Ra’s al-Ghūl, the enemy of ‘Alī and Batman: Upturned narratives from Arabic literature to American Comics

In one of the most important long stories of the so-called Legendary Maghāzī Literature, The Conquest of Yemen or the Expedition against Ra’s al-Ghūl, ‘Alī fights against a powerful idolatrous Yemeni tyrant called Ra’s al-Ghūl (Demon’s head). The story, attributed to Abū al-Ḥasan al-Bakrī (13th cent.), had a great success and popularity during the Mamluk period. In times closer to us (1971), another powerful archenemy, also named Ras al-Ghul, reappears in the American DC Comics as one of the most dangerous antagonists of Batman. During the last forty years, various artists and writers have enriched the story of the supervillain Ras al-Ghul and his family, creating a sort of saga that has outstanding similarities with the Arabic one. The aim of the present paper is to analyse a number of narrative elements emerging from these narratives in order to highlight the origin and transformation of the character of Ra’s al-Ghūl.