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Ra's al Ghul

By Hervé St-Louis
June 27, 2005 - 15:10

Ra’s al Ghul is the Batman villain introduced in Batman #232 in 1971. The main villain in the Batman Begins movie, the Ghul knows much about Bruce Wayne and the Batman. As a villain he takes Batman outside his regular rogues and Gotham City environment and propels him on international matters. Ra’s al Ghul has survived centuries by taking a dip in one of his Lazarus Pit.

Likeness

Sculptor Jonathan Matthews based Ra’s al Ghul on Jim Lee’s design for the Hush storyline. He has long sideburns and side moustaches. The Ghul’s appearance in other comic books is not exact. He changes look depending on the artist. He always appears as an older man with a variety of moustaches and white temples. Often he is in a suit.

Sculpt

The main problem with the sculpt are the legs. Spread apart, it’s not a comfortable pose, even for a real person. It looks more staged than natural. The character looks tensed as if forced to take a picture, instead of looking natural. This is because of Jim Lee’s design which often show characters looking relaxed but favours staged posing. Ra’s al Ghul’s legs are too long compared with his torso. This figure looks bland.

Paint

The paint job is good. There is shading over all of the Ghul’s arms and face. Unfortunately, DC Direct didn’t apply similar shading on the character’s chest. Instead, it painted fake hair. There’s also some fake hair on his arms. Sculpted hairs would have looked better. Painters added finish to his hair and boots.

Scale

Ra’s al Ghul is in scale with other Hush action figures. He looks fine next to Nightwing, Alfred, and Harley Quinn. He also looks fine next to the Silver Age Batman, and the Birds of Prey set. He is taller than most DC Direct action figures, but his face is not as thin as say Alfred’s, so he’ll fit with just about any DC Direct action figure.

Stability

Ra’s al Ghul is not a stable action figure. This is mainly because of the way Jim Lee designed his posed and Matthews sculpted him. This figure loses major points for being yet another DC Direct action figure that lies on its back most of the time. It’s very annoying to purchase such an collector’s item, only to put it in a corner because it can’t stand up. Fortunately, the figure comes with a Batman action figure stand. Yet, the figure’s weight makes it lean backward. Even with the stand, the figure will fall eventually.

Articulation

Ra’s al Ghul has nine articulations at the neck, the shoulders, the elbows, the hips and the knees. The shoulders appear to be ball joints, but their mobility is limited. The head has a ball joint, but it’s stiff.

Plastic

The stock Ra’s al Ghul is made off is strong. His arms and head appear to consist of softer material, allowing one to attempt to put the sword in the figure’s hands. The torso is a single piece within which they attach the legs, the head and the arms. The knees and the elbows are held with small joints.

Props


Ra’s al Ghul comes with a sword made of soft plastic. In theory, it fits the right hand. However, forget about trying to insert it in without taking a chance on breaking the figure’s thumb. The sword’s handle is so soft that putting pressure may break it. There have been many reports of swords breaking. Don’t add yours to the statistics. The best one can do about the sword is to insert it backward. It fits, but looks dumb.

Packaging

Ra’s al Ghul comes in a box package similar to all of the Hush action figures. His picture is on the side of the box. They glue the plastic casing on a board inside the box. It makes removing the wires attaching the figures difficult. If you wanted to preserve the packaging and the encasing intact, then you can’t remove the figure.

Cost

The Hush action figures cost less than older DC Direct releases because they were mass produced and ordered. These are some of the most popular action figures from DC Direct. One can find them for $12 in the US and $16 in Canada. If purchased as sets, they may be cheaper.

Availability

These figures are easy to find in most comic book stores. Since the characters in this release are those in the Batman Begins film, they many retailers stocked a lot. These figures can even be found in video stores and movie theatres. Not many DC Direct action figures are sold in such venues. As this figure looks generic and is not similar to the Batman Begin’s Ra’s al Ghul, it don’t expect it to be very popular. While, it is well stocked. So it’s a great deal for fans.

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51