Ranking Every Arrowverse Big Bad From Worst To Best
13. Ra's Al Ghul
Appeared In: Arrow (Season 3)
Poor Ra's Al Ghul simply wanted Oliver to become his successor. While this certainly sounded like a plot reminiscent of a Batman comic, the TV format of Arrow ultimately worked against it. For major parts of the season, Ra's came across more like a friend than a foe.
This not only led to some rather flat episodes, it allowed for some cringe-worthy moments, especially when Ra's became Nanda Parbat's biggest Olicity shipper. Moreover, when he wasn't trying to convince Felicity to sleep with Oliver, he was throwing a tantrum because Oliver wouldn't be his heir and when Ra's picks you to be his heir, you be his heir dammit.
With a year worth of foreshadowing behind it, and a strong performance from Matt Nable at the forefront, the execution of Ra's Al Ghul should have been a lot better than it turned out to be. Unfortunately, the whole storyline just painted him as a deluded ageing leader who let his mortality catch up to him and, other than trying to tear everything that was good about Arrow apart, he didn't really have anything to do.