Malcolm Merlyn

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**Malcolm Merlyn** (born c. 1966 as **Arthur King**) is the husband of the late Rebecca Merlyn and the father of the late Tommy Merlyn. Malcolm is a formerly wealthy and successful businessman CEO of Merlyn Global Group and was a prominent figure in Starling City. Fueled by the death of his wife during a mugging in the crime-infested area of "The Glades", he went to Nanda Parbat and was trained by the League of Assassins, taking the name **Al Sa-Her** (Arabic: الساحر; for *The Magician*). After he left the group and returned to his city, Malcolm secretly plotted "the Undertaking"; when The Hood began to intervene in his plot, he donned his league uniform and became the **Dark Archer**, managing to defeat the Hood twice in combat. 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 Queen. Instead, Moira revealed to the League of Assassins that Malcolm was, in fact, alive, after some time, he was no longer hunted, due to Oliver helping to wipe out his blood debt. He later became an uneasy ally of Team Arrow, despite their constant qualms. After Oliver defeated "Ra's", he gave Ra's' ring to Malcolm, making him the new **Ra's al Ghul** (Arabic: رأس الغول‎; for *Demon's Head*). However, Nyssa al Ghul soon took power and disbanded the League; this power struggle cost Malcolm his left hand. In his anger for Oliver, he joined forces with Damien Darhk, 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.

A year after these events, Malcolm learned his former student and protegé, Thea, had been kidnapped as part of Felicity Smoak's plan to kill Oliver. He reached out to Oliver and aided him in recovering his friends in Queen Manor. He was killed in the mansion by a land mine.

## Biography

### Early Life

Arthur King was born sometime around 1966. He lived in London at least once.

### Living in Starling City

Eventually, Malcolm fell in love with a woman named Rebecca. In 1985, Rebecca gave birth to a son, Tommy.

In 1994, his wife was murdered in the Glades section of Starling City. Earlier, Rebecca tried to call Malcolm for help, but he was busy and turned his phone off, unaware of the nature of Rebecca's call. Later, after Malcolm turned it back on, he received a call from a businessman, whom he negotiated with until he had a deal, then Tommy woke up from a nightmare. Malcolm comforted him, performing a vanishing coin trick, and promised he wouldn't leave or let anything happen to him, but then two SCPD officers, including a friend of his, showed up at his doorstep to inform him Rebecca had been murdered. After the funeral, Malcolm sat at Rebecca's burial spot for hours until his cop friend gave him information on the killer. He later tracked him down, pretending to be lost, and pulled a gun on him trying to understand his motives and scolding him for his pain. However, the Punk fought back and severely beat Malcolm, but as he walked off Malcolm shot him in the back and killed him. Malcolm remembered the League of Assassins and somehow learned about their headquarters at Nanda Parbat, where he decided to go to be trained as an assassin to deal with his pain. Despite the insistence of his cop friend, Malcolm was set on leaving and explained to Tommy that he would return. He found his way to Nanda Parbat and was brought before an 8-year-old Nyssa al Ghul, a member of the League of Assassins, whilst she trained. She immediately believed him to be the League's next victim, but Malcolm clarified and told her he wasn't there to fight her, but to train with her. As Nyssa demanded an explanation, Malcolm performed the same coin trick on her that he used previously on Tommy, and after impressing her, she gave him a new name for the League. "Al Sa-Her," or *The Magician*.

He served with them for two years and was trained by Al-Owal under the supervision of the League's leader Ra',s al Ghul, who guided him and helped him see the world for how cruel it truly was, helping him find purpose. He was trained in all manner of combat, including the ability to withstand immense pain. After training and serving with them for two years, he became the first person to ever be released, on condition that he follow the League's codes. As a result of his time with them, Malcolm also became more calculating.

After returning to Starling City, he gathered with various people including his best friend, Robert Queen, and Frank Chen and started a plan to rebuild the Glades and free it of crime, first by forcing criminals to give up their wealth and give it to the needy, keeping their names on a list. However, Malcolm was estranged from Tommy and took little involvement in his upbringing, leading Tommy to believe he cared for no one but himself. Tommy spent most of his time at Oliver's house where he saw Oliver's father Robert as a surrogate father figure. Despite this, however, Malcolm did bail Tommy out when he got into trouble with authorities.

In late 2007, Malcolm meets with various associates dedicated to fixing the Glades of crime, these included Robert and Frank. Malcolm told them of his plan to level the Glades using an Earthquake device made by Dr Markov at Unidac Industries. Though some were persuaded, Robert was wary of Malcolm intentions. Later, after everyone had left, Robert met with Malcolm to question his plan where Malcolm revealed the unthinkable circumstances of his wife's death to Robert. Later, Malcolm had Frank rig Robert's boat with explosives to kill him to keep his plan in motion. This would inadvertently cause the eventual creation of Oliver Queen and Sara Lance's respective vigilante identities "The Arrow" and "The Canary". After the boat was sunk and Robert was dead, Malcolm continued his plan and used the criminals on the list to instead buy sections of the Glades and hired other criminals and mercenaries to complete his mission. He also had Moira approve all scientific developments through Queen Consolidated and sub companies Tempest and Unidac Industries. He also had Moira personally visit anyone working in the Glades who had plans that would endanger the Undertaking, all of this while using her own life and Thea's as a threat to keep her in line.

In 2010, Tommy used Malcolm's jet without his permission to head to China to search for Oliver acting on a tip that he may still be alive, and Malcolm yelled at Tommy on the phone for taking his jet without his consent before Tommy hung up on him.

### Working With Konstantin Kovar

In 2012, Malcolm visited Konstantin Kovar in Russia, where they discussed a deal. Their meeting got interrupted when Anatoly Knyazev from Bratva came to the room. Kovar told Malcolm that he has to take care of other business. On his way outside, Malcolm introduced himself to Anatoly as the CEO of Merlyn Global Group, and Anatoly introduced himself as "gangster". Later, after Kovar got stabbed and was considered dead, Malcolm brought him to a surgery. After the surgery, he asked the surgeon about Kovar's status. The surgeon told him that Kovar will live, but it will take him weeks to get back on his feet again. When Malcolm asked who stabbed him, the surgeon said that it is "his business". Malcolm told him that he is glad not to be the one who did this.

### The Undertaking

Moira met with Malcolm, informing him that Oliver knew nothing of his father's involvement in the plan or that the Queen's Gambit was sabotaged, before he looked in his own version of the list. Malcolm is seen for the first time in person and met with Moira to discuss The Hood. He expressed that he was uneasy about him. At first Moira expected this was because he had a large amount of wealth, but he replied that it was because the Hood was targeting "The List". When Oliver was accused of being the vigilante, Malcolm later invited Moira to talk with him upon short notice. They discuss whether Oliver might actually be The Hood, and he holds up his end of the argument that he strongly believes that Oliver is, due to the suspicious timing and unexplained absences, along with numerous officials submitting hard evidence. After this, he sends a man to kill Oliver based on his assumption but he failed when Detective Lance killed him. After the chaos cleared, Moira went to consult with him. Moira threatened to ruin his life if he ever tried to hurt the Queen family again. Though Malcolm listened he still appeared to have his suspicions.

When Moira was almost shot and hospitalized, Malcolm visited her during this time, much to her distaste. He offered her friendship as they previously had, but she was hesitant. Later, his son Tommy came asking why his father cancelled his credit card while the elder was practicing fencing. Malcolm replied that he had permanently cut Tommy off from his trust fund because of Tommy's constant laid back attitude, which had grown tiresome. Tommy then argued with his father that it was his trust fund to which Malcolm further reminded him is comprised of his money, before resuming his fencing.

Tired of the Hood's interference, Malcolm took up his own vigilante persona, the "Dark Archer", and killed Adam Hunt to lure him out before attending a party at Queen Manor where the Hood was the topic of discussion and the killing of Adam Hunt. Malcolm also appeared to still have suspicions as he asked Oliver a few questions of the Hood and his nickname, even suggesting "Green Arrow", and looked at him with suspicion when he left the room the same time as the cops after they reported Hunt's murder to party attendee Commissioner Nudocerdo. Later Dark Archer killed Nelson Ravich to again lure out the Hood and set up a trap in a warehouse which failed. Later Malcolm was informed that Walter had more information on the list and consulted with Moira about the predicament and stated that action needed to be taken. Desperate to lure the Hood out, Dark Archer took hostages in a factory and fought with The Hood but Dark Archer came out on top, informing The Hood that he knew he was targeting the list, and almost killed him but the Hood managed to stab him with an arrow and get away. Malcolm later had Walter abducted and informed Moira that he wouldn't be harmed and would be safe until the Undertaking was over. Oliver's defeat at the hands of Dark Archer gave him nightmares and scared him so much that he refused to suit up again fearing for leaving his family should he be killed. However Diggle was finally able to snap him out of his fear before Oliver became Hood once again who later became the Arrow.

Malcolm invited his son and Laurel to have dinner with him. At dinner, Malcolm quite openly mentioned to Laurel how his wife was killed, though not before trying to getting Tommy to sign over his mother's clinic, so it could be shut down. Tommy then felt betrayed again and stormed off as Laurel directly confronted Malcolm about the cut off but he told Laurel that he needs it to be stronger just like he was forced to after his wife's death. Malcolm also met with Moira to discuss Carl Ballard's endangerment of the Undertaking and she agreed to handle him but demanded proof of Walter's survival first. Malcolm later came to Moira at Thea's birthday party to give her a photo of him and gave her a reassuring touch on her shoulder, unaware Thea was watching who believed them to be having an affair. Moira met with Malcolm to inform him Carl won't be a problem anymore but Malcolm then reveals that he learned from Walter that Moira had the Queen's Gambit salvaged and orders Moira to destroy it, unaware that Diggle is spying on them in the other room. However Malcolm appeared to have voice amplifiers in the room as when Oliver and Dig played it again Malcolm's voice was cloaked.

Without knowing, Moira, tired of being used, hired China White to assassinate Malcolm. Malcolm visited Tommy at Laurel's apartment on his 28th birthday and invited him to an awards ceremony where he was to receive the humanitarian award but Tommy refused. Later though Tommy did attended, albeit reluctant. Frank Pike read out Malcolm's award announcement before handing it to him before Malcolm gave a speech his philanthropy and charitable nature to making Starling City better, but noting that he hasn't done enough but one day he will. As he was giving his speech, the lights were turned off by the Chinese Triad. Malcolm quickly exited and found Tommy, and the two made it up to his office. Malcolm explained to Tommy about his safe room, and proceeded to open the door to it. However, before he could admit to his son his alter ego of the Dark Archer, Malcolm was shot from afar by Deadshot, who had been assigned to his assassination. Before Malcolm could die, The Hood arrived and was able to convince Tommy to give his father a blood transfusion, in order to rid his body of curare poison laced in the bullet. He woke up in a hospital bed some time later and talked to Tommy and confessed his guilt for letting him down as a child. Moira visited, and Malcolm asked her to find his would-be killer, unaware it was actually Moira.

Malcolm began a vengeance mission to find who was responsible for paying Deadshot to kill him and met with a member of the Chinese Triad to find out, promising him a reduced prison sentence. Moira, with no choice, pinned the blame on Frank Chen and gave evidence that he was the one who ordered the kill. Dark Archer later killed Frank as he met with Moira and wanted to kill his daughter but Moira begged him not to which he agreed. After quitting his job at Verdant, Tommy visited his father at Merlyn Global Group and asked for a job.

## Personality

Before his wife's death, Malcolm was a caring man who loved his wife and son very dearly, and was a devoted businessman and humanitarian, striving to save Starling City just like his wife, Rebecca. After his wife's death he became heartbroken and was haunted with guilt that he had not been able to help her. Malcolm's love for his wife was so great when he confronted the man he thought killed Rebecca, he told him he had taken everything from him. During his mourning period he also had an affair with Moira, which guilt riddled him even more. He was shocked and confronted the (presumed) killer which ended with Malcolm killing him. Unable to live with what he had done he left his son and went to Nanda Parbat. Training there he changed his perspective on the world and how he could help his city.

Malcolm returned as an apathetic, calculating, and ruthless man. He began to develop a plan to destroy the Glades completely, believing that this way he could help the city. He believed what he was doing was right and is for the greater good, and was willing to do anything, regardless of the number of lives he ruins and will kill anyone who gets in his way to see his goals fulfilled, which makes him somewhat of a sociopath. He truly believed in the righteousness of his cause, projecting this in his acceptance speech for "humanitarian of the year". He also truly loved his wife, still wearing his wedding ring so many years after her death.

## Abilities

* **Peak of human physical condition:** Malcolm is in top physical condition for a man of his age due his training with the League of Assassins. Malcolm has demonstrated enough strength to break Oliver's bowwith a single strike, dent a steel beam with a single kick, and topple the highly durable Danny Brickwell with only a few strikes.[24][5] Malcolm's reflexes are fast enough to catch or deflect an incoming arrow shot at him by Oliver, Malcolm has admitted however, that due to his youth Oliver is faster than him.[24][25] Since Oliver cut off his left hand, Malcolm has been able to continue his physical activities thanks to his new cybernetic prosthetic hand.[59]
* **Expert stage magician:** Malcolm is trained in the art of stage magic including sleight-of-hand, escape artistry, and hypnotism; his skills in these areas is one of the reasons he is called "The Magician" by the League of Assassins. Malcolm used to perform a coin disappearing trick for his son, Tommy Merlyn, frequently.[5] As an escape artist, Malcolm claims that no prison can hold him not even Oliver's secret prison on Lian Yu.[60] His skills as hypnotist also allow him to retrieve lost memories via hypnotic-regression therapy.[51]
* **League of Assassins training:** Malcolm has gone through the training that all members of League of Assassins do. Malcolm was considered to be one of the finest members of the League, enough that he became Ra's al Ghul's Horseman, his right hand man.[36]
* **Master archer:** Malcolm is a highly skilled archer due to his time in the League with archery being his weapon of choice. Oliver Queen himself comments Malcolm's skills after noting on how tight the grouping of his arrows were when Malcolm killed Adam Hunt.[61] Malcolm's skills as an archer were arguably better than Oliver's as he was able to best him during an archery battle once, at least before Oliver's increased experience.
* **Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist:** Malcolm is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant due to his training with the League and is an experienced fighter with at least 20 years of combat experience. Malcolm is one of the most dangerous fighters that Team Arrow has ever faced and has been able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Oliver, Sara, Nyssa al Ghul, and Damien Darhk. Despite his skills, Malcolm was certain that the one man he could never defeat was his former mentor, Ra's al Ghul.
	+ **Master swordsman:** Despite his preference for archery, Malcolm is a trained and highly skilled swordsman often practicing fencing in his spare time to maintain his skills. Malcolm owns and uses several different types of swords. Malcolm accomplishments as a swordsman have allowed him to defeat Nyssa in their sparring sessions and best Thea despite having his left hand cut off.
	+ **Master knife wielder:** Malcolm is proficient in the use of knives as he was able to successfully injure John Diggle with a knife throw while retreating. Malcolm is also capable of wielding a knife during single combat as seen when he fought Sara Lance.

* **Master marksman:** Despite his preference for archery, Malcolm is skilled in the use of firearms. He used a laser gun to take down several security guards with great precision and dexterity.
* **Stealth/Infiltration:** As a highly trained assassin Malcolm is a master in the art of stealth, as his ability to break into buildings and disappear without a trace is another reason why he is called "The Magician" by the League of Assassins. Malcolm skills have repeatedly made of mockery of the Arrowcave's security, despite its relocation and upgrades. Malcolm has even managed to infiltrate Nanda Parbat undetected, which Malcolm claims to be difficult.
* **Indomitable will/High tolerance for pain:** Malcolm has an extremely high tolerance for pain like most members of the League of Assassins, which he taught to his daughter, Thea Queen. Malcolm's threshold for pain, allowed him to survive the torture inflicted upon him by Ra's al Ghul and he was able to partially handle the pain of losing his left hand when Oliver cut it off.
* **Genius-level intellect/Master tactician/Great business acumen/Leader:** For several years Malcolm was the CEO of Merlyn Global Group, overseeing its daily activities and ensuring its success as a multibillion-dollar corporation. Malcolm is an exceptional tactician with the successful execution of the Undertaking after 6 years of planning and development. Malcolm was also successful in faking his death and able to stay hidden from both the League and Oliver for over a year. Malcolm was also a key strategic advisor for Oliver during his conflict with Ra's al Ghul, coming up with the plan to dispose of the latter and install himself as the next Ra's al Ghul. After becoming the new Ra's al Ghul, Malcolm proved himself to be an effective leader.
	+ **Master of deception:** Even before his time in the League, Malcolm was talented in the art of deception able to fool and convince others of his agenda even experts of seeing through deception such as Oliver and Ra's. However, Malcolm actions and his nature as a liar make it difficult for people to ever believe him as shown when he tried to convince Team Arrow of Oliver's false allegiance to Ra's and the threat of the Alpha-Omega virus. Due to his archery and combat skills, Malcolm was able to successfully portray himself to Damien Darhk as the "Green Arrow" when Oliver was unable to.
	+ **Master interrogator:** Malcolm is a trained torturer due to his time in the League of Assassins, however, Malcolm oddly prefers diplomatic solutions before resorting to torture as seen when he offers Sara Lance the chance to rewrite her history. Malcolm is also a trained hypnotist and proceeded to use hypnotic-regression therapy in a failed attempt to restore Rip Hunter's memories.
	+ **Occult knowledge:** Malcolm is aware of the existence of magic and mysticism, knowing the existence of the Lazarus Pit. Since becoming Ra's al Ghul, Malcolm has gained a higher understanding of the Lazarus Pit and its functions, Vandal Savage, and Damien Darhk's magic. However, Malcolm was unable to figure out why Damien's magic backfired against Thea.
	+ **Toxicology:** Malcolm was able to use votura to create a drug that made Thea kill Sara without remembering it.

* **Network:** Malcolm has a dense network of information throughout Starling City, including the coroner's office which is how Oliver believes he faked his death. Since becoming Ra's al Ghul, Malcolm now has access to all the resources of the League of Assassins before Nyssa al Ghul dissolved the League. However, Malcolm does still control a small collection of loyalists to the League. Malcolm is still able to infiltrate a prison to converse with Damien while he was imprisoned, with the later remarking his resourcefulness.
* **Multilingual:** Malcolm is capable of fluently speaking English, Mandarin, Spanish and Arabic.

## Equipment

* **Customized hunting arrows:** Malcolm creates and designs his arrows himself. The arrows he used have arrow heads with three "Teflon-coated titanium blades" on each arrow, with the blades serrated for splitting bones, and the shaft itself is made of "specialized polymer stronger than typical carbon fiber". As such, it is safe to assume that the arrows he uses are deadlier than those used by The Arrow.
* **Customized PSE X-Force Super Short Short Draw LF Compound bow:** While the rest of the League primarily uses modified PSE Chaos AD compound bows, as the Dark Archer Malcolm uses a similar bow as his signature weapon of choice: A customized compound bow.
* **Cybernetic hand:** Malcolm acquired a cybernetic hand of unknown materials and origin while planning Damien Darhk's prison break. He used it for the first time when stealing the idol from Team Arrow and has been wearing it ever since. This allows him to use a bow and complete various other tasks that would be impossible to do for one-handed individuals. This prosthetic is specifically built for his left hand, which was cut off by Oliver during their duel at the end of the League civil war. The prosthesis is seemingly capable of all known functions found in an organic hand, and has not been known to hamper Malcolm's dexterity. Given that it is made from top of the line technology, it presumably has the same degree of tactile sensitivity as a human hand, as such technology has been known to exist in contemporary science as of 2016.
* **Dark Archer Suit:** Malcolm wears a protective suit, as his villain alter-ego of the Dark Archer, to hide his identity from his victims. It is similar to the suits used by members of the League of Assassins, aside from some minor differences. It is unknown what materials it's made out of, with the exception of Kevlar.
* **Smoke bombs:** After incapicating Nyssa, he threw a smoke bomb to quickly escape the scene.
* **Swords:** Malcolm uses a huge variaty of swords from different cultures. He first used a league of assassins scimitar to kill two police officers, during his third fight with Oliver. Malcolm was shown using the league of assassins scimitar against Oliver, though he was very quickly disarmed by Oliver. While training Thea they used both Japanese and Chinese swords. When preparing to kill Brickwell he carried another style of scimitar, similar to the one used by Nyssa al Ghul.
* **Throwing knives:** When fighting Oliver and John, Malcolm utilized double bladed throwing knives.
* **Trick arrows:** Shortly after his return, Malcolm uses an explosive arrow to save Thea and seemingly kill one of Slade's Mirakuru henchmen.
* **Quiver:** A black arrow container strapped to Malcolm's back. He uses it to carry his arrows as his villain alter-ego, the Dark Archer.
* **Voice filter:** Malcolm uses this device to change his voice regardless of who he spoke to as the Dark Archer. This could be for the purposes of intimidation as it changed his voice to a deep, low growl.

### Former Equipment

**Demon's Head ring:** Malcolm wore a particular ring which symbolized his position as the Demon's Head. Malcolm no longer wears it, as it was destroyed by the last Ra's al Ghul aka Nyssa al Ghul, that promptly disbanded the League of Assassins.