- ""Detective. Proud... of... you.""
- —Rā's al Ghūl telling Batman that he is proud of the decision he made at the end of the Most Wanted Mission Shadow War
Rā's al Ghūl was a radical international Eco-Terrorist who had been around for hundreds of years. Rā's believed that the evils of humanity were a blight on our planet, and sought to extinguish them through whatever means that he deemed necessary. Through an international cabal named the League of Assassins, Rā's manipulated world events to achieve his own ends. That frequently put Rā's into conflict with Batman, one of the very few adversaries that he deemed worthy enough of himself, and who he encouraged to marry his daughter, Talia. Although most of Rā's power came from his immense influence, he was also a formidable combatant, having the benefit of many lifetimes worth of experience and accumulated skill. Rā's achieved his immortality through the ancient Lazarus Pits. His name literally translates to Demon's Head, or Head of the Demon.
He served as one of the main antagonists of Batman: Arkham City and the main antagonist of Gotham's Most Wanted Mission, Shadow War in Batman: Arkham Knight.
Biography
The unnamed child who became Ra's al Ghul was born over six hundred years ago to a tribe of nomads in a desert somewhere in Arabia, near a city whose inhabitants' ancestors had journeyed to the Arabian Peninsula from China. Ra's was interested in science from an early age. Unable to learn any science living as a nomad, Ra's abandoned his tribe to live in the city, where he could conduct his scientific research. Ra's became a physician and married a woman named Sora, who was the love of his life.[1]
Ra's discovered the secret of the Lazarus Pit, and he saved a dying prince by lowering him into it. The prince, who was sadistic to begin with, was driven completely insane by the Lazarus Pit. The prince proceeded to strangle Sora, whom he had his eye on for some time. The ruler of the city, unwilling to admit to himself his son's culpability, declared Ra's guilty of the crime and sentenced him to a slow, and tortured death in a cage with Sora's body.
Ra's was set free from his prison by the son of an elderly blind woman, despite failing to save her. The son felt that he owed Ra's a debt for easing his mother's suffering during her last few hours. Ra's and the son headed into the desert to seek the tribe that he was born into. Ra's convinced the head of his tribe, his uncle, to follow him in his quest for revenge by promising the downfall of the king of the city. By understanding the germ theory of disease hundreds of years before anyone else, Ra's was able to infect the prince with a deadly virus by sending him contaminated fabrics. When the ruler of the city came to ask Ra's to cure the prince again, Ra's killed both him and his son. Ra's then led his tribe to raze the city to the ground and killed all of its inhabitants. Subsequently, Ra's declared himself: "The Demon's Head."
Ra's spent the next several centuries journeying the world. During that time, Ra's, his uncle, and the boy had all used the Lazarus Pits to prolong their lives until an incident in London. Ra's caught the boy writing his own memoirs in their original language, of which he had forbidden all records. During a battle, Ra's killed the boy and fled to a Lazarus Pit, which he used. When Ra's returned to their home in London, his uncle had vanished with the remnants of their historical records.
Over time, Ra's became a master of many forms of combat, notably fencing. He also built up vast wealth and created The Demon, a vast international organization. "It has been whispered in the darkest places for 500 years that a cartel of criminals has slowly sucked its way into the rich veins of the Earth. Many are its names spit from the mouths of men, but most often it is cursed only as ...The Demon. It has a leader ... a Head."[2] The League of Assassins, one of the many smaller organizations that made up The Demon, was thus sometimes called: "The Demon's Fang" or "Demon Fang".
Incident Reports
Pre-Arkham Origins
Late in the 19th Century, Ra's al Ghul, an ancient warlord whose named meant 'Head of the Demon', appeared within Gotham City, a crime ridden location even back then, with plans to purge all of the criminals. Creating a residence that held various chambers to conduct his plans, Ra's eventually stumbled upon something much more intriguing; Solomon Grundy, formally known as Cyrus Gold, who was murdered and dumped in Slaughter Swamp near the outskirts of the city. It appeared that the beast was created as a product of the strange chemicals that were in the swamp and the storm that raged the very same night that Cyrus was murdered.
Ra's had Grundy captured, who was cruelly held on display in a circus performance to showcase his ability to cheat death, and was taken to his private medical chamber where he ruthlessly experimented on the monster to understand how he came back to life. After he located the chemicals that had revived Grundy, Ra's discovered that the substance had amazing properties and was capable of rejuvenating a person even in death. Ra's realized that this substance was similar to others that he had found throughout the world, which enabled him live for centuries. However, all other sources of that incredible substance dried up after a relatively short amount of use and were not nearly as pure nor abundant as the source found in Gotham City, which had the potential to be everlasting if it was properly maintained.
It seemed that the electricity from the lightning from the storm that night had amplified the chemicals and allowed Grundy to absorb its abilities, and Ra's named that substance Lazarus. After he realized that the sources within Gotham were the last, true pockets of immortality left in the entire world, and was capable of even bringing others back from the dead, Ra's acquired massive amounts of the substance and created an elaborate mechanism that allowed the chemical to grow in abundance in a secret chamber that he constructed in the city, and it eventually became known as the Lazarus Pit.
Ra's had plans to use it to not only keep himself alive for years, but to also use it as a free, renewable energy for the people of Gotham. However, Ra's feared that he would fall victim to the same fate as Grundy if precautions were not taken. As result, Ra's began to ruthlessly torture and electrify Grundy while he exposed him to Lazarus every time that he was killed to revive him. After he studied the results every time that Grundy was revived, Ra's altered the nature of Lazarus to suit his needs and eventually made the substance pure; all that was needed was enough exposure to electricity to make the pit a fountain of youth.
Ra's next approached Gotham City Hall and negotiated with them to obtain the deed for the city itself. While the council members found Ra's negotiations amusing and ridiculous in nature, they soon took him seriously when he showed them more gold than had ever seen in their lives from his old country. He was soon awarded the deed, immediately set to work, and commissioned a new project to eradicate crime in Gotham, that was known as Wonder City.
Ra's imported slaves from his country, and had them build that new city, brick by brick, while he developed robots from amazing technology that was way ahead of its time; they were known as the Wonder City Mechanical Guardians. With the city completed, Ra's powered the foundations with the Lazarus chemical, and made it a seemingly safe and renewable source of energy.
However, while the residents of Wonder City celebrated Ra's as a genius and a hero, Wonder City was actually a front to cover a violent and sinister conspiracy that was served Ra's megalomaniac desires. Behind the scenes, hundreds of criminals and even potentially innocent individuals were captured and violently murdered by the Wonder City Mechanical Guardians.
In the meantime, Ra's perfected the crown jewel of his city; Wonder Tower which rose over the entire city as a monument of prosperity, but was actually part of Ra's experiment to test the Lazarus Pit. Wonder Tower was actually a mechanism that was connected to the Lazarus Pit through a complex network of pipes and attracted electricity during lightning storms, which amplified the chemicals of the Lazarus Pit and allowed Ra's to recover from any physical injury. Ra's also set up additional pits and chambers throughout the city to use as fail-safe supplies, though those pits were much smaller and not nearly as pure as the chemicals that were derived from the Wonder Tower source.
As Ra's continued to perfect that process, he failed to realize that long-term exposure to the pit lead to destabilizing side effects; it drove the citizens of Wonder City insane. Violence, crime, and riots erupted onto the streets in a maddened fashion the likes of which Gotham had never seen before. Ra's refused to admit that his actions had caused the biggest crime wave in Gotham's history and did little to nothing to save his own city, and was completely blinded by his obsession with the Lazarus Pit. When he failed to act, the newly instituted City Hall did and ordered for the police to shut down the city, take all of the residents to Arkham Asylum to be treated, and arrest Ra's.
As the troops went throughout the city, arresting all residents, Ra's vanished and abandoned his once prime utopia. Wonder City was almost completely destroyed from the raid and was shut down, with the new Gotham City constructed over it as the years went on. Grundy in the meantime was left broken physically, emotionally, and mentally from his continuous torture and hundreds of deaths at the hands of Ra's. When troops discovered the beast in Ra's medical chamber, he viciously murdered them all and waited in the chamber for Ra's to return to murder him again. Wonder City went on to become part of Gotham's sewer system while the Cyrus Pinkney National History Museum and the Monarch Theatre were built over the medical chamber that contained Grundy and the Lazarus Pit, respectively.
Arkham Origins Incident
Centuries later, Ra's, still used the Lazarus Pit to cheat death for nearly 600 years, and was still intent on destroying Gotham City, though that time, through political means. Having built up a massive army of skilled ninjas, known as the League of Assassins, and massive business empires, mostly under the supervision of his daughter, Talia, to fund its criminal and terrorist operations, Ra's was a true force to be reckoned with. However, the appearance of the vigilante known as Batman in Gotham intrigued Ra's as his apparent and immense skills in stealth and combat made him a prime candidate for his organization, perhaps even his right-hand man and eventual successor, if he could be turned to their side. As the hero was already well versed within Gotham and its criminal underworld, Batman would be ideally placed to carry out Ra's brutal methods of cleansing Gotham and, eventually, the world.
Ra's ultimate opportunity to test Batman and implement his plans to eliminate most of the population in Gotham presented itself when the biggest crime lord of the city, Black Mask, who was actually the Joker, a new criminal mastermind and mass murdering psychopath in disguise, put a $50 million hit on the Dark Knight's head and hired eight of the world's deadliest assassins. One of the assassins was none other than Shiva, an immensely skilled operative under the command of Ra's, who was given orders by her master to accept the proposition to put Batman through a series of tests and implement operations that would be instrumental in his plans years later for the city.
Those plans involved Shiva contacting political activist, Quincy Sharp, who had been observed by the League of Assassins as being an ideal for a pawn due to his power-hungry and political ambitions of becoming Mayor, and convince him to open up Arkham Asylum, which had been previously shut down after numerous cases of illegal activities and experimentation. Shiva assured Sharp that by reopening that institution, he could use it as a prison to contain the more dangerous criminals, and gain massive public support to nominate him and eventually elect him as Mayor, though she reminded him that it would still take some time to accomplish all that and patience was required as a result. In reality, Ra's and Shiva planned for the opening of the asylum to eventually start a chain reaction of events that would culminate in the opening of an even more brutal prison that would pave the way for the destruction of Gotham City and its population.
To further their designs, Ra's gave Shiva control over a squadron of his trained soldiers and ordered her to use them to murder corrupt officers and criminals in order to draw Batman out in the open and into a series of tests to see just what the hero was capable of. In the end, Batman proved to be just as Ra's had hoped: skilled, honorable, and persistent. While Batman refused to take a life, no matter how corrupt, Shiva gave him a reprieve and hoped that one day the hero would learn that Gotham could not be saved, only torn down and rebuilt from the ashes. By the end of the night, the Joker's destructive plans lead to the brutal deaths of nearly a thousand people and the destruction of many of the city's structures. That allowed Quincy Sharp to use the chaos as incentive to start a campaign to reopen Arkham Asylum, a goal that was eventually solidified not too long afterward after the continuous riots and breakouts at Blackgate Prison, and was previously the sole prison for all of Gotham's criminals.
With the foundations of Ra's plans in effect, he was ready to start the next phase of his operations when he was told a particularly useful piece of information by Shiva: she fought Batman before. After she recognized Batman's fighting style as perfectly identical to that of a man known as Bruce Wayne while he was training abroad, and when the both of them were training under Master Kirigi in North Korea, Shiva had accurately deduced the hero's identity. Armed with that knowledge, Ra's was prepared not to ruin Bruce Wayne's life nor reveal his identity, but to use it to form a more personable relationship with the hero and persuade him to accept his ideologies of cleansing the world through the eradication of most of its population.
Battles with the Dark Knight and Death
Ra's' League of Assassins attacked Wayne Enterprises around the world to draw Batman out. Eventually, Ra's and Batman crossed paths face to face when Batman saved Ra's' daughter, Talia, from an attack, but in the process he was stabbed with a poisoned dagger. Ra's let Talia nurse him back to health and Bruce, upon recovery, learned that they knew his identity. Ra's introduced himself to Bruce, proposed that they form an alliance, and explained his goal of creating a better world. Batman later discovered that Ra's' plans to achieve that goal involved mass murder and rejected joining him.
Ra's and Batman had multiple battles over the years, with Ra's believing that Batman could serve as a worthy successor to his organization, the League of Assassins, and help him eradicate crime by destroying most of the population. Batman saw Ra's as nothing more than another madman and ruined his plans and operations at every corner, but no matter how much damage Ra's sustained during his battles, he would always return later in prime condition.
That led Batman to believe that Ra's was actually supernatural as even the warlord claimed to be over 600 years old. In truth, Ra's returned to his old Lazarus Chamber in Wonder City, which was a part of the sewer network beneath Gotham, converted it into his base of operations again, and used the pit to recover from his injuries. Over the years, Ra's used his knowledge of Batman's true identity to sympathize with him and use his tragic origin as persuasion to help him eradicate crime, the same aspect of society that took his parents. No matter how tempted he may have been to help Ra's, Batman never let his moral code down and continued to refuse him, even if that meant that he could never be with his beautiful daughter, Talia, with whom he was in love with.
Having put multiple operations and contingency plans in order, Ra's was eventually visited by a peculiar professor named Hugo Strange who had located him with a proposition of his own. Strange told Ra's that he had the tools and abilities to destroy crime in Gotham and proved his intellect to the warlord by revealing that he had accurately deduced Batman's identity as Bruce Wayne. Ra's was highly impressed by Strange's deduction and decided to give him the chance to prove his worth as a potential successor for his army and empire.
Strange gladly agreed and collaborated with Ra's plans to construct a new prison compound known as Arkham City, an anarchic war zone where every criminal in Gotham would be thrown in for eventual extermination through a military operation known as Protocol 10. Ra's was further impressed with Strange's additional ideas and projects and agreed to fund his operations and provide him with unlimited resources to see his plan through to the end. If Strange would succeed and kill Batman, Ra's would make him his successor, though he doubted that Strange would succeed and saw him as little more than a pawn to eliminate crime in Gotham.
Eventually, however, Ra's and Batman engaged in a fight so brutal that it cost Ra's his life, most likely as a result from his own operations that spiraled out of his control. Batman took Ra's corpse to Arkham Asylum to ensure that he would remain dead and secured by the authorities at the mental institution.
Road to Arkham Incident
Ra's body was moved to Arkham Asylum before the Joker's takeover of Arkham Island after unknown circumstances between himself and Batman.
Arkham Asylum Incident
In the Arkham Mansion by Dr. Young's Office, Batman found Ra's' body in a body bag inside a morgue-type wall, and when he came back to the room where the body was, it mysteriously disappeared.
Between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City Incident
Ra's appeared to be resurrected after the Arkham Asylum Incident. But his aged appearance later on in Arkham City, suggested that he had faked his death and was rescued by his subordinates.
Arkham City Incident
After he was poisoned by Joker, Batman consulted Mr. Freeze, whom he rescued from Penguin, and was told that the cure must have an enzyme that had been bonded to human DNA for at least decades. Batman deduced that it was the Head of the Demon himself. After he followed an assassin to Wonder City, Batman found his health declining and was forced to endure the Trail of the Demon, under the false pretense that he wished to succeed Ra's. After he passed, Batman found Ra's, aged and decayed in the Chamber of the Demon.
After he refused the latter's offer to kill him, Batman was forced to fight Ra's in his illusion, and was victorious in the end. Talia tried to help her father stand, but Ra's pulled a knife and held it to his daughter's throat, which left no chance for a straight-on Batarang attack, and demanded that Batman kill him and take over the League of Assassins or he would kill the only woman that he had ever loved-Talia. Batman tossed aside Ra's sword and used a pre-programmed Reverse Remote Control Batarang, which flew past Ra's and careened back into his skull, which left him open to a non-fatal strike. After he retrieved a sample of Ra's blood forcibly, Batman told Ra's that his prolonged use of the Lazarus Pit had damaged his mind and body in the centuries that he had used them, which explained his wish to have a successor. Batman still refused and told Ra's to cease using the Lazarus Pit or he would be back for him.
After Batman had infiltrated Wonder Tower's Security Control Center and deactivated Protocol 10, Ra's revealed himself as the financier behind Arkham City and thus, Strange's superior. Once Strange had uncovered Batman's identity, he took it the underworld to auction it off to the highest bidder. He was instead apprehended by Ra's forces. Bonded over their shared fascination with Batman, Strange plotted for a way to replace Batman by becoming Ra's successor in his place, which lead to the creation of the Arkham City concept. However, as Strange was beaten by Batman, whom Ra's believed was still a worthy successor, Ra's impaled him from behind with his sword. As Batman insisted that they save Strange, Ra's told the Dark Knight that he could do as he wanted, for Strange was already dead to him. Ra's then declared that Arkham City was just the beginning, and once again, enticed Batman to join him. Batman refused, and declared that Ra's had become what he had always fought against and vowed to stop him. Ra's simply laughed it off. Then suddenly with his last breath, Strange activated Protocol 11, which detonated explosives that were set in Wonder Tower. As Batman and Ra's fell, Ra's tried to kill the Dark Knight one more time by stabbing himself with his own sword along with the Dark Knight through his chest when Batman tried to save him, but failed, with Batman leaving him to fall, and landing on the sharp "A" tip of the front gates of Arkham City and getting impaled in the stomach which lead to his death.
Later, Ra's body disappeared from the Arkham City gates with only his sword left behind, which heavily implied that he was rescued by his group of assassins once again.
After Arkham City Incident
After the death of Joker, the GCPD went into the prison looking for all that they could find. During the prison search, Ra's Sword was found.
Unbeknownst to the authorities, Ra's body was retrieved by members of the League of Assassins, who hooked him up to a Lazarus device beneath Elliott Memorial Hospital; unfortunately, this Lazarus source was not pure enough to completely revive him. Though the hole in his chest healed, with his internal organs knitting back together, the skin didn't heal over it; left in this state, Ra's was left conscious as his body slowly deteriorated, leaving him in a zombie-like state and too weak to speak more than few words at a time. Struggling to stay alive, Ra's was helpless to take part in the civil war that was started by his youngest daughter, Nyssa Raatko. Nyssa and her group guarded the last pure source of Lazarus in Gotham, killing any of the League's loyalists that tried to take a sample back to Ra's for fully bringing him back to life.
Arkham Knight Incident
Ra's al Ghul had his final encounter with Batman after he tracked him down and confronted him beneath Elliot Memorial Hospital. Unable to form more than a few words at a time, one of Ra's loyalists explained his condition to Batman, and made it clear that without his, assistance Ra's would die. Ra's begged for Batman's help, and invoked the memory of his daughter, Talia, to convince him to help.
When Batman returned, he was forced to make a choice: If he injected Ra's with what may have been the last remaining Lazarus on Earth, Ra's would kill Nyssa and briefly battle Batman before he vanished, and would be free to take back control of the League of Assassins and continue his violent war on Gotham. Alfred mentions that even with the last of the Lazarus Ra's isn't fully healed and he will still be out of commission for some time in order to heal up fully and the League will have left Gotham to hunt down the remaining Rebels
If Batman chose to destroy the Lazarus and Ra's life-support system, Ra's would be unable to protest as Nyssa attempted to kill him, nor could he stop Batman from taking him to the GCPD Lockup. All Ra's could do was taunt Batman by insisting that despite being responsible for his death and essentially killing him, he was proud that he apparently choose to take a life. Ra's presumably died for the final time in GCPD custody within the week.
Personality
Ra's al Ghul is the wise and enigmatic leader of the League of Assassins. His hatred of the criminal underworld was extensive far exceeding that of a typical eco-terrorist as he believed that the mass eradication of the population of Arkham City was beneficial for the world. He also thrusts his beliefs onto his soldiers whom dedicate their lives to Ra's and his cause through his charisma however he is in reality a ruthless, fearsome and intensely determined extremist and zealot. Batman, in the event that he destroyed his machine, also acknowledged that, even though he was far from a decent man, Ra's did indeed possess conviction behind his goals.
He does seem to possess some honour in spite of his ruthlessness and zealotry however it is extremely twisted and he does not have an ounce of compassion or morality which extends even to his own henchman, shown when he killed Hugo Strange by stabbing him from behind when Protocol 10 failed. Ra's is extremely stubborn and uncompromising in his goals. He looks down on Batman for his no-killing rule, even though the two share the same goals he believes his methods are more efficient and deems him a fool otherwise. Yet in contrast of this Ra's is equally determined in making Batman his successor, ignoring that he always defies his offer and once even used his daughter as blackmail to force him to take charge. His authority complex and self-righteousness lead him to believe that despite his unconscionable methods his crusade is still just and for the good of humanity.
Ra's life has been exceeded far that of a normal mortal because of a mythical "Fountain of Youth", the Lazarus Pit which he abuses to a fault. However he is not unfathomable and holds no fear of death. In fact he goads Batman to kill him and take his place as Head of the Demon multiple times. Ra's lack of fear towards death was further reinforced in Shadow War, where if the player decided to destroy the machine, Ra's would tell Batman that he was proud of him.
Each time he exits the Pit, however Ra's personality takes a change for the worse. The effect of Lazarus reached its peak at Arkham Knight in which he possessed an almost zombie-like state of mind. He could barely move and became dependent on his machine as it was the only thing keeping him alive. Ra's' appearance also became reminiscent of a corpse and he became considerably lucid; the closest thing he came to a full sentence was "detective... Help me... For Talia". Nyssa even states that Ra's had no idea that he had a second daughter or that Talia was dead presumably because of the Lazarus overuse although there is a chance that he would have no idea of Talia's status anyway on account of his usual abusiveness and indifference towards his daughters wellbeing.
Despite his cold and calculating nature, Ra's did seem to love his daughter but the Lazarus Pit affected him so much that his attitude towards Talia turned incredibly cruel. He was even prepared to use her as a bargaining chip and held her at knife-point, threatening to kill his own daughter unless Batman took his place but she did seem to respect him until that point. He also neglected Nyssa and took no effort in hiding his favouritism of Talia as he has spoilt her entire life causing the root of her arrogance and over-confidence which indirectly lead to her death at the hands of the Joker. Ra's also demonstrated his willingness to kill even his own daughter if she went against him, as best demonstrated if the player decided to fully revive him, where he mercilessly killed Nyssa for her treachery against him despite the fact that she was his daughter.
Physical Appearance
Arkham City
In Arkham City, Ra's seemed to wear armor slightly similar to the knights. His clothing consisted of a gold/black armor chest plate, which had the League of Assassains symbol on it. On his arms, were tattoos of dragons, and there were golden gauntlets below them. Ra's had grey/black hair, and a short goatee on his chin. He wore golden/red/black pants and below them, were black boots with dark, glossy red stripes. Below his gauntlets, were glossy red gloves which were seemingly attached to the gauntlets. Ra's also wore a leather belt with a buckle that was shaped like the League of Assasians logo.
Arkham Knight
Ra's appeared to wear most of the same clothing that he did in Arkham City, but due to blood loss, he's quite thin. Ra's took a more zombie-like appearance, with a giant hole in his stomach due to his self-inflicted wound, which exposed his rib cage, green blood, and organs. He still retained his glowing green tattoos prior to be resurrected once again.
Psychological Profile
Ra's al Ghul
Real Name: Unknown
GCPD Profile
Batman's Database Profile
Ra's al Ghul's immortality begins of his true power, he has no police records about him that he is actually terrorist from over centuries. Following through immortal, Ra's gives enough which the demon always uses a chemical called Lazarus it's been slowly to restore youth. Although, it may have been done for anything that Ra's has to give immortality also as the head of the League of Assassins bringing more that gets easy with more trained assassins to the demon's fate.
Attributes
- Genius Level intellect: He has mastered almost all forms of sciences, strategy and militaristic weaponry do to his eternal life. He is also a criminal mastermind, waste tactician and highly skilled at alchemy.
- Master Swordsman: Having trained and fought for centuries, he has developed vast combat capabilities. He is also a Hand-to-Hand combatant (Advanced), having trained over the centuries
- Reanimation: He has enhanced capabilities due to exposure to the Lazarus Formula. By extensive amounts of exposure to a synthesized version of the Lazarus and then a pure lazarus formula, he transformed into living dead being. Mr Freeze even claimed that this restorative element is bonded to his DNA. It has been stated that he is only physically alive and in spirit and soul, has already died.
- Enhanced Condition: Ra's is able to show atleast above-peak-human levels of physical strength. Ra's can exert himself for almost endless amount of time. Ra's is seen throwing his body around during his attacks & is still fighting. Ra's reacts instantaneously to any kind of attack. He can even recover quickly.
- Immortality: Ra's reanimated condition allows him to be impervious to death, as long as most of his body remains intact.
- Resources: Commands a legion of followers dedicated to bringing his vision of an Earthly paradise to fruition. He is the Leader of the League of Assassins (The Demon's Head). He also has a near-limitless amount of resources, state of the art weapons technology and wealth at his disposal.
Quotes
Arkham City
- "Welcome, Detective. I am the great Ra's al Ghul. Before you lies your first Demon Trial. Simply drink from the chalice. It is that simple."
- "In the Demon Trials, you must rely on instinct. Forget the real world."
- "Good. Feel the Blood of the Demon course through your veins, restoring your health and twisting your will."
- "Your next task is simple. Follow me through this world and the trial is complete. Touch anything along the way and you will die."
- "These tests prove if you are strong enough to lead my forces. To save this world from the evil that is destroying it."
- "Are you the one I have searched for, Detective? The one to succeed me?"
- "The blood of the demon has allowed me to live for 600 years. Imagine the good that you could do with such a gift."
- "I can see your body is becoming weaker. The small quantity that I have allowed you to drink will only keep you alive for a few more precious hours. It is time for you to make the ultimate decision."
- "It is time to face me in person. Complete this final challenge and the Blood of Demon will give you the gift of eternal life."
- "You have done well, Detective. Now, come and find me. Collect your reward."
- "Welcome, Detective. It is time for your final challenge."
- "Kill me. Replace me as the Head of the Demon. It is your destiny."
- "Allow me to help you."
- "Use my sword. Take it all."
- "And that is your final answer?"
- "Now, only one of us can leave this chamber alive."
- "You should have killed me when you had the chance!"
- "You cannot beat us!"
- "You should have joined us!"
- "Witness the true power of my Lazarus Pit."
- "Give in!"
- "You cannot defeat us!"
- "Our numbers are too great."
- "We are legion!"
- "For that...you will suffer!"
- "Listen to me, Detective. And listen well."
- "You will kill me. You will lead the League of Assassins. Because, if you do not join us, I will kill the only person you have ever loved." (Holding Talia at knife-point)
- "Do it!"
- "De-tec-tive!"
- "You should have killed me."
- "I have used the Lazarus Pit too many times. I've lived 600 years. My mind and body cannot take much more. Each time I enter the pit I am frightened of what will come out."
- "Your part in this is over, Professor Strange." (After stabbing Hugo Strange in the back with his sword)
- "Indeed. You clearly demonstrated that Batman is better than you."
- "Let him die, Detective." (To Batman about Hugo Strange)
- "And you failed to see it through."
- "When you came to me with Batman's identity I gave you this chance to prove your worth, providing you with limitless resources for your plan."
- "You came close, but you have failed me."
- "Do as you wish, Detective. He's already dead to me." (To Batman about Hugo Strange)
- "Too late. I don't give second chances."
- "This is a good day, Detective."
- "The world will not miss them, why should you? Look at my work. You may have defeated Strange, but this, this is just the beginning. Come with me, we will wipe this world clean."
- "I doubt it."
- "What are you doing?"
- "No!"
- "No. No, no, no..."
Arkham Knight
- "Detective..."
- "Help me...For Talia..."
- "De..tec..tive."
- "Nyssa. Daughter."
- "Traitor."
- "Detective?"
- "Proud..of you."
Game Over Lines
Batman: Arkham City
- "And the hunt for my successor goes on."
- "It appears I chose unwisely, Detective."
- "You disappoint me, Detective."
Gallery
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham Knight
.jpg "Ras (AK).jpg (21 KB)")
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Trivia
- In Arkham Asylum, Ra's body was found in Dr. Young's Office at the Arkham Mansion. However, if you returned, Ra's body was no longer there (it was presumably taken by the League of Assassins).
- in Arkham City, when Hugo Strange activated Protocol 11 and Batman and Ra's fell from the building, Ra's body was impaled upon the Arkham City gate. Later, if you returned after you beat the story, Ra's body was no longer there.
- In Arkham Knight it was revealed that the League recovered his body and he was brought back by and being keep alive by a impure Lazarus serum. The wound he suffered during Arkham City (the Arkham logo being impaled through his entire torso) is still present and hasn't healed properly due to being brought back with a impure Lazarus serum. Furthermore, neither his strength nor speed had fully returned as well.
- In addition, it is implied post-mission that he had Talia al Ghul revived in the event that Batman does not become his successor.
- It also must be considered that if Zombies are counted, Ra's wouldn't have been Batman's first kill, as he tore Solomon Grundy's heart out during the events of Arkham City.
- In Arkham Knight it was revealed that the League recovered his body and he was brought back by and being keep alive by a impure Lazarus serum. The wound he suffered during Arkham City (the Arkham logo being impaled through his entire torso) is still present and hasn't healed properly due to being brought back with a impure Lazarus serum. Furthermore, neither his strength nor speed had fully returned as well.
- If Batman was killed in Arkham City and Strange appeared for the Game Over Screen, Strange may state that "[Batman] failed to live up to his expectations. How predictable." That was actually an early hint to the fact that Strange was working with someone who thought highly of Batman.
- Another hint that Strange was working with Ra's was the fact that somehow Strange,'s records were wiped from Gotham's database, despite spending years working at Arkham Asylum and presumably having spent his entire life there. Few people in the series could be considered capable of such a feat, and Ra's was indubitably among them.
- Ra's al Ghul lived for a total of 600+ years.
- In the mainstream DC Comics, Ra' al Ghul's goal was not just to purge the world of crime, but also to exterminate humanity as well. It's unknown if the Ra's al Ghul from the Batman: Arkham Series also desired humanity's extermination.
- If Batman chose to stop Ra's during Arkham Knight by destroying the Lazarus machines that kept him alive, Batman would carry the dying Ra's out of Elliot Memorial Hospital and to the GCPD Lockup in the exact same manner that he carried Joker's body out of Arkham City. The final words spoken to Batman by Ra's were "Proud...Of...You." Instead of slamming the gate like usual, Batman instead would nod his head at Ra's and politely and somberly shut the gate behind him, which indicated that even though they were enemies, Batman did in fact, respect him.
- When Ra's says he's proud of Batman after being locked up at GCPD, he could have meant that he was proud of the Dark Knight for bringing an end to the internal conflict in the League of Assassins, which was distracting them for following their goals.
- Some might consider the choice to let Ra's die is a violation of his oath not to kill, however considering the fact that Ra's died during the events of Arkham City only to be resurrected in a zombified state and kept alive by Lazarus machines, it can be argued that Ra's wasn't actually alive but an unnatural undead state caused by the Lazarus machines. By destroying the Lazarus machines, Batman is simply allowing nature to run its course as Ra's undead body can no longer sustain itself without the Lazarus machines causing the undead Ra's to revert back to being dead.
- Also should he restore Ra's to life, it will result in the revived Ra's killing his daughter Nyssa (Talia's young sister), thus Batman would be directly (though unintentionally) responsible for her death. By denying Ra's his immorality, Batman prevents Nyssa's death and prevents her from becoming a monster like Ra's by convincing her not to take revenge on her own father who's unnatural life was practically over anyway since the Lazarus machines that caused his undead existence where gone.
- The decision to let Ra's die as opposed to saving him has precedence; as the climax to the film Batman Begins has Bruce leave Ra's to die in the train crash, refusing to kill him nor save him.
- Ra's being attached to the tubes helping him survive is similar to how Ra's stole Superman's powers in the Batman/Superman Animated Series crossover episode, The Demon Reborn.
- In Arkham City, each time you visit Wonder City, you will hear an announcer speaking about Gotham's destruction. This person could be Ra's himself as the announcer's voice actor is Dee Bradley Baker, who also voiced Ra's, although it was never confirmed if they were the same person. (However, this is the most logical answer.)
- Ra's also appeared on the TV series Arrow, where "Ra's al Ghul' is the title of the League's leader, rather than just one man. The title is given to whoever kills the current Ra's and takes his ring; however, the ring can be given away. Ra's believed in a prophecy that his successor would be whoever he failed to kill; this turned out to be Oliver Queen/the Arrow, who ends up killing him to end his madness, Ra's title was given to Malcolm Merlyn. However, the title was later taken by Nyssa al Ghul. Nyssa later destroys the ring, ending the Ra's legacy.