@@DavidMartinez-ce3lp From what I read, Talia drugging Bruce has also been retconned. So I'm not sure, why it keeps getting brought up like it's the current status quo everytime Talia's mentioned.
Atleast the current Talia is back to being written as more of an ally who actually loves Damian and Bruce. But Talia's fate rest in the hands of the dcu and how they portray her.
She’s the daughter of the head of the League Of Assassins. They’ve both done terrible things before they even met Batman. Why would she not be a monster? She’s a villain. An anti-villain at best. Never a hero. Never even an anti-hero like Catwoman often is. Idk what you’re talking about. Her endlessly loyalty to her father means she was always going to be a monster, unless he can stay dead for once. Then she’d have hope after over a decade with Bruce de-programming her. Cuz no way she isn’t brainwashed or close enough to it. He can at least make her realize she can do better and be better, and do things for herself to finally be happy, free of Ra’s. Unless/until he comes back because then she’ll just immediately spiral back to how she’s always been.
Yeah, this is why I have problems with Talia al Ghul. She wanted to do the right thing for her love for Batman. However, her loyalty to her father is too strong for her. Seriously, it's like the writers don't know what to do with her. And Catwoman is no better either.
Talia has been trying to leave her father side and she actually did for awhile leave Ra's and did good on her own. But then Death and the Maidens happened...
@@huntertezzthat’s the most garbage excuse one writer shits on her so other writers have to continuously shit on her because of the previous writer wtf
It's so frustrating to see DC try to mold Talia into this villainess role, when her half-sister, Nyssa Al Ghul is RIGHT THERE! This is especially prominent with Gotham Knights, where all Talia's actions would make a lot more sense for Nyssa: from her resentment towards Ra's and taking over the League, to repeatedly putting Bruce into the Lazarus Pit to break his mind (something that, I'm not kidding, actually happened TO Talia in Batman: Death and the Maidens. Nyssa killed and revived Talia over and over to drive her insane). Nyssa, unlike Talia, actually has a tragic backstory that explains her descent into villainy, but doesn't have decades of history as Batman's ally and his love interest. I really dislike this recent characterization of Talia as "Ra's but female". It's incredibly boring, and completely ruins any dynamic between her and her father, because when two characters act the same, think the same, talk the same, it's as dynamic as a piece of stale bread. Where is the conflict, the depth, THE SAUCE? Classic, pre-Morrison Talia was constantly torn between her loyalty to her father and her love for Bruce; her understanding Ra's point, but disliking his methods; craving freedom, but unable to leave Ra's side. She was complex and so incredibly compelling, and I miss her so damn much.
Ironically Nyssa WAS used prominently in the Arrow verse. Though I think it was just Talia with Nyssa name was into women. 😅 Nyssa just doesn't have the years of stories and noterity that Talia has.
@@killmonger5097 I wouldn't say she's garbage. She was compelling when she was the love interest who genuinely loved Bruce and loved her father despite both men being at odds. She also wanted to forge her own path. Which she did until she was tortured and brought back to life multiple times.
In the comics its implied over exposure can leave to more permanent effects. In Talia's case she was repeatedly tortured, killed and then revived. No wonder she went amd.
I also think a big elephant in the room regarding Talia's characterization is the political aspect, her race and how public perception of people from Arab country's has shifted since 2001.
I've always wanted an elseworld story where Batman took Ras up on his offer and he becomes an Evil dictator that Justice League has to take down like Injustice
I always liked this ship ( even though I love Bat&Cat also ), but after Morrison's run she probably will not be Bruce's love interest anymore ( maybe with heavy hard reboot to start again everything, maybe then). Yeah, she wasn't the best person, but her moral conflict between her Father and Bruce was really interesting.
She is back to being one of Bruce's love interests, even kissed not too long ago. In the comics atleast they are trying to make her back to how she used to be. She is currently helping Bruce in detective comics.
@@themadtitan7603 Because that shouldn't be made in the first place. If you adapt (more or less) old story to new continuity you have to read the og version and not defend yourself by "I misremembered" BS. And DCAMU also used this version of Damian's creation.
@@redram6080 this one is the most toxic...I mean she's the definition of jealousy issues. She will go so far as to actually murder the one woman Batman legitimately loved and could have continued heroics with on the day he was gonna pop the question.
4:12 man that scene scarred me as a child. Like damn Ra al ghul was willing to get $40 now or never. Maybe a male heir. Or an other way to cheat death.
Well, modern writing especially towards women is either straight evil to the point they need no man and everything they do is justified OR They are written as the "Hero" that needs no man and everything is justified. There is no such thing as nuance in these writers' heads.
@@Saje3D Actually self-published three books and placed in some competitions. So... Your point my dude? Sure, they didn't get popular but I did the work and trained with professional writers. For you to even say this as an insult shows me personally the spine you have. People can't criticize others' works because "THEY DIDN'T WRITE BOOKS" What kinda of statement is even that? Re-evaluate, think, and come back with something better.
Its because they don't see women as people and can't write them as such. I kind of hate how people complain it's "woke" when it's not progressive at all its actually the same old sexist tropes in new packaging. Hell I don't even think you can claim they are written to "need no man" when they are still designed to cater to the male gaze.
I was more Bat and Cat fan than Taila and Bat fan as she had strong connections for her father. Unlike Bat and Cat are solo players who fight for what they think is Justice. That and I was never a fan of Damien Wayne as a character.
I would’ve never called her Batman’s best love interest, but I could at least say on paper the idea of Batman’s sympathy, for someone who was robbed their childhood and brainwashed into a life of violence growing into a mutual love would be interesting. But in the chemistry, at least to me, always felt artificial at best. And when they decided to make her a rapist, all bets were off.
The rape was retconned and only happened because Grant Morrison misremembered Son of the demon. She’s also now back to being a serious love interest as of Ram V’s detective comics
@@cliffbot638 I would've liked if they set up Talia as Bruce's endgame love interest and had them settle down in the years following Son of The Demon.
Not that there's something wrong with it, because what's wrong with a female character just giving into evil, while also showing her obsession with Batman like her father? So much so, she basically made a "Bio-Clone" of Batman. The "night of passion" can just be with Catwoman + Batman = Helena Wayne
@baligong3592 let me tell you a story. Back in the 50s-60s batman and catowman had a daughter. This daughter soon became the huntress after batman and catwoman die. This was a stlryline for a while before she got rebooted into no longer being there daughter. Talia is constantly retconned by authors between good lr bad sometimes both. If DC had consitency we wouldnt be having this problem.
@@TheR3d3mpti0n You're right, and it will remain to be that way because these characters were never made to end. If Comics were more by 1 Writer, then consistency is likely to happen, and though many bring comparisons to Manga, the difference is: if the Mangaka dies, the story ends there unless the Mangaka says otherwise. I guess the best way to make there be consistency with Batman, or any Character, is if they reboot the Universe every decade or few years... But people wouldn't like it anyways.
@@baligong3592 that's the thing, they ARE made by more than one writer. Mamga has one writer and their assistants through their run. Comic books get passed Luke torches to other writers constantly which, as already proven, will make everything inconsistent. All it takes is for someone on the writing team not to agree with their predecessor and everything gets screwed up. Look at Ms. Marvel in Avengers #200. Guy who made Carol Danvers set her up as the new Captain Marvel and she got screwed over by another writer. This will constantly happen till Marvel and DC get really good editors or just get rid of main continuity.
@@unluckydreamer NO! Clark and Lois got married, and had a child. And I really don't want that retconned. Bruce had a child but practically speaking, he never really settled with a woman. Tried to but never did.
6:48 Arkham Knight Moment, when Batman goes to Evidence Lock up and sees her sword, That moment made me cry cause i grew up with BTAS and Batman Beyond
@@TotalTech2. Catwoman is also extremely toxic. I will never forget that she left him at the altar, a selfish whore, or when she decided to train criminals to be more efficient when stealing.
The most important reason that Damian must not be conceived without Bruce's consent is that it invalidates the hilarious line in the 2019 Batman Hush when he tells Bruce to wear protection 😂😂😂
I liked Talia a lot when I played Arkham City. She was very compelling. I haven’t got to the episodes of the animated series with Talia yet but I’m excited to.
That was one of my first introductions to her character. I wish that version of Talia and her relationship with Bruce was fleshed out more and I was hoping she'd return in Knight. I imagine their dynamic is similar to what I've looked up about their relationship in the O'Neil run.
@@jlpgamin not toxic? Made out with his son, left him at the altar, cheated on him, started a war in gotham over a stupid plan which tore apart the batfamily. Only because Batman pushed away Zatanna. She is still the best option for him.
@huntertezz not canon. She was literally manipulated into leaving and then felt like shit for months. And she didn't tear the family apart Bruce's mental state is what caused them to go against him. And the point still stands that she advocates for them
Personally I think that the downfall of writing Talia as a character began with Batman Beyond’s weird inter generational body swap seducing the prospective son in law plot. It was absolutely impossible to see Ra’s and Talia as anything but nonsensical after that. Like compare it to the BTAS adventures where there was pathos and an atmosphere of dignity to them both. Then we get “yucky, I kissed an old man in a girls body” and he has a man voice in her body? Can anyone see this episode without finding it to be a downgrade compared to the BTAS ones? It’s really no wonder that after that the future writers decided “the Al Ghul family is just asinine and random” and threw out the characterization that made them compelling.
Finally someone talks about Talia's flanderization for real I liked her in Son of Batman but then in Batman Bad Blood they made her a villain again and killed her off WHY such a waste could've had her try to be a better person but just didn't bother
my head canon for batman bad blood is that the lazarus pit made her lose her empathy for bruce and damien coz if you enter the lazarus pit you’re not supposed to come back the same usually you come back demented but in her case she lost her emotions
Honestly I kinda can't see him ending up with any of the masks. His relationship with Selina and Talia is toxic, his relationship with Diana that was good in DCAU canonically didn't end well, and as much as I'd like to say there's Zatana... the whole mind wiping thing means they cannot ever be like they were again. Like what other women are there for him that can accept Bruce and Batman?
Good video, it was about time somebody said all this stuff. But a very important fact is missing: the ruining of Talia in comics began in 2003 in the "Batman: Death And The Maidens" miniseries, in which her half-sister Nyssa tortured her until turning her into just another psychotic villain.
You're right!!! That makes turn into a villain in Morrison's run even worse and more tone deaf when it's played as her being bad from the start and this not being the result of horrible torture.😖😖😖
That's why I prefer the story of them having fallen in love & had a 1 night stand. I feel Bruce definitely loves Talia and the nefarious child making didn't need to be apart of Damian creation.
I KNOW!!!😭😭😭 I absolutely love Talia, I adore her and Bruce being together. Unfortunately one of her first introductions to me was that storyline so I hated her for a short few months. Luckily I finally started reading comics very soon after that, and one of my first was Son of the Demon (one of my favs
Originally she wasnt even that good of a fighter (batman literally had to jump in and save her in their first meeting) given she was supposed to be a pacifist before they turned her into terrorist black widow
I think having her be the most involved in all aspects of Batman’s life solidified her as such Talia doesn’t care about the Bruce side of Batman or the other members yet Selina has so many nice little moments where she’s like a mom to them and she goes and gets involved in the public matters with bruce
I disagree, I much prefer Batman and Catwoman and have no issue with Talia having birthed Bruce’s son through…non-consensual means. I mean how dare we have a female villain that has no problem being a villain and isn’t an anti-hero.
I absolutely loved Talia in the era of the 2000s where she helped lead Lexcorp post-Tower Of Babel . I miss that Talia . Atleast Ram V is writing her well again !
What well-written, sadistic female villains are left in comic books? Whether retcon or not, seems like everybody wants such villains to be limited as fuq.
I’m so glad you made a video covering this subject as she was one of my favorite Batman love interests and I hated how her character was gutted over the years.
Hot take: Although I love Batman with Catwoman, I think Wonder Woman and Batman is the best pairing. I mean, think about it, in any continuity where the pair date they don’t go through anywhere near the amount of drama that does with his other love interest . It’s almost like their personalities play off of each other quite well or something.
Look, Bruce and Talia's son was originally conceived in a consensual sexual act in 1986's Batman: Son of the Demon, and Talia was forced by her father, Ra's al Ghul, to give her child up for adoption to a wealthy and childless American couple in an ironic twist of fate. That's where the story should have ended. I never agreed with the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths retcon of the story that created Damian because it was beyond stupid.
I'm torn between Tali & Catwoman because I love them both and they make for great love interests. If I were to give DC a new Universe I'd put him & Catwoman together but I would treat his previous relationship with Talia with respect. Make it clear that they had a loving relationship but she was died and left Damien with Bruce.
Ra's and Talia are my favorite Batsy villains since Neil Adams drew them to perfection back in the day. So when Talia ended up the mama of Batsys son was perfect for me : )
Hey man! Loving your chanel, we agree in lile 90% of stuff about DC, it's quite refreshing to see someone talking about this characters with actual knowledge of their nuance and character instead of just superficial movie expectations or just what they watched in cartoons or video games. Some people will just read this comics and explain it like it's events are historical facts instead of stories and your videos are always focused on character consistency and construction from a story perspective instead of so many other videos I've watched who would just mention Talia's rape as a matter of fact instead of the weird out of character thing it was. Anyway, loving your channel! (Just quick note, Morrison goes by neutral pronouns and not masculine ones)😊
Something I wish they can do with Talia is make her relationship with Damian alot more complex like have it that she does love him but can't love him in a way that is healthy she after all raised him to be an assassin and that included putting him through hard and grosume training since he was born and she isolated him and deprived him from his childhood and placed really high expectations on him but she still loves him even abusive parents do love their children but in a way that's not healthy or helpful for their children that's a very complex issues and I think it would be more interesting if Damian and Talia had a more complex relationship rather than her straight up trying to kill him
ngl seeing ppl finally speak up abt the character assassination of talia al ghul is so... nice. it means smth to me bc ive been defending her since i found out about the bullshit retcon morrison had written (especially when you add in the layer of racism on this whole thing-dc fandom is just. eugh.) her continuous character assassination is the reason why i grew so tired of dc comics-they retconned/forgave harley quinn's past actions so quickly but never did that w talia... so seeing ppl finally realize that its bad & shes been character assassinated for 20+ years is just really nice. thx for making this video ❤
Honestly, I think Batman is best without any love interests. His only “child” should be an adopted dad relationship with his robins. I think Bruce makes sense as a perpetual single guy. Maybe he goes on a few dates here and there to keep up the attractive billionaire façade, but has no real interest in romance or women. I just think it works the best for him.
Can you do a video on new DC characters? Like Punchline, Trinity, Godspeed... IdK...I'm really curious to see if the new popular characters are actually popular or just the flavor pf the month
Most characters within the last 10-15 years haven’t stuck, it seems as if DC and Marvel at a point where their characters from the 40s-90 hey hey hey hey Patty s have grown such a large shadow than anything after them feels like poor facsimile on top of that newer writers are less concerned on the lore, symbolism and morality of characters and more focused on the “identity” instead, because of this they rely on the characters outward characteristics which can’t stick on it’s so they attach it to a far more identity person
@MEnterprises01 you should make a video about Black cat she's also simular to talia in the way that marvel kind of ruined her but its also the misconception that she's just a toxic girl that only loves spider-man and while there partially true overtime she eventually came around to love both sides of spiderman but by the time she came around peter was already married to mj. plus she barely gets any adaptations most adaptations just have peter end up with mj which is getting really boring and repetive.
Talia and Anissa are alike in many ways where the morality of the heroes we follow is a foreign and alien concept to them, their entire life they were taught and shown that strength is the only right course of action, those w the power to rule have that birth right, it’s why things like sexual intimacy aren’t black and white w them, the men they crave are powerful and to them the act of procreation is another part of that power struggle, it’s no different than killing or assaulting which they both have 0 qualms about, when your entire culture is rooted in violence it makes sense sex isn’t where they’d draw the line in terms of getting what they want
It's definitely one of those situations where trying to inject very mundane real world violence into a story that's primarily about fantasy adventuring will almost always go over poorly. The dissonance between serious and unserious is just too great.
I never liked Talia after how she was turned so evil during the Batman Inc saga and how she treated Damian's Clone. Which sucks because one aspect I find legitimately interesting is her being responsible in some iterations for Jason Todds Ressurection and return with the words "You are Unavenged"
Nocturna was my favorite Batman love interest and rogue. And they did the same thing to her, made her sa batwoman and sleep with her son-in-law. It was all super ew. Nocturna had the best love triangle. With Bruce having to pick between her and Catwoman. But the story legit asks real important questions which DC ignores later on. Questions like 'if you have a kid, that an important factor in choosing a partner'. Which is really cool cause Jason is Robin at the time and Nocturna legit wants to take up the role of his mother, while catwoman is anti kids and doesn't want the responsibility
At least Zatanna didn’t drug Batman into sleeping with her or kill a woman Batman’s dating out of jealous rage. And as for Zatanna mind wiping him, the Justice League kinda bullied her into mind wiping both Batman and Dr. Light.
Talia, my darling, Dc and its racist writers who ruin your character could never make me hate you and how good you could have been and is. Im still happy (happy is a big word) that lately they have been trying to make an effort with her character, mostly as a mother and hopefully next between her and bruce which I do believe in that one dream bruce had where all his loved ones were dead, her name was also on one of the gravestones. I dont mind her being a villain still, just with proper writing and tge original complexity of her morals I just think they could have done so much better and if i were to wish for things that would never happen, Id hope a whole series of issues on her past with her father and siblings, her relationship with bruce and her early thoughts on Damian.
3:49 my fav part about this episode 😂even tho it isn’t shown, when Talia appears she got Bruce all kinds of flustered and it is SO CUTE 🥰 and you can tell this is the first time Bruce is like that because Dick is like “wth happened between y’all? Who is SHE! And how she got you acting like this?!”
Worst to me. Her dad is literally trying to groom them for the league of assassins. On top of that she is an assassin. She does not share Batman's preference for not killing by design. Catwoman you can at least see her change and evolve as a character. Taliah is just straight up toxic for Batman.
They are both toxic. And Talia never used to agree with Ra's methods and always tried to break away and do better. Sadly when she did break away and started doing good her sister came along and tortured her until she went insane and evil.
Catwoman is also extremely toxic. I will never forget that she left him at the altar, a selfish whore, or when she decided to train criminals to be more efficient when stealing.
Same here. Catwoman isn’t some crazed murder, or a genocidal manic, or an assassin, etc, she mostly is just a theif that gets semi redeemed by Batman, so despite her selfishness at times, it feels more believable that Batman would date catwoman instead of any brutal criminal, like an assassin. Batman dating an assasain makes me think that Batman is a hypocrite.
@@celestialsoldier622 Agreed. Superman and Wonder Woman chemistry, however, is off the chart. I also agree that Barbara and Batman were better romantic duo in the end (killing Joke shipping)
@@kingol4801wonderbat is good because of both of their positions,like pairing wonder woman with superman is so plain,like ofc the 2 demigods are gonnalike each other.Plus i hste how they show clark flirting with wonder qoman while also dealing with louis.Wonderbat is intreasting becsuse its a demi god princess and a rich kid with issues
I don’t really mind the retcon, what bothers me is the execution. We never get to see Batman process it properly. You think a guy who lost his parents when he was 8 dressing up as a bat as an adult would struggle to overcome the trauma of being raped and having a kid. But nope, he treats it like it was a regrettable one night stand😭. There’s repressed trauma and then there’s not even showing it character isn’t phased by it.
“o I love you father but I also love Batman what ever do I do” rince repeat. Ra’s has gotta be the most forgiving father on the planet for how repetitive she is
They literally made Batman a simp for Catwoman and in every comic book and every movie you find him chasing her and then he becomes stupid and his mind stops working and he gets hit. and holds back and then lets her escape and this thing is repeated over and over again, Batman is on him To find true love and leave criminals aside, maybe Zatanna or Wonder Woman would be a good choice for him😅
I never like her and her son but at least I’m honest besides if I was going to Batman have a son with a villain (which Catwoman doesn’t count these days I still would have her carrying Helena Wayne) would be the Flash villain Golden Glider which I looked at tumbler saying that she is a anti Batman and that their son would have a golden knight.
I read the “Son of the Demon” trilogy and “Batman and Son” back to to back and the whiplash of Talia’s character regression was neck breaking. She becomes psychopathic just out of nowhere. She was like a femme fatale bond girl with grey morals before, not a conniving, vindictive supervillain.
I remember back in Detective 527, All My Enemies Against Me, Talia and Catwoman had a fantastic chemistry and rivalry even as they teamed with Batman against his Rogues Gallery. And maybe they can fix it so that Damien was conceived in a Son of the Demon retelling.
I really loved Talia's Depiction in The Animated Series, and how sympathetic of a character she was, but of course writers will find whatever ways they can to assassinate a character.
Talia my beloved what did they do to you. You honor people are hating on her for things she (at least in my heart) didn’t do. She did do a bunch of other shit tho. Like I love the concept of a girl, robbed of her childhood and raised to be an assassin by a misogynistic eco terrorism of a father, who genuinely care for a fucked up vigilante like Bruce but can’t break her conditioning to be happy as herself. Why did they make her nearly abusive, just another copy of Ra’s, a villain rapist, when like. There are so many good ways for it to work out, even if she isn’t endgame, and only a few of them ever get explored at all, much less in depth. -> The conflict of violence and death vs. no killing theme that runs through Batman stories is put into a new perspective with her, especially in the modern era of climate change. It isn’t just “is revenge okay” but a question of what extent violence is justified to stop the degradation of the entire planet. Talia has rejected some of her father’s teachings, but not fully. She’s torn between Ra’s and Bruce not just emotionally, but philosophically. -> She is the exact type of person who needs Batman. The epitome of what he’s trying to do. Someone who’s hurt and on a bad path getting put on a better one. That’s why he doesn’t kill, why he puts people in Arkham, why he ends up with most of the Robins. She exemplifies not just the aspect of caring for criminals, but caring for people who were hurt as children and keeping them from losing their light. -> She has great potential for relationships with Damian, Jason, and even Tim. Damian for obvious reasons, but the struggle of her trying to give him the childhood she wishes she had, only for Ra’s to still put him through the wringer is so tragic. Damian is mirroring her own conflict between Bruce and Ra’s. She’s a caring mother but she’s too flawed and too stuck in the cycle of abuse to do what’s really best for her child. Jason can exaggerate the best and worst parts of her motherhood potential, if only we retcon out the make out. She can help save him for Bruce, and help nurture him through the crucible of the Lazarus Pit, but all too easily she falls into the trappings of her father to turn him to the family’s gain. Tim has the respect of her father, and they’re both rich kids who had an obsession with Bruce (all be it of different kinds) so they could have such interesting dynamics. -> Talia accentuates themes of fathers. Family has a big role in Batman stories, adopted or not, and parents are a big one. Losing their parents defines several Robins and Batman himself. So someone who has her parent, who loves him, is such a good dynamic. Among good fathers lost and good fathers gained in the Batfam, here we have someone who always had a father, but whose father was awful. Perhaps show him as a dark mirror of what Bruce could easily become, because while he’s trying to be to his Robins what Alfred was to him, he could easily turn into a Ra’s if he loses sight of himself. -> I think she and Poison Ivy would have fun. In the better timeline where Talia is allowed to be a good character existing outside her relationships with Damian, Bruce, and her father, they would be such good gal-pals. Talia gets to leave her father, but isn’t quite on Bruce’s path. She becomes a anti-villain type in the rogue’s gallery, and she and Ivy and Harley get to hang out a lot because Ivy is also an environmentalist villain. Girlies would live it up. Ivy and Talia vs. Bruce and Damian, talking about environmentalism in their confrontation? Iconic. The queen deserves a chance to speak. -> She would serve such comedy after going through pseudo-redemption. She and Damian could set up so many punchlines where they both think (insert horrible thing from their family) is normal and a third character is gets to play off their inherent absurdity. Another hero comes in to the manor like “why is Talia Al Ghul, daughter of a renowned assassin ecoterrorist and respected ecoterrorist in her own right, known Gotham supervillain, currently cuddling Damian’s pets in your living room?” And Bruce just shrugs like “yeah she wants to make sure his training is up to snuff as her heir. If Batcow doesn’t look like she’s getting proper enrichment, *then* we’ll have problems. -> the Batfam getting bigger is always my favorite joke and I think they deserve another mother/aunt/rival figure. There are so many arcs where she would’ve been so good as another hat in the ring. -> Seeing Talia learn to be a normal human being after living in the lazarus-green hellscape of her father’s empire would be so wholesome and cute. It was such a joy seeing Damian go through that, and the new perspective of this being an adult woman and not an immature ten year old would make it distinct while familiar. They took away my cringefail girlboss daughter and made her into a gaslight and gatekeep girlie. Like no she’s a soft soul forced to be tough! She’s a loving girl who could only love the wrong people for the longest time! A caring mother too stuck in her own abuse to save her kid(s)! Someone crushed by the weight of mankind’s crimes against nature but also by her love for mankind! She was born, raised to be a killer, but she chose to love! Talia hurts the people she loves precisely because she is trying to keep the people she loves most from being hurt! Her tragedy is that she could not choose, even when she was finally given the chance! But her hope is that she still has a chance to choose! And the fear is that, even if she chooses right, she’ll always have a piece of Ra’s in her! Even I think we should be allowed to have villains who are just bad, not sob stories waiting to be redeemed. I acknowledge that Talia, being mainly defined by her relationships with Bruce, Ra’s, and Damian, is in some ways forced into the roles of love interest, daughter, and mother. And it can seem cheap that female characters get forced into that sometimes as their only way to be good and complex, but Talia has the opportunity to play that well. I think if they focused more on her environmentalism and never let her swing all the way to pacifist or genocide like Bruce and Ra’s, she can both be true to character and step out of that shoehorning.
Hell yeah I fw this comment. I have a fan fiction idea about Talia. After the collapse of the league, Talia al-Ghul tries to settle down in Metropolis as the single mother of two (Damian and Jason Todd). The characterization of her is exactly like this! What do you think?
You know comics have a very bad character assassination problem. I mean we have Tahlia R.p batman, scott summers and how he handled Madelyn, we have literally everyone involved in one more day, wally west killing a bunch of heroes, ant man and his backhand. Thats just off the top of my head.
That's why Danny O'neil is a legend. He knew how to create character conflicts. That demon storyline saved Batman from campy writing and established bat mythos. Grant did great things for Batman but he ruined Talia so badly.
Since Son Of The Demon is one of James Gunn's favourite comics, I hope he'll help in Brave and The Bold to write her character and fix the mischaracterisation she had
A lot of times I hear people saying that Talia is “too deep in her father’s beliefs” that she’d never disobey him when that’s not true. In Batman Chronicles #8 she disobeyed her father because she wasn’t able to kill Batman. And in Red Hood: Lost Days she disobeyed her father and saved Jason by putting him in the Lazarus pit as a last resort.
Talia actually first became evil in the comics (prior to Morrison’s run) due to Nyssa (her sister) murdering her over and over and bringing her back until she went crazy/turned evil during the Death of the Maidens storyarc in 2003. Morrison basically just expanded off of that afterwards. Lots of people blame Morrison for turning Talia evil, but she became that way years prior to him taking over Batman.
I've always found it hard to connect with Talia and I think it's because her characterisation is never consistent. I think DC need to really put their foot down and lay out a plan for the character - same with poor old Jason Todd. Talia is far more interesting when she's helping Bruce than when she's a flat out villain.
I agree they have ruined the character. Should've just been a night of passion, and she ended up getting pregnant.
Read “Batman - Son of the Demon”
@@doqas yeah, but that was retconned
@@doqas at the end of that story Damian ends up getting adopted so its not even canon.
@@javierlopez9789 there was a letter in a book called Batfiles where Talia implies she eventually goes back for Damian.
@@DavidMartinez-ce3lp From what I read, Talia drugging Bruce has also been retconned. So I'm not sure, why it keeps getting brought up like it's the current status quo everytime Talia's mentioned.
Atleast the current Talia is back to being written as more of an ally who actually loves Damian and Bruce.
But Talia's fate rest in the hands of the dcu and how they portray her.
I would mockingly call this Talia Cell Saga Vegeta for actually letting reality hit her hard in the face at the absolute worst time
I heard that even Grant Morrison regretted the choices he made with Talia, and also hoped that people would forget about them.
Apparently, they only did it because they misremembered the events of Batman: Son of the Demon.
@@themadtitan7603 he forgor💀
Nah cause like how do you misremember something consensual and decide to just make it rape because ur too lazy to go check ur sources?
No way imma make him remember what he did and take his L for all eternity 😂😂
@@Tekirai, it's moments like this that remind us why his run on Batman was divisive
I am genuinely tired of DC warping Talia into a monster.
She’s the daughter of the head of the League Of Assassins. They’ve both done terrible things before they even met Batman. Why would she not be a monster? She’s a villain. An anti-villain at best. Never a hero. Never even an anti-hero like Catwoman often is. Idk what you’re talking about. Her endlessly loyalty to her father means she was always going to be a monster, unless he can stay dead for once. Then she’d have hope after over a decade with Bruce de-programming her. Cuz no way she isn’t brainwashed or close enough to it. He can at least make her realize she can do better and be better, and do things for herself to finally be happy, free of Ra’s. Unless/until he comes back because then she’ll just immediately spiral back to how she’s always been.
@@Paradox-es3bl She's never been a monster to Bruce is what I mean. They made her into someone thats hated by both Bruce and her son.
@@jonnjones8263 As she should be she's a horrible person
As someone who was first introduced to her in the dcamu and have never seen anything else. She is a FXCKING monster
@@Thatguyyouknow1238 you just admitted you never read anything of her original character, your opinion is biased, stupid, and based on racist shit.
Yeah, this is why I have problems with Talia al Ghul. She wanted to do the right thing for her love for Batman. However, her loyalty to her father is too strong for her. Seriously, it's like the writers don't know what to do with her. And Catwoman is no better either.
Talia has been trying to leave her father side and she actually did for awhile leave Ra's and did good on her own. But then Death and the Maidens happened...
@@huntertezz What's that ?
@@aidanhever3369 Basically she gets tricked and captured by her sister Nyssa who tortures, kills and resurrects Talia until she went insane and evil.
That did happen huh? Does that ever get addressed since for why Talia has gone mad.
@@huntertezzthat’s the most garbage excuse one writer shits on her so other writers have to continuously shit on her because of the previous writer wtf
It's so frustrating to see DC try to mold Talia into this villainess role, when her half-sister, Nyssa Al Ghul is RIGHT THERE! This is especially prominent with Gotham Knights, where all Talia's actions would make a lot more sense for Nyssa: from her resentment towards Ra's and taking over the League, to repeatedly putting Bruce into the Lazarus Pit to break his mind (something that, I'm not kidding, actually happened TO Talia in Batman: Death and the Maidens. Nyssa killed and revived Talia over and over to drive her insane). Nyssa, unlike Talia, actually has a tragic backstory that explains her descent into villainy, but doesn't have decades of history as Batman's ally and his love interest.
I really dislike this recent characterization of Talia as "Ra's but female". It's incredibly boring, and completely ruins any dynamic between her and her father, because when two characters act the same, think the same, talk the same, it's as dynamic as a piece of stale bread. Where is the conflict, the depth, THE SAUCE? Classic, pre-Morrison Talia was constantly torn between her loyalty to her father and her love for Bruce; her understanding Ra's point, but disliking his methods; craving freedom, but unable to leave Ra's side. She was complex and so incredibly compelling, and I miss her so damn much.
Ironically Nyssa WAS used prominently in the Arrow verse. Though I think it was just Talia with Nyssa name was into women. 😅 Nyssa just doesn't have the years of stories and noterity that Talia has.
Talia is a garbage character she’s not compelling or interesting writers completely destroyed her it’s disgusting when she’s mentioned or seen
@@killmonger5097 I wouldn't say she's garbage. She was compelling when she was the love interest who genuinely loved Bruce and loved her father despite both men being at odds. She also wanted to forge her own path. Which she did until she was tortured and brought back to life multiple times.
Maybe Batman should have married Zatanna instead due to how many bad relationships he has so far.
@@samflood5631 Zatana mindwiped Bruce though. And Catwoman for that matter.
One quick note: The madness from the Lazarus pit is temporary, though it's longer each time. Though in the DCAMU, it seems to be permanent.
In the comics its implied over exposure can leave to more permanent effects.
In Talia's case she was repeatedly tortured, killed and then revived. No wonder she went amd.
I also think a big elephant in the room regarding Talia's characterization is the political aspect, her race and how public perception of people from Arab country's has shifted since 2001.
"Then she proceeds to have a ma-" SHE DOES WHAT WITH JASON?
ASTAGHFIRULLAH FEAR GOD TALIA 😂😂
Yeah, wtf?
She's the daughter of a murderer and I really don't think they ever intended her and Ra's al Ghul to be Muslims despite the Arab aesthetic.
The new 52 retconned the Talia x Jason stuff
@queerios1077 well, that's good.
@@ibrahimihsan2090What?? Hes just telling her to find god
I've always wanted an elseworld story where Batman took Ras up on his offer and he becomes an Evil dictator that Justice League has to take down like Injustice
Oh !
There is a universe where that happened
That would be so cool, like an evil Batfamily
@@kwayneboy1524 source? Asking for myself
Wasn’t that superman??
I always liked this ship ( even though I love Bat&Cat also ), but after Morrison's run she probably will not be Bruce's love interest anymore ( maybe with heavy hard reboot to start again everything, maybe then). Yeah, she wasn't the best person, but her moral conflict between her Father and Bruce was really interesting.
She is back to being one of Bruce's love interests, even kissed not too long ago. In the comics atleast they are trying to make her back to how she used to be.
She is currently helping Bruce in detective comics.
@@huntertezz Finally !!!!!!!!!!!!
@@huntertezz about time
@@huntertezz Also from what I've read, Talia drugging Bruce was retconned. I don't know what that gets brought up more though.
@@themadtitan7603 Because that shouldn't be made in the first place. If you adapt (more or less) old story to new continuity you have to read the og version and not defend yourself by "I misremembered" BS. And DCAMU also used this version of Damian's creation.
And they say Bruce's relationship with Catwoman is toxic😂
Edit: I take it back Catwoman is way much worse.
It is. But so is this one
It's not
@@redram6080 this one is the most toxic...I mean she's the definition of jealousy issues. She will go so far as to actually murder the one woman Batman legitimately loved and could have continued heroics with on the day he was gonna pop the question.
Honestly I wished their relationship worked. I really wished it did work. But DC said no.
Catwoman is probably worse now
4:12 man that scene scarred me as a child. Like damn Ra al ghul was willing to get $40 now or never. Maybe a male heir. Or an other way to cheat death.
Ras is Batman’s first Trans villain
@@breaderikthegreat3224 he was desperate for a son 💀
@@breaderikthegreat3224Except he’s an actual lady not a lady boy
4:15 ra's was wild for that one plot
Hear me out
He probably wanted a son. Or grandson
0:01 talia in this dress is so FINE AF like i was so down bad when i saw her in it
Well, modern writing especially towards women is either straight evil to the point they need no man and everything they do is justified OR They are written as the "Hero" that needs no man and everything is justified. There is no such thing as nuance in these writers' heads.
And what are your credentials, as a writer? How many narratives have you written, how many characters have you created?
My guess would be ZERO.
@@Saje3D Actually self-published three books and placed in some competitions. So... Your point my dude? Sure, they didn't get popular but I did the work and trained with professional writers. For you to even say this as an insult shows me personally the spine you have. People can't criticize others' works because "THEY DIDN'T WRITE BOOKS" What kinda of statement is even that? Re-evaluate, think, and come back with something better.
Its because they don't see women as people and can't write them as such. I kind of hate how people complain it's "woke" when it's not progressive at all its actually the same old sexist tropes in new packaging. Hell I don't even think you can claim they are written to "need no man" when they are still designed to cater to the male gaze.
I was more Bat and Cat fan than Taila and Bat fan as she had strong connections for her father. Unlike Bat and Cat are solo players who fight for what they think is Justice. That and I was never a fan of Damien Wayne as a character.
Damien did get much better.
I would’ve never called her Batman’s best love interest, but I could at least say on paper the idea of Batman’s sympathy, for someone who was robbed their childhood and brainwashed into a life of violence growing into a mutual love would be interesting.
But in the chemistry, at least to me, always felt artificial at best. And when they decided to make her a rapist, all bets were off.
The rape was retconned and only happened because Grant Morrison misremembered Son of the demon. She’s also now back to being a serious love interest as of Ram V’s detective comics
@@queerios1077So she's not a psycho ex wife stereotype anymore?
@@Drums_of_Liberation not at all
@@queerios1077Hey, bro. Could you tell me Thalia's status currently? Is she still in love with Batman?
@@AlcoraoValdemarAlbertoSantos. They fucked recently in Ram V's detective comics
If Talia is written well, I wonder if she and Bruce could genuinely be happy together. Have Damian and maybe even be married.
They would have.
Atleast in future state Talia and Bruce decided to retire and live together with Damian to help him overcome his hell trauma.
Aww
@@huntertezz That sounds great. Wish a happy like that could happen for Bruce
I would Pay too see that happen.
@@cliffbot638 I would've liked if they set up Talia as Bruce's endgame love interest and had them settle down in the years following Son of The Demon.
What's wrong with them them sharing a night of passion and getting pregnant from it? That's a solid backstory for Damian.
Not that there's something wrong with it, because what's wrong with a female character just giving into evil, while also showing her obsession with Batman like her father? So much so, she basically made a "Bio-Clone" of Batman.
The "night of passion" can just be with Catwoman + Batman = Helena Wayne
@baligong3592 let me tell you a story. Back in the 50s-60s batman and catowman had a daughter. This daughter soon became the huntress after batman and catwoman die. This was a stlryline for a while before she got rebooted into no longer being there daughter. Talia is constantly retconned by authors between good lr bad sometimes both. If DC had consitency we wouldnt be having this problem.
@@TheR3d3mpti0n
You're right, and it will remain to be that way because these characters were never made to end.
If Comics were more by 1 Writer, then consistency is likely to happen, and though many bring comparisons to Manga, the difference is: if the Mangaka dies, the story ends there unless the Mangaka says otherwise.
I guess the best way to make there be consistency with Batman, or any Character, is if they reboot the Universe every decade or few years... But people wouldn't like it anyways.
@@baligong3592 that's the thing, they ARE made by more than one writer. Mamga has one writer and their assistants through their run. Comic books get passed Luke torches to other writers constantly which, as already proven, will make everything inconsistent. All it takes is for someone on the writing team not to agree with their predecessor and everything gets screwed up. Look at Ms. Marvel in Avengers #200. Guy who made Carol Danvers set her up as the new Captain Marvel and she got screwed over by another writer. This will constantly happen till Marvel and DC get really good editors or just get rid of main continuity.
@@baligong3592 we need a reboot anyways. Theres too much after the death metal event that recently happened.
I still don’t like her as the endgame love interest 👨🏾🍳
Personally, that was never the point. The point was simply that she loved Bruce and Bruce loved her. Not that they'd settle together.
@@ibrahimihsan2090 do you like Superman and Wonder Woman together
Arkham games says otherwise@@ibrahimihsan2090
@@unluckydreamer NO!
Clark and Lois got married, and had a child. And I really don't want that retconned.
Bruce had a child but practically speaking, he never really settled with a woman. Tried to but never did.
@@unluckydreamernah I mean Batman and Wonder Woman honestly I’d see that some what working atleast in the Animated series universe
6:48 Arkham Knight Moment, when Batman goes to Evidence Lock up and sees her sword,
That moment made me cry cause i grew up with BTAS and Batman Beyond
Talia is a very interesting character because depending on the author she can be as heroic as Catwoman or *worse* than the Joker
Will you stop
That
Catwoman
Is not a Hero
She never was she never will be
@@ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΑ-ε1ωI mean the original earth 2 Catwoman became a hero for good. That is how the Huntresse was first created to.
@@rynobehnke8289
Ahhh Ok
@@ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΑ-ε1ω She isn't a traditional hero but she has teamed up with Batman and in recent years she is definitely more good than bad
@@TotalTech2.
Catwoman is also extremely toxic. I will never forget that she left him at the altar, a selfish whore, or when she decided to train criminals to be more efficient when stealing.
Character assassination is pretty much why I hate Flashpoint. it is the point where storylines and Characters degrade to travesty’s they are now.
Talia's character has actually been improved in recent years.
She was cured of her madness and is an ally and love interest of Batman again.
I mean it wasnt due to Flash point
@@kwayneboy1524yes it is. Flashpoint allowed the writers to ignore characters, history, and lore. To put in there bad fanfic plots.
3:00 "brother euughhhh" we all say in unison
The most important reason that Damian must not be conceived without Bruce's consent is that it invalidates the hilarious line in the 2019 Batman Hush when he tells Bruce to wear protection 😂😂😂
I liked Talia a lot when I played Arkham City. She was very compelling. I haven’t got to the episodes of the animated series with Talia yet but I’m excited to.
That was one of my first introductions to her character. I wish that version of Talia and her relationship with Bruce was fleshed out more and I was hoping she'd return in Knight. I imagine their dynamic is similar to what I've looked up about their relationship in the O'Neil run.
Yeah I liked her in Arkham city but that was before I found out how Damian was conceived
I honestly don't remember her and I played both Asylum and City, I guess she apears later on
I do see catwoman as the best option even before the Damien thing
Nah the best option will always be Zatanna.
Catwoman is also toxic.
@@huntertezz she's not toxic and even Zatanna advocates for Bruce and Selina
@@huntertezzHow is Catwoman toxic? I mean yeah she’s a thief but that’s certainly lightyears better than the demonic scum Talia is.
@@jlpgamin not toxic? Made out with his son, left him at the altar, cheated on him, started a war in gotham over a stupid plan which tore apart the batfamily.
Only because Batman pushed away Zatanna. She is still the best option for him.
@huntertezz not canon. She was literally manipulated into leaving and then felt like shit for months. And she didn't tear the family apart Bruce's mental state is what caused them to go against him.
And the point still stands that she advocates for them
Personally I think that the downfall of writing Talia as a character began with Batman Beyond’s weird inter generational body swap seducing the prospective son in law plot. It was absolutely impossible to see Ra’s and Talia as anything but nonsensical after that. Like compare it to the BTAS adventures where there was pathos and an atmosphere of dignity to them both. Then we get “yucky, I kissed an old man in a girls body” and he has a man voice in her body? Can anyone see this episode without finding it to be a downgrade compared to the BTAS ones? It’s really no wonder that after that the future writers decided “the Al Ghul family is just asinine and random” and threw out the characterization that made them compelling.
Finally someone talks about Talia's flanderization for real I liked her in Son of Batman but then in Batman Bad Blood they made her a villain again and killed her off WHY such a waste could've had her try to be a better person but just didn't bother
That was so annoying. I really didn’t like Batman: Bad Blood because of that.
my head canon for batman bad blood is that the lazarus pit made her lose her empathy for bruce and damien coz if you enter the lazarus pit you’re not supposed to come back the same usually you come back demented but in her case she lost her emotions
Honestly I kinda can't see him ending up with any of the masks. His relationship with Selina and Talia is toxic, his relationship with Diana that was good in DCAU canonically didn't end well, and as much as I'd like to say there's Zatana... the whole mind wiping thing means they cannot ever be like they were again. Like what other women are there for him that can accept Bruce and Batman?
The batwoman og
I’m not sure why people keep bringing up the mind wipe? Batman forgave Zatanna in Dini’s Detective comics..so well over a decade now.
Good video, it was about time somebody said all this stuff. But a very important fact is missing: the ruining of Talia in comics began in 2003 in the "Batman: Death And The Maidens" miniseries, in which her half-sister Nyssa tortured her until turning her into just another psychotic villain.
You're right!!! That makes turn into a villain in Morrison's run even worse and more tone deaf when it's played as her being bad from the start and this not being the result of horrible torture.😖😖😖
That's why I prefer the story of them having fallen in love & had a 1 night stand. I feel Bruce definitely loves Talia and the nefarious child making didn't need to be apart of Damian creation.
I KNOW!!!😭😭😭 I absolutely love Talia, I adore her and Bruce being together. Unfortunately one of her first introductions to me was that storyline so I hated her for a short few months. Luckily I finally started reading comics very soon after that, and one of my first was Son of the Demon (one of my favs
Judd winick think it’s normal to raise a kid and sleep with them like in his own household
Same
For me, Bruce’s true love will always be Catwoman. They are perfect together.
Catwoman is also toxic and not good.
Batman's best love would always be Zatanna.
@@huntertezz catwoman when written well*
@@huntertezz so she's perfect for Bruce then
Zatanna is way too good to be with Bruce
Tell that to “Nightwing #52”
@@Joey-vs4fr using a non canon one off situation where she and Batman at the time weren't even together doesn't prove your point
Originally she wasnt even that good of a fighter (batman literally had to jump in and save her in their first meeting) given she was supposed to be a pacifist before they turned her into terrorist black widow
Wow that sounds infinitely better but I’ll do one better. She’s terrorist Electra actually
11:00 I'm not going to lie. That outfit makes her look like the white power ranger. Lmao
Fr
But it’s a good design
I still ship Bruce with Selina. Sorry.
Same
Who doesn't
@@notliked42210 me. I don't. I ship Bruce with Diana
@@StarfireKoriandr11 that's my second choice
I think having her be the most involved in all aspects of Batman’s life solidified her as such
Talia doesn’t care about the Bruce side of Batman or the other members yet Selina has so many nice little moments where she’s like a mom to them and she goes and gets involved in the public matters with bruce
I disagree, I much prefer Batman and Catwoman and have no issue with Talia having birthed Bruce’s son through…non-consensual means. I mean how dare we have a female villain that has no problem being a villain and isn’t an anti-hero.
I absolutely loved Talia in the era of the 2000s where she helped lead Lexcorp post-Tower Of Babel . I miss that Talia . Atleast Ram V is writing her well again !
What well-written, sadistic female villains are left in comic books? Whether retcon or not, seems like everybody wants such villains to be limited as fuq.
I’m so glad you made a video covering this subject as she was one of my favorite Batman love interests and I hated how her character was gutted over the years.
Hot take:
Although I love Batman with Catwoman, I think Wonder Woman and Batman is the best pairing.
I mean, think about it, in any continuity where the pair date they don’t go through anywhere near the amount of drama that does with his other love interest . It’s almost like their personalities play off of each other quite well or something.
I think Zatanna is best.
they were never a thing outside of JLU
@ToasterLad_ yes. Yes they were
@@StarfireKoriandr11alright then, enlighten me
@@StarfireKoriandr11I'm also curious, the only comic where I've been told thay they are somehow together is in one of the alternate dark universes
Finally someone said. I get why DC didn’t acknowledge it because rape is too big of an issue but dang they went silent on it
Look, Bruce and Talia's son was originally conceived in a consensual sexual act in 1986's Batman: Son of the Demon, and Talia was forced by her father, Ra's al Ghul, to give her child up for adoption to a wealthy and childless American couple in an ironic twist of fate. That's where the story should have ended. I never agreed with the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths retcon of the story that created Damian because it was beyond stupid.
I'm torn between Tali & Catwoman because I love them both and they make for great love interests. If I were to give DC a new Universe I'd put him & Catwoman together but I would treat his previous relationship with Talia with respect. Make it clear that they had a loving relationship but she was died and left Damien with Bruce.
That sounds better
Ras isn't immortal. He artificially extends his life through use of the Lazarus Pits which have taken on massive plot device-itis.
Can DC & Marvel just give their characters a STABLE relationship
I don’t think so unless your in the fantastic 4
4:08 now hear me this may sound bad.
Ra's and Talia are my favorite Batsy villains since Neil Adams drew them to perfection back in the day. So when Talia ended up the mama of Batsys son was perfect for me : )
Hey man! Loving your chanel, we agree in lile 90% of stuff about DC, it's quite refreshing to see someone talking about this characters with actual knowledge of their nuance and character instead of just superficial movie expectations or just what they watched in cartoons or video games. Some people will just read this comics and explain it like it's events are historical facts instead of stories and your videos are always focused on character consistency and construction from a story perspective instead of so many other videos I've watched who would just mention Talia's rape as a matter of fact instead of the weird out of character thing it was.
Anyway, loving your channel! (Just quick note, Morrison goes by neutral pronouns and not masculine ones)😊
If even Batman can get roofied, what hope do we have??
Don’t worry no one wants to roofie you
No hope brother, we are all going to get roofied 😢
*Cough Cough Character assassination
Never takes drinks from strangers.
Are we genius handsome billionaires? Idk about you but I think I’m too ugly to get roofied. I wouldn’t worry.
Something I wish they can do with Talia is make her relationship with Damian alot more complex like have it that she does love him but can't love him in a way that is healthy she after all raised him to be an assassin and that included putting him through hard and grosume training since he was born and she isolated him and deprived him from his childhood and placed really high expectations on him but she still loves him even abusive parents do love their children but in a way that's not healthy or helpful for their children that's a very complex issues and I think it would be more interesting if Damian and Talia had a more complex relationship rather than her straight up trying to kill him
ngl seeing ppl finally speak up abt the character assassination of talia al ghul is so... nice. it means smth to me bc ive been defending her since i found out about the bullshit retcon morrison had written (especially when you add in the layer of racism on this whole thing-dc fandom is just. eugh.)
her continuous character assassination is the reason why i grew so tired of dc comics-they retconned/forgave harley quinn's past actions so quickly but never did that w talia... so seeing ppl finally realize that its bad & shes been character assassinated for 20+ years is just really nice. thx for making this video ❤
I've only known Talia's appearances in the animated series so it's cool to find out that she had more nuance in the OG comic
Honestly, I think Batman is best without any love interests.
His only “child” should be an adopted dad relationship with his robins.
I think Bruce makes sense as a perpetual single guy.
Maybe he goes on a few dates here and there to keep up the attractive billionaire façade, but has no real interest in romance or women.
I just think it works the best for him.
Yes , el debe estar solo y no hay nada de malo
Can you do a video on new DC characters? Like Punchline, Trinity, Godspeed...
IdK...I'm really curious to see if the new popular characters are actually popular or just the flavor pf the month
Most characters within the last 10-15 years haven’t stuck, it seems as if DC and Marvel at a point where their characters from the 40s-90 hey hey hey hey Patty s have grown such a large shadow than anything after them feels like poor facsimile on top of that newer writers are less concerned on the lore, symbolism and morality of characters and more focused on the “identity” instead, because of this they rely on the characters outward characteristics which can’t stick on it’s so they attach it to a far more identity person
I kinda like Punchline since she isn't really meant to be sympathetic, she's just a horrible person.
Ghost maker…
@@Riqo2Suave we need more sideways. Hes. Really good
@MEnterprises01 you should make a video about Black cat she's also simular to talia in the way that marvel kind of ruined her but its also the misconception that she's just a toxic girl that only loves spider-man and while there partially true overtime she eventually came around to love both sides of spiderman but by the time she came around peter was already married to mj. plus she barely gets any adaptations most adaptations just have peter end up with mj which is getting really boring and repetive.
Good idea
Talia and Anissa are alike in many ways where the morality of the heroes we follow is a foreign and alien concept to them, their entire life they were taught and shown that strength is the only right course of action, those w the power to rule have that birth right, it’s why things like sexual intimacy aren’t black and white w them, the men they crave are powerful and to them the act of procreation is another part of that power struggle, it’s no different than killing or assaulting which they both have 0 qualms about, when your entire culture is rooted in violence it makes sense sex isn’t where they’d draw the line in terms of getting what they want
Anissa is way better than Taila could ever be
It's definitely one of those situations where trying to inject very mundane real world violence into a story that's primarily about fantasy adventuring will almost always go over poorly. The dissonance between serious and unserious is just too great.
I never liked Talia after how she was turned so evil during the Batman Inc saga and how she treated Damian's Clone.
Which sucks because one aspect I find legitimately interesting is her being responsible in some iterations for Jason Todds Ressurection and return with the words "You are Unavenged"
Nocturna was my favorite Batman love interest and rogue. And they did the same thing to her, made her sa batwoman and sleep with her son-in-law. It was all super ew.
Nocturna had the best love triangle. With Bruce having to pick between her and Catwoman. But the story legit asks real important questions which DC ignores later on. Questions like 'if you have a kid, that an important factor in choosing a partner'. Which is really cool cause Jason is Robin at the time and Nocturna legit wants to take up the role of his mother, while catwoman is anti kids and doesn't want the responsibility
The thumbnail reminds me of THAT uhyeah video
Zatanna is Batman’s best love interest in my opinion.
Our
Yes
Maybe I don't know enough about comics and I don't know if this is still canon, but didn't she erase his memories once with the whole Dr. Light thing?
At least Zatanna didn’t drug Batman into sleeping with her or kill a woman Batman’s dating out of jealous rage.
And as for Zatanna mind wiping him, the Justice League kinda bullied her into mind wiping both Batman and Dr. Light.
@@samflood5631 being the best of the worst is still bad, but idk
This upload is making me consider watching those DCAMU flicks again
Talia, my darling, Dc and its racist writers who ruin your character could never make me hate you and how good you could have been and is.
Im still happy (happy is a big word) that lately they have been trying to make an effort with her character, mostly as a mother and hopefully next between her and bruce which I do believe in that one dream bruce had where all his loved ones were dead, her name was also on one of the gravestones.
I dont mind her being a villain still, just with proper writing and tge original complexity of her morals
I just think they could have done so much better and if i were to wish for things that would never happen, Id hope a whole series of issues on her past with her father and siblings, her relationship with bruce and her early thoughts on Damian.
Racism has nothing to do with this and you know it kid.
I'm genuinely worried about how the DCU will handle Talia, particularly in Brave and The Bold
3:49 my fav part about this episode 😂even tho it isn’t shown, when Talia appears she got Bruce all kinds of flustered and it is SO CUTE 🥰 and you can tell this is the first time Bruce is like that because Dick is like “wth happened between y’all? Who is SHE! And how she got you acting like this?!”
What’s really criminal is they got rid of her accent is some versions
Yeah. Her accent in some iterations was so beautiful and made her more unique to the other female dc characters.
Worst to me. Her dad is literally trying to groom them for the league of assassins. On top of that she is an assassin. She does not share Batman's preference for not killing by design. Catwoman you can at least see her change and evolve as a character. Taliah is just straight up toxic for Batman.
They are both toxic. And Talia never used to agree with Ra's methods and always tried to break away and do better.
Sadly when she did break away and started doing good her sister came along and tortured her until she went insane and evil.
Catwoman is also extremely toxic. I will never forget that she left him at the altar, a selfish whore, or when she decided to train criminals to be more efficient when stealing.
Same here. Catwoman isn’t some crazed murder, or a genocidal manic, or an assassin, etc, she mostly is just a theif that gets semi redeemed by Batman, so despite her selfishness at times, it feels more believable that Batman would date catwoman instead of any brutal criminal, like an assassin.
Batman dating an assasain makes me think that Batman is a hypocrite.
Another reason why I've always preferred Wonderbat, it always had him feel healthier spiritually
Wonderbat is only good in the cartoon. They have no chemistry in the Comics.
@@celestialsoldier622 Agreed. Superman and Wonder Woman chemistry, however, is off the chart.
I also agree that Barbara and Batman were better romantic duo in the end (killing Joke shipping)
@@kingol4801bro that’s actually crazy
@@kingol4801 Bro gonna sit here and ship Batgirl and Bruce and act lie he an't insane.
@@kingol4801wonderbat is good because of both of their positions,like pairing wonder woman with superman is so plain,like ofc the 2 demigods are gonnalike each other.Plus i hste how they show clark flirting with wonder qoman while also dealing with louis.Wonderbat is intreasting becsuse its a demi god princess and a rich kid with issues
Wow i acutally didn't know this was tailas character im glad you made this video now i know what her character truly is and not misinformed.
Ra's: "The only woman you've ever loved"
Selina: "Boy bye!"
I don’t really mind the retcon, what bothers me is the execution. We never get to see Batman process it properly. You think a guy who lost his parents when he was 8 dressing up as a bat as an adult would struggle to overcome the trauma of being raped and having a kid. But nope, he treats it like it was a regrettable one night stand😭. There’s repressed trauma and then there’s not even showing it character isn’t phased by it.
She's the daughter of an immortal madman. I think you're giving her far too much credit.
and she's fully on board with his quest to cleanse the earth of people. he's giving her way to much credit.
Still could be written better though
@@DavidMartinez-ce3lp True but having her in constant dilemma gets annoying pretty quickly.
“o I love you father but I also love Batman what ever do I do” rince repeat. Ra’s has gotta be the most forgiving father on the planet for how repetitive she is
its like you ignored the entire video.... how many characters have evil fathers but have more moral codes
I hope Talia is not evil in DCU
They literally made Batman a simp for Catwoman and in every comic book and every movie you find him chasing her and then he becomes stupid and his mind stops working and he gets hit. and holds back and then lets her escape and this thing is repeated over and over again, Batman is on him To find true love and leave criminals aside, maybe Zatanna or Wonder Woman would be a good choice for him😅
Eh, I still like BatCat. That’s just my opinion. And even then, Some Versions of Catwoman stays with Bruce to the end.
I never like her and her son but at least I’m honest besides if I was going to Batman have a son with a villain (which Catwoman doesn’t count these days I still would have her carrying Helena Wayne) would be the Flash villain Golden Glider which I looked at tumbler saying that she is a anti Batman and that their son would have a golden knight.
Its moments like this on why i champion normal women like vicki vale
I honestly think neither Catwoman or Talia suits for batman's love interest. The only suitable love interest for Batman is Julie Madison.
I read the “Son of the Demon” trilogy and “Batman and Son” back to to back and the whiplash of Talia’s character regression was neck breaking. She becomes psychopathic just out of nowhere. She was like a femme fatale bond girl with grey morals before, not a conniving, vindictive supervillain.
I remember back in Detective 527, All My Enemies Against Me, Talia and Catwoman had a fantastic chemistry and rivalry even as they teamed with Batman against his Rogues Gallery. And maybe they can fix it so that Damien was conceived in a Son of the Demon retelling.
I like Talia and Bruce Or Bruce and Selina way more then Diana and Bruce. They are a way better love for him.
@@JokerREAL123 Yes old, but it was a time when both were well written, hey nowadays they are crazy, toxic and yes it is sad how they destroyed it
Yes old, but it was a time when both were well written, hey nowadays they are crazy, toxic and yes it is sad how they destroyed it
dude her death in arkham made me drop the controller 😭
Yeah
And Batman was more affected by Joker’s death than hers. Carrying his body and ish…that pissed me off so much
I really loved Talia's Depiction in The Animated Series, and how sympathetic of a character she was, but of course writers will find whatever ways they can to assassinate a character.
Talia my beloved what did they do to you. You honor people are hating on her for things she (at least in my heart) didn’t do. She did do a bunch of other shit tho. Like I love the concept of a girl, robbed of her childhood and raised to be an assassin by a misogynistic eco terrorism of a father, who genuinely care for a fucked up vigilante like Bruce but can’t break her conditioning to be happy as herself. Why did they make her nearly abusive, just another copy of Ra’s, a villain rapist, when like. There are so many good ways for it to work out, even if she isn’t endgame, and only a few of them ever get explored at all, much less in depth.
-> The conflict of violence and death vs. no killing theme that runs through Batman stories is put into a new perspective with her, especially in the modern era of climate change. It isn’t just “is revenge okay” but a question of what extent violence is justified to stop the degradation of the entire planet. Talia has rejected some of her father’s teachings, but not fully. She’s torn between Ra’s and Bruce not just emotionally, but philosophically.
-> She is the exact type of person who needs Batman. The epitome of what he’s trying to do. Someone who’s hurt and on a bad path getting put on a better one. That’s why he doesn’t kill, why he puts people in Arkham, why he ends up with most of the Robins. She exemplifies not just the aspect of caring for criminals, but caring for people who were hurt as children and keeping them from losing their light.
-> She has great potential for relationships with Damian, Jason, and even Tim. Damian for obvious reasons, but the struggle of her trying to give him the childhood she wishes she had, only for Ra’s to still put him through the wringer is so tragic. Damian is mirroring her own conflict between Bruce and Ra’s. She’s a caring mother but she’s too flawed and too stuck in the cycle of abuse to do what’s really best for her child. Jason can exaggerate the best and worst parts of her motherhood potential, if only we retcon out the make out. She can help save him for Bruce, and help nurture him through the crucible of the Lazarus Pit, but all too easily she falls into the trappings of her father to turn him to the family’s gain. Tim has the respect of her father, and they’re both rich kids who had an obsession with Bruce (all be it of different kinds) so they could have such interesting dynamics.
-> Talia accentuates themes of fathers. Family has a big role in Batman stories, adopted or not, and parents are a big one. Losing their parents defines several Robins and Batman himself. So someone who has her parent, who loves him, is such a good dynamic. Among good fathers lost and good fathers gained in the Batfam, here we have someone who always had a father, but whose father was awful. Perhaps show him as a dark mirror of what Bruce could easily become, because while he’s trying to be to his Robins what Alfred was to him, he could easily turn into a Ra’s if he loses sight of himself.
-> I think she and Poison Ivy would have fun. In the better timeline where Talia is allowed to be a good character existing outside her relationships with Damian, Bruce, and her father, they would be such good gal-pals. Talia gets to leave her father, but isn’t quite on Bruce’s path. She becomes a anti-villain type in the rogue’s gallery, and she and Ivy and Harley get to hang out a lot because Ivy is also an environmentalist villain. Girlies would live it up. Ivy and Talia vs. Bruce and Damian, talking about environmentalism in their confrontation? Iconic. The queen deserves a chance to speak.
-> She would serve such comedy after going through pseudo-redemption. She and Damian could set up so many punchlines where they both think (insert horrible thing from their family) is normal and a third character is gets to play off their inherent absurdity. Another hero comes in to the manor like “why is Talia Al Ghul, daughter of a renowned assassin ecoterrorist and respected ecoterrorist in her own right, known Gotham supervillain, currently cuddling Damian’s pets in your living room?” And Bruce just shrugs like “yeah she wants to make sure his training is up to snuff as her heir. If Batcow doesn’t look like she’s getting proper enrichment, *then* we’ll have problems.
-> the Batfam getting bigger is always my favorite joke and I think they deserve another mother/aunt/rival figure. There are so many arcs where she would’ve been so good as another hat in the ring.
-> Seeing Talia learn to be a normal human being after living in the lazarus-green hellscape of her father’s empire would be so wholesome and cute. It was such a joy seeing Damian go through that, and the new perspective of this being an adult woman and not an immature ten year old would make it distinct while familiar.
They took away my cringefail girlboss daughter and made her into a gaslight and gatekeep girlie. Like no she’s a soft soul forced to be tough! She’s a loving girl who could only love the wrong people for the longest time! A caring mother too stuck in her own abuse to save her kid(s)! Someone crushed by the weight of mankind’s crimes against nature but also by her love for mankind! She was born, raised to be a killer, but she chose to love! Talia hurts the people she loves precisely because she is trying to keep the people she loves most from being hurt! Her tragedy is that she could not choose, even when she was finally given the chance! But her hope is that she still has a chance to choose! And the fear is that, even if she chooses right, she’ll always have a piece of Ra’s in her!
Even I think we should be allowed to have villains who are just bad, not sob stories waiting to be redeemed. I acknowledge that Talia, being mainly defined by her relationships with Bruce, Ra’s, and Damian, is in some ways forced into the roles of love interest, daughter, and mother. And it can seem cheap that female characters get forced into that sometimes as their only way to be good and complex, but Talia has the opportunity to play that well. I think if they focused more on her environmentalism and never let her swing all the way to pacifist or genocide like Bruce and Ra’s, she can both be true to character and step out of that shoehorning.
Hell yeah I fw this comment.
I have a fan fiction idea about Talia. After the collapse of the league, Talia al-Ghul tries to settle down in Metropolis as the single mother of two (Damian and Jason Todd). The characterization of her is exactly like this! What do you think?
My introduction to Talia was the grant Morrison run where she fucking roofied Batman so I straight up didn’t know she was an anti-villain at one point
7:10 She walks in there with two Bat Men and Batman’s like, “Really? Little on the nose, Talia.”
She was also in CWs Arrow. She helped train Oliver. She wasn't as bad as in TDK rises but she wasn't too good either.
In the comics Nyssa was the reason Talia went evil.
She tortured and killed Talia until she went insane.
You know comics have a very bad character assassination problem. I mean we have Tahlia R.p batman, scott summers and how he handled Madelyn, we have literally everyone involved in one more day, wally west killing a bunch of heroes, ant man and his backhand. Thats just off the top of my head.
Talia in Gotham Knights = crazy sorceress *witch*!
Talia Al ghul is NOT batman’s best love interest 😭
I love your videos keep it up man ❤
و اخيرا في حدا عم يدافع عنها. عن جاد تاليا كثير ما بيفهموها و بغيرو حكيتها. شكرا
That's why Danny O'neil is a legend. He knew how to create character conflicts. That demon storyline saved Batman from campy writing and established bat mythos. Grant did great things for Batman but he ruined Talia so badly.
Since Son Of The Demon is one of James Gunn's favourite comics, I hope he'll help in Brave and The Bold to write her character and fix the mischaracterisation she had
A lot of times I hear people saying that Talia is “too deep in her father’s beliefs” that she’d never disobey him when that’s not true. In Batman Chronicles #8 she disobeyed her father because she wasn’t able to kill Batman. And in Red Hood: Lost Days she disobeyed her father and saved Jason by putting him in the Lazarus pit as a last resort.
Talia actually first became evil in the comics (prior to Morrison’s run) due to Nyssa (her sister) murdering her over and over and bringing her back until she went crazy/turned evil during the Death of the Maidens storyarc in 2003. Morrison basically just expanded off of that afterwards.
Lots of people blame Morrison for turning Talia evil, but she became that way years prior to him taking over Batman.
Morrison himself admits that he screwed up the character.
I prefer her as basically evil with a touch of good, and genuine if somewhat conflicted love for Bruce and Damian.
I've always found it hard to connect with Talia and I think it's because her characterisation is never consistent. I think DC need to really put their foot down and lay out a plan for the character - same with poor old Jason Todd. Talia is far more interesting when she's helping Bruce than when she's a flat out villain.
Shout out to when Talia was gonna basically destroy the whole world and acted like a possessive psycho with Bruce and Damien…..
Character assasination.