Warning: Contains spoilers for DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #1
Throughout Batman‘s history, the Lazarus Pits have been a consistently powerful addition to the lore of his world, but they’ve just become even more useful. These mystical healing baths have been known to grant Ra’s al Ghul, one of Batman’s greatest adversaries, the lengthened lifespan required to reign as the Demon’s Head of the League of Assassins. In the world of the current DC vs. Vampires event, the Lazarus Pits are revealed to have a new life-saving purpose.
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #1 sees Slade Wilson, better known as the supervillain/antihero Deathstroke, trying to survive with a group of rebels amid the ever-worsening vampire apocalypse. Traveling with Damage and Blue Devil, Deathstroke attempts to resurrect Batman using the only Lazarus Pit the vampires have left intact, hoping the Dark Knight can lead a resistance more effectively than its current management. Before they can resurrect Bruce Wayne, an army of vampires attacks the group, led by former Bat-Family ally (and a former Batman himself) Azrael. The last man standing, Deathstroke knocks Azrael into the Lazarus Pit, inadvertently using up the pit’s power before he can complete his mission. The accidental maneuver, however, may prove fortuitous for the future of the rebellion.
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #1 is written by Alex Paknadel and Matthew Rosenberg with art by Pasquale Qualano. The issue, the first in a six-part tie-in series to the main DC vs. Vampires event, exclusively uses black, white and reds in its blood-drenched art. While the loss of the last Lazarus Pit may come as a defeat for Deathstroke and his resistance, the mission ends with a powerful update to Batman’s lore: Azrael emerges as a human once again, proving the pits can reverse vampirism.
It makes sense that the Lazarus Pits contain the hidden ability to restore vampires to their original human selves given their history. In the past, the mystical waters have healed their visitors, either by rejuvenating their age or healing their injuries so they may procure near-immortality. They can even revive the dead, and since the vampires are undead versions of their former living hosts, the Lazarus Pits’ powers restore them to life, healing a subject like Azrael to his status before infection. Lazarus Pits are traditionally only able to be used once before exhausting their mystical properties, so Deathstroke has likely ruined the resistance’s chances of using them to further help their survival effort. If it’s discovered that the vampires missed some active pits, however, this property may just help turn the tide of DC’s war on vampires.
The Lazarus Pits have long been a powerful piece of the DC universe, granting Ra’s al Ghul his lengthy lifespan while helping save the lives of popular characters such as Jason Todd, Black Canary and even the Riddler. With the reveal that the Lazarus Pits also hold a cure to vampirism, one of Batman’s most overpowered plot devices just got that much more useful to the heroes and villains in his corner of the world.
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #1 is available from DC Comics now.
