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. 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 (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, 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 (March 2004), 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 (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. 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 (2011) 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 (2006), written by
Grant Morrison. Damian is a product of sexual assault of Batman by Talia. 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.
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 begin 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 reveals 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.
The New 52 In 2011, "
The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. 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 on Damian's head, and declares war on Batman. 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 their 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 (who came to retrieve the Chaos Shard, a powerful crystal that once belonged to Darkseid, which Ra's had hidden in Damian's body) 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 does not wish to see Talia 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 During
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.
Shadow War After observing how happy both of his daughter and grandson are while living a peaceful life without killing, the now reformed Ra's al Ghul decides that he wants to turn himself in to the authority to atone for all the crimes he committed as well as publicly share all the secrets he kept hidden over the centuries, this decision has sparked a huge interest in both the superhero community and the villain community due the amount of knowledge the immortal Demon's Head has about the world, so all eyes were on him during a press conference he held before his incarceration. However, as soon as the conference started, Ra's was immediately shot by a sniper wearing a Deathstroke-looking costume, who also threw a bomb that turned his body to ashes to insure that there would be nothing left of him that can be resurrected through the Lazarus Pit. This incident has deeply hurt both Damian and his mother, Talia, who had to watch her father get murdered even though he finally made the right choice for the first time in his life and was willing to turn a new leaf for his family's sake. In her grief, she gathered all the members of the League of Assassins and put a hit on Deathstroke as well as all of his associates in revenge for killing her father. On the other hand, Damian has teamed-up with his father, who wasn't fully convinced that it was the real Deathstroke that killed Ra's al Ghul, to investigate the murder and find out who was really behind it. This event concludes with a war between The League of Assassins and Deathstroke Inc, which ends with Talia killing Slade in a one-on-one battle, but shortly afterward the Deathstroke imposter reveals himself to be
Geo-Force, who plotted the war in hope of having both Slade and Talia killing each other. Damian and Bruce arrive shortly soon and help Talia defeat Geo-Force, with Damian managing to convince his mother to not kill Geo-Force afterward because his grandfather believed that their family could be better than this. ==Powers and abilities==