btw I'm actually obsessed with the way Josh Williamson is reintegrating Ra's al Ghul's original ecoterrorist motivations back into his character. It's been far too long since Ra's was anything more than an ultra-wealthy and super-intelligent cult leader:
"This..is why I come here."
"The stars, Damian. You see that star there? It's called the Algol. The Demon star. It is what inspired my namesake. My mother would tell me stories about the stars when I was a child. They are a gift from our gods. And yet every year, humanity steals more stars from us. Toxic smog. Trash. Debris that obscures the origin of life itself. Our society literally blind to the truth of our existence.
But when I come here, I can still see some of them. It reminds me why I do what I do...why I fought to save the world so many times. I learned from Earth's greatest minds for hundreds of years. I am labeled a villain, and perhaps to your eyes, I am. But my life's actions in the past had purpose. A purpose I do not take lightly. But you must understand...there is only so much room at the table for humanity."
"Why don't we just build a bigger table, grandfather?"
"You sound like your father." -Robin (2021) #4
Also obsessed with the way he's flawlessly merging the two different names for the League of Assassins while doing so:
"The Earth is worth saving, Mother. The air, the land, the water, and the sky. They are all still worth-"
"-No! I had to die to be reborn. So does everyone in the world...the Demon is right."
[to Damian] "You see that look on my son's face? That was when he knew he made a mistake. He had hoped that the Lazarus Pit would heal my mind and body, but also heal me of my faith in the Demon. And yet, all it did was strengthen my faith."
"You were there when Ra's started to build his empire?"
"My son created the League of Shadows to aid him in his quest to save the world, and the League of Assassins to kill anyone who got in his way. -Robin (2021) #10
Are some of the events discussed in Robin a slight overwriting of previous canon? Sure. But it's an interesting retcon in a way that actually services Ra's as a character, and I really love it.
