Supervillain Origins: Ra’s Al Ghul
Ra’s Al Ghul was born nearly 700 years ago. He grew up in a tribe of Chinese nomads wondering the Arabian Desert. Fascinated with science, he decided to leave his tribe at a young age to live in a city and become a physician. There, he discovered the Lazarus Pit, a pool of chemicals that could restore life and heal injury. Centuries later, the immortal led a league of assassins to create a new world order, and came to consider Batman as a potential heir. However, due to the Dark Knight's insistence of defending a corrupt world and preventing genocide, Ra’s has since made the detective his mortal enemy. Join WatchMojo.com as we explore the comic book origins of Ra’s Al Ghul.
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Supervillain Origins: Ra’s Al Ghul
This immortal is one of Batman’s most enduring adversaries. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origins of Ra’s Al Ghul.
As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline, which unfolded in 1971’s Batman #232 and was expanded upon in 1992’s Batman: Birth of the Demon.
Ra’s Al Ghul was born nearly 700 years ago. He grew up in a tribe of Chinese nomads wondering the Arabian Desert. Fascinated with science, he decided to leave his tribe at a young age to live in a city and become a physician. There, he married the love of his life.
Soon after, Ra’s discovered a natural pool of chemicals that could restore life and heal injury. Calling it the Lazarus Pit, he used it to save the life of a dying prince. Unfortunately, the life-giving pool had the side effect of causing the royal to go mad and kill Ra’s wife.
The Sultan blamed Ra’s for the murder, as he couldn’t admit that his own son had committed the crime. In turn, Ra’s was taken to the desert and left to die in a cage with his wife’s corpse. Rescued by the grandson of one of his patients, the duo sought out Ra’s nomadic tribe.
Together, they overthrew the Sultan and his kingdom. This was done through Ra’s advanced understanding of germs and disease. He used this knowledge to infect the price, and in turn was asked for the cure. Instead, Ra’s’ slaughtered the royal family and the entire city. From then on, he became known as Ra’s Al Ghul, Arabic for “The Demon’s Head.”
Using the Lazarus Pit to extend his own life, he experienced an immediate burst of madness. While it turned out to be a short-term effect, he would never be fully sane again. He then traveled around the globe for several centuries, and fought in countless wars.
Eventually becoming an incredible warrior and master martial artist, Ra’s soon started despising those who would destroy the world’s natural beauty. In response, he used his accumulated wealth to become the head of an international eco-terrorist organization called “The Demon”, as well as leading the “League of Assassins.” With countless ninjas at his command, he set forth to eliminate all evil around him. This eventually became a full-fledged mission to eradicate all of humanity in a bid to start over.
This agenda eventually spurred numerous clashes with Batman, who has constantly defied his plans.
Early in their encounters, Ra’s daughter Talia Al Ghul fell in love with Batman. This prompted the immortal to consider Batman as a potential heir and discover his true identity. He eventually deduced that he was in fact Bruce Wayne by process of elimination, and his discovery of the bat cave.
Due to Batman’s insistence of defending a corrupt world and preventing genocide, Ra’s has since made Batman his mortal enemy.
One of the caped crusaders most iconic foes, Ra’s Al Ghul has appeared in various media over the years. Among these, he is best known for his portrayal by Liam Neeson, and his decoy, played by Ken Watanabe, in 2005’s blockbuster “Batman Begins.”
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