History Characters / BatmanRasAlGhul

* TheDreaded: Everyone, whether they're heroes or villains, is terrified of Ra's. Even some of the strongest characters in the DC Universe become frightened when they learn he's involved in a scheme or they've provoked his anger, given his intelligence, resources and ruthlessness. He's regarded as the most dangerous adversary in Bruce's regular RoguesGallery for a reason, and the Bat-Family tries to avoid conflict with him whenever possible.

* GeniusBruiser: He's a brilliant intellect, having gained extensive knowledge in a variety of fields over the course of his lifetime, and has centuries of experience in various forms of combat including numerous martial arts and sword fighting, able to defeat even Batman.

''Characters/Batgirl2000'' | ''Characters/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'' | ''Characters/DarkNightsMetal'' ([[Characters/DarkNightsMetalTheBatmanWhoLaughs The Batman Who Laughs]]) | ''Characters/IAmBatman'' | ''Characters/{{Nightwing}}'' ([[Characters/NightwingDickGrayson Dick Grayson]]) | ''Characters/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws'' | ''Characters/Robin1993'' ([[Characters/RobinTimDrake Tim Drake]]) | ''Characters/Robin2021'' ([[Characters/RobinDamianWayne Damian Wayne]])-]]]]]

[[Characters/BatmanTheCharacter Batman]]\\

* BigBad: For lots of storyarcs involving Batman and his related characters, and sometimes even the ComicBook/{{Justice League|of America}}. The most notable one is ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel''. In fact Ra's is commonly seen as the top gun of Batman's rogues gallery in terms of threat level and ambitions; even the Joker, while insanely dangerous on his own, serves more as a personal threat toward the Dark Knight.

*** Ra has often shown to have a chauvinistic side, and even though Talia has proven herself worthy to be his heir, he still desires [[HeirClubForMen a male heir]], and schemes to have her marry [[ChosenConceptionPartner someone worthy enough]] so she could produce him such an heir.

* BreakoutVillain: Debuting decades after Batman's creation, Ra's is a relatively newer addition to his rogue's gallery, but still considered one of the best and most memorable. Even in continuities or stories that have nothing to do with Batman whatsoever, Ra's will often appear as a major threat, BigBad or ArcVillain, demonstrating his massive appeal.

* ConflictingLoyalty: Talia's anguish stems from her desire to please her father ''and'' live happily with her beloved Batman.

* DaddysGirl: Talia is certainly this. She is torn by her loyalty to her father and her love for Batman.
* DaddysLittleVillain: Talia has done some really, really, abhorrent things to please her father.

* HeirClubForMen: He's had a least two daughters who were extremely competent at managing his criminal empire, but he still considered them inadequate to the job of being his heir, purely due to being women. So he tends to throw them at men [[BabyFactory to produce better candidates]]. Ironically the only male heir he's known to have, Dusan Al Ghul, was born a [[AlbinosAreFreaks frail albino]], and thus also considered an InadequateInheritor.

* LongevityTreatment: He needs more and more frequent trips to the Lazarus Pit remain young.

* VillainessesWantHeroes: Ra's encourages to the point that you almost believe he wishes he ''was'' Talia. In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', [[spoiler:he was Talia thanks to a GrandTheftMe. He later tried to pull another one on a rejuvenated Bruce and pass as son of Bruce and Talia so he could merge his empire with Wayne Enterprises]].

* ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'' (2019-2020)

[[Characters/BatmanBane Bane]] | Characters/{{Catwoman}} ([[Characters/CatwomanSelinaKyle Selina Kyle]]) | [[Characters/BatmanClayface Clayface]] | Characters/HarleyQuinn ([[Characters/HarleyQuinnTheCharacter Harleen Quinzel]]) | [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] | [[Characters/BatmanLadyShiva Lady Shiva]] | [[Characters/BatmanLeagueOfAssassins League of Assassins]] ('''Ra's Al Ghul''' | [[Characters/BatmanTaliaAlGhul Talia Al Ghul]]) | [[Characters/BatmanMrFreeze Mr. Freeze]] | [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin The Penguin]] | [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]] | [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]] | [[Characters/BatmanTheScarecrow The Scarecrow]] | [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two Face]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart1 A-H]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart2 J-R]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart3 S-Z]]\\

->''"A criminal mastermind more dangerous than [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker the Joker]] and [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] put together."''
-->-- '''ComicBook/{{Batman}}''', ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E11TheDemonReborn The Demon Reborn]]"

Probably the biggest threat to the world in Batman's RoguesGallery, Ra's al Ghul (Arabic for "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Demon's Head]]", and pronounced "Raysh Al-Ghool" or "Rahz Al-Ghool" depending on the adaptation) is a centuries-old man who leads an enormous international terrorist organization known as DEMON (as well as the League of Assassins). Unlike most of the other Bat-rogues, he is actually quite cultured and polite, if ruthless, and genuinely believes his goals to be noble. Of course, since his goal is to "purify" the world by killing off ninety percent of its population, Batman disagrees.

Ra's is nearly immortal -- he is ''literally'' ReallySevenHundredYearsOld. His life is extended by repeated usage of the Lazarus Pit, a mystical spring which can retard the aging process, heal virtually any wound, and even bring back the dead (though this does have the side effect of temporarily driving the subject insane). Such a practice has allowed him to live centuries, if not millennia, and he's taken advantage of such a long lifespan to master swordsmanship, war strategies, various fighting styles, and many other skills. However, repeated use of the Pit has made him addicted, and he has grown more and more reliant upon it as his time grows short. Which brings us to our next point...

The next thing Ra's is most famous for is his [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter beautiful daughter]], [[Characters/BatmanTaliaAlGhul Talia al Ghul]]. After [[Characters/CatwomanSelinaKyle Catwoman]], Talia is Bruce's second great love, and like Catwoman, [[DatingCatwoman being on opposite sides keeps them apart]]. Talia is often conflicted by [[DaddysGirl her loyalty to her father]] and her love for Batman. She [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor will often pick one over the other, only to change her mind again later]].

Ra's whole-heartedly approves of the relationship between Batman and Talia, but only insofar as [[IWantGrandkids it will produce him an heir]] should [[WeCanRuleTogether Batman himself comply.]] He finally got his wish when Batman and Talia had a one-night-stand (or she raped him, DependingOnTheWriter) and she gave birth to [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Damian Wayne]]. However, Damian later defected and Talia had him cloned. Then the clone later kills Damian, who later gets better. [[ComicBook/KingdomCome In other realities,]] Bruce and Talia's son is Ibn al Xu'ffasch, and he ''does'' take over for Ra's; in a mild twist, Ibn is a benevolent leader.

[[WMG:[[center:[-''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Batman}} Main Character Index]]'''\\

-->-- '''Franchise/{{Batman}}''', ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E11TheDemonReborn The Demon Reborn]]"

Ra's whole-heartedly approves of the relationship between Batman and Talia, but only insofar as [[IWantGrandkids it will produce him an heir]] should [[WeCanRuleTogether Batman himself comply.]] He finally got his wish when Batman and Talia had a one-night-stand (or she raped him, DependingOnTheWriter) and she gave birth to [[Comicbook/{{Robin}} Damian Wayne]]. However, Damian later defected and Talia had him cloned. Then the clone later kills Damian, who later gets better. [[ComicBook/KingdomCome In other realities,]] Bruce and Talia's son is Ibn al Xu'ffasch, and he ''does'' take over for Ra's; in a mild twist, Ibn is a benevolent leader.

Ra's has come to blows with both Batman and the rest of the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica many times, one time unleashing a genetically engineered virus on Gotham, and on another occasion, taking down most of the JLA with Batman's contingency files. He himself, however, was killed by one of his daughters, also a user of the Lazarus Pits, who was furious at him for leaving her to die at a Nazi Concentration Camp. Though he eventually returned to life, Batman was able to imprison him in Arkham Asylum under the guise of an inmate named Terry Gene Kase, and assigns him "medication" that keeps him highly sedated.

** Refers to both Bruce and [[Comicbook/{{Robin}} Tim]] as "Detective" as a sign of respect. He also never uses the title "Batman", since he views Bats as Bruce with a mask on.
** Likewise, he refers to Franchise/{{Superman}} as "Icon".

** A similar situation exists between Franchise/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/RasAlGhul. He sees Bruce almost like the son he never had, and he actually plans on making him both his heir and his son-in-law by marrying him to his daughter Talia, something both Bruce and Talia are seriously tempted to do.

* BigBad: For lots of storyarcs involving Batman and his related characters, and sometimes even the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}. The most notable one is ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel''. In fact Ra's is commonly seen as the top gun of Batman's rogues gallery in terms of threat level and ambitions; even the Joker, while insanely dangerous on his own, serves more as a personal threat toward the Dark Knight.

** Ra’s sister, Daughter of Acheron, once chose [[Comicbook/{{Robin}} Tim Drake]], but [[AttemptedRape failed]]. This was arranged and eagerly watched by Ra's himself as part of his ongoing, very uncomfortable interactions with Tim that started around the time Damian first came to Gotham.

* DeathIsCheap: Thanks to the Lazarus Pits, Ra and his close associates have easy access to [[FountainOfYouth extending one's lifespan]] and resuscitation. The Lazarus Pits were actually far more limited before, being one-use only and couldn't truly bring someone BackFromTheDead, only heal fatal wounds and restore their youth. But over time they started to be the go-to PlotDevice for all sorts of immortality and resurrection shenanigans in the ComicBook/DCUniverse, to the point they have been used to resurrect various ''other'' characters (such as Comicbook/LadyShiva, [[Comicbook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws Jason Todd]], Comicbook/{{Batwoman}}, and others).

** Comicbook/LadyShiva was intended to be one of his finest warriors, but she prefers being on her own.

** Her ''sister'' tries this with [[Comicbook/{{Robin}} Tim Drake]] as well. Although in her case, she doesn't actually "love" Tim.

** He later begins calling [[Comicbook/{{Robin}} Tim]] the same thing.

** [[Comicbook/{{Robin}} Tim Drake later on.]]

* AManOfWealthAndTaste: Ra's Al-Ghul might just be the richest man on DC's Earth and he uses his money to remain well groomed, manicured, and dressed to enjoy the finest literature, drinks, and physical pursuits life can offer him. His ideal world is one where everyone can enjoy the pleasantries he does, it's just in his world "everyone" [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide is less than a million human beings world wide.]]
* AbusiveParents: Despite fancying himself a FamilyValuesVillain and a PapaBear, he's often been an emotional and physically abusive parent to his children:
** While Talia is [[ParentalFavoritism his favored child]] and he has [[ToughLove shown to love Talia in his own way]], he's often been portrayed as a terrible father:
*** He put her through a TrainingFromHell from birth so he could [[ControlFreak mold her into the person he wanted as an heir]], often putting her through harsh trials (emotional, intellectual, and physical) so she could prove herself to him.

* AManOfWealthAndTaste: Ra's Al-Ghul might just be the richest man on DC's Earth and he uses his money to remain well groomed, manicured, dressed and to enjoy the finest literature, drink and physical pursuits life can offer him. His ideal world is one where everyone can enjoy the pleasentries he does, it's just in his world "everyone" [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide is less than a million human beings world wide.]]

* AManOfWealthAndTaste: Ra's Al-Ghul might just be the richest man on DC's Earth and he uses his money to remain well groomed, manicured, dressed and to enjoy the finest literature, drink and physical pursuits life can offer him. His ideal world is one where everyone can enjoy the pleasentries he does, it's just in his world "everyone" [[ItWouldBeRudeToSayGenocide is less than a million human beings world wide.]]