Ra\'s Al Ghul (sp?) is pretty involved in the comics (not just Batman but also JLA) but we get a slightly different version of him in the movie. Well, more like.. he\'s the same guy but his background isn\'t fleshed out.
i.e. Two prominent facts about Ra\'s is that he has a 20-something daughter, Talia, and he\'s possibly centuries old.. kept alive by using the Lazarus Pits. (which, in deus ex machina fashion, can bring pretty much anybody back to life.. even Jason Todd!) They don\'t mention any of that in the movie.