The Dark Knight Favourite Ra's al Ghul in the media

[ganon51]

What's your favourite version of Ra's outside of the comics?

 

[Brother Jack]

I'm not going to pick a favorite but I really love Nolan's version. Liam Neeson just has an innate authority and presence and the way the immortality was modified in the context of legacy and using theatricality to seem more than a man was genius, especially in the frame of Dark Knight Rises with Bane and Talia carrying the torch and keeping him alive in a way. The way this influences and mirrors Bruce's creation and perpetuity of Batman is so thematically resonant. I think you could even go as far as to say that Ra's Al Ghul was a persona either invented or appropriated by Henri Ducard in his command of the League to battle crime. A lot like Keyser Soze. Existing somewhere between myth and man.

 

[The Joker]

Wouldn't this have been better in the Begins forum? TDK had no Ra's in it at all.

 

[ganon51]

Wouldn't this have been better in the Begins forum? TDK had no Ra's in it at all.

There were so many different Batman forums I didn't know which one to put it in lol

 

[shauner111]

Try starting with the ones that actually have Ras in it..

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Honestly, I feel that the Nolan Ra's is a little flat. Sure, the spirit is there from his desire to eradicate decadence for the greater good and his leadership of trained assassins, but aside from that, he's just a typical movie bad guy; nothing really spectacular about Neeson's performance and the character is nothing to rave about.

My favorite has always been the DCAU version, because that voice is just perfect. Every other animated Ra's pales in comparison.

 

[CountOrlok]

Never been a fan of Ra's Al Ghul tbh. In the Nolan series, it was Liam Neeson being Liam Neeson (except a bad guy). I did like his portrayal in Arkham City.

 

[ganon51]

Honestly, I feel that the Nolan Ra's is a little flat. Sure, the spirit is there from his desire to eradicate decadence for the greater good and his leadership of trained assassins, but aside from that, he's just a typical movie bad guy; nothing really spectacular about Neeson's performance and the character is nothing to rave about.

My favorite has always been the DCAU version, because that voice is just perfect. Every other animated Ra's pales in comparison.

I did love whenever he said 'detective' lol

 

[Brother Jack]

Try starting with the ones that actually have Ras in it..

Ra's is indirectly quoted by Bruce in Knight and the thematic through-lines of Batman being a symbol larger than a man, first brought up by Ra's, carry over from Begins.

 

[Rorschach2012]

DCAU by a longshot. David Warner man

Ninja Qui Gon was cool for what it was, Neeson is obviously a great actor, but yeah I like my Ra's supernatural.

 

[ganon51]

Try starting with the ones that actually have Ras in it..

You mean all of them?

 

[Two-Face]

Never been a fan of Ra's Al Ghul tbh. In the Nolan series, it was Liam Neeson being Liam Neeson (except a bad guy). I did like his portrayal in Arkham City.

I thought he was so underrated and a great actor same way Cillian Murphy portrayed Jonothan Crane/Scarecrow.


I have to go with DCAU version of Ra's. Nolanverse portrayal second.

 

[ganon51]

I thought he was so underrated and a great actor same way Cillian Murphy portrayed Jonothan Crane/Scarecrow.


I have to go with DCAU version of Ra's. Nolanverse portrayal second.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

David Warner's version. I still have trouble picturing Ra's Al Ghul without that voice. He is one of two major characters I think was done better in the DCAU than the TDKT. The other one is Talia.

 

[ganon51]

David Warner's version. I still have trouble picturing Ra's Al Ghul without that voice. He is one of two major characters I think was done better in the DCAU than the TDKT. The other one is Talia.

Whaa??? What about Scarecrow and Joker(okay maybe that's a tie)? and Two-Face?? They were done better in the DCAU

 

[Two-Face]

When comes to Joker I think of Mark Hamill's voice and that's what I imagine hearing I read comics. Not saying Heath Ledger or Jack Nicholson were bad. And to Two-Face i think Richard Moll was the best i love his voice and portrayal of the character is just spot on. With Aaron Eckhart I didn't very much of Two-Face and his Harvey Dent is great but he's second to Moll. I did like Troy Baker as Two-Face in Arkham City third place.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Whaa??? What about Scarecrow and Joker(okay maybe that's a tie)? and Two-Face?? They were done better in the DCAU

Nope. All three I preferred in the Nolan version.

Scarecrow was always something of a joke in the DCAU. Never really cared for that character. They also had trouble keeping him consistent from one appearance to the next.

Joker was a lot of fun and Hamill was great in the role, but nothing was as scary and creepy (and yet strangely also amusing) as the Ledger version. I would actually rank the DCAU Joker fourth, behind also the Nicholson Joker and the Arkham Joker (who is essentially the same character as the DCAU Joker, but he can get away with a lot more).

Two-Face in TDK was nearly as good The Joker in that film. Nolan did a better job with him than anyone else other than maybe Jeph Loeb. The DCAU version had the same problem that they did with many of their characters (and what often happens in the comics) in that he lost his motivation after his origin episode and became just another generic gangster (with the odd exception) afterwards.

The DCAU versions of Joker and Two-Face were good, but not to the level of TDKT.

 

[ganon51]

Nope. All three I preferred in the Nolan version.

Scarecrow was always something of a joke in the DCAU. Never really cared for that character. They also had trouble keeping him consistent from one appearance to the next.

His TNBA design was the best yet! even though he rarely made appearances

 

[LordMortis315]

DCAU - PERFECT.
Nolanverse - It was alright.
Batman: The Brave & The Bold - Not too memorable.
Arkham games - Awesome.
Batman: Under the Red Hood - Not enough to judge.
Young Justice - Needed more to do, but loved what little I got.

 

[DACrowe]

What's your favourite version of Ra's outside of the comics?

It is easily the DCAU. You have all the best Ra's stories from the comics adapted for the series, and a nice through-line of animosity that spans generations into Batman Beyond where things just get icky...but so in character for a bastard like fiend.

After that it is a toss up between Arkham and Nolan. I probably give the edge to Arkham, because while I do not mind a Joker who wears make-up instead of being permafrost, and think a Bane who is not a drug addict crutching on steroids is an improvement, Ra's without his Lazarus Pit always felt a little de-fanged. I feel like that is a much bigger change than a non-chemical vat Joker or a Bane who did not climb out of the prison, but it has always gotten a free pass because BB was the first movie to "get" Batman right (at least how fans generally like the character). Also, the removal of Talia being a true love of Bruce's BEFORE he turns his back on the League, loses another aspect of the Ra's saga that makes it so memorable.

Thus:

1)DCAU
2) Arkham-Verse
3) Nolanverse

The others are too underdeveloped to really count in my opinion.

 

[DACrowe]

Whaa??? What about Scarecrow and Joker(okay maybe that's a tie)? and Two-Face?? They were done better in the DCAU

Scarecrow was done way better in Arkham-verse than either. I love the Hamill and Ledger Jokers equally, and there is room for both being definitive in their own unique way. As for Two-Face, I have to go with the Nolanverse. I never really liked Harvey Dent in TAS. Despite being Bruce's friend, he was always presented as kind of smarmy throughout. I actually think The Dark Knight captured more of the tragedy of the character with an origin that was far more tragic, as he really was doing good things for Gotham and truly did have Batman's back and was punished severely for it.

I also think "killing" Dent off before he becomes a run-of-the-mill gangster always made sense. If you view the definitive (IMO) Two-Face stories as stand-alones--The Long Halloween and Dark Victory--there is an arc of pure tragedy there with Joker seemingly killing Harvey at the end of DV right after he offed the entire Gotham mafia, but before he could become a gangster.

Nolan took that approach but truncated it to one afternoon and night of slaughter, which is fine for a movie. Albeit, a little more would have been preferred. Still keeping him as the fallen hero Dent and not the villain of the week he ultimately always becomes crystallizes the tragedy.

 

[ganon51]

It is easily the DCAU. You have all the best Ra's stories from the comics adapted for the series, and a nice through-line of animosity that spans generations into Batman Beyond where things just get icky...but so in character for a bastard like fiend.

After that it is a toss up between Arkham and Nolan. I probably give the edge to Arkham, because while I do not mind a Joker who wears make-up instead of being permafrost, and think a Bane who is not a drug addict crutching on steroids is an improvement, Ra's without his Lazarus Pit always felt a little de-fanged. I feel like that is a much bigger change than a non-chemical vat Joker or a Bane who did not climb out of the prison, but it has always gotten a free pass because BB was the first movie to "get" Batman right (at least how fans generally like the character). Also, the removal of Talia being a true love of Bruce's BEFORE he turns his back on the League, loses another aspect of the Ra's saga that makes it so memorable.

Thus:

1)DCAU
2) Arkham-Verse
3) Nolanverse

The others are too underdeveloped to really count in my opinion.

A very well put answer, detective

 

[Rorschach2012]

It is easily the DCAU. You have all the best Ra's stories from the comics adapted for the series, and a nice through-line of animosity that spans generations into Batman Beyond where things just get icky...but so in character for a bastard like fiend.

After that it is a toss up between Arkham and Nolan. I probably give the edge to Arkham, because while I do not mind a Joker who wears make-up instead of being permafrost, and think a Bane who is not a drug addict crutching on steroids is an improvement, Ra's without his Lazarus Pit always felt a little de-fanged. I feel like that is a much bigger change than a non-chemical vat Joker or a Bane who did not climb out of the prison, but it has always gotten a free pass because BB was the first movie to "get" Batman right (at least how fans generally like the character). Also, the removal of Talia being a true love of Bruce's BEFORE he turns his back on the League, loses another aspect of the Ra's saga that makes it so memorable.

Thus:

1)DCAU
2) Arkham-Verse
3) Nolanverse

The others are too underdeveloped to really count in my opinion.

Completely agreed with this

 

[The Joker]

Never been a fan of Ra's Al Ghul tbh. In the Nolan series, it was Liam Neeson being Liam Neeson (except a bad guy).

Opinions like that always remind me of the whole 'Jack Nicholson was playing himself' in Batman '89.

 

[ganon51]

Opinions like that always remind me of the whole 'Jack Nicholson was playing himself' in Batman '89.

Wasn't he? lol