Ra's al Ghul (DCAU)

Ra's al Ghul
DC Animated Universe‎
Gallery
Real Name	Ra's al Ghul
Relatives	Talia al Ghul (daughter) Arkady Duvall (son)
Affiliation	Society of Shadows
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Public Identity
Marital Status	Single
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Black
Origin
Universe	DCAU
Creators	Dennis O'Neil · Neal Adams · Julius Schwartz
First Appearance	"Off Balance" (November 23, 1992)
Appearance of Death	"Out of the Past" (October 21, 2000)

Do you know who I am? I am life. I am history. I am time itself.

— Ra's al Ghul

Ra's al Ghul was a master criminal, enemy of Batman, father to Talia and head of the powerful criminal group The Society of Shadows.

History

Ra's al Ghul was said to be over 600 years old due to his constant exposure to the chemichals of the Lazarus Pit. His ultimate goal was to cleanse the earth from the ever growing human population by decreasing its numbers and ruling in a world shaped by him in which humans serve nature and not the other way around. Ra's had a faithful servant named Ubu, who believed nobody must precede his master.

Over the years, Ra's sought the means to accomplish his goals and his quest brought him to Gotham City, where he sent his daughter, Talia to steal a destructive device created by Wayne Enterprises. However, the device was first stolen by Vertigo, a former associate of Ra's al Ghul and Talia was forced to work with Batman to stop Vertigo and retrieve the device. However, when Batman learned of Talia's intentions, he tampered with the device and rendered it useless, granting him a victory in the eyes of Ra's al Ghul.

After his encounter with Batman, Ra's investigated the man and learned everything about him. Considering that his days of prolonging his lifespan grew shorter, and because Talia had fallen in love with Batman, Ra's thought that Bruce Wayne would make a proper successor and heir to his empire. Ra's faked the kidnapping of Robin in order to test Batman's skills and worthiness and much to his relief, Batman exceeded expectations. After revealing his motives to Batman, Ra's had to be taken to the Lazarus Pit to keep him alive, but after learning the nature of his quest, Batman refused Ra's offer. Ra's didn't like this and he left Batman to die in a death trap while he went on with his plans of cleansing the Earth. At his desert hideout, Ra's intended to activate several bombs inside Lazarus Pits across the world using a satellite, but his plans were thwarted by Batman. Ra's then challenged his foe to a sword duel, but Ra's was defeated and he chose to sacrifice himself by jumping into a Lazarus Pit. Although his fate seemed final, Ra's survived.

Eventually the Lazarus Pits could no longer restore Ra's' health and youth. Rather than let him die, Talia volunteered to allow her father to take over her body and Ra's lived on as Talia. He plotted to take over Wayne-Powers by presenting himself as the long-lost son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. To this end, he engineered a traffic accident where a bystander was killed as the aged Bruce tried and failed to save them. He then approached Bruce as Talia and offered to rejuvenate him via the Lazarus Pit and Bruce, facing his own mortality, agreed. At the Society's headquarters, Bruce was restored to late middle age, and Ra's attempted to transfer his mind into Bruce's body, but he was foiled by Bruce's new protégé Terry McGinnis. He was seemingly killed for good when a stray electrical cable detonated the Lazarus Pit.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Indomitable Will
• Swordsmanship
• Longevity: Ra's has been able to prolong his life through the use of Lazarus Pits.

Notes

• This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of the DC Animated Universe and is an adaptation of Ra's al Ghul. The original character was created by Dennis O'Neil, Neal Adams, and Julius Schwartz and first appeared in Batman #232.
• Ra's al Ghul was voiced by David Warner
  

Recommended Reading

• Batman: "Off Balance"
• Batman: "The Demon's Quest, Part I"
• Batman: "The Demon's Quest, Part II"
• Batman: "Avatar"
• Batman: "Showdown"
• Batman Beyond: "Out of the Past"

Related

• Appearances of Ra's al Ghul (DCAU)
• Images featuring Ra's al Ghul (DCAU)
• Quotations by or about Ra's al Ghul (DCAU)
• Character Gallery: Ra's al Ghul (DCAU)

External Links

• Ra's al Ghul at the DC Animated Universe Wiki

Footnotes

League of Assassins member This character is or was a member of the League of Assassins, a international organization of the world's greatest killers, operating both for hire and their own agenda, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "League of Assassins members" category.

Batman Villain(s) This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."

Jonah Hex Villain(s) This character is or was primarily an enemy of Jonah Hex. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Jonah Hex Villains."

Batman Beyond Villain(s) This character is or was primarily an enemy of Batman Beyond. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Beyond Villains."

Superman Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category."