With the release of Son of Batman upon us, and this being Batman's 75th anniversary and all, I figured it would be a good time to look back on Ra's al Ghul's previous animated appearances. This thread will try to chronicle all of his appearances in cartoons, since Batman: TAS to today. Luckily Ra's never appeared in any pre-90s animated shows so at least this time, there was no need for a separate thread to cover those as well. All images featured in this thread appear courtesy of The World's Finest, and I hope you all enjoy reading it!
Ra's al Ghul made his debut in the comic book Batman #232 (from June 1971), and was created by the team of Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. Considered today one of Batman's most dangerous foes, Ra's is usually depicted as an international criminal mastermind, whose plans often try to bring the world to a perfect balance, as far as he's concerned at least. Thus his belief that most of humanity should be eliminated to reach such a worthy goal. His name in Arabic has been revealed to mean "The Demon's Head", a title that sort of fits with him being the leader of the League of Assassins, a powerful organization which more often than not helps him carry out his plans. Ra's is the father of Talia, one of Batman's many love interests, and has had many other children during his long life-time (more on that later). He's also eventually the grandfather of Damian Wayne (and even if you don't know, you could probably deduce who Damian's parents are), who'll be the focus of the aforementioned Son of Batman animated movie. Perhaps the most well known aspect of Ra's is his connection to the Lazarus Pits - he regularly uses them to extend his lifespan, or heal any major wounds he has received. The Pits also rejuvenate him, or even pretty much resurrect him as the case may be, though with each usage the effects seem to last increasingly shorter.
In animation, Ra's made several appearances on Batman: The Animated Series, and a couple of subsequent series set in the same continuity, the DC Animated Universe. All in all, he does have a pretty great story-arc spread throughout these various shows, something which this retrospective will hopefully demonstrate. Batman: TAS premiered in fall of 1992, originally airing on the Fox Network and... does this show really need any introduction on these forums? Granted it would also make things easier for me to write, as I wouldn't have to spend a lot of time presenting the background of this show, but I'm not doing this out of laziness (for the most part); the show has a pretty big following even now, over 20 years after its premiere and for many people it's still considered the "best" animated version of Batman. It's pretty impressive how much stuff this show managed to do - great characters, some engaging and very well-thought out stories and lots of other good stuff I can't really think of mentioning right now. And even if I did, I most likely wouldn't be able to do them justice either way. Still, the show had some less than stellar episodes but I'd say even those have some redeeming qualities. And as far as Ra's is concerned, his episodes were pretty much always quality stuff. His voice was provided by David Warner who I think sounded great and managed to add a certain charm to this character.
The episode titled "Off Balance", first aired in 1992, introduced the League of Assassins (though it's called the Society of Shadows here), as well as Talia and laid the basis for the romance between her and Batman. Talia (voiced by Helen Slater, a.k.a. Supergirl from the 80s live-action movie - though Talia would later be re-cast in the following DCAU shows where she appeared, with her voice being later provided by Olivia Hussey) even learns Bruce Wayne is under the bat mask, and this will come into play in future episodes. I admit, the first times I watched this I wasn't really all that familiar with the characters so I was not expecting Talia to turn out to be the villain, though there was something suspicious about her. Looking back on it though, the story still plays out nicely even if you know the outcome. The story sees Batman teaming up with Talia to track down Count Vertigo (as I mentioned back in the Green Arrow retrospective, this episode made me believe Vertigo was a Bat-rogue), who has stolen a sonic drill. The chemistry between Batman and Talia was pretty entertaining and the episode had a nice adventurous feel to it. In the end Vertigo is stopped, Talia double crosses Batman, claims the sonic drill for herself and tries to deliver it to her father, but the Caped Crusader managed to sabotage the device before handing it over to Talia, making it useless. The episode ends with a short glimpse of Ra's, who claims his battle with Batman is not over yet. Like I mentioned earlier, not being familiar with these characters when watching these episodes for the first time, this ending didn't really make me that excited Ra's is being introduced, but it was obvious this was a character who would show up again later on. In retrospect though, Ra's appearance here is sort of similar to how Darkseid was first seen on Superman: TAS.
Ra's: So even in defeat, the detective manages to achieve some small measure of victory. As you said, detective. . . "This is not over."
Batman meets Ra's face to face for the first time in the two-part story "The Demon's Quest", from 1993. Thanks to his connections it wasn't hard for Ra's to learn Batman's true identity and even infiltrate the Batcave. The two apparently need to work together to find a mysterious man who has kidnapped both Robin and Ra's daughter Talia. The reveal of Ra's being her father was handled pretty well, though it was already known from the previous episode, Batman only learned this now. The story plays out great, with lots of fun side-adventures Batman has to go through on his quest with Ra's. It's an entertaining episode, with some neat surprises at pretty much every turn. There are some great small touches as well, such as Batman living up to his "world's greatest detective" title doing some pretty impressive detective work here, or his brief run-ins with Ra's servant Ubu who insists on pushing Batman around. There's also the great moment where thanks to some clever lines Batman (and by extension the audience), learns more about Ra's way of thinking and what his ultimate goals are.
All in all, the first part has some great stuff in it. In only one episode, Batman and Ra's travel around the world and take part in some pretty exciting fights (well, mostly Batman since Ra's is apparently always kept safe by Ubu). Their quest ends with a somewhat surprising twist, that Ra's was behind the kidnapping in the first place (only for Robin though), and all this quest was meant to be was to test Batman's abilities, to see if he's a worthy successor, as Talia has apparently chosen him. It does build on elements presented in the previous episode, where Talia first meets, flirts and then betrays Batman. The Dark Knight though isn't interested in having anything to do with Ra's and his operations. Which leads to another rather surprising scene, which is how the episode ends - Ra's is too weakened by the events of this episode and Talia plans on lowering him into the Lazarus Pits. He is rejuvenated, but is also driven insane and attacks his lovely daughter. A pretty chilling cliff-hanger.
A cliff-hanger which is resolved rather easily, and in a pretty amusing way in the second part. Ra's is now alive again and plans on continuing his mission to bring the world to perfect balance. His plan this time is using a satellite named Orpheus to cause all the Lazarus Pits on the planet to explode at the same moment, causing floods all over the world. The end result would be that the world will be re-born, and in balance. Sure a couple of million of people would die but that's an acceptable loss in the long run. Batman and Robin obviously wouldn't let something like this happen and manage to escape Ra's death-traps and track him down to the Sahara desert where his headquarters were located. Batman's adventure here was great - lots of neat fight scenes and the overall feel of the episode makes it stand out as one of the more exciting ones, as well as one of the more super-natural adventures this show featured. Ra's was a great opponent, as well as Talia. The way the characters interacted was just great, especially the chemistry between Batman and Talia; you can tell their brief adventure from "Off Balance" meant more for them, and despite being on opposite sides and having completely different objectives, they still care about each other. Some of this stuff will come into play in later shows as well, which I'll get to in due time.
Obviously I cannot finish this review without mentioning the epic sword fight between Batman and Ra's. It's such an amazing scene, and one of my earliest and fondest memories from this show. I remember being very impressed by these moments years ago, and even now I have to admit they're still pretty awesome. The fight might be a little short but I think it has a great impact and makes the episode even more entertaining. The animation looks great, the music sounds good, creating a rather unique atmosphere. The way the fight ends, with Ra's falling inside the Lazarus Pit, is also great. Of course it's not the end for him, as we can see one of his hands coming out at the end making it a pretty creepy scene though it seems in line with Ra's usual outings. One should get used to this kind of thing, in future Ra's story-lines (not limited to animation, either). Somehow he always comes back to threaten the world or just torment Batman.
Looking back, "The Demon's Quest" two-parter is probably the best Ra's story from the Batman: TAS run, and features the best and most exciting fight between the two characters. The next few episodes where Ra's appeared, while still good, weren't quite on the same level. Still enjoyable, for the most part though. Next: Ra's al Ghul on Batman: TAS (continued... or if you prefer its The Adventures of Batman & Robin title), Superman: TAS and Batman Beyond!
Ra's al Ghul made his debut in the comic book Batman #232 (from June 1971), and was created by the team of Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. Considered today one of Batman's most dangerous foes, Ra's is usually depicted as an international criminal mastermind, whose plans often try to bring the world to a perfect balance, as far as he's concerned at least. Thus his belief that most of humanity should be eliminated to reach such a worthy goal. His name in Arabic has been revealed to mean "The Demon's Head", a title that sort of fits with him being the leader of the League of Assassins, a powerful organization which more often than not helps him carry out his plans. Ra's is the father of Talia, one of Batman's many love interests, and has had many other children during his long life-time (more on that later). He's also eventually the grandfather of Damian Wayne (and even if you don't know, you could probably deduce who Damian's parents are), who'll be the focus of the aforementioned Son of Batman animated movie. Perhaps the most well known aspect of Ra's is his connection to the Lazarus Pits - he regularly uses them to extend his lifespan, or heal any major wounds he has received. The Pits also rejuvenate him, or even pretty much resurrect him as the case may be, though with each usage the effects seem to last increasingly shorter.
The episode titled "Off Balance", first aired in 1992, introduced the League of Assassins (though it's called the Society of Shadows here), as well as Talia and laid the basis for the romance between her and Batman. Talia (voiced by Helen Slater, a.k.a. Supergirl from the 80s live-action movie - though Talia would later be re-cast in the following DCAU shows where she appeared, with her voice being later provided by Olivia Hussey) even learns Bruce Wayne is under the bat mask, and this will come into play in future episodes. I admit, the first times I watched this I wasn't really all that familiar with the characters so I was not expecting Talia to turn out to be the villain, though there was something suspicious about her. Looking back on it though, the story still plays out nicely even if you know the outcome. The story sees Batman teaming up with Talia to track down Count Vertigo (as I mentioned back in the Green Arrow retrospective, this episode made me believe Vertigo was a Bat-rogue), who has stolen a sonic drill. The chemistry between Batman and Talia was pretty entertaining and the episode had a nice adventurous feel to it. In the end Vertigo is stopped, Talia double crosses Batman, claims the sonic drill for herself and tries to deliver it to her father, but the Caped Crusader managed to sabotage the device before handing it over to Talia, making it useless. The episode ends with a short glimpse of Ra's, who claims his battle with Batman is not over yet. Like I mentioned earlier, not being familiar with these characters when watching these episodes for the first time, this ending didn't really make me that excited Ra's is being introduced, but it was obvious this was a character who would show up again later on. In retrospect though, Ra's appearance here is sort of similar to how Darkseid was first seen on Superman: TAS.
Ra's: So even in defeat, the detective manages to achieve some small measure of victory. As you said, detective. . . "This is not over."
Batman meets Ra's face to face for the first time in the two-part story "The Demon's Quest", from 1993. Thanks to his connections it wasn't hard for Ra's to learn Batman's true identity and even infiltrate the Batcave. The two apparently need to work together to find a mysterious man who has kidnapped both Robin and Ra's daughter Talia. The reveal of Ra's being her father was handled pretty well, though it was already known from the previous episode, Batman only learned this now. The story plays out great, with lots of fun side-adventures Batman has to go through on his quest with Ra's. It's an entertaining episode, with some neat surprises at pretty much every turn. There are some great small touches as well, such as Batman living up to his "world's greatest detective" title doing some pretty impressive detective work here, or his brief run-ins with Ra's servant Ubu who insists on pushing Batman around. There's also the great moment where thanks to some clever lines Batman (and by extension the audience), learns more about Ra's way of thinking and what his ultimate goals are.
All in all, the first part has some great stuff in it. In only one episode, Batman and Ra's travel around the world and take part in some pretty exciting fights (well, mostly Batman since Ra's is apparently always kept safe by Ubu). Their quest ends with a somewhat surprising twist, that Ra's was behind the kidnapping in the first place (only for Robin though), and all this quest was meant to be was to test Batman's abilities, to see if he's a worthy successor, as Talia has apparently chosen him. It does build on elements presented in the previous episode, where Talia first meets, flirts and then betrays Batman. The Dark Knight though isn't interested in having anything to do with Ra's and his operations. Which leads to another rather surprising scene, which is how the episode ends - Ra's is too weakened by the events of this episode and Talia plans on lowering him into the Lazarus Pits. He is rejuvenated, but is also driven insane and attacks his lovely daughter. A pretty chilling cliff-hanger.
A cliff-hanger which is resolved rather easily, and in a pretty amusing way in the second part. Ra's is now alive again and plans on continuing his mission to bring the world to perfect balance. His plan this time is using a satellite named Orpheus to cause all the Lazarus Pits on the planet to explode at the same moment, causing floods all over the world. The end result would be that the world will be re-born, and in balance. Sure a couple of million of people would die but that's an acceptable loss in the long run. Batman and Robin obviously wouldn't let something like this happen and manage to escape Ra's death-traps and track him down to the Sahara desert where his headquarters were located. Batman's adventure here was great - lots of neat fight scenes and the overall feel of the episode makes it stand out as one of the more exciting ones, as well as one of the more super-natural adventures this show featured. Ra's was a great opponent, as well as Talia. The way the characters interacted was just great, especially the chemistry between Batman and Talia; you can tell their brief adventure from "Off Balance" meant more for them, and despite being on opposite sides and having completely different objectives, they still care about each other. Some of this stuff will come into play in later shows as well, which I'll get to in due time.
Obviously I cannot finish this review without mentioning the epic sword fight between Batman and Ra's. It's such an amazing scene, and one of my earliest and fondest memories from this show. I remember being very impressed by these moments years ago, and even now I have to admit they're still pretty awesome. The fight might be a little short but I think it has a great impact and makes the episode even more entertaining. The animation looks great, the music sounds good, creating a rather unique atmosphere. The way the fight ends, with Ra's falling inside the Lazarus Pit, is also great. Of course it's not the end for him, as we can see one of his hands coming out at the end making it a pretty creepy scene though it seems in line with Ra's usual outings. One should get used to this kind of thing, in future Ra's story-lines (not limited to animation, either). Somehow he always comes back to threaten the world or just torment Batman.
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I'd posted this back in 2016, over ten years ago!