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Ra's al Ghul is the former leader of the League of Shadows and a former member of the Light.

Personality[]

Ra's al Ghul is a fierce and imposing leader treated by his direct subjects with most respect and reverence. All his Shadows will do his bidding; he can even order them to go to sleep.[5] Despite having their total submission, Ra's only provides his assassins with the information they need to fulfill a job.[6]

The Demon's Head has a reputation for being a gentleman and he is very observant, as he realized the pendant around the neck of "Tigress" was a Glamour Charm.[1]

Physical appearance[]

Ra's al Ghul is a tall and daunting man with green eyes. He has black hair with gray streaks. He has a long black mustache and wild, black eyebrows.

He dresses in a regal manner, with the majority of his clothes covered by a high-collared green cloak with large gold buttons. Underneath, he wears a black vest with gold hems, a white undershirt, and a golden sash. He wears black pants and knee-high black boots.[6]

History[]

Early life[]

Ra's al Ghul was born 600 to 700 years ago[2] in the Arabian desert.[7] He was a hero to some at one time or another,[8] and at some point in his long life, he founded the League of Shadows.[4] Ra's al Ghul was originally a title, not his name, but eventually it became all he was known by. Even his daughter doesn't know him as anything else.[9]

Eventually, Ra's became aware of Batman's secret identity as Bruce Wayne,[10] and he thought the Dark Knight would be a suitable heir to his empire and mate to his daughter, Talia. Even after Batman refused both, Ra's kept wishing it could be accomplished.[5]

Somewhere between 2006 and 2007,[11] Vandal Savage decided to form the Light[12], following a conversation with Ra's,[13] , to counteract the Justice League's role in preserving society's "calcified status quo".[14] Ra's was the first member to be recruited.

2010[]

 
Infinity Island
February 28, 22:07 ECT

Still heartbroken about Batman's refusal, Talia got in a relationship with Matthew Hagen, a minor Shadow. Ra's did not like the thought; Sensei had told him Hagen was not even a good Shadow. But after his daughter's insistence, he gave his blessing.[5]

 
Undisclosed location
July 5, 00:01 EDT

When Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash broke into Cadmus, Mark Desmond requested an audience with the Board of Directors, and briefed them on the incident, also informing them that the three heroes had been apprehended. Lex Luthor ordered Desmond to clone them and Vandal Savage told him to dispose of the originals. This course of action ultimately failed and the boys broke out and took Superboy with them. Savage dismissed the severity of the ordeal and remarked that the loss of the clone could be played to the Light's advantage.[15]

 
Undisclosed location
July 23, post-10:01 EDT

When Sportsmaster reported the loss of the batch of Kobra-Venom due to the young heroes' interference in Santa Prisca, Brain conjectured that maybe they could reverse engineer the only salvaged vial. He then pointed out that this was not the first time the young heroes had thwarted their operations, recalling the breaking and entering of Cadmus and the destruction of Mister Twister, with Savage now deeming the young heroes to be their new enemies.[16]

 
Infinity Island
August 9, post-01:16 ECT

After the Fog was destroyed, Sensei reported to the Light that they had successfully stolen data from STAR Labs, but were unable to get data from Wayne Tech due to the young heroes' interference. Ra's took solace with the fact they had an operative on the inside.[17]

 
Cape Canaveral
August 19, 20:48 EDT

Ra's oversaw the hijacking of a rocket. He had the original research payload replaced with a diamond lens that could channel solar rays into a death ray, with which he could wipe out world cities. When Batman arrived to stop him, Ra's offered to spare Gotham City if he were to join his cause. Batman refused. While Batman and Ra's talked, Robin dismantled the lens. When he discovered it, Ra's lunged to snatch the lens, but fell down the launch tower to his death.[10]

 
Infinity Island
August 25, 23:16 ECT
Ra's resurrected

Ra's emerges from the Lazarus Pit, resurrected and disconcerted.

Ubu and Talia managed to bring their master to their headquarters, where Sensei revived him in the Lazarus Pit. Directly after coming out of it, Ra's ordered Sensei to prepare their secret weapon, the Serpent.[10] Moments after he had walked out of the pit, another figure emerged from the pit—Matt Hagen. After being betrayed in her trust, Talia had locked him in the pit for half a year which led to his transformation into Clayface. Though Sensei and Talia tried their best, it was only Ra's that could restrain the creature: he was still Hagen's master, and demanded him to sleep. He had the creature sealed in a container and sent to Gotham City. He would bother Batman, out of spite for foiling his scheme at Cape Canaveral.[5]

 
Poseidonis
September 3, post-21:08 UTC-2

Black Manta briefed the Light about the failure in retrieving the giant echinoderm and that he was compelled to enforce Plan B.[18]

 
Undisclosed location
September 4, post-00:16 EEST

When Psimon reported the foiling of their experiments on extraterrestrial technology in Bialya at the hands of the young heroes, Queen Bee dismissed the loss of both Superboy and the Sphere. She claimed instead that their "new partners"' delivery system was operational and with it, they would acquire more technology that would hopefully overpower both the Sphere and Superboy.[19]

 
Taipei
September 7, pre-19:20 NST
Light toast

Ra's and Lex Luthor toast to a well laid plan.

After the peace summit between North and South Rhelasia came to a gridlock, Lex Luthor was brought in to act as an arbitrator. In order to unify the two, Ra's al Ghul staged a hit on the summit, meant to fail, so the united Rhelasia would be under the Light's influence.[6]

 
Undisclosed location
October 1, post-19:00 CDT

After the arrest of the Injustice League, Ra's was present with the other members of the Light to hear Vandal Savage's view of the Kobra-Venom plant creature test and the heroes believing they had exposed the Secret Society.[20]

 
Undisclosed location
November 7, post-09:16 EST

Ra's al Ghul was attending a video conference, along with the rest of the members of the Light, when the Riddler and Sportsmaster arrived with the regenerated remains of the echinoderm.[21]

 
Washington, D.C.
January 1, post-00:00 EST
Light raids Cadmus

Ra's raids Cadmus with Queen Bee, Lex Luthor, Brain and Ocean-Master.

With Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Brain and Ocean-Master, Ra's al Ghul staged a raid on Cadmus. They took Match and Roy Harper, among other things.[14]

2016[]

 
Unspecified location
January 7, post-07:07 HAST

Ra's al Ghul was present at the conference held with Black Manta, in which Vandal Savage lauded the latter for his efforts and officialized his induction into the group.[22]

 
Unspecified location
March 24, 03:17 EDT
The Light

Ra's welcomes Kaldur into the Light's fold.

Black Manta summoned Ra's al Ghul and the other members of the Light to introduce his son, Kaldur'ahm. Ra's al Ghul praised Kaldur's initiative, vision and loyalty to his kin, and announced it was time for him to meet their Partner.[23]

 
Khüiten Peak
April 9, 07:12 ICT

Ra's al Ghul was present with the rest of the Light as Sportsmaster aired his grievances regarding the death of Artemis and the revelation that Deathstroke has replaced Sportsmaster as the Light's new enforcer.[24]

 
Santa Prisca
June 19, 00:00 ECT

Ra's al Ghul attended the summit held between the Reach and the Light in an underground cave, with Ubu as his personal bodyguard. When the Ambassador tried to fault the Light for allowing the Team to cleanse both Blue and Green Beetle in Bialya, he helped his colleagues deflect the criticism by pointing out the Reach's own failings: sales of their drink were abysmal, their public opinion was at an all-time low, and they themselves failed to keep both cleansed Beetles, the Team, and the Runaways who rescued them, in captivity.[1]

Ra's notices the necklace

Ra's takes notice of Tigress's necklace.

The discussions turned sour when Black Manta took offense at being called a subject of the Reach. A fight broke out between the two sides, Tigress deflected a stinger blast that would have hit the ancient. She apologized profusely, but he told her it was unnecessary. His eyes, however, were drawn towards her pendant—this was the first time he has seen Tigress up close, and he recognized it as a Glamour Charm.[1]

Eventually, Aqualad managed to calm both sides down, and discussions resumed. Ra's al Ghul was extremely curious about what Tigress was hiding, so he ignored the discussion and strode towards her. He ripped the pendant off her neck, revealing Tigress to be Artemis in disguise. He announced that he recognized it as a Glamour Charm, no doubt conjured up by Zatanna or Doctor Fate. The assembled villains started to put things together, realizing that Artemis was a plant, and Aqualad was a traitor. Before Black Beetle could kill them, Deathstroke shot them in the chest with his gun.[1]

Ra's defeated

Ra's stabbed through the chest by Black Beetle.

Aqualad's death unleashed a pre-recorded message that completely obliterated the alliance between the Light and the Reach. When Vandal Savage let slip that he had the Warworld's crystal key in his possession, the "dead" Aqualad and Artemis stood up. Ra's al Ghul was dumbstruck by this turn of events, but it turned out Deathstroke was really Miss Martian in disguise, and the murders were staged with Hollywood special effects.[1]

Aqualad called in the Team, and closed the trap on both the Light and the Reach. The Light still had contingencies—League of Shadows agents were posted around the island. But the Team managed to infiltrate them as well. In the ensuing battle, Vandal Savage was teleported away by Klarion, prompting Black Beetle to brand him a coward. Ra's al Ghul disagreed—the heroes had no jurisdiction in Santa Prisca, so they need not resist. Disgusted at the cowardice of every "meat" on the Light, Black Beetle stabbed Ra's al Ghul through the chest, killing him.[1]

Ubu witnessed the stabbing, and quickly took off with his master's corpse. Claiming that the master would be resurrected, he escaped the underground cavern.[1]

2016-2018[]

Ra's came to realize that the world comprised "different shades of gray", so he decided to part ways with the Light.[25] He placed the League of Shadows in the Light's control, who gave[26] Deathstroke leadership of the League, relocating the organization to Santa Prisca. Only a handful of his followers remained with Ra's, including Sensei, Ubu, Talia, and a Red Hooded Ninja.

Though he no longer worked as part of the Light,[27] Ra's remained in contact with Savage, who trusted his word despite no longer being on his council.[28]

2018[]

 
Infinity Island
August 06, 00:41 ECT

A group of young meta-humans had infiltrated the island, but Sensei took care of it and killed Halo. Ra's observed it all on CCTV, and both saw on their screen how she recovered from a snapped neck.

When Nightwing and more heroes arrived to rescue them, he stepped in to stop the fight. He berated Nightwing for being sloppy and told Brion Markov, who believed his sister had been taken by the League of Shadows, that he was no longer the leader of Shadows. He added that he wasn't even part of the Light anymore. When the intruders departed, Ra's was happy to see that one of his ninjas was recovering his memories and remembered Nightwing.[27]

2020[]

 
Infinity Island
April 22, 01:25 ECT

After Cheshire invaded the island, Sensei offered her and Onyx help in recovering from their experiences with the League of Shadows. Ra's backed up the offer and gave his word to Tigress that they would try to help them.[29]

Appearances[]

Background information[]

  • Ra's al Ghul has been one of Batman's most prominent enemies, first appearing in the seventies. He is a practically immortal ecoterrorist who sees Batman as a suitable mate for his daughter Talia, and the natural heir to his empire.
  • Young Justice marks Ra's's fourth animated appearance. He previously appeared in the DC Animated Universe (Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond), in the TV series Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and in the DC Universe animated film, Batman: Under the Red Hood.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Weisman, Greg (writer) & Divar, Tim (director) (March 9, 2013). "Summit". Young Justice. Season 2. Episode 19. Cartoon Network.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Weisman, Greg (2011-09-20). Question #13510. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  3. Weisman, Greg (2016-09-20). Question #21389. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Weisman, Greg (2012-04-16). Question #15594. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Weisman, Greg (w). Vecchio, Luciano (a). Atkinson, Zac (col). Sienty, Dezi (let). Chadwick, Jim (ed). "The Pendulum" Young Justice 12 (January 18, 2012), New York, NY: DC Comics
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Robinson, Andrew (writer) & Berkeley, Christopher (director) (September 16, 2011). "Targets". Young Justice. Season 1. Episode 10. Cartoon Network.
  7. "Ra's Al Ghul & Cheshire - DC Universe Young Justice 4 Inch 2-Pack ". Daxie Boy Toys. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  8. Krieg, Jim, Adams, Jeremy (writers) & Zwyer, Mel (director) (August 27, 2019). "Nevermore". Young Justice. Season 3. Episode 26. DC Universe.
  9. Weisman, Greg (2021-07-26). Question #24489. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Weisman, Greg, Kevin Hopps (w). Jones, Christopher (p). Davis, Dan (i). Atkinson, Zac (col). Sienty, Dezi (let). Chadwick, Jim (ed). "The Pit..." Young Justice 11 (December 21, 2011), New York, NY: DC Comics
  11. Weisman, Greg (2011-01-19). Question #12859. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  12. Weisman, Greg (2012-01-20). Question #14038. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  13. Weisman, Greg (2012-02-23). Question #14447. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Weisman, Greg (writer) & Chang, Michael, Montgomery, Lauren (directors) (April 21, 2012). "Auld Acquaintance". Young Justice. Season 1. Episode 26. Cartoon Network.
  15. Weisman, Greg (writer) & Liu, Sam (director) (November 26, 2010). "Fireworks". (Part 2) Young Justice. Season 1. Episode 2. Cartoon Network.
  16. Robinson, Andrew (writer) & Berkeley, Christopher (director) (January 28, 2011). "Drop-Zone". Young Justice. Season 1. Episode 4. Cartoon Network.
  17. Weisman, Jon (writer) & Oliva, Jay (director) (February 11, 2011). "Infiltrator". Young Justice. Season 1. Episode 6. Cartoon Network.
  18. Hopps, Kevin (writer) & Oliva, Jay (director) (March 4, 2011). "Downtime". Young Justice. Season 1. Episode 8. Cartoon Network.
  19. Dubuc, Nicole (writer) & Chang, Michael (director) (March 11, 2011). "Bereft". Young Justice. Season 1. Episode 9. Cartoon Network.
  20. Hopps, Kevin (writer) & Chang, Michael (director) (October 14, 2011). "Revelation". Young Justice. Season 1. Episode 14. Cartoon Network.
  21. Weisman, Greg (writer) & Chang, Michael (director) (March 3, 2012). "Misplaced". Young Justice. Season 1. Episode 19. Cartoon Network.
  22. Hopps, Kevin (writer) & Zwyer, Mel (director) (May 12, 2012). "Alienated". Young Justice. Season 2. Episode 3. Cartoon Network.
  23. Weisman, Jon (writer) & Zwyer, Mel (director) (October 6, 2012). "Darkest". Young Justice. Season 2. Episode 9. Cartoon Network.
  24. Giacoppo, Paul (writer) & Zwyer, Mel (director) (January 19, 2013). "True Colors". Young Justice. Season 2. Episode 12. Cartoon Network.
  25. Hohlfeld, Brian (writer) & Heuck, Vinton (director) (November 4, 2021). "Tale of Two Sisters". Young Justice. Season 4. Episode 05. HBO Max.
  26. Weisman, Greg (2022-03-10). Question #25646. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  27. 27.0 27.1 Fialkov, Joshua Hale (writer) & Heuck, Vinton (director) (January 11, 2019). "Rescue Op". Young Justice. Season 3. Episode 6. DC Universe.
  28. Weisman, Greg (writer) & Heuck, Vinton (director) (January 18, 2019). "Home Fires". Young Justice. Season 3. Episode 9. DC Universe.
  29. Weisman, Greg (writer) & Heuck, Vinton (director) (November 25, 2021). "I Know Why the Caged Cat Sings". Young Justice. Season 4. Episode 08. HBO Max.
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