Tommy Merlyn (Earth-X)

For other uses of Prometheus, see Prometheus (disambiguation).

Tommy Merlyn
Biological Information
Species	Human
Status	Deceased
Universe Information
Home universe	Earth-X
General Information
Occupation	SS General of the New Reich (formerly)
Affiliation	New Reich (formerly)
Family	Unnamed (father) Unnamed (mother)
Alter ego	Prometheus
Actor	Colin Donnell Michael Dorn (voice; as Prometheus)

"Your naïveté would be charming, if your weakness wasn't so pathetic. Is this how it is on your planet? Everybody's swayed by sentiment? Is everyone here really so weak!? The Reich will change that; the weak will be eliminated, your entire world will be enslaved, but you... you won't be around to witness it. He is going to feel your skull crack under the weight of his boot. Everyone you care about, everyone you love... they are going to die badly... in ways that would give even monsters nightmares. I really wish that I could live to see it."

—Tommy Merlyn's last words to Oliver Queen before his suicide^[src]

Tommy Merlyn (died November 27, 2017) was a member of the Nazi military wing of Schutzstaffel in the New Reich, where he operated under the codename Prometheus. He was captured and held captive in S.T.A.R. Labs before killing himself via a cyanide pill.

Biography

Early life

Tommy Merlyn was born into the New Reich to an unknown father and mother. He began his training when very young, mentioning not having a normal childhood. At some point, Tommy became best friends with Oliver, the Führer, and went on to become a high-ranking member of the Schutzstaffel.

Arrival on Earth-1

Tommy journeyed to Earth-1 along with Oliver, Kara/Overgirl, and a squadron of Nazi soldiers to attack the heroes that had gathered together for the wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West, aiming to capture Supergirl so her heart could be used to save a dying Overgirl. He went on to engage both Sara Lance and Alex Danvers in combat, but the two women eventually managed to overpower and beat him. Tommy was then taken to S.T.A.R. Labs at gunpoint by Sara and Jefferson Jackson, where he was locked up in one of their cells of the pipeline, but hadn't spoken a word.

Unmasking himself and death

Tommy soon removed his mask and everyone, especially Oliver Queen, was stunned to see him. Oliver asked to be given some time alone with him. Tommy informed Oliver that he was from Earth-X and heard that his doppelgänger of this world had already died over four years ago saving a woman both he and Oliver loved. Tommy claimed he actually preferred death, as he didn't have a choice but to be put into military training for the Reich as a child because of the dictatorship. Oliver tried to convince him that he had a choice now and asked for help in trying to find out what the Führer wanted. Tommy told Oliver about the latter's doppelgänger on Earth-X and that he would die for his friend. Oliver stated he wished he could've died for Tommy's doppelgänger too, but had been beaten to it.

Cruelly laughing, Tommy then revealed that his "sob story" was all a facade and that he actually enjoyed dominating over and killing others. Tommy called out Oliver and his friends' sentiment as "weak" and gloated that the Reich would come to destroy the weak and then enslave the rest, but Oliver wouldn't live to see any of it as the Führer would kill him. Tommy expressed how he wished he could live to see that himself before pulling out his tooth, revealing a hidden cache of cyanide. Oliver moved to stop him but Tommy swallowed the cyanide pill, dying a moment later.

Legacy

Tommy's suit's biosensor sent out a signal to Oliver, notifying him of the former's demise. While Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash viewed Tommy as "soft", Oliver took a moment to mourn for his best friend. Stating that he had died for his wife, Kara, Oliver vowed to make Tommy's death worth it.

Fall of the Reich

Ultimately, Tommy's hope for the New Reich's victory failed to pass, as the heroes of Earth-1 and Earth-38 were able to defeat the New Reichsmen, which eventually enabled the Freedom Fighters to restore peace to Earth-X.

Siren-X's revenge

After the fall of the New Reich, Laurel Lance/Siren-X vowed to kill everyone responsible for her allies' deaths, including Tommy. When Laurel chased Leo Snart from Earth-X to Earth-1, she fought against Team Flash and attempted to destroy the Central City Police Department in retribution for the destruction of the New Reich. However, Laurel was eventually defeated by the Flash and incarcerated on Earth-X, fully overthrowing the totalitarian regime of the New Reich.

Personality

Initially, it seemed that Tommy Merlyn was a more sympathetic villain than Dark Arrow, Overgirl, and Eobard Thawne, claiming that he was indoctrinated into the Reich from birth and thus never had a true childhood. Tommy even noted that perhaps dying as his Earth-1 counterpart had would be preferable to an empty and miserable existence as a Nazi enforcer.

However, this show of being insecure, remorseful, and repentant was, in fact, nothing more than a facade done for the purposes of exposing Oliver Queen's gullibility in trying to reach out to an alternate version of his dead friend. His true nature revealed, Tommy mocked Oliver's high morals, idealism, and sentiment, considering Oliver to be "weak" and deserving of being crushed. Tommy also sadistically taunted Oliver with the promise that the Führer would murder his loved ones slowly and horribly while forcing Oliver to watch, lamenting how he himself would not live to see it. In short, Tommy was ultimately shown to be every bit the heartless Nazi henchman that his Earth-X fellows were, and a man who reveled in and rejoiced in the cruelties of the New Reich.

Abilities

• Peak of human physical condition: Unlike his Earth-1 counterpart, Tommy was trained from his youth in the New Reich military to be in peak physical condition and has great athletic prowess.
• Master combatant/Martial artist: Tommy was highly skilled in combat, allowing him to fight against the likes of Sara Lance and Alex Danvers for a while before getting defeated.
  • Master swordsman: Tommy was trained in the art of swordsmanship, managing to simultaneously fight off Sara and Alex with two chokutos.

Equipment

• Prometheus suit: Tommy wore a protective suit while operating under his alias Prometheus.
• Chokuto: Like Simon Morrison, Tommy is shown wielding two chokutos, which he keeps on the back right next to his quiver.
• Quiver: Tommy was also shown having a quiver on his back, though he didn't use the arrows stored in them or use a bow.
• Shurikens: Also similar to Simon, Tommy keeps at least six shurikens strapped to his abdomen in his suit, although he was never seen using them.

Appearances

Supergirl

Season 3

• "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 1"

Arrow

Season 6

• "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2"

Season 7

• "Elseworlds, Part 2"  (indirectly mentioned)

The Flash

Season 4

• "Fury Rogue" (indirectly mentioned)

Gallery

Promotional images

Crisis on Earth-X

Trivia

• Like Adrian Chase (Earth-1's Prometheus), Tommy taunted Oliver Queen about the prospect of his friends dying before killing himself.
  • Also, like Laurel Lance/Black Siren, Tommy is the doppelgänger of a deceased friend who made Oliver emotionally vulnerable, was offered a second chance on Earth-1, only to deny it for various reasons, leaving Oliver disappointed with the outcome.
• Earth-X Tommy is the first multiversal iteration of Tommy Merlyn to appear and have a villainous alter ego, with his Earth-2 counterpart second. Interestingly, both versions of Tommy took on personas that previously existed on Earth-1 but were donned by another civilian, with Tommy-X and Adrian Chase taking on the alter ego Prometheus and Tommy-2 and Malcolm Merlyn taking on the alter ego Dark Archer.

Behind the scenes

• This version of Tommy Merlyn, being a black-clad archer villain, is likely inspired by New 52 version of Tommy Merlyn from the DC Comics continuity, who was originally inspired by Tommy Merlyn from Arrow.
• According to Stephen Amell, Colin Donnell was still very busy at the time of the filming of Crisis on Earth-X, yet managed to get enough free time one night to get on a flight to Canada, perform his scene at the S.T.A.R. Labs pipeline prison, and fly back to his rigorous working schedule on Chicago Med.
• The Earth-X version of Prometheus being Tommy Merlyn could be a reference to the fact that during Arrow Season 5's airing, before Prometheus' true identity was revealed, there was a popular fan theory that Prometheus was actually a resurrected Tommy in disguise.

References

Other versions of Tommy Merlyn (Earth-X)
To see other versions of this character, click the Earth name below for that Earth's counterpart of Tommy Merlyn.
New multiverse
Earth: Prime
Original multiverse
Earth: 1 • 2 • X
Transmultiversal multiverse
Earth: