BruTalia

BruTalia is the het ship between Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul from the DC Comics and DC Animated Universe fandoms.

Comics
Like with Catwoman, Talia is one of the few known women who gets Batman's heart to rule over his head, even though their separate paths is what keeps them apart. Along with the fact that Talia is the faithful daughter of one of Batman's greatest enemies, Ra's al Ghul. Who raised Talia to kill for the League's goal, something that Bruce is strongly against. No matter how strong Talia's feelings for her "beloved" are, her loyalty to Ra's and the League would always find ways to be stronger than her heart. Just as Bruce's code and self-set mission would always have him put them before her. Ra's had even tried to use his own daughter as a means to bring Batman onto their side, knowing that the two do have off-on feelings for one another. Bruce knows this and there have been versions and universes that do have Batman try to convince Talia to leave the League for him, but just as he'll never join the League of Assassins or be part of their killing ways, Talia would never turn her on them, her father or abandon their ways. To Bruce, their son Damian is the one good thing that came out of their relationship.

DC Animated Universe
In one of the Batman Beyond episodes, "Out of the Past," it appeared that old Bruce gets reunited with a still young Talia on the night of his birthday, while he was looking at old photos of women he was close to in his youth. Talia comments on how she couldn't believe that he didn't keep any photos of her before presenting him a dish of roost pheasant with risotto, to reference the meal they had at a bistro in Milan. Bruce, however, informs Talia how he could no longer eat that and how it had been years, while the Lazarus Pit had been good to her. When Terry McGinnis arrived and saw Talia, he re-sights the file Bruce had on Talia on the Bat Computer, showing that Bruce had kept taps on her after they went their separate ways. Talia had come to Bruce with the promise of restoring his youth with the Lazarus Pit, with the claim that she has found a way to stabilize it. After an incident that nearly got him, Terry and a young girl killed, he came to Talia who said the right things to convince him to use the pit. With the promise of the good they could do together after he uses it. When Bruce was having second thoughts on the way to her home, she mangas to keep him from changing his mind and how she plans to keep him by her side, after she restores part of his youth. Even though Bruce had gone through with it and maintained his sanity, he soon learns that Talia was actually Ra's. Who used his daughter's body when his own was too badly damaged to be healed by the Lazarus pit. Bruce was angered by this as it meant that Talia was gone and was disgusted at Ra's for sacrificing his own daughter to escape his own death. Along with how Ra's planned to switch bodies with him, so he could pose himself as the long-lost son of Bruce and Talia, wanting no one the wiser when he takes Bruce's company and fortune for himself. Bruce and Terry did try to save "Talia," but Ra's and his need to stay alive killed both him and Talia's body. Back at the Batcave, Bruce was looking at a photo he did have of him with Talia. Terry tells Bruce that he was sorry that he never got to meet the real Talia, while Bruce comments on how the Talia he knew was a very special woman. This got Terry to ask him if Talia was the special woman, but Bruce refused to answer the question. After turning the computer's screen from taking one last look at Talia's face, Bruce says: "Rest well beloved." Hinting that Bruce did love her and has acknowledged the fact that she is gone.

DC Animated Movie Universe
Batman and Talia have only been seen together in the Batman films of this animated film universe. The first one being Son of Batman, as Talia travels to Gotham after the League was attacked and needed Batman to look after their child on her behalf. Before she intradoses Damian to him, Talia saves Batman from Killacrook and then brings him to a ship, where they talk about the night Talia drugged him in order to have her way with him, along with them sharing the moonlight that particular night. Knowing that Deathstrock needed to be stopped, both Bruce and Talia made it their mission to find and stop him on their own separate ends. Unfortunately Talia got captured by Slade and Batman only found out about it when he uncovered the cell she was kept and tortured in. After he found her shot from trying to prevent Slade from killing Damian, Batman places Talia in the Lazarus Pit to save her. Talia smiles as Batman holds her in his arms as she tells him how she knew that he would come to save them. The two then share a kiss, before they went to find their son. Talia had wanted to bring Damian back with her, but because Damian was now Robin it meant that his place was now with his father, and that Talia should disband the league rather than rebuild it. Even though she has no intention to shut down her father's creation, Talia allows Batman to keep looking after their son with the promise of her planning to come back for him some day.

Even though the events of Son of Batman had Batman and Talia be very close with one another, Talia's madness that is connected to her unbreakable loyalty to the League of Assassins and goal to make them stronger than ever has her dismiss her feelings for Bruce and their son in Batman: Bad Blood. She arranged Batman's capture so she can have the Mad Hatter brain mash him for her plan. That requires Brace Wayne and the trust he has with certain people, along with making Batman be faithful and loyal to her. Unfortunately for Talia, the Batfamily manged to foil her plans and free Batman from her hold on him. This got Talia to question herself on how she could have loved either Brace or their son, while Batman comments on how he never thought that she did love them. Before Talia makes her escape, she lists the things that got her to realise that no mater what she'll never be able to convince him to come to her side or for them to together at all in this life. Sometime after seeing Talia's ship get destroyed in the far distance, Brace and Damian have a heart to heart moment. Despite her madness that were drive from the loyalty to the League and her love for Bruce, she was still Damian's mother and there was a part of Brace that did love her.

The relationship between Bruce and Talia tends to depend on the version that the story takes a turn to through the choices that viewers make in the interaction movie version of Under the Red Hood, Batman: Death in the Family. In the version that has both Jason and Bruce survive the bomb's blast, it reveals that Bruce was aware that Talia had became pregnant with their child, but due to what happened to Jason in Bosnia and the hand that the League had played in it through Joker, Bruce cut ties with her for good. Along with Talia lying to him about her losing the baby before he was born, in order to prevent Bruce from being forced to choose between them and the family he created. To ensure that their son grows up with a father figure, she convinces Jason to join her, while having no idea that Jason secretly plans to wrap Damian into a weapon that would destroy both of his parents. This version also had Jason state that the file Bruce had on Talia read like a romance novel, that gets Talia to take it as a sign that her beloved still cared for her. As for one of the versions that has Bruce die in Jason's place, Talia had manged to revive Batman with the Lazarus Pit and only had part of his mind damaged from it. Talia had also used the time he had him under her care to turn him completely to her side. Making him a soulless puppet. Jason realising this can either have him being killed beside the two, or have Jason save Brace from Talia so he and the rest of the Bat-family can work together to uncover away for them to bring the old Bruce back.

Children
Damian Wayne al Ghul

Damian is Bruce and Talia's son, who's exitance was kept from Bruce until Talia thought it was finally time for father and son to meet. Some versions of the Batman universe have Damian be altered by Talia or Ra's in order to turn him into a living weapon, as well as to speed up his aging. When Damian became his father's fifth Robin, Brace made it his mission to help his son tame his killing nature that Talia had forced upon him during his earlier years. After Damian cut ties with Brace when Alfred was killed, he turned to his mother's side. The events of the Shadow War, however, does have Damian and Brace work together again in order to find the person who did killed Ra's and to stop Talia from raging war upon Slade and his army; when he was framed for it. Being the son of both Batman and Talia had him convince his mother to turn herself in, like the good man Ra's had recently became wanted too. 

Fanon
BruTalia is one of the main rival ships of BatCat, from how both women had found ways into Batman's heart. Just as Batman had found himself having a place in Talia's heart, but their separate views of justice and how it should be dealt with to save the world always got in the way. When Damian came into the picture, some BruTalia fans saw their son's existence a sign that Bruce x Talia should be together; like Damian had wanted at first. Other DC/Batman fans, however, disagree due to Talia's character and believing that Batman could do better. Along with wanting to give Damian a better mother figure.

Due to how their families and allies don't always approve of their relationship, it got some fans to joke about them being one of DC's versions of Romeo and Juliet. Along with the ship being supported by those who enjoy forbitten romances, due to the energy between the two in the golden age comics than the more modern ones. Even though the antagonistic parts of their relationship and being unwed parents of a child, makes them more like Goliath and Demona from Disney's Gargoyles. Along with other couples who share a similar energy to them.

On AO3, the ship has 695 het fanfics and only 96 gen fics. Just as FanFiction.Net has 74 fanfics with only 12 placed under pairing. Tumblr also has a few posts on them, along with DeviantArt having quite a few drawings that are tagged under BruTalia.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Bruce/Talia (Batman) tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Bruce/Talia (Batman) tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Bruce/Talia (Batman) tag on FanFiction.Net

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Talia calls Batman her "Beloved." There have also been times when Bruce has called her that as well.

Variations

 * Brutalina — the ship between Bruce, Talia and Selina Kyle
 * Brutatana — the ship between Bruce, Talia and Zatanna Zatara