Warlord's Daughter

"I wasn't always here in the mountains. Once I had a wife, my great love. She was taken from me."

- Ra's al Ghul

The Warlord's daughter was the wife of Ra's al Ghul and the mother of  Talia al Ghul.

The Dark Knight Rises
While still a young woman, she met Ra's al Ghul, a skilled mercenary working for her father. They fell in love, married in secret and concieved a child. Out of a sense of dishonor, the warlord has Ra's exiled while he had his daughter imprisoned. There, she gave birth to a daughter, Talia al Ghul, who spent the first years of her life locked up with her mother. The other inmates eventually raped and murdered Ra's' wife. This action nearly consumed him with anger, but he managed to control his emotions, due to his sense of vengeance for the crime against his wife. He joined the League of Shadows and rose through the ranks relatively quickly.

With the assistance of an imprisoned mercenary called "Bane", Talia escaped from the prison, although Bane was beaten within an inch of his life while defending her. Talia found her father, who liberated the prison and rescued Bane, who had become mutilated and addicted to pain relievers through his mask. Ra's trained Bane and his daughter, but due to the constant reminders of the fate his wife suffered, as well as as the former's growing extremism within the group, Ra's exiled Bane. It was this very reason that caused Talia to have resentment towards her father, with her not having much regard for him and often staying abroad and living in far off places, such as Switzerland.

Batman Begins
While he mentored Bruce Wayne, Ra's told him that his wife's murder taught him that there are those without decency who should be fought without hesitation or pity. This gave Bruce a much better understanding of Ra's, as they had both lost someone they loved.

Trivia

 * In the comics, there have been several versions of Talia's mother. One died of a drug overdose, while another was named Melisande and was murdered by Ra's former servant Qayin.
 * India Wadsworth is of mixed Chinese heritage, much like Talia's mother in the comics.