Comparison Of Ra’s Al Ghul And Batman

Christopher Nolan’s villains all had their different motives for doing what they did. The comparison is between their driving force, their motives, modus operandum and their costumes. The ultimate goal of Batman in the Batman Trilogy was to eradicate crime and install justice and safety in Gotham City. Ra’s Al Ghul’s motives were supported by his beliefs which were that he wanted to get justice on all evil people in the world specifically starting in Gotham City. In the beginning of Batman it showed Bruce Wayne in prison.

This was when Bruce Wayne was approached by Ra’s Al Ghul (Ducard at the time) and he offered Bruce a chance for a new path, to flee the prison. Bruce asked Ducard what path can Ra’s Al Ghul offer and Ducard said “the path of a man that shares his hatred for true evil and wishes to serve true justice, a path of the League of Shadows. ” This interaction is what lead to the creation of Batman.

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There are similarities between Ra’s Al Ghul and Batman in a few aspects. They ae both well trained to fight, they have similar motives for their actions but the reason for their actions differ in various ways. Batman and Ra’s Al Ghul both do what they do because they want to end all crime in Gotham City. Batman wanted this but he did it for the greater good of Gotham and committing as little destruction as possible. The League of Shadows wanted the crime to end but they did this through terrorism and destruction while killing many innocent people.

As stated in The Dark Knight, Talia Al Ghul said “Innocent is a strong word to throw around Gotham, Bruce. ” This is how they justified their actions as they felt that no one in Gotham was innocent. For example, Ra’s Al Ghul had a machine that bursts all the water pipes. His intentions were to burst all the pipes and releasing Dr. Crane’s/Scarecrow’s hallucinogenic gas in Gotham by using the monorail with the machine on it and heading towards Wayne Tower as that is the central water and power location in Gotham. While attempting to do this scheme, he brought terror and destruction upon Gotham and putting lives at risk. Batman’s driving force throughout the films was based on the fact that he swore vengeance on all criminals in Gotham City when his parents were murdered by Joe Chill. Bruce trained himself intellectually and physically to follow through on his oath. His entire persona around Batman is based on his childhood fear of bats.

Ra’s Al Ghul has no driving force for his actions, he just has a motive of ending all crime through destruction and terrorism. The costumes used by either character resonates with their actions. Batman’s suit is made of Kevlar biweave with reinforced joints to stop gunfire which shows that he will be getting involved with life-threatening situations but it also shows that he is serious about getting vengeance on the criminals of Gotham. His mask is the most iconic piece to the entire outfit as it resembles a bat and this gives hm the name, Batman. Ra’s Al Ghul’s outfit is similar to one of a samurai and has an entire black appearance which symbolises that he is apart of the League of Shadows. The black colour of the outfit is the similarity between Batman and Ra’s Al Ghul which shows the viewers that even though these characters might believe that they’re doing the correct thing, there is always darkness in them.

In conclusion, the motives, driving force, modus operandi and their outward appearance of their costumes have been discussed and I believe that the portrayal of these characters was done perfectly.