Raʼs al Ghul (Arabic: رأس الغول‎, romanized: Raʾ s al-Ġūl, sometimes pronounced by the creators as Re'sh, hence /ˈreɪʃ ˌæl ˈɡuːl/ RAYSH al GOOL or /ˈrɑːz ˌæl ˈɡuːl/ RAHZ al GOOL; "The Head of the Demon" or, in a rougher translation, "The Chief Demon") is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the crime-fighting vigilante Batman. Created by editor Julius Schwartz, writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams, the character first appeared in Batman #232's "Daughter of the Demon" (June 1971). The character, originally based heavily on yellow peril "Devil Doctor" Fu Manchu, has since developed substantially into one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries who compose Batman's rogues gallery, though given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Green Arrow, the Justice League, and other heroes in the DC Universe.



Most notable as the leader of the League of Assassins, Ra's al Ghul's name in Arabic translates to "Head of the Demon". He is the son of Sensei; the father of Talia al Ghul, Nyssa Raatko, and Dusan al Ghul and the maternal grandfather of Damian Wayne. Stories featuring Raʼs al Ghul often involve the Lazarus Pits, which restore life to the dying. The Lazarus Pits have considerably prolonged Raʼs' life, making him particularly dangerous as he has honed his combat skills for centuries.



Raʼs al Ghul has been featured in various media adaptations. The character was portrayed by David Warner in the DC Animated Universe, Liam Neeson in The Dark Knight Trilogy, Jason Isaacs in Batman: Under the Red Hood, Dee Bradley Baker in the Batman: Arkham video game series, Matt Nable in the Arrowverse television series, and Alexander Siddig in Gotham.



IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time List ranked Raʼs as #7