Ra's al Ghul was a master criminal, enemy of Batman, father to Talia and head of the powerful criminal group The Society of Shadows.
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History
Ra's al Ghul was said to be over 600 years old due to his constant exposure to the chemichals of the Lazarus Pit. His ultimate goal was to cleanse the earth from the ever growing human population by decreasing its numbers and ruling in a world shaped by him in which humans serve nature and not the other way around. Ra's had a faithful servant named Ubu, who believed nobody must precede his master.
Over the years, Ra's sought the means to accomplish his goals and his quest brought him to Gotham City, where he sent his daughter, Talia to steal a destructive device created by Wayne Enterprises. However, the device was first stolen by Vertigo, a former associate of Ra's al Ghul and Talia was forced to work with Batman to stop Vertigo and retrieve the device. However, when Batman learned of Talia's intentions, he tampered with the device and rendered it useless, granting him a victory in the eyes of Ra's al Ghul.
After his encounter with Batman, Ra's investigated the man and learned everything about him. Considering that his days of prolonging his lifespan grew shorter, and because Talia had fallen in love with Batman, Ra's thought that Bruce Wayne would make a proper successor and heir to his empire. Ra's faked the kidnapping of Robin in order to test Batman's skills and worthiness and much to his relief, Batman exceeded expectations. After revealing his motives to Batman, Ra's had to be taken to the Lazarus Pit to keep him alive, but after learning the nature of his quest, Batman refused Ra's offer. Ra's didn't like this and he left Batman to die in a death trap while he went on with his plans of cleasing the Earth. At his desert hideout, Ra's intended to activate several bombs inside Lazarus Pits across the world using a satellite, but his plans were thwarted by Batman. Ra's then challenged his foe to a sword duel, but Ra's was defeated and he chose to sacrifice himself by jumping into a Lazarus Pit. Although his fate seemed final, Ra's survived.
