The introduction of Ra's al Ghul into the Arrow universe is potentially the most exciting aspect of season three. Ra's is one of the very best comic book characters ever created, a villain with a truly global agenda and operatic origins. Created by Dennis O'Neill and Neal Adams in 1971, Ra's has since always been one of Batman's most fearsome foes. We're not sure if he has tangled with Green Arrow overly often in the comic books, but Ra's should work perfectly as a foil to the Oliver Queen we now know on television. Hey, Ollie's already fought a shedload of minor Bat-villains, why not take on one of the heavy-hitters? We've been busy obsessing over how much of Ra's backstory will be revealed in the show, and if the producers will steer clear of much of the overtly supernatural aspects, like Christopher Nolan did in The Dark Knight Trilogy. Birth Of The Demon gives a pretty definitive origin for Ra's, revealing him to be around 500 years old. Ra's discovered the secret to immortality in the Lazarus Pit, a glowing green liquid found at certain points around the globe. Periodic immersion in these Pits keeps him looking and feeling young(ish), although they do have the nasty habit of making one go temporarily insane after taking a dip. Nolan chose not to delve into any of these concepts, preferring to keep Ra's more grounded in reality. Or, at least, as grounded in reality as a ninja master who commands The League Of Shadows and lives in a Temple in the Himalayas can be. That was fine for those films, but we can't help hoping that Arrow will go all the way and give us the true Ra's from the comics, immortality and all. Comments from showrunner Marc Guggenheim and producer Andrew Kreisberg seem to contradict each other, with Guggenheim suggesting the show will return to it's more grounded roots in season three but Kreisberg saying that the show now has licence to be more 'comic-booky', after introducing superpowers in season two. We hope Kreisberg gets the final say on this one, folks. What say you, dear readers? Are there any stories you think would work in Arrow, given a bit of creative licence? Sound off in the comments section below.
