Ra's al Ghul

"*You are my true heir, Detective. One way or another, there will come a day when you see that... and the prophecy will be fulfilled.*"
—Ra's' last words to Batman.[src]
An **unnamed man** (1430 – March 20, 2014), only known as "**Ra's al Ghul**", was the leader of the mysterious League of Assassins and the father of Talia and Nyssa al Ghul. Ra's came to Gotham City in search of an heir to take his mantle as leader of the league and attempted to get Bruce Wayne to take up the mantle of The Demon's Head but he refused. When Ra's died he passed the title of "Demon's Head" down to his most loyal assassin, Barbara Kean.

## Biography

### Early Life

The unnamed boy who would later become known as "Ra's al Ghul" was born over six hundred years ago. He was born into an ancient tribe but after he wanted to study science, he abandoned his tribe and moved to a city located in Arabia. At some point in his early twenties, he married the love of his life, Sora and the two lived happily in the city.

### Discovering the Lazarus Pit

During their later years, Ra's and Sora ran a clinic in the city, healing anyone who needed assistance. A son came to them with his blind mother, who was suffering a great amount and her death was inevitable. However, Ra's managed to ease her pain for the last few hours of her life.

During their walk across the desert the couple came across a dying prince, who commanded they take him to the "Lazarus Pit" which was located in the royal castle. After they followed the kings directions and came upon the pit, they lowered him in but it somehow drove him insane and he proceeded to strange Sora with his bare hands. However, Ra's was blamed for the murder of his wife as the ruler of the kingdom refused to believe his son could be capable of such a crime. As such, Ra's was sentenced to starve in a cage, next to Sora's corpse.

However, he was rescued by the son of the blind woman who was grateful for Ra's at least easing his mother's pain during her last few hours life. Ra's and the son returned to Ra's' tribe and requested their aid in taking down the ruler of the city. The leader of the tribe, his uncle, agreed to help. Thanks to his knowledge of science and discovering the theory of germs hundreds of years prior to anyone else, he sent the king a contaminated fabric, which made him extremely ill. He returned to the city and when the king asked him to heal him, Ra's murdered him and the prince, even going as far to killing all the inhabitants of the city. After it was done, he was made leader of his tribe and gave himself the title of "Demons Head".

### Building the League

After becoming leader, Ra's and his tribe travelled around the world and the member count increased a huge amount. They also trained themselves to become skilled assassins and even named their organization "The League of Assassins", using the Lazarus Pit and many more placed around the globe to live for centuries. However, the son refused to let himself be exposed to something that could drive a person mad, however, Ra's did not kill him as he had done nothing wrong. The son eventually died from old age. The League set up their lair in a palace in Nanda Parbat. At some point, Ra's met and fell in love with Queen Crea, who was the queen of nearby kingdom. The two had a love that lasted for many years until Crea's kingdom was attacked by rivals and she was murdered.

At some point during the early 20th century Ra's unexpectedly came into conflict with the elusive warrior Wonder Woman after her triumph during WWII. Later in his life, Ra's married a woman named Amina Raatko who gave birth to his daughter who he named "Nyssa". However, around 1987, she was murdered by an unknown force. Filled with anger, Ra's searched for the murderer and his search led him to Gotham City where he was reunited with Melisande, now going by the name "Antoinette Vanderbilt". She agreed to help find his wife's killer, leading the two to grow close once again and eventually sleep together, resulting in the birth of their daughter, who they named Talia. Ra's then discovered that it was Vanderbilt who had murdered Amina, resulting in a battle between them. She revealed that she had only grown close with him so that she could retrieve more Lazarus water in order to retain her youth and that Amina had caught her stealing, forcing Vanderbilt to murder her.

She then threatened to expose the League if Ra's did not leave Gotham and never return, stating that she and her "Court of Owls" now had the upper hand. Seeing no choice, Ra's fled Gotham and returned to Nanda Parbat, bringing Talia with him. Due to Vanderbilt's actions, Ra's was always cold toward Talia, only being able to see his ex-lover's horrible actions on his actual love.

In 2007, a man named Bruce Wayne appeared to the League, in seek of training from them. Ra's accepted and allowed him to train with his assassins. During his time there, Bruce became extremely close with Talia, the two even began a short intimate relationship, which resulted in Talia giving birth to a son.

### Work in Gotham

Noticing the Lazarus Pit slowly beginning to do it's tole on his body, Ra's began to search for an heir, realising the pit may not be so reliable. In 2012, his search brought him to Gotham, where he researched into a woman named Barbara Kean, who was a former crime lord and former ruler of the criminal underworld. The reason he was so interested in teaming up with Barbara was because she was the descendant of Ra's' past love Crea who also looked eerily similar to her.

Ra's' assassins recovered her decayed corpse and dipped it in the Lazarus Pit, several times. After her body and regained it's looks, he poured the water into her mouth, causing her to finally be resurrected, taking a huge breath and grabbing onto Ra's for support. She asked what had happened to her and he explained that she was killed by someone she once loved. She suddenly began to cry as she remembered someone else she once loved is dead. However, Ra's told her that she would one day lead his army of assassins and make the city pay for being so cruel to her. She recuperated for several months due to being dead for so long and trained with the league for a year.

In 2013, Ra's set up a lair for Barbara in Gotham so that she could be his eyes and ear in the city. He also began their plan to overrun the city with monsters, to cleanse the city of crime. Ra's was able to get his hands on weaponry and scientific equipment, modified for the odd criminals of the city. After their first criminal, Basil Karlo, was defeated by a new, mysterious vigilante, Ra's began to become intrigued and visisted Barbara's lair. He asked her how Karlo could have been defeated with such amazing meta-human abilities. She agreed that the new vigilante was strong and asked for the next weapon.

When Sarah Essen-Gordon learned that Barbara was alive, she managed to find her lair and travelled there to confront her. When she arrived, instead of Barbara, she was met with Ra's, under the alias of "Leland McCauley", who pretended that he was Barbara's lawyer. Apparently, all charges against her were dropped, leaving Sarah angry and shocked. Before she could ask further questions, Jim quickly arrived and escorted her out befoore the scene got messy. As they left, Ra's gave them a smirk.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Mystical Physiology:** After dipping himself in the Lazarus Pit and becoming the Demon's Head, Ra's was injected with mystical energy, adjusting his physiology.
	+ **Beacon/Signal:** Ra's is able to emit a bright, white light from his hand which acts as a beacon to call the members of the League to his location.
	+ **Premonition:** Ra's is able to see events that are about to happen and is able to counter attacks that are coming his way.

## Trivia

* The name "Ra's al Ghul" is arabic for "Demon's Head" and is a title that is passed down. The man known as "Ra's al Ghul" in the show is otherwise left unnamed.
* In "Die One, Die All", Ra's used the alias of "**Leland McCauley**". In DC Comics, McCauley was a real man and antagonist of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He was murdered by Ra's, who later assumed his identity.

## Appearances

### *Batman: Anarky*

Season 1
* "Pilot"
* "Hey, Diddle Diddle" (mentioned)
* "Die One, Die All"
* "Green Fingers" (mentioned)
* "Venom" (mentioned)
* "Night of the Pyg"
* "Shattered Bloodline"
* "Cold, Cold Heart"
* "Treat Them Mean, Keep Them Kean" (flashback)
* "The Demon's Head"
* "Legacies" (mentioned)
* "The Secret Six" (photographs)
* "Past Sins"
* "Heir"
* "Battle for Gotham"

Season 2
* "Fallout" (voice & photograph)
* "Loyalty" (mentioned)
* "Lost Love" (mentioned)
* "Abandoned" (mentioned)
* "Fractured Minds" (mentioned)
* "We Are The Freaks" (mentioned)

Season 3
* "New Beginnings" (mentioned)
* "Eye For an Eye" (mentioned)

Season 4
* "Order & Chaos" (mentioned)
* "Friend or Foe" (mentioned)
* "A Tale of Two Sisters" (flashback)
* "So You Wanna Start a War?" (mentioned)
* "Shadows" (mentioned)

Season 5
* "Watch Your Back" (mentioned)
* "Speak Not a Whispered Word" (mentioned)
* "Attack on the Nest" (mentioned)

## Behind the Scenes

* In DC Comics, **Ra's al Ghul** is an immortal villain and a prominent member of Batman's rogue's gallery. Ra's is seen as one of Batman's best known villains alongside others such as the Joker and Poison Ivy.