Day 24
Talia al Ghul
Daughter of supervillain Ra’s al Ghul
(His most famous of offspring).
Talia has been featured as both,
anti-hero and supervillain
in her own right.
Talia made her comic book debut in Detective Comics #411 (“Into the Den of the Death-Dealers!”) in May 1971. She was created by Denny O’Neil, Bob Brown and Dick Giordano. Funny enough, her father made his comic book debut in the June 1971 issue of Batman #232.
In the 1992 Graphic Novel, Birth of the Demon, Talia’s mother was revealed. Ra’s met a part-Chinese, part-Arab woman at Woodstock. The two fell in love and had Talia. Unfortunately, she later died from a drug overdose and Ra’s felt she was unworthy of revival in the Lazarus Pits. (This origin isn’t always followed since Talia has never really been portrayed as having Arab or Chinese descent.
Talia has occasionally been Batman’s love interest, which resulted in their child, Damian Wayne. (though personally, Catwoman is Batman’s true romantic interest!)
Like Batman, Talia has no superpowers, but she is a skilled assassin, successful businesswoman due to her high intellect and is excellent in hand to hand combat. And like her father she has the ability to extend her lifespan through the use of the Lazarus Pits.
Talia appeared in four episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. She makes a tragic reappearance in the third season of Batman Beyond, episode five, Out of the Past. A surprisingly young Talia visits the elderly Bruce Wayne offering him a dip in the Lazarus Pits. Later, it’s revealed that Talia had sacrificed her life for her father. It was Ra’s who has been occupying Talia’s body and he wanted to trick Bruce into giving up his body.
Thanks to Christopher Nolan creating characters for his Batman trilogy, like Rachel Dawes and John Blake–the big reveal of Marion Cotillard’s character being Talia al Ghul was a success. At least for me, I remember being angry while watching the film and Bane was revealed to be Ra’s al Ghul’s son. I was so frustrated, thinking to myself, “What are they doing!? Ra’s had a daughter not a son!” I was too wrapped up in the movie to see the twist right in front of my face!
Though there was a hint at her true identity during the charity ball scene. Miranda Tate says, “you must invest if you wish to restore balance to the world.”
In Batman Begins, Ra’s al Ghul says, “Only a cynical man would call what these people have ‘lives,’ Wayne. Crime, despair… this is not how man was supposed to live. The League of Shadows has been a check against human corruption for thousands of years. We sacked Rome, loaded trade ships with plague rats, burned London to the ground. Every time a civilization reaches the pinnacle of its decadence, we return to restore the balance.”
Another clue is that both Miranda and Bane have the same triangle scar. Bane has it on the side of his head and Miranda has it on her back. Hinting at her membership in the League of Shadows.
Thank you for Reading!
❤
See you tomorrow!
😉
Writing for Murphy 