| Ra's al Ghul | |
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Real Name |
Ra's al Ghul |
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Homeworld |
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Species |
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Affiliation(s) |
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Abilities and Powers |
Nigh-Immortality, Knowledge, Wealth, Manipulation, Swordsmanship, and Technology |
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First Appearance |
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Voiced By |
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Relatives |
Talia al Ghul (daughter) |
"Behold a Garden of Eden on Earth."
Ra's al Ghul is a supervillain, leader of the Society of Shadows, and one of Batman's greatest foes.
History
Origin
A Middle Eastern mystic discovered a Lazarus Pit, pools filled with an alchemical mix of acids and poisons excavated above the electromagnetic leylines criss crossing the Earth, and with timely immersions, he could extend his life. He was a near immortal. After leaving the pool, the user endures a temporary uncontrollable rage. Taking on the name "Ra's al Ghul" ("Demon's Head" in Arabic), he amassed wealth, power and knowledge. Ra's went on to found secret organizations, established a global network, and secured control of Lazarus Pits situated throughout the world.
He endlessly worked to make his ultimate goal of returning the meccas of pollution to its natural state and re-establish a paradise on Earth. He watched as the world was blinded by greed and consumed by a culture of excess. Ra's lived for centuries, undaunted by his inability to save the world. Due to a side effect of immersing himself in the Lazarus Pit, Ra's became insane and his point of view became heavily biased. To acheive his dream, he was willing to sacrifice billions of innocent lives as the planet's resources have been ravaged to its breaking point.
In recent times, he became unsure of his immprtality and child, Talia, and sought out a male heir to his empire. Ra's chose Batman but he refused and the two became sworn enemies. Years later, Ra's' latest plan was to utilize stolen technology to create a Chlorocannon and remotely create giant plant monsters to destroy civilizations from his Flying Island. The first example would be Coast City in California. After capturing Batman, Green Arrow, and Aquaman on a second island 20 miles offshore of the city, Ra's proceeded with his plans only to find Robin, Speedy, and Aqualad. He offered Robin the chance to join him but was denied. As he watched the attack on Coast City, Ra's fought sword to sword against Batman and lost. Ubu and Talia appeared via helicopter and extracted Ra's before Batman could arrest him.
Ra's continued to pursue his agenda to restore ecological balance. He crafted a plan to fire a fusion rocket into the Sun. The resulting solar flares would melt Earth's glaciers and flood the continents, ushering in a planet-wide rebirth. Ubu captured Batman and Ra's decided to feed him to his giant starfish monster. Batman escaped thanks to Talia. Betrayed by his daughter, Ra's bound both Batman and Talia to the fusion rocket and launched it during the arrival of the Justice League International and Justice Society of America. As Batman landed with Talia, Ra's attacked him in a battlesuit. Batman managed to grapple his foot to a temple roof and blasted it. The debris pulled Ra's with it as it plunged into the icy depths.
Powers and Abilities
Ra's Al Ghul has no superpowers, but due to a very extended lifetime of using the Lazarus pits, he has become expert in the fields of hand-to-hand combat, chemistry, detective artistry, physics, and martial arts. Batman describes him as one of the most cunning and dangerous foes he has ever faced.