Ra's al Ghul

Ra's al Ghul
Biological Information
Status	Alive
General Information
Occupation	Leader of the League of Assassins
Family	Nyssa al Ghul (daughter)
Actor	Matt Nable

"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^[src]

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

Biography

Early life

At the age of 11, 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.

Sixty seven years ago, 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.

Ra's and Oliver meet atop a mountain.

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.

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. He is also 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. 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 seems to care for Sara because of Nyssa's feeling for her as he carried out the League's tradition of killing 50 people a day until Oliver reveals the one who killed Sara. 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 genuinely believes the world is better off with these men dead and in that way he created a better world. He said that this is the purpose of the League of Assassins. Despite his ruthlessness he seems to have somewhat of a soft side. This was shown when he granted Oliver a trial by combat and let Oliver pretend to be the one who killed Sara despite knowing full well he did not kill her and that Oliver was simply trying to keep people in his city from dying. He also told Oliver in a soft manner that he shouldn't be afraid to die as death claims everyone sooner or later rather than just killing him in a ruthless manner. 

Abilities

• Peak of human physical condition: As a highly skilled fighter and assassin, Ra's is shown to be in top physical condition.
• League of Assassins training: Being the 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. 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 him. He also mentioned, despite Oliver having fought him for a couple minutes, he survived longer than most of his opponents.
• 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 people, 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.

Appearances

Arrow

Season 2

• "Broken Dolls" (mentioned)
• "League of Assassins" (mentioned)
• "The Scientist" (mentioned)
• "Heir to the Demon" (mentioned)

Season 3

• "The Magician"
• "The Climb"

Trivia

• It was revealed that Malcolm Merlyn was the first member Ra's ever allowed to leave the League, Sara being the second. That is an act he seemingly regretted after Malcolm partially destroyed Starling City with a man-made earthquake.
• 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. Matt Nable stated in a interview that Ra's al Ghul was indeed immortal.
• 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 "The Magician" 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 "The Climb", Nable was heavily praised by fans and critics alike, many suggesting he held up to Neeson's portrayal of the character.

Gallery

Concept artwork