Dark Archer comic

[Haggard01]

Ok so who has heard of it? The comic for the people who don't know about it is this. it is going to be a prequel comic that will flesh out the life of Malcolm Merlyn and his journey towards becoming a member of the League of Assassins. The series will be co-written by none other than Malcom Merlyn himself. Actor John Barrowman and his sister Carole will script the series, with Daniel Sampere and other unnamed artists illustrating.

Since it sounds like Mark Guggenheim has zero control this should be really good unlike the Arrow season 2.5 comic which was one big Olicty fluff piece. Debating on whether or not I want to burn the Arrow season 2.5 comic graphic novel.

Anyhow getting back to this from the interview that I read that Barrowman did we are going to me getting his life before even meeting Rebecca. This comic series should be very interesting and if the Arrow TV show writers were smart they would make a quick one off reference in the actual show so the readers of the comic feel like this actually taking place in the show's continuity instead of not.

[JDBentz]

Ok so who has heard of it? The comic for the people who don't know about it is this. it is going to be a prequel comic that will flesh out the life of Malcolm Merlyn and his journey towards becoming a member of the League of Assassins. The series will be co-written by none other than Malcom Merlyn himself. Actor John Barrowman and his sister Carole will script the series, with Daniel Sampere and other unnamed artists illustrating.

Since it sounds like Mark Guggenheim has zero control this should be really good unlike the Arrow season 2.5 comic which was one big Olicty fluff piece. Debating on whether or not I want to burn the Arrow season 2.5 comic graphic novel.

Anyhow getting back to this from the interview that I read that Barrowman did we are going to me getting his life before even meeting Rebecca. This comic series should be very interesting and if the Arrow TV show writers were smart they would make a quick one off reference in the actual show so the readers of the comic feel like this actually taking place in the show's continuity instead of not.

Some of the information that's been released suggests that something happened along the way during his being a member of the League that is killing him, which actually adds a whole new dimension to Season 3 and makes that crazy chess match between him and Ra's (Sorry, Ollie, but you were just Malcolm's Sebastian) make a whole lot more sense. It would also explain things like him accelerating his plans after 10 ten years of patience in taking on the corruption in the Glades, and choosing to go the fast but brutal route with the Undertaking, his manipulation of Moira's trial to find the information he had long suspected (that he was Thea's father), his odd sense of paternity with Thea, his fury at the destruction of the Lazarus Pit, and his gathering Savage's ashes.

[Haggard01]

Some of the information that's been released suggests that something happened along the way during his being a member of the League that is killing him, which actually adds a whole new dimension to Season 3 and makes that crazy chess match between him and Ra's (Sorry, Ollie, but you were just Malcolm's Sebastian) make a whole lot more sense. It would also explain things like him accelerating his plans after 10 ten years of patience in taking on the corruption in the Glades, and choosing to go the fast but brutal route with the Undertaking, his manipulation of Moira's trial to find the information he had long suspected (that he was Thea's father), his odd sense of paternity with Thea, his fury at the destruction of the Lazarus Pit, and his gathering Savage's ashes.

Yea Ollie I feel for you of just being a Sebastian but let's face it that year wasn't about you but a chess match between Malcolm and Ras A Gul. For Ras A Gul well checkmate.

I actually took the killing him part as like destruction of his soul but I guess like a virus of some kind that is eating away at him at a extremely slow rate is a very possible theory, one that makes a lot of sense. I'll be curious to find out how exactly Malcolm built Merlyn Global.

[BkWurm1]

It's a prequel and at the same time set between seasons 3 and 4 so I guess being Ra's leaves him with time on his hands for pondering his life?

[Raissa]

I've pre-ordered it through iBooks. (Thanks iTunes gift certificate). It sounds more interesting than portions of the main show frankly.

[Raissa]

Interesting. Issue #1 definitely put a different spin on the LoA story line. The antagonists are [SPOILER]Nyssa's mother and half-brother. She is very much alive, pissed, and maternal in a twisted context. Apparently, Ra's stole Nyssa from her mom as a baby, and everything since had been a lie on his part.[/SPOILER] What's also interesting is that Malcolm revealed that [SPOILER]Merlyn isn't his real name.[/SPOILER] I know some fans have been wondering about that.

[JDBentz]

Interesting. Issue #1 definitely put a different spin on the LoA story line. The antagonists are [SPOILER]Nyssa's mother and half-brother. She is very much alive, pissed, and maternal in a twisted context. Apparently, Ra's stole Nyssa from her mom as a baby, and everything since had been a lie on his part.[/SPOILER] What's also interesting is that Malcolm revealed that [SPOILER]Merlyn isn't his real name.[/SPOILER] I know some fans have been wondering about that.

That'll be interesting. And one can assume that Malcolm's revelation might make it into the show.... I also hope the other bit does, too. That would make for one heck of an interesting storyline.

[Raissa]

I'm wondering now about [SPOILER]Nyssa, because her Mom mentioned she was sickly when Ra's took her. This begs the question of how soon he began using the Lazarus water on her, given that she was in optimum health when Malcolm first met her at the age of 10 or 11. It also re-shapes the context of Sara's resurrection.[/SPOILER]

[Raissa]

Anyhow getting back to this from the interview that I read that Barrowman did we are going to me getting his life before even meeting Rebecca. This comic series should be very interesting and if the Arrow TV show writers were smart they would make a quick one off reference in the actual show so the readers of the comic feel like this actually taking place in the show's continuity instead of not.

Barrowman had instructions to keep it within the show's canon...

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This project is cool because you’re getting to write a backstory for a character that John’s been immersed in for a few years now. How did you marry the character’s history with what the show has already depicted?
JOHN BARROWMAN: To be honest, when I went to speak with [Chief Creative Officer] Geoff Johns about the idea that I had — which was not this initial idea — I said to Carole, “I’m also going to talk bring up the Malcolm Merlyn idea.” And when I mentioned it to him, I said, “I’ve been approached by other comic book companies, but I want to keep it in the DC family and I want to do this Malcolm Merlyn thing with my sister.” And he said, “Great, I’m ecstatic,” but there’s not a great deal of stuff out there on Merlyn or his background. I have some of the original comic books that he appeared in, and I also have some of the revamp stuff that he’s been in. It made Carole and I look at what fit in with what the TV show. Andy [Andrew Kreisberg, Arrow executive producer] went, “Well, you need to keep with the canon of our show, and everything should blend together.” But we had artistic freedom to do other things and that’s what was really nice about it. Basically, if I can be so bold to say this, Carole and I can now create a backstory for Malcolm Merlyn.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/13/arrow-john-barrowman-malcolm-merlyn-comic

[Raissa]

Here's more that's got me psyched...

Do you mean not necessarily new characters but classic DCU characters that are new to the Arrowverse?

Carole Barrowman: [These are] new characters to the continuity of "Arrow." When John and I did our outlines for [Executive Producers] Marc [Guggenheim], Andrew [Kreisberg] and Geoff Johns, they were absolutely fine with these characters that we have imagined. They fit into the canon but they are original to John and I and to this comic.

John Barrowman: When we decided we were going to do this, I had a meeting with Andrew and Greg [Berlanti] and I told them that we had an idea to create some new characters. And Andrew, off the cuff said, "If we like them, maybe we can put them on one of the TV shows..."

You sound very passionate about this project. Is this a limited series or an ongoing?

Carole Barrowman: We do have an end date. We're doing 12 chapters. And this is a self-contained story but I think John and I are game to keep writing Malcolm if the series is well received.

John Barrowman: I'm game to do the first 12. And then I want to go off and do different times and different periods for Malcolm. And I also want to see where certain characters in this series take us. Maybe we can explore things with different characters in the Arrowverse too. And there is also the initial project that I went to Geoff Johns with that spurred into this one. Maybe we can look into that again and start something completely new.

Carole Barrowman: I also want to add that one thing the "Arrow" TV show does really well is that there are a lot of really cool, really smart women heroes and I think we translated that to this book too.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/john-carole-barrowman-target-merlyns-past-in-arrow-dark-archer-comic?utm_campaign=john-carole-barrowman-target-merlyns-past-in-arrow-dark-archer-c&utm_medium=internal_links&utm_source=breaking_banner

[Haggard01]

Barrowman had instructions to keep it within the show's canon...



http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/13...m-merlyn-comic

I figured he would but I was referring to the writers of the show making a reference to this story in the actual live action TV show.

[Raissa]

They should, and it sounds like they're game to if the comics don't bomb. I don't think they will. Frankly, they'd be short-sighted not to, given that [SPOILER]Nyssa[/SPOILER] deserves more layers to her story.

[BkWurm1]

Nyssa as she is would be a fascinating character to get her own show or comic. I could imagine finding out about the lies that Ra's fed her could shake her up to make her actually consider leaving the LoA and then with Sara off traveling through time, where would Nyssa go to start over? How would she reinvent herself? Would she try to continue the principles she'd been taught at the LoA or want to start from scratch, making up her own rules.

Malcolm's untold story is interesting but if say DC was looking to really develop a character, Nyssa would be my recommendation.

[Raissa]

TVLINE | In that respect, who’s the angel on his shoulder and who’s the devil?
Felicity was always the angel on his shoulder — and whether she is or is not going forward I will leave everyone to find out when Episode 410 airs. But Dig is interestingly also someone who’s always been his moral compass, and one of the things that’s interesting about this season is that we have taken everybody who would normally reinArrow Oliver in to their own morally compromised and dark places. So I don’t know that anyone is necessarily going to be there to stop him. Even Thea is struggling with her own bloodlust. The one person that might be helpful to him is Malcolm. What the viewers will see is we’re going to have him give Oliver some very interesting and helpful advice. And obviously we’re going to blow that up. It will bring them a bit closer together, though, which will give us some really juicy stuff when we start to break them back apart.

http://tvline.com/2016/01/18/arrow-season-4-preview-oliver-revenge-felicity-shot/

I'm hoping that some additional foreshadowing of all this is built into the comic for loyal readers.

[Raissa]

Issue #2 was quite good. Malcolm's [SPOILER]real name is Arthur King.[/SPOILER] JB said in interviews that he and Carole researched canon Merlyn. Hardcore DC fans should be happy.

I also liked the world-building they incorporated to flesh out the show's version of the League. [SPOILER]It was apparently formed during the Crusades to protect the sacred and the dead. They also linked the League with a pre-Mayan tribe, even though people on the two continents shouldn't have been aware of each other.[/SPOILER] I hope that background makes it on screen and factors into the LoA reformation/revolution that's obviously coming in some way.

The one thing I didn't like, however, was a whiff of CW-scented soap. [SPOILER]Nyssa's Mom knows Merlyn's real name, and there's an unmistakable personal connection between them. I really, really hope Nyssa, Saracon (Nyssa's half-bro), and Thea don't end up being half-siblings.[/SPOILER]