Ra's al Ghul

"Don't be afraid, my son. Death comes for us all, we can only evade it so long. Consider this an honorable exit."

- Ra's al Ghul to Oliver Queen

Ra's al Ghul (Arabic: رأس الغول‎ Raʾs al-Ġūl; Demon's Head; born prior to 1936) is the leader of the League of Assassins. He is also the father of Nyssa al Ghul.

Early life
At the age of eleven, Ra's killed a man for the first time because the man intended to harm his family. He felt ashamed that he had taken the life of a person, but also proud because he stood up to someone who threatened his family. He justified what he had done as necessary by claiming he had "replaced evil with death," a sentiment that later became the goal of the League of Assassins. Ra's went on to kill "several thousand more men," and believed the world was better off for it.

In 1947, someone challenged Ra's to a trial by combat, presumably to the death, with Ra's coming out victorious.

Releasing Malcolm Merlyn
At some point, Ra's became the leader of the League of Assassins. Malcolm Merlyn joined the group, but eventually released from his bonds to the League by Ra's, a decision he later regretted.

Retrieval of Sara Lance
Ra's sent a messenger to Sara Lance, ordering her return, though she refused and killed the messenger when he declined to report to Ra's that he had not found her, as she wanted. Around a week later, he sent Al-Owal and a team of assassins to bring Sara back by force, only to lose his team to both Sara and Oliver Queen.

Ra's was later contacted by Moira Queen after Malcolm mentioned that he went to Nanda Parbat. After learning Malcolm was alive, it was revealed that Ra's wanted to kill him for breaking the League's code of honor with The Undertaking.

Ra's sent Nyssa and another League member to once again try to bring Sara Lance back to Nanda Parbat, though Nyssa ultimately released Sara from the League.

Courting war with Oliver Queen
When Nyssa arrived back at Nanda Parbat from a visit to Starling City, she confirmed Malcolm Merlyn was still alive. Ra's informed his daughter that Malcolm would face consequences for crimes against the League's code. Ra's asked about Oliver Queen, to which he learned of Oliver's oath to protect Malcolm at any cost. Due to this, Ra's took it to mean Oliver was courting war with the League.

Following Sara Lance's death, Ra's sent a squad of assassins, led by Nyssa and Sarab, to capture Oliver. They informed Oliver that he would be given 48 hours to find Sara's killer, or the League would begin killing innocent civilians until the killer was caught. After the time was up, Ra's and various League members travelled to Starling City in preparation. However, Oliver met with them, falsely claiming to have killed Sara upon her request. By League law he was entitled to a trial by combat, and so Ra's accepted the duel, allowing Sarab to tell him of the neutral meeting place.



The two met atop a mountain some time later. They both removed their shirts, going with tradition, and Oliver picked up two swords against Ra's who was bare-handed. The latter discussed his first kill at age 11, feeling proud that he had replaced evil with death, which was what the League strived to do. They began fighting, Ra's dodging each attack with his hands behind his back, and soon disarming Oliver and fighting with the blades. Ra's easily parried Oliver's strikes and promptly cut him. He led him back to the edge of the mountain. Impressed that he had lasted longer than most, Oliver was given a chance to steal back the blade, however Ra's quickly caught the blade as Oliver stabbed at him, disarming him once again. He promptly stabbed Oliver in the chest, saying a quick prayer before pushing the dying Oliver over the edge.

Personality
Ra's has a cold demeanor. According to Malcolm Merlyn, Ra's is ruthless, as he will not hesitate to kill his enemies, though despite this, he has a personal sense of honor. After Nyssa told Ra's that Sara was apparently killed by Malcolm, he paid no heed and only focused on punishing him for his role in the Undertaking, saying he never saw Sara as a true member of the League of Assassins, lending credibility to Malcolm's claim Ra's was the one who had Sara killed. He is also known for being impatient, refusing to impose his will after he speaks once. Despite having a somewhat calm and stoic demeanor, Ra's is capable of being surprised; as when he first looked upon Oliver's youthfulness, the only thing he could say at the moment was "You're just a boy". He said that he feels pride for the thousands of people he had killed as he believes he replaced evil with death. And in that way he created a better world. He said that this is the purpose of the League of Assassins.

Abilities

 * Peak of human physical condition: As a highly skilled fighter and assassin, Ra's has shown to be in top physical condition.
 * League of Assassins training: Being the actual leader of the League, Ra's would have the highest level of training any assassin could.
 * Longevity: Despite being at least 78 years old, Ra's maintains the appearance of a middle-aged man through unspecified means.
 * Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: As the leader of the League of Assassins, Ra's is highly proficient and experienced in unarmed combat. He mentioned he had killed thousands of people since the age of eleven. Moira also confidently declared that Ra's could defeat Malcolm Merlyn, a claim that seems to be true as Malcolm did all he could to avoid a confrontation. During his death match against Oliver Queen, Ra's calmly faced his opponent unarmed, he dodged sword strikes with his hands behind his back and overwhelmed Oliver with multiple precise strikes before he disarmed Oliver. Using precise blows and joint locks he easily defeated and presumably killed Oliver. During the fight he held one or even both hands on his back most of the time.
 * Master swordsman: As the leader of the League of Assassins, Ra's is a master swordsman. During a simple training routine, he easily defeated eight League members, swiftly killing them. Against Oliver in their death match, Ra's was able to repeatedly catch Oliver off guard and slash him.
 * High tolerance for pain: Ra's was able to catch a sword strike by Oliver during their duel, an act which shocked the latter, with his bare hands.

Trivia

 * It was revealed that Malcolm Merlyn was the only member Ra's ever allowed to leave the League, an act he seemingly regretted after Malcolm partially destroyed Starling City with a man-made earthquake.
 * In, Oliver revealed that he had heard of Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins, and knew of his reputation, though how Oliver learned this is unknown.
 * Ra's al Ghul is one of two characters to have definitively bested Oliver Queen in single combat, the other being Malcom Merlyn. The only difference, however, is that Ra's was able to kill him, while Malcolm only ever injured him.
 * Ra's was said to have been challenged to a trial by combat 67 years prior to his fight with Oliver Queen. Considering it was presumably to the death, as his with Oliver's was, coupled with Ra's' claim that he first killed a man at age 11, Ra's would be 78 at the very least, yet he still retains the look of a middle-aged man. His claim to have killed thousands of men means he's likely far older than even that.

Behind the scenes

 * Ra's al Ghul, along with his daughter, Nyssa, are normally portrayed as enemies of Batman and his associates. However, his organization, the League of Assassins, has a history with Green Arrow and Black Canary. In the DC comics Ra's' other daughter, Talia, generally has a higher profile, having been (briefly) married to Bruce Wayne and borne him a son, Damian.
 * In Arrow, Ra's retains the look of a middle-aged man despite apparently being considerably old. In the DC comics, Ra's made use of the Lazarus Pits in order to keep himself looking youthful and essentially live forever.