Long before becoming the vigilante
Green Arrow, Oliver Queen was inspired to take up
archery after hearing of the exploits of Arthur King, otherwise known as "
Merlyn the Magician", a master archer with acute accuracy. Years later, Merlyn challenged the Green Arrow to a public archery duel and defeated Oliver. With that victory under his belt, Merlyn vanished for years before resurfacing as a member of the
League of Assassins. During his time with the League of Assassins, Merlyn took part in the highly abusive training of
David Cain's daughter
Cassandra Cain, unknowingly being behind the girl's skills as Batgirl. He and Green Arrow faced each other again when Merlyn attempted to assassinate
Batman; Green Arrow managed to intercept Merlyn's arrow with one 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. In
Action Comics, Merlyn, now working as a freelance assassin and contract killer who sells his skills to the highest bidder, is hired by
Queen Bee (Zazzala) to join a supervillain team and take on the
Justice League. He then serves under
Tobias Whale as a member of
Metropolis' crime syndicate
the 100. Merlyn attempts to kill
Black Lightning when he accompanies
Joey Toledo. Though the League of Assassins crash the battle when they were displeased that Merlyn left them. He is ultimately defeated by Black Lightning while Toledo was killed during the three-way battle. A man from Libya later hires Meryln to kill a Russian scientist visiting Casablanca. Although Merlyn is aided by
Syonide, his assassination attempt is foiled by the
Flash and Phantom Lady. During the events of "
Underworld Unleashed," Merlyn is among the villains who sell their souls to the demon
Neron in exchange for greater power. He then joins the Killer Elite (along with
Deadshot,
Monocle,
Bolt, Chiller, and
Deadline) to perform various assassinations with Merlyn wanting to do his dream assassination on Batman, but the group is eventually stopped by the Justice League. The Killer Elite later encounters the
Body Doubles, and Merlyn and his team are defeated. In
Young Justice, Merlyn mentors Turk, a wolf-like
metahuman and archer. Merlyn and Turk attempt to sabotage an archery contest in their favor, but are stopped by Young Justice. Merlyn next appears as one of the primary villains in the Injustice Gang in
Identity Crisis. He warns and correctly predicts that the death of
Sue Dibny would have troublesome and dire consequences in the criminal underworld. Although the Justice League manages to capture Merlyn, Monacle, and Deadshot, the latter is able to use connections with the
Suicide Squad and
Amanda Waller to arrange for their release, much to the frustration of the newest
Manhunter. Merlyn, Deadshot, Monacle, and
Phobia later attempt to kill the
Shadow Thief during his trial, but are confronted and stopped by Manhunter. During the "
Infinite Crisis" storyline, Merlyn appears as a member of
Alexander Luthor Jr.'s
Society. Since then, he has resumed his feud with Green Arrow, launching several attacks on the hero's family. Merlyn plays a major role in the attack on Green Arrow and
Black Canary's wedding as a member of the new
Injustice League. During
Countdown, Merlyn appears under the employ of the League of Assassins, coordinating his attacks with
Talia al Ghul and serving as a mentor to
Damian Wayne. Merlyn 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 al Ghul could revitalize himself. He is defeated during the final confrontation between Ra's and Batman. Merlyn then joins the League of Assassins' elite team known as the Seven Men of Death, and is sent to
Gotham City to retrieve the Suit of Sorrows from the Order of Purity. During the attack on the Order, Merlyn kills the Order's leader Leland McCauley, and injures Felicidad Gomez before being confronted by
Azrael. Merlyn and his team attempt to capture Azrael and move him to their headquarters, but Azrael uses one of Merlyn's own arrows to stab him. Merlyn is later captured by the vigilante
Cupid who plans to kill him in front of Green Arrow, with whom Cupid is besotted. To this end, she slashes Merlyn's throat with an arrow, and although Green Arrow is able to get Merlyn medical attention in time to save his life, the villain's vocal cords are severely damaged.
The New 52 In
The New 52 reboot's
Batman Incorporated, Merlyn appears under the League of Assassins' employ and serves as a member of the Seven Men of Death who are tasked by Talia al Ghul's
Leviathan organization to destroy Batman Incorporated. Merlyn defeats members of the group with ease, until Damian Wayne destroys his bow. In
Forever Evil, Merlyn is among the villains recruited by the
Crime Syndicate of America to join the
Secret Society of Super Villains.
DC Rebirth In the
DC Rebirth relaunch, the
Green Arrow series reveals that Merlyn was born Arthur King and legally changed his name (a concept incorporated from the
Arrow television series). When he was around 25 years old, Malcolm joined the League of Assassins, an ancient, international order of the world's greatest killers, and was trained by their leader Ra's al Ghul himself. Malcolm's commencement ceremony into the organization involved him digging a grave which he laid in to purge himself of his past life and emerge reborn. Using arrows resembling Green Arrow's for multiple high-profile killings, including the murder of famous soccer player Cy Sampson, the Dark Archer succeeds in tarnishing the hero's image and reputation. Malcolm then reveals himself to Oliver as "the original Dark Archer", and proceeds to best his foe in combat whilst taunting him. Before Malcolm can kill Oliver, however, the intervention of Black Canary and the police forces the villain to flee. As he escapes, Merlyn fires an arrow at the police chief, whom Green Arrow narrowly manages to save at the cost of his own bow, which is shattered by Merlyn's shot. In
Batman, Merlyn was one of the assassins hired by the
Penguin and the Designer to kill Batman. He was captured by the GCPD, but managed to escape. He, along with
Cheshire, attempts to attack
Catwoman and
Harley Quinn before they defeat him. ==Powers and abilities==