Nyssa al Ghul (Arrow)

"I know the toll a father can have on a child, even long after he’s gone."

—Nyssa to Thea Queen

Nyssa Raatko (Arabic: نيسا رعتكو‎) (born May 10, 1985), better known as Nyssa al Ghul (Arabic: نيسا الغول), is a former member of the League of Assassins and an ally of Team Arrow. Nyssa is also the daughter of the late "Ra's al Ghul", the paternal younger half-sister of Talia al Ghul, the lover of Sara Lance, and the former mentor/close friend of the late Laurel Lance. She was the one who brought Sara to Nanda Parbat. She was briefly "Ra's al Ghul" and the last person to have the title, making the personal choice to disband the League of Assassins and destroy the ring of Ra's al Ghul. Shortly after Sara Lance’s resurrection, she destroyed the Lazarus Pit to prevent it from being used ever again.

Nyssa decided to leave with Thea Queen and Roy Harper to find and destroy Lazarus Pits that were discovered by Malcolm Merlyn.

Biography -

Early life -

Nyssa al Ghul was born on May 10, 1985, to Ra's al Ghul and one of his concubines, Amina Raatko. She was raised in the League of Assassins at Nanda Parbat, becoming a proficient swords-woman by the age of eight. Among those she trained with was Athena.

Nyssa had an older half-sister, Talia al Ghul, and the two were implied to be close. However, at some point when Nyssa was a child, Talia left Nanda Parbat to forge her own path after realizing Ra's would never pass his mantle to her. Nyssa was subsequently left to endure her father's harsh nature alone and grew to despise Talia for her abandonment.

After Talia left, Nyssa became next in line to succeed her father in the event the prophecy of someone surviving a battle against him didn't come true.

Nyssa was very mischievous in her youth, having the "panache of a thief". She would often steal extra atayef at meal times and stow the sweets away in her room, but Ra's always found her hiding spots. Nyssa would grow to learn that she couldn't hide anything from him.

From a young age, Nyssa loathed her father and lived in constant fear of him. She harbored a burning desire to one day kill Ra's and take his place as the Demon's Head. Nevertheless, she was proud of her title as the Daughter of the Demon and a member of the League.

In 1993, Nyssa brought Malcolm Merlyn to her father to be trained as a league member. In their initial meeting, Nyssa named Malcolm "Al Sa-her" ("The Magician") after he pulled a coin out of her ear as a magic trick.

On her father's behest, Nyssa traveled to Lian Yu in October 2008, a year after the Queen's Gambit sank. There, she met Sara Lance dying of starvation, having seemingly given up on living. This event was unknowingly orchestrated by Sara herself when a future version of her told her father back in 1960 to send Nyssa to Lian Yu to find her younger self a year after the Queen's Gambit was sunk. She took Sara in and nursed her back to health and Sara decided to join the League of Assassins. However Ra's never saw Sara worthy enough for the League as Sara never fully renounced her past life, as part of the League's code, and still remembered who she was and where she came from, and Ra's even tried to make Sara leave with a demonstration of his power. However Sara simply laughed whereas others had quaked in fear and from this point on Nyssa deeply fell in love with Sara and at some point, Sara begun to return the affection and they became lovers. Ra's however never approved of Nyssa's relationship with Sara as he saw Sara as weakness to his future heir and knew that Sara would leave the League, either by choice or by .

In 2013 following Malcolm Merlyn's undertaking Sara left Nanda Parbat to check on her family but failed to return after several weeks and Nyssa eventually learned that she'd refused to return home. Following this Nyssa set out to find Sara and use any means to find her beloved.

Personality -

In the heat of battle, Nyssa shows a cold demeanor and a cold blooded killer side. When not in the heat of battle, contrasting what people would expect from her being in the League of Assassins as well as Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Nyssa shows a warm, kind, and caring side to those she loves such as her friends such as Laurel alongside Team Arrow, and her love interests such as Sara.

Abilities

1. Peak of human physical condition: As a highly skilled assassin, Nyssa is in top physical condition with fast reflexes. Nyssa is also noticeably much faster than Oliver Queen and Malcolm Merlyn, despite the former being the same age as her, but not enough to actually (physically) best them. She was strong enough to break the neck of Isabel Rochev.
2. Master combatant/Martial artist: Nyssa is a highly skilled combatant and martial artist. Nyssa had gone through the same training that all League of Assassins members did. Being the daughter of Ra's al Ghul; meant that Nyssa was subjected to a higher level of training unlike most members. She was able to easily beat five armed guards in a matter of seconds. She also was able to contend against Oliver as the Arrow head on in both of their two close quarters fights and even managed to briefly gain the upper hand and almost beat him until he eventually turned the tides. She proved herself an agile fighter, using her light weight and flexibility to her advantage. She also was able to hold her own well against Malcolm repeatedly although Malcolm would always gain the upper hand over her. She once defeated Malcolm when she had a sword while he only had a stick and caught him off-guard. However, during the League of Assassins civil war; Nyssa confirms that she cannot defeat Malcolm in unarmed combat, as she is no match for him. Nyssa was also able to overwhelm Maseo Yamashiro in their fight, only losing while distracted by Laurel Lance being defeated by the assassins who engaged her. She repeatedly being displayed the ability to hold off and defeat several members of the League and Thanatos Guild by herself at once, though she was eventually defeated in a confrontation against Athena, the leader of the Thanatos Guild.
3. Master archer: Nyssa demonstrated skills in archery that seemed to rival that of Oliver and Malcolm. She was able to keep up with Oliver in their first one-on-one archery battle and almost won. She could also easily shoot arrows from a moving vehicle.
4. Master swords-woman: As a former member of the League of Assassins, Nyssa is an excellent swords-woman. She was able to overpower and capture Malcolm when she had a sword while he only had a stick and caught him off-guard, in their sparring sessions, Malcolm had repeatedly defeat her. However, during the League of Assassins civil war; Nyssa confirms that she cannot defeat Malcolm in a sword duel, as she is no match for him. In her sword duel against Oliver, who had greatly improved his swordsman skills, she only lasted for seconds before being disarmed. She was able to defeat some assassins using Oliver's sword by herself. She also proved able to fight on par and even defeat her older half-sister Talia al Ghul despite the latter's much greater experience; although it is likely that she caught her off-guard. Nyssa was able to put up a good fight in her confrontation against Athena, though was soon beaten.
5. High-level intellect/Master tactician/Leader: Nyssa is highly intelligent as she was able to devise a plan to poison Laurel and kidnapped Dinah Lance to Sara Lance to return to her and the League and kidnapped Thea Queen to lure out Malcolm. As the former heir to the demon, she displayed leadership skills as she lead a team of assassins to battle Slade Wilson's Mirakuru army and retake the League from Malcolm.
6. Explosives expert: Nyssa has become familiar with the use of plastic explosives as she placed a network bombs in the base of the Thanatos Guild to cover her escape while she infiltrated the group.
7. Medical knowledge: Nyssa displayed a familiarity with poisons. She used a small amount of Tibetan viper venom to poison Laurel in a ruse to bring Sara back, as well as immediately knowing that Sara had poisoned herself with said venom. She later used a dart to make Roy Harper pass out. Nyssa is skilled in first aid; she nursed Sara, who was dying of starvation on Lian Yu, back to health and treated a sword wound on Oliver's hand.
8. Multilingual: Nyssa is capable of fluently speaking English, Arabic, Japanese and Russian.
9. Meditation: Nyssa is skilled in meditation, which she used to stay calm while being held captive in a cell by Team Arrow.
10. Stealth/Infiltration/Escape artist: Nyssa is highly skilled in entering and leaving buildings undetected. Like Sara, she uses a scarf to quickly descend down from ceilings.

Equipment -

1. Customized hunting arrows: Nyssa carries a number of black arrows with her at all times. These arrows feature a special red fletching and tip.
2. Customized PSE Chaos AD Compound bow: Nyssa wields a personal compound bow, similar to that of Malcolm Merlyn. It is possible that this bow is the signature bow to the League of Assassins.
3. Dagger: Nyssa carries a personalized dagger at her right thigh. It features a gold trim and a marked blade. She draws this dagger upon seeing Sara and during her battle against the Arrow.
4. Darts: Nyssa was shown using a dart to poison Roy Harper and make him pass out.
5. League of Assassins suit: Nyssa wears a protective suit of black robes, unique from the usual garb worn by League assassins. Her suit differs in that it features loose fitting garbs and a red shoulder pauldron.
6. Scarf: Nyssa uses a scarf to descend down a ceiling. She also used a scarf to block Malcolm's arrows.
7. Sword: Nyssa can proficiently wield a sword. It is unknown what type of sword it is.
8. Trick arrows: Shortly after her return to Starling City, Nyssa uses a bola arrow to save Laurel from a thug, who was about to use a second knife, after the former underestimated her opponent.
9. Quiver: Nyssa wears a black quiver to keep arrows on her back at all times.

Trivia -

1. Nyssa meeting Sara, and being given her name, is the result of a bootstrap paradox. When the 2016 version of Sara became stranded in 1958, she joined the League of Assassins and was released released in 1960. Sara told Ra's al Ghul to send his future daughter, whom she suggested would be named Nyssa, to Lian Yu in October 2008, where Nyssa would meet Sara's younger self, who will repeat the cycle.
2. Despite not being together, Nyssa and Oliver Queen were married under the League of Assassins law until Nyssa annulled the marriage in "The Thanatos Guild".
3. Nyssa has a habit of introducing herself to characters who do not know who she is, like Oliver and Felicity Smoak, stating "I am Nyssa. Daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Heir to the demon".
4. Nyssa developed a fondness for black & white milkshakes. Like Laurel, she grew to like her fries dipped in milkshake.
5. Oliver has remained to be the only person Nyssa has allowed to fight a battle on her behalf.
6. In "River of Time"​​​, Nyssa and Sara are still in love with each other.
7. It is revealed in "The Thanatos Guild", that Nyssa didn't start using a computer until she was 25.

How does Nyssa end up naked?