Biography for
Ra's al Ghul (Character)
from Batman Begins (2005)

Ra's al Ghul (Arabic for "Head of the Demon") is one of the Batman's greatest enemies. He is the leader of a vast organization dedicated to purifying the human race and returning the Earth to a more pristine state. He is a master of martial arts and an expert swordsman.

It is said that Ra's al Ghul claims to be over six hundred years old. In the comics, Ra's states that he is more than 450 years old. The secret of his immortality is the alchemical Lazarus Pits that he has constructed where natural forces have created "places of power."

In Batman Begins Ra's (played by Ken Watanabe) has Bruce Wayne trained to lead his League of Shadows. The man doing the actual training is Henri Ducard (played by Liam Neeson). It is not until Ken Watanabe's Ra's al Ghul is killed when Henri Ducard reveals that HE is the actual Ra's al Ghul, Watanabe being a "cheap parlor trick", as Bruce refers to it.

In the comics, Ra's al Ghul is usually accompanied by a manservant called Ubu. Ra's has a daughter, Talia, whose loyalties have become divided between her father and her beloved, Bruce Wayne. Talia did not appear in Batman Begins.

Ra's is the leader of the League of Shadows in Batman Begins. In the comics, he has led the League of Assassins.

Ra's al Ghul and Talia have also appeared in Batman: The Animated Series and the series Batman Beyond.