Created by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams, the Lazarus Pit made its comic debut in the pages of Batman #243 (August 1972). The Pit was discovered completely by accident by Ra’s al Ghul when he was, ironically, digging a pit. While searching for a cure for a dying prince, he stumbled upon the restorative chemical pool. Although this pool saved the prince’s life, it drove him insane and led to him murdering Ra’s al Ghul’s wife, Sora.

Despite the side effects, Ra’s al Ghul used the Lazarus Pit to prolong his life for several centuries. By the time, Ra’s al Ghul crossed paths with Batman, his life force was nearly depleted, and he eventually died. However, his daughter Talia later placed him in the Lazarus Pit and resurrected him.

Although Batman thought he destroyed all of the Pits around the world, there were several he did not know about. This includes a new one discovered by Ra’s al Ghul that has all the benefits of the original Lazarus Pit, but none of the side effects. This Pit allowed him to be brought back to life after being dead for an extended period of time, but it brought him back in a crumbling body.

While the Lazarus Pit is used predominantly by Ra’s al Ghul, he is not the only DC character to utilize its healing powers. Along with both of his daughters, Nyssa and Talia, Black Canary also used the Lazarus Pit to regenerate her Canary Cry and her ability to bear children. After discovering the chemical makeup of the Pit, Kobra recreated them to bring his followers and later Jason Burr back from the dead.

Mr. Freeze later used the Pit to revive his long comatose wife, but Nora absorbed the attributes of the Pit, gaining the ability to reanimate the dead. A mentally damaged Jason Todd was thrown into the Pit after being resurrected by other means, to fully restore him. Cassandra Cain was placed in the Pit twice, after being killed by Mad Dog and following a mortal wounding by Lady Shiva. To heal Bane, after taking a bullet meant for him, Batman even used the Lazarus Pit.

While suffering from a brain tumor, the Riddler submerged himself in a Lazarus Pit in order to heal himself. Although the Pit usually causes madness to the user, it had no effect on Riddler as he is already insane. Dick Grayson foolishly placed what he believed was Batman’s corpse in the Pit, only to revive the resurrected body of a Batman clone created by Darkseid. On a different occasion, Grayson placed Batwoman in the Pit to save her from a mortal injury following an explosion. Grayson was not the only Robin to use the Pit, Damian Wayne also used it to try and save Alfred Pennyworth.