Legion of Doom


 * For the episode of the same name, see The Legion of Doom

A time-traveling syndicate, nicknamed the "Legion of Doom" by Nate Heywood, is a team led by Eobard Thawne consisting of Damien Darhk and Malcolm Merlyn, and later Rip Hunter under mind alteration.

Their purpose is to locate the Spear of Destiny in hopes to change their destinies by rewriting reality. Eobard wishes to use the Spear to change his fate due to his ancestor Eddie Thawne committing suicide, as well as stopping the Speedster Hunter Zolomon from pursuing him. Damien wishes to use the Spear to change his fate at the hands of the Green Arrow. Malcolm wishes to use the Spear to change his past and not lose his son and wife.

Overview
When Barry Allen ran back in time and created Flashpoint, he held Thawne prisoner for months thus unintentionally removing him from the timeline and ensuring his existence. When Eobard was finally released to reset the timeline, he began to notice that he was being pursued by a demonic speedster. The Speed Force had sent him to hunt Thawne as he was a temporal anomaly to be erased. In order to save himself, Thawne realized that he needed to change his ancestor's death and alter reality.

Eobard Thawne implied that his plan to find the Spear of Destiny was altered multiple times, due to Rex Tyler catching on his plans and coming to warn the Legends. Deciding to erase those previous timelines, Thawne appeared to a younger Rex Tyler and killed him before Rex could ever try to stop him, allowing the villainous speedster a certain degree of freedom in his machinations, but causing Amaya Jiwe to join the Legends. To correct past mistakes, Thawne's new plan included the creation of an organization with power and resources beyond his own. Choosing people who'd like to correct their destinies, Eobard found Damien Darhk, who had access to the forces of H.I.V.E., and Malcolm Merlyn, with connections to the League of Assassins. With his use of brute force as a speedster, Thawne also strong-armed Al Capone's criminal empire into submission, making use of Al Capone's goons. While he couldn't command the Nazis, he'd manipulate him to do his bidding, and did the same to the British Army during the Revolutionary War by placing Rip Hunter, who mind was altered to make him an ally of the Legends, as a new colonel that supplied them with weapons from centuries in the future, specifically assault rifles.

Origins of the Legion
Eobard Thawne first sought out Damien Darhk in 1942. The two created an aberration where New York City was destroyed by an atomic blast. However, the Legends thwarted their plans and Eobard Thawne decided to move on.

Eobard then made his way to Nazi, Germany in search for the Askaran Amulet. He reached out to the Nazi leadership and organized a trade for the amulet with some super soldier serum. Though the Legends and the Justice Society of America reached it before he could, Eobard broke into the JSA headquarters and stole it after killing Rex Tyler.

In 1987, Eobard made contact with Damen Darhk once more in Miami. The two planned to obtain an artifact from the Soviet Union's KGB and blow up the White House. Once again, the two were thwarted by the Legends. Darhk learned from Sara Lance that his plans in the future were thwarted and that he was ultimately killed. Eobard Thawne suggested they change their destinies, presenting Damien Darhk with a time sphere.

Working with Al Capone's gang
At some point after their previous encounter with the Legends, Eobard and Damien recruited Malcolm Merlyn in 2016. He was surprised to see that Damien Darhk was still alive after only witnessing his demise moments before as well as meeting a speedster. They offered him a chance to change the misfortunes of his past and he decided to join them.

Needing the "Askaran Amulet" to further their goals, the three decided to create a time aberration, to trap the Legends, by allying with crime lord Al Capone in 1927. Although Capone threatened to have the time travelers killed, after Eobard personally took down his goons before finishing a single sentence, the gangster was subdued. The Legion then entered into an alliance and gained the services of Al Capone's criminal empire. Telling Capone that he was going to be hunted down by the Prohibition agent Eliot Ness, Eobard had both the gangster and the Legends take bait, causing a minor aberration that would let Capone become a mayor of Chicago, defying the Prohibition by celebrating Oktoberfest there.

As the Legends searched one club for clues on Capone's businesses, Eobard kidnapped Sara Lance and Martin Stein. Merlyn came to sway the kidnapped Sara and Martin with promises of changing the timeline for the better together, and once he was unsuccessful, Darhk came with the threats of torture, taking Martin Stein with him and his goons to force Sara to sway under threats. Thawne then used his modified appearance-stealing cord to torture Martin Stein and take on his appearance so that he could infiltrate the Waverider. As Martin questioned if he knew him personally, Eobard implied that Stein did know a version of him, by saying that the current situation is "complicated". In the guise of Professor Stein, he searched for the missing artifact but was interrupted by Sara Lance, forcing him to come to a halt. After realizing that Nate Heywood was aware that he isn't the real Martin, Eobard abandoned his disguise and ran off, but was struck by a speedster weapon, temporarily subduing him. However, Thawne immediately regained strength and threatened to kill Jefferson Jackson, though Ray Palmer surprised him with an attack of his own. Eobard then made his way to the bridge of the Waverider and locked himself in.

Eobard then turned off the cloaking mechanism and opened the cargo bay doors open, allowing Malcolm Merlyn and Al Capone's men to come on board, preparing to tear the ship apart. Eobard then sped off to stop Mick Rory, believing he was trying to get away with the artifact, though was once again struck by an anti-speedster weapon. Eobard noted that he knew Amaya Jiwe was only on the team to avenge him for killing Rex Tyler, taunting her. With Amaya briefly distraught, Eobard sped off. Meanwhile, Sara Lance fought Malcolm at the bridge and eventually got the upper hand. Before Sara could kill Malcolm, the latter offered Stein's location in return for the Askaran Amulet.

Later, Eobard revealed the two artifacts formed a compass leading to the Spear of Destiny which could be used to rewrite reality. But, in order to find it, they needed Rip Hunter.

Capturing Captain Hunter
Using the medallion, Darhk and Merlyn found themselves in Hollywood in the year 1967. The two of them killed two motorists, one who was supposed to go on and create a new engine, thus creating an aberration which summoned the Legends. They tracked down Rip Hunter who was going by the name Phil and was now a movie director. The two recognized him though found that Rip didn't seem to know who they were or who he really was. The Legends arrived and saw them with Rip and moved to stop them but ended up having to retreat when the police arrived.

The duo questioned the film crew and learned that George Lucas had the piece of the spear that they were looking for. They surprised Nate, Ray and Amaya, who were also looking for Lucas, and held them at gunpoint. Lucas told them that he thought the spear was a prop and was junk so he threw it in the trash. Darhk then threatened Lucas to show them where the city dump was. They had their four prisoners go and dig through the trash to find the spear but took the time to activate the trash compactor to motivate them to look faster. Lucas had been scared into quitting film school, creating an aberration which removed Nate's powers and Ray's suit from existence but when he admitted that what he really wanted to do was direct, the two were returned.

Using them, they were able to escape the compactor and fight back against Darhk and Merlyn. The rest of the team arrived and were able to get both the spear and the amulet from them. Darhk and Merlyn were overwhelmed by the Legends until Thawne showed up and leveled the playing field. Darhk and Merlyn wondered where Thawne had been and he simply shrugged to them that he had a prior engagement. Rip Hunter showed up and tried to help the Legends by pretending to have his old memories back but the act didn't stick. When the Legion prepared to attack, Rip called for the Waverider to fire on them. In the chaos, Thawne sped off and captured Rip.

Rip, now a prisoner of the Legion, was confronted by Thawne. Rip tried to explain that he didn't know anything and that he wasn't who everyone seemed to believe he was, that he was 'Phil' but Thawne wasn't moved. When he saw the tools for torture, Rip asked Thawne if he was going to torture him. Thawne told him that he wasn't going to, but that Darhk and Merlyn would.

Becoming equals
Damien and Malcolm tortured 'Phil', but he wasn't able to tell them the location of the Spear. The two argued with Eobard when he blamed them for losing the Amulet and then threatened to kill them. Malcolm tried hypnotizing Rip, but failed, though he did discover that Hunter's memories truly were gone. Eobard expressed frustration with them and sped away. Damien then tried his hand at torturing Rip on his own, and pulled out one of Rip's teeth, which contained account information for a safety deposit box in Switzerland with Rip's memories inside it. Eobard ordered the two to retrieve it and again left.

While Merlyn and Darhk prepared to leave, they argued about how to approach the problem. Malcolm convinced Damien to bring Rip along and have him retrieve the box for them, and the three left for Switzerland. They infiltrated the box and Rip went to go get the box from the vault. While he was doing so, Damien and Malcolm discussed what Eobard was planning and why he even needed the two of them. Damien assumed that Merlyn was attempting to manipulate him, but they were interrupted by Rip failing to gain access to the vault. When the bank teller called security, the two intervened and killed the guards before escaping the bank with Rip.

Back at their base, the two men once again argued, which led to a League-style swordfight. However, Rip convinced them to stop dueling and find a way to even the odds against Eobard. They went back to the bank, leaving Rip tied up. Eobard returned to the base and Rip informed him of where they had gone. Thawne confronted them in the vault, where they had retrieved a disk containing Rip's memories. Malcolm and Damien then locked the vault, trapping Eobard inside with them. Eobard threatened to kill them if they didn't let him out, slowly becoming more and more desperate, to his partners' puzzlement.

Eventually, a panicking Eobard revealed to the two the source of his panic - Hunter Zolomon, who had become a demon of the Speed Force sent to track him down and erase him from existence again. Malcolm and Damien agreed to help Eobard fend off the demon, as long as he agreed to make them equal partners in their team. Eobard reluctantly agreed, and when Hunter entered the bank to find Eobard, Malcolm and Damien managed to distract Hunter long enough for Eobard to throw him into the vault, locking the door and trapping it within. Eobard thanked them and honored his deal and the three left, knowing Hunter wouldn't remain trapped for long.

Back at their base, Eobard accessed Rip's memories and altered them so that he believed that he was their ally. The three then sent Rip back in time to New Jersey, 1776, where he shot at General George Washington.

His attack on Washington caused an aberration to lure the Legends. Eobard gave Rip the mission to use the British army in order to acquire their piece of the spear. They gave the British automatic rifles which they used to try to attack Washington before the Legends could try and save him. Rip then used an EMP device to disable the Waverider, Rory's heat gun, Ray's suit and Firestorm's quantum splicer. He then went and shot Sara before he had the British take Rory and Washington to be hung.

He then infiltrated the Waverider where he had Jax on the run as he tried to distract him from Stein trying to save Sara in the medical bay. Jax tried to get through to Rip and convince him that the Legion enslaved him but Rip claimed that the Legion freed him from pointlessly trying to succeed in a doomed and pointless mission of saving history. He found and held Sara's life hostage and demanded Jax give him the spear and Jax told him it was hidden in his telescope in the study. He then went and killed Sara in front of him. Rip then went and got the spear but before he could leave Jax held a pistol on him but before he could shoot, Sara emerged as Gideon had been able to save her in time. She convinced Jax to let Rip go.

Rip Hunter informed the Legion that the spear was split into four parts, three of which he gave to Dr. Mid-Nite, Stargirl and Commander Steel. He then had them placed in four separate time periods. Rip went to the year 3000 where Dr. Mid-Nite was working as a bio researcher. At first, Rip passed himself off as an old friend and told him that the spear needed to be reunited but Dr. Mid-Nite wasn't falling for the ruse. Rip then preceded to kill him and take the fragment which he had surgically put into his own body. He then went and took mind control technology that the doctor was working on.

Afterwards, Rip and Damien Darhk went to the time of Camelot and King Arthur's court where Stargirl had her piece. Darhk masqueraded as 'The Dark Knight' and started attacking and kidnapping knights. Eventually, he managed to capture the legendary king himself and used him to gain access into the castle using the mind control tech that Rip stole from Dr. Mid-Nite. He and Rip found that the Legends were there and demanded that Stargirl give the fragment of the spear to them but she refused. A fight broke out and saw Sir Galahad killed and Rip threatened the to have Arthur kill himself. Darhk gave them an ultimatum: Deliver the spear fragment at dawn or they will use an army under mind control to attack.

Darhk and Rip had their army attack when they didn't comply but Ray, and later the rest of the Legends joined the knights and Queen Guinevere against them. Stein and Rory were able to destabilize the mind control tech and free Arthur and their army from their control. Rip was then brought down by Arthur and captured by the Legends. Darhk left him behind to try and escape but Ray went after him. Darhk told Ray he wasn't any knight but a glorified nerd and the two fought. Ray managed to disarm him but Darhk pulled out a blaster and shot Ray before he made his escape. Rip was taken to the Waverider's cell where Jackson threatened to kill him if he tried to hurt any member of their team again. When he was left alone, he spoke out to Gideon who still was loyal to him.

Current members

 * Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash (founder, leader, and field speedster)
 * Damien Darhk (field support and resources)
 * Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer (field support and archer)
 * Rip Hunter (field missions; under mind alteration)

Legion's forces

 * H.I.V.E.
 * Ghosts

Former forces

 * Al Capone's criminal empire (1927)
 * British Army (1776)

Former allies

 * Al Capone
 * Lieutenant General Cornwallis
 * Nazi Germany
 * Adolf Hitler
 * Krieger (deceased)

Current enemies

 * Hunter Zolomon
 * Legends
 * Sara Lance/White Canary (leader)
 * Jefferson Jackson/Firestorm
 * Martin Stein/Firestorm
 * Nate Heywood/Steel
 * Amaya Jiwe/Vixen
 * Ray Palmer/The Atom
 * Mick Rory/Heat Wave

Former enemies

 * Charles
 * Courtney/Merlin
 * Rip Hunter (joined the Legion of Doom under mind alteration)
 * Rex Tyler/Hourman (deceased)

Behind the scenes

 * In the DC comics, Eobard Thawne has indeed created a syndicate under the alias "Mister Zyx/Professor Adrian Zoom", albeit its purposes were much less mysterious: Zoom tried to spread heroin through Central City and, eventually, the whole of Earth, creating an army of heroin addicts for him to control.
 * Notably, Eobard Thawne was not a member in any variation of the Legion of Doom, but rather one of the multiverse traveling adventurers of the Secret Society of Super-Villains as Professor Zoom. This group (now under the leadership of Libra, prophet of Darkseid) was later joined by the second Zoom, Hunter Zolomon.