Primarily a Batman villain, he was far from the best-known of the Gotham bad guys until , when Liam Neeson brought him to life for Batman Begins. Casual fans could be forgiven for not connecting him with Batman , though, after the CW made the interesting decision to include the leader of the League of Assassins in their TV series Arrow. Both portrayals have sent the popularity of the character skyrocketing, but even long-time fans might not know everything there is to know about this enigmatic warrior. So let's get to it. Between and , a DC imprint printed stories that took place in various non-canon times and places, called Elseworlds which was also the name of the imprint. In this version, he is the head of the House of Selene, not the League of Assassins, and has cat-like powers.

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Ra's al Ghul
Ra's al Ghul is one of the most dangerous foes Batman has ever faced. Ra's has been wreaking havoc as a member of Batman's Rogue's Gallery for decades. In some ways he's one of the most pivotal villains in the entire DC Universe, considering he is the grandfather of Damian Wayne. In others, he's sought to destroy "the Detective's" world in every way possible. After training a young Bruce Wayne in the art of Ninja, he sets his sights on Gotham. A decisions Batman obviously disagreed with. Ra's al Ghul terrorizing Gotham with his League of Assassins is nothing new to the comic world. However, his comic origin and motivations are much more insidious than they appear.
Ra's Al Ghul's Comic Powers
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The child who would become Ra's al Ghul, whose birth name has been lost to the ages, was born over six hundred years ago to a tribe of nomads in a desert somewhere in Arabia, near a city whose inhabitants' ancestors have journeyed to the Arabian Peninsula from China. Ra's was interested in science from an early age. Unable to learn any science living as a nomad, he abandoned his tribe to live in the city, where he could conduct his scientific research. He became a physician and married a woman named Sora, the love of his life. Ra's discovered the secret of the Lazarus Pit, and he saved a dying prince by lowering him into it. The prince, who was sadistic to begin with, was driven completely insane by the Lazarus Pit. He proceeded to strangle Sora, whom he has already had his eye on for some time. The ruler of the city, unwilling to admit to himself his son's culpability, declared Ra's guilty of the crime and sentenced him to a slow, tortured death in a cage with Sora's corpse. However, Ra's was set free by the son of an elderly blind woman, despite having failed to save her.