Batman Annual #26 (2007)

The White Ghost tells Talia al Ghul that it is time for Damian to learn the story of his grandfather's life. Talia questions both whether he is ready and whether enough of her father's history survived. The White Ghost answers that he was able to salvage some records thought destroyed and fill in the gaps in them by consulting with Ra's himself before he died, and that they cannot afford to delay longer, because a dangerous meddler has just arrived. Batman arrives in Australia in search of two missing scientists, Jason and Carrie, who worked for the Wayne Ecological Foundation. He learns that the moths they were studying were living many times longer than usual, and flies off in the Batplane to investigate. Damian is dismissive of the importance of his grandfather's story, but Talia nevertheless tells it to him, reading from the White Ghost's records. As a young man, Ra's came to an elderly physician in an unnamed "great city" to learn his arts. The old man agreed, on the condition that Ra's wed his daughter, Sora, and look after her when he is dead. Neither Ra's nor Sora had a particularly strong interest in the opposite sex, but they decided that the pairing could be advantageous for both of them. After the old physician's death, Sora revealed to her husband his true goal: immortality. Using the notes he left behind, they were able to do what he could not and found a Lazarus Pit. While they studied it, the king's son fell ill, and Ra's decided over Sora's objections to try to win the king's favor by curing him. Damian interrupts, saying that he already knows this story (the prince loses his mind and kills Sora) and he still doesn't see how it's relevant to him. Talia reveals that Ra's found a way to survive his apparent death. Batman goes to a bar and learns about an old man who might have seen the missing ecologists. After Sora's death, Ra's al Ghul burned the city to the ground and slaughtered its inhabitants. He returned to his tribe, telling the leader, his uncle, of his plans to build a great empire. Centuries later, at the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo Battle of Waterloo], he dissuades Duke Wellington from surrendering, explaining that his secret organization, the Demon, has persuaded the Prussians to send reinforcements. When Wellington asks why he cares so much about the outcome of the war, Ra's replies that a victorious Napoleon could become a threat to him, and he also has a personal grudge against the Emperor. After the battle, Ra's began a relationship with Napoleon's ex-lover in Paris, who resembled Sora. When she grew old, he left her and France. Damian asks why he didn't just use the Pit to keep her young; his mother answers that his long-term plans didn't leave room for her, and his longevity made him cold and unsentimental by mortal standards. Talia reaches the end of the records the White Ghost has given her, and goes to get the next installment. He refuses to give her everything at once, because he wants Damian to hear the full story in order as it is written, rather than skipping to the end. With Damian secretly listening in, he also tells Talia to ensure that she and her son stay out of his secret chamber. Batman searches the woods for the old man, and gets ambushed by four assassins the White Ghost sent to delay him. He then finds the man he's looking for, who at first climbs a tree to get away from him, but eventually agrees to come down and talk. In Victorian London, the White Ghost met with Ra's at an inn. He told his master that he retrieved some stolen historical records, and also found a way for Ra's life force to potentially survive, even if he is killed without access to a Lazarus Pit. Damian loses patience with the story, fights through the ninjas sent to ensure his education continues, and nearly breaks into the secret chamber before getting overwhelmed. The White Ghost comes out and reprimands the ninjas for being too rough with him. Batman learns that the old man was sent to Australia while it was still a penal colony. He leads Batman to the underground stream he uses to make moonshine, rambling the whole way. The corpses of the ecologists are in the stream; they've clearly been dead for some time, but have barely decayed. Batman leaves the old man behind to follow a tunnel to the source of the stream. Talia confronts the White Ghost over the fact that the records seem to indicate that her father's spirit will take over her son's body. He assures her that this is merely metaphorical; Ra's will receive an entirely new body, but his mind will be addled, and he'll need a male blood relative who knows his entire history present to help him work through his confusion. Talia tells Damian the final parts of the story, while the White Ghost plots with an underling about how to stop Talia from interfering with Ra's taking over Damian's body without arousing suspicions too early. Talia brings Damian to the secret chamber, which contains a Lazarus Pit. Damian is disappointed by the absence of a zombie Ra's. The White Ghost tells him he must step into the Pit to meet his grandfather, but Damian rudely refuses. The White Ghost signals his men to restrain Talia so Damian can be forced into the Pit. However, both mother and son and ready for this betrayal, and easily overpower them to escape. Immediately afterward, Batman arrives in the chamber via a tunnel that ends under the floorboards. Batman asks what's going on and where Damian is, but the White Ghost attacks. Batman wins easily and throws him into the Pit. Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce tells Alfred that he was unable to find Talia or Damian, but he was able to trace the leakage from the Lazarus Pit into nearby waterways, which explains the strange longevity of nearby people and wildlife. He also mentions that the records of Ra's al Ghul's life he found were produced in the 1880s. He and Alfred ponder whether they were copies of earlier records, or entirely fictional.