Ra's al Ghul (DC Animated Universe)

Ra's Al Ghul is a recurring antagonist of Batman: The Animated Series. He 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, independently wealthy and the leader of a powerful criminal organization, making him one of Batman's most dangerous foes.

He is voiced by David Warner.

Batman: The Animated Series
At some point in his life, this man discovered the Lazarus Pits, which he used to prolong his life over and over again.

Now known as "Ra's al Ghul", he founded the Society of Shadows to work towards his goal of reversing all the damage that modern human progress had done to the earth and restoring it to a pure world free of technology. He also fathered at least two children: Arkady Duvall and Talia.

Using an earlier incarnation of the Society of Shadows in 1883, he and Duvall created an airship and attempted to destroy the Transcontinental Railroad, halting the advance of the U.S. and its citizens into the then relatively untouched western frontier. From there Ra's and Duvall planned on using the airship to attack Washington D.C. and take over the United States; however, Ra’s and Duvall found themselves opposed by Jonah Hex who had been tailing Duvall for some time. Hex managed to put a stop to Ra's and Duvall's plans by destroying the airship and apprehending Duvall, forcing Ra’s to flee and abandon his son.

Decades later, Ra's al Ghul's presence was first made known to Batman through a rogue splinter group of the Society of Shadows. He orchestrated a series of events to eliminate 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 as they had both been kidnapped on the same night. However, it didn't take Batman long to realize that Ra's himself had done Talia's and Dick's kidnapping, and the whole thing was part of a plan to make Batman his heir, and carry on his legacy.[5] When Batman refused, a disappointed Ra's 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.

However, Ra's had survived, and returned some months later when he and his servant Ubu broke into the Gotham Museum and stole the scroll of Osiris. Batman then went to Gibraltar to find Talia where he learned that the scroll was half of a map (of which Ra’s has the other half) leading to the tomb of Thoth Khepera, and that Ra’s is obsessed with finding it. Talia agreed to help Batman apprehend Ra’s, and the two of them confronted Ra's at one of his old sanctuaries in Cairo. Here, he told them that Thoth Khepera was thought to have control over life and death, and that he now wanted that power for himself. Ra’s subsequently denounced Talia as his daughter, and then attempted to kill both Batman and Talia; but Batman and Talia escaped the trap that Ra’s had set for them. After catching up to Ra’s at the tomb of Thoth Khepera they all discovered that Thoth Khepera was actually some form of demon who steals the life energy of those who find her. Talia and Batman managed to save Ra’s and Ubu's lives, but Ra’s was able to escape as he accepted Talia as his daughter again, which caused Talia to immediately betray Batman. Talia, Ra’s and Ubu also left Batman stranded in the middle of the desert, although Ubu gave him his water canteen as a way of thanking Batman for saving his life.

Ra’s resurfaced some months later when he abducted an unidentified man from a nursing home in Gotham City. Batman and Robin found an audio tape in the man’s room left by Ra's. They subsequently rushed to the nearest airport to intercept Ra’s, and on the way listened to the story that had been recorded on the tape. Recorded on the tape was Ra’s narrating events that happened in 1883 and once this story was finished, Batman and Robin arrived at the airport, where Ra’s revealed that the man he had abducted was none other than Arkady Duvall. Ra’s said that Duvall had been able to live for so long because his access to the Lazarus Pit earlier in his life, and although he was now too old for the Pit to save him, Ra’s wanted to be with his son during the last days of his life. Batman was sympathetic and willingly stepped aside, allowing Ra’s to get away.

Superman: The Animated Series
Ra's 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.