Talia al Ghul is the youngest daughter of the international terrorist, Ra's al Ghul, and heir apparent to his empire.
Educated in the arts and sciences, holding advanced degrees in biology, engineering, and business as an MBA, Talia is also an excellent hand-to-hand fighter and combat specialist due to her training in the League of Assassins.
Although steadfastly loyal to her father, Talia does not share his disdain for humanity and so often finds herself conflicted with his goals of culling humanity to save the planet.
Background[]
During his travels, Ra's al Ghul happened upon a young woman of Chinese/Arabic descent named Melisande while attending the Woodstock Festival in 1969. Entranced by her, Ra's falls in love for the first time since the death of his first wife and marries her; creating a child together whom they named "Talia".
One night, when Talia was still a child, Melisande caught Qayin, a young recruit for the League of Assassins, in a secret room which housed a Lazarus Pit. When Qayin saw Melisande he got frightened and started running, pushing Melisande into the Pit and killing her as he escaped.
Motherless, Talia travelled the world with her father learning from his intellect and skills and soon proved to be more competent than any of Ghul's other children. Despite her father's belief that women were inherently inferior to men, Talia's excellence in managing both his criminal and legitimate operations led to him appointing her as his primary secondary-in-command.
After the Sensei and Ra's had a falling-out and the Sensei left the League of Assassins, taking a splinter cell with him, Ra's turned command of the League over to Dr. Ebenezer Darkk. Under Darkk's guidance, the League undertook a series of executions aimed at shipping magnates who were smuggling weapons to South American rebels. When the string of murders reached Gotham City, the Batman became involved.
Having fallen from grace after many failures against the Batman, Darkk turned against Ra's and took Talia hostage but Batman foiled Darrk's plan and when he was being taken back to the authorities, Talia shot and killed Darkk to save her savior's life.
This incident saw Ra's begin to consider the Batman as a suitable heir to his operation; future head of the League and spouse to Talia.
To this end, Ra's later sought Batman's aid when Talia was apparently kidnapped. As Robin had also been kidnapped Batman agreed to aid Ra's but as time passed, he learned that it had all been a ruse set up by Ra's to further test his skills and suitability as an heir.
When Talia learned that her father had been killed by one of his scientists, she started a quest to find and kill the man. However, Talia didn't know that Ra's had since been revived and that the scientist in question had a formula which could be turned into a plague. When she cornered the scientist, she was stopped by Batman and they left the rogue scientist to die from his own weapon. While admitting her beauty and ability, Batman had noticed Talia's readiness to kill during the whole incident, a trait that disturbed him.
While recognizing him as a potential heir, Ra's also recognized that the Batman's morality would cause him to oppose his goals, to this end Ra's sent Talia on a mission to prevent Batman from interfering with his current activities and she pretended to join the Caped Crusader in order to throw off his investigations. Despite her efforts, however, Batman managed to learn about Ra's past crimes and intended plans for the future; starting their longtime rivalry. However, Batman showed some concern about having Talia as an enemy, and knowing that Batman had feelings for her made her happy, but she remained by her father's side.
Now aware of Ra's nature, Batman worked to shut down Ra's attempts at building new Lazarus Pits to continue his longevity until Talia personally oversaw the creation of a pit in North Africa. Whereupon the two conversed over what Batman knew of Ra's history before Ra's himself arrived at the pit and two fought; one burdened with crippling age and the other sick from radiation poisoning. While Ra's managed to get the upper hand, Batman managed to grab Ra's and throw both of himself and his adversary into the pit. By the time Batman had awoken, fully healed, Ra's and Talia had departed.
When Batman travelled to Swiss Alps with the purpose of capturing Ra's, Talia greeted Batman as he arrived at their hideout and informed him of Ra's death. Not aware of the Lazarus Pit, Batman turned to leave and Talia joined him as his prisoner, but before she left, she activated a machine that placed Ra's body into the waters of the Lazarus Pit. When Ra's returned to life, Talia was the only person who could calm him from the madness caused by the Lazarus Pit and she helped him escape from Batman. Talia and Ra's travelled to one of his desert bases, but Batman soon located them. Ra's challenged Batman to a duel to the death. Batman was eventually defeated after he was stung by a scorpion and was affected by its lethal venom. Ra's left Batman to die, but Talia provided Batman the antidote behind her father's back. When Batman recovered, he finally captured Ra's, but he spared Talia, leaving her in the desert with a parting kiss.
Not long after this, Talia posed as a servant for the Penguin, hoping to steal the loot from the criminal. Her ultimate goal was to use the money to release her father from prison and rebuild his empire, but in the end, she helped Batman capture the Penguin and left empty handed. Afterwards, Talia gathered a small gang and organized a heist in Gotham in order to steal some valuable jewels. During the crime, they were stopped by Batman and in order to escape, Talia tossed her gun at the Dark Knight. Unfortunately, she was shot in the back and the bullet killed her instantly. However, her "death" was part of a plan in order to turn the Gotham City authorities against Batman. Talia was not actually dead and eventually, she revealed herself to Batman, once he was a wanted criminal and she tried to get him to join her and command Ra’s empire. Batman refused, but before he could re-capture Ra’s, he was forced to save Talia from a burning circus tent, allowing Ra’s to go free. Talia served as enough evidence that Batman had been framed and she was subsequently placed under police custody while Batman’s name was cleared.
Some time after this, Talia was part one of Ra's plans and she was responsible for kidnapping Batman and taking him to Ra's private yacht, where Talia and Batman were married under Ra's traditions, which dictated that only the consent of the bride is necessary. However, Batman did not accept the union and he managed to stop Ra's plan. In the final confrontation, Talia saved Batman once again from being murdered by her father's henchmen, but she again left Gotham alongside her father. Talia also played a small role on Ra's plan to regain total control of the League of Assassins when she drugged Batman to keep him out of the way between Ra's and the Sensei.
Eventually, Ra's was resurrected and Talia teamed-up with Batman to stop his genocide plans. Talia rescued Robin as Batman confronted Ra's, but once again the confrontation ended with Ra's apparent death. Grieving for her father, Talia chose to remain in isolation, away from Batman. This however, didn't last for much, as Talia was soon summoned to Gotham, where she learned of a big conspiracy to murder Batman. She joined forces with the Dark Knight and Catwoman, although reluctantly, and together they stopped several of Batman's greatest foes on two occasions. Afterwards, Talia worked with Batman to stop the Penguin from spreading a lethal drug stolen from Ra's.
After Jason Todd's death at the hands of the Joker, Batman brought his body back to Gotham and buried him with the rest of the Wayne Family. However, Jason was resurrected when Superboy-Prime altered the timeline in his attempts to enter the current dimension. Escaping his grave, Jason mindlessly wondered the streets; his mind still broken from the Joker's attack.
Out of a desire to appease her "beloved", Talia picks up Jason from the streets and take him to her father where Jason spends months in the care of the League of Assassins. Although his body recuperates, Jason's mind is still shattered. Seeing no other way to help him, Talia disregards her father's rules and takes Jason to the Lazarus Pit while her father regenerates himself. Fully revived in body and mind, to spare Jason her father's wrath, Talia aids in the boy's escape and later aids Jason financially and provides information in order to help him recover and plan his vengeance against the Joker and his mentor.
When Batman disrupts a group of criminals trying to steal chemicals for Qayin (who needed the chemicals to treat a disease he had), he is badly injured but is brought back to the cave to heal by Talia. Finding evidence that Ra's was involved, he and Talia travel to Ra's current base of operations, where Batman learns about Qayin and Talia's mother, Melisande. Deeming Qayin as their common enemy, Ra's and Batman to join forces, and Batman and Talia finally act on their sexual attraction, sleeping together in their matrimonial bed.
After the initial attack on Qayin was a failure, Talia informs Batman that she was pregnant with his child, who becomes his only concern in the world. When Qayin attacks Ra's fortress, Batman's only concern is to protect Talia which renders him ineffective against the enemy and makes Talia feel like she is being smothered and controlled. Qayin and his forces break into the core of Ra's base, where he finds the Lazarus Pit. However, Ra's was prepared for such an emergency and he destroys the pit with explosives.
Denied his chance at curing his disease, Qayin uses a satellite weapon to create a war between Russia and the United States. Unwilling to join Ra's espionage team to stop Qayin, Batman repeatedly insists that Talia is taken to a safe place, despite her wishes to join the espionage team. Realizing that she didn't want "this" version of her beloved, Talia tells Batman that she had lost their child due to Qayin's attack. Reinvigorated by the loss of his unborn child, Batman joins Ra's on his attack to Qayin's base.
In the ensuing battle, Batman and Ra's infiltrate Qayin's base and confronts the terrorist. As Qayin attempts to kill Ra's, whom he blamed for his parents' deaths, he tries to electrocute him but is stopped by Batman and Qayin electrocutes himself, ending his life. With the threat of Qayin ended, Batman returns to Talia, who tells him to leave her alone, as their relationship can no longer remain the same. Batman complies and he returns to Gotham and his war on crime. Talia, meanwhile, has her growing embryo removed and placed within an artificial womb where she could monitor and alter the growth of her child whom she named "Damian".
During Ra's attempt to use the Ebola Gulf A virus (a strand of the Ebola virus that was created by the Order of St. Dumas to cleanse sin from the planet) to wipe out 90% of humanity so that he can take over the world Talia was forced into a relationship with Bane, who her father thought would be a good replacement for Batman and an able heir to the criminal empire. However, Talia rejected her new suitor, regarding Bane as merely a cunning animal compared to the more cultured intelligence of his predecessor, and after Batman defeated Bane during Ra's attempt to release the virus in Gotham, Ra's agreed that Bane was unworthy of his "only daughter".
At the end of this she was thought dead after the yacht that she and her father were on was blown up, but she showed up soon after offering council to Batman. He had thought that Gotham City was beyond repair following the events of the miniseries Cataclysm and the ensuing distinction of Gotham City as a No Man’s Land. She convinces Bruce that he must go back and save his city.
Talia had a small part to play in the Tower of Babel incident where her father planned to eliminate literacy in the world to cause mass chaos in the world and incapacitate the Justice League of America using fail-safes that Batman had established to defeat the League should the League go rogue. Talia's job was to infect the Martian Manhunter with nanites that would automatically combust in the presence of oxygen.
As her father's plan progressed, Talia became disillusioned with her father’s mission and tries to betray him but she is shot first.
As she heals in seclusion in Switzerland, her father sends Whisper A'Daire and Kyle Abbott to retrieve her but the timely intervention of Batman led to him following the duo to Ra's new base of operations. While Batman is incapacitated, Talia convinces her father to let her attempt to seduce Batman into joining them. The two eventually escape with Talia realizing that her father will never allow her to live as she wishes while he is still a part of her life.
Now attempting to live independently of her father, when Lex Luthor was appointed President of the United States he needed a set of capable hands to run LexCorp. In exchange for information on Ra's network, Talia was chosen as his successor. Although she seemingly supports Luthor, Talia secretly worked to undermine him, anonymously leaking news of his underhanded dealings to Superman. When the time came for Luthor's downfall, she sold all of LexCorp's assets to the Wayne Foundation, leaving Luthor penniless and his crimes exposed to all.
It is soon after this that Nyssa al Ghul, another daughter of Ra's that Ra's had seemingly disowned decades before Talia was born, lures Talia into a friendship and then kidnaps and brainwashes Talia into serving her by using a Lazarus Pit to break her mind from the trauma of dying and resurrecting again and again in so short a time.
Though Nyssa’s plan to kill her father is eventually successful it is subsequently revealed that this was in fact part of his plan, as he had hoped that his death would prompt his daughters to take what he saw as their rightful place as the head of the organization which he had built. They both accept this and Talia disavows her love for Bruce, mostly as a result of the torture at Nyssa’s hands and thus now considers Bruce her enemy.
As part of a plan to take over the planet and bring about world peace and equality, Nyssa has Talia join the Secret Society of Super-Villains as one of its core members.
After Nyssa is assassinated by Cassandra Cain (who had been drugged and fallen under the control of Deathstroke) a year after the Infinite Crisis incident, Talia became the new Demon's Head and gains absolute control of her father's criminal empire save for the League of Assassins, of which she only retained control of a splinter group until her father's resurrection united the League and Ra's empire fell back under one leader.
Still operating independently from her father and still a core member of the Society of Super-Villains, Talia's current intentions and motivations are enigmatic as she maintains her will to be her own master and not a pawn to be used in the battles between her father and her beloved.
Combat Statistics[]
- Lady al Ghul
- Talia al Ghul (Gotham City Zoo)
Involvement[]
- During the League of Assassins Stronghold Alert, Talia will momentarily communicate with both hero and villain groups, encouraging them to stop her father's scheme.
- As Lady al Ghul she appears as final boss in the The Bombshell Paradox 8-player operation.
- She appears in the cutscenes of the 4-player operation Rise of the Bat.
- Talia appears as final boss in the Gotham City Zoo raid.
Villains[]
- Talia oversees the villain command center in the Sabotage Chamber of the Hall of Doom.
- Talia provides intel and information for villain players during Alert Zone missions.
- She oversees the villain safezone in the Amusement Mile's Gang War openworld area and provides one of the daily missions.
Associated Equipment[]
Trivia[]
- Talia al Ghul first appeared in Detective Comics #411 (May 1971).
- Talia al Ghul is voiced by Ellie McBride.
- The Calculator refers to her as the "kick-ass hottie", only to hurriedly ask the player not to tell her he said that.
- Talking to Talia while in the Hall of Doom can lead to her talking about her son, Damian Wayne, and her intentions to have him lead the League of Assassins someday; although she admits she fears that he may one day follow in his father's footsteps instead. She also expresses her frustrations with working in LexCorp and why she ultimately quit the "Corporate Life".
- At first glance, Talia comes off as cold, calculating and discerning; much like her father, making no effort to show trivial warmth to newcomers, her hard exterior is no doubt attributed to the disciplined nature of her upbringing through Ra’s’ League. That being said, she actually has a deep reservoir of love and loyalty to those close to her and has at various times demonstrated that she would die for those she cares for.
- Since she first laid eyes on Batman, Talia has been enamored of the Dark Knight and his skills as a fighter and detective. Talia's jealousy for Batman's affection often drives her to try and destroy him, but she secretly hopes that one day they will be together.
- While Ra's expects outright devotion and loyalty from his subjects, and punishes lapses in either with instant death, from Talia he only expects obedience as he encourages his daughter to be able to think for herself as his potential heir and replacement. This is why he frequently tolerates Talia's "betrayals" against him during his confrontations with Batman.
- To protect her "Beloved's" identity, Talia has trained Catwoman to resist even the most intense psychological coercion should she be forced by her fellow villains to reveal Batman's secret identity.
- Despite Batman frequently rebuffing Talia's romantic advances, the two do share an attraction to one another and she often refers to him as "Beloved". While the two recognize that they are opposites, they still maintain a love for one another.
- Talia was once offered to wed Lex Luthor during a time when Luthor was serving as an apprentice to Ra's al Ghul during the development years of LexCorp. However, while the man was undeniably intelligent, his cold demeanor left Talia unimpressed with his potential as a husband.
- Black Canary admitted an attraction to Talia during the Infinite Crisis incident but the woman's allure did not affect her as she affected Batman because she, Dinah, was "75% Heterosexual".
Gallery[]
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See also[]
External links[]
- Talia al Ghul Wikipedia
- Talia al Ghul DC Database