- For others uses of "Dark Archer", see Dark Archer (disambiguation). For other characters of same name, see Malcolm Merlyn (disambiguation).
| Malcolm Merlyn | |
|---|---|
| Biological Information | |
| Status | Unknown (presumed deceased) |
| Universe Information | |
| General Information | |
| Occupation | Vigilante (in secret) Ally of Team Arrow (in secret; former member) Member of the Legion of Doom (formerly) Member of H.I.V.E. (formerly) Leader of the League of Assassins (formerly) Businessman (formerly) CEO of Merlyn Global Group (formerly) Leader of Tempest (formerly) Member of the Hidden (formerly) |
| Family | Jasper King (father) Rebecca Merlyn (wife) † Saracon (son) Tommy Merlyn (son) † Thea Queen (daughter; estranged) |
| Alter ego | Dark Archer |
| Actor | John Barrowman |
| Source | |
Malcolm Merlyn (born 1960 as Arthur King) is the father of Thea Queen, Saracon, and the late Tommy Merlyn, and the husband of the late Rebecca Merlyn. He is also considerably the archenemy of Oliver Queen / Green Arrow. He was trained by the League of Assassins, taking the name Al Sa-Her ( الساحر Arabic for The Magician). For a period of time, he became the leader of the League, but Nyssa al Ghul took the leadership from him after Oliver Queen defeated him on behalf of Nyssa.
Malcolm is a formerly wealthy and successful businessman who was CEO of Merlyn Global Group, and was a prominent figure in Starling City. He secretly plotted "The Undertaking" with a number of others - fueled by the death of his wife during a mugging in the crime-infested area of "The Glades". After The Arrow began to intervene in his plot Malcolm donned his league uniform and became a vigilante named Dark Archer. He eventually succeeded in his plan, though only partially, but was believed dead when Oliver struck an arrow through his heart.
He eventually revealed himself to be alive to Moira because as it turned out, he is Thea's biological father and he sought redemption with her. Instead, Moira revealed to the League of Assassins that Malcolm was in fact alive and he is now running from them. After some time, he is no longer hunted by the League due to the fact that Ra's al Ghul has wiped out his blood debt. He later becomes an uneasy ally of Team Arrow, despite their constant qualms. After Oliver defeated "Ra's", Ra's gave him his ring, which signified leadership of the League of Assassins. Oliver later passed the ring to Malcolm, making him the new Ra's al Ghul. However, Nyssa soon disbanded the League, and this power struggle cost Malcolm his left hand. In his anger for Oliver, he joined forces with Damien Darhk, whom he originally fought with as a temporary Green Arrow. However, after the destruction of Tevat Noah and Darhk´s growing insanity after the death of his wife leading him to decide to destroy the world regardless of the existence of a safe haven, Malcolm defected from H.I.V.E. and joined forces with Team Arrow again.