the Untitled if they ever attacked. This comes as a surprise to Red Hood, given that he cannot even remember what the Untitled look like. Bronze Tiger reminds that if Jason wants to do good with his life, he cannot do much better than to fight against the most powerful force for evil on the planet. Just then, sensors reveal that something is on the perimeter of the city. It is Arsenal and he is heavily armed.^[7]

Arsenal is using all of his unique inventions to hold back the defensive attacks of the Man-Bat Commandos of the League of Assassins. The first assassin Arsenal encounters is December Graystone and he soon entraps the magician within a block of ice, thanks to some grenades made with technology he stole from Mr. Freeze. Next, Cheshire appears next to him thanks to her teleportation abilities and steals the hat off of his head. However, he spots the teleportation device implanted in her wrist and uses an electrical shock to short it out. That causes the device to malfunction and she disappears completely. During the fight, Red Hood states that he would lead the League of Assassins in exchange that Arsenal and Starfire are unharmed. Starfire reminds Jason that she would rather die than be put in chains again. She warns him that with the last Lazarus Pit uncovered, it can strip away the Untitled's powers, which is why they have come to destroy it. They must not succeed. As she and Arsenal are escorted away, she warns Jason not to die today. As he prepares himself, Red Hood begins to hear a voice from within that explains that his destiny is coming to fruition, and shows him how to make the mystical All-Blades manifest in his hands. Though he does not remember what all this means, he hopes it will help, as the Untitled arrive in the sacred city.^[8]

Outside the sacred city of 'Eth Alth'eban, December Graystone discovers someone he was not expecting to see waiting outside and curses himself for not realizing that this person had something to do with the battle currently underway in the subterranean city. Red Hood is currently leading the League of Assassins in a charge against the evil Untitled, who had the gall to use Jason's friend Arsenal against him to get into the city. Jason is confused when his swords tell him that by taking bronze shards from the great fountain at the centre of the city, they will be able to drive off the Untitled, but he hopefully passes on the information to his companions. Red Hood finds himself locked in combat with Drakar and the man discovers that what was done to Red Hood's mind was more than a simple mind-wipe. He senses Ducra somewhere within his mind. Red Hood uses Drakar's confusion to steer him toward the fountain, which hides the Well of Sins (the pool that filled the Untitled with evil). Drakar struggles, but collapses into the murky fluid. Having fallen into the Well of Sins, Drakar begs to be removed from it as he can feel the arcane power reaching back inside him, and taking the evil energy within him away. The pool strips Drakar of his power and life-force, spitting him back out as a withered old man. Turning to the remaining Untitled, Red Hood warns that they will all suffer the same fate if they do not surrender. The Untitled respond that he cannot hope to defeat them alone, but Lady Shiva responds by unleashing a swarm of Man-Bats warning that the League of Assassins is death incarnate. When the Untitled have been cast back into the Well of Sins by the League of Assassins, Drakar plans to take Red Hood with him only for Bronze Tiger to snap Drakar's neck. Following Drakar's death, Red Hood admits that killing Drakar was necessary—a key realization for a member of the League of Assassins. Lady Shiva comments that tonight, they will see all the remaining Untitled dead as well, but Jason responds that they cannot simply kill without his say-so if he is to be the League's leader. Suddenly, a cloaked figure appears, noting that he expected more after coming all this way, just to find a leader of assassins who orders his warriors to sheathe their blades. The man warns that the game is over, and Jason's part in it is done, as he makes his way toward the Well of Sins. Jason stands in his way, demanding to know who this man is. The man responds that he is the one who gave the Untitled the location of the Acres of All knowing that they would kill Ducra and return to this place. He knew they would fall here, and imbue the Well of Sins with a greater power than he had ever tasted—a power that he would now take for himself, having planned this moment for three centuries. Emerging from the pit, the man introduces himself as Ra's al Ghul.^[9]

Jason is under attack by Ra's al Ghul who demands to know just what his daughter Talia al Ghul saw in the boy. Having just emerged from the Well of Sins, Ra's al Ghul is consumed by the evil that once corrupted the Untitled centuries ago. Now he feels compelled to rid himself of the machinations of his daughter and Ducra by killing Jason. At Ra's al Ghul's command, the prisoners are brought to him, and he promises to use his newfound power to see them dead. Red Hood, however, determines that he cannot allow it to happen. As Ra's al Ghul gathers his power, Red Hood tells himself again and again that he wants to remember what he chose to forget. At last, the images rush through his mind, and begin to reform as memories. Unfortunately, the revelation occurs earlier than Ducra had planned. Having regained all of his training with Batman as well, Jason is free of his chains almost instantly. His training with Lady Shiva sees him making short work of the League's Man-Bats. He uses that same training to best Lady Shiva herself, only to be attacked by Bronze Tiger next. In the meantime though, Cheshire (whose loyalty to the League of Assassin's returned master is waning) attempts to rescue Roy and Kori. Before long, the pair are free to aid Red Hood in his fight. Smirking, he welcomes them back, apologizing for his having deceived them. They are confused, unaware that his decision to erase his memory was part of a grander plan.^[10] Red Hood engages Ra's al Ghul as Essence joins the battle. She insists that he will allow Jason and his friends to leave his realm, or he will be forced to die a mortal death just as he always feared he would. Despite having destroyed the All-Caste, Ra's' actions have led to their eventual rebirth. Defeated, he swears that he will visit great agony upon Red Hood if he sees him ever again.^[11]

Talia al Ghul's own organization, Leviathan, is a schism of the League of Assassins created to counter Batman's "Batman Incorporated".^[12]

Batman and Aquaman head to an island where the League of Assassins are, after Ra's al Ghul had the bodies of Damian Wayne and Talia al Ghul exhumed. Batman and Aquaman storm the beach, breaking through the island's defences of Man-Bats, only to find that the source of the whales' screaming was on the island. Ra's al Ghul had ordered the hunt of whales, creating genetically altered super-humans in the wombs of sperm whales. This being just one of a probable many plans to rebuild the League of Assassins. Aquaman swears vengeance on the whales' behalves. Inside the compound, they find that Ra's is wiping the hard drives clean, preventing data recovery, even as a message from Ra's plays over the intercom, chastising Batman for failing to prevent the deaths of Damian or Talia within the city he swore to protect. As his parting gift, he has left Batman the Heretics to keep him entertained. Batman reels as he sees all of the grotesque and mutated failed clones of failed Damians. As they fight for their lives, Batman warns Aquaman not to kill any of these monstrosities. They are too developmentally malformed to comprehend what they had done to those whales in being born. Suddenly, Bruce realizes that if the Heretics were born of a whale's womb, Arthur might be able to telepathically link up with them. He leads them out into the ocean, where an unharmed whale breaches, and swallows them whole. Batman, meanwhile, fights his way to Ra's escape aircraft. He sees Talia and Damian's bodies stored within it, and clings to the fuselage from outside as the plane takes off. Though Ra's al Ghul plans to go to Paradise Island, he is nearly surprised to see Batman pounding on the cockpit's windshield. From outside, Batman screams for Ra's al Ghul to give back his son, but Ra's al Ghul responds that he is blood of Damian's blood and the boy is in good hands. He orders the plane to tilt its angle, causing the wind shear to rip Batman from his purchase and drop down into the sea. Luckily, Aquaman is there to catch him. Arthur explains that all of the Heretics are alive, having been taken down by a whale to Atlantis for safe keeping.^[13]

DC Rebirth

In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called DC Rebirth, which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". The League of Assassins and League of Shadows are two separate organizations. The League of Assassins consists of Ra's Al Ghul's standard followers, while the League of Shadows is the more mysterious of the two and is often considered a myth, but are said to have people everywhere and to have a plan to "bring the entire nation to the ground".^[14][15]

At a later point in time, Connor Hawke, the estranged son of Green Arrow, washed up on the shores of an unknown island, where he was rescued by the League of Shadows. They offered him an invitation to join their ranks, as they needed a "champion" to enter the League of Lazarus tournament and bond with the Lazarus Demon. Connor accepted the offer, intending to stop their plan to awaken the demon. The Shadows sent Hawke as their champion of the League of Lazarus tournament and monitored him vigilantly.^[16]

Members

• Ra's al Ghul – First appearing in Batman #232 (June 1971), Ra's al Ghul ("Demon's Head" in Arabic), is a centuries-old worldwide eco-terrorist. He knows Batman's secret identity. He utilizes special pits known as Lazarus Pits which enable him to evade death, and live for centuries. He is the founder of The League of Assassins, though exactly when is unknown.
• Batman – Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, an American billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and owner of Wayne Enterprises. After witnessing the murder of his parents as a child, he swore revenge on criminals, an oath tempered by a sense of justice. Bruce trains himself both physically and intellectually and crafts a bat-inspired persona to fight crime.
• Talia al Ghul – First appearing in Detective Comics #411 (May 1971), she is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul and the half-sister of Nyssa Raatko. Her father encouraged a relationship between Talia and Batman, desiring for Batman to marry his daughter in hopes of recruiting him as his successor. Talia admires Batman in his drive, determination, and nobility, but was always torn between him and the love for her terrorist father. Unlike Catwoman, Talia is more than willing to play second-fiddle to Bruce's mission. He is the father of her son Damian.
• Holocaust
  survivor. She eventually broke off from her father and his crusade, which resulted in a rift between them. She had in her possession a Lazarus Pit that could be reused over and over again. She was responsible for brainwashing her half-sister Talia into despising not only Batman, but their father as well, whom she ended up killing with a sword. It appears, however, that Nyssa was killed in a car bombing in Northern Africa, presumably by the League of Assassins.
• Damian Wayne - First appearing in Batman: Son of the Demon (1987), he is the son of Talia al Ghul and the grandson of Ra's al Ghul. He was genetically perfected and grown in an artificial womb by members of the organization and was subsequently raised and trained as a member of the League of Assassins, although he later left and joined forces with his biological father, Bruce Wayne, becoming the next Robin.
• Ebeneezer Darrk (Also known as Doctor or Professor Darrk) – He is the first known individual assigned to head the League of Assassins by Ra's al Ghul. Although many of the League's leaders over the years have been accomplished martial artists, Daark himself did not depend on physical prowess, and as an assassin he instead relied upon careful planning and manipulation, ambushes and death traps, as well as a variety of cleverly concealed weapons and poisons. After earning Ra's enmity (for reasons unknown), Darrk died during a plot to kidnap Talia which was foiled by Batman.
• The Sensei – First appearing in Strange Adventures #215 (October/November 1968) as an aged martial arts master from Hong Kong, he was Darrk's second in command. He was put in charge of the League after Darrk's death. However, he would prove just as disloyal as his predecessor, and the Sensei would eventually struggle with Ra's al Ghul for the control of the organization. One of his personal goals is to raise assassination to an art form. He is revealed to be Ra's al Ghul's father in Batman #671 (January 2008).
• Doctor Moon
  – First appearing in Batman #240 (March 1972), he is a brain surgeon with skills that make him the person to contact to recover dead brains, erase or modify minds, or mental torture.
• Lady Shiva (Sandra Wu-San) – First appearing in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #5 (December 1975), she is a mercenary assassin who once trained with Bruce Wayne and is possibly the greatest martial artist alive in the DC Universe; one of Batman's true physical rivals. She is also the biological mother of Cassandra Cain.
• David Cain
  – First appearing in Batman #567 (July 1999), he is the biological father of Cassandra Cain and the adoptive father of Mad Dog III.
• Cassandra Cain (brainwashed at the time) – First appearing in Batman #567 (1999), she is the daughter of David Cain and Lady Shiva, and was previously known as Batgirl.
• Deathstroke (Slade Wilson) – First appearing in The New Teen Titans #2 (December 1980), he was a member of the League of Assassins, recruited by Talia to kill Richard Grayson (Nightwing) for corrupting her son, Damian, to the good guys. Wilson and Grayson have a long-standing animosity due to years of fighting and Grayson's redemption of Wilson's children.
• The Seven Men of Death – The seven deadliest assassins of the League and Ra's al Ghul's personal hit squad. They answer only to the Demon himself and the Sensei. Its members have included:
  • Detonator – Member of the Seven Men of Death. He specializes in demolitions.
  • Hook – The hook-handed member of the Seven Men of Death. He was responsible for murdering
    Boston Brand
    during a circus act.
  • Maduvu – Member of the Seven Men of Death. He has mechanical clawed-hands.
  • Merlyn – An archer who was once a member of the Seven Men of Death.
  • Razorburn – Member of the Seven Men of Death. He has advanced hand-to-hand combat abilities, great throwing abilities, and wields two knives for weapons.
  • Shellcase – Member of the Seven Men of Death. He has advanced hand-to-hand combat abilities and has good marksmanship.
  • Whip
    – A female whip-wielding member of the Seven Men of Death.
  • unnamed shuriken-wielding assassin – A male domino-mask wearing, shuriken-wielding member of the Seven Men of Death. He first debuted in "Bruce Wayne: The Road Home," as a replacement for Merlyn. Despite multiple appearances, his name has never been given.

Other members of the League of Assassins include:

• Alpha
  – A member of the League of Assassins and a master of Gun-Fu.
• Arrow / Al Sah-Him – In the Arrowverse, Oliver Queen was obsessed with the legacy of the League he becomes the second Ra's al Ghul and even weds Nyssa. Repealed to be a ruse.
• Anya Volkova – Former League of Assassins, she collected a database about the members of the league which was stolen by the Court of Owls.
• Bane – Bane was once a member of the League of Assassins when he had impressed Ra's al Ghul.^[17]
• Bear – A Mexican Bigfoot-like man who is a member of the League of Assassins' metahuman faction.
• Bronze Tiger – He was brainwashed at the time.
• Cheshire – She is part of the League of Assassins in The New 52.
• December Graystone – A League of Assassins operative that was introduced in The New 52. He can perform blood magic where he cuts himself to access various powers through spilled blood like telekinesis and teleportation.
• Dr. Tzin-Tzin – A criminal mastermind and expert hypnotist.
• Dragon Fly – Member of the League of Assassins. She alongside Silken Spider and Tiger Moth attacked Wayne Manor during the events of "The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul".
• Expediter – Member of the League of Assassins. He was a computer expert who serves a similar function compared to Oracle upon being forced to join the League of Assassins.
• Glaze – Builds cities in various locations of the worlds and is a master of economic bubbles.
• Grind – One of Ra's al Ghul's bodyguards.
• Ishmael
  - An assassin enhanced by the Lazarus Pit's waters.
• Jasper – Jasper and Nyssa al Ghul capture a serum.
• Kirigi
  – A top martial artist that previously trained Bruce Wayne. He later trained the different members of the League of Assassins.
• Kitty Kumbata – A talented but mentally unstable martial artist who was a former member of the Circle of Six.
• Kyle Abbot – A former Intergang member, Abbot worked with Ra's al Ghul until his apparent death. He took a serum that enables him to become a full wolf and even a werewolf
  -like form.
• Mad Dog – Mad Dog is a kung fu fighter who was the adoptive son of David Cain.
• Man-Bat Commandos – When Talia al Ghul forced Dr. Kirk Langstrom into giving her the Man-Bat
  formula, she transformed a select bunch of unnamed League of Assassins members into Man-Bat Commandos.
• Mazone – A bearded samurai who is a member of the League of Assassins' metahuman faction.
• Onyx
  – Onyx was a longstanding fully capable member of the League of Assassins. She eventually decided to retire from her life of murder.
• Owens – A sniper who is a member of the League of Assassins. He was partnered up with Pru and Z to assassinate Red Robin. Owens is killed by Widower of the Council of Spiders.
• Professor Ojo – Ojo was born without eyes. Brilliant but blind, Ojo eventually created a device allowing him to see and eventually became associated with the League of Assassins as one of their scientists.
• Pru – headstrong female assassin who is a member of the League of Assassins. She was partnered up with Owens and Z to assassinate Red Robin.
• Respawn - A clone created with the genetic material of Deathstroke and Talia al Ghul. After escaping torture and captivity at the hands of Ra's al Ghul, he starts wearing a similar costume to Deathstroke and competed in the Lazarus tournament against Damian Wayne.^[18] He died in Shadow War saving Deathstroke.^[19]
• Rictus – A cybernetic-enhanced operative of the League of Assassins that was introduced in The New 52.
• Ruck – A four-armed gunman who is a member of the League of Assassins' metahuman branch.
• Scimitar – Leads a coalition of members from the League.^[20]
• Shrike
  – A teenage boy who used to be friend of Dick Grayson. He later became a member of the League of Assassins.
• Silken Spider – Member of the League of Assassins. She alongside Dragon Fly and Tiger Moth attacked Wayne Manor during the events of "The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul".
• Silver Monkey – A former member of the Monkey Fist Cult that became an assassin-for-hire.
• Spike – A female martial artist that is capable of creating energy blades. She is a member of the League of Assassins' metahuman faction.
• Targa – A
  telekinetic
  midget who is the leader of the League of Assassins' metahuman faction.
• Tiger Moth – Member of the League of Assassins. Her costume disorients her opponents, making them incapable of hitting her. She once assisted Dragon Fly and Silken Spider into attacking Wayne Manor during the events of "The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul".
• Tigris – A female Afghan martial artist who was recruited into the League of Assassins by Lady Shiva; she traced her lineage to the ancient kingdom of Nineveh.
• Tolliver – A vampire who is a member of the League of Assassins' metahuman faction.
• Vial – Member of the League of Assassins. He was killed upon kissing his cross that was poisoned by Funnel of the Council of Spiders.
• Ubu – A master assassin who is Ra's al Ghul's trusted second-in-command. In later works, it is revealed that the title of Ubu refers to a whole tribe of people. When one Ubu dies, another one takes his place. An Ubu was later killed by
  Bane.^[21]
• Vertigo – In
  Batman the Animated Series, Count Vertigo
  (only known as "Vertigo") worked for Ra's al Ghul.
• Verdigris – He escapes a siege only to have his tracks traced.
• Viper – The League's foremost manufacturer of poison.
• Wam Wam – A Dutch martial artist who was a former member of the Circle of Six.
• Whisper A'Daire – She worked with Ra's al Ghul until his apparent death. She took a serum that enables her to become a snake
  -like creature.
• White Ghost I – Dusan al Ghul is the first White Ghost was Ra's al Ghul's only son.
• White Ghost II – The second White Ghost was an unknown person who healed Red Robin after he was poisoned by Widower of the Council of Spiders. When Red Robin questioned the White Ghost about his identity, the White Ghost simply replies that "there will always be a white ghost" which suggests that the title of White Ghost is defined as a loyal figure that has been affiliated with the League of Assassins for centuries.
• White Willow – Not much is known about her past except for the fact that she was recruited into the League of Assassins by Lady Shiva.
• Will Justice – Also known as Bill Justice, Will Justice was recruited for the League of Assassins following the annihilation of the village of Crisfield. His radical political agenda did not sit well with the other members of the League leading to his exile. He has since been committed to Arkham Asylum in Gotham City with the circumstances of his breakdown unknown.
• Z – Zeddmore Washington is a member of the League of Assassins. He was paired up with Owens and Pru to assassinate Red Robin. Z was later killed by Widower of the Council of Spiders.

Other versions

In Superman & Batman: Generations, Batman 'inherits' control of the League of Assassins after Bruce Wayne tracks down the organization and accepts a deal where he and Ra's enter the same Lazarus Pit at once; Ra's has determined that if two souls enter the pit, one will perish while the other will become immortal without needing to keep using the Pit, Bruce accepts the offer and Ra's al Ghul is destroyed. With Ra's al Ghul gone, Batman uses Ra's' criminal empire to set up an anti-crime and humanitarian network by subtly changing the organization's goals.

In other media

Television

Animation

• The League of Assassins, named the Society of Shadows, appears in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU):
  • The Society initially appears in Batman: The Animated Series, consisting of Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, Ubu, and Count Vertigo. This version of the group dates back to the 1800s, and was founded to accomplish Ra's life goal of restoring the earth to a pure and untainted world and undo all the pollution and damage done to it by humanity, even if that meant destroying most, if not all of humanity to do so.
  • The Society of Shadows re-appears in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "The Demon Reborn".
  • A similar, though unrelated group, named the Society of Assassins, appears in Batman Beyond, consisting of
    Curaré
    , the "Master Assassin" Devon, and Mutho Botha.
• The League of Assassins appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Sidekicks Assemble!", consisting of Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, and Ubu.
• The League of Assassins (under its League of Shadows name) appears in
  Project Cadmus' Board of Directors
  ), and initially led by Ra's al Ghul before being taken over by Deathstroke.
• The League of Assassins is featured in
  Cypher, and Silver Monkey.^[22] This version of the group are enemies of Katana
  and seek to gain control of her Soultaker Sword as well as the Ion Cortex, an artificial intelligence that regulates energy.
• The League of Shadows appears in the DC Super Hero Girls episode "#LeagueOfShadows". This version is a secret rock band where they are located in the Lazarus Pit, being a rock concert.

Arrowverse

Main article: Arrowverse

• The League of Assassins appears in the TV shows set in the Arrowverse:
  • The League of Assassins appears in
    Mar Novu
    who gave him power to establish the League of Assassins. Eventually, remnants of the League led by Athena are defeated by Oliver, Thea, and Talia and are re-established into the League of Heroes by Thea and Talia.
  • The League of Assassins also appears in spin-off show
    bootstrap paradox
    by telling Ra's to send Nyssa to rescue her in 2008, leading to her original induction to the League.
  • The League of Assassins is referenced in the Black Lightning episode "The Book of Ruin: Chapter Two: Theseus' Ship". Sometime after the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" that led to the formation of Earth-Prime, it is revealed that anyone wanting to join the League of Assassins must slay 100 metahumans. The assassin Ishmael plans to join up with them as he had already killed 94 metahumans including Lala of the 100. This leads to Destiny of the Kobra Cartel to further contract him to target Black Lightning and his allies.

Gotham

• The League of Shadows first appear in the
  Jim Gordon which also ended with Fish Mooney accidentally getting killed. Other ninjas from the League of Assassins were present at the Yuyaun Building when Bruce Wayne
  first meets Ra's al Ghul. In the episode "A Dark Knight: "One of My Three Soups", the energy that Ra's al Ghul placed in Barbara Kean served as a beacon that called the League of Shadows to her. After the unnamed captain of the League of Shadows (portrayed by Ethan Herschenfeld) doubted Barbara Kean leading them as a female has never led them before, Barbara Kean killed him when he tried to take the title from her. After a brief blackout, the female members (named Sisters of the League) of the League of Shadows led by Leila massacred the weaker members as Barbara plans to make use of the League of Shadows. In the episode "A Dark Knight: To Our Deaths and Beyond", Ra's' loyal followers led by Palden manage to resurrect him. In the episode "A Dark Knight: No Man's Land", the League of Assassins and Jeremiah destroy the bridges out of town, isolating Gotham from the rest of the world. After Gotham City has been evacuated and following Ra's al Ghul's second death, Palden and those with him want to swear their allegiance to Barbara. After Barbara hears from Tabitha about Penguin shooting Butch Gilzean, she states that man is the problem that the world has and has Leila and her female League of Assassins teammates kill Palden and his teammates while using their bodies to establish an all-female territory. In season 5, the Sisters continue to support Barbara following Gotham becoming a No Man's Land. In the episode "Legend of the Dark Knight: I Am Bane", Ra's al Ghul's daughter Nyssa al Ghul arrives to exact revenge on Barbara and Bruce for her father's death while also being the benefactor of Bane's mercenary squad, Delta Force. Nyssa goes to the Sirens Club and kills all of the Sisters for betraying their original leader's goals. Nyssa states the League is "everywhere". This implies there are members stationed around the world despite the deaths of the Sisters and the loyalists.

Film

• In the first film of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, Batman Begins (2005), they are called the League of Shadows and are based in Bhutan. The foot soldiers are martial artists who utilized a number of martial arts including ninjutsu, jujitsu and various forms of kung fu. A mysterious man calling himself Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) recruited and trained Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) for a man that he called their leader Ra's al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) for an unspecified period of time. He told Wayne the story about how the injustice of his wife being taken from him led him onto the path of the League of Shadows. Bruce rejected the League when he was ordered to kill a criminal to prove his commitment to justice and he learned that the League wanted him to lead a mission to destroy Gotham City. The League's base was destroyed in the subsequent battle as Wayne fought the man that he had believed to be Ra's al Ghul and left him for dead. The League later enacted their plan to destroy Gotham and Ducard revealed to Wayne that he was Ra's al Ghul at Bruce Wayne's birthday party. They attacked Gotham because they felt that the city had become decadent. Ra's al Ghul said that the League had worked to restore the world to balance throughout history as human civilization achieved decadence around the world as he stated "We sacked Rome, loaded trade ships with plague rats, burned London to the ground". The plan was to use the stolen Wayne Enterprises microwave emitter to vaporize Scarecrow's (Cillian Murphy) toxin and have the city's inhabitants tear each other apart in a state of fear. Despite their best efforts, Bruce Wayne, now Batman, was able to fight off four members of the League single-handedly, before defeating Ra's al Ghul himself aboard a train where Ra's al Ghul was left to die as it crashed.
• The League of Shadows again makes an appearance in the third film of Nolan's Batman trilogy,
  GCPD in the sewers, Bane then proceeded to hold Gotham hostage while giving the citizens false hope of survival by means of a faux revolution while stating that he has given the trigger of the bomb to a random Gothamite. The next day, Bane exposed the truth about Harvey Dent and had all of the inmates of Blackgate Penitentiary released by his men. While in his cell, Bruce was told the story of an exiled mercenary and his wife and child that were once imprisoned there. The child was said to be the only one who successfully escaped the prison. Ra's al Ghul appeared to Bruce in the form of a hallucination, who implied that he was "immortal" through the birth of his child within the Pit, the heir to the League of Shadows. Bruce assumed that the mercenary's child was Bane and that Ra's al Ghul was his father. After Batman had defeated Bane, Miranda stabbed Batman and revealed herself as Talia al Ghul, Ra's al Ghul's child, who climbed out of the Pit with the aid of her childhood friend and protector Bane. Bane was secretly working with her while she operated under the name of Miranda Tate to complete her father's mission, showing Batman that she was always the one who held the trigger to the nuclear bomb. Talia recounted that the League trained her and Bane, that Ra's banished Bane because he reminded him of the prior loss of his wife, and that Bane's only crime was loving her. Talia resented her father for this, but she was never able to forgive him until he died fighting Batman. Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) kills Bane with the Bat-Pod
  's cannon at short range, and she and Batman confront Talia, eventually forcing her truck carrying the bomb off the road where she died believing that her father's work was finished. Following a battle within Gotham City's streets and the deaths of Bane and Talia, the rest of the surviving League members in the city along with Gotham's criminals are either jailed, incapacitated, or killed in battle against the GCPD.
• The League of Assassins is visually alluded to in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), as the organization's emblem is meant to be glimpsed on one of Deathstroke's katanas, insinuating his history with them.^[24] In spite of this, the emblem used in the final film was revealed to be a symbol associated with the video game series Halo, an oversight that went unnoticed by either Joe Manganiello who portrays Slade Wilson, or the production crew behind the scenes.^[25]
• The League of Assassins appear in the films set in the DC Animated Movie Universe:
  • The League of Assassins appears in Son of Batman. They are initially led by Ra's al Ghul until his former right-hand and heir Deathstroke kills him and a sect of League ninjas join him. It was mentioned that Ra's al Ghul had used Kirk Langstrom in his Man-Bat Commandos project. Following Ra's al Ghul's death, Deathstroke resumed the project by coercing Dr. Langstrom to help him by kidnapping his wife and daughter.
  • The League of Assassins appears in
    Tusk
    .
  • In Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Deathstroke states that he plans to form his own League of Assassins with the money that Brother Blood is paying him.
  • The League of Assassins is mentioned in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. Deathstroke makes a cameo in a flashback where he murders Bronze Tiger's fiancée whilst still a member of the League. Deadshot is also stated to have worked for the League once while Bronze Tiger reveals he went undercover during a mission by the CIA.
  • The League of Assassins (now going by the name of League of Shadows) appears in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. The group is now led by Damian Wayne with Lady Shiva as his right hand.
• The League of Assassins appear in the crossover film Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Ra's al Ghul and Ubu appear as the featured members. The League of Assassins collaborate with the Foot Clan in a plot to steal a Wayne Enterprises cloud seeder in a plot to affect Gotham City's population with a hybrid compound of the mutagen and Joker venom. One League of Assassins ninja (voiced by Tom Kenny who was not credited for the role) was used as a test subject to demonstrate the Ooze's abilities where it turns him into a mutant wolf. During the course of the film, a select number of other League of Assassins ninjas were mutated by the mutagen that Shredder used on them turning them into mutant animals.

Video games

• The League of Shadows appear in the Batman Begins video game based on the 2005 film.
• The League of Assassins appears in DC Universe Online.
• The League of Shadows appear in
  mutant Man-Bats to eliminate the Court and purge all crime in Gotham, even if it means destroying the city. She also manages to resurrect and brainwash Batman, hoping to use him as the leader of her army, but her plan is foiled by the Gotham Knights—Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood
  —who free Batman from her control and defeat her. Following this, Talia and the League abandon Gotham, though they leave several assassins behind to keep watch on the Knights.

Batman: Arkham

The League of Assassins appear in two of the Batman: Arkham games:

• They first appear in Batman: Arkham City. The League is made up of Talia al Ghul's elite guard, and is notably the only incarnation of the League in both comics and media to be composed of mostly female ninjas, with Ra's al Ghul being the only male member shown in the entire series. A League ninja is first seen on display meditating in the Penguin's museum, having been captured by his men after she broke into the museum and killed some of them. After the Penguin is defeated and Batman mentions Ra's to Mr. Freeze, who requires a sample of Ra's' blood to synthesize a cure for the disease the Joker infected Batman with, the ninja suddenly awakens and tries to break the glass to her display, eventually succeeding at the cost of a bloody shoulder wound. She exclaims that Batman and Freeze are unworthy to speak of the great Ra's al Ghul before fleeing the museum, the bloodstains leaving a trail for Batman to follow out of the museum and to the League's hideout beneath the abandoned Wonder City. As soon as Batman enters, he is surrounded by multiple ninjas but is saved by Talia's intervention. Batman lies to her that he has come to claim his position as Ra's' successor, and after passing the Demon Trials, he is allowed to see Ra's, whom Batman then defeats, collecting a blood sample for Freeze's cure. The League are not seen again after this, but it is revealed that they funded and rigged Quincy Sharp's mayoral campaign so that he would win and establish Arkham City. The League are also revealed to be the power behind Hugo Strange and Protocol 10, which, if successful, would have purged all of Gotham's worst criminals and would have allowed Strange to become Ra's' successor. After Batman thwarts Protocol 10, Ra's kills Strange for his failure and then commits suicide to avoid capture, though if the player later returns to the scene of Ra's death, they will find his body has vanished, implying the League took it in order to resurrect their leader.
• The League return in Batman: Arkham Knight in The Season of Infamy downloadable content (DLC), as the focus of the side mission "Shadow War". Following the events of Arkham City, Ra's has been moved to a Lazarus Pit beneath Elliot Memorial Hospital, with tubes pumping Lazarus into him barely keeping him alive. The League subsequently split into two factions, one loyal to Ra's and one led by Ra's daughter Nyssa Raatko, who seeks to let her father die. When Batman finds Ra's, his loyalists demand that he retrieve a sample of pure Lazarus in the possession of the rebels to restore Ra's, playing on his morality by informing the Dark Knight that a civil war amongst the League would endanger Gotham citizens. When Batman later obtains said sample, he is confronted by Nyssa, who gives him an ultimatum: deny Ra's the pure Lazarus and she would pull the League out of Gotham, never to shed innocent blood, or give Ra's the Lazuras and have Gotham endure civil war. This leaves the player with two choices:
  • If Batman gives the Lazarus to Ra's, he regains his strength and kills Nyssa for her treachery. Batman tries to fight him, but Ra's steals one of his smoke bombs and vanishes. Batman offers to save Nyssa with the remaining Lazarus, but she refuses. After this, the League disappears from Gotham.
  • If Batman denies Ra's the Lazarus and destroys the equipment keeping him alive, Nyssa arrives to see what her father has ultimately become. As she is about to strike him down, Batman stops her and says that he will take him to the GCPD. Nyssa is satisfied and upholds her promise, recalling all her forces from Gotham while Batman takes Ra's to a special cell and straps him to a gurney. Having only a few days left to live, Ra's tells Batman that he is proud of him for apparently breaking his code.

Miscellaneous

• Deadman
  . The Sensei 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, chose a third option where he walks out of his mountain home and off the cliff.
• The League of Shadows appears in the comic book tie-in to Young Justice. In issue #3, Sensei sends Hook and Black Spider to assassinate Selena Gonzales (who was one of the former associates of Project Cadmus). In issue #4, Hook and Black Spider were defeated by Young Justice. However, Selena Gonzales was nowhere to be found causing the team to speculate that another operative was waiting for her to escape. In issue #11, Ubu was with Ra's al Ghul when the League of Shadows planned to hijack a rocket at Cape Canaveral. In issue #12, it was revealed that Matt Hagen was a member of the League of Shadows where his attempt to cure his cancer in the Lazarus Pit led to his transformation into Clayface upon Talia al Ghul locking him in the Lazarus Pit. Ra's al Ghul and Sensei managed to trick Clayface into sleeping and shipped his canister to the Wayne Foundation.
• In Arrow tie-in comic, The Dark Archer, the League of Assassins once encountered a similar organization called "The Hidden" in 1985. They encountered Malcolm Merlyn (who will join to them 8 years later) and Darius when searching for Ashkiri marker (in fact, the entire mountain) in Hindu Kush mountains, but their vehicle flipped in sandstorm and knocked out some members. One assassin was punished from Ra's for losing The Hidden. The member of The Hidden, Darius, is revealed as member of the League, acting as a double agent. Ra's and Darius went to enter Ashkiri temple for searching Lazarus Pit and the hearts of snow leopard gods, while The Hidden wanted to protect the temple from them. In the same time, Lourdes (implied to be Nyssa's mother Amina Raatko) and Malcolm also entered the temple whose aim was to seal a temple. Ra's and Darius found Lourdes attacked by Ashkiri gods after she was left behind by Malcolm after their vehicle exploded. Ra's saved her, while Darius was killed by them, due to the need of sacrifice. Lourdes became Ra's concubine for ten years until she was freed by The Hidden, along with her son Saracon.

See also

• List of Batman Family enemies

References

1. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0
   .
2. ISBN 9780345501066
   .
3. ^ Justice League of America Vol 1 94
4. ^ Batman #655. DC Comics.
5. ^ Green Arrow/Black Canary #11. DC Comics.
6. ^ Red Hood and the Outlaws #21. DC Comics.
7. ^ Red Hood and the Outlaws #22. DC Comics.
8. ^ Red Hood and the Outlaws #23. DC Comics.
9. ^ Red Hood and the Outlaws #24. DC Comics.
10. ^ Red Hood and the Outlaws #26. DC Comics.
11. ^ Red Hood and the Outlaws #27. DC Comics.
12. ^ Batman Incorporated (vol. 2) #3. DC Comics.
13. ^ Batman and Robin (vol. 2) #29. DC Comics.
14. ^ Detective Comics #937. DC Comics.
15. ^ Detective Comics #952–955. DC Comics.
16. ^ Robin 2021 Annual (vol. 3) #1. DC Comics.
17. ^ Batman: Bane of the Demon #1. DC Comics.
18. ^ Robin (vol. 3) #1. DC Comics.
19. ^ Batman (vol. 3) #123. DC Comics.
20. ^ Deathstroke #19 (February 1993). DC Comics.
21. ^ Batman: Shadow of the Bat #53
22. ^ Truitt, Brian (July 12, 2013). "'Beware' of new villains in new Batman cartoon". USA Today. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
23. ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt (March 2, 2017). "Gotham Casts Big Bad Ra's al Ghul With Deep Space Nine's Alexander Siddig". TV Line.
24. ^ Maganiello, Joe (March 11, 2021). "Easter egg found... #SnyderCut". Twitter. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
25. ^ McWhertor, Michael (2021-03-15). "Deathstroke really sports a Halo emblem in Zack Snyder's Justice League". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-02-10.

External links

• League of Assassins at DC Comics Wiki
  • League of Assassins (The New 52 version) at DC Comics Wiki
• League of Assassins at Comic Vine