Talia al Ghul (; , ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown, and first appeared in Detective Comics #411 (May 1971). Commonly associated with Batman and having been characterized as a morally ambiguous anti-heroine and supervillain, Talia stands as one of the character's most enduring love interests and female adversaries.
Talia is the daughter of the eco-terrorist and supervillain Ra's al Ghul. Following in her father's footsteps, she is a high-ranking member of the League of Assassins and one of the world's greatest spymasters, though she is initially passed for succession by her chauvinistic father.Superman/Batman Secret Files #1 (2003) "Head, Talia. Talia was the younger daughter of Ra's al Ghul, considered the heir to his empire despite her independent streak." Seeking a suitable male partner to produce a son, she instead falls in love with Batman, both complicating her loyalty to her father and leading to the birth of their son, Damian Wayne. Eventually taking a darker turn, the character has been a leading figure of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, the de facto leader of the League of Assassins, "Additionally, after Batgirl killed Nyssa, Talia took control of the League, setting herself up as one of the most dangerous people on Earth." the founder of her own secret society, Leviathan, and eventually established as the leader of the League of Assassins by Ra's himself.Phegley, Kiel (2012-08-06). The Bat Signal: Grant Morrison Builds On The Past For "Batman Incorporated". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2012-12-16. Grant Morrison: "One side has a supervillain army with assassins and Man-Bats and genetically engineered troops."Batman Villains Secret Files and Origins (2005)
Since the character's inception, Talia has been noted to be among Batman's most compelling villains in spite of contrasting portrayals, noted for her evolution from being a "Bond-girl archetype" into a pivotal and complex character with ambiguous motivations. However, criticism of the character originates from elements of orientalism, including being characterized within the dragon lady stereotype, and being encoded as "ethnic" and "foreign", with no definitive identity due to Ra's conceptual creation by Neal Adams.
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.Anders, Lou (2009-05-15). The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu. Karamaneh and Fah lo Suee. "O’Neil combined the two women, added a touch of On Her Majestry’s Secret Service, and viola, Ra’s al Ghul and Talia are born." The character first appeared in Detective Comics #411 (May 1971).
Grant Morrison's writing of the Batman, Talia, and Damian saga drew from their own personal experience as a child of divorce. The end of Batman Incorporated marked the end of Morrison's seven-year run on the characters.
Fictional character biography
Early years The first Talia comic story appears in "Into the Den of the Death-Dealers!" in Detective Comics #411 (May 1971), 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 (the usual punishment for this is death). 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 (June 1971). In the story, Dick Grayson (Robin) 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. Later on, Ra's and Talia consider Batman to be married to Talia with only their consent necessary in DC Special Series #15 (1978) 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" (1999) following an earthquake.
Son of the Demon In the noncanonical graphic novel Son of the Demon (1987) 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 (1978) 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.
Birth of the Demon The graphic novel Batman: Birth of the Demon (1992) 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, (as well as Talia al Ghul's origin) is revised and further elaborated in Batman, Incorporated #2 (2012) 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 (1996), Ra's agrees that Bane was unworthy of his daughter (Detective Comics #701 and Robin #33), and calls off their engagement. Following Legacy, Bane has a nightmare in Batman: Bane (1997) of Talia (presumed to be deceased) betraying him and stabbing him and then embracing Batman. In Birds of Prey #26 (2001), 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,Newman, Nick. Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials - President Luthor: Secret Files and Origins #1 "Luthor parks in front of an apartment and heads up alone. Ringing a doorbell, the accompanying door opens to reveal Talia. She lets him in and tells him not to call her Talia Al Ghul. Her name is Head, pronounced Heed." 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. Following Luthor's downfall, Talia sells all of LexCorp's assets to the Wayne Foundation, leaving Luthor penniless and his crimes exposed.
Death and the Maidens In Batman: Death and the Maidens (2003) 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 (both sisters then consider Batman to be their enemy). 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 Cassandra Cain, Talia assumes leadership of the League.
Under the Hood and Red Hood: The Lost Days During the "Death in the Family" (1988) 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 (2005), 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 (Jason's) 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.Red Hood: The Lost Days 1-6 (2010)Batman Annual (vol. 1) #25 (March 2006)
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Talia had Jason train under a secret cult of warrior monks called the All Caste.
Batman and Son