The following article contains spoilers from Batman: One Bad Day - Ra's al Ghul #1, on sale now from DC Comics.

Part of what makes Ra's al Ghul one of the unique villains Batman has been his motivation. He wants nothing more than for humanity to stop destroying the world they live in, and this pushes him to take drastic actions to see it happen, often bringing him into conflict with the Dark Knight. However, Batman: One Bad Day - Ra's al Ghul #1 (by Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, Brad Anderson, and Wes Abbott) makes it clear that Ra's is not motivated by cruelty or even the need for revenge against those humans who destroy the global ecosystem. It is spurred on by compassion and empathy for the world around him.

It arguably makes him Batman's most dangerous villain because it gives him a goal worth fighting for. Unlike Batman's other enemies, this isn't some obsession or desire to inflict harm that causes him to keep resurfacing. He has a genuinely worthwhile mission that he has sworn to fulfill. Much like Batman, he will never give up until the world is heading towards a better future, one that has a balance between humanity and the world they are lucky enough to inhabit.

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Ra's al Ghul Killed Thousands to Stop Extinction

How Ra's al Ghul Perceives the World in One Bad Day

The inciting incident of the story was the death of Ra's pet wolf, Najia, from old age. It may sound petty that Ra's killed hundreds of people because his dog died, but it was the greater context behind Najia's death that explained his actions. Najia was the last of a species of wolf that had thrived when Ra's was young. So to Ra's, he wasn't just losing a close companion that he had rescued from abusive poachers. He was witnessing the extinction of a species, one of the countless other tragedies that have been caused by human greed.

This is what carried him throughout the entire story. Ra's wasn't fighting to punish greedy businessmen and aristocrats, he was doing everything in his power to limit the damage the human population would do to the planet. It is the same mission that he passed on to his daughter Talia. He was trying to prevent more extinctions. It is a task he believes he has failed at for far too long. In this issue alone he cited ecosystems that have been ruined and entire species that have gone extinct thanks to human pollution and poaching. To him, these were unacceptable losses, and it was time someone tried to force a balance between mankind and the planet.

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Ra's al Ghul is a Complex and Noble Batman Adversary

Ra's Wolf Dies Causing an Extinction in One Bad Day

Ra's al Ghul is many things: a murderer, a political schemer, and overall a dangerous man, but one thing he has never lacked is empathy. He feels deeply for the world around him and is terrified that future generations will never get to experience the wonders that he has seen over the course of his long life. Wonders that have slowly died out as humans have given in to the temptation of excess.

It's why he keeps coming back no matter what. His goal is a good one, even if the methods aren't clean. Ra's has killed thousands to get rid of the thirty people he deemed most responsible for damaging the planet, and in his mind, it was worth it because it meant that the world would be left in better hands. Considering everything he has seen wiped out by his fellow man, it is hard not to sympathize with his motivation. At the very least, one can understand him. Ra's al Ghul isn't dangerous because he doesn't care for the future of humanity, he's dangerous because he cares too much. That can push anyone to do terrible things if they believe it is in the best interest of everyone.