Ra's al Ghul

Ra's al Ghul
Species:	Human
Hair:	Black
Eyes:	Blue
Relatives:	Talia (daughter) Arkady Duvall (son)
Base:	Wherever a Lazarus Pit can be found
Affiliations:	Society of Shadows (leader)
Rogue of:	Batman
Abilities:	Excellent swordsman; genius intellect; longevity through Lazarus Pits
Voiced by:	David Warner

"Ra's al Ghul was a man of many contrasts. Leader, environmentalist--" "Sociopath." — Ra's posing as Talia and Terry McGinnis

Ra's al Ghul (Arabic for "The Demon's Head") was an eco-terrorist who has lived for over 600 years through the use of Lazarus Pits.

Over his long lifetime, Ra's has become a master planner, an expert fighter, and independently wealthy, making him one of Batman's most dangerous foes.

History

Ra's' presence was first made known to Batman through the Society of Shadows. He orchestrated a series of events to eliminate Count Vertigo from the picture and acquire a sonic drill, using his daughter, Talia, to carry out his will. His plan was almost successful, but Batman managed to sabotage the sonic drill before it reached him. At this, Ra's was forced to admit that Batman -- "The Detective," as he called him -- had attained some small measure of victory, but quickly declared that this was not over.

Later, Ra's met Batman right in the Batcave, much to the Caped Crusader's surprise. Ra's requested his help in tracking down his daughter and Dick Grayson, who had both been kidnapped on the same night. However, it didn't take Batman long to realize that Ra's himself had done the kidnapping, and indeed, the whole thing was part of a plan to make Bruce his heir, and carry on his legacy. When Bruce refused, Ra's, disappointed, chose to speed things up and accomplish his goals in his own lifetime by saturating the planet with the contents of the Lazarus Pits, killing a high percentage of the Earth's population. Again, Batman thwarted his plot, preventing the cataclysm from happening and knocking Ra's himself into a Pit.

Ra's survived, however, and continued to come into conflict with Batman, even attempting to prolong his own life by stealing Superman's powers. At the end of this ordeal, he and Talia were caught in a collapsing cavern. In the aftermath, neither one could be found, dead or alive.

One way or another, Ra's (and Talia) escaped death again and set into motion the Near-Apocalypse of '09. Little is known about this event, but in the end, Ra's was left at the brink of death. He saved himself by transplanting his mind into his daughter's body. In Talia's body, Ra's al Ghul was able to keep himself alive through the years with the Lazarus Pits, as well "improve" his image with charities.

In the 2040s, long after Bruce retired, a new Batman rose. Ra's correctly guessed that it was Bruce's assistant, Terry McGinnis. Still posing as his daughter, Ra's met an elderly Bruce Wayne on his birthday and convinced him to take on the Lazarus Pits for himself, after staging an incident to show infirm he had become. Bruce initially accepted and allowed himself to be immersed once. However, when he realized how unnatural the process was, he tried to get out of the deal -- only to discover that Ra's was not only inhabiting the body of Talia, but he now wanted to take on the body of a rejuvenated Bruce Wayne. He planned to return to Gotham with genetic and written proof that he was the "long lost son" of Bruce and Talia to gain control of Bruce's company and holdings to fund his underground organization. At the last moment, Terry McGinnis intervened, interrupting the process and causing his lair to go up in flames. As his enemies fled, Ra's desperately tried to save his equipment and extinguish the flames. However, moments later, an exposed wire struck the surface of the Lazarus Pit, setting off an explosion.

Again, no body was seen, but it is likely that Ra's perished in the blast.

Powers, Abilities and Weapons

"Ra's al Ghul" "Who?" "A criminal mastermind more dangerous than the Joker and Luthor combined." — Batman and Superman

Through years of studying and practice, Ra's al Ghul had become one of the worlds greatest hand-to-hand combatants, capable of matching Batman in battle. He was also a gifted swordsman and weapons expert. Aside from this, Ra's also possessed a world-class intellect, equaling if not surpassing that of the Dark Knight himself. Ra's al Ghul was the leader of a large and extremely powerful organization of ninja, and in possession of vast resources, finances and political influence. By regular dips in Lazarus Pits he had been able to live for over 500 years in his prime age.

Background information

The man who would become Ra's al Ghul was once a nomad living in Arabia several centuries ago. Fascinated in science, he became a physician at a city and married a woman named Sora. Ra's discovered the Lazarus Pit and used it to cure the son of the City's ruler, but the Pit drove the already sadistic man to insanity, and he killed Sora. Ra's was charged with the crime and sentenced to death in a cage with his wife's corpse and left in the desert. Helped by some nomads, Ra's called upon his tribe to massacre the city, and used the Lazarus pit to achieve immortality. Over the years, his formed an organization known as "the Demon", with himself as its "head", to to punish the sins of humanity against the world. He also formed the League of Assassins, which he describes as the "Demon's fang", eliminating those who would seek to oppose him.

Although he genuinely loves his Talia, and views her as the most loyal and formidable of his progeny, Ra's al Ghul is an avowed sexist who believes women to be inferior to men, which has fueled his search to find a husband for Talia that could one day succeed him. After discovering that Talia and Bruce Wayne have had a child together (Damian Wayne), Ra's has since then completely broken ties with his daughter, when he attempted to use Damian's body as a new vessel for his soul. Damian has since then taken over the role of Robin, following Batman's death, and Dick Grayson assuming the Batman identity.

Batman: The Animated Series was Ra's first appearance in media other than the comic books. With his first name correctly pronounced "Raysh", unlike the 2005 movie Batman Begins that mispronounced his name "Raz", in Batman Beyond, Terry was corrected by Ra's in Talia's body when Terry seemingly intentionally called Ra's "Raz".

Appearances

Batman: The Animated Series

• "Off Balance"
• "The Demon's Quest"
• "Avatar"
• "Showdown"

Superman: The Animated Series

• "Knight Time" ^{(Mentioned Only)}
• "The Demon Reborn"

Batman Beyond

• "Out of the Past"

External links

• Ra's al Ghul at Wikipedia
• Ra's al Ghul at the DC Database