Lazarus Pit
A Lazarus Pit is a location that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
For thousands of years, his life was extended by the pit's power and his study into them led him to believe that they all came from an original source. Ra's would come to believe that this original 'prototype' for the Lazarus Pits was the Fountain of Life situated in the Shifting City of Nanda Parbat. (Batman v1 #671)
The group of immortal members of the Blood Tribe known as the Insiders went to great lengths to seek out and obliterate the Lazarus Pits. (Outsiders v4 #20)
Jean-Paul Valley's travelling companion Brian Bryan was badly injured after a fall and due to his body suffering from alcohol abuse that he faced death until Ra's al Ghul placed him into the Lazarus Pit. (Azrael v1 #7)
As part of his scheme, Ra's al Ghul sought to release an aphasia epidemic around the world in order to cause the collapse of society. However, to succeed in his goals, he needed to eliminate the Justice League and managed to steal secret protocols made by Batman against his fellow heroes in case they ever went rogue. To distract Batman, Ra's exhumed the corpses of Batman's parents namely Thomas and Martha Wayne where he threatened to resurrect them as zombies with the Lazarus Pit. This caused a furious Batman to attack Ra's directly and thus be oblivious to his contingencies being used against the Justice League. (JLA v1 #44)
To accomplish his goals, Ra's sought to merge his spirit with the spirit of Gaia herself and sought to accomplish this through Enchantadora's magic with a Lazarus Pit. He intended to make use of the Crucible where he would transform from a man into a god. Ra's al Ghul would move into the pit to complete the merger when it was partly disrupted by Superman. During this attempt, Gaia rejected Ra's as the spirit of Earth saw him as empty and instead sought Superman but the Man of Steel refused Gaia's efforts to purge the planet of humanity. (Action Comics v1 #773)
The New 52
Following the Flashpoint, a new timeline was created with a new version of events being formed as a result.
Den Darga and his family of immortals the Lu'un Darga claimed to had been the first guardians of the Lazarus Pits where they fought a war against Ra's al Ghul and his bloodline. (Robin: Son of Batman v1 #5) Each of the pits were believed to be remnants of a much older one that was as old as humanity itself. This one was known as the Well of Sins which served a the original Lazarus Pit. Since its creation, a group known as the All-Caste sought to guard it and protect it from their mortal enemies known as the Untitled. Around five hundred years ago, Ra's travelled to the Acres of All in order to learn the secret of the pits. Ra's al Ghul's clever tongue would gain him the favor of Ducra of the All-Caste who trained him and later charged him along with his League of Assassins with the protection of the Well of Sins. Thus, the assassin city of 'Eth Alth'eban grew around the Well of Sins with a powerful magical seal cast over it to protect it from abuse. (Red Hood and the Outlaws v1 #22)
Afterwards, Ra's al Ghul took the bodies of his daughter and grandson to the Lazarus Pit at Nishapur. (Batman and Robin v2 #32) One factory was attempting to synthesize the substance of the Lazarus Pits with this being targeted for destruction by an extremist splinter of the League of Assassins. This was because this break away group felt that the resurrection properties of the pits was a crutch for his men and intended to destroy it. (New Suicide Squad v1 #9) Damian later discovered that a Lazarus Pit was present at the sunken ruins of Alexandria that had been responsible for a number of medical miracles in the past. (Robin: Son of Batman v1 #4)
Overview
A substance referred to as Dionesium was said to be responsible for the life giving nature of Lazarus and the Pits were stated to be composed of a corrupted version of this material. (Batman v2 #38) Nishapur was the purest of all the Pits and was said to be even more so then the Well of Sin. (Batman and Robin v2 #32) Each Pit needed to be in contact with the Earth in order for it to work. (Action Comics v1 #772)
Those that were exposed to the pit sometimes suffered from Lazarus fever that resulted in physical and emotional complications which could leave the subject insane. (Batman and Robin v2 #32)
Ra's al Ghul was never far from the live restoring energies of a Lazarus Pit. (Action Comics v1 #772)
Users
- Ra's Al Ghul :
- Nora Fries :
Notes
- The concept of the Lazarus pit was first developed by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams.
In other media
Television
- In Batman: The Animated Series, two Lazarus Pits make an appearance in the two-part episode "The Demon's Quest". The first is present in Ra's Al Ghul's mountain base who uses it to rejuvenate himself after falling ill. A second one is shown in the desert and is the site of a battle between Batman and Ra's Al Ghul only for the latter to seemingly die by falling into the pit.
- In Superman: The Animated Series, a Pit makes a brief appearance in a flashback sequence in the episode "The Demon Reborn".
- In Batman Beyond, in the episode "Out of the Past", a young Talia Al Ghul appears and offers to make Bruce Wayne young again by placing him in a Lazarus Pit. Wayne agrees and is briefly made young again only to be captured as the entire plan was a ruse by Ra's Al Ghul who had transferred his mind into his daughter's body with the intention of moving his consciousness into Bruce's form. After Ra's defeat, Bruce reverts to his old age as its shown that he required multiple treatments within the Lazarus Pit to permanently become younger.
- In Arrow, the Lazarus Pit was named in the episode "The Fallen" where it was said to reside in pools at Nanda Parbat with the power to heal wounds, extend life to over a hundred years and even bring the dead back to life. It was said that the use of the waters to bring a person back from the dead changed them and distorted their soul. Ra's al Ghul badly wounded Thea Queen leaving her crippled and unconscious in the hospital in an effort to get Oliver Queen to take the mantle of the Demon's Head and thus his successor. His incentive for Oliver to accept the role was that he would help heal Thea of all her injuries. Oliver thus took her from the hospital on a plane for Nanda Parbat though Malcolm Merlyn opposed this move as he said he would rather see his daughter die than be subjected to the pit. In "Al Sah-him", Ra's al Ghul told Oliver Queen that during his own ascendancy to being the Demon's Head that his rival was a friend called Damien Darhk who needed to be eliminate. Ra's dueled his foe but hestitated in killing him leading to Darhk fleeing with his followers, some water of the Lazarus Pit and founded his organization known as H.I.V.E. that were enemies of the League of Assassins.
Films
- In Batman: Under the Red Hood, its shown in a flashback that Ra's al Ghul had retrieved the body of Jason Todd after he was killed by Joker. He placed the body of the dead Robin within the Lazarus Pit but the exposure brings back him "damaged" where he goes on a rampage after his resurrection and killing several of al Ghul's servants before escaping into the mountains. Afterwards, Batman arrives at Ra's base who confronts him on the identity of the Red Hood and al Ghul theorises that perhaps the Pit did not bring him back damaged but perhaps simply revealed Todd's true self.
- In Son of Batman, Slade Wilson decided to turn against his mentor Ra's al Ghul for his perceived betrayal in choosing Batman to be his successor. This saw a coup being made where Ra's was fatally wounded and died from his wounds before he could reach his Lazarus Pit. A second such pit was seen beneath the ocean's floor with the League gaining access to this one through an oil rig off the coast of Britain. An entire group of Manbat assassin's resided in this cavern when Batman and his son Damian Wayne as Robin arrived to confront Slade who had captured Talia al Ghul. Talia was fatally wounded but Batman managed to save her by placing her within the Lazarus Pit. A shaft leading to the rig was damaged leading to the cavern being flooded.
- In Justice League vs. Teen Titans, the Lazarus Pits were mentioned in the animated film. According to Ra's al Ghul, the power of the Pits were linked to that of the demon lord Trigon.
Video games
- In Batman: Arkham City, the League of Assassins accompanied Ra's al Ghul in his plans for Gotham City. They primarily consisted of female ninjas who were primarily the elite bodyguard of Talia al Ghul.
Appearances
- JLA v1 #43: "Tower of Babel"
Links
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