Ra's al Ghul (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 asking Oliver Queen to become his heir in 2015.

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

Overview

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 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 solid period of time, requiring the current Ra's al Ghul to find a successor before his time runs out.

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

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

Gallery

Holders of the title

Real name unknown

Ra's al Ghul2.png

Oliver Queen (briefly)

Malcolm Merlyn

Nyssa Raatko (briefly)

Trivia

• Three men that held this title have at least one illegitimate child, Nyssa al Ghul, William Clayton, and Thea Queen.
• 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.  

Behind the scenes

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