Merlyn (DC Comics)

Merlyn is a fictional supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Green Arrow, though over the years he has served as an adversary for other superheroes in the DC Universe as well, such as Batman. He was created by Mike Friedrich, Neal Adams, and Dick Dillin and first appeared in Justice League of America #94 (1971).

Since 2012, the character has appeared on The CW's live-action TV series Arrow, where he is portrayed by actor John Barrowman.

Publication history

Merlyn first appeared in Justice League of America #94 (1971) and was created by writer Mike Friedrich and artists Neal Adams and Dick Dillin.

John Barrowman and his sister Carole have written a digital comic called Arrow: The Dark Archer, now released as a physical paperback, which focuses on Malcolm Merlyn, the character that John plays on The CW's live-action television series Arrow.^[2] It is illustrated by Daniel Sampere. The digital comic reveals Malcolm's birth name as Arthur King, Merlyn's real name in the mainstream comics.

Fictional character biography

Years before Oliver Queen would become Green Arrow, he was inspired to take up archery by the archer Merlyn the Magician. Once Green Arrow began to become famous, the two met again, as Merlyn challenged the hero to a public archery contest and defeated him. With that victory under his belt, Merlyn vanished for years, only to resurface as a member of the League of Assassins. Merlyn and Green Arrow faced again as Merlyn tried to fulfill a contract to assassinate Batman. Green Arrow was able to deflect one of Merlyn's arrows with an arrow of his own, saving Batman's life. Merlyn admitted that Green Arrow had improved since their last encounter, but escaped before he could be captured. Unable to return to the League of Assassins, he became a freelance assassin.

Merlyn later appeared in Action Comics as part of the Queen Bee's unofficial "Injustice Gang" opposing the JLA.^[3]

Finding work with one of Metropolis' crime syndicates, The 100,^[4] Merlyn fought against a weakened Black Lightning, but lost the battle.^[5]

Merlyn was apparently a part of the League of Assassins when the assassin David Cain's daughter, Cassandra, was born. Merlyn would seem to have taken part in the child's highly abusive training (along with other members of the League, such as Bronze Tiger), unknowingly giving her the skills to become the future Batgirl. He then served under Tobias Whale as a member of the 100.

He was among those who sold his soul to the demonic Neron during the events of Underworld Unleashed. He then joined the Killer Elite (along with Deadshot, Bolt, Chiller, and Deadline). All tried to perform various assassinations, but were stopped by the Justice League of America. The group later encountered the Body Doubles. Merlyn and the others were soundly defeated.^[6]

The villain next made an appearance in the pages of Young Justice as an archer working for the Zandian national Olympic team. He is the instructor to the young Zandian archer Turk (a half-wolf metahuman). Turk and Merlyn attempt to sabotage the games in their favor,^[7] but they are defeated by the Young Justice team.^[8][9]

Merlyn would next appear in the pages of Identity Crisis,^[10] and was one of the main voices for the villains during that miniseries. He recognizes the Monocle and Deadshot as his closest allies, and correctly predicts that the murder of Sue Dibny would have dire consequences in the villain community.^[11] When he is captured by the Justice League along with Deadshot and Monocle, Deadshot was able to use his ties to the Suicide Squad and Amanda Waller to secure their release (much to the frustration of the newest Manhunter).^[12]

The villainous archer reappeared with Monocle and Phobia in an attempt to kill the Shadow Thief at his trial, and in the process the villains found themselves battling Manhunter. Merlyn has since resurfaced in the pages of Green Arrow as part of a multipronged attack against Green Arrow and his family.^[13]

Afterward, he appears to be under the employ of Talia al Ghul as a tutor to her son Damian Wayne, though he would later confess that he was learning more from Damian.^[14]

He has a minor role in The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, in which he is hired by the Sensei to take out a spring where Ra's could revitalize himself. He fulfills his tasks well, but is defeated in the final confrontation between Ra's al Ghul and Batman.^[15]

He was later seen among the new Injustice League.

He was later captured by the vigilante Cupid, who planned to kill him in front of Green Arrow, whom she was besotted with. To this end, she slashed Merlyn's throat with an arrow. Green Arrow was able to get Merlyn medical attention in time to save his life, but the villain's throat was damaged to the point where he would never be able to speak again.^[16]

The New 52

In Batman Incorporated #4 (2012), Merlyn (Arthur King) appears in the employ of Talia al Ghul, as part of the League of Assassins, and battles the members of Batman, Inc.^[17] During the Forever Evil storyline, Arthur King is among the villains recruited by the Crime Syndicate of America to join the Secret Society of Super Villains.^[18]

Tommy Merlyn appeared in The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe) in Green Arrow #0. Five years earlier, Tommy was Oliver Queen's best friend. During a hostage crisis on a Pacific Ocean oil rig with a villain named "Iron Eagle", Merlyn was caught in an explosion. Fast forward to the present day, Tommy, branded as the "Mystery Patient", awoke.^[19]

In the second part of the 2014 Green Arrow storyline '"Kingdom", Tommy Merlyn returns as a mercenary after killing some of the men trying to take Mia Dearden into protective custody in relation to a "case" involving her mother and Mr King. Green Arrow, who moved in to rescue Mia following a tip off from hacker-for-hire Felicity Smoak, looked up to see Merlyn, bow drawn and face covered in burns.^[20]

Powers and abilities

While Merlyn possesses no metahuman powers, he is at his prime in terms of human physical conditioning, possessing advanced strength and reflexes as well as having an incredibly high tolerance for pain, which make him an extremely vicious opponent. His League of Assassins armor is made of Kevlar, and provides further protection when he is in the field. Having been trained by the League of Assassins, Merlyn is a master of hand-to-hand combat, martial arts and stealth. He is one of the DC Universe's best archers, whose archery skills are equivalent, if not superior, to Green Arrow, Connor Hawke, Red Arrow and the Celestial Archer. He has been known to use trick arrows to kill his enemies, including explosive arrows that detonate on impact. He has also been shown to possess a jet pack mounted in his quiver. In addition to being an archer, Merlyn is also extremely proficient with swords, throwing knives and other melee weapons, and is highly skilled in devising battle plans and strategies.

In other media

Television

• Merlyn appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Dead Reckoning". He is shown as a member of Grodd's Secret Society. In a fight for leadership of the society, Merlyn sides with Grodd in the mutiny against Lex Luthor. Merlyn is seen firing his arrows and dispatching multiple other supervillains during the fight. His final fate is unknown, as when the mutineers are defeated and captured, Merlyn is not seen among them.

• In "Disciple", a season nine episode of Smallville, Steve Bacic portrays an adaptation of Merlyn called Vordigan, referred to as The Dark Archer in advertising. He later reappears in the season ten episode "Prophecy" in a cameo role as the Injustice League member assigned to kill Green Arrow.^[21]

Arrowverse

John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn on the cover of Arrow: The Dark Archer.

• Malcolm Merlyn (born Arthur King) appears in The CW's Arrowverse, portrayed by John Barrowman.^[22]
  • The character first appears on Arrow, where he serves as Oliver Queen's nemesis. Fueled by the murder of his wife during a mugging in the crime-infested area of Starling City called "the Glades", Malcolm left his son, Tommy, to train in Nanda Parbat with the League of Assassins, where he took the name "The Magician" (Arabic: الساحر Al Sa-Her). He left the organization and returned to Starling City years later to plot the destruction of the Glades, inadvertently killing his friend Robert Queen in the process. This leads to Robert's son, Oliver, being shipwrecked on an island for five years, only to return to Starling as the "Arrow" vigilante, who begins interfering with Malcolm's plans. Malcolm then dons his League of Assassins "Dark Archer" suit,^[23] and defeats the Arrow twice in combat. In the finale, Oliver seemingly kills Malcolm, but the villain's earthquake device levels the Glades and inadvertently kills Tommy. In season two, it is revealed that Malcolm faked his death, and returns well aware of his parentage to Thea Queen, Oliver's younger sister. He later convinces Thea to leave with him shortly after her mother's death. In season three, it is revealed that Malcolm's undertaking broke the League's code, so he brainwashes Thea into murdering Sara Lance in a bid to force Oliver to kill Ra's al Ghul, the League's leader. At the end of the season, Oliver defeats Ra's and hands leadership of the League to Malcolm, who subsequently becomes the next Ra's al Ghul. In season four, Ra's daughter, Nyssa, leads a rebel faction of the League against Malcolm. Oliver eventually puts an end to the civil war by duelling Malcolm, severing his left hand in the process. Nyssa subsequently disbands the League of Assassins to end her father's legacy. Malcolm, who adopts a cybernetic prosthetic hand, then joins H.I.V.E. and forms an alliance with Damien Darhk. But when he discovers that Darhk's "Project Genesis" involved destroying the entire world with a fleet of nuclear missiles, Malcolm temporarily aids Oliver's team in stopping him. He doesn't appear again until the 100th episode of Arrow called Invasion! where he appears as a hallucination to Oliver and Thea.
  • Malcolm also makes a fleeting appearance in Arrow spin-off The Flash.
  • Malcolm will be featured in season two of Legends of Tomorrow as a member of the Legion of Doom.^[24]

Film

• Merlyn appears in DC Showcase: Green Arrow voiced by Malcolm McDowell. He is hired by Count Vertigo to assassinate Princess Perdita at the airport. After a long battle with Green Arrow, Merlyn and his henchmen are ultimately defeated.
• Merlyn is included in the script Green Arrow: Escape from Supermax, as one of the convicts imprisoned with Green Arrow.

Video games

• Merlyn appears in Injustice: Gods Among Us. In Green Arrow's S.T.A.R. Labs Missions, Merlyn is posing as the hero, wearing his costume. Green Arrow must defeat him in an archery duel.
• Malcolm Merlyn appears in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, as part of the "Arrow" DLC.
• While he doesn't physically appear, Malcolm Merlyn is alluded to in LEGO Dimensions: when Green Arrow is paired with The Doctor (of British sci-fi series Doctor Who) during gameplay, Arrow mentions that the Doctor's reoccuring companion, Captain Jack Harkness, looks familiar. This is a nod to the fact that both characters are portrayed by John Barrowman (Barrowman himself even returned to voice Jack within the game).

Merchandise

• Several figures of Malcolm Merlyn have been released based on his appearance in the Arrow TV show.
  • In late March 2015, DC Collectibles released a Dark Archer action figure. An unmasked and slightly repainted version of this figure was later released in 2016, this time labelled "Malcolm Merlyn".
  • A Retro Re-Action figure of the Dark Archer has been released.
  • A Funko POP! vinyl figure of Malcolm Merlyn was released as a SDCC 2016 Exclusive.

References

External links

• Merlyn at the Comic Book DB
• Merlyn at the DC Comics wiki
• Malcolm Merlyn at the Internet Movie Database
• Thomas Merlyn at the Internet Movie Database