Artist Tony Daniel has posted the pencils of a promo image for the upcoming “Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” crossover hitting the Batman books this winter. It’s looking to be the definition of epic.

I have mixed feeling with the return of Ra’s al Ghul. While he is a great villian, he also represents a side of Batman I don’t entirely enjoy. Most of my favorite Batman stories have Bruce taking on thugs and mob bosses. Very street-level stuff. On the other hand, Batman seems becomes a globe-trotting, sword-wielding adventurer once Ra’s gets tossed in the mixed. While this is nice once in a while, I can only take so much.

Likewise, I would like this loose Damien storyline to get sorted out as quickly as possible. If there’s anything I can say about Grant Morrison’s run on Batman, it is that my enjoyment of it has an inverse relationship to the number of panels containing Damien or Talia. This does not stem from a hate of the return of Son of the Demon returning into continuity. In fact, I have no problem with the story being in canon, nor do I think that Batman having a kid unnecessarily ruins the character. I just think it’s boring. Hopefully this arc will cap off the resurgence of al Ghuls and we can see a return to more down-to-earth stories like the Club of Heroes mystery currently running in Batman.

I suppose now is as good a time as ever for a return of Ra’s al Ghul, if only because DC dropped the ball and killed Nyssa, Ra’s sinister successor, with a car bomb to make way for the now infamous Crazy Batgirl character arc. Once I put down Death and the Maidens, I was looking forward excitedly for no-holds-barred showdown between Bruce and Nyssa, who did not have her father’s fatal flaw of affection for Batman. It would have been awesome but now it’s not going to happen (unless Nyssa is the Ra’s al Ghul who’s resurrected but that may very well tear the internet in half).

But seriously, if this crossover results in at least one Robin vs. Damien throw down, it will be worth it.