Ra's al Ghul


 * For the title itself, visit Ra's al Ghul (title).

"Ra's al Ghul" (Arabic: رأس الغول‎ Raʾs al-Ġūl; The Demon's Head; before 1854 —early 2015) was the title of an otherwise unnamed man who was the leader of the League of Assassins. He had inherited the title from a predecessor. He was also the husband of a late unnamed woman, the father of a late unnamed boy, a late unnamed girl, and Nyssa al Ghul, the former mentor/father-in-law of Oliver Queen, and the ex-best friend/rival of Damien Darhk.

Early life
This man was conscripted to the league and underwent a brutal training process to cleanse his mind of his past life until he believed himself to have been reborn into something else, and was to eventually ascend to the mantle of Ra's al Ghul himself. During his training he was conscripted with a man named Damien Darhk who underwent a similar training process with this man, and both became best friends and the horsemen of Ra's al Ghul. However Damien believed himself to be the better warrior and true heir to Ra's mantle, but this man was chosen instead. In order to eliminate any threats to his reign this man was obligated by Ra's to kill Damien, but this man hesitated because of their friendship. With this distraction Damien was able to flee with his followers and samples of the Lazarus Pit, and would go on to continue the league's ways but through his own agenda in an organisation called H.I.V.E.. However their motives dishonored the league's ways and resulted in many unnecessary civilian deaths, which left a heavy burden on this man's consciousness and since his hesitation lead to those deaths.

Eventually this man was obligated by Ra's to initiate the final act of ascension which called for the destruction of his homeland, the cleansing and ending of his former life entirely which resulted in the deaths of everyone he ever knew and presumably his family. Following this he ascended to Ra's al Ghul himself and took the name, presumably following his predecessor's death.

In 1854, Ra's happened upon an illusionist in Vienna, becoming mystified with his tricks. Nearly half a century later, he came across the man again, but the man was withered and old. Around 1947, someone challenged Ra's to a trial by combat, presumably to the death, with Ra's coming out victorious.

At some point when Ra's was seeing to matters of importance in the desert he encountered a woman named Amina Raatko, a woman with an appearance and personality that he was captivated by and was unable to live without. Ra's allowed Amina to become his concubine and eventually in 1985 they had a daughter named Nyssa. Nyssa was conscripted from birth to ascend to Ra's mantle herself, provided the if the prophecy of a man who doesn't die at Ra's blade will ascend to Ra's himself failed to come true.

In 1993 Malcolm Merlyn joined the group, but eventually released from his bonds to the League by Ra's. After Malcolm broke the league's code by initiating the Undertaking Ra's realized his mistake and marked Malcolm for death.

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.

Meeting Mesi Natifah
Sometime later, however, Sara Lance returned to the League, to keep her family out of danger.

After he'd heard of Khem-Adam and his extremist sect Onslaught, Ra's wished to speak with Khem-Adam. He sent Nyssa and Sara Lance to retrieve him from his base in the Amon-Shu Caves of Kahndaq. They arrived back, with Khem-Adam and a girl named Mesi Natifah. Wishing to give Mesi vengeance, he gave her his sword to use on Khem-Adam.

The hunt for an heir
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, and tossing the sword into the ground as a grave for Oliver.



Ra's was confronted by his daughter, Nyssa who had just discovered Oliver survived and demanded Oliver be killed. After the League captured Malcolm, Ra's watched him beg for mercy before sending him off to be tortured. When Oliver made an attempt to rescue Malcolm, Ra's locked Oliver in, along with Diggle. Later, Ra's asked if Oliver was willing to be his successor as Ra's al Ghul.

As Ra's continued to explain why Oliver should take his place, Oliver denied the request, and Ra's allowed Oliver to leave with Diggle and Malcolm. Sometime after their departure, Nyssa returned to the palace only to berate on why Malcolm was still alive. Ra's explained that Nyssa had only wanted Malcolm dead in revenge of Sara's death and that he had let them go as a sign of good faith to Oliver who will become his heir. Nyssa got enraged by his decision to make Oliver his heir and tried to kill him after which he easily disarmed her. Ra's puts Nyssa off, saying that Oliver surviving a fair duel with him merits the vigilante the right to take her father's place; and he never did approve and will never approve of the feelings of his daughter.

Sometime after Murmur's arrest, Ra's arrives in Starling City dressed as the Arrow, and quickly killed Murmur's remaining men leaving only one alive to spread the word. To force Oliver to take his offer he made Maseo and other assassins dress up as The Arrow and kill criminals.

After Maseo killed Celia Castle and failed to kill Felicity Smoak, he met with Oliver and told him to accept the title of heir to the demon or he would spend the rest of his life in a cage, claiming he wasn't going to capture Oliver when he challenged it but a police helicopter soon arrived. He later sent Maseo to intercept and capture Captain Lance and brought him to Ra's where he revealed The Arrow's identity as Oliver Queen.

Oliver Queen got arrested but got free when Roy turned himself in as The Arrow to set Oliver free. After Roy faked his death, Ra's targeted Thea. He appeared in her apartment and asked her if she knew who he was. After she said Oliver would kill him, he said Oliver would beg him to become the next Demon's Head. He caught the knife Thea threw at him and the two got into a fight. Ra's effortlessly dodged her strikes after which he slammed her through a table. Drawing his sword, he then impaled her, and said a quick prayer, after which he left the apartment. Ra's greeted Oliver with his entire league as a desperate Oliver arrived at Nanda Parbat holding a deceased Thea. After Thea's resurrection, Ra's expected Oliver to hold his end of the deal. Later, an upset Felicity approached Ra's and told him she doesn't care about the prophecy. Felicity told Ra's he didn't know what love was, though Ra's told Felicity about his past life. Ra's told Felicity he is offering a chance for Oliver to have a proper goodbye, one that he never had a chance to do. After a failed escape attempt by Felicity, Malcolm, and Diggle, Ra's asked Oliver who assisted them, though Sarab quickly came clean and revealed he killed three of the league members. Ra's told Sarab he won't punish him for Maseo's actions and spared him for his loyalty. Ra's went on to mark Oliver with a mark and started to cleanse Oliver of his personality so all that remained was Al Sah-him.

The next weeks Ra's personally trained Oliver and helped him improve his swordmanship and combat skills. He used isolation and brainwashing techniques to make Oliver forget about his past and he began to accept his new identity and name. Exposing him to a herb Oliver started to hallucinate and believed a captured intruder was in fact his friend John Diggle. Ra's ordered him to kill him and Oliver quickly overpowered the intruder in a swordfight and killed him after which he realized the intruder was not John.

Impressed with the loyalty of Oliver Ra's showed him a few ruins as he told him he and Damien Darhk were like brothers and both candidates to become the new head of the demon. After Ra's was chosen he was ordered to kill Damien, however he hesitated and Damien escaped and started his own organisation H.I.V.E.. Ra's explained to Oliver how Damien had attempted to buy the earthquake device and was responsible for multiple crimes. This was a direct result of Ra's having doubted in killing him. Ra's then told Oliver he does not want this for Oliver so he ordered Oliver to take out his rival for the title Heir of the Demon.

After Oliver captured Nyssa and brought her to Ra's, he complimented Oliver. He recalled how Nyssa used to steal food when she was young, but that she had never been able to hide things from her. He searched Nyssa her weapons and found the Omega virus. Ra's told her he would remember her as the warrior she once was, Nyssa replied that she was not afraid of him. Ra's ordered Oliver to kill her but stopped him at the last second. He mentioned Nyssa had been defeated by Oliver and was no longer a threat. He told both of them they would marry and Nyssa would become bride of the demon.

Ra's explained to Oliver that the ruined village he had shown him was his former home. He mentioned that to become the new head of the demon one had to whipe out his former home. Just like he had did and the former Ra's before him had whipped out Alexandria. Ra's explained that he would unleash the Omega Virus on Starling City. Ra's recalled how Maseo had come to him and offered him the Alpha-Omega Virus when he wanted to join him. Maseo reported a plane had been readied to spread the virus.

Ra's visited Nyssa and explained to her how he had met his concubine Amina Raatko. He gave Nyssa a necklace he had given to her, and she then gave it to him to give it to Nyssa for her wedding day. Nyssa refused and Ra's told her she would marry Oliver or she would suffer the pain of a thousand deaths.

When John Diggle, Malcolm Merlyn, Laurel, Felicity and Ray Palmer blew up his plane a huge fight started in which Maseo and many assassins got killed. Ra's confronted them and made his men capture them. He explained to them the plane was just a distraction to see if there were any traitors reporting to them. Team Arrow made it appear like Maseo had been the traitor.

Ra's talked to Malcolm who told him Oliver had been the one betraying him. Ra's called Oliver who told him that was not the case and he was devoted to the League. Ra's went to Team Arrow and threw in the Omega Virus as they screamed for Oliver to help. He and Oliver walked away as they left them to die.

Ra's, Oliver, Nyssa and a squad of assassins departed on a plane. Oliver woke up and Ra's told him there are dreams of desire, temptation and truth. Oliver explained that he dreamed of rebirth as Head of the Demon. Ra's told him they would destroy Starling and then he would get his ring that would allow him to command the League. The plane started to shake and the pilot told them the plane had been sabotaged. Enraged Ra's blamed Nyssa. Oliver told him it was his doing. Oliver handed Nyssa a sword and she started to fight the assassins. Ra's mentioned to Oliver he had given him his holy mission. Oliver told him he had one already. The two fought and Ra's managed to knock down Oliver. Nyssa killed his assassins but Ra's subdued her and Oliver and promised them he would destroy the city and then hunt them forever. He then escaped from the crashing plane by parachute.

Ra's tracked down his rival Damien Darhk to a hotel in Starling. However he had already escaped and Ra's noticed Oliver and his team closing in on his assistent. Ra's called the assistent and then shot him. He taunted Oliver and told him he would spread the virus and destroy the city.

Ra's then send a messenger to Oliver to tell him he would meet him so they could have a duel to finish this. Ra's met Oliver and mentioned how he would win either way. If Oliver would kill him he would become the Head of the Demon and if he would win his city would die. Ra's saw that Oliver used the sword he had been impaled with. Ra's and Oliver engaged each other in a swordfight. In spite of Oliver's considerable improvement from his training Ra's kept the upperhand the entire fight and ended up taking Oliver down and destroying his sword in one strike. Ra's mentioned that thousands of men would mourn his death if he would die. He then attempted to strike down Oliver. Oliver disarmed him with the same move Ra's had used in their first battle and ended up impaling his chest, while refuting Ra's earlier claim, stating that his men would simply kneel before the next Ra's al Ghul. Oliver then recited the same prayer Ra's did after he had stabbed him. Proud of his student's success, Ra's handed him the ring and then collapses to the floor.

Legacy
"Ra's al Ghul", this unnamed man, chose Oliver Queen to be the next Demon's Head. In doing so he had assassins go on a killing spree in Starling City while disguised as the Arrow to frame Oliver, providing the incentive for Roy Harper to take the fall for Oliver and fake his death, irrevocably altering the Arrow identity and giving Oliver the necessity of eventually changing his codename to Green Arrow. Ra's nearly killed Thea Queen but made a deal with Oliver to bring her back to full health using the Lazarus Pit with him accepting Ra's "offer" in exchange, pushing Thea into becoming the vigilante Speedy.

After Ra's death, Malcolm Merlyn succeeded him as the new leader of the League of Assassins, the next "Ra's al Ghul", however, Oliver Queen was chosen to be the true Ra's al Ghul and leader of the League of Assassins; as he not only survived Ra's blade in a death match, but he also killed Ra's. Out of the chance that the Lazarus Pit would fall into the wrong hands, Ra's devised a concoction to destroy the Pit, which Nyssa applied after Malcolm used the Pit to resurrect an insane, dehumanized Sara Lance.

Personality
Ra's al Ghul had a cold and stoic demeanor. He was ruthless, as he would not hesitate to kill his enemies. He was also known to be relentless, unflappable, impatient refusing to impose his will after he speaks once, and undeterred, allowing nothing (the lives of multiple innocents, anyone) to stand in the way of his goals of ensuring the purpose of the League of Assassins lives on, as a result of being the Demon's Head and having access to the Lazarus Pit for years. Astute and calculating, Ra's was an effective leader, having commanded the League for at least a century and a half, and lead, inspired and fashioned some of the greatest killers in all of history. Ra's himself said, that he feels pride for the thousands of people he had killed by his hand, genuinely believing he created a better world with these men dead. Nyssa mentioned the Lazarus Pit twisted Ra's mind, turning him into a ruthless monster.

Despite his ruthlessness and zealotry, Ra's has a sense of honor, somewhat of a soft side and (if twisted) a sense of humanity. He was shown to be capable of respecting his opponents and even holding them in honor, as shown in his commending Oliver's fighting skills and praying for him after stabbing him. As noted by Malcolm, Ra's' custom after killing an opponent in a death duel was to leave his weapon in the arena of combat, as a marker to honor the opponent. He also let Oliver pretend to be the one who killed Sara despite knowing full well he did not and that Oliver was simply trying to keep the people in his city from dying. He displayed respect and humility towards Felicity, commending her courage and love for Oliver, when she spoke up and out against him when he made the "offer" towards Oliver to become his heir, encouraging her to confess her feelings to him and say goodbye to him.

Ra's also had some love and care towards his daughter; particularly her relationship with Sara Lance. 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. Despite this, he seemed to have had some respect for their love. Ra's stated his reason for not seeing Sara as a true member of the League was because he knew she wasn't suited to kill people with her life and did not approve her relationship with Nyssa because he (correctly) believed it would end in Nyssa's heart break. His ruthless punishment of Malcolm is only out of obligation to the League's code, claiming he'd take no pleasure in making Malcolm suffer. He also released Malcolm from his obligations from the League under unknown circumstances on the condition Malcolm would honor the League's code of honor. He also spared Maseo for betraying him momentarily, respecting Maseo's past connection to Oliver.

Despite his generally calm, composed, dark and stoic demeanor, Ra's was 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 was also prone to fits of rage and fury if someone were to betray him, or display defiance towards him. He disinherited, exiled Nyssa over her outburst towards his selecting Oliver in being his heir instead of her and upon her attempt to slay him in petty vengeance. He lost his temper when Oliver revealed his duplicity in pretending to be his heir in an to attempt to dismantle the League from within.

Ra's was intelligent, calculating, strategic and empathic towards others having lead the League effectively for over a hundred years. Ra's knew the moment he had captured Malcolm, that Oliver would come and try to rescue his sister's father, actually planning to use this to request Oliver to succeed him. He let Oliver, Malcolm and Diggle go while predicting coming events for Oliver to make him overthink his offer. In Malcolm's words, Ra's doesn't make requests for people to do things he wishes, he orders. This was shown when he started killing people in Starling City with the Arrow's tools to frame him to make the "request" to be Ra's al Ghul more appealing.

After Oliver "accepted" the offer to succeed him, Ra's focused solely on grooming Oliver to become the next Ra's al Ghul. He care little for his own daughter at this point, even forcing her to marry and bare the child of a man she does not love and even threatened to torture her if she refused, only seeing her as a means to extend his and his son-in-law's bloodline.

In his final moments, before succumbing to his fatal injuries inflicted on him by Oliver, Ra's showed no guilt, no morals nor remorse for his actions, being only pleased that he made the right choice, by choosing Oliver Queen to become his successor, and he died somber with dignity and honor.

Powers

 * Longevity:  Due to his unrestricted access to the Lazarus Pit, Ra's was able to live for many decades, or even centuries, while retaining his peak health, vitality, as well as the physical appearance of a middle-aged man. However, he mentioned the waters had started to lose their potency on him, meaning in time, the waters would be unable to stop his aging and extend his lifespan. Still, the Pit was potent enough to heal a deep cut on his hand in mere seconds, without leaving a trace of it being there in the first place.

Abilities

 * Peak of human physical condition: As a highly skilled fighter and assassin, Ra's was in top physical condition. Ra's was shown to be very quick, able to catch a sudden sword strike Nyssa used in an attempt to kill him.
 * League of Assassins training: Being the leader of the League, Ra's has the highest level of training any assassin could receive.
 * Grandmaster hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: As the leader of the League of Assassins, Ra's was highly proficient and experienced in unarmed combat. He is able to instantly parry or dodge attacks using only a minimal of movement, his fighting style is very fluid and economic; this is reminiscent of his extended longevity, wisdom and training from centuries. During his duel with Oliver Queen, Ra's calmly faced his opponent unarmed, dodged sword strikes with his hands behind his back and overwhelmed Oliver with multiple precise strikes before he disarmed him.
 * Master swordsman: Ra's is shown to be a master swordsman with centuries of experience. The sword is Ra's weapon of choice as he always carries on with him.
 * Master archer: Ra's was shown to be a master archer, he was very proficient in archery, when he posed as the Arrow and took out several thugs. It can be assumed that Ra's was also proficient in the use of other weapons.
 * Genius-level intellect/Master tactician/Leader: Ra's was a great leader, as he had led the organization for at least 100 years with success since he accepted the offer of becoming the next leader of the League of Assassins. Due to his extended lifespan, he has gained the wisdom of the ages, and is able to recognize and predict the actions of others including their mindsets. He was able to predict the future adversities (which he later helped to orchestrate) of Oliver and used this while attempting to convince him to take his offer. Ra's later performed killings dressed as the Arrow to frame Oliver and make the city turn against him.
 * Occult knowledge: Ra's possessed some knowledge of magic and mysticism, as he fully understood how the Lazarus Pit functions.

Equipment

 * Sword: Ra's carried a decorated, double edged sword as his side arm.
 * Quiver: He wore a quiver while wearing the Arrow suit to carry arrows.
 * League of Assassins suit: Ra's wore a protective suit while on a mission in Starling City. The suit is identical to other League members with differences. It is unknown what materials it's made out of, with the exception of Kevlar.
 * Demon's Head ring: Ra's wore a particular ring which symbolised his position as the Demon's Head.
 * Lazarus Pit: Ra's used the Lazarus Pit's waters to live well beyond his lifetime and run the League of Assassins.

Arrow
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Season 4

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Season 1

 * "Left Behind"
 * "Left Behind"
 * "Left Behind"

Arrow: Season 2.5

 * Blood part 12 (mentioned)
 * "Assurances" Suicide Squad: Crisis in Kahndaq

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.
 * Matt Nable's casting as Ra's was met with notable controversy from fans. In light of Liam Neeson suggesting he would be happy to reprise the role (and the follow up reveal that Neeson was offered the role but had to turn it down being given little attention) many criticized the actions of the casting department when Stephen Amell announced it. Nable's debut in went largely unnoticed by critics due to only a very small amount of screentime, though fans were critical. Despite all of that, following the airing of, Nable was heavily praised by fans and critics alike, many suggesting he held up to Neeson's portrayal of the character.
 * Similar to his DC comic version, Ra's al Ghul is not his birth name. However, the DC comic version actually assumes the identity of Ra's al Ghul whereas the show depicts the name as a title given to whoever is the current leader of the League of Assassins. Also, unlike the DC comic version, there has been more than one Ra's al Ghul.
 * In the DC comics, Ra's has two daughters, Talia al Ghul and Nyssa Raatko, it is unknown if Talia will appear in the Arrow universe. In the DC comics, Ra's arranged exactly the sort of alliance he proposed to Al Sah-him between Batman and his eldest daughter, Talia.
 * Ra's al Ghul is the first Arrow villain that was a main antagonist to die.
 * Furthermore he is the first Arrowverse villian that was a main antagonist to die, as technically Eobard Thawne, the main antagonist of the first season of The Flash, didn't die but was erased from existance.
 * British film actor Liam Neeson, who portrayed Ra's al Ghul/Henri Ducard in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy (especifically in the 2005 Batman Begins and in the 2012 The Dark Knight Rises), expressed an interest in reprising his role from the films in Arrow, but couldn't take up the role when offered it.