Ra's al Ghul
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Template:Superherobox Ra's al Ghul (sometimes written Rā's al Ghūl) is a DC Comics supervillain, an archnemesis of Batman. His name is Arabic for "the Demon's Head" (see Algol). He was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams and introduced in Batman #232's "Daughter of the Demon" (June 1971).
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Abilities and agenda
Ra's al Ghul was several centuries old before he ever encountered the Batman. Replenishing his aged, injured, or dead body with a bath in a Lazarus Pit, Ra's has survived through centuries, all the while accumulating wealth, knowledge, and power. Ra's is a genius and he rivals Batman in hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting. He leads the League of Assassins, a fanatic group willing to die at a word from Ra's and consisting of some of the most dangerous assassins in the world. He is constantly accompanied by a servant given the title Ubu, who is typically an especially dangerous fighter.
When a person uses a Lazarus Pit, the person emerges temporarily insane. Repeated use of the Lazarus Pit could have more subtle and dangerous effects, and no one has used as many Lazarus Pits as has Ra's. Use of the Lazarus Pits may well have driven Ra's completely insane.
Ra's's goal is a world in perfect environmental balance, a goal he will achieve at any cost. Since he believes that the best way to do so is to eliminate most of humanity, he may be regarded as an ecoterrorist bent upon global genocide. That he has the means to achieve his goal makes him extremely dangerous and brings him in into frequent conflict with Batman. Ra's usually tries to assault the world's human populace with a biological weapon, such as a genetically-engineered virus.
Ra's is among Batman's most formidable foes. Not only can he physically and mentally challenge "the Detective" (the name by which Ra's always refers to Batman), but he has also deduced Batman's secret identity.
According to Batman Villains Secret Files & Origins 1998 #1 (October 1998), Ra's stands 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) in height and has a weight of 215 lb (98 kg).
Biography
Early life
Ra's al Ghul's early life is told in the graphic novel Batman: Birth of the Demon (1992) by Denny O'Neil and Norm Breyfogle.
Ra's al Ghul was born between six to seven hundred years ago to a tribe of nomads in a desert somewhere in Arabia, near a city whose inhabitants' ancestors had journeyed to the Arabian peninsula from China. Ra's was interested in science from an early age. Unable to learn any science living as a nomad, he abandoned his tribe to live in the city, where he could conduct his scientific research. He became a physician and married a woman named Sora, the love of his life.
Ra's discovered the secret of the Lazarus Pit, and he saved a dying prince by lowering him into it. The prince, who was sadistic to begin with, was driven completely insane by the Lazarus Pit and strangled Sora. The ruler of the city, unwilling to admit to himself his son's culpability, declared Ra's guilty of the crime and sentenced him to a slow and tortuous death in a cage with the dead body of Sora.
Ra's escaped; understanding the germ theory of disease hundreds of years before anyone else did, Ra's was able to infect the prince with a deadly disease by sending him contaminated gifts. When the ruler of the city came to ask Ra's to cure the prince again, Ra's killed both him and his son. Ra's then led his tribe to raze the city to the ground and kill all the inhabitants.
Subsequently, Ra's declared himself the Demon's Head.
Building an empire
Ra's spent the next several centuries journeying the world. He would become a master of many forms of combat, notably fencing. He also built up vast wealth and created such organizations as the League of Assassins.
Daughters
Nyssa
In Batman: Death and the Maidens (2004) by Greg Rucka, it is revealed that while traveling in Russia in the 18th century, Ra's had a child named Nyssa Raatko. Enamored by the romantic stories told to her as a child by her mother about Ra's, Nyssa set out to find Ra's and eventually located him at his headquarters in North Africa. Impressed by her beauty, her warrior skills, and the fact that "she was able to locate him", he promoted her to a high position within his organization. Ra's was so impressed with her abilities, he even allowed Nyssa to use his Lazurus Pits.
Nyssa eventually became disillusioned with Ra's ideals and methods, and disassociated herself from her father sometime in the 18th century. Ra's reluctantly approved this with the idea that she would return to him and that her and/or her children would become his future heirs. To his disappointment, Nyssa refused to give herself or her family to Ra's, causing him to officially disown her for good. During World War II, as part of the Holocaust, Nyssa and her family were sent to concentration camps where they all died as Nyssa was rendered infertile by gruesome Mengele-sque experiments. Nyssa began plotting her revenge, which would take fruition years later.
Talia
As explained in Batman: Birth of the Demon (1992), Ra's met a woman of mixed Chinese and Arab ancestry at Woodstock. From that union, Ra's second daughter, Talia al Ghul, was born, and she would accompany him for many years.
Batman
Batman232.JPG
After Talia encountered and fell in love with Batman in Detective Comics #411 (May 1971), Ra's began to consider Batman as a possible heir in light of his great abilities and skill. Ra's first deduced Batman's secret identity as Bruce Wayne; he was then ready to put Batman to a final test.
The story of Ra's first encounter with Batman is told in Batman #232 (June 1971), "Daughter of the Demon", by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams. The story is widely considered one of the greatest classic Batman stories. Ra's surprised Batman in the Batcave, seemingly to enlist his aid in rescuing both Talia and Dick Grayson, the first Robin, both of whom had apparently been kidnapped. The whole affair was a charade orchestrated by Ra's to test Batman, however, which he passed; He refused to be Ra's's heir, however, and also actively began to oppose Ra's's genocidal plan to cleanse the world.
From that point forward, Ra's al Ghul and Batman would repeatedly find themselves in conflict.
Talia, disillusioned with her father and his plans, left him to run LexCorp for former US President Lex Luthor, before selling the company to Bruce Wayne to aid Batman and Superman's victory over Luthor.
Ra's blames Batman for his failed relationship with Talia, and had his right-hand servant Ubu stage an assassination attempt on Grayson shortly before Wayne officially adopted the now fully grown Grayson.
Tower of Babel
In the "Tower of Babel" storyline, told in JLA #43-46, Ra's al Ghul discovered Batman's notes on the weaknesses of the other members of the Justice League of America and used them almost to destroy the Justice League.
Death and the Maidens
In Batman: Death and the Maidens (2004), Nyssa, furious at Ra's abandoning her in a concentration camp, began plotting to destroy him. Nyssa befriended Talia and then kidnapped and brainwashed her. Nyssa plotted to destroy all hope and optimism in the world by assassinating Superman with kryptonite bullets she stole from the Batcave. While Batman stopped Nyssa from killing Superman, he was unable to stop her from mortally injuring her father. A dying Ra's revealed that this was all part of her greater plan to ensure that his daughters, both initially dissatisfied with his plans, would realize that he was right about the world and what needed to be done to it, and would come to accept their destinies as his heirs. Ra's plan worked: Both Nyssa and Talia became the heads of the League of Assassins. Talia disavowed her love for Bruce Wayne, and both sisters declared Batman to be their enemy.
Other continuities
In the graphic novel Son of the Demon, Ra's al Ghul successfully enlisted Batman's aid in defeating a rogue assassin who had murdered Sora. During this story line, Batman married Talia and she became pregnant. Batman was nearly killed protecting Talia from the assassin's agents. In the end, Talia concluded that she could never keep Batman, as he would always be defending her. She claimed to have miscarried and the marriage was dissolved.
The child was eventually born and left with an orphanage, and was eventually adopted with the name Ibn al Xu'ffasch. The only identification provided was Talia's jewel encrusted necklace, which had once belonged to Talia's mother. This story is stated to no longer be in continuity, although two Elseworlds, Kingdom Come and Brotherhood of the Bat, feature two alternate versions of Ibn as an adult, coming to terms with his dual heritage.
Ra's had previously been revealed as alive in the 30th century setting of Legion. The rebooting of Legion of Super-Heroes continuity means that this is no longer the "official" future, however.
Other media
Animated roles
In Batman: The Animated Series, Ra's al Ghul was voiced by David Warner. The cartoon Ra's was remarkably similar to the character in the comic books, as was Batman and Talia's relationship. One departure from the comics, however, was the revelation that Ra's also had a son, Arkady, whom he considered too unstable and cruel to inherit his empire.
Ra's was also featured in Batman Beyond, although there was a twist to his reappearance.
A similar character, Nergal (also voiced by Warner) is seen on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
Batman Begins
In the 2005 film Batman Begins, Japanese actor Ken Watanabe plays Ra's al Ghul, who trains Bruce Wayne to be a warrior in his League of Shadows (a renamed League of Assassins.) When Ra's reveals to Wayne his plan to destroy Gotham City and demands that he execute a thief as his initiation, Wayne rebels and sets fire to the League's temple, apparently killing Ra's in the process. Years later, Wayne, now embarked on his career as Batman, discovers that Ra's is alive and conspiring with the Scarecrow to poison Gotham's reservoir with a fear toxin that would destroy the city. Towards the end of the movie we learn that Watanabe's character was a decoy, and that his second-in-command Henri Ducard (played by Liam Neeson) is the real Ra's al Ghul.
In the film, the agenda of Ra's al Ghul's organization differs slightly from that of the comic book version. In the film, Ra's explains that the League of Shadows is an ancient group dedicated to preserving what it perceives as justice, by violent means as necessary (up to the killing of an entire city).
Ra's appears to pass away, but the certainty of his demise is yet to be determined.
External link
- Source information for Ra's al Ghul (http://www.unstable.com/whoswho/rasalghu.htm)fr:Ra's Al Ghul