Ra's al Ghul (Arkhamverse)

"Welcome, detective. I am the great Ra's Al Ghul.""

- Ra's Al Ghul

Ra's Al Ghul is the tertiary antagonist of Batman: Arkham City. He is eventually revealed to be the benefactor and master of Arkham City mastermind, Hugo Strange.

He is also Talia Al Ghul's father and leader of the League of Assassin's.

History
Ra's is over six hundred years old, having stayed alive using the Lazarus pits. Unfortunatly, using the pits began to damage his sanity. During this time, he dedicated himself to preserving the earth, by whiping out criminal behaviour, and massively culling the human race, so that the earth's resources could be preserved.

Arround a hundred years before the events of the games, Ra's arrived in Gotham City, as there was a Lazurus pit there. Going to the city officials he bought the area, and constructed Wonder City with slaves he bought from his home land, incredibly advanced for the time, possesing technology beyond what should have been avaluable, powered entirely by the Lazurus pits, Ra's saw Wonder City as a chance for saving the world from the future destruction mankind would bring. Completing Wonder Tower as the cities pinical. However secretly, Ra's used the City as a base to begin his plans for extermination.

He also had a traveler Cyrus Gold who had recently died bought to him, so he could test his Theory that the Lazurus Pit might actually bring back the dead, rather than simply revitalising the living. It was a success, but fearing the long term affects, Ra's had Gold murdered repeatedly and brought back to life, until it left him with his mind broken, carrying on the effects turned Gold into the monster Soleman Grundy. Realising this, Ra's began his search for a sucessor, before his use of the Pits did the same to him.

However Wonder City was a failure, the Lazurus Pits energy, drove the population insane, when Ra's refused to do anything, the City council did, bursting in they shut the place, forcing Ra's to disappear. Hidden in his lab, they found Grundy, still waiting to be killed and resurected again.

Sometime in the past, Hugo Strange brought forward the identity of Batman, as Ra's already new he was impressed by Strange and decided to give him a chance to prove if he was worthy to become his succesor, as his present favourite was infact Batman himself. Ra's agreed to back Strange, providing him with near limitless resources for hs plans.

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, having been presumably reclaimed by his followers.

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, Ra's had his followers start digging underneath Arkham City, to find all his old base, leading to sizemic activity above. 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 after a lengthy battle 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, confronting him he demanded answers, Ra's confessed he had used the pits to much, and feared there effects if he continued. Batman told Ra's the pits had damaged his mind and he and he had become the vey evil he had fought. It is later revealed that Ra's was the person Strange was working for 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 following Strange's failure at the hands of Batman he betrayed and fatally wounded Strange, telling him all he had accomplished was proving that Batman was better than him.

With his last breath, Strange activated the self destruct and blows up Wonder Tower. Batman and Ra's jump out the window before the explosion and as Batman attempts to catch Ra's in mid air, Ra's however impaled himself with his own sword to try in a last ditch effort to force Batman to become his sucessor, this fails and he ends up being impaled again when he lands on the main gate into Arkham City.

However when Batman returns later to the same spot, Ra's body is gone, implying that his followers have taken him away to revive him again.

Quotes

 * "Welcome, Detective. I am the great Ra's al Ghul. Before you lies your first Demon Trial. Simply drink from the Chalice, it is that simple."
 * "The blood of the Demon has allowed me to live for 600 years. Imagine the good that you could do with such a gift."
 * "Kill me."
 * "Allow me to help you. Take my blade."
 * "WE ARE LEGION!"
 * "You should've killed me."
 * "You came so close but you failed me."
 * "This is a good day, Detective."
 * "You dissapoint me, Detective."
 * "It appears I chose unwisely, Detective."
 * "And the hunt for my successor goes on."