Batman is a mentally ill vigilante, respectfully. He creates brainwashed child soldiers in his never-ending battle to avenge his parents’ deaths. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire who dresses as a giant bat and trauma punches street hoods as if it will bring his dead parents back. Worse, he trains a succession of young children and teens to become vigilantes. It’s like he wants them to be the kind of tough he wishes he were the night his parents were killed. His mental instability is why he has a complex and now blood relationship with one of his deadliest foes, Ra’s Al Ghul.
Comic book time moves much slower than in the real world, so Batman has had several Robins while he stays middle-aged. His latest Robin is his son, Damian Wayne. Damian is the grandson of Ra’s Al Ghul, the eco-terrorist and cult leader of the League of Assassins.
Bruce would sire Damian with Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul. Ra’s Al Ghul is a nearly immortal cult leader, tactician, detective, scientist, martial artist, and crime lord. Batman now has a conflict of interest with his deadliest foe. I guess this is common in comic books, but still odd.
You may have seen Liam Neeson and Ken Watanabe portray Ra’s Al Ghul in the 2005’s Batman Begins. Star Trek actor Alexander Siddig portrayed Ra’s Al Ghul in the TV show Gotham. Matthew Nable portrayed the character on the TV show Arrow.
If you’ve only seen Ra’s Al Ghul portrayed in film or TV, then you are truly missing out on his depictions within the comic books. He is one of the most magnetically fascinating comic book characters ever created. More people should know about Ra’s Al Ghul and his stories.
Ra’s Al Ghul Basic Bio
Ra’s Al Ghul was created in 1971 and made his first appearance in Batman #232. The character was created by writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams. Comic book editor Julius Schwartz originally came up with the name and character concept for Ra’s Al Ghul.
Ra’s Al Ghul’s life goal is to cull the human population significantly to create more environmental and social balance within the world. In the comic books, Thanos wants to kill half of the universe to simp hard for Lady Death. The comic book Ra’s Al Ghul wanted to eliminate human beings for the betterment of the world decades before the MCU Thanos came along.
Ra’s al Ghul is an eco-terrorist cult leader who wants to remake the world via strategic genocidal methods. He is also a cunning tactician who figured out that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person.
Ra’ Al Ghul is hundreds of years old and regularly immerses himself in the Lazurus Pits. Its an ancient chemical pit that can extend the life of anyone who gets in it. He has Lazarus Pits hidden all over the world in strategic locations.
Ra’s Al Ghul is the leader of the League of Assassins, a collective of assassins committed to remaking the world in their image. He regularly immerses himself in the Lazarus Pits to extend his life span to achieve this goal.
To learn more about Ra’s, here are three of the best comic book stories featuring the character.
1. Batman: Birth of the Demon (1992)
Batman attempts to destroy every Lazarus Pit in the world to handicap Ra’s powers. In his attempt, he slowly learns the history of the supervillain.
Ra’s Al Ghul was a Chinese Arab nomad born over 600 years ago. As a young man, Ra’s settled in a city in Northern Africa and became embroiled in political intrigue, which almost got him killed. He discovered the Lazarus Pits during this time and slowly used them to extend his life span and sharpen his mental skills.
If you want to understand why Ra’s is determined to take over the world, this is the story you should read first to learn more about the character.
Get the 296-page hardcover now for $33.99 at Amazon.
2. JLA: Tower of Babel (2000)
Remember how I told you that Batman was mentally unstable? He also has severe trust issues and paranoia. Batman is a control freak who thinks he can prepare for and take control of any situation with preparation and willpower.
In this legendary storyline, Batman develops secret files that contain contingency plans for killing every member of the Justice League, his own teammates, in the eventuality that any or all of them go rogue or turn evil. For example, Batman developed a technique to give the Flash seizures at the speed of light to stop him.
Batman had no intention of using these execution methods unless it was necessary. Unfortunately, Ra’s Al Ghul hacks Batman’s systems and steals these secrets.
I’m shocked WBD didn’t adapt this story for a live-action Justice League film. Ra’s proves himself as someone who can even outsmart even Batman in this story.
Get the 280-page hardcover for $19.64 at Amazon now.
3. Batman: Death and The Maidens (2004)
Batman has control of the Lazarus Pits. During this time, Ra’s other daughter, Nyssa, begins plotting her revenge on him for abandoning her during World War II. In exchange for access to one of the Lazarus Pits, Ra’s promises Batman an opportunity to use a magic spell to converse with the spirits of his dead parents.
It is a deal Batman can’t refuse.
This story humanizes Ra’s and shows what he willingly gave up as the leader of the League of Assassins.
Get the 235-page hardcover for $19.97 at Amazon.
Invest in Batman #232 (June 1971)
If you could get a copy of Batman #232, a comic featuring the first appearance of Ra’s Al Ghul, I recommend that you get it.
A copy of this issue with a 9.8 CGC rating is worth almost $9,147. It is a legendary comic book that could go up in value once WBD creates a more definitive portrayal of Ra’s Al Ghul on the big screen.
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The post Here’s 3 of the Best Comics Featuring Ra’s Al Ghul appeared first on Personal Finance Advice.
