Top 100 Batman VILLAINS

3 - Ra's al Ghul

#3 - Ra's al Ghul
First Appearance: Batman #232 (Jun 1971)

"There is no Hell. No Heaven. Only what we make for ourselves." ~Ra's al Ghul

I opened up this entire countdown with a quote from Ra's al Ghul, " What splendid irony that mankind's testaments to his own ingenuity become the agents of his demise."

I think that the entirety of what Batman represents to me, the reader, and I mean Batman as a franchise, is about serving as a testament for mankind's capacity for resiliency, compassion and justice. Ra's al Ghul, however, is truly the epitome of the opposite: cold, scarred and unencumbered by the weakness of those around him. The beauty of Ra's is hard for me to explain, so it's better to let Ra's do it for me:

"I am cursed with a love for emptiness... desolation. It is a beauty to which my soul responds... as pure, as untainted as the deserts of my birth. I deem it my mission to purify this planet, to restore it to its former beauty... a mission I will brook no interference in. I am neither a zealot nor a madman. I am a realist at least, and a futurist at best. Some do not agree. Thus, we must use whatever means neccessary to protect and preserve what mankind would pillage and rape. The world will thank us someday. On its own, humanity is a destructive force. It needs a master."

Really, that sums up Ra's perfectly. Ra's is easily one of the most intelligent, articulate and calculating characters in ALL of DC. We've talked about how Prometheus was able to dispatch the Justice League easily. Ra's took it one step further and defeated the Justice League with BATMAN'S own contingency plans. I mean, damn! That's impressive. Of course, there's more to Ra's than just defeating the League. There's his League of Assassins, an organization that permeates across all DC franchises in some form; there's his fingerprint on history that has lasted for centuries; there's the role he's played throughout Batman's entire career... and his descent into madness is one of the most well-done in any form of media.

Ra's is just Ra's. The Demon's Head. And holder of spot #3 on my list of the greatest Batman villains of all time.

Greatest Ra's al Ghul Stories Ever Told:
1. Tower of Babel - This should surprise no one; Tower of Babel is easily Mark Waid's second greatest comic book story behind Kingdom Come, and one of those stories that really could only happen in the JLA. Taking his rivalry with Batman and raising the stakes to a whole new level, Ra's really does pull off his plan successfully, coming across as one of the most brilliant menaces for not just Batman but the entire Justice League. His most significant contribution to the story, though, is how he creates animosity for Batman from the rest of the League, something that I wish had lasted longer than it did.

2. The First Ra's al Ghul Story by O'Neal and Adams - It's hard to give this a name since a lot of people just call it "Tales of the Demon," which is really never it's given name. Starting with Talia's introduction, Ra's begins testing Batman to see if he is worthy to take his place as master of the League of Assassins and deserving of his daughter's hand in marriage. A great, globetrotting adventure that really set Ra's up as a full package villain.

3. Birth of the Demon - If you like James Bond-like stories, this is a great one for you. Talia and Batman make unlikely allies as the attempt to stop Ra's together. A great story that I've always considered to be an acceptable ending to the Batman-Ra's rivalry if it ever HAD to end.