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#REDIRECT [[List of Stargate SG-1 characters#Goa'uld]]
{{Stargate character |

image = [[Image:Ra_stargate_film.JPG|250px]]|
{{Redirect category shell|1=
caption = Ra in ''Stargate''|
{{R from merge}}
name=Ra|
{{R from fictional character|Stargate}}
race=[[Goa'uld]]|
gender=[[Male]]|
rank=[[System Lord|Supreme System Lord]]|
birthplace= Unknown|
family=Hathor (wife), Heru-ur (Son)|
film=[[Jaye Davidson]]|
tv=[[Jay Williams(actor)|Jay Williams]]|
first=[[Stargate (film)|Stargate]]|
}}
}}


[[Category:Fictional Egyptian people]]
'''Ra''' is a fictional alien in the [[Stargate]] universe, appearing in the [[science fiction]] movie ''[[Stargate (film)|Stargate]]'', and subsequently in the television show ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''. Ra is related to the [[Ra]] of [[Egyptian mythology]].

==History==

Originally the most powerful and influential of the Goa'uld System Lords, Ra was responsible for finding humans on [[Earth]] (the "[[Tau'ri]]") and discovering that the Goa'uld could use them as hosts, maintaining their bodies indefinitely with their advanced technology. Ra stumbled upon the planet Earth ten thousand years ago, and took an Egyptian boy as his host. He posed as a god to enslave its people, and ruled over the planet for thousands of years. <ref name="Movie">"[[Stargate (film)|Stargate]]"</ref>

During this time, he took humans from Earth and seeded them all across the galaxy. These human colonies worship the Goa'uld as gods, serve as slave labor, and mostly have no idea that their true origins lie on Earth. <ref name="The Enemy Within">"[[The Enemy Within (Stargate SG-1)|The Enemy Within]] (''[[Stargate SG-1]]'')</ref> One of the planets colonized by Ra was [[Abydos (Stargate)|Abydos]], where the people remained mining [[Fictional materials in the Stargate universe#Naqahdah|naqahdah]] for thousands of years.

Approximately five thousand years ago, the peoples of Earth rebelled against him and buried the planet's [[Stargate (device)|Stargate]] somewhere in [[Egypt]]. <ref name="Movie" /> Originally believed to have been instigated by the [[Oannes (Stargate)|Oannes]], in Season Eight of SG-1 the timeline was altered so that the rebellion was instigated by a version of [[SG-1]] from an alternate timeline, after they had travelled back to the past to retrieve a [[ZPM]]. <ref name="Moebius">"[[Moebius (Stargate SG-1)|Moebius]]" (''[[Stargate SG-1]]'')</ref> In order to insure that none of the peoples he ruled over would ever again rise up against him, Ra outlawed reading and writing on most of the planets he controlled, including Abydos. <ref name="Movie" />

Ra was the most cunning and ruthless of the [[Goa'uld]] [[System Lords]]. His Queen was [[Hathor (Stargate)|Hathor]] <ref name="Hathor">"[[Hathor (Stargate SG-1)|Hathor]]" (''[[Stargate SG-1]]'')</ref>, and his son was [[Heru-ur (Stargate)|Heru-ur]]. <ref name="Thor's Chariot">"[[Thor's Chariot (Stargate SG-1)|Thor's Chariot]]" (''[[Stargate SG-1]]'')</ref> He was also the brother - and enemy - of [[Apophis (Stargate)|Apophis]]. He was also opposed by the Goa'uld [[Goa'uld characters in Stargate#Other Goa'uld|Shaq'ran]], and defeated the [[Tok'ra]] queen [[Tok'ra characters in Stargate#Egeria|Egeria]]. <ref name="Cure">"[[Cure (Stargate SG-1)|Cure]]" (''[[Stargate SG-1]]'')</ref> His power and intelligence so overshadowed the others that he was awarded the title ''Supreme System Lord'' and became the [[de jure]] Emperor of the Goa'uld, though this would be a very nominal title as the others never ceased their attempts to usurp the position.

In [[1928]], the [[Stargate (device)|Stargate]] was rediscovered by a team of archeologists led by a Dr. Langford. As it would take several years before the Tau'ri's technical capabilities allowed them to operate the device, the [[United States Air Force]] eventually discovered how to activate it, and sent [[Jack O'Neill|Colonel Jonathan "Jack" O'Neil]], Dr. [[Daniel Jackson]], Lt. [[Charles Kawalsky]], Lt. [[Louis Ferretti]], and others through the gate to Abydos.

Not knowing what to expect, O'Neil, under covert orders from General West, had brought a nuclear bomb from Earth with orders to detonate it if there was any indication of a hostile threat. When the team was confronted with Ra, and learned of his previous dominance of the people of Earth, O'Neill moved to activate the device. Ra discovered the plot against him and planned to instead send the nuclear bomb back to Earth with a shipment of the mineral, which would have the effect of multiplying the explosive force of the nuclear weapon by a factor of one hundred. The resulting explosion would most probably have destroyed all human civilization at the very least.

Before the bomb could be sent, however, the humans managed to escape Ra's clutches and launched an attack on his landed spaceship. Ra was defeated before he could dispatch the warhead and decided to flee Abydos, his empire crumbling when the natives rebelled (as had happened on Earth) when Daniel revealed that Ra was not a god. O'Neil had, unfortunately, already activated the nuclear device, and was unable to deactivate the bomb, apparently modified by Ra. Jackson sent the bomb and its mineral up into Ra's spaceship by way of a [[Ring Transporter|ring transporter]], destroying the ship and killing Ra. <ref name="Movie" />

Although the death of Ra was an enormous victory, it would however attract the attention of the other System Lords and alert them of the threat Earth posed. Also, the power vacuum created after Ra's death allowed [[Apophis (Stargate)|Apophis]] to become even more powerful. <ref name="Children of the Gods">"[[Children of the Gods (Stargate SG-1)|Children of the Gods]]" (''[[Stargate SG-1]]'')</ref>

==Trivia==
{{trivia|date=September 2007}}
[[Image:Ra_original_humanoid.jpg|thumb|Concept drawing of Ra's original humanoid form by Patrick Tatopolous.[http://www.tatopoulosstudios.net/mainpage.html]]]
[[Image:Ra in 'Moebius Part I'.jpg|thumb|Ra in [[Moebius (Stargate SG-1)|Moebius]], played by [[Jay Williams (actor)|Jay Williams]].]]
*Within the movie, when Ra became angry the outline of another humanoid being could be seen within the host. This same humanoid being was also clearly seen in flashback scenes to represent Ra's form before he "possessed" the boy. This portion appears to be contradicted by ''Stargate SG-1'', where the true [[Goa'uld]] is a serpent-like creature which occupies the brain stem in order to control the host. The contradiction is not addressed in the series.
*Ra has appeared only once on ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', in the season eight episode "[[Moebius (Stargate SG-1)|Moebius]]", in which the SG-1 crew, using an [[Ancient (Stargate)|Ancient]] [[Time travel|time machine]], traveled to Earth's past before the revolution against Ra. His face was not shown - he remained in masked form only.
*Ra would also appear in [[Stargate comics|comics based on the ''Stargate'' movie and ''SG-1'' series]]. In the SG-1 comics, he first appeared in flashbacks of the Abydos uprising (the original movie storyline) before featuring in the ''Ra Reborn'' series of comics which depicted a storyline involving surviving the explosion of his ship.
*In the film, Ra was portrayed by Jaye Davidson, except for the scenes in which Ra wore his mask. The prop mask was extremely heavy and was worn by stuntman Kierton Lee.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External Links==
* {{imdb character|0005994}}
* [http://www.gateworld.net/omnipedia/characters/links/ra.shtml "Ra"] at [[GateWorld]] Omnipedia.
* [http://www.stargate-sg1-solutions.com/wiki/Ra "Ra"] at StargateWiki.
* [http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Ra "Ra"] on the Stargate Wikia

{{Recurring characters on Stargate SG-1}}

[[Category:Film characters]]
[[Category:Goa'uld]]

[[cs:Ra (goa'uld)]]
[[es:Ra (Stargate)]]
[[fr:Râ (Stargate)]]
[[it:Ra (Stargate)]]
[[nl:Ra (Stargate)]]
[[ru:Ра (Звёздные врата)]]

Latest revision as of 15:27, 1 December 2019