Morrison was hired by DC editors to give his take on Batman after having recently given his definitive take on the character of Superman in "All Star Superman". In writing the arc, he took ideas from past Batman stories, especially the 1987 story "". Morrison brought back the idea of a son, Damian, being born from a love affair between Batman and Talia al Ghul, the daughter of his nemesis, Ra's al Ghul. The boy had been trained from birth by the League of Assassins and was sent by Talia to live with Batman in a plot to disrupt his crime-fighting and distract him. It also includes the use of sometime Batman adversary, Dr. Kirk Langstrom and the serum he uses to become the creature Man-Bat.