User blog:BeastMan14/Arrow vs Nolan, Part 2! Ra's Al Ghul vs Yao Fei!

This week on Arrow vs Nolan, I'm bringing you a battle between two grizzled and cynical mentors, whose actions ended up shaping the lives of our heroes! Ra's Al Ghul! Former mercenary turned harsh bringer of justice, dedicated to purging the world of corruption, no matter what the cost! Yao Fei! The Chinese general exiled and framed for horrific crimes, and first mentor of many for Oliver Queen! WHO...IS...DEADLIEST?!?

Ra's Al Ghul


"You traveled the world... Now you must journey inwards... to what you really fear... it's inside you... there is no turning back. Your parents' death was not your fault. Your training is nothing. The will is everything. If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely. Are you ready to begin?"

- Ra's Al Ghul

Leader of the centuries-old League of Shadows, an organization dedicated to keeping order and justice in a world it views corrupt, Ra's Al Ghul was once a mercenary who fell in love with a warlord's daughter. Pregnant with his child, the daughter sacrificed her freedom to save her love, who was exiled while she was sent to the underground prison meant for him. After her death, her young child, Talia, was able to escape and get his help, liberating the prison so as to save her friend and protector Bane. As they grew older, Ra's began to see Bane as too extreme, alongside disapproving of his love for Talia, and excommunicated him from the League. Seeing potential in a young Bruce Wayne, Ra's, going under the name Henri Ducard, took him under his wing and trained him in the ways of the League. However, when Bruce discovers "Henri" intends to destroy Gotham completely rather than just rid it of crime, he goes rogue and sets fire to the League's temple, killing the decoy Ra's Al Ghul, but sparing Henri.

Several weeks into Bruce's adventures as Batman, Ducard would re-emerge and reveal himself as the true Ra's Al Ghul. Allying himself with Scarecrow in a plan to use his fear toxin to destroy the city, Ra's destroys Bruce's home as payback, nearly killing him if not for the intervention of his butler, Alfred. Suiting up as Batman, Bruce confronts Ra's aboard a speeding train containing a device that can vaporize Gotham's water supply, spreading the toxin through the air, and the two do battle. Bruce manages to overpower his mentor, and refuses to kill him, but also points out that he doesn't have to save him. As Jim Gordon uses the Batmobile to derail the train, it falls off the tracks and into a parking garage, and the ensuing explosion kills him.

Eight years later, Talia and Bane would travel to Gotham in an effort to destroy it and avenge Ra's.

Yao Fei
"Your time on this island is at an end."

- Yao Fei, to Oliver Queen

A Chinese general framed for massacres committed by the government, Yao Fei was exiled to the island of Lian Yu as punishment. On the island, he made a harsh living for himself, eventually coming into conflict with Edward Fyers, who captured him in an attempt to use him a scapegoat for a plan to cripple the Chinese government. With the assistance of ASIS agent Slade Wilson, Yao escaped, and the two made a plan to escape the island with a supply plane. After the sinking of the Queen's Gambit, Oliver Queen washed up on the island and Yao quickly took him to safety, preventing Fyers's mercenaries from finding him. Despite his harshness, Yao proved to be a capable mentor to Oliver, who learned how to hunt and shoot a bow under his tutelage. After capturing Fyers, Yao attempted to make a deal for his and Oliver's freedom, but the deal turned out to be an ambush set by Slade's ex-partner Billy Wintergreen, leading to Yao's capture, though Oliver managed to escape.

Trying to help his mentor, Oliver disguised himself as one of Fyers's men, but the plan goes awry when it's revealed Yao is working for Fyers, who is holding his daughter Shado hostage. Thrown into a fight ring, Yao seemingly strangles Oliver, but simply knocks him out before dumping him in a river with instructions leading him to Slade. Training under Slade, Oliver's skills improved to the point where the duo were able to team up and rescue Shado, though they were forced to leave a wounded Yao behind. Yao is forced to betray the trio, leading to their recapture. With all threats to his plan completed, Fyers made Yao film a video in which he claimed responsibility for Fyers's attacks. When the video was complete, he shot Yao in the head, killing him. Enraged, Slade, Oliver, and Shado were able to break free using knives Yao had slipped them and put a stop to Fyers's plan before he could commence it. To honor his mentor, Oliver began using his bow as his primary weapon after returning to Starling City and becoming the Hood.

Ra's Al Ghul
Weapons and Equipment:
 * Ninjato: Ra's main sword when it comes to dueling.
 * Gauntlets: Ra's always wore a pair of gauntlets, designed primarily as a means of countering an opponent's blade by catching it.

Skills and Abilities:
 * Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: The man whom Bruce learned much of his fighting style from, Ra's was a master combatant, capable of defeating Bruce in a stand-up fight through both his skill as a fighter and his usage of his surroundings. Bruce was only able to defeat him by fully utilizing his teachings, ultimately only slowing him down.
 * Expert Swordsman: Ra's was also a master swordsman, most proficient in the usage of a Ninjato.
 * Stealth Mastery: Ra's was a master of blending into the shadows, to the point where his skills even exceeded Bruce.
 * Tactical Genius: As the leader of the League, Ra's was regularly planning massive attacks to bring down cities, and his final plan to destroy Gotham only failed because of Bruce's usage of his technology like the Batmobile.

Yao Fei
Weapons and Equipment:
 * Carbon Fiber Long Bow: Yao's signature bow, he was also capable of using it as an effective quarterstaff-style melee weapon. (Yes, I know that would break it in real life, but this is a comic-book TV Show. You'll buy a guy dressed up as a bat, but you're against a guy striking people with a bow?) Following Yao's death, Oliver began using the bow as his primary weapon as a way to honor his memory.
 * Hunting Knife: Yao also carried with him a small hunting knife, for skinning prey and disarming traps.

Skills and Abilities:
 * Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Yao Fei was an excellent fighter and martial artist, capable of defeating a group of armed mercenaries up-close without an incredible amount of difficulty and going toe-to-toe with Billy Wintegreen, a much younger and more physically capable opponent.
 * Master Archer: As the one who initially trained Oliver, Yao Fei was an incredibly skilled and dangerous marksman, to the point where Fyers was impressed enough to order Yao to begin training his men in using bows. When he first met Oliver, he expertly shot him from across a great distance, nailing a non-lethal shot.
 * Skilled Hunter: As an experienced survivor on Lian Yu, Yao was an expert hunter, and he could stealthily track targets with ease, making him a decided thorn in the side of Fyers. At one point, he was able to sneak directly into the center of Fyers camp and rescue Oliver without being spotted.

Explanations

 * While both men have some a fair amount of action, Yao's been living a constant struggle on Lian Yu, forced to fight and survive for years on end. Ra's, meanwhile, has mostly stayed with the League, stepping out for the occasional mission.
 * Ra's takes the edge here. While Yao has training in the Chinese military, Ra's is one of the most skilled members of the League of Shadows, an organization that puts you at peak physical condition and trains you in a massive variety of fighting styles and stealth techniques.
 * This is undoubtably Ra's category. Ra's is a master tactician and manipulator, regularly planning master strategies and setting events in motion. While Yao has shown himself capable of using his wits to be a threat to Fyers, he's got nothing on the master of the League in this category.
 * Both men are equally unflinching when it comes to combat, willing to do whatever it takes to either survive or continue their agenda.
 * Much like Oliver vs Batman, Ra's is skilled with his swords and in the usage of martial arts, but Yao is a master archer, and it's his personal weapon of choice when it comes to surviving in the harsh conditions of Lian Yu.