Batman #243

THE LAZARUS PIT!

Batman and Lo Ling have arranged a combat in which Ling would decide whether to continue working as a servant of Ra's al Ghul or if he is to work with Batman. With Matches Malone as their witness, they start the combat and they are evenly matched until Batman disarms Ling and gets the upper hand of the fight.  Ling however manages to recover his dagger and tries to stab Batman with it, but the Dark Knight uses his strength to turn the dagger against Ling and cut some of the skin of his neck. As Batman to draws first blood, he is declared winner of the combat and Ling is compelled to obey and serve Batman, turning his back on his previous master. Batman instructs Ling to meet him later at a private airfield and when Ling leaves the place, Robin takes off the disguise of Matches Malone and bids Batman farewell as he returns to Hudson University.  Moments later, Batman wears the guise of Matches Malone and he joins Ling and Doctor Harris Blaine at the private airfield, where they jump into a plane that will take them to the last known location of Ra's al Ghul; Switzerland.  After their arrival, "Malone" decides to leave his partners in order to visit an old friend. Meanwhile, Blaine and Ling get outside of the airport and Ling spots Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Talia. Following his loyalty to Batman, Ling attempts to capture Talia, but he is stopped by the powerful Ubu. At that moment, Batman appears and challenges Ubu before defeating him. Batman then goes after Talia and he grabs her by the arm, but she has no intention of escaping. Unfortunately, Batman is attacked by a lady from behind, who believes that Talia is a damsel in distress and needs help against Batman. This moment is used by Ubu to attack Batman while he is down, but Talia prevents him from seriously hurting Batman, as she tells Ubu that they need to warn her father about Batman.  When Batman recovers, he meets the lady who attacked him. Molly Post is a well known athlete and she apologizes for the mistake she made. When Batman informs her about his mission to capture Ra's al Ghul, Molly decides to join their team, as one of her former lovers was once a victim of Ra's and his schemes. Using some snowmobiles, Batman and his team travel to Ra's al Ghul's secret lair in the snowy mountains. Ling guides them to the place until they reach a cable car, which connects them directly to Ra's place. Batman and his team ride the cable car and manage to take down the guards, but as soon as they reach the highest part of the mountain, they are attacked by some shooters from a bunker. Dr. Blaine's chemistry knowledge proves useful against their attackers, who are stunned after an explosion caused by Blaine, which allows them to reach the main entrance to Ra's secret fortress.  Upon finding the secret door, Batman decides that he is going to be the first to enter the place, all alone, to make sure there are no traps for them inside. After kicking the door open, Batman finds a hallway and at the end of it is Ubu, manipulating some kind of machine. Batman runs towards him and delivers a stunning flying kick, as payback for their last encounter. Soon, Talia enters the place and she is tackled by Molly, who believes she was about to harm Batman. However, Talia explains that she would never harm Batman and she proceeds to kiss him, making Batman even more confused about his feelings for her. After this, Batman asks Talia about her father and Talia informs them that Ra's is in the room with them. Taking a large cloth from the machine that Ubu was working on, Talia reveals Ra's al Ghul's corpse lying on a table. At first, Batman is unsure about the whole scenario, but when Dr. Blaine confirms Ra's death, Batman has no option but to leave the place with his team. Talia then suggests Batman that she should go along with them as well, but before she leaves, she secretly activates a button and then she joins Batman and the others on their way out.  As Batman and the others leave the secret sanctuary, the machine starts working and a large section of the floor opens, revealing a secret pool underneath. After the floor is cleared and the pool is absolutely visible, the table in which Ra's body is lying, starts a slow descent towards the green, murky waters of the pool below until it is completely submerged. After a couple of minutes, the table starts rising, as slowly as it had descended. Finally, when it has reached its initial position, the table stops and the body of Ra's al Ghul comes back to life. As Ra's slowly incorporates, it becomes clear that the process has affected his mind as a mirthless, insane smile is shaped on his face and the body that was dead a few minutes ago, starts walking the land of the living once again.