Lazarus Pit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Lazarus pit is a fictional natural phenomenon in the DC Comics universe, primarily in the Batman titles, used most commonly by Ra's al Ghul to regenerate his body. The fanatical terrorist known as Kobra also had his own hidden network of Lazarus Pits.
When used to heal or to bring someone back to life, that person is rendered temporarily insane. It has been used by multiple characters throughout the Batman universe, including Ra's al Ghul's daughter Nyssa, the Black Canary II (Dinah Laurel Lance), The Riddler, and most recently Lady Shiva and Cassandra Cain. Eventually all of the Lazarus Pits were apparently destroyed by Bane and Batman, except for one. Because each Lazarus Pit can reportedly only be used one time, Ra's had to accept the fact that eventually he would die. His daughter Nyssa, however, had discovered a way to make the Lazarus Pits last indefinitely, but rather than let her father use it, she stabbed him to death. Although supposedly only one pit remains, its location has appeared vague - at one point it appears to be in an island compound Ra's assaulted, later it appeared to be in a completely different location, and another "last" pit was constructed inside the Batcave. This may in fact indicate that there is more than one pit remaining, or that Nyssa was able to create additional pits.
The substance that fills each pit is a chemical blend of unknown composition, seemingly originating from somewhere within the Earth's crust. For an unknown reason, it bubbles to the surface only at certain key points around the globe, typically at the junction of ley lines. The chemicals can rejuvenate the sick and the dying (and even the technically deceased as long as they have not yet truly died), but will typically kill a healthy user. In addition, it appears to act as a youth restorative sometimes, decreasing the age of a user depending how long they were in the pit. Kobra was somehow able to replicate the chemicals in a Lazarus Pit, and to make pits capable of making those he resurrected into his mindless slaves.
[edit] 52
In the DC limited series 52, week 6, Booster Gold enters Rip Hunter's lab to find a chalkboard filled with cryptic clues on different aspects of the DC Universe. One of them was the clue "The Lazarus Pit RISES".
[edit] In other media
The Lazarus pit was featured in the Batman: The Animated Series as Ra's al Ghul's way of keeping himself immortal. It was also in an episode of Batman Beyond, where it was revealed that Talia al Ghul was also using it to keep herself alive as well.
Also, in the show Smallville, a chemical called the Lazarus Serum is produced by Lionel Luthor and Metron Labs, using the blood of Clark Kent. This also seems to have the same affect as the Lazarus Serum, as it restores life to human beings. The only difference is that it restores life to those with liver diseases. However in the future, the serum be obtained by Ra's and modified to restore life to anyone.
