For every great comic that creates a seismic shift for a character and their world, there's another, equally great comic that seems to be completely ignored. Unfortunately, Greg Rucka and Klaus Janson's Death and the Maidens is one of the latter. At heart, it's the story of two families: Bruce Wayne's and Ra's al-Ghul's. After decades of stories about the immortal Demon's Head and his daughter Talia, readers were introduced to Nyssa Raatko, the first—and significantly less beloved—daughter of Ra's al-Ghul.

After being betrayed to the Nazis by her father and having her own family systematically exterminated, Nyssa sought revenge by turning Talia against their dad. Her quest for vengeance was so brutal and effective that Ra's was forced to turn to Batman for help, offering him an alchemical potion that would allow him to speak to the shades of his parents. While stories about Batman's parents aren't exactly uncommon, Death and the Maidens is one of the only ones to put a spotlight on Batman's relationship with his mother Martha, exploring how she'd feel about her son's vigilante career. As for Nyssa—spoiler warning—she ends the story by usurping Ra's as the new Demon's Head, taking over his operation as a mastermind who's just as brutal, but without her father's respect for Batman.

But here's the downside: even though Nyssa was clearly meant to be a major new enemy for Batman, she never fulfilled that promise, and was even killed off-panel (in an issue of Robin, of all places) to pave the way for Ra's to return. Even so, it's well worth a read. A great story is a great story, even if the status quo is reset right after.