Merlin (DC)
Merlin is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Merlinus Ambrosius was a half-breed human who was born as the other son of the demon Belial. (The Demon v2 #3) His father had travelled from the depths of Hell to arrive in the mortal world where he came to mate with a mortal witch that gave birth to the demon's third spawn. (The Demon v3 #19)
A young Merlinus later came to encounter two of the Elder Folk namely Morgana and Nimue Iwudu. The pair were surprised that a human could see through their glamour but he demonstrated that he had prodigious magical talent as well as the ability to see the future. In that, he saw the one true king arise and rule the lands until his kingdom was torn down by Morgana. (Madame Xanadu v2 #20)
He later fell under the tutelage of Blaise where the young man was taught the arts of magic by his mentor who noted the boy's prodigious magical talent. (The Books of Magic v1 #1)
On one occasion, the Shining Knight was forced to battle Mordred's champion who was revealed to be the ancient Greek warrior Bellerophon who had been suspended in time to this era. Upon finding this out, Merlin cast a spell that sent the warrior back to his own time thus thwarting Mordred's plan. (Adventure Comics v1 #153)
At some point, he and Madame Xanadu came to be involved in a sexual relationship. She believed that she had enchanted him but in reality he desired to learn the secrets of her youth-restoring potions so that he could survive to continue to manipulate human history. (Madame Xanadu v1 #2) Despite his faults, he also engaged the entity known as the Thirst where he fought the creature to a standstill. However, despite imprisoning the Thirst, the damage had already been done to Camelot with its fall coming to pass and ending the era. (Aquaman v6 #5)
One account claimed that he and King Arthur once had a terrible argument where the two parted ways. It was believed that Merlin had gone off to die but in reality he went into a deep slumber. (Hellblazer v1 #111)
To atone for his errors, he decided to travel through the ages where he took on a number of guises typically those of an advisor, cardinal or even a grand vizier to rulers. This was to enlist their aid in destroying his hated half-sibling Etrigan who had caused a path o destruction across the globe. However, for centuries, he had seen Etrigan simply destroy after kingdom with Merlin failing to destroy the demon. Afterwards, he departed for Turkey where he adopted a new identity as Merloch where he came to serve as a vizier to the ruler of the Ottoman Empire. By 1566, he cam to serve in the court the Sultan Suleiman when by the end of his reign his kingdom had come under siege from the hordes of Etrigan who had come for the Eternity Book. During the battle, Merlin took the Sultan to safety where he cast a spell to link his scimitar and the book together where they could only be freed by one worthy in the future. This prevented Etrigan from claiming the book and using its spells to conquer the world. (JLA Annual v1 #4)
He later came to reside in Magic-Land that was now home to Camelot with this suffering from a lack of rain that affected the crops. He attempted to cast a spell but nothing happened and Camelot was later visited by the evil trio of mystics named Simon Magus the evil magician, Saturna the lord of misrule and the Troll King. They were responsible for casting an incantation that prevented the use of magic by shunting Magic-Land into Earth's dimension ruled by science with Merlin unable to banish the three away. Meanwhile, Earth itself was placed in the realm of magic and the Justice League read tomes that allowed them to summon Merlin who warned them of the danger in Magic-Land. He aided them in sending the Justice League to Magic-Land to defeat the three evil wizards. After the League defeated the villains, Merlin reversed the spell returning Magic-Land and Earth to their respective dimensions where he took the evil wizards in order to mete out the proper punishment on them. (Justice League of America v1 #2)
He was kept suspended by painful eldritch hawkthorn spikes whose thorns slowly bled Merlin so that the demon could drink his life essence. (Action Comics v1 #638)
He came to fear that Etrigan could attempt to take control of Hell itself and looked to warn the various demon lords ranging from Lucifer to Beelzebub but they all dismissed Merlin's warnings. Merlin then forced Jason Blood to tell him of Etrigan's plans where his demonic half-brother had gathered an army to take control of Hell. (The Demon v3 #5)
On Earth, he was known to hold descendants that survived into the modern day with one being Merba the Sorcerer who became a foe of Zatanna. (Supergirl v1 #4) Another group of his descendants consisting of half-demons formed a secretive mystical organization known as the Council of Merlin who sought complete power. Sabina and the Council met with him in order to court his favour as they offered him a foothold in Earth's reality in exchange for his support to steal the power of Shazam. (Trials of Shazam v1 #12)
In the modern day, he adopted the guise of Mr. Meardon and allied himself with prominent politician in the United Kingdom in order to use them to recover 'the Grail'. In reality, this was actually a secret given by God had given to King Arthur long ago that gifted a mortal the power of immortality. (Hellblazer v1 #111)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Myrdin Wyld
During the Dark Ages, it was said that he had sought the fabled Books of Magic that were said to be the source of all mystical knowledge. He along with Mordru were considered the greatest mystics of the time where they came together in an uneasy truce where they combined their power in search for the tomes. It was said that they spent 40 days in a cave diving a possible map to the books with them agreeing to split the books evenly among them. However, Mordru was said to had gotten greedy where he attempted to escape with the map leading to a battle between the pair. Such the intensity of their fight that it was believed that the map was destroyed in the process. (Justice League Dark v1 #10)
At some point, he came to serve the Shadow Lords where they assembled a group of protectors over the years to defend them from threats. In 1013 A.D., he was in Araby to track down that era's Century Baby which was Princess Janeen where he revealed her heritage and wanted her to join the ranks of the Demon Knights. Initially, she refused but a few years later her father the king was killed and the lands were were then attacked by the dolphin Fin Assassins. (Stormwatch v3 #0)
In 1340, he met another Century Baby again who went by the name of Sister J who he had attempted to recruit decades earlier but she had refused back then. By this time, he had experienced visions of their organisation of world protectors being destroyed and them turning on one another. The two ended up becoming lovers where she was convinced to help Merlin defending the planet. Several years later, he came to note the activity of the Daemonites in 1347 in Germany where they watched the red skies for the aliens arrival to fight them leading to the formation of the first incarnation of Stormwatch. (Stormwatch v3 #0)
During the 19th century, he operated in the world in secret in his guise as Adam. During this time, he came to learn of a threat from the vampire Mircalla Nosferata who wanted to claim the Three Skulls of Boundless Rule where she wanted to use them to cause her kind to rule the world and mankind to be livestock. To stop her, he assembled a team that included Jenny Freedom, Doctor Thirteen and the Master Gunfighter Cody Barrows as they came upon the vampire nest in a hidden city of gold. (All-Star Western v3 #20)
He returned to the Augustus Priory ruins to reach the hidden mystical chamber underneath where he was met by the thirteen knight. Merlin betrayed Ser Elnara Roshtu and left her for dead whilst he claimed her charge and changed the sword into his amulet whereupon he went for his next task. (Justice League v4 #59) This was to get his Book of Eternity where he went to a shop trading in occult tomes where he animate the monsters in its pages that killed bystanders. Using the books, he travelled to the Library of Babel as a copy of the Book of Eternity resided there alongside every other book in existence whose contents remained within the infinite library. He unleashed hordes of monsters that rampage through it to find his book. (Justice League v4 #61) From the copy, he came to find a powerful site dating back to ancient Atlantis with Merlin travelling to the location to enact his next plan. (Justice League v4 #62)
He then attacked Atlantis by conjuring a long extinct Amhulus that struck at the underwater city's barriers though the onslaught was interrupted by the arrival of the Justice League Dark. (Justice League v4 #65)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Such was his reputation that he came to be known as the Dragon. (Hellblazer v1 #111) In Turkey, he took on the identity of Merloch where he served as a vizier to the ruler. (JLA Annual v1 #4) One of the identities he had taken by the modern age was Adam-One. (Stormwatch v3 #0) In modern human society, he once operated under the name of Mr. Meardon. (Hellblazer v1 #111)
Merlin was said to had always been a clever individual. (Justice League v4 #61)
It was claimed by the Phantom Stranger that Merlin intended to live forever so that he could scheme and manipulate the course of human events for millennia to come. It was this reason that he engaged in a relationship with Nimue with him attempting to gain the knowledge of her life and youth-prolonging agents that he ultimately needed to survive. Ultimately, Nimue was simply a diversion from his many conspiracies whereas she believed that she had enchanted him. (Madame Xanadu v1 #2)
In terms of his alignment, it was said that he did not see the cosmos in terms of good and bad as it all started to look the same to him after wandering so far from the rest of the world. (Justice League v4 #60) He had said that he would force mankind to achieve its destiny. (Justice League v4 #59) According to some stories, it was said that slept for ages between his appearances through time though another account claimed that in boredom he wandered for centuries to the farthest limits of the universe until he found something of interest. (Justice League v4 #60)
Merlin found gods to be uninteresting creatures that were corpulent with power and crippled by a lack of purpose. He considered himself to be no mere god but rather a man who was destined for much greater things. (Justice League v4 #62)
His father was the demon lord Belial which made Etrigan his half-brother. (The Demon v2 #3) One account claimed that he had a niece during Arthurian times with her name being Aline. (Batman v1 #36)
As a young man, he remarked that Nimue Iwudu was quite beautiful where she initially stated that he was much too young for her but admitted that he was cute. (Madame Xanadu v2 #20) Over time, the two of them came to be lovers and were involved in a sexual relationship. (Madame Xanadu v1 #1)
Powers and abilities
The son of the Devil, Merlin on account of possessing demon blood had magic that burnt through his veins. It was said to be the source of his strength and that it would be his undoing. Merlin was regarded as the most powerful magician of his age with this even being remarked by his mentor. (The Books of Magic v1 #1) He was considered to be among God's first children and his original creations that were born immortal as well as perfect with these eternal beings crafted in His image. (Hellblazer v1 #114)
It was said that he aged backwards where he grew younger over the years. (Stormwatch v3 #0)
Even from a young age, he had the talent of dispelling magic cast by other spellcasters. (Madame Xanadu v2 #20) He could cast a binding spell on people that made them impossible to track through magical means. (The Demon: Hell Is Earth v1 #4)
He was said to had possessed the Sight allowing him to witness events in the future and dictate them as prophecy. Such a skill was only ever present among the original lords of Atlantis. (Madame Xanadu v2 #20) With his eyes, he could hypnotise a person and cause them to follow his commands. (The Demon v3 #5)
Merlin was shown to be able to cast spells that changed his form to hide his true appearance. (The Demon v3 #35)
It was shown that he was able to summon a wolf named Nero that was his favourite hound. (The Demon v3 #51) He could create demonic guardians that he could place to guard important locations for him. (Justice League v4 #59)
With a spell of displacement, he was able to teleport himself and others across dimensions including to Hell. (The Demon v3 #1)
After his travels through the cosmos, his magical power was noted to had greatly increased. (Justice League v4 #59)
He was known to possess a number of objects of power. (Justice League v4 #61) Artifacts that were linked to Merlin included:
- Crystal Ball of Merlin : a crystalline sphere that allowed the user to communicate with someone else across the dimensional barrier. (Justice League of America v1 #2)
- Glastonbury Wand : a priceless mystical relic that was a wand said to had been crafted by Merlin himself. (Action Comics v1 #484)
- Philosopher's Stone : a talisman of immense power that was accidentally created by Belial at the time Merlin was conceived where he came to wield it during his time in Camelot. (The Demon v2 #3) It was also known as the Alchemists Stone. (Justice League v4 #61)
- Runestone : an all-powerful mystical jewel that some said gave Merlin his command over sorcery. (Action Comics v1 #527)
- Eternity Book : a tome gifted from his father that contained many of his secrets. (The Demon v3 #19)
He once created a magic amulet that he gifted to King Arthur that was designed to always make him victorious in battle with the wording of the spell being that none in all of England capable of besting the wearer. (Adventure Comics v1 #132)
Merlin was shown to have a weakness towards the Hawthorn plant that was a strong magic bane. (The Demon v2 #4) A pentatonic scale played backwards in C in an allegro tempo was capable of putting him in hypnotic trance whereby he followed the source mindlessly. (The Demon v2 #3)
He maintained a secret refuge at the Augustus Priory ruins located in the East of Caerleon in Wales with its true nature being hidden by magic. The inner sanctum contained powerful magic where a cavern contained waters from a long-lost lake with the sword Caliburnus in a stone. Merlin had placed the female knight Ser Elnara Roshtu as a guardian of the site and she protected it under her eternal watch. At one point, she was considered to be the thirteenth knight that was to join the ranks of the Round Table. (Justice League v4 #59) Merlin also maintained a sanctuary in Hell to serve as a place for him to rest and recover. (The Demon v3 #1)
At one point, he had a group of dedicated followers that formed a cult called the Brothers of Ambrosius that enacted his schemes. (Justice League v4 #65) Merlin was also said to had headed the Council of Merlin that consisted of his half-demonic descendants. (Trials of Shazam v1 #12)
Notes
- Merlin was created by Rafael Astarita where he made his first appearance in New Comics v1 #3 (February, 1936).
- The character was based on Merlin from Arthurian Legend.
- In Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen v1 #53 (1961), a time travelling Jimmy Olsen came to encounter Merlin during Arthurian times where it was revealed that he was a 5th Dimensional Imp.
Alternate Versions
- In Hit Comics v1 #33 (1944), an alternate version of Merlin appeared in the setting of Earth-S. This version of the wizard was a villain who had long sought to free Morgan Le Fay after she was imprisoned within a rock. The only means of releasing her from her prison was by using Excalibur to achieve this goal and had long sought the sword. Merlin later came into conflict with Kid Eternity where he managed to stop Merlin from achieving his goal with Excalibur seemingly returned to the Lady of the Lake.
- In Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table v1 (1998), Merlin appeared in the alternate reality Elseworld setting set in the Arthurian era. He was noted as an ally of King Arthur and an enemy of Morgana LeFay. At some point, he held amorous infatuation with the goddess Nimue resulting in his imprisonment in the realm of dreams.
- In Batman/Demon: A Tragedy v1 (2000), Merlin appeared in the alternate Elseworld story where he was a powerful wizard that lived for thousands of years. Thousands of years ago, the city of Gotham was besieged by its rival Metropolis and required aid with the city council asking Merlin for aid by requesting him to summon a demon to help them. Despite his reservations, he relented upon the insistence of councillor Bruce Wayne and brought forth the bat-demon Etrigan to use against the city's enemies. The demon was victorious but was banned from Hell and left in the mortal world with a need for it to be bound. Merlin decided to bind the demon to Bruce Wayne who agreed as recompense for his actions. As a result, Bruce Wayne became immortal so long as Etrigan was imprisoned in his body with Merlin keeping watch over Wayne where he eventually adopted the guise of his butler named Alfred Pennyworth.
- In Future State: Justice League v1 #1 (2021), an alternate future version of Merlin appeared in the possible timeline of Future State. By 2030, he became the power-mad figure known as the Crow King and gathered an army to conquer the world of magic which he hid behind a veil from normal people. This saw him claiming the Tower of Fate whilst his Knights were dispatched to conquer all those that opposed him. This saw the scattered members of the Justice League Dark attempting to mount a defence against him.
In other media
Television
- In Justice League, Merlin appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe in the episode "A Knight of Shadows" Pt. 1 where he was voiced by actor W. Morgan Sheppard.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Merlin appeared in the animated television series in the episode "Day of the Dark Knight" where he was voiced by actor David McCallum.
- In Justice League Action, Merlin appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was initially voiced by actor Dan Donohue and then by actor Patrick Seitz.
- In Legends of Tomorrow, an adaptation of Merlin appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse during its second season. This incarnation was simply an identity taken by Courtney Whitmore after she was stranded in Arthurian times where she held a piece of the Spear of Destiny.
Films
- In Justice League Dark, Merlin appeared in flash backs in the animated film where he was voiced by actor J. B. Blanc. During Arthurian times, he operated and had the demon Etrigan under his control and was present when the villainous scientist/sorcerer Destiny marched on the lands. Merlin summoned Etrigan to attack Destiny and shatter his Dreamstone in exchange for the demon's freedom. After Destiny's defeat, Merlin betrayed Etrigan by refusing to honor his promise and instead bonded the demon to the mortally wounded knight Jason Blood. This trapped the pair to one another with this cursed fate serving as a prison for Etrigan for centuries.
Appearances
- New Comics v1: (1936)
- Hit Comics v1:
- Batman v1:
- The Demon v1:
- The Demon v2:
- Action Comics v1:
- Adventure Comics v1:
- JLA Annual v1:
- Hellblazer v1:
- The Books of Magic v1:
- Demon Knights v1:
- Stormwatch v3:
- All-Star Western v3:
- Future State: Justice League v1: (2021)
- Justice League v4:
External Links
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