In “Batman: The Animated Series,” Ra’s cameoed at the end of Talia’s debut episode, “Off-Balance.” He first meets Batman, though, in two-part episode “The Demon’s Quest.” The first half is a very faithful adaptation of “Batman” #232 — O’Neil even scripted it himself. “The Demon’s Quest: Part 2” then adapts O’Neil & Adams’ “Batman” #243-244, down to Batman and Ra’s dueling, sans shirts, in the desert.
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Again, David Warner impresses as Ra’s al Ghul in these episodes, but hardly anyone compares to Christopher Lee. If you told me that man spoke with the voice of God himself, I’d believe you. Lee was the rare actor who could make David Warner’s voice seem faint in comparison. Even Kevin Conroy’s Batman would seem dwarfed in power next to Lee, for that matter.
Lee didn’t just have a remarkable voice, he’d also done some voice acting. Of note, he played King Haggard in the 1982 dark fairy tale “The Last Unicorn.” As the King, he puts every other celebrity voice actor in that picture to shame with his powerful, sometimes scary, and ultimately pathetic villain.
People of my generation most know Lee as Saruman from “Lord of the Rings” or Count Dooku from the “Star Wars” prequels. In the 1990s when “Batman” was made, though, he was most remembered for starring in Hammer Films’ horror pictures. Lee’s take on Dracula is especially well-remembered; he’s one of the scariest and yet quietest Draculas, with Lee’s British gentlemanly affect barely concealing the beast within.
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Ra’s al Ghul is a pretty similar villain to Dracula (and not just because they’ve both fought Batman). They’re both ancient warrior kings made immortal, and they share a fondness for high collar outfits. Ra’s typically dwells in mountain fortresses like Dracula’s castle, and both characters convey a sense of powerful, foreign evil coming to invade. Similarly, Lee had also played Fu Manchu in several films, and that is another villain often compared to Ra’s al Ghul (orientalism and all).
Lee passed in 2015 without ever playing Ra’s al Ghul or working with Andrea Romano. However, for the comic “Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77,” cover artist Mike Allred drew Ra’s al Ghul as Christopher Lee:
After all, if Ra’s al Ghul had debuted five years earlier, the natural choice to play the “special guest villain” on the live-action 1960s “Batman” TV series would’ve been Lee. The show got Vincent Price to play Egghead, so no doubt they could’ve gotten Christopher Lee, too.
Sir Christopher Lee may not be literally immortal like Ra’s al Ghul, but his legacy as an actor sure is. He even looms large over roles he didn’t play.
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