- "You didn't need to get yourself arrested to see me Bruce, after that night we spent in Metropolis... you could have just called."
- —Talia to Batman.[src]
The headstrong daughter of Rā's al Ghūl and on-again/off-again lover of Bruce Wayne, Talia al Ghūl was the second-in-command of the League of Assassins. A master of hand-to-hand combat and swordplay, Talia had dueled with Batman on several occasions and considered him an honorable opponent.
Despite Batman's elusiveness, her attraction to him had only increased - an attraction that her father encouraged in his mad quest for a male heir. Talia knew that one day she may be forced to choose between her father and her Beloved.
Biography
Talia first met Batman when he saved her from an attack in Lady Shiva's palace, but in the process he was stabbed with a poison dagger. Talia took Batman, nursed him back to health, and had to unmask him to tend to his wound. She introduced him to her father, who wanted to form an alliance with him. Bruce and Talia developed a relationship, but Batman discovered Ra's al Ghül's murderous goals.
Incident Reports
Before Arkham City Incident
Five years later, and a year before the events of Arkham City, Batman and Talia encountered each other in Metropolis which ended with them spending the night together. Talia herself appeared to remember that night fondly and it was implied that was the beginning of their love-hate relationship.
Batman revealed that his feelings for Talia had not changed, but neither did his view of Ra's. Talia offered to let Batman slay her father and take his place, but he refused. Talia returned to Ra's who revealed that he had scheduled a meeting with Hugo Strange.
Arkham City Incident
Talia appeared in Wonder City and saved Batman from her elite guard. Talia tried to convince Bruce to join her cause and began to kiss him until she saw the damage the Titan disease had done to his face.
Batman told Talia that he wished to become an assassin, and waved off her suspicion by using his illness as his reason for that sudden and desperate change of heart. Talia lead him to the first "Trial of the Demon", and after Batman succeeded, she took him to see Ra's. When Ra's told Batman to take his rightful place as the Demon by killing him, Batman revealed that he only needed his blood, after which Talia became angry at Bruce's lie, though she still urged him to take his place as the Head of the Demon.
After Ra's al Ghul was defeated, he held Talia hostage to make the Dark Knight kill him, but that backfired when Batman managed to disarm him with a Reverse Remote Control Batarang and Talia fled the room, angered that she had been betrayed by both Batman and her own father. Despite Bruce's betrayal, she kept an eye on her Beloved. Talia later stole the Titan cure back from Harley Quinn for Batman and tied and gagged her to a pole in the Assembly Line at the Steel Mill.
Talia later appeared at the Steel Mill Funhouse, saved Batman from Joker, offered the clown "the gift of immortality," and gave him the position that she had previously offered Batman. As she left, Talia showed Batman that she had activated the tracker that he had used to find her in Wonder City.
When Batman escaped the Steel Mill, his immediate goal was to save Talia from the Joker rather than stop Protocol 10 and Hugo Strange. Oracle and Alfred both defied Batman's wishes, and stated that he couldn't let one thousand lives die for the sake of one.
Though Batman agreed to stop Strange, he had Barbara keep a lock on Talia's signal. After Protocol 10 was stopped, the Joker broadcasted that he was holding Talia hostage at the Monarch Theatre. When Batman arrived, he tried to convince the Joker to let Talia go free which distracted him long enough for Talia to kill him with her sword, and her explaining that the only way to end his reign of terror was to kill him.
When Talia presented the cure to Batman, he realized that there were two Jokers the whole time, and Talia was shot and killed by the real Clown Prince of Crime from the theatre balcony. Talia apologized to Batman for her mistake before she died in his arms, and dropped the cure for Clayface (who had been masquerading as the Joker) to take. Batman used Talia's sword to defeat Clayface in the final battle, drank half of the cure and then again used Talia's sword to destroy the machinery around the Lazarus Pit, which prevented Joker from reaching immortality.
After the explosion of the pit, Joker demanded the cure from Batman, arrogantly and tauntingly stating that even though he killed Talia, poisoned Gotham with his poisonous blood, and has committed countless other murderous acts, Batman will still save him. Batman voices his hatred of the Joker and contemplates whether he should give the cure to the clown or let him die which he deserves. Although Batman did eventually decide to save Joker, he was too late as at the same time, Joker attacked Batman with a knife in an attempt to retrieve the cure from the Dark Knight, causing Batman to accidentally drop the cure on the ground and destroy it. After Batman reveals that he would have saved him, Joker laughs at the irony before he succumbed to his fatal disease and died as his nemesis watched on.
Talia, along with the many other countless victims of the Joker, received justice when the Clown Prince of Crime finally died from his disease.
After Arkham City Incident
Talia's body was never seen again in the Monarch Theatre after Batman had defeated Clayface and the Joker, and disappeared. It was possible that her body was taken to a Lazarus Pit to be revived by her ninjas, but Batman's guilt over her death and the state of the League of Assassins suggested otherwise. Both Joker's and Talia's deaths sent Bruce into a deep depression.
Arkham Knight Incident
Talia's sword was stored in the GCPD Lockup Evidence Room. When Batman approached it, he touched the glass and said her name before he apologized to her which showed that he still blamed himself for her death.
During the Riddler's Revenge sidequest, Talia was frequently mentioned by the Joker's hallucination, showing that Bruce still hadn't got over her death and felt guilty for having feelings for Catwoman.
Talia did not appear in the Season of Infamy mission Shadow War, presumably because she still hasn't been revived. It is revealed that following the deaths of Talia and Ra's during the events of Arkham City, their bodies have been taken away by the League of Assassins in order to revive them. Due to the lack of a Lazarus Pit, Ra's has been on a life-support system, which left him in a zombified state, barely managing to say three words. Following the wishes of some members of the League that a new Head of the Demon be installed in Ra's place, a civil war broke out between the assassins that are loyal to Ra's (Loyalists) and those that oppose him (Rebels), led by Ra's' other daughter and Talia's sister Nyssa Raatko, who blames their father for indirectly causing Talia's death.
If Batman were to revive Ra's, leading to Nyssa's death, a dying Nyssa would call out Batman's stubborn nature, emphasizing that it was this nature which was the reason why Talia had fallen in love with him at all.
Following the completion of the mission, which either results in the death of Nyssa at the hands of a revived Ra's or in the destruction of the Ra's al Ghül's life-support system and his essential natural death, Batman found an audio recording of Ra's addressed to Talia. During this tape, it's revealed that he was planning to give Talia control of the league (and if necessary, she would be revived) if Batman refused the role.
Also, Talia's cryogenic chamber in the morgue of the Elliot Memorial Hospital which had her nametag on, was empty, hinting that she may be alive.
Personality
A highly trained and very intelligent young woman, Talia al Ghül, the eldest daughter of Ra's al Ghül and the second-in-command of the League of Assassins, was considered by many to be the deadliest female assassin in the world. Despite that, or perhaps, because of it, Talia could be extremely arrogant, to the point where she sometimes do not pay attention to details or underestimated her opponent's own intelligence, as she did with the Joker.
Before she met Bruce, Talia was almost completely obsessed with achieving her father's dream of cleansing the world and showed little to no interest in anything beyond their plans. A fact which would both greatly please and irritate Ra's over the years who desired to have a male heir to run the League after he was dead. After she met Bruce for the first time, however, Talia began to admire him almost immediately, and believed that he would make a valuable ally. Over time, that admiration eventually turned to infatuation. Though their relationship seemingly ended after Bruce couldn't accept her father's plans, Talia continued to have feelings for him.
Talia's feelings for Bruce were so great that she was willing to go against the League and her own father in Arkham City to save him. She was even willing to give the Joker unlimited power in exchange for him sparing her Beloved. Although, she later stabbed Joker in the back literally, which indicated that it may have been a trick. While Talia did not necessarily agree with her father on all of his views and was not as fanatical about killing all criminals, she nonetheless, fully believed that certain exceptions could and should be made and was constantly frustrated that her Beloved did not realize that.
In regards to her father, Talia greatly respected and loved Ra's to the point where she was willing to do anything to please him. However, as the repeated resurrections from the Lazarus Pits began to take their toll on his sanity, Ra's became increasingly abusive toward his daughter to the point where Talia began to hate and fear him and by Arkham City, any remaining positive feelings Talia had toward him all but vanished after he tried to use her own life as bargaining chip to force Bruce to kill him and take his place.
Appearance
Talia had tan skin, brown hair, and green eyes. She wore a black, long sleeved leather jacket that was cropped to show her belly, and also wore a belly shirt underneath it. Her midriff was exposed, and she had an innie belly button, adorned with a belly button piercing. She also wore black skin tight pants, black gloves, and a pair of black boots.
Psychological Profile
Talia al Ghül
Real Name: Talia al Ghul
Batman's Database Profile
Talia
Dr. Hugo Strange
Talia al Ghūl
Attributes
- Trained in stealth and combat by the League of Assassins
- Ruthless and brilliant tactician
- Runs legitimate business empires for the League
- Genius Level Intellect
- Marksmanship
- Swordsmanship
Tactical Analysis
Quotes
Batman: Arkham City
- "Stop!" (Assassins)
- "How did you find us?" (Batman)
- "Leave, I will deal with you later!"
- "You didn't need to get yourself arrested to see me Bruce, after that night we spent in Metropolis... you could have just called."
- "Only a true successor may stand before the great Ra's al Ghul. My father always intended us to be together, to command his army. Just imagine it. You...Me...A better world!"
- "You...face! What happened?"
- "You wish to become an assassin? Why should I trust this change of heart?"
- "Are you prepared to take Demon Trials? You must show you are willing to take a life to save the world."
- "Then let the Trials commences."
- "Thousands of warriors have fallen in pursuit of the Demon. Would-be successors have proven to be nothing more than children battling the enormity of creation."
- "Nothing can prepared you for what comes next. Destiny will decide you fate."
- "I have heard these words for hundred times. Let us hope you are correct."
- "Your journey begins through this door."
- "Are you sure, Bruce? Only one man has passed this ordeal."
- "Of course not, I just...I just want you to be certain. When the Blood of the Demon takes hold, you will be on your own."
- "Then may the spirits be kind."
- "You did it!"
- "Of course not, I always have faith."
- "Your final challenge awaits you through this door, I pray the spirits to be kind."
- "Father."
- "What? You lied to me!" (Batman)
- "We are fated to rule this earth, to wipe it clean of the scum of humanity. Only we can do this. My father is old, his time is over. Ours is the beginning. Take his blade, kill him. Accept your destiny, accept our destiny."
- "Then, beloved, you will have to die."
- "What are you doing?" (Ra's)
- "This wasn't part of the plan!"
- "Yes, he should've. What kind of man sacrifices his own daughter? And You, you lied to me. I thought you loved me, Bruce. I thought you were ready to join our crusade." (To Ra's and Batman)
- "Don't! You two deserve each other."
- "How about a trade? Let him go, take me in his place." (Joker)
- "I represent the great Ra's al Ghul. Head of the Demon, master of the League of Assassins."
- "Free Batman and we will give you the secret of immortality"
- "Do we have a deal?"
- "We offered you this chance, Batman. Now follow your heart."
- "Ignore him, Beloved. Let him die!"
- "Problem solved." (Batman)
- "Why? You would never do it, you left me no choice."
- "I had to save you. Harley Quinn stolen for him, I took it back. It's over."
- "I'm sorry, Beloved. I didn't know..." (Talia's last words)
Game Over Lines
Batman: Arkham City
- "My father was wrong about you."
- "Pity, I thought you and I were destined to be together."
Gallery
.jpg "Talia (AK).jpg (22 KB)")
Trivia
- As of Arkham City, it seemed that Batman and Talia had an on and off relationship. In the comics, the two even have a son: Damian Wayne. He was conceived during Batman and Talia's brief marriage during the events of Batman: Son of the Demon.
- Assuming Damian Wayne currently existed in the Arkhamverse, then he was most probably born before the events of Arkham City as Talia died at the end of the game. Although, considering that she had been brought back to life before, it's still possible that it could have happened after Arkham City.
- Before release, Damian was one of the most popular candidates for the Arkham Knight's identity, as he would have a motive (Believing Batman was responsible for Talia's death), had access to an army (The league of assassins), was reckless and younger than Batman (Justifying the "Old Man" line). Despite the matches, Damian would still have been less than 10 years old, and would have been an unlikely candidate given his age, even if his voice was masked.
- Assuming Damian Wayne currently existed in the Arkhamverse, then he was most probably born before the events of Arkham City as Talia died at the end of the game. Although, considering that she had been brought back to life before, it's still possible that it could have happened after Arkham City.
- Interestingly enough, Talia's body disappeared during Batman's battle with Clayface. It could be assumed that she was moved in the midst of the battle (possibly by one of her elite guards), or that it was simply an oversight.
- Talia was one of the few villains to not have a profile in Batman: Arkham Asylum along with Deadshot, Solomon Grundy, Electrocutioner, Deathstroke, Copperhead, Anarky, Deacon Blackfire, Professor Pyg, and Man-Bat .
- Although Talia is labelled as a "villain", she has no antagonizing instances on Batman, even helping him indirectly by activating her tracker when Joker subdues her; rather her actions can be termed anti-heroic, hence making her more of an anti-heroine than a true villain.
- It was rumored that Talia was planned to make an appearance in The Season of Infamy Shadow War DLC mission of Arkham Knight alongside Ra's. However, Talia did not appear in the DLC, but her younger sister, Nyssa Raatko appeared instead, and rebelled against her father for not only killing Talia, but believing that he was too insane to be brought back to life.
- Talia's character profile states that she has brown hair, but it's blonde in gameplay. The Return To Arkham collection fixes this, although her hair remains blonde in her character profile picture.
- Interestingly, the Batman: Arkham Unhinged comic arc "Beloved" depicts Talia as blonde-haired one year prior to Arkham City, but brown-haired in flashbacks relating to her first meeting with Bruce Wayne. By the end of the story, Talia's hair seems to revert back to brown when she finally reports back to her father during the present day sequences.
- Talia actually had planned death scenes, but they went unused.
- Out of the entire Arkham series, Talia is the only character to have her belly button pierced, as all the other midriff-baring females have naked belly buttons.
- Talia has the distinct and unfortunate honor of being the final victim of The Joker; whom dies not after killing her following his succumbing to the Titan disease.