Ra's al Ghul

"I am he who is called Ra's al Ghul. My admiration for you is well founded, Detective. As Napoleon once told me, a strong mind can fuel a frail body. Humankind must be forced to serve the planet instead of its own appetites."

- Ra's al Ghul to Batman in Batman: The Demon's Quest.

Ra's al Ghul is a villain from the Batman series. He is probably one of the most dangerous and mysterious villains that the Batman ever faced, since he is nearly immortal. Not much is known about him, which gives him the advantage in a confrontation. The Joker may be Batman's top antagonist But Ra's Al Ghul is also competitng with him for title of archenemy.

Character Profile
Little is known of the early years of the nearly immortal Ra’s Al Ghul, whose name means “the demon’s head”, but it is known that he has lived for many centuries due to Lazarus Pits, mystical and alchemical brews that restore his youth. A capable master of strategy and organization, Ra’s Al Ghul’s goal is to save the Earth from ecological devastation by destroying most of its population.

He recognized Batman as both a worthy foe and a possible ally – except that Batman cannot accept his dystopic worldview. Batman also shares a love-hate relationship with Ra’s daughter, the beautiful Talia. (Note: Talia appears in Batman: Arkham City) Ra's heads the sinister terrorist group known as the League of Assassins which he uses to wreak havoc world wide.

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Ra's Al Ghul appears very briefly in the videogame Batman: Arkham Asylum. When Batman goes to the Arkham morgue to solve one of The Riddler's riddles, Ra's' dead body is seen. But if you return later, his body has disappeared.

Batman: Arkham City
Ra's al Ghul serves as the tertiary antagonist in Batman: Arkham City.

After retrieving his body, Rā's followers took it to the underground Wonder City and used the Lazarus Pit to bring him back to life, though he was still severely bruised and barely clinging to life. While Mr. Freeze, was saved by Batman from Penguin in the Iceberg Lounge, told Batman that an enzyme is required for completing the cure, a female assassin got free and escaped. Batman understood that she was from Talia al Ghul's personal guards, and tracked her using her splitting blood, and, later, by placing a beacon on her. After Talia found Batman, he, being on the verge of death, agreed to join the League of Assassins, and to undergo Demon Trials. Although doubting, because only one man succeed, Talia allowed him to do that.

While passing Demon Trials, Batman faced Ra's. The latter proposed that Batman will kill him, and be his successor. Batman disagreed and they fought, and Ra's was defeated. Though Ra's tried to convince Batman by taking his own daughter as a hostage, Batman defeat him and freed Talia, also gaining his blood for cure. It is later revealed that Ra's is working with Strange and is the one that gave him the rescources to create Arkham City and take control of Mayor Quincy Sharp. He agreed with and was impressed with Strange's plot to gather the worst of Gotham in one area and have them all killed. However he later betrays and fatally wounds Strange after the professor was bested by Batman. With his last breath, Strange activates the self destruct and blows up Wonder Tower. Batma and Ra's jump out the window before the explosion and as Batman attempts to catch Ra's in mid air, he impales himself with his own sword to try in a last ditch effort to kill Batman, this fails and he ends up being impaled again when he lands on the main gate into Arkham City.

When Batman returns later, his body is gone, hinting that his followers revive him.

Batman Begins
For more information, see Ra's al Ghul (Batman Begins)

Ra's Al Ghul appears in the 2005 movie Batman Begins as the main antagonist. He is portrayed by Liam Neeson.

He is the head of the centuries-old League of Shadows, a morally ambiguous organization that is dedicated to keeping order and justice in a world which they views as decadent and corrupt. He is the silent partner of Carmine Falcone and Scarecrow in a plan to disperse fear gas into the water supplies of Gotham City. For the first half of the film, he goes by the name Henri Ducard and acts as a mentor to a young Bruce Wayne, teaching him the martial arts training and keysi methods that he will one day use as Batman. During this time, Ducard hides behind a decoy Ra's al Ghul.

The Decoy (played by Ken Watanabe) is killed while battling Bruce. During Bruce Wayne's birthday party years later, Henri Ducard reveals himself to be the real Ra's al Ghul, and explains that the League is bound to destroy Gotham. He then explains to Bruce that he had hoped for Bruce to be by his side when he purged the evil from Gotham, a reference to the comics in which Ra's wished for Bruce to be his heir. As Ra's' men attack Bruce and wreck Wayne Manor, more of his agents release the inmates at Arkham Asylum as part of a diversion for the cops in order for Scarecrow's gas to envelop the city. In their final confrontation, Batman defeats Ra's and leaves him to die in a train crash. He returns in the film The Dark Knight Rises in flashback scenes and in a cameo as a spirit.

DC Universe Online
Ra's Al Ghul makes an appearance as one of the bosses in DC Universe Online.

Young Justice
Ra's al Ghul is a major antagonist in the TV show; Young Justice. He is the leader of the League of Shadows and a member of the evil organization, The Light. As a member of the Light, Ra's went under the alias of "L-2".

Attributes

 * Knowledgeable intellect and strategist
 * Superior strength and stamina
 * Superb hand-to-hand combatant, trained over millennia
 * Nearly immortal due to the Lazarus Pits.
 * Commands a legion of followers dedicated to serve him.

Trivia

 * Ra's Al Ghul's name references to the name of the star Algol.
 * Ra's Al Ghul said that he's over 600 years old.