League of Assassins

The League of Assassins (also colloquially referred to as the League ofShadows) is a secret society of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The organization first appeared in Strange Adventures #215 (December 1968), but did not become officially known as the League of Assassins until Detective Comics #405 (November 1970). Primarily serving as antagonists of Batman, the group also serves as enemies of various other superheroes in the DC Universe.

Founded by the immortal Ra's al Ghul, the League of Assassins is composed of the world's deadliest fighter, assassins, and mercenaries whose sold services allows Ra's to gain political power, funding, and loyal members to aid him. In addition, the organization is also split into two other sub-organizations; the League of Shadows differs from the previous society, directly supporting his eco-terrorist agenda and as a deterrent against betrayal and internal strife. The League of Lazarus, the most enigmatic of the three, was established as a means to secure Lazarus Pits, supernatural restorative pools able to extend the lifespan of those who bathe within it. While the Leagues has been primarily led by Ra's, it has been led by other relatives such as his daughters, Talia al Ghul and Nyssa Raatko, and other appointed leaders and councils. On occasion, smaller factions and splinter groups from in-fighting have also formulated within the organization.

The League of Assassins has been adapted into other media several times (sometimes under the name Society of Shadows), predominantly in animated Batman productions, the live-action film series The Dark Knight Trilogy, the CW series Arrow, and the Fox series Gotham.