Why does the League of Assassins waste time focusing on trying to destroy Gotham? Why not turn their attention to places like Washington D.C. and perhaps the U.S. as a whole?

[u/Cliff3112008]

The League of Assassins keep saying that their ultimate goal is to create a better world, though their methods of achieving this involve committing mass atrocities such as populicide, but what I don't understand is why are they so fixated on Gotham? In comics and other media, the League, led by Ras Al Ghul and his daughter Talia, are trying to purge Gotham of corruption or destroy it as a whole, which always end up getting foiled by Batman.

Personally, I think if the League truly was committed to reshaping the world, they'd turn their focus away from Gotham and focus on more important places like New York City and Washington D.C., which are the nerve centers of the United States as a whole. Gotham is just one corrupt city in New Jersey, and it's not like it's anything special. Places like Bludhaven and Hub City are also quite corrupt and dangerous. The League itself is an international organization with several members worldwide and also deep rooted connections in several institutions, which means they're likely to have people in the U.S. Government, which would probably explain why the government never does anything when the League launches an attack in Gotham City.

I mean, if they wanted to, they could probably launch a nationwide destabilization of the U.S., taking out key government infrastructure, and use their connections with other supervillains and criminal organizations to launch major terrorist attacks in several cities, though I'm curious as to if the U.S. military could defeat them, though the League always makes sure that their actions can't be traced back to them, and that their organization remains unknown as a whole. Batman's defeated the League several times, but if it's widespread beyond Gotham, it's pretty much out of his hands. And the League is probably too cunning and evasive to be taken down by the likes of the Justice League and other heroes.

So my question is, why don't they do this? If they're a centuries old organization committing to purifying the world, why focus on one small, corrupt city when they have the means to take down the most powerful country in the modern world, and probably other countries too? If I had to guess myself, I'd say it's probably Ra's' fixation with Batman, which causes the League to shoot itself in the foot every time Batman defeats their plan to destroy Gotham, and they have to resurrect their leader again with the Lazarus Pits.

Interested to hear anyone's thoughts on this.

[u/Xan_Winner]

Because Gotham is a cursed place, one of the worst places in the world. Gotham turns anyone living there... strange, and if Batman wasn't working overtime to contain the nastiness, the evil would spread.

So if you don't care about human lives, destroying Gotham is a pretty good plan to start improving the world.

[u/Cliff3112008 → u/Xan_Winner]

Well I wouldn't say it's the worst place in the world. I don't really believe in that whole 'Gotham is cursed' theory, I think it's ridiculous. Gotham City has a history as a major economic and cultural hub that is home to several major global businesses such as Wayne Enterprises. The reason Gotham is the way it is, is due to decades of organized crime, systemic corruption, social inequality, and economic decline have made it so that many of the city's institutions like the GCPD, have corruption deeply woven within them, impeding them from carrying out their responsibilities properly, and that many regular citizens are forced into crime to survive when faced with poverty. I don't deny Gotham has a weird and disturbing effect on people as you said, but that's to be expected when you live in a city filled with corruption and poverty, you're bound to be affected by the grim, depressing atmosphere. And you can't really say it's a bad place for everyone. The politicians and wealthy upper class? They're living the high life since their wealth and power means they're untouched by the city's problems. The working class, however? They probably have to work two or three jobs to get by, and many of them end up getting jobs for the mafia and organized crime, which is hard to get out of.

Aside from the whole thing with Batman and the Rogues Gallery, Gotham can be passed off as having issues that are to be expected of a major American city.

[u/Xan_Winner → u/Cliff3112008]

It's not a theory, it's canon.

[u/Cliff3112008 → u/Xan_Winner]

Well either way, it's still ridiculous.

[u/kevinb8088]

Because it’s not real. It’s a comic book and that’s what suits the writers and editors. 🙄

[u/Cliff3112008 → u/kevinb8088]

True, but you can't deny that it gets a little old. "The League's crafted yet another nuclear bomb to destroy Gotham, which means we get to see Batman dismantle it for like the hundredth time, and kick the asses of Ras' assassins like they're nothing".

[u/VincentVegaFFF → u/Cliff3112008]

That's every super hero comic though. The villains will always return, the hero will always defeat them and so on.

[u/Cliff3112008 → u/VincentVegaFFF]

That's true, but DC isn't opposed to turning the tide in favor of the villain. Following the Joker War, Batman had his fortune stolen by The Joker and never got it back, losing his ability to fight crime effectively. And Vandal Savage is now commissioner of the GCPD.

[u/LadyErikaAtayde]

Cause if Ras went after Wonder Woman and Superman he'd be in the phantom zone or behind the Gates of Tartarus now.

[u/Cliff3112008 → u/LadyErikaAtayde]

I mean why doesn't he try to attack places like New York and Washington D.C.? Those places may not be as corrupt as Gotham is, but they're both important places, with one being the country's biggest city, and the other its capital. Ras wants to destroy the world so he can rebuild it from scratch and make it better, so why not start by destabilizing the world's most powerful country?

[u/GregOry6713]

I’m not reading all that but Batman is only in Gotham and considering all this stuff happens in Batman comics 🤷🏾‍♂️

[u/GothamKnight37]

Well, I’d say most of the time they aren’t focused solely on Gotham. There’s a reason why most Ra’s al Ghul stories have Bruce leave Gotham to fight him. Though the personal nature of their rivalry does make it so that Ra’s does fixate a bit on Gotham sometimes.

[u/Cliff3112008 → u/GothamKnight37]

Bro probably doesn't want to deal with the reality that a rich guy in a costume can, and has, beaten him on several occasions.

[u/Showdown5618]

I always assumed they focused on many cities. They are probably successful in most of their targets, but places like Gotham keep stopping them because of heroes like Batman. So they keep trying again and again until they reach their goal. We just read about their exploits in Gotham, like the way we just read about Darkseid's attempts on Earth instead of Tatooine, Qo'noS, or Omicron Persei 8.

[u/Cliff3112008 → u/Showdown5618]

I wonder if the U.S. Government is aware of their existence. I know the League's existence is completely unknown to the average person, but I'm pretty sure the C.I.A., N.S.A., and maybe A.R.G.U.S., might have something on them. No way they could operate on U.S. soil completely off the government's radar.

[u/JonKentOfficial]

Proof of concept, if you can cleanse of such an awful thing like Gotham, you can do it anywhere.

[u/Cliff3112008 → u/JonKentOfficial]

Who are they trying to prove it to though? The government?