- "Gotham's time has come. Like Constantinople or Rome before it, the city has become a breeding ground for suffering and injustice. It is beyond saving and must be allowed to die. This is the most important function of the League of Shadows. It is one we've performed for centuries. Gotham...must be destroyed."
- ―Ra's al Ghul's decoy[src]
A decoy of Ra's al Ghul was portrayed by Ken Watanabe in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins.
History[]
Batman Begins[]
After nearly seven years away from Gotham City, Bruce Wayne was eventually detained in China for theft (ironically, of Wayne Enterprises cargo), where he met Henri Ducard while languishing in a Bhutanese prison. Ducard invited Bruce to join an elite vigilante group, the League of Shadows, that was led by Ra's al Ghul. Bruce was freed, and he traveled to a mountaintop to begin his combat training with the League. Bruce passed the League's training tests and overcame his childhood phobia in the process.
During the final test, Bruce turned against the League when he learned from Ra's that he was supposed to lead a mission to destroy Gotham. Bruce destroyed their headquarters instead of completing their final test: the execution of an accused murderer. Bruce flicked the hot iron brand of the League of Shadows to the upper level of the fortress by using his sword and then knocked Ducard unconscious. Ra's had the rest of the warriors stay away as he then engaged in one-on-one sword combat with Bruce. Ra's died when the fortress was hit by an explosion of gunpowder, and caused wood and debris to crash down upon him. Bruce himself survived and rescued an unconscious Ducard from the wreckage and he left his mentor at a nearby village. Bruce later discovered that the man that he rescued was actually Ra's al Ghul, not the man he believed had died.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Despite being the decoy, Ken Watanabe was credited as portraying Ra's al Ghul in the credits of Batman Begins. Liam Neeson, who portrayed the real Ra's al Ghul, was credited by his alias Ducard.
- In addition to Ken Watanabe, Jay Buozzi was credited as "Asian Man/Ra's al Ghul" in the film's credits. He appeared at Wayne Manor during Bruce's 30th Birthday Party.
- The decoy Ra's al Ghul bore much similarity to Sensei from the comics.
- The way in which Ra's was killed in Batman Begins was similar to how Ken Wantanabe's character Mr. Saito in Inception, another Nolan-directed movie, met his demise in a dream.