#qayin al ghul

[metis-iphigenia]

AL GHUL FAMILY TEXT POSTS PART FOUR!!

and its over!! im gonna do more later bye i hope you guys enjoy these!!

[pinksockmonkeypomerainian]

When my daughter died my heart cleaved in two. She was my light, she held to future of our people and would have led our armies on to create a better world. My son was to be her Right Hand as I am my father's. And then that monster. Came into our home. And took her from me. In some sick and twisted revenge against my father. I'll have no part in the sick and twisted games Ra's Al Ghul wishes to exact upon the beast he used to call son. Qayin will pay for what he took from me. I will not stop until his very existence is ashes on the wind. I am the daughter of the demon's head and I know no mercy.

A short excerpt based upon this post: https://www.tumblr.com/blanddcheadcanons/690797086009147392/athanasia-al-ghul-exists-in-the-main-dcu-but-as-a?source=share

[comicbooksaregood]

Batman: Son of the Demon

Volume: 1

Issue: 1

Writers: Mike W. Barr

Pencils: Jerry Bingham

Inks: Jerry Bingham

Colours: Jerry Bingham

Covers: Jerry Bingham

DC

[zahri-melitor]

Birth of the Demon

Norm Breyfogle does some of his absolute best work that I've ever seen on this book. It's absolutely stunning to read. If nothing else, this story is worth picking up for some of the amazing spreads of art and colouring.

This is Ra's origin story, with a framing device that Bruce is running around preventing Ra's from creating pits (a story that Denny will once again lean into over the next few years when Bruce starts destroying Pits in the main universe, and gets Bane to help out).

It's written by Dennis O'Neil, and it specifically contradicts a bunch of aspects of the first two stories of the Trilogy, written by Mike Barr: Talia's parentage particularly stands out (her mother is Melisande and pushed into a Pit by Qayin, killing her, in Son but is a Chinese/Arabic woman Ra's met at Woodstock and who died of a drug overdoes in Birth); also this is the story as far as I can tell that Pit mythology expands from 'it's very hard to resurrect anyone other than Ra's with the Pit and he has been experimenting for years to make it work on other people reliably' over to 'as long as Ra's puts that Pit on a leyline he's sweet, everyone gets resurrection!'; also I think it's the first appearance of a green Lazarus Pit (I'm currently reading back to confirm this EDIT: it’s not, there are also earlier green ones, I love how complex DC can get), rather than the orange ones that have appeared up to this point.

In terms of Ra's origin, he's very much from a Chinese Silk Road trading family who have moved to Western Asia and integrated/intermarried with Arabic families there. Talia tells the story of the origin of Ra’s Al Ghul, written in a form of Chinese, being a physician in a vaguely Iranian city on the Silk Road married to Sora. (Guessing Iran based on both the clear Silk Road setup but because they need a ‘ship to bear us across to the Arabian lands’ - presumably crossing the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Peninsula).

This is the story that gets tightly summarised and updated somewhat during the opening act of Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul as Talia tells it to Damian there. Presumably Damian has a far shorter attention span than Bruce does.

[arabian-batboy]

Batman: Son of the Demon is long overdue for an animated adaptation.

Its one of the most popular and best-selling Graphic novels from DC, yet it always paid dust by them even though its length is just PERFECT for a movie adaptation, its neither too long nor too short.

It doesn’t require any knowledge about previous comics which would make it easy for non-comic readers to enjoy, but most importantly it finally answers the question of “what if Batman and Ra’s al Ghul decided to meet in the middle” which I found super interesting, since every other story is about Bruce rejecting his offer or accepting his offer and turning evil, not to mention you can add easter eggs/foreshadowing about the baby he and Talia had being Damian (which will hopefully help salvage Talia’s reputation and Damian’s origins)

The only thing that I would change is perhaps changing Qayin into another more well-known villain, but that’s about it, aside from that B:SoD has the potential to be the best animated Batman movie if done right.

[dpmultibitches]

Talia Al Ghul

Obviously things can vary to fit plots, the info I'm writing mainly fits in with my fic and my info for Danny but can be altered to an extent timeline wise and such. Also she has been effected by proximity to the pit along with how much her father had used them before she was conceived and ages a bit slow & I kinda picked and chose pieces from the various stories we have about her

Talia Al Ghul was born around 1950 to a woman born into the league who had caught the eye of the Great Ra's Al Ghul, Melisande was killed when Talia was an infant by a former ally of Ra's named Qayin. After her death the guard who had been charged with protecting his child was killed for their failure and a price was put on Qayin's capture or death. After the lose of her Mother Talia was raised by a combination of teachers and her father, as she got older and her skill became more obvious? Her father became a more prominent figure in her lessons, training her to be able to run his organization for him when he had things to attend to.

Sometime later in her life she meets Bruce Wayne as Batman after both her she and Dick Grayson are kidnapped seemingly by a mutual enemy of Ra's and Batman. Unknown to Batman at the time, this was a set-up to allow his daughter the chance to seduce him. After their encounter an offer is extended to Bruce to train with the league and expand his skill set, during his time with them Bruce and Talia do manage to fall into a whirlwind romance. During this time, much to her father's disappointment, Talia ends up truly falling for Bruce. Unfortunately for her he learns the truth about their meeting and that Gotham is in danger at the same time, making his decision to leave easy for him.

It was nearly 2 weeks after Bruce left that Talia realized the that she was pregnant with his child, or rather children. When it was learned she was pregnant, steps were taken to make sure that her child would be stronger and more resilient than any normal child should. A combination of Lazarus magic and science was used to make the child stronger and more resilient. She's had thoughts about it being the reason Aidan was born still, needing to be dipped in the waters to truly enter the world. She has never voiced them allowed for fear that her own meddling in an attempt to make him stronger caused her son's entrance to the world to be delayed.

As Damian and Aidan grew, it was obvious to Talia which one her Father favored, even if it had not been for Aidan's less than ideal birth? His hesitance to kill unless it could not be avoided was obvious, even if none would voice it outside the looks her father would give her in those instances. Despite this, he excelled in stealth more so than even many of his teachers. Many members took to referring to him as The Heir's Shadow and assumed that if Damian ever took over for his grandfather, Aidan would serve a similar role to him as Talia did for Ra.'s.

When it comes to her son's Talia would do anything that she could to protect them, no matter who that made an enemy to her or who it turned against her; even if it was them that turned against her. It is this that pushed her to helping Jason Todd when he died and came back incomplete, knowing that Bruce was going through the pain of losing a child? She could not sit back and ignore that as her own children now nearly 7 years old lived and breathed in front of her, and so she found Jason and tossed him into a pit to be fully revived. During his time with her he met Damian twice and Aidan only once, but he was so far into the pit haze that it's possible they looked similar enough he didn't realize there were two of them.

Unsurprisingly with her protective streak when it came to her children, when her schedule allowed it Talia would follow them on any missions that they were assigned. When Danny was 8 years and 3 months old, he was assigned to a mission to kill a former ally of Ra's. She did just that, seeing when he failed in his mission and doing so for him well, rigging the building to blow. She then caught up with her son and told him to follow her, traversing him over 2 states from where his mission had been. She told him that Aidan Al Ghul was dead, and if he wanted to survive, he would stay that way. She trusted that she had instilled the skills needed to survive in him and left, not being able to stay away longer for risk of Ra's becoming suspicious.

After returning, she broke the news about Aidan to her father before doing so privately to Damian in anticipation of his upset about his brother's lose. It was not long after this that she brought him to Gotham to tell him who his father was, hoping that learning this information would help him through his grief. When she later left Damian with his father it was the second-hardest day of her life, because at least with him she knew that Bruce would be there to protect him.

[fancyfade]

Snippet (not the start of chapter)

...

“What do you consider yourself?” Damian asks, almost angrily, turning the question around on her. “Surely you don't think you're a civilian.”

… She doesn't. Having the option of ever being a regular person was taken from her. She doesn't know when – was it when Doctor Darrk interrupted her university studies to bring her back into the world of the League of Shadows? When Qayin killed her mother? When she was born to Ra's al Ghul? But at some point, the door to ever having a normal life was locked and she lost the key without ever having realized it.

What can she count herself as? Daughter of the Demon? Corporate saboteur? She's definitely not a 'superhero' or a 'supervillain'.

...

keep reading

[aerascreamer]

This just goes to show how much the Al-Ghul have suffered from bad racist writing, while Damian’s heritage is being erased and whitewashed.

It’s so rare to in comics to have his PoC origins acknowledge (I can only remember Damian going to an Arabic restaurant) and paint the Al-Ghul more than just an abusive family.

It’s sad to think that we could have a Ra’s like this https://youtu.be/LX6HHIIEHIE?feature=shared

Yet he is reduced to just a crazy man driven mad by the Pit (which originally only gave temporary madness, which then lead to a poor Jason Todd characterisation).

And I just checked the wiki about Damian’s original conception:

Talia, Ra’s and Bruce are working to bring down Qayin, a terrorist who is a threat to the LoS but also killed Talia’s mother. After consuming her marriage to Bruce, she announces her pregnancy to her husband. Bruce becomes super protective of Talia, which slows him down in his hunt for Qayin. After an attack at an LoS base by the terrorist, Talia lies and says she had a miscarriage in order to have Bruce focus on hunting down Qayin and avenge her mother for her. Her plan succeeds, Bruce go on an rampage with Ra’s against the man who took his unborn child, which ends with Qayin electrocuting himself to death. Unable to admit such a big lie to Bruce, Talia cut ties with him and gives her baby, Damian for adoption.

So we have this complex story about blind vengeance and guilt, yet Morison wrote a rapist and abusive Talia, which then lead to the sh*** show that is the fight against the Heretic…

And did we need such an antagonised Damian when he first arrived at the manor? Because of how awful the LoS has been made, it also ruined Damian’s first impression to the reader, which lead to many people hating Damian. I can’t imagine a good Talia raising Damian to be spoiled and mean. The League would not tolerate such behavior either. He would be a strict and quiet assassin who believes he must always prove he is fit to be the heir of the Demon’s head and the Bat. Fearing failure, he’d be watching his behavior and wouldn’t show such blatant display of anger by smashing things and insulting people. Why would he be brat in his father’s house, if Talia told him Bruce is one of the greatest man and is to be respected? She loves Bruce and would make sure to paint him in a good light to her son. Ra’s would do the same, since he considers Bruce his rightful heir.

Just saw someone saying that Damian's love for animals comes from Dick??? Bro have you ever read Damian's origin??? Do you know who his family is????

His family is fricking Al Ghuls. The famous eco-terrorist family. The family who has sanctuaries for endengared animals and plants. The family who wants to save the Earth from humans. Damian's love for animals comes from the Al Ghuls.

Dick stans love to attribute Damian's everything to Dick even if it is related or not.

[incorrectbatfam]

do you know any good brutalia comics?

I'm not saying any of these are the holy grail when it comes to Talia's portrayal since her character has a long history of writers messing with it, but here's what I got for you.

Batman: Son of the Demon (1987) – This is a one-shot where Bruce actually helps Ra's against a different Cold War–era enemy called Qayin. In this iteration, Bruce and Talia's relationship is consensual and she pretends to have a miscarriage in order to help Bruce with the broader storyline. However, the baby is not Damian and was instead an unknown child that she gave to an orphanage and was adopted by an unknown couple.

Batman: Arkham Unhinged (2012) – In this series, we get flashbacks to Bruce and Talia's relationship as they rekindle an alliance to, for a lack of a better term, save the world. Yes, this involves teaming up with Ra's Al Ghul again. It's one of those recurring necessary evils that Bruce undergoes multiple times in various continuities. It's a companion comic to the Batman: Arkham game and you buy it, it comes with an XBox live code so... do with that what you will, I guess.

Nightwing: Freefall (2008) – Even though she's a multifaceted person with complex relationships with the heroes, she is still a villain, and this Nightwing series explores that side of her. The story mainly focuses on Dick and his relationship with people like Tim, Bruce, and Wally, but we understand how Talia looks from his POV. The vibe is a little different from other batfamily or Nightwing comics, but it's strikes a refreshing balance between the grim world and his bright character. It sorta feels like Spider-Man with an eerie Halloween undertone.

Detective Comics #750 (2000) – Here we see a more tactical side to their relationship rather than a romantic one, since they part ways after the issue ends. Here, they're up against two villains named Whisper and Abbott. There's some back-and-forth capture and escape going on, but what I like is that rather than showing off Talia's fighting capabilities, we see her as a strategist and understand the layers that go into sabotaging a villain's plan.

[metis-iphigenia]

AL GHUL FAMILY TEXT POSTS PART THREE!!!

i got carried away and made too much so im abt to post part 4 in a sec😭😭

[baticorngirl]

An Ember of Uncertainty

Rating: K+/PG Fandom: Batman/DC (specifically Batman: Son of the Demon) Relationship(s): Talia al Ghul/Bruce Wayne Characters: Talia al Ghul, Bruce Wayne Word count: 3,778 Summary:

“I heard you two talking,” she began nervously. Her eyes went back to their partly-closed position, avoiding eye contact yet again. “Last afternoon. My father and you, at the end of the attack yesterday. About the future attacks of Qayin, about some… ambush my father wanted you to lead on him.” “Yes, that… happened,” Bruce slowly acknowledged. OR: As based on Batman: Son of the Demon, Talia is worried about Bruce's constant over-protectiveness of her and their unborn child. But this time, before she does anything drastic, she first decides to tell her Beloved that they need to talk. So, for better or worse, they talk. (For @brutalia-week, Day 2: Canon Divergence AU)

Author's Note:

This is meant to take place in Batman: Son of the Demon just a little bit before the scene where, in canon, Talia fakes the miscarriage. As I have plenty of other fics taking place in an AU where Son of the Demon works out, this is likely a bit of a prequel to them. (None of them are super connected though.)

Click here to read on Ao3 instead (which also includes a much more detailed A/N, if you happened to be interested)

Click here to read my BruTalia Week: Day 1 fic

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Beloved,"

Her voice was careful, soft, slow; it cracked half-way through just the one word, then quieted so much that the second half was hardly audible. Her eyes weren't even open, having done no more than sensed him arriving from the other side of the room. She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth once she'd finished speaking, methodically dabbing it along the saliva-coated inner lining. But other than that, she was still in every regard; her arms rested loosely on her lap, with the muscle completely relaxed, and her chin was nearly laid down on her upper neck.

"Talia?"

Bruce took several steps towards her, passing under the bright gold doorway trim. The chandelier was strung low, casting direct shadows onto the left side of his face from such small features as his nose and the curves of his eyebrows. It cast those same shadows on to the right side of Talia's own, as well. The light was so dim it couldn't even remotely reach the farther corners of the relatively small room; in those areas, the dull blue wall color appeared as navy, or perhaps even black.

"Come in," she whispered, finally beginning to open her eyes, though only partly. "Come over here." Her hand lifted, nonchalantly pointing to the chair across from her.

A small table, not more than two feet long, cut in between the two chairs, of which an even dimmer light than the small chandelier sat. It was simply a candle, flickering and dwindling like the rolls of ocean waves. Nonetheless, it scattered its luminosity all across the wood surface, with some light even spilling onto the floor below, as well as the wall, which the table was only a few inches from being pushed up again.

He walked over there, his footsteps piercing the current silence every second or two. It didn't take long for him to get there, though, and once he did so, he quickly drew the chair out from the table, only for that to create a much larger skidding sound. Bruce lowered himself on to the seat, feeling the bumpy bars of the back of the chair rub against his back.

"You said you wanted to talk?" he said, looking straight into Talia's eyes. The glare on them was bright and glossy; the candle itself showed a vague resemblance to the center of the reflections. The sight made him blink. "It's… clearly very important, considering just how alone and formal you requested it to be. Is… Is something wrong, Talia?"

"Yes," she answered, clear and definite in one single word.

"It is?" Bruce's eyes widened. "What's the problem? Everything's been so good around here, with our marriage, your father's allyship with me, and your…. Our…" Then, he leaned forward, struck with a heavy thought. "Oh no… it doesn't have anything to do with your pregnancy, does it? With our future child? Please don't tell me something's gone wrong with that… That you had a miscarr–"

"No," Talia lightly shook her head. "The baby is alright, for now."

"For now?"

He stopped breathing, for a moment, before she answered. One of his hands grabbed the wrist of his other one, clenching it in sudden fear. His nails dug in so much it began to string, but in that split second, his arm was as good as numb; he neglected to even notice the pains biting into the tender skin.

"I… I don't mean it like that, Beloved," she reassured, circling her head backwards, towards the wall which candlelight was still flashing on. "Not really, at least."

These words were instantly met with a rushing sigh of relief from Bruce's end. He blew out the air, making a loud whooshing sound in the process, which pushed at the candle in a way that almost pulverized it; the fire atop shortened to nothing more than a large ember. Only a moment later, though, it pushed back up, now just a bit smaller of a flame than it was before. Talia, as close as she was, saw all of these abrupt changes through nothing more than the lessening radiance of the nearby wall.

"Then what do you mean?" Bruce asked anxiously. His eyes were still big in diameter, with his previous relief starting to dilute with each and every second she refrained from elaborating.

"As I already said, nothing," Her head, already so odd and twisted in position, tilted ever so slightly towards the wall. "Just ludicrous, improbable fears, I suppose. That's all."

"Mnn?"

The noise was quiet and surprisingly high-pitched, with the person it was coming from in consideration. It was unsure, questioning; too unsure to even speak true comprehensible words, it seemed. It was simply a small speck of sound, peeping out like a little slice into the airspace surrounding. It was expressive, though, and loud enough that Talia could hear it clearly. She processed it, and the body language alongside it, like any other question.

She sighed, "It's not even really about the baby. A loose extension to my real, unrelated concern, at most. That's not why I brought you here." With her eyes trailing the wall downwards, she considered this thought and eventually nodded to it. "In fact, a desire for us to be keeping the unborn child in our minds more could be considered the exact opposite of why I called for this discussion. Not that I wish the child to be loved and cared about any less, I just…"

"What?"

Talia's eyes finally opened fully. They changed their direction, as well; although her head was still significantly titled the opposite way, her eyes themselves ultimately met with Bruce's. She kept this eye contact still and silent for a good few seconds, pausing before she answered this question. In these seconds, she bit her tongue— hard, pressing down like a cruel bear trap that her tongue had fallen into.

"I shouldn't start here," she said. "I really shouldn't start here."

"Then don't," Bruce replied calmly, but his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "What's going on here, Talia? Explain it however you like, but still explain it."

"I–"

She bit her tongue even harder now, so much that she swore she could taste just the tiniest fleck of blood dripping off the area her teeth clasped. Somewhere in the realms of her neck and jaw, a cramp surged in, forcing her mouth to completely freeze for an eerie amount of time. Bruce stayed silent throughout it, but his eyes widened and constricted with great concern. Even when she eventually spoke, the back of Talia's jaw was still sore from the cessation.

"I heard you two talking," she began nervously. Her eyes went back to their partly-closed position, avoiding eye contact yet again. "Last afternoon. My father and you, at the end of the attack yesterday. About the future attacks of Qayin, about some… ambush my father wanted you to lead on him."

"Yes, that… happened," Bruce slowly acknowledged.

His posture jumped upwards, suddenly perfectly straight from the startle. Yet, in a starkly different behavior, his head itself drooped down the second she finished speaking. It hung low with a similar nervousness to her own; not as extreme, but visibly present nonetheless. The chandelier now gave no light to almost the entirety of his face, with the only thing keeping it from turning into a blanket of shadows being the soft candlelight below, which still made little difference.

He stared at Talia blankly for nearly half a minute.

"Are you going to say anything about it?" she inevitably asked. "You can't sincerely expect me to have no reaction to that. You…you can't just say no to him. To Ra's al Ghul, of all people, at least if you have any intent of not becoming bitter enemies, and that's not even beginning to address the–"

"I know," Bruce nodded, "but it's the only way."

"The only way for what?" Talia could feel her voice quickly rising. "You used my condition as an excuse for it, for your foolishness."

"I'm trying to protect you," he defended. "This is a very high-stress, dangerous situation, and you're pregnant! You can't be in the middle of all this while there's a fragile, tiny baby growing inside of you!"

Talia's eyes were wide open now, quite different to their past half-closing position, but even more than that, her quiet stillness had completely vanished with this new-found anger. Underneath the table, she clenched her fists as tightly as they could, leaving dark imprints on the places that got most heavily pushed. Any nervousness was gone in a matter of a minute.

"This is also the kind of high-stress, dangerous situation that we need to have our priorities straight on. That we must be working on solving constantly," she explained, "lest be a fool, and in these situations, a fool is not something any one of us can afford to be, can we?"

"Yes, but I do have my priorities straight," Bruce argued, "and those priorities are you and the unborn child. Is that so wrong? To not want an innocent baby to be deprived of life, or an innocent woman have to experience the both emotional and physical pain of miscarriage? I only love you and want the best, Talia. So we must get you to safety."

"Not when we're in the middle of stopping nuclear war," she disagreed.

"But—" he stuttered. "The baby. And you."

Bruce felt the same anger as Talia, or if anything, an even stronger kind of rage. Every protective instinct in his body felt as if it went off at the same time, leaving all his muscles tense, and his arm, tightly grabbed again, feeling just as much stinging sensations as earlier. A sudden flush of heat took over his entire face, making it just the slightest bit more red than usual.

"—Will be killed in the nuclear war just as much as anyone else." Talia pointed out.

"It's not like I'm going to leave that unattended forever, Talia." Bruce stated. His lungs spiraled into a chaotic formation of breath-taking, up and down faster by the second. "I'm perfectly willing to go back to assisting you father and defeating Qayin, just the same as before, as soon as you're in a safer place."

"Considering the League of Assassins's many threats, who knows how long that could take? We'd need to find the perfect place, and then get me to it, and we already have much too little time to stop Qayin's plans. Even then, I don't necessarily even need to stop—"

Bruce quickly cut her off, "No. I understand you've gotten into the habit of always being a warrior and assassin, but if nothing else, you're going to be off the battlefield, period."

"If you stop doing any of the rest of this mess, I'm more than fine with agreeing to that."

His neck had gone back to having perfect posture, but his eyes, on the other hand, now darted towards the ground in deep thought. His head vacillated from side to side, but it was nothing compared to the extreme vacillating going on inside. WIth every new thought, his tongue solidly thumped against the skin behind his lips. Talia, still frowning in frustration, barely held back a flinch every time the distinct, surprisingly loud sound occurred.

"What counts as 'the rest of this mess'?" he asked curiously.

"Everything else that you're doing because of my pregnancy only." Talia answered. She'd gone back to staring at the wall, but as she spoke, she side-eyed him for a split second. "Most of it, at least. The ridiculous overprotectiveness, the prioritizing my healthcare over the people who are seriously injur–"

"Oh, I can't seriously be expected to do that, Talia," Bruce mildly shook his head. "Pregnancy isn't something you can just ignore! You need to act accordingly in almost every decision, and take all the precautions necessary to prevent complications to keep everyone involved as safe and happy as possible." Now, he changed actions, nodding to his own words instead of shaking his head to hers.

Talia didn't even begin to respond, but rather, quietly huffed at him.

"The happiest baby in the world," Bruce stately proudly, completely ignoring the reaction. "How can that be the case if they aren't even born?"

"But the poor soldiers who I'm getting arbitrarily prioritized over aren't happy," Talia pointed out. "Neither are the doctors you keep bossing around, or my father, or probably any of our assassins, or the people whose lives would most directly be endangered if the nuclear war were to start, or…"

Each breath of hers, unlike his, weren't very fast or loud anymore— Quite the opposite, even. If anything, they were significantly slower and less frequent than normal. While in a large pause in her speech, Talia wrapped her arms herself loosely; in a soothing motion, her fingers rubbed, massaged, and pushed over the muscles, just starting to get out some of the knots all this clenching had brought about. Every rub brought her eyes closer to how they'd been originally: closed, loose, and overwhelmingly tired.

"Or… Well frankly, I am not happy," she admitted. "Are you even happy anymore?"

Bruce's eyes drifted to the side, clearly still thinking it over, but he quickly nodded even during those actions. "Of course I'm happy. Why won't I be happy? I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life, as I already told you. Everything finally feels right again, with you… and… and the baby we'll soon have, and…"

"Are you, though?" Talia asked, raising an eyebrow subtly. Her eyes had opened some, but not much. "Lately, you've been worrying about whether or not I'm safe constantly. Is that considered happiness, to you?"

"My protection of you is necessary," Bruce stated dryly.

His posture completely let go the second he'd hear Talia's words. Instead, he dramatically slouched over. Similar to the situation with his hanging head, very few parts of the entire front of his body were hit with light. The candle continued lighting his eyes, though, and as he leaned forward, it gave them a misty, glowy blue aura; these blue orbs dashed around their white background, antsy and clearly avoiding the true question at hand.

"I disagree," Talia replied, with her chin stuck stubbornly.

Then, with them stubborn in every definition of the word, both mouths were tightly shut. The silence was only interrupted with tongue-to-lip clicking, an action which Bruce had swiftly taken back up out of mere boredom. It bothered Talia the same as before, but her silence continued regardless; the only reaction she had to it was a slightly unpleasant kind of expression.

"Talia, I don't want to make you upset or… feel like I'm disregarding your feelings about this whole thing." Bruce eventually told her. "There's just only so much I can do."

"But you won't listen," she complained. "You're completely capable of compromising with me on a solution, but you simply won't, will you? Because of course, we can't do that unless you take the time to, again, listen."

"Your compromise before wasn't reasonable," he argued. "Otherwise I might have listened to it."

"Fine then, if you don't want to, you don't even have to listen. But you do have to compromise in some way." Talia suggested, sighing loudly. "Why not just talk to me, won't you? Stop being so insufferably stubborn and actually converse? Just answer my question from before: if you're so happy, why are you constantly worrying that I'm going to die, instead of….being happy?" Her voice was rising at a terribly fast rate, and the tone alongside was snarky at nicest.

Bruce managed to somehow slouch even further downwards now, still so determined to avoid the question. But he didn't spout out excuses this time, or for the first few seconds, open his mouth at all. He thought about his answer, narrowing his eyes intensely. Yet suddenly, half way through these thoughts, his posture lifted, as did his intensely narrowed eyes. The entirety of his expression quickly softened.

"Because I'm…scared of losing that happiness," he slowly admitted, "is probably it."

Talia's own expression softened, as well.

"And you're scared of losing the baby, and me…" she finished for him. "I– I know that, Beloved. I know you're just doing this out of fear and love and whatnot, and I– I'm not…. I'm sorry. For getting so angry at you over it." Her eyes now went to the opposite of the closest wall, cast off into the distance of the rest of the room.

Bruce nodded and gulped, stuffing down a million emotions in the process. His entire face stared directly at the ground, at such an abrupt angle that even the candlelight failed to light him any longer. He held this position for a bothersome amount of time, and as he did so, Talia stayed just as silent. They both processed the conversation they'd just had in a million different ways; Bruce mainly just stayed still as he thought, meanwhile Talia kept making subtle turns of the head every so often.

With every one of these movements, Talia's head got lower and lower, inching towards Bruce's drastic position. Her eyes mimicked this uncomfortable behavior. They kept blinking much quicker and more frequent than normal, and eventually, she could feel the corners of them filling up with salty tear water.

"You said that our child couldn't be as happy with pregnancy complications." Talia abruptly blurted out her thoughts. "But in the same way, how are they –or I, for that matter– supposed to be happy without you?"

"What do you mean?" he finally picked up his head, puzzled.

"Oh, nothing," Talia quickly blushed in embarrassment. "Just those ludicrous, improbable fears I mentioned earlier, I suppose."

"Hmmm," Bruce said, and he nodded, seeming to accept this as a final answer for a good half a second. Eventually, he bit his lip and continued, though. "Would you… Would you like to tell me those ludicrous fears? What they're about? Would you like to…. Discuss them? Tell them to someone?"

Talia gulped. She could still feel the tears pushing at her eyes, barely resisting the urge to let them go spilling out. Her eyes were still visibly glossy, even as she tried to keep it from looking so, and the sight made Bruce deeply frown. Her lips were also quivering, a vibration sensation that only made it more difficult for Talia to hold in her tears. Thus, she let them come out– slowly, and quietly, just like her next words.

"You keep putting my protection above not just your common sense, but the bare bones of your ability to protect yourself." she said. "I– I just worry that, with… I'm scared that… Well, Beloved, it's becoming more and more apparent that, in this situation, with you not prioritizing your own safety in the slightest…"

The tears stained the places they rolled down, making Talia's face feel almost soggy.

"You're a lot more likely to die than I am, I fear."

With those hard words out, she instantly brought her hands up to her eyes, frantically wiping the tears away with the ends of her fingers. It mostly worked, as it wasn't more than a few drops that came out before she was easily able to swallow the rest back down, but her face held the temporary blotches of red-tint even after.

"The thing you don't seem to understand, Beloved, is that between what I just said, the possibility of the allyship breaking, and just the general stress your behaviors could put on the child, we're just as doomed with your overprotective behavior as if you didn't try to protect me at all."

She breathed out in some futile attempt to calm herself, but the only thing she achieved was for the candle in front of her to flicker completely out.

Bruce fixed his posture again, but then, just as he'd come to the perfect position of sitting, abruptly pushed himself up. It only took a few slow, unsteady steps for him to completely circle the table, until he was directly behind his wife; the shadow of her body spilled on to him. He gently leaned over one of her shoulders.

"I know you already apologized, but I really should, too," he gave in. "You were obviously hurting and worried just as much as I was, so… I'm sorry if it was self-centered of me, to not listen anyway. I'm sorry for being defensive, and… oh, you know what I mean."

Talia turned her head to face the shoulder he looked over, "Yes, I do."

She was still upset. She was still very, very, upset. But with this apology, she managed to calm down significantly; her lips had completely quit quivering, as had her other fidgeting body parts, such as her shaky arms and hands. The frown on her face severely lessened, as well. In fact, the more time since the apology, the more the frown disappeared; eventually, a small, hopeful smile even began to surface.

"I take it that means you will listen about this, from now on?" her chin slanted upwards, but in a much kinder way than before. "I take it that you're willing to come up with a compromise about it?"

Bruce instantly nodded, "I'll expect you to keep off the battlefield and away from danger as much as possible, but in return, yes, I'll compromise. I won't prioritize you an amount that hurts others, including the whole war-prevention situation, but most importantly, I promise that I'll try to remember my own self-preservation skills enough that you, or the child in the future, won't have to worry about something happening to me."

"That… that works," Talia agreed. "Thank you."

Now, she got up herself, forcing Bruce to stop his leaning; with them both standing, her shadow covered him even more fully. His suit, which was oddly similar in color to the room's walls, appeared a mix of navy and black in the lack of light. Talia grabbed both of his navy-appearing gloves, holding the hands inside them tightly. She squeezed them both, letting her small smile grow into a bigger one.

Talia looked Bruce directly in the eyes. "I know things can be messy with the two of us, and then my duties to my father, but…we're going to figure this all out. Somehow." she said, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath in. "If not for ourselves, then for our sweet, precious baby."

"For the baby," Bruce repeated, smiling back at her.

Then, defying all logic and science, the candle lit right back up.

[jostenneil]

i think the reason son of the demon is confusing to a lot of people is bc it relies on a lot of subtext. obv i’m not in mike w. barr’s mind so whether the following assumptions i made are actually true of his intent or not is debatable but at the same time i think there’s quite a few significant implications of the event that weren’t explicitly written out. like why did bruce so readily agree to take qayin down when ra’s and talia expressed a desire to kill him, despite his own no-kill rule? on a surface level it makes no sense but when you take into account bruce’s own trauma regarding the lack of justice for his parents’ death or even how he wanted to help dick bring zucco to justice swiftly so his entire life wouldn’t be consumed with revenge, then i think his readiness to help talia alleviate this pain actually makes a lot of sense. you can even extrapolate it towards ra’s bc he’s a figure consistently subsumed with justice to the point that he’ll use his ends to justify his means, and don’t you think it makes sense that bruce would want to help bring this dilemma swiftly to its conclusion so ra’s didn’t wreak more havoc than he had to? bruce also takes the time to train the members of the league in non-lethal combat, and i think there’s an underlying assumption from that effort and his general approach to business with the al ghuls that he doesn’t really intend to kill qayin. take him down, maybe, so talia and ra’s can have peace, but he’s not going to go against his code if he doesn’t have to. and obv, in the end, he does go against his code, but why? not for some arbitrary reason. it’s bc he’s consumed with rage and grief over losing the life he thought he could have with someone he loves. bc once again someone precious has been taken from him, only unlike before, he isn’t a child anymore. he has the power to react, and he does. esp in context of jason’s death a while later, i think it’s really fascinating, bc he reacts the same way on that occasion, too. he loses himself in grief and acts irrationally, but bc he’s in gotham, he has people to hold him back. in son of the demon, he goes out there to beat qayin and he’s all on his own. there’s no one to hold him back. and in light of that the end of son of the demon is really perfect to me, bc aside from talia wanting to keep her child safe from this life and bruce safe from the anxiety of always needing to watch their backs, you can also kinda imply that killing qayin may have taken its toll on bruce down the line. even if talia had somehow managed to tell him the truth, the weight of that guilt and that loss in control and the fact that it happened bc she lied to him would be too great. so it’s this really tragic ending that i think encapsulates the complicated nature of their relationship perfectly, bc they’re good people, and they don’t want to hurt each other, but they still do in these very inadvertent ways that are somehow out of their control

[kumeko]

A/N: Written for the Talia zine hosted by @lady-talia! Considering the changes her character went through throughout the years, I wanted to explore those changes a bit and the possibilities she could have had.

Summary: In another world, Damian could have grown up with both his parents, his grandfather, and his aunt. In another world, Nyssa and Talia could have changed the world for the better. It’s unfortunate that in this world she is alone.

…

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1. Nyssa

 Talia stared at the absurd tableau in front of her. Her long-lost sister Nyssa. Her somewhat controlling, twisted father Ra’s. A sharp knife connecting the two, the blade plunged into her father’s chest. His hand gripped the handle, blood dripping down his mouth as he tried to pull it out but Nyssa held it fast, pushing it even deeper into his flesh. As dimly lit as the cave was, it couldn’t hide what was happening before her: the death of Ra’s Al Ghul.

 “This. Is. For. My. Family.” Nyssa grunted with each word, twisting the knife deeper and deeper. Her hand was slick with blood. Whatever droplets had splattered on her chest were absorbed by her black shirt.

 Ra’s mouth fell open, gaping soundlessly. His eyes darted from the dagger to his estranged daughter, as though he couldn’t believe his eyes either. The strength leaving his body, he fell to his knees and Nyssa let go of the blade. “Nyssa…” he gurgled, his hand weakly tugging at the blade.

 “Father!” Despite her part to play in this, Talia instinctively ran to his side. Helping him was engraved in her by now, as much a part of her as her flesh and bones. “I…”

“Talia…” His head rolled to the side, his dark eyes searching for her.

 “I’m here.” She cradled him against her chest. His body was so small, so frail. Nothing at all like the man who had travelled the world for eons, whose life spanned centuries. Talia had almost thought him invincible. Yet it had only taken an ordinary knife to take him down. “I’m here.”

 “Talia…” he croaked, his eyes still searching for her. Too late, she realized he couldn’t see anymore. His hand left the dagger, groping blindly in front of him. “My daughter…”

 “I’m here,” she repeated, clutching his hand. His grip was weak, too weak, and this hurt more than she thought it would. Despite what he’d done, despite her reasons, he was still her father in the end. Their bond would always be more complicated than she’d like.

 With a soft gasp, his arm went limp. His eyes stared blankly ahead. Noticing the change, Nyssa crouched before them, her expression flat as she studied him. The sticky blood was still dripping down her hand, landing on the dirt floor with a loud splotch. “Is he?”

 “He is,” Talia confirmed, gently closing his eyes. If killing him had felt absurd, cradling his dead body felt downright unnatural. Even in her wildest dreams, her father’s death was a moment of great import. Surrounded by dignitaries, by top subordinates, with the pomp of a king. Nothing as simple as passing away in a run-down cave, alone with his killers.

 “So it is done.” Nyssa sighed with relief, sitting on the ground, her legs bent in front of her. Crossing her arms on her knees, she rested her chin on them. “The demon is dead.”

 “The demon is dead,” Talia repeated, the words sounding less real with each passing second. She half expected him to walk out of the Lazarus pit behind her, despite his cooling body still in her hands. “And with him his plans.”

 “Good riddance.” Nyssa wearily closed her eyes, looking unguarded for once. She looked softer, gentler, like the woman she might have been once. The woman she still could have been, had her family lived. Had Ra’s helped. Had fate taken a different route than the one that had led them here.

 Talia said nothing. Carefully, she set his body on the ground. Down the tunnels, she could hear metal clashing, a sharp sound that echoed in the cave. Batman, perhaps. While her father was dead, his men didn’t know that. There was an organization to dismantle, people to remove, and Talia felt a headache forming already. The demon might be dead but he certainly wasn’t disposed of.  With a sigh, she got up and dusted her pants. “There is work yet to be done.”

 Nyssa cracked an eye open. Glancing down the tunnel, she shrugged carelessly. “Remnants. Easily disposed with. Your boyfriend is already doing it.”

“No, they still remain.” Talia grimaced. A failing of Bruce’s, really. The inability to kill. She both loved and hated him for it. “Besides, my beloved can’t reach the heart of it all, not like we can.”

 “True.” Nyssa lay on her back, stretching her limbs languidly. She looked far too relaxed for what they’d just done. “But my point still stands. Between the two of us, we can tear it all down. Or even repurpose it.”

 “Repurpose?” Talia raised a brow. “How do you propose we repurpose a gang of killers?”

 “Mmm…” Nyssa closed her eyes, mulling it over. “Community service.”

 “What?” Talia arched a brow, holding back an inelegant snort. “You can’t possibly be serious.”

 “No. A joke.” Nyssa chuckled, getting up now. “These killers aren’t good for anything else. It would have been nice to build something for once. To create instead of destroying.”

 Talia stared at her father’s corpse, thinking of the bloodshed he’d promised. The bloodshed she’d stopped. It was sentiment she could understand. Something completely unlike her father’s teachings. Reaching out, she squeezed her sister’s hand, staining her own red. “Perhaps we still can.”

   2. Bruce

 “Beloved…” Talia places a flat hand on her belly, on the slight, fragile bump. It was strange to think there was another life in her, to look in the mirror and spot the changes in her body. Some part of her still didn’t believe it was real.

 Sitting on her bed, Bruce looked up from the book he was reading. “Is something wrong?”

 Yes, she wanted to answer. Many things. Her father was out there, fighting Qayin. Alone. Yet the only person who could catch him, who could beat him, was sitting on her bed looking more and more like a domestic husband with each passing day. “What are you reading?”

 Bruce flushed lightly, closing the book. When she looked at his questioningly, clearly not going to drop the subject, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Different baby names.”

 “Baby names?” She snickered, walking over to his side of the bed. Sitting down, she plucked it out of his hands. Already he was on the letter ‘F’, and she could spot several Arabic names in the list. An international book of names, it seemed. “A little eager, are we?”

 “Just want to be prepared,” he muttered, avoiding her gaze. Bruce’s ears were still red and if there was one thing he couldn’t handle well, it was teasing.

 “Your motto in life.” It was amusing how excited he was for this baby. She could barely make it through the day without him worrying about her health, food intake, habits, even her sleep. If she were completely honest, it was even sweet how overprotective he was. If a little tiring.

 “It doesn’t hurt. You never know what could happen.” His eyes darkened slightly, and she wondered if he would ever be free of that moment, of those gunshots that ended and started everything.

 “I think we are fairly well covered in that regard.” She closed the book softly, setting it aside.

 Bruce leaned forward, his hand gently caressing the bump. His eyes softened. “I just want the best for him.”

 Her breath caught. “Or her.”

 “Or them.” Bruce smirked at her confused expression. “Twins or triplets are a possibility.”

 “I hope not.” Talia shuddered. Even with the best doctors money could buy, she did not look forward to the delivery.

 His hand still splayed on her belly, Bruce peered up at her. “So what is the matter?”

 Observant as usual. Far more observant than she desired. Outside, her father was waiting impatiently for Bruce to join him in his crusade. The only thing stopping her beloved was his overprotective tendencies, his fear to leave her side for longer than a minute. A part of her agreed with Ra’s: this could get Bruce killed. And that was something she couldn’t allow to happen.

 Her hand covered his, pressing it against the bump. While he tried to maintain a serious expression, he couldn’t completely hide the joy in his face. If she carried out her plan, if she pretended she miscarried, that smile would be gone. Forever, possibly.

 Her father was worth that, she knew. A risk she could take. A risk she should take.

 “Talia?” Bruce asks softly, concern colouring his voice.

 Their relationship would never be the same after that. When he found out the truth, that she’d used him, he would never open himself like this again to her. Her child might never know their father. Just like she never knew her mother, like Bruce never got to know his parents.

 “It’s nothing.” She leaned forward and kissed him softly. Her father was more than worth the risk but she did not lose this. Ra’s would find another way. He always did.

     3. Damian

 “Mother.” Sitting on one end of a long dining table, Damian crossed his arms. Despite the well-prepared breakfast spread in front of him, he pointedly ignored the food and stared at Talia. “We have to do something.”

 “Something?” Talia asked, delicately picking up her glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Breakfast was usually a quiet matter between them and this change, while not unwelcome, was certainly unexpected. Perhaps she should shorten the table’s length. It certainly made it hard to carry a conversation and there was something ridiculous about how it made her short son appear even shorter.

 “About father.” Damian scowled, his fingers digging into his arms. He bit out the next words. “He has been prancing around with that harlot Selina.”

 Talia resisted the urge to chuckle. What would Selina’s reaction be, to hear her son utter such words? Unamused, most likely. “Your father is often found with other woman.”

 “True.” Damian’s frown grew deeper, if possible. If she had doubted he was Bruce’s son before, that expression cleared up any uncertainties. “However, this time appears serious.”

 Well, that much she had to agree on. Then again, Bruce had only ever been serious with a handful of women and this thing with Selina was years in the making. Spreading cream on her bagel, Talia replied lightly, “Then I suppose congratulations are in order.”

 Damian shot her a blistering glare. “Mother, you are not taking this seriously.”

 “I am taking this seriously enough.” Talia laced her hands together, elbows on the table, and rested her chin on them. “What do you propose I do?”

 “Stop him.” Damian bluntly stated, looking at her as though she were an idiot. “I do not want to call that woman ‘Mother’.”

 Talia tapped her chin. “I don’t know, I find the idea amusing.” Selina’s face would twist, she was certain of it. A strained smile, gritted teeth, and a chill down the spine as she heard the word. Oh, it would definitely be worth it.

 “Mother!” Damian rebuked sharply, grumpily puffing his cheeks. A completely childlike expression, one that she was unused to seeing on her child. The influence could only be from Dick Grayson and the rest of Batman’s entourage. Perhaps there was some good from their association.

 She could not recall a time when she had acted like a child. Her father had raised her to be perfect, whether it was in competition or leadership. For Damian, Talia wanted it to be different. For there to be love in her methods, a love unlike her father’s stern hands. An allowance for failures, room to learn, and perhaps a chance at companionship.

 “Very well. I suppose I owe your father a short visit.” Talia bit into her bagel. “Though I do not imagine that will change much.”

    4. Ra’s

 “You’re frail.” Damian’s lips curled into a haughty smirk, a sneer most impressive for a boy who was just five.

 Talia sighed softly. Just how did her son get to be so overly precocious? Bruce claimed Damian’s aristocratic tendencies came from her. Whether that was true or not, her son’s arrogance was certainly from his father. “Damain,” she warned sharply.

��“What?” Standing in front of his grandfather, Damian glanced over his shoulder to look at her. His immaculate appearance fit in perfectly with the manicured lawn and carefully crafted hedges of Bruce’s manor. Even his little bowtie was perfectly straight.

 “Respect your grandfather.” Talia set a hand on her hip, shaking her head when he tried to protest. Bruce had coddled the boy too much, leaving it to her to be stern. “Now.”

 “I thought you wanted the truth,” Damian muttered, his chubby cheeks forming a pout. A rare childish display from him and she was relieved that he hadn’t entirely grown up yet.

 “It’s fine.” Ra’s chuckled, crouching down next to Damian. He ruffled his grandson’s hair. “The boy already knows his mind.”

 “The boy has a name.” Damian scowled, swatting away his hands.

 “See? A true Al Ghul, ready to take on the world.” More amused than offended, Ra watched Damian fondly. It was an expression she had never thought she’d see on her father. Perhaps miracles did exist in this world.

 “Don’t encourage him,” Bruce admonished, holding a tray full of tea cups as he joined them. At Talia’s questioning look, he shrugged. “Alfred deserves a break—he had his hands full with Damian as is.”

 “Is that not why he’s the help?” In all honesty, her husband was far too soft.

 “He’s also family.” Bruce shook his head. If there was one thing he refused to budge on, it was Alfred’s status. Considering what the butler had done for her beloved, she was willing to let it slide. “Let him rest. Dick’s back; I’m sure he’s up for babysitting”

 “I suppose there is some good to your endless adoptions, beloved.” Talia leaned into his side, closing her eyes. Ignoring the occasional fights that broke out with Tim, Damian had more or less slipped in with the rest of Bruce’s children seamlessly. Or rather, he was forced to fit in; there were far too many busybodies in the house and Dick and Stephanie never seemed to understand the word ‘No’.

 “I think Damian likes them more than he lets on.” Bruce kissed the top of her head. “Besides, it’s nice to have siblings.”

 “What would you know about that?” Nyssa appeared on his other side, picking up a cup of tea. She smirked at her sister. “You have him completely housebroken.”

 “Almost,” Talia corrected, pulling back to flick her husband on the nose. “A certain someone does not remember his age and continues to galivant in the night.”

 Setting down the tray on a nearby table, Bruce raised a brow. “There’s a lot to do. I can’t just stop.”

 “Yet that is exactly what I expect, beloved. Is that not why you have those other children?” Talia admonished. It was an age-old argument, one that would not be solved until he either died or finally accepted her words. And she would not wait for the former.

 Around her was perfection: her father with his grandchild, her sister and her husband competing to spoil her son rotten, a family that was whole and complete. Come what may, she would make sure it stayed that way.

     5. Talia

 “Are you sure about this?” A servant asked, his knee bent as he stared at the dirt floor.

 Talia scuffed her foot on the dirt cave a last time. Like her father, the cave was old, outdated. A mark of times long gone, when technology didn’t rule the world. “No, it’s time we left this cave. You can’t conquer a world from here, let alone save it.”

 “Yes, but…” The servant swallowed before bravely forging on. “Forgive me, but I was talking about your son.”

 “Ah. Damian.” The word stung a little as she uttered it and for a moment, she understood her father’s pain when she had killed him all those years ago. Betrayal of blood hurt the most. “What about him?”

 “Leviathan,” the servant forced out. “Your son…he might die.”

 Talia lowered her eyes, staring at the floor. In the hollow cave, her servant’s words echoed, each reverberation weaker than the last. How strange it was, to plan her own son’s death. That after all of her fights against her father, she was doing the very thing she had hated him for. How much of her family’s blood lay on her hands?

 Yet somehow that thought wasn’t enough to stop her. Coldly, she dismissed her servant’s concern. “I had already considered that.”

 And perhaps the worst part was that she felt nothing about it. She was more like her father than she realized: ruthless, harsh, cruel. A killer to the core. There might have been a time long ago, a time when she could have taken a different path. Reached a different ending. One that was full of joy, one that was surrounded by family.

 That was neither here nor there. Now there was an inferno in her, a desire that no water could quench. A goal that she would achieve, no matter the stakes. Talia smirked, leaving behind the cave and those what-ifs.

 “You get me wrong. I intend for his death.”

[marvelman901]

Batman - Son of the Demon (1987) Written by Mike W Barr Art by Jerry Bingham Batman investigated a terrorist named Qayin, who had ties with Ra's Al Ghul. Batman and Ra's joined forced to fight Qayin. Meanwhile, Batman and Talia were expecting a baby, but in an attack from Qayin, Talia lost the baby. Or did she?... . #dc #dccomics #superhero #batman #80s #mikewbarr #jerrybingham #rasalghul #justiceleague #gotham #baby #taliaalghul #qayin #sonofthedemon #terrorist #supervillain #guns #pregnant https://www.instagram.com/p/CDRfiqgh98f/?igshid=1ofhhvq6pwdyj

[thecomicsnexus]

Son of the Demon

BATMAN: SON OF THE DEMON SEPTEMBER 1987 BY MIKE W. BARR AND JERRY BINGHAM

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC WIKIA)

When a group of criminals take hostages on a chemical plant in Gotham City, the GCPD summon Batman to assist them and the Dark Knight manages to stop the criminals, saving the hostages, but he ends up badly wounded after the confrontation. On his way back home, Batman falls unconscious due to his wounds and he is found by Talia, who takes him back to the Batcave.

When Batman recovers, he and Talia speak to Commissioner Gordon, who informs them that the crooks who Batman stopped were trying to steal chemicals used in pluviculture for a terrorist only known as Qayin. In order to learn more about this technology, Batman visits his old friend, Dr. Blaine, but finds out that the man has been recently murdered. Following the only clues left behind, Batman deduces that the person responsible for killing Blaine is his long time enemy, Ra's al Ghul.

Batman and Talia travel to Ra's base of operations, where they learn that Ra's had in fact survived his previous encounter with Batman and is currently working to restore one of his Lazarus Pits. During their meeting, Ra's explains that he had nothing to do with Blaine's death, and when Batman asks him about Qayin, he learns that the terrorist had once worked for Ra's, but is responsible for the death of Melisande, Ra's' former wife and Talia's mother. Knowing that Qayin is their common enemy, Ra's asks Batman to join forces with him, but upon agreeing, Batman must also take Talia's hand. Since the two of them were previously wed by Ra's, Talia and Bruce simply embrace each other and have their first sexual encounter, after which Batman becomes an official member of Ra's family and starts acting as a leader for Ra's men.

Meanwhile, Qayin continues his plan of stealing a satellite from the United States Government, which is designed to control weather conditions. Joining forces with the rogue General Yossid, Qayin's hold of the satellite is secured, even though he has a few weeks to live, due to a strange illness.

The night of the sabotage, Qayin infiltrates the US military base, from where the satellite will be launched into space. At that same time, Batman, Talia and a selected group of Ra's men also infiltrates the base in order to place a bomb in the satellite. Batman and his team are discovered and they are attacked by the US forces, who also alert Qayin of their presence. The terrorist confronts Batman and manages to disable the bomb they placed on the satellite, just as it is launched towards space. Having failed their mission, Batman and Talia retreat back to Ra's base of operations, unaware that Qayin managed to get capture one of Ra's men.

Upon returning to Ra's base, Batman is informed that Talia is pregnant with his child, who becomes his only concern in the world. Unfortunately, the man who was captured by Qayin is tortured to reveal the secret location of Ra's base and with this information, Qayin organizes a large scale attack on Ra's, taking dozens of his men to the place. Qayin and his army break into Ra's fortress and Batman's only concern is to protect Talia, which renders him innefective against the enemy. Qayin and his forces break into the core of Ra's base, where he finally finds the Lazarus Pit which will help him survive his disease. However, Ra's was prepared for such emergency and he destroys the pit with explosives he had placed prior to the attack. With Qayin seriously wounded, his forces retreat and he only manages to escape the place with great effort.

Back in his base, Qayin learns that the satellite is in orbit and with help from his rogue scientists, he takes control of the satellite, creating chaos and destruction near the Soviet Union. This actions would eventually create a war between Russia and the US, which is Qayin's ultimate goal. After killing General Yossid, Qayin gets full control of the operation and he speeds up the destruction.

Meanwhile, Ra's is planning his next move against Qayin and he wants Batman to take the lead, but the Dark Knight wants out of any plans until Talia is taken to a safe place. At that very moment, Talia falls unconscious and after taking her to the doctor, she reveals to Batman that she had lost their child as a result of the strain. Reinvigorated by the loss of his unborn child, Batman joins Ra's on his attack to Qayin's base.

In the ensuing confrontation, Batman and Ra's manage to infiltrate Qayin's base along with several of Ra's men, killing every opponent along the way. When Ra's and Batman reach the main chamber, where Qayin is operating the satellite, Batman commands Ra's to deactivate the satellite, while he confronts Qayin. The terrorist however, only wants to kill Ra's and gives little attention to Batman. This distraction gives Batman the edge he needs to defeat Qayin, giving Ra's enough time to destroy the machines that control the satellite and giving full control of the machine back to the US. Once the US have the satellite under their control, they decide to destoy it for good. In a desperate attempt, Qayin tries to electrocute Ra's, but Batman stops him and Qayin is electrocuted himself, ending his life.

With the threat of Qayin ended, Bruce 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 locates Blaine's killer, who was one of his co-workers, paid by Qayin. Having solved the case, Batman returns to the shadows and his grim attitude gives Gordon the hint that something is wrong with the Dark Knight, who spends the night in isolation on top of a building, wondering how different things would've been if his child had not died.

Nine months later, a newborn baby is given away on an orphanage and the baby is soon adopted by a couple, who promise to take care of him. The baby has the necklace that Batman gave to Talia after he learned about her pregnancy, giving away the fact that Talia didn't lose the baby, but she lied in order to have Batman help Ra's against Qayin.

REVIEW

Scott Snyder once said that Batman’s story is a tragedy. And he is mostly right. When you read this novel, there is a clear theme about kids growing up without their parents or seeing their parents die. It seems to be a never-ending cycle. It is true for Talia, it’s true for Batman, it’s true for Dr. Blain’s son. So it would make sense that Batman would make all the decisions he made here, as every single questionable action, is linked to the premise of “children need their parents”. It is nor surprise then, than his reaction when he finds out he is going to be a father is that one of making sure that kid is the happiest child on earth. However, had he been successful, I am pretty sure that kid would have entered that cycle as well. By being given into adoption you would think at least he has been spared. So it is a sour ending (as the kid is not growing up with his parents) but we see him being adopted.

Now, there are a few things in this novel that could be considered first appearances or not. The most obvious one is Damian Wayne. It was never Morrison’s idea to put this story into continuity (in fact, it doesn’t match the different versions of Damian’s origin). But there are too many similarities to say it isn’t the same character. It’s just not canon.

The other thing I cannot believe is not mentioned, is Qayn, who has too many similarities with David Caine. Technically, this character died in the novel, so I guess it was just one of those situations where two people create the same character (with some obvious differences).

There was a period in time when this novel was considered canon (between 1987 and 1994). It’s amazing no one tried to use the plot again during that period (says a lot about Batman editor, Denny O’Neil).

Apart form its theme, I think the story doesn’t really feel that strong. It’s hard to relate to the characters (I always have problems relating to Batman and Talia’s romance). And even if Batman can feel his actions justified... he is still allying himself with Ra’s Al Ghul, who is killing people at his side.

Also, how much time happens during this story? It feels like months.

The art is pretty standard for a graphic novel, but somehow it is easy to forget the it. There is only one page I always remember and it’s the “conception” page. But I tend to forget it was done by Jerry Bingham.

I give this novel a score of 8

[wesavegotham]

The idea that Talia gave Damian to an orphanage/adoptive family but then came back for him is not something the fandom came up with, but it's not really in any comic either as far as I'm aware. It's from The Batman Files by Matthew Manning:

A letter written by Talia al Ghul, but never mailed. Damian stole it from her dresser, thinking it was something that I should read. The boy wanted to tell me about his past, but I think there’s much more to Damian than even he knows. Much more than the story in this letter. 

My Beloved, There is nothing uncomplicated about what you and I have. The goals of my father and my dedication to him, are a part of my life and always will be. I know that you’ve ended things between us, but there is not a single part of me that believe you. While you may say that we are over, I know your eyes. Beloved, I know your eyes too well to believe anything you say. Because of our complications, you and I will always have secrets between us and thoughts that we cannot share. That is the unfortunate nature of our relationship and of our loyalties. But there is one secret that I’ve kept from you, which I had no right to keep. All I can do is apologize and hope you can understand why I couldn’t tell you this sooner. But I am telling you now. Your son is alive, Beloved. When you and my father were allies - when you were hunting that man Qayin - I had become pregnant. I let my guard down with you, and you did the same. We were acting out an impossible life; and you were even happy when I told you that you were going to be a father. But when you and my father turned against each other, everything ended. Your eyes told me how silly I’d been to imagine our future, and so I told you I’d lost the child.But he was fine. Your boy grew inside me, a fighter life his father, but without a chance at the life you wanted for him. I knew he needed more than the violent, lonely world of Ra’s al Ghul. So I gave your boy - your beautiful little boy - away. He was placed in an orphanage, and as I’ve learned, has found a home with a young, caring family .There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him. I wonder what he looks like. I wonder how his little voice sounds. And every morning, I think about going to him. I think about taking him back, and raising him myself. I don’t know how strong I can be, but I’m trying to do what is right for him. There may come a morning when I just can’t leave him any longer. There may come a morning when I go and take my boy back. I’ve spent too much time and too many tears on this letter, Beloved, because I have no real intention of mailing it. But I am sorry. I am so sorry that I’ve kept our son from both of us. And I wish I didn’t have to keep all of this to myself.

Yours Always,

Talia

Hi! I was wondering if it's true that Damian had adoptive parents before?

What I got is that Talia gave him away for a while and then came back from him, but I might be really wrong and influenced by fanon

So in Son of the Demon Talia left Damian with two parents she hoped would raise him, but when he was re-introduced to canon she didn't leave him with them because this was when Morrison was writing Talia completely different from how she used to be. She initially didn't raise him, though, he was raised by ???? in the league, probably trainers. THEN in 2011 they changed it so Talia did raise Damian while he was in the League... but she still wasn't her pre-Morrison self.

So in the Son of the Demon version Damian does have adoptive parents, we just never see them after that.

Obligatory plug to my fanfic where I am working on unifying Son of the Demon and pre-Morrison Talia continuity with Damian's existence :P (The Way My Mother Didn't Raise Me on ao3)

... OK wait I do realize I am not as up-to-date on the absolute newest stuff published w/ Damian bc I ran out of steam reading thru Robin 2021 just due to it being very mid, so DC may have tried to write it as Talia left him and then came back for him and I'm unaware of it.