Ra (Stargate)
Ra is a fictional alien in the Stargate universe, appearing in the science fiction movie Stargate (1994), and subsequently in the television show Stargate SG-1. Ra is related to the Ra of Egyptian mythology.
Plot
The premise for the movie was that Ra (established to be a Goa'uld in the television series) was actually an alien being who posed as a god to enslave the peoples of Earth. He was overthrown by a planet-wide rebellion on Earth but still ruled over Abydos; to which Colonel Jonathan "Jack" O'Neil, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Lt. Charles Kawalsky, Lt. Louis Feretti, and others traveled. The Stargate had been unearthed from its burial point in Egypt and had been restored to working order by the United States Air Force. The aforementioned team, dispatched to explore and analyse the planet on the other end of the Stargate, managed to communicate with the locals, who believed them to be messengers from Ra, who were being forced to mine a quartz-like mineral (called naqahdah in the television show) for the false god.
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 Daniel informed him of the history of Ra, including his previous dominance of the people of Earth, Jack moved to use the device to remove Ra from the galaxy. Ra discovered this plot and planned to instead send the nuclear bomb back to Earth with 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 Earth, destroying all human civilization at the very least.
Before the bomb could be sent, however, the humans managed to escape Ra's clutches and launch 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 in an attempt to eliminate the threat posed by Ra. 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. The bomb exploded there above Abydos' atmosphere, destroying the ship and killing Ra.
Notes/Trivia
- Beyond glowing eyes and the bass-augmented voice, when Ra became angry the outline of the real alien Ra could be seen within the host. His humanoid form was also shown in an earlier scene, when Daniel Jackson was explaining Ra's history, and again later in the film, when Ra faces his death. This portion appears to be in direct contradiction to Stargate SG-1, where the true Goa'uld appear to be a serpent-like creature which occupies the brain stem in order to control the host. It is explained in the movie that the alien entity, near death, found the primitive people of Earth and, with their 'primitive' physiology able to be sustained indefinitely with his advanced technology, he possessed the body of a young Egyptian boy and ruled from within. It is possible that the humanoid form of Ra that was shown to land on Abydos was another alien host; however this does not explain why the outline could be seen within the human host.
- According to Stargate SG-1 canon, Ra was the most cunning and ruthless of the Goa'uld System Lords. His Queen was Hathor, and his son was Heru-ur. He was also the brother—and enemy—of Apophis. 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.
- Ra has appeared only once on Stargate SG-1, in the season eight episode "Moebius", in which the SG-1 crew, using an Ancient time machine, traveled to Earth's past before the revolution against Ra. During this visit, O'Neill, Samantha Carter and Teal'c are executed by Ra for attempting to organise the revolution against him, which prompts him to take the Giza Stargate away from Earth and thus preventing the Stargate program from ever existing. However, a message left by SG-1 leads to the alternate Jack, Sam and Teal'c coming back in time and, aided by the original Daniel Jackson (who escaped execution), they manage to restore the timeline to normal by stealing the Stargate before Ra can take it.
- In the Stargate film, Jaye Davidson portrays Ra, except for when Ra has his mask on. The Masked Ra is not played by Jaye Davidson; the mask was extremely heavy and was worn by a stuntman.