Who has been healed in a Lazarus Pit?

[Lorendiac]

Which characters have successfully been dunked in Lazarus Pits in order to be reborn; healed of any diseases, wounds, etc., that had killed them (or maybe just "almost" killed them)?

Ideally, I want it to be from stories that happened "in continuity" -- or at least were supposed to be "in continuity" when they happened, as far as anyone knew at the time.

First, the three really obvious ones:
Ra's al Ghul
Talia
Nyssa

In addition, I'll mention one other to start the ball rolling:
Batman (according to Denny O'Neil's graphic novel, "Birth of the Demon," if we assume it is in continuity).

I can think of at least a couple of others, but I want to encourage audience participation, so I'll stop there and leave the rest to you! How many different customers have those Lazarus Pits had over the years, anyway?


P.S. I'm trying to put together a complete list before I finally post my second draft of "The Ra's al Ghul FAQ." I started it last year, posted my first draft, and then basically let it slide for several months. Now I'm trying to finish it up!

[Violently Apathetic]

I don't THINK this counts as a spoiler anymore, but eh, Spoiler for latest Batman Annual-

Jason Todd as tossed in by Talia to heal him of his massive brain damage.

[Lorendiac]

Jason Todd, as is shown in the latest Batman Annual.

I didn't actually buy it, so I wasn't absolutely sure. Most of the talk I've heard about that annual centered around how it was apparently the very first published comic to mention the glories of Superboy-Prime's notorious Retcon Punch! :)

[The Shadow]

Wonder Woman in Matt Wagner's Trinity

And Batgirl Cassandra Cain

[Brack360]

Lady Shiva
Black Canary
The Riddler
The Joker
Nora Freeze

[Space Suit]

King Snake
Bane

[Damo]

Ah do believe that's all folks. I'm not even sure if you could call Nora Fries "healed".

[Lorendiac]

Okay, let me arrange this in alphabetical order, all that we've come up with on this forum so far:

Bane
Batgirl (Cassandra Cain)
Batman
Black Canary
Jason Todd
Joker (according a story arc in LOTDK?)
King Snake
Lady Shiva (or is that just "presumed"?)
Nora Fries
Nyssa
Ra's al Ghul
Riddler
Talia
Wonder Woman (if we assume "Trinity" is in continuity)

That makes 14 and counting!

[The Shadow]

Black Canary
The Riddler
The Joker

When did these three take dips?

[Scroe]

Didn't Ra's once chuck some bird in and then marry her?

[Violently Apathetic]

When did these three take dips?
The Riddler mentioned he did in Hush, Shadow. It lead to his moment of 'clarity'...

[Lorendiac]

Didn't Ra's once chuck some bird in and then marry her?

Good point. Some actress in the "Bride of the Demon" graphic novel who was starting to worry about wrinkles and stuff. If she married Ra's, she'd have eternal youth, was the general idea. Her name escapes me, but I can look it up.

Denny O'Neil later declared that "Son of the Demon" and its sequel "Bride of the Demon" were both out of continuity, but O'Neil is no longer running the Batman titles these days, and there are rumors that Morrison wants to draw upon them as source material for his upcoming stories. (This is one of those controversial points I explore in the second draft of my Ra's al Ghul FAQ, because it causes so much confusion.)

[The Shadow]

The Riddler mentioned he did in Hush, Shadow. It lead to his moment of 'clarity'...
Thanks... Hush related eh? No wonder I didn't remember it! ;)

He should therefore only be considered a maybe as there's no proof other than his word.

[Lorendiac]

Thanks... Hush related eh? No wonder I didn't remember it! ;)

He should therefore only be considered a maybe as there's no proof other than his word.

I think Batman did uncover medical records suggesting the Riddler had been treated for a brain tumor or some such thing. Since he now appears to NOT be dying of a cancer inside his skull, that tends to support his claim that he got a Miracle Cure. ;)

[EZMOHR]

I think Batman did uncover medical records suggesting the Riddler had been treated for a brain tumor or some such thing. Since he now appears to NOT be dying of a cancer inside his skull, that tends to support his claim that he got a Miracle Cure. ;)


Plus Batman tells Edward that he now has Ra's and the entire League of Shadows coming down on him for using the Lazurus Pit at the end of Hush as well.

[DMike]

When did these three take dips?

Black Canary did sometime during Birds of Prey pre-Simone. That was how she got her scream (and possibly her fertility) back.

[rfahey]

I really hope they retcon Nora Fries - it robs Mr. Freeze of his most dramatic feature. Where did that occur - in Batgirl?

[The Shadow]

Where did that occur - in Batgirl?
Yeah... Batgirl #70

She's now Lazara!

[Oracle_0128]

I believe it was Birds of Prey 34 when Black Canary took the dip.

[ShaggyB]

when did joker? And to what effect

[Oracle_0128]

If the Lazarus pit makes people temporarily insane.....

And the insane Joker took a dip in it....

Would it make him sane? Or even more insane?

Inquiring minds want to know damn it!

[Lorendiac]

After seeing feedback on several forums, here is my current list of people in the "regular continuity" DCU timeline who have gone into a Lazarus Pit and been "resurrected" or at least "healed." Some of them people were still alive when they entered the Pit, as I understand it.

01. Bane ("Gotham Knights #49")
02. Batgirl III (Cassandra Cain) ("Batgirl #73")
03. Batman ("Birth of the Demon" graphic novel)
04. Black Canary II ("Birds of Prey #34")
05. Brian Bryan ("Azrael #6")
06. Jason Todd (Retroactively revealed to us in "Batman Annual #25" -- he was already alive again when he went into the pit, but it cured some amnesia for him)
07. Joker (The story arc titled "The Demon Laughs," in LOTDK #'s 142-145. I haven't read it, so I'm not sure which issue)
08. King Snake ("Robin #91")
09. Lady Shiva (Seen dead, hanging in the air above a Lazarus Pit, in "Batgirl #73." Apparently it is widely presumed that sooner or later she fell into the Pit and was resurrected.)
10. Nora Fries ("Batgirl #69")
11. Nyssa
12. Ra's al Ghul
13. Riddler (retroactively revealed to us in "Batman #619." We didn't actually see it happen)
14. Talia
15. What's-Her-Name (the aging actress who was the title character of the "Bride of the Demon" graphic novel. She apparently married Ra's and became pregnant with his child)
16. Wonder Woman (in Matt Wagner's "Trinity" miniseries)

I didn't bother citing sources for Ra's, Nyssa, or Talia. The Pits have been a family secret for a long, long time.

Anybody got a copy of "Bride of the Demon" handy? I remember the character, the movie star who was worried that she was losing her looks, but I can't remember her name. So I just called her "What's-Her-Name!"

Some of those stories are of "doubtful status" in continuity at the moment, but I decided to include them on this list for the time being, just to be on the safe side.

As I understand it, nobody at DC has told us that "Trinity" is in continuity, but I've seen some of its diehard fans arguing that it "could be" or "ought to be" or "will be" or whatever :)

Once upon a time, LOTDK stories were understood to be "apocryphal" -- some of them might have happened in continuity; others might not have. I don't know if "The Demon Laughs" is definitely in continuity or just "might be."

The graphic novels "Son of the Demon" and "Bride of the Demon" (sequel to "Son") were ruled to be "out of continuity" by Denny O'Neil at the time of Zero Hour. In those days he was the editor in charge of all the Batman titles, so he had the authority to make that stick. However, he is no longer in that position, and I hear rumors that Grant Morrison intends to drag "Son of the Demon" back into continuity soon. At any rate, I've heard that he plans a run on Batman; a long story arc called "Batman and Son". There are rumors that he has explicitly said this will be following up on the events of "Son of the Demon." (Does this mean that "Bride of the Demon" will also be dragged back into continuity? Beats me!)