Batman Vs. Ra's Al Ghul #4

[superboyprime]

'I went to Julie Schwartz and told him we have to find Batman a Moriarty. Just like Sherlock Holmes has a Moriarty, without Moriarty there is no Sherlock Holmes. You need somebody equal to Batman to be his mortal enemy, be sophisticated, do things nobody else would do, before you bring back the clowns or else we would lose Batman again. Julie and Denny agreed, and Julie came in the following Monday and pointed at me and said, "Ra's al Ghul."' - Neal Adams

Comments

[mrstatham]

Batman Olympics. Batman. Olympics. BATMAN. OLYMPICS.

Can... Can someone get something to bring Neal down a bit? Failing that can I get a bit of whatever he's had?

[tinygaylaura]

Neal Adams is on a drug called Neal Adams

[mazway_75]

To be honest....I'm amazed at no point did a "Batman Olympics" ever happen in the 1950s.

[tinygaylaura]

Story begins with a bondage witch fighting with a viking over whether they can have an orgy with Batman and a circus ghost in what looks like a tavern right out of a Dragon Age cutscene and only gets more insane as it goes along

Also Batman maybe you should have told this woman Deadman was a brother earlier so she didn't spend who knows how long planning to take his "Delicate flower of manhood" (WHAT) only to experience a Luke and Leia-style realisation later

[tcampbell1000]

It's kind of wild to read this and also read the quote where Adams expresses a 100% coherent thought about Al Ghul, storytelling, and the Batman mythos. (Not sure if O'Neil or Schwartz confirmed this account, but it's still quite interesting.)

And yet... the quote does mention "the clowns," so you know it comes from the same mind that produced this conversation:

[tinygaylaura]

Batman: Never Just Clowns

Coming to a cinema near you in 2024

[leahandillyana]

Moriarty was only introduced when Doyle decided to kill Holmes though.

[dcbanacek]

Well much like in comics of today and with fan-favorite characters, the fans hated that idea and forced Doyle's hand to bring him back.

[tinygaylaura]

It's weird to think Moriarty has only ever been a big deal in the adaptations. Whether he's trying to start World War I and fridging Sherlock's love interest or waking up in the future and trying to murder Sherlock's robot or being a terrible tv shows stereotypical idea of what a "Predatory" gay man is while framing Sherlock for fraud so he has to kill himself only not really

Moriarty is EVERYWHERE in every version of Sherlock Holmes. Except the books. Where he shows up in two stories and is never seen or mentioned ever again after them

[donnblake]

Indeed. Import the characters to Japan and turn them both female, it would seem, and you still can't escape the shadow of Moriarty.

I haven't read the books the film was based on, but Enola Holmes manages to make it through at least the first installment without invoking him. We'll have to see if she winds up crossing paths with Moriarty's punk nephew or something in the sequel.

[leahandillyana]

Japan likes villainous characters the most, there's a manga series and an anime currently in its second season starring Moriarty WITHOUT Holmes.

[cainofdreaming]

There's been a couple of comic adaptations focusing on just Moriarty too, so it's not wholly a Japanese thing.

[tinygaylaura]

She will

Dread him

Run from him

Moriarty still arrives

he is...inevitable

[donnblake]

Rot13 Spoilers for Elementary-

Ryrzragnel, juvpu V rawblrq engure zber guna V rkcrpgrq gb, tbg n pregnva zvyrntr ol pbzovavat Zbevnegl jvgu gur Ubyzrf Pnaba'f *bgure* bar uvg jbaqre, Verar "Gur Jbzna" Nqyre.

And I suppose if you're looking for a mystery arc, rather than leaning into an entirely episodic mystery-of-the-week format, Moriarty is more or less the obvious choice from the Doyle stories. He may only appear twice, but that still puts him rather ahead of the rest of Holmes's foes, and, given his in-universe responsibility for the Hiatus, occupies a more prominent role in the canon than say, Grimesby Roylott or Culverton Smith.

[scorntx]

*sigh*
The poor, forgotten Giant Rat of Sumatra...
I suppose the world really isn't ready for it.

[cricharddavies]

Three.

[tinygaylaura]

I stand corrected

[lego_joker]

"We have to find Batman a Moriarty."

He already has one. His name is Hugo Strange, and he's managed to be more compelling in five stories than Ra's has in fifty.

[scorntx]

The real reason Ra's stabbed him in Arkham City.