Classic Justice League Villain Gets Killed Off In Dark DC Reboot

Published Sep 17, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com. His favorite moments in media coverage include reviewing the series premieres of Zom 100 and Bleach: TYBW Part 2 back-to-back and briefly meeting Junji Ito at a VIZ gallery event in 2023. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Warning: Spoilers Ahead For Absolute Green Arrow #5! In one of several ways one can compare comic books to soap operas, death is rarely a permanent fate for established or even recurring characters, with classic Justice League villain Merlyn standing as a case in point. A classic nemesis for the Green Arrow, Merlyn's various iterations have included the Dark Archer's live-action appearance on the CW's Arrow, but most recently, Malcolm Merlyn has featured in Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque's Absolute Green Arrow. Merlyn's role in this latest series was initially as Hector Hammond's top lieutenant in charge of tracking down the Green Arrow Killer, only for it to be revealed that Merlyn is in fact one of two people donning this alter ego, targeting Hammond in secret. Such duplicity in the Absolute Universe was never bound to guarantee Merlyn's safety, and in the case of Absolute Green Arrow #5, with his identity revealed to Dinah Lance and Hammond himself, Merlyn met the wrath of his scorned employer. It didn't even take a full issue's run for Merlyn's unmasking to result in him being given a fatal wound by Absolute Solomon Grundy, while stalling for time just enough so that his partner, the second Green Arrow Killer, would show up at the scene. It's a tragic turn of events, especially as Merlyn's intents are laid bare in the latest issue moments before his death, one of the latest major casualties in the Absolute Universe. Classic Justice League Villain From 1971 Dies A Tragic Death In DC's Absolute Universe Malcolm Merlyn's role in Absolute Green Arrow was bound to expand as soon as he was introduced, seemingly laying out the top three suspects to be the Green Arrow Killer. Merlyn's reasoning was sound, citing close ties to Oliver Queen as their reason, and their DC backstories heavily featuring archery as an entertaining coincidence. But obviously, for any fans aware of Merlyn's own past across DC Comics, hailed in Justice League of America #94 as the world's best archer, and the Absolute Universe's tendency to tweak iconic villains to either become more twisted like the Joker, or get more sympathetic like Killer Croc, shows itself nicely with Absolute Merlyn. Surrounded by mayhem, the weapon dies as he lived. A relic from a time when coups were staged with assassins, not attorneys. He dies knowing that despite his disgust at a complacent world...he won. Because in a world of hopelessness, winning means never forgetting to fight--to feel--until your last breath. And the greatest gift one can give is reminding someone of that...because no one can change a broken world. We do it together--assisting one mind at a time. He taught that lesson to everyone he trained, especially his star pupil. -Absolute Green Arrow #5 Revealed as the Green Arrow Killer most recently maimed in his fight against Solomon Grundy in Absolute Green Arrow #5, Malcolm Merlyn laid out what drove him to get into Hammond's inner circle. He referenced Guillermo Garcia, a boy who wound up en route to Hammond's Island, with Merlyn contracted by Garcia's uncle to find him. Seeing evidence of Hammond's Miraclo experiments and Garcia's disfigured corpse, Merlyn brought this to Oliver Queen's attention, this evidence serving as the linchpin in securing Queen's cooperation in bringing Hammond's network down, starting with Jubal Slade, Queen's former associate. With all of this exposed to Hammond, Merlyn taunts his now-former boss, ready to die with his remaining secrets so the second Green Arrow can finish the job. But even with the surprise intervention of Roy Harper bursting onto the scene, Merlyn gets one blow from Grundy he can't recover from, before he uses his remaining energy to shoot one last arrow, channeling Queen's iconic moment in The Dark Knight Returns, to release Tom Hallaway from his restraints. It pushes Hammond, desperate to know about Merlyn's "flock", to order Lance's father killed while Hammond attempts his escape, the second Green Arrow arrives, and Merlyn dies in Lance's arms, a surprisingly subdued demise after a noble deed. Malcolm Merlyn Was An Immense Threat To The Absolute Justice League Much like the rest of the Absolute Universe, the reveal of its version of the Justice League is a warped, twisted take, instead being a shadowy cabal of powerful elites attempting to impose their dark vision of "order" against the rising superheroes. Hammond counting among their sitting members is already disqualifying enough before considering that Jack Grimm, DC's Absolute Joker, is also on the group. But with Hammond's actions laid out in Absolute Green Arrow, now enabling literal Dr. Moreau-like experiments carried out by Dr. Iker with the aim being to attain the secrets to cellular regeneration and immortality, Merlyn trying to shut it down made him a major target. But Merlyn got to have the last laugh in this instance, emboldening new allies like Lance and Harper to hopefully live to see his fight through to the end. The second Green Arrow shows up at the end of issue #5 ready to avenge Merlyn, and as teased in the synopsis for Absolute Green Arrow #6, fans will see once and for all who will be the universe's definitive hooded vigilante as it enters the next arc in this acclaimed run. Justice League Writer Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Brian Michael Bendis, Gardner Fox, Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, Geoff Johns Penciler Jim Cheung, Jorge Jiménez, Mike Sekowsky, Dick Dillin, Kevin Maguire, Howard Porter, Doug Mahnke, Jim Lee, Ivan Reis, Jason Fabok Writers Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Brian Michael Bendis, Gardner Fox, Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, Geoff Johns Penciler(s) Jim Cheung, Jorge Jimenez, Mike Sekowsky, Dick Dillin, Kevin Maguire, Howard Porter, Doug Mahnke, Jim Lee, Ivan Reis, Jason Fabok Publisher(s) DC Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and other heroes unite as the Justice League, Earth's first line of defense against threats no single champion can defeat alone. Across decades of DC stories, the team's roster repeatedly changes as its members confront alien warlords, ancient demons, powerful sorcerers, and Darkseid. Green Arrow Created by Mort Weisinger, George Papp First Film Green Arrow Latest Film Green Arrow First TV Show Arrow Latest TV Show Arrow First Episode Air Date October 10, 2012 Green Arrow is a DC Comics superhero franchise centered on Oliver Queen, a billionaire-turned-vigilante archer who uses his fortune and skills to fight crime. Debuting in 1941, the character evolved from a Batman-inspired adventurer into a socially conscious hero known for political activism, moral conviction, and expert marksmanship. Across comics, television, animation, and video games, Green Arrow remains one of DC’s most grounded and ideologically driven heroes.