Talia al Ghul


Talia al Ghul is a fictional supervillain 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 the daughter of the supervillain Ra's al Ghul, the granddaughter of Sensei, the half-sister of Nyssa Raatko, on-and-off girlfriend/lover of the superhero Batman and the mother of Damian Wayne. She has alternately been depicted as an anti-hero and ally to Batman at times.
Talia has appeared in over 500 individual comics issues, and has been featured in various media adaptions. 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 Lexa Doig recurring in the 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 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 loyalty to her father and her love of Batman. 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, and Batman had lost his fighting spirit and did not believe he could save Gotham.

''Son of the Demon''

In the graphic novel 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 conjugal relations which result 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 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 fictional 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 "" storyline, Jason Todd, the second Robin, is murdered by the Joker in Ethiopia. He was later revived as a character, and in , 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, in order 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. In order 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.
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.

''Batman and Son''

The concept of Talia and Batman having a child from Son of the Demon is reinterpreted into continuity in the story Batman and Son, written by Grant Morrison. Their son is grown in an artificial womb and named Damian. He is raised and trained in the League of Assassins. Talia introduces him to Batman as part of a grand scheme involving ninja Man-Bats and the kidnapping of the British Prime Minister's wife. Morrison said he relied on his shaky memories of Son of the Demon before writing so he "messed up a lot of the details" such as Talia drugging Batman before sex. Morrison's mistake was later retconned by then Batman and Robin writer Peter J. Tomasi in the title Robin Rises Omega where Batman admits that he fell in love and followed his heart.

''R.I.P.'' and ''Final Crisis''

During the Batman R.I.P. storyline, Talia and Damian become aware of the Black Glove's plot against Batman and begins devising a plan to help save him. They arrive at Wayne Manor just in time to save Commissioner James Gordon from being killed by assorted booby traps created by the Black Glove. This is referenced in issue 39 of the old 52. She offers to join forces with Gordon to save Batman. She and Gordon arrive too late, however, and are informed by Robin that Batman went missing and maybe dead following a battle with Doctor Hurt.
Furious that her love may be dead, she sends out her ninja Man-Bats to murder Jezebel Jet, who plays a major role in trying to kill Batman. Soon after it is revealed Batman did not die, but survives only to be captured by Darkseid during the Final Crisis and then apparently murdered by the New God.
Following Batman's apparent death, Talia apparently decides to leave Damian in the hands of his adoptive brother Dick Grayson, who later takes on the role of Batman, and selects Damian to succeed Tim Drake as Robin.
In Final Crisis, she is placed on the new Society's inner circle by Libra. Despite Talia's interaction with the new Society she still behaves lovingly and almost devoted to Batman.
It is revealed in Gotham City Sirens #2 that Talia has trained Selina Kyle to resist even the most intense psychological coercion to reveal Bruce Wayne's secret identity.
Following an operation in which Damian's spine is replaced, it is revealed that Talia inserts an implant into his spine that allows her or anyone she chooses, including Deathstroke, to control Damian's body remotely. She intends to use this device to force Damian to kill Dick Grayson, whom she perceives as holding her son back from his potential. After Grayson frees Damian, Talia reveal to her son that she has begun cloning him after realizing that the Boy Wonder has completely sided with his father's circle during their confrontation. She is too much of a perfectionist to love her son after he has defied her in such a manner, and is no longer welcome in the House of al Ghul.

''Batman Incorporated''

In Batman Incorporated, written by Grant Morrison, Talia is revealed to be the mastermind behind the Leviathan, a shadowy organization formed to oppose Bruce's "Batman Incorporated" project. She places a bounty of US$500 million dollars on Damian's head, and declares war on Batman. In Batman Incorporated Vol. 2, #2, a Talia origin issue, she puts her father, Ra's al Ghul, under house arrest for opposing her plan and takes his men away with her. She claims to Batman that her agents have infiltrated all of Gotham's infrastructure and that she is providing the poor with purpose by arming them and giving them slogans to chant, as well as an enemy to fight. Talia says Batman must choose between saving Gotham from suicide or saving their son Damian from a death sentence. Her clone of Damian, known as the Heretic, stabs Damian through the chest and delivers the killing stroke to her son, leaving Batman devastated.
After the Heretic loses his final confrontation with Batman, Talia kills him, destroys Wayne Tower, and challenges Batman to a duel to the death in the Batcave. There, Talia poisons Batman. He embraces and kisses her mid-battle, not knowing that her lips were covered with poison, and he apologizes for not being able to love her the way she wants and admits defeat. Talia asks Batman to beg for the antidote but he does not respond. Jason Todd arrives at the Batcave and offers Talia the Oroboro trigger, a device that would trigger the destruction of seven cities and that she claims would provide a new source of energy for the world. When she attempts to activate the device, Jason reveals that he has double-crossed her and that the weapons the device would trigger had already been disarmed. Talia is then shot and killed by Spyral agent Kathy Kane, buried, and her body later disappears from the gravesite along with that of Damian.
Morrison's writing of the Batman, Talia, and Damian saga drew from his own personal experience as a child of divorce. The end of Batman Incorporated marked the end of his seven-year run on the characters.
While Batman was preoccupied with a series of cases, Talia's body is taken from the grave by her father, Ra's, so that he may resurrect his daughter and his grandson, Damian, whose body was also taken. Batman continues his pursuit for Ra's and to reclaim his son's body. Ra's attempted to resurrect Talia alongside Damian in what he thought was a Lazarus Pit in the island of Themyscira, but instead Ra's discovered that it was a portal to a Netherworld in the Pit's former location, which both Wonder Woman and Batman already knew. Ra's flees with the bodies afterwards. Batman arrives too late, after Ra's has successfully had the bodies placed in a Lazarus Pit. The resurrections fail, leaving Ra's to realize his arrogance in allowing the Heretic to kill his grandson, and regret for allowing Talia to clone Damian.
After defeating Ra's in combat, as Batman intends to reclaim his son's body, their battle is disrupted by Darkseid's elite member Glorious Godfrey, as well as a number of Parademons. Batman is forced to team up with Ra's to battle Godfrey and the Parademons who had taken the bodies of Talia and Damian. Ra's manages to get his daughter's body from the Parademons in the sky, but falls into the gorge of Nanda Parbat along with Talia's body, while Batman tries to retrieve his son's body from Godfrey.
Following Damian's resurrection, Talia had emerged on Nanda Parbat with no memory of who she was. She kills a nearby Tibetan to eat their food.
Later, Talia was approached by a shadowy figure; she is able to recognize the robed figure and feared that a faction known as the Lu'un Darga is upon release, she is then knocked unconscious. The robed figure restores Talia's memory and attempts to influence her as a servant, but Talia resists his control and knocks him unconscious with stalagmites. She tries to escape the Lu'un Darga's unknown lair of the inner core with the heart of the Lazarus Pit. When Talia was reunited with her son in the Lu'un Darga's lair on al Ghul Island, Damian is aware of his quest about the Lu'un Darga. He doesn't wish to see Talia however and attacks her.
During their battle, Talia tries, unsuccessfully, to convince Damian that Ra's and his al Ghul family wage war against the ancient immortals of the Lu'un Darga, claiming to be guardians of the Lazarus Pit. While Ra's sought to bring power and balance of life to Earth, the Lu'un Darga then tried to take back all life and cleanse Earth entirely, because they would bring their own destruction to Earth and the heart of the Lazarus Pit. Talia also tells him he is being used as a pawn by Ra's to steal the Lu'un Darga's power. The mysterious robed figure was revealed to be Den Darga, who thanked Damian for inadvertently bringing the relic and attempts to bring about the end of life on Earth.
While Den Darga destroys al Ghul Island by sinking it, he attempts to cleanse Talia and Damian's souls. However, his clones protect Damian and sacrifice themselves to save his life. Den Darga flees, leaving Talia and Damian to the abyss; where they were rescued by Damian's friends. Afterward, Talia is hopeful that she and Damian can move to a safe place and tells her unconscious son to rest. When Damian wakes, Talia convinces her son to calm down. She explains that she had been finding redemption for herself, for her retribution against him and inaction after Den Darga's attack. She informs him that if he chooses vigilantism, it will corrupt him. Talia goes on to say that he, too, can choose between staying or leaving, after accepting who he is, except that his mother has been reforming herself and regrets her choices. As he chooses to leave and says goodbye to his mother, Talia rejoins the League of Assassins to prepare for war against Den Darga and the Lu'un Darga.
Talia, along with Batman, show up again later in the title to aid their son in saving all life on Earth from the threat of Den and the Lu'un Darga. They are portrayed as a bickering couple but also put things aside to help. Their mission is a success though Damian ends up giving his life to save humanity. He is later brought back to life by Suren Darga. With the world saved, and satisfied her son is safe, she goes to rejoin the League of Assassins.

DC Rebirth

Talia al Ghul shows up for her son, Damian Wayne's birthday and warns him of Ra's al Ghul plot to send the Demon's Fist against Damian and the Teen Titans in a plan to assassinate them to prove their worth to the Demon's Head. These targets will later become Damian's Teen Titans teammates after he saves them and makes them aware of the Fist and their plans.
She later appears in Batman #33. Batman and Catwoman come to Khadym to see Holly Robinson, who has been hiding with Talia since fleeing Gotham after killing hundreds of terrorists. Talia initially refuses to allow them to see Holly, going as far as severely wounding Batman and challenging Catwoman to a duel. Selina manages to defeat Talia by wounding her in the same manner that she did Batman beforehand.

Powers and abilities

Talia has been written to be an athlete at the peak of physical conditioning and has been trained in many forms of martial arts. She was educated in the arts and sciences, and she holds advanced degrees in biology, engineering, and business as an MBA. She is also quite proficient with most hand weapons. Often underestimated, Talia is also an excellent hand-to-hand fighter.

Other versions

In Batman: Brotherhood of the Bat, Earth has been decimated by a plague unleashed by Ra's a decade or so before, prompting Ra's to claim Wayne Manor as his new base of operations; at this point, Bruce Wayne has been dead for some time under undisclosed circumstances, but Talia has been raising his son Tallant in secret. As Ra's transforms a group of his elite assassins into a 'Brotherhood of the Bat', using Batman's discarded costume designs to create a group of different Batmen, Talia decides that the time has come to tell Tallant of his father's heritage, with Tallant infiltrating the Brotherhood to dismantle it from within.
In , Talia is present when Bruce Wayne enters a Lazarus Pit with her father in 1979; when two men enter the Pit simultaneously, one will perish while the other will become permanently immortal with no way to determine which will be the sacrifice. When Bruce Wayne emerges restored to full youth, he spends the next two decades turning the League of Assassin's front organizations into the true operation with Talia at his side, although the exact nature of their relationship is never explicitly confirmed.
In Elseworld's Finest, when Ra's and the League are searching for the lost city of Argos, they come into contact with another group of explorers; impoverished archaeologist Bruce Wayne, reporter Clark Kent, Kent's childhood friend Lana Lang, and newspaper-boy Jimmy Olsen. Witnessing Kent's exceptional strength, Ra's offers him Talia's hand in marriage, but although Kent is tempted by the offer, he chooses to escape with his friends to continue their search for Lana's abducted father. Later, after Ra's is killed when he attempts to claim the power of Argos for himself and Kent is left mortally wounded in a confrontation with Lex Luthor, Talia is able to use her father's Lazarus formula to restore Kent to life, expressing grief that she would never have the chance to see how their relationship would develop if this fails. The story concludes with an elderly Lana talking to a young woman named Kara, who is clearly intended to be the child of Clark Kent and Talia al Ghul.

In other media

Television

Animated

portrays Talia in Arrow

Live action