Robin’s New Enemy’s Plan Rivals Those of One of Batman’s Greatest Villains

Damian Wayne lost the Lazarus Tournament, but now the hero faces a massive threat worse than any Ra’s al Ghul scheme to remake the world.

The evil purpose behind the Lazarus Tournament is revealed in Robin #9.

The Lazarus Tournament serves as DC’s Mortal Kombat-esque death match, where in video game fashion, fighters are given three lives before they can be killed for good. Damian has been competing in the tournament alongside known and new characters — such as Ravager, Respawn and Flatline — before losing the final round to Green Arrow’s son, Connor Hawke. His defeat prompted the arrival of the Lazarus Demon, who’s true intent is revealed by the tournament’s orchestrator, Mother Soul, as being worse than anything the Batman villain Ra’s al Ghul might ever attempt.

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Mother Soul organized the tournament alongside her League of Lazarus to determine who is the Earth’s greatest fighter, so they can be possessed by the Lazarus Demon and cause world destruction. Robin #7 revealed that Mother Soul’s true identity is actually Rúh al Ghul, mother to Ra’s al Ghul, making her Damian’s great-grandmother. In a preview for the upcoming Robin #9, Mother Soul tells Damian that while Ra’s believed in cutting down the world’s population to better it, she sees the notion as only a half-measure, and that the world and its inhabitants must be razed by the Lazarus Demon for the planet to revert back to its state before mankind’s actions.

Though Ra’s al Ghul’s actions in comics and adapted works have involved cruelty and working with other Batman villains, he has never intended to destroy the planet completely, especially not with a summoned demon fueled by the deaths of Earth’s greatest warriors. In the current Robin series, the man known as the “Demon’s Head” even arrived to help his grandson recover from his wounds, appearing to seek a more calm and peaceful life away from violence and fighting. Of course, this may change in the future, being that the upcoming Shadow War event teases the assassination of Ra’s by Deathstroke’s hand.

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Damian will reunite with his father, Batman, to take on Deathstroke in March. Until then, Damian has to stop the Lazarus Demon from killing everyone on the island and bonding with Hawke, with the end of the preview teasing a possible familiar face to help the young Robin. The preview and solicitation for the issue can be found below.

ROBIN #9

• Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
• Art by ROGER CRUZ
• Cover by SIMONE DI MEO
• Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
• 1:25 variant cover by CRYSTAL KUNG
• $3.99 US | 32 pages | $4.99 US Variant (Card Stock)
• ON SALE 12/28/21
• The Lazarus demon rises! The deadly end of the League of Lazarus is at hand! Countless fighters have fallen! And now, to save everyone on Lazarus Island, Damian must go one-on-one with a literal giant demon. Can Damian utilize everything he’s learned in the tournament, or will he die for the last time?

Robin #9 is written by Joshua Williamson with pencils by Roger Cruz, inks by Norm Rapmund, colors by Luis Guerrero, letters by ALW’s Troy Peteri and main cover art by Simone Di Meo. Variant covers for the issue were created by Francis Manapul and Crystal Kung. The issue goes on sale Dec. 28 from DC Comics.

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Source: DC Comics

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