Merlyn (DC)

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Merlyn the 'Magician' in Green Arrow and Black Canary v1 #16.

Merlyn is a male comic supervillain that features in DC Comics.

Contents

Biography

Origin

As a young man, Merlyn was seen by Oliver Queen with the Magician flawlessly performing his archery skills at a target whilst blindfolded. After Oliver became the Green Arrow, Queen fell for a publicity stunt when he was challenged by Merlyn. Despite his skills, Oliver lost the match against Merlyn with Queen never forgetting the encounter. Afterwards, the Magician disappeared from sight preventing Oliver from ever getting a re-match with him. Merlyn had at some point became a member of the feared League of Assassins. (Justice League of America v1 #94)

After the Sensei was foiled in entering Nanda Parbat, the master assassin vowed revenge for his humiliation whereupon he made use of the Demonfang to get his vengeance. As a result, Merlyn was summoned by his master the Sensei who tasked him with targeting Batman though the archer had to contend with the rest of the Justice League. Merlyn managed to remove Superman and the Atom as obstacles as he made his move against his true target that was Batman. This led to his confrontation with his rival the Green Arrow who managed to thwarted the archer causing him to fail the League of Assassins which typically meant death with him departing the scene but congratulating Oliver Queen for finally besting him. (Justice League of America v1 #94)

Under the Sensei’s orders, he was dispatched with the goal of acquiring one of the many pieces that made the Invisible Map to Nanda Parbat. Despite the keepers abilities, Merlyn was able to slay him and acquired the part for the map. (Robin v2 #168)

With Shadow-Thief in captivity, there were fears that he would give up vital information by cooperating with the authorities. This led to the Calculator hiring Merlyn for the job of eliminating Sands where he was paired up with the Monocle along with Phobia. They attacked the court house where Sands were incarcerated in a tank with them initially managing to get close to their target. Their plans were thwarted with the arrival of the new Manhunter though Merlyn had destroyed the containment tank with him next intending to kill Carl himself. However, with his freedom, Shadow-Thief’s powers returned and he intended to kill everyone that opposed him with Merlyn put out of commission by Manhunter. Ultimately, Sands was defeated with Merlyn put into custody for the attempted murder. (Manhunter v3 #10)

Post-Flashpoint

Malcolm Merlyn in Green Arrow v6 #14.

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Malcolm Merlyn when he was as a young man joined the ranks of the League of Assassins where he went through their commencement ceremony when Ra's al Ghul made him a grave for himself and obeyed the command to lie in it. The purpose of the grave was for him to say good-bye to his old life and be born anew as an assassin as the Dark Archer. At some point, he had a son that was named Tommy Merlyn who became friends with the young Oliver Queen. (Green Arrow v6 #14) Oliver regularly came to the Merlyn household where Malcolm developed an unnatural interest in the boy as being the son he wanted as he considered Tommy to be a failure. He considered Robert Queen a failure and it was later known that he had attempted to seduce Moira Queen leading to Oliver being banned form going to the Merlyn home. (Green Arrow v6 #17) Malcolm's son Tommy later ended up taking the life of a mercenary who went by the name of the Dark Archer. (Green Arrow v6 #14) On one of his travels, he encountered John Diggle who he saved from a terrorist cell called Eclipse thus leading to the former bodyguard being indebted to Merlyn. (Green Arrow v6 #34)

At some point, it was noted that Malcolm Merlyn was responsible for saving the life of John Diggle who as a result owed the Dark Archer. He was still a member of the League of Assassins and sought to get Oliver Queen to join them. As part of his contract, he was hired to ruin the Green Arrow and began to target people in Seattle. (Green Arrow v6 #17)

Overview

Personality and attributes

In his costume, he was also referred to as the Dark Archer. (Green Arrow v6 #14) His skills in tracking led to him being referred to as the Magician. (Justice League of America v1 #94)

Though being labelled an assassin, Merlyn was said to consider himself more of a hunter who stalked his target. He liked to learn their patterns before he was ready to spring his trap on them. However, he had a tendency of prolonging a fight so he could enjoy it more when he could have gone for a quick kill. (Batman Secret Files v1 #3)

Malcolm said that he did not mind scars as he considered them good souvenirs and a reminder of debts. (Green Arrow v6 #34)

He was noted for having a bitter rivalry with the Green Arrow. (Justice League of America v1 #94)

Powers and abilities

As an assassin, he was said to had been trained under Ra's al Ghul himself. (Batman Secret Files v1 #3) He was considered the best archer in the world with Merlyn himself considering the mark of a great archer was knowing when to shoot. Even as a young man, he was eagle-eyed and could hit a target whilst blindfolded. (Justice League of America v1 #94)

Weapon masters were responsible for creating special arrows for Merlyn's arsenal that he could be used against special foes. These included arrows that emitted ultrasonic sounds and another that could increase the gravity on the target struck. (Justice League of America v1 #94)

He was a member of the Seven Men of Death that stood among the most elite warriors in the League of Assassins. (Robin v2 #168)

Notes

  • Merlyn as Arthur King was created by Mike Friedrich, Neal Adams and Dick Dillin where he made his first appearance in Justice League of America v1 #94 (November, 1971).
  • In Green Arrow v6 #15 (2017) in the post-Flashpoint and Rebirth continuity had the character renamed as being Malcolm Merlyn similar to the version in the Arrowverse.
  • During The New 52, a character by the name of John King appeared in Green Arrow v5 #35 (2016) who was a wealthy philanthropist with him being the third richest man in the country behind Wayne and Luthor. Publically, he was known as a humanitarian that helped people but secretly he placed them in debt and forced them to obey his wishes. He came to consider this as real power whereby thousands of people were in an eternal debt to him and did anything he commanded with them being loyal to his orders. In return, he stated that he gave them a perfect kingdom where he ruled and ensured their wellbeing though in reality he was an extortionist. For each city King seized, he sought to find out everything about it and came to learn that Oliver Queen was secretly the Green Arrow. At some point, he had met a woman and had a daughter that was Mia Dearden who when they moved to Seattle had accidently discovered his true nature. This caused John King to kill the girls mother with Mia going on the run to escape her father.

Alternate Versions

In other media

Television

  • In the Arrowverse, Malcolm Merlyn made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
    • In Arrow, Malcolm Merlyn was introduced into the live-action television series starting from the first season where he was portrayed by actor John Barrowman.
    • In Legends of Tomorrow, Malcolm Merlyn returned as an antagonist in the live-action television series second season where he was once again portrayed by actor John Barrowman.

Films

  • In DC Showcase: Green Arrow, Merlyn appeared as an antagonist in the short animated film where he was voiced by actor Malcolm McDowell. He was hired by Count Vertigo to assassinate Princess Perdita at the airport leading to a confrontation with Green Arrow who began to protect her with Merlyn along with his henchmen being defeated by Oliver Queen.

Video games

Appearances

  • Justice League of America v1: (1971)
  • Green Arrow and Black Canary v1:
  • Manhunter v3:
  • Green Arrow:
  • Batman: (2020)
  • Batman Secret Files v1: (2020)

External Links

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