Ra's al Ghul (title)

Ra's al Ghul
Information
Function	Title

"The man who does not perish at the blade of Ra's al Ghul will become Ra's al Ghul."

—Malcolm Merlyn^[src]

Ra's al Ghul (Arabic: رأس الغول‎ Raʾs al-Ġūl; for the Demon's Head) was the title held by the leader of the League of Assassins until Nyssa al Ghul disbanded the organization.

Overview

"Ra's is a title greater than one man."

—Ra's al Ghul^[src]

This title applies to all Ra's al Ghul successors, but Oliver Queen was chosen to be the next Ra's al Ghul because he survived a battle against the Ra's al Ghul that still operated by 2015. Whoever holds the title of Ra's al Ghul leads the League of Assassins and has access to supernatural waters of the Lazarus Pit, which can heal wounds and grant the user the ability to live for much longer than the normal human life span. The water's effects, however, are not permanent and lose their effect on the user after an unknown amount of time, requiring the current Ra's al Ghul to find a successor before his time runs out.

There is a prophecy within the League: "He who survives the blade of Ra's al Ghul shall become Ra's al Ghul". The successor does not actually have to defeat Ra's in battle, only survive his blade. Malcolm Merlyn for example was able to ascend to Ra's because he had been tortured by the previous Ra's, who used his blade to do so.

Once someone does survive Ra's al Ghul's blade, that person becomes know as the "Heir to the Demon". If there is no such person who meets the survival requirement, then the title of heir goes to Ra's al Ghul's child.

In the event that there is more than one potential successor, then one successor must kill the other, or otherwise break their spirit.

To ensure the person fully commits to the duties of Ra's al Ghul, the final requirement to becoming Ra's is for the person to destroy the place they originated from.

The events of the League's civil war between Malcolm Merlyn's and Nyssa al Ghul's factions resulted in the title of Ra's changing hands for the final time. Nyssa, upon gaining the title, quickly relinquished it and elected to disband the League of Assassins.

Known users

Former users

• Al-Fatih (first holder of the title; deceased)
• "Ra's al Ghul" (deceased)
• "Ra's al Ghul" (deceased)
• Oliver Queen (briefly; deceased)
• Malcolm Merlyn (formerly; deceased)
• Nyssa al Ghul (briefly; last known holder of the title before the League was disbanded)

Gallery

Holders of the title

Real name unknown

Oliver Queen (briefly)

Malcolm Merlyn

Nyssa Raatko (briefly; final title holder)

Trivia

• The last three men who held this title, Ra's al Ghul, Oliver Queen and Malcolm Merlyn, have at least one illegitimate child: Nyssa Raatko, William Clayton, and Thea Queen, respectively.
• Possible candidates to succeed Ra's al Ghul are called "horsemen". 
• Nyssa was the only known female Ra's in the history of the title.  
  • Also she is the last person alive to have ever hold the title after Oliver Queen's demise.

Behind the scenes

• According to Andrew Kreisberg at WonderCon 2015, members of the League pronounce the title as "Raish" while others pronounce it as "Ra's".