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Nyssa Raatko
Cover to Batman: Death and the Maidens #3. Klaus Janson, artist
Publisher DC Comics First appearance Detective Comics #783 Created by Greg Rucka Klaus Janson
Characteristics Affiliations League of Assassins Notable aliases Nyssa al Ghul Abilities Uses her father's Lazarus Pits to restore life and heal wounds; knowledgeable in the study of alchemy; genius rivals that of her late father.

Nyssa Raatko (Arabic: نيسا رعتكو‎) is a character in the Batman comic books.

Contents 1 History 1.1 The Second World War 1.2 Revenge 1.3 Lazarus Pit 1.4 Infinite Crisis

In Batman: Death and the Maidens, it is revealed that Ra's al Ghul had a love child born during his travels in Russia in the 18th Century called Nyssa. Enamored by the romantic stories that her mother would tell her about Ra's as a child, Nyssa set out to find Ra's and eventually located him at his headquarters in North Africa.

Impressed by her beauty, her warrior skills, and the fact that she was able to locate him, she was promoted to a position similar to that held by her half-sister, Talia. As a right hand associate, she accompanied him during his adventures. Ra's was so impressed with her abilities, he even allowed Nyssa to use his Lazarus Pits. Like her sister Talia, Nyssa eventually became disenchanted with Ra's genocidal plans to "cleanse the Earth," and disassociated herself from her father sometime in the early 19th century. Ra's reluctantly approved this, believing that she would return to him and that she and/or her children would become his future heirs. To his disappointment, Nyssa refused to give herself or her family to him, causing him officially to disown her permanently. He did however allow her to keep a Lazarus Pit for herself and, much to his surprise, she found a way to reuse it, allowing her to survive until modern times.

During World War II, Nyssa and her family were sent to a concentration camp, where Nyssa's entire family died as she was rendered infertile by gruesome Mengele-sque experiments.

Broken by her horrifying experiences during this time, and enraged that Ra's had abandoned her and her family to die at the hands of the Nazis, she planned to kill Ra's by befriending, kidnapping, and brainwashing Talia and using her to kill Ra's. She would then destroy all hope and optimism in the world by assassinating Superman with kryptonite bullets she stole from the Batcave.

While Batman was successful in preventing the assassination of Superman, he was unable to stop Ra's from being killed by Nyssa. This in turn was part of a greater plan by Ra's to ensure that his daughters, both initially dissatisfied with his plans, would realize that he was right, and that they would come to accept their destinies as his heirs. Realizing and accepting this, both Nyssa and Talia became the heads of the League of Assassins. Talia disavowed her love for Bruce Wayne, and both sisters declared Batman to be their enemy.

Nyssa is in possession of the world's last Lazarus Pit which has granted her longevity and the ability to heal her wounds; she survived the Holocaust thanks to its powers. She is also extremely wealthy, especially since she assumed control of Ra's' organization and joined forces with Talia. Like her father and sister, she knows Batman's secret identity and the location of the Batcave.

During Infinite Crisis, Nyssa and her sister connived to use Talia's membership in Luthor's Secret Society of Super-Villains in order to take over the planet. Talia tried to recruit Batgirl to stand at her side as "The One Who Is All". She attempted to explain why she was working with the villains of the Society to Batgirl:

“

"Vast stockpiles of food rot, while people starve. Millions die from curable diseases, while drug companies rake in the billions. Our environment chokes on our waste, becoming so toxic that life fails. It's genocide by greed, apathy, and neglect. These are the real crimes. Something must change." "But... they're evil." "The Society's plans are vast... they will succeed. I can't stop them. When the world gets a true taste of violent oppression, and their heroes lie dead and broken -- apathy will die. That's when you'll lead my league to sanction key society members. Leaving Talia and I to lead the revolution. A new world will be born, one of peace and equality. Millions of lives will be saved." (Batgirl #67, written by Andersen Gabrych)

”

Cassandra refused, and, along with Mr. Freeze, escaped from Nyssa's grasp.

In Robin #148, the first One Year Later issue, Nyssa is seen in Northern Africa, planning an unknown plot with two terrorists. As she gets into her car to leave, it explodes. In the following issue, Lady Shiva reports that Nyssa Raatko is dead, probably killed by the League of Assassins.