Talia al Ghul
Talia al Ghul is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown, and first appeared in Detective Comics #411.
Talia is most commonly known as being the daughter of the supervillain Ra's al Ghul as well as the on-and-off lover of the superhero Batman and the mother of their son Damian Wayne. The circumstances of Damian's conception have varied over the years, one being the product of Talia's sexual assault of Batman in the works of Grant Morrison. The storyline was inspired by the noncanonical story Son of the Demon in which a brief liaison occurs between Talia and Bruce at the behest of Ra's Al Ghul. Over the years, she has alternately been depicted as an anti-heroine who is constantly torn between being an ally and an enemy of Batman due to her loyalty to both him and her environmentalist father, with whom she shares the same vision when it comes to saving the planet and nature, but not the means he uses to achieve that goal.
Talia has been featured in various media adaptations. The character was voiced by Helen Slater and Olivia Hussey in the DC Animated Universe, which became her first appearances in media other than comic books. The character was subsequently portrayed by Marion Cotillard in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises and by Lexa Doig in the Arrowverse television series Arrow.
Publication history
The character was created by the writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown as simply Talia originally. The character's creation and depiction was inspired by other works of fiction, such as the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and the Fu Manchu fiction. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #411. She is most commonly depicted as a romantic interest for Batman, a villain, or a combination of the two. Her father, the leader of a worldwide criminal and terrorist empire, considered Batman the man most worthy to marry Talia and become his successor. Absent a spouse, Talia was considered as an heir to her father and his organization. While Batman is uninterested in the criminal empire, he has often demonstrated romantic feelings for Talia.Talia has saved the life of Batman or helped him on numerous occasions. The majority of her criminal acts have been committed at the behest of her father and motivated by loyalty to her father rather than for personal gain. She had been depicted as morally ambiguous or an antiheroic figure. In the mid to late 1990s part of her father's name was incorporated to hers as a kind of surname to help readers associate her with Ra's al Ghul. Recent depictions have shown her to be more often an enemy of Batman and a supervillain in her own right, such as leading the League of Assassins, as part of the Secret Society of Super Villains, and as the mastermind behind Leviathan.
IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time List ranked Talia as #42. She was ranked 25th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.
Fictional character biography
Early years
The first Talia comic story appears in "Into the Den of the Death-Dealers!" in Detective Comics #411, written by Dennis O'Neil. In the story, Batman rescues her from Dr. Darrk, apparently the leader of the League of Assassins. It is eventually revealed that the League is just one part of Ra's al Ghul's organization, The Demon, and that Darrk apparently turned against Ra's after failing in a mission. At the end of the story, she shoots and kills Darrk to save Batman's life.Talia next appears in "Daughter of the Demon" in Batman #232. In the story, Dick Grayson is kidnapped. Ra's al Ghul enters the Batcave, revealing to Batman that he knows Batman's secret identity and saying that Talia was also kidnapped along with Dick. Batman then goes with Ra's to search for Dick and Talia; in the end, it is revealed that Talia loves Batman and that the entire kidnapping is a setup designed by Ra's as a final test of Batman's suitability to be Talia's husband and his successor. Though Batman rejects Ra's offer, he nevertheless returns Talia's feelings. Ra's and Talia consider Batman to be married to Talia with only their consent necessary in DC Special Series #15 in the story "I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!".
In the years since the character met Batman, Talia is repeatedly depicted as torn between her love for the Caped Crusader and her loyalty to her father. However, she has proven an important ally in her way; most prominently, she encourages Batman to return to Gotham City when it is declared a "No Man's Land" following an earthquake.
''Son of the Demon''
In the noncanonical graphic novel Son of the Demon by Mike W. Barr, Ra's al Ghul successfully enlists Batman's aid in defeating a rogue assassin who had murdered his wife and Talia's mother, Melisande. Talia witnessed the murder as a young child. During this storyline, Batman marries Talia and the prior marriage from DC Special Series #15 is referenced. They have sex which results in her becoming pregnant. Batman is nearly killed protecting Talia from an attack by the assassin's agents. In retrospect, Talia concludes that she could never keep Batman, as he would be continuously forced to defend her, so she fakes a miscarriage, and the marriage is dissolved.In later continuity, after Talia gives birth the child is left at an orphanage. He is adopted and given the name Ibn al Xu'ffasch which is Arabic for 'son of the bat'. The only other clue to the child's heritage is a jewel-encrusted necklace Batman had given to Talia which Talia leaves with the child.
It is referenced in three Elseworlds storylines: Kingdom Come, its sequel The Kingdom, and Brotherhood of the Bat feature two alternate versions of the child as an adult, coming to terms with his dual heritage.
''Birth of the Demon''
The graphic novel Batman: Birth of the Demon by Dennis O'Neil explains how her father met her mother at Woodstock, New York. Talia's mother is confirmed deceased of a drug overdose in this story. This introduction of Talia's mother in particular, is revised and further elaborated in Batman, Incorporated #2 by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham.Bane
After Bane enters the League of Assassins, Ra's considers Bane a potential heir to his empire instead of Batman and wants his daughter to marry him. Talia later rejects the brute, regarding him as merely a cunning animal compared to the more cultured intelligence of his predecessor. After Batman defeats Bane in the Legacy comic series, Ra's agrees that Bane was unworthy of his daughter, and calls off their engagement. Following Legacy, Bane has a nightmare in Batman: Bane of Talia betraying him and stabbing him and then embracing Batman. In Birds of Prey #26, written by Dixon, Bane continues to express his obsession with Talia. At the end of the story, Talia is pleased with the supposed death of Bane in one of her father's underground sanctums.LexCorp
The Talia character was written to begin a new phase of her life near the turn of the century. Talia, disillusioned with her father and his plans and using the name Talia Head for herself, leaves him to run LexCorp as its new CEO when Lex Luthor becomes President of the United States. Although she seemingly supports Luthor, she secretly works to undermine him, anonymously leaking news of his underhanded dealings to Superman. In Superman/Batman #6, when the time comes for Luthor's downfall, she sells all of LexCorp's assets to the Wayne Foundation, leaving Luthor penniless and his crimes exposed to all.''Death and the Maidens''
In Batman: Death and the Maidens written by Greg Rucka, it is revealed that Ra's al Ghul met a woman by whom he had a daughter named Nyssa during his travels in Russia in the 20th century. Ra's abandons Nyssa at a crucial time: she is tortured, her entire family is killed in a concentration camp during the Holocaust, and she is rendered sterile when Nazi doctors pour acid into her uterus. Seeking vengeance, Nyssa plans to use her considerable wealth and resources to kill Ra's by befriending, kidnapping, and brainwashing Talia, turning her into a weapon to kill their father. To this end, she captures Talia and kills and resurrects her in rapid succession in a Lazarus Pit, leaving Talia virtually broken from the trauma of dying again and again in so short a time as Nyssa asks Talia why her father is 'letting' this happen to her. Rendered apathetic by her time in the camp, unable to feel anything, Nyssa also plans to assassinate Superman with Kryptonite bullets she stole from the Batcave, hoping that, by uniting the world in one moment of tragedy, she would manage to rouse herself once more.While Batman is successful in preventing the assassination of Superman, he is unable to stop Nyssa from killing Ra's. This, in turn, is actually part of a greater plan concocted by Ra's, who wants to ensure that his daughters would accept their destinies as his heirs and take up his genocidal campaign. Realizing and accepting this, Nyssa and Talia become the heads of The Demon, with Talia disavowing her love for Bruce Wayne as another result of her torture at Nyssa's hands. Talia from then on became more often Batman's enemy than an ally.
The Society
In Countdown to Infinite Crisis, it is revealed that Talia is one of the core members of the Secret Society of Super Villains. This is revealed to be part of one of half-sister Nyssa's plans to take over the planet and bring about world peace and equality. After Nyssa is killed by Batgirl Cassandra Cain, Talia assumes leadership of the League.''Under the Hood'' and ''Red Hood: The Lost Days''
During the "Death in the Family" storyline, Jason Todd, the second Robin, is murdered by the Joker in Ethiopia. He was later revived as a character, and in Under the Hood, he is discovered by the League of Assassins. In "Lost Days", out of her love for Batman, Talia takes Jason to her father and Jason spends months in the care of the League of Assassins. Although his body recuperates, Jason's mind is shattered.Seeing no other way to help him, Talia takes Jason down to the Lazarus Pit and throws his body in while her father regenerates himself. Jason is fully revived in the body and mind. Immediately afterward, to spare Jason her father's wrath, she aids the boy's escape.
Livid at the fact that Batman failed to avenge his death by killing the Joker and that Batman had done nothing more than imprison him again, Jason pursues his own brand of justice. To stall him from killing Batman, Talia agrees to finance Jason and aid him in his training, so that he can then become the second Red Hood. She later accomplishes this by seducing Jason in an attempt to turn him against Batman.
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, this story was changed, whereby Red Hood and the Outlaws #2 shows that, shortly after Jason Todd's return from the dead, Talia al Ghul, out of her love for Batman, takes him to a secret cult of warrior monks called the All Caste to train in becoming a skilled assassin.