Ra's Al Ghul Gets a New 52 Origin Story in Batman & Robin Villains Books

Ra's al Ghul will get an origin story for the New 52 as part of the upcoming Villains Month event, while the Court of Owls, Killer Croc and Two-Face join him in taking over Batman & Robin for the month. The New York Post has the previews, which one assumes DC would have loved to just rename "Batman & [insert villain name here]," in keeping with the nomenclature common since Damian Wayne died, but Batman and the rest of the Justice League are missing in action. Forever Evil: Arkham War writer Peter Tomasi will join up with Guillem March for Batman & Robin #23.1: Two-Face, in which the villain (fresh off being betrayed by the Joker during Death of the Family) is invited to join up with the Secret Society of Super-Villains. Surprisingly (since March has done a number of them this month), Chris Burnham provides the cover for the issue. James Tynion IV and Jorge Lucas will put together Batman & Robin #23.2: The Court of Owls, with a cover by Patrick Gleason. The main event is obvioulsy Ra's al Ghul, who makes his first New 52 appearance (assuming he doesn't turn up in Morrison's Batman Incorporated finale) in Batman & Robin #23.3, also by Tynion and Lucas. It seems, interestingly, tied to the rest of the stories in a way that most of the origin stories don't seem to be: "For centuries Ra's has had a plan for this world, and now he is faced with an offer from the Secret Society that could help him achieve what he wants…or undo everything he has worked for. Which path will the Demon's Head choose?" Tim Seeley and Francis Portela round out the group with Batman & Robin #23.4 - Killer Croc, which promises to destabilize all of these groups fighting for supremacy a bit. [gallery ids="52111,52110,52109"]