Ibn al Xu'ffasch
Ibn al Xu'ffasch (
Arabic: إبن الخفّاش; literally "Son of The Bat") is a character in the
Batman comic book series who is the biological son of
Batman and
Talia al Ghul.
Son of the Demon
In the graphic novel
Son of the Demon,
Ra's al Ghul enlists Batman's aid in defeating a rogue assassin who had murdered Ra's Al Ghul's wife, mother to
Talia Al Ghul, with whom Batman has shared a stormy, on-again off-again romance. During the course of the story line, Batman has time to properly romance and marry Talia; the service is performed by Ra's. Talia soon becomes pregnant, and the prospect of a family has a profound effect on Batman's demeanor, making him more risk-adverse and softening his typically grim outlook. Batman is nearly killed protecting the only-recently pregnant(and still very dangerous in her own right) Talia from an attack by the assassin's agents. Observing Batman's dangerous and overly protective behavior, Talia resolves that she cannot allow him to continue to act in such a manner, as he will almost certainly be killed. To that end, Talia claims to have miscarried. Crushed by the news, Batman returns to his typically grim disposition, and he and Talia agree to have the marriage dissolved. Batman returns to Gotham, never knowing Talia is still carrying his child.
The child, a boy, is born and left with an
orphanage, and soon adopted by a western couple. The only hint of his impressive heritage is a jewel encrusted necklace, which had once belonged to Talia's mother. At some point, he becomes aware of the identities of his birth mother and father and adopts the name "Ibn al Xu'ffasch", literally, "son of the bat". (This story is stated to no longer be in continuity, although two
Elseworlds,
Kingdom Come and
Brotherhood of the Bat feature two alternate versions of the child as an adult, coming to terms with his dual heritage.)
Kingdom Come
In the
Kingdom Come continuity, he is sought out by the
League of Assassins after his grandfather's apparent death to be their new leader. In The Kingdom: Son of the Bat issue, flashbacks shed new insights into his history: that he was reared by Ra's Al Ghul to be the heir to his empire, that he eventually murdered his grandfather (cutting off his head to prevent yet another resurrection), and that he sought therapy from psychiatrist Dr. Gibson.
The Kingdom
He was eventually recruited to try and stop a madman named Gog from altering his history by
Rip Hunter along with several other heroes of his generation -
Kid Flash, the daughter of the
Flash;
Nightstar (
Nightwing and
Starfire's child) and
Offspring, the son of
Plastic Man - before discovering it to be unnecessary due to
Hypertime.
He is romantically involved with Nightstar, and has described her as his "stabilizing element," who prevented Ibn al Xu'ffasch from becoming "him." Whether the "him" here refer to Ibn al Xu'ffasch's grandfather or his father is ambiguous; it is also worth noting that Nightstar reassured Ibn al Xu'ffasch that one day he would learn to balance his family legacies.
*In
Teen Titans (vol. 3) #18, when the Titans were transported 10 years into the future, a graveyard full of deceased Batman allies and villains is depicted. One tombstone reads "Ibn Al Xu'ffasch". It is unknown whether this means that he is truly in continuity with the DC universe.
*
Grant Morrison stated at
Wondercon 2006 that his first Batman story arc will be titled "Batman and Son", and will expand upon
The Son of the Demon storyline, as part of a possible remodeling of Batman's personality after the events of
Infinite Crisis. DC has recently begun a new printing of "Batman: Son of the Demon", stating "A new printing of the classic work tying into the BATMAN story by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert, in standard comics size for the first time!".
