- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Ra's al Ghul from the Arrowverse. The article on the mainstream version from the comics can be found here: Ra's al Ghul (DC).
“ | I was 11 years old when I killed my first man. I remember the look in his face when the light went out behind his eyes. Such a sudden change, almost imperceptible, between life and death. And I felt ashamed. I had stolen from that man the most precious gift of all - life. But I also felt something else - pride, because I had taken up arms against someone who sought to do ill against my family. And I realized what I had done was necessary. You see, I have replaced evil with death. And that is what the League exists to do. And I have killed several thousand more men since then. And the world is better for it. | „ |
~ Ra's reminiscing to Oliver Queen the first time he killed before their first duel- his famous quote. |
“ | The word "assassin" has fallen victim to many abuses of language. Its real meaning hidden beneath the sediment of lies and falsehoods. In truth, "assassin" comes from hashishiyya, which means, "those who stand apart from society." Now, every man and woman in here have renounced their past life and forfeited their identity in the name of something new. And it is a cleansing only achieved by fire. Embrace the pain, for it is your soul finally being unburdened. Oliver Queen is dead. Eventually to be reborn as Ra's al Ghul. But for now, only the Arrow, Al Sah-him, shall remain. Al Sah-him. Heir to the Demon. | „ |
~ Ra's during Oliver's transformation. |
Ra's al Ghul is one of the three overarching antagonists (alongside Danny Brickwell and The Monitor) of Arrow and a minor antagonist in Season 1 of DC's Legends of Tomorrow.
He is the immortal leader of the League of Assassins and the father of Talia and Nyssa al Ghul whose longevity comes from the Lazarus Pit's waters. In his devotion to the group's traditions, he intended on grooming Oliver Queen into becoming his successor so he could carry on his legacy and continue his mission to purge the world of its criminal element. He is also the trainer of Malcolm Merlyn and Sara Lance, as well as the former friend of his nemesis Damien Darhk, whom he intends on killing to correct his previous hesitation.
He was portrayed by Matt Nable in his first villainous role.
Personality[]
Ra's al Ghul has a calmly cold, dark and stoic demeanor and is fully capable of being ruthless, as he will not hesitate to kill his enemies. He was also known to be relentless, unflappable, impatient refusing to impose his will after he speaks once, and undeterred, allowing nothing (the lives of multiple innocents, anyone) to stand in the way of his goals of ensuring the purpose of the League of Assassins lives on. This is according to Nyssa due to the Lazarus Pit affecting Ra's. He was also prone to fits of rage and fury if someone were to betray him or display defiance towards him. He lost his temper with Nyssa, although still controlled, as she said that he only selected Oliver as his heir because he wanted to punish her for her love for Sara, which wasn't entirely correct as Ra's did this because Oliver survived his sword and had the mental strength, intelligence and power needed to become the next Ra's, and proceeded to coldly disinherit and exile Nyssa over her outburst towards his selecting Oliver in being his heir instead of her and upon her attempt to slay him in petty vengeance. He fully lost his temper when Oliver revealed his duplicity in pretending to be his heir in an to attempt to dismantle the League from within, swearing to destroy Starling City and kill him and everyone he ever cared for. Ra's openly acknowledges he feels pride of the many people he had killed as he genuinely believes the world is better off with those men dead.
Despite his ruthlessness, Ra's strictly abides to his sense of honor and even appears to have a soft side and as twisted as it is, humanity. He was shown to be capable of respecting his opponents and even holding them in honor, as shown in his commending Oliver Queen's fighting skills and praying for him after stabbing him. As noted by Malcolm Merlyn, Ra's' custom after killing an opponent in a death duel was to leave his weapon in the arena of combat, as a marker to honor the opponent. He also let Oliver pretend to be the one who killed Sara despite knowing full well he did not and that Oliver was simply trying to keep the people in his city from dying. He displayed respect and humility towards Felicity, commending her courage and love for Oliver when she spoke up and out against him when he made the "offer" towards Oliver to become his heir, encouraging her to confess her feelings to him and say goodbye to him. Ra's seems to have some regret over how he had ultimately killed his family from the interaction. Likewise, he granted Oliver a trial by combat and let Oliver pretend to be the one who killed Sara despite knowing full well he did not kill her and that Oliver was simply trying to keep the people in his city from dying. This made Ra's take a liking to Oliver. Ra's had also released Malcolm under the condition he oblige to the League's code and despite Moira claiming Ra's wanted to kill Malcolm himself, Ra's seemed to have no actual personal resentment towards Merlyn, as he stated that he would not take any pleasure in delivering the painful death Malcolm must suffer for his crimes. He also released Sara from the League due to her conflict over her loyalty and humanity and followed through her instructions of having Nyssa rescue her despite knowing she would never be a fully committed assassin. Unlike any other foes, the reason of Ra's not fearing death is not out of arrogance or despair, as he simply believes that one should accept death with honor and dignity as it is inevitable. He softly told Oliver that he shouldn't be afraid to die as death claims everyone sooner or later and lectured Malcolm to face his death with honor or at least dignity. Indeed, Ra's showed absolutely no fear as he was mortally wounded by Oliver and as he believed he had passed on his mantle, died somber with honor and dignity. His honorable and moral side made him the only enemy who earned the respect of Oliver, who held Ra's in a high regard to the point where he stated Ra's would have been ashamed and disgusted with Talia associating with the psychopathic Adrian Chase and even Thea acknowledged Ra's had noble traits.
Ra's also had some love and care towards his daughters: His relationship with Talia was close enough that he spared her after she left the League and allowed her to form her cult and Talia likewise was devastated by his death enough to want to avenge him. Even towards Nyssa, though limited, Ra's seemed to care for her as well: Though he clearly was dismissive of Nyssa's love for Sara, he respected their relationship enough to carry out the usual tradition when a League member dies. Likewise, when Nyssa temporarily released Sara from the League, Ra's did not punish her nor did he object. He had correctly anticipated that Nyssa would only be heartbroken where she to love Sara. Although he was more than willing to be ruthless towards Nyssa as he forced her to marry Oliver, Ra's did have the kindness to try to make her accept it willingly. As he focused solely towards grooming Oliver to be his heir, Ra's seemed to act as a father figure to Oliver, as he took time to make Oliver see why he should become Ra's and employed indirect means to force Oliver to become Ra's but did not resort to capturing him, which he could very well do considering how easily he bested Oliver in their first fight. As Oliver became his heir, Ra's personally trained and complimented his skills and devoted much of his time to teaching Oliver the philosophies of the League. Even after Oliver betrayed him, once Oliver defeated him, Ra's showed no resentment towards Oliver, being only proud as he gave Oliver his ring.
Ra's apparently doesn't request people to do things but he orders them. This was shown when he started killing people in Starling City with The Arrow's tools to frame him to make the "request" to be Ra's al Ghul more appealing.
Killed Victims[]
- Unnamed Man
- Unnamed challenger
- Michael Amar's henchmen
- Unnamed Intruder (caused)
- Thea Queen (revived)
- Maseo Yamashiro (indirectly caused)
- Maseo's henchmen (indirectly caused)
- Innumerable unnamed victims
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Immortality/Longevity: Having unrestricted and full access to the waters of the Lazarus Pit, Ra's was able to live for many centuries while retaining his peak health, vitality, as well as the physical appearance of a middle-aged man. He could also use the Pit for healing purposes, which was potent enough to heal a deep cut on his hand in mere seconds, without leaving a trace of it being there in the first place.
Abilities[]
- Peak of human physical condition: With countless years of training and experience as well as being kept in top physical form by the waters of the Lazarus Pit, which even enhanced his physical capabilities, Ra's was in extraordinary, even low-level superhuman, physical form, bearing a well-honed muscular body, capable of performing nearly abnormal physical feats: His strength was more than a match for Oliver and he could crush Oliver's windpipe with a single hit and casually kick him off a cliff before effortlessly deeply impaling a sword on the ground with a simple toss as well as overpower and pin down Thea with a single hand, leave Oliver and Nyssa stunned with two blows, and shatter Oliver's sword with a single blow. His speed and reflexes are such that he was able to land the first hit on Oliver and proceed to casually react to all of his attacks and outmaneuver him in their first fight, effortlessly catch a sword strike from the extremely swift Nyssa, nonchalantly catch a knife thrown by Thea, intercept Thea from running out to the door at such speed it seemed as if he teleported and block each and every single hit from her with a single hand before he swiftly got the upper hand, and intercept Oliver to the bio weapons despite him being closer. Ra's resilience and durability was such that he was able to completely be unfazed by catching sword strikes from Nyssa and Oliver with his bare hands, shocking both of them with how he showed no pain, and despite having his side slashed and his heart stabbed, Ra's survived long enough to pass on the mantle of the Demon's Head to Oliver.
- League of Assassins training: Being the leader of the League, Ra's would have the highest level of training any assassin could.
- Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: As the leader of the League of Assassins and with centuries worth of fighting knowledge, Ra's was an extraordinary fighter, having killed hundreds of men within his lifespan in such an unmatched manner to the point where he stated that Oliver lasting for a couple of minutes was longer than most. His fighting style included full mastery of Kali, Krav Maga, Taekwondo, Karate, Kung Fu, Jeet Kun Do, Judo, Jujitsu, Muay Thai, Aikido, and Silat. Among the most dangerous fighters ever in the series and ranking among the top tier even among the many dangerous foes Oliver had faced, even Malcolm Merlyn expressed absolute confidence that Ra's would defeat and kill him if they were to fight and stated that even if it was he, Thea and Oliver in an encounter with Ra's, the chances of them surviving was still undesirable. In their first duel, Ra's managed to overpower and disarm Oliver while the latter had two swords and the former had none while holding both hands behind his back with ease, easily countering sword strikes and soon landing multiple precise strikes that disarmed Oliver, and continue to overpower and counter every bare-handed move Oliver made and repeatedly hit and knock him down with mediocre effort as they dueled with swords. Even after Oliver surprised and disarmed him, Ra's simply regained a sword with his bare hands, easily catching Oliver's sword strike before landing a blow to the latter's windpipe that stunned him. With a single hand, he effortlessly blocked all of Thea's attacks and swiftly proved himself to be far better as he pinned her once before he finally choked and knocked her down for real. Even after Oliver had greatly improved his skills after being trained by Ra's himself, Ra's still proved to be superior to him in skill, as he defeated him in their spar, overpowered him on their altercation at the plane while simultaneously effortlessly besting Nyssa wielding a sword using nothing but the Alpha and Omega container and in their last fight, he was able to maintain the upper hand in their fierce bout of both swordplay and hand-to-hand combat, countering and landing precise strikes on his own, and ultimately he only lost because Oliver caught him off-guard. It was even possible he may have allowed himself to be defeated by Oliver at the last moment to make Oliver his successor.
- Master swordsman: As the leader of the League of Assassins, Ra's is perhaps the single greatest swordsman in the series: He effortlessly defeated 8 assassins in a sword fight within seconds and casually dominated Oliver in their first fight, easily countering every sword strike Oliver launched and responding with his own that left Oliver rattled as he struggled to keep up, even managing to slice Oliver's hand, only being disarmed after being surprised, and quickly stabbed Oliver in the mid-section after regaining a sword. Likewise, he was able to effectively train Oliver in swordsmanship and remain superior to him even afterwards, besting him in their sparring session and then again in their final duel.
- Master archer: Although only shown once, Ra's proved to be an excellent archer, as when he posed as the Arrow, he swiftly took out multiple thugs before they could properly aim at him within a matter of seconds.
- Stealth: Ra's was able to sneak into Thea's loft without her being aware of it.
- Genius-level intellect: With his centuries of lifespan allowing him to gain the wisdom of the ages, Ra's was among the most intelligent and wisest men in the series. Ra's was highly perceptive and an exceptional leader and tactician, as he was able to lead the League of Assassins for many centuries successfully in secret and can recognize the internal conflicts in people to use to his advantage, as Ra's successfully used this ability to convince many to becoming unquestionably loyal to the League. Likewise, Ra's effortlessly saw through Oliver's lie that he killed Sara and in his quest to make Oliver his heir, Ra's was one of the few to have outsmarted Oliver, as he was able to predict the stealth attack on Nanda Parbat and caught Oliver and Diggle off-guard when they came for Malcolm, successfully trapping them, and having predicted the future adversities of Oliver, he was able to successfully orchestrate the acts that would turn the city against Oliver and force him to become his heir, with Oliver needing Malcolm's aid to outsmart him. Although scarcely seen, Ra's was an expert in other fields such as science and occult: He fully understood how the Lazarus Pit worked and devised a concoction capable of destroying the pit and was able to quench Sara's bloodlust with herbs. He clearly knows much about human anatomy and herbs, something which made him extremely skilled in the arts of torture and brainwashing, as Nyssa stated that Ra's could torture Malcolm to the point where hell would be paradise and Malcolm indeed deeply feared Ra's torturing skills, with Ra's successfully torturing Malcolm to the point where he was barely conscious and half-death without killing him. He also used isolation, herbs, and brainwashing techniques for weeks on Oliver successfully to the point where he needed Malcolm's help to regain himself.
- Multilingual: Ra's is capable of fluently speaking English and Arabic.
Equipment[]
- Sword: Ra's carries a decorated, double edged sword as his side arm.
- The Arrow suit: Ra's wore a suit identical to Oliver Queen's while posing as The Arrow.
- Customized Oneida Kestrel compound bow: Ra's used a bow identical to Oliver Queen's bow while posing as The Arrow.
- Customized hunting arrows: While posing as the Arrow, Ra's used a number of green arrows identical to Oliver's and used them to kill Murmur's men.
- Quiver: He wore a quiver while wearing the Arrow suit to carry arrows.
Trivia[]
- Ra's al Ghul, along with his daughters, are normally portrayed as enemies of Batman and his associates. However, his organization, the League of Assassins, has a history with Green Arrow and Black Canary.
- This is the second live action portrayal of the character, following the Nolanverse adaption and preceding with Gotham's adaption.
- Matt Nable's casting as Ra's was met with notable controversy from fans. In light of Liam Neeson suggesting he would be happy to reprise the role (and the follow up reveal that Neeson was offered the role but had to turn it down being given little attention) many criticized the actions of the casting department when Stephen Amell announced it. Nable's debut in "The Magician" went largely unnoticed by critics due to only a very small amount of screentime, though fans were critical. Despite all of that, following the airing of "The Climb", Nable was heavily praised by fans and critics alike, many suggesting he held up to Neeson's portrayal of the character.
- He is arguably the Bigger Bad of the entire series due to being responsible for most of the series' events apart from just Season 3, even indirectly.
- He trained Malcolm Merlyn in the League's arts, where he would go on to destroy the Queen's Gambit and shipwreck him to Lian Yu (which is how he met Slade Wilson), and destroy the Glades that would result in newer villains.
- He trained Sara Lance, who would later defect due to becoming uncomfortable with killing. This would lead to Ra's sending multiple assassins to retrieve her, or kill her if she refuses.
- He was the one who drove Damien Darhk to betray and defect from the League, which is how he formed H.I.V.E. and try to nuke the world, and also kill Laurel Lance.
- His death drove Talia to vow vengeance against Oliver, which led to her to train Adrian Chase and become Prometheus.
- His defeat led to a civil war with Nyssa and Talia against loyalists of Malcolm (Ra's' successor) led by Athena.
- Similar to his DC comic version, Ra's al Ghul is not his birth name. However, the DC comic version actually assumes the identity of Ra's al Ghul whereas the show depicts the name as a title given to whoever is the current leader of the League of Assassins. Also, unlike the DC comic version, there has been more than one Ra's al Ghul.
- In the comics, Ra's arranged exactly the sort of alliance he proposed to Al Sah-him between Batman and his eldest daughter, Talia.
- Ra's al Ghul is the first Arrow main villain to die in the third season.