DEMON'S HEAD (EARTH-7)

Biography 

Early Life

For centuries, two ancient and orthodox orders—the League of Shadows and the Order of St. Dumas—fought over the conquest and preservation of the Lazarus Pits scattered throughout the world. Most of these mystical wells eventually fell into Ra's al Ghul's possession and were used by him in his endless pursuit of immortality. However, the Lazarus Pits were unstable resources, and most of them did not survive for more than a decade after being used.

Eventually, the final known Lazarus Pit was discovered in North America. Through the ignorance of the people who lived there, an entire civilization had unknowingly developed around the site. That civilization would eventually become Gotham City.

During this period, Ra's's relationship with the Order of St. Dumas became increasingly hostile. His beloved Melisande, a Templar of the Order, betrayed her oath and abandoned the purposes of her order to ally herself with Ra's and the mission of the League of Shadows. Together, they had a daughter, Talia al Ghul.

Melisande eventually led the League of Shadows in a procession toward the last Lazarus Pit, which had been forgotten beneath America. However, the League was cornered by the Order of St. Dumas before they could fully secure it. Melisande was captured and executed on the banks of the Lazarus Pit.

Her death caused Ra's to retreat.

Over the following decades, Ra's dedicated himself to preparing Talia to succeed him. She became the most skilled assassin ever forged by his clan, trained to inherit the legacy of the League of Shadows and eventually take her father's place.

Yet Ra's understood that immortality could not last forever, even with the Lazarus Pits. He eventually made the decision to surrender his claim to eternal life so that Talia could be baptized in the final Lazarus Pit still under the control of the League of Shadows.

Talia became completely devoted to her sick and dying father. Ra's's condition and his approaching death motivated her to return to Gotham and resume an ancient war that had been forgotten by much of the world.

However, Ra's had another concern. If Talia failed to fulfill her mission, she would have to find the Gotham warrior she had fallen in love with in the past and use his body as the perfect vessel for her father's new spirit.

That warrior was Bruce Wayne.

Talia secretly wished that this would not become her final ordeal, but she could not afford to fail.

Meanwhile, Gotham was descending into chaos. Following the death of Jason Todd, Batman had spent four years operating alone. Bruce had cut ties with Oracle, ignored Dick Grayson's attempts to contact him, and sent Tim Drake to operate as Robin alongside the Young Justice. Fearing that he was losing himself in an unprecedented way, Bruce attempted to reconcile his personal identity with his heroic one by proposing to socialite Selina Kyle, his enemy Catwoman.

Before the wedding could take place, however, Bruce believed he first needed to deal with the worsening situation in Gotham. Together with Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox, and James Gordon, he planned to retake the city, beginning with the philanthropist Bruce Wayne entering the electoral race to remove the Penguin in the next election.

At the same time, ending the war between the Order of St. Dumas and the League of Assassins remained essential. Batman trained Azrael, the Order's last warrior, as an ally, hoping that the troubled vigilante's religious psychosis would not become a problem in the future.

This ultimately led to an agreement between Batman and Talia. The leader of the League of Assassins promised to leave Gotham if she received one final night of love with her former lover, Bruce Wayne.

While the agreement was being consummated, Nyssa Raatko led the League into the last Lazarus Pit, which was left unprotected after Azrael's absence from Batman's behest. There, the corpse of the late Demon Head emerged from the Pit.

Ra's al Ghul was reborn.

With their objective accomplished, the League of Assassins departed Gotham. Ra's was once again alive and ready to lead his clan, while Talia carried within her the heir to both the legacy of the Demon Head and the legacy of the Bat.