Merlin the Wise

A manipulative and sinister figure calling himself Merlin the Wise, (COMIC: The Neutron Knights) native to Earth, (COMIC: The Tides of Time) sought the Doctor's help on two occasions.

The Fourth Doctor first met Merlin in the distant future of Earth. Merlin had appeared from another time period to help the Neutron Knights against their enemy Catavolcus. Merlin had summoned the Doctor himself to help. (COMIC: The Neutron Knights)

They next met in the Matrix on Gallifrey where Merlin had joined a council of High Evolutionaries, including Rassilon, founder of the Time Lords, to discuss the danger posed to the universe by the "demon" Melanicus. The Fifth Doctor did not entirely trust Merlin but agreed to his aid. Merlin had originally banished Melanicus from the universe, though, obviously he had not managed to make it permanent. (COMIC: The Tides of Time)



At one point an incarnation of Merlin resurrected Captain Britain and later showed his daughter Roma several of his other incarnations. (COMIC: A Rag, a Bone, a Hank of Hair...)

He was later replaced among the Evolutionaries by a member of the Order of the Black Sun. (COMIC: The Final Chapter)

Behind the scenes
Throughout the DWU's history many characters have taken on the name Merlin, including an incarnation of the Master as well as the Doctor himself on numerous occasions (most notably in his mysterious future incarnation), and the short story The Creation of Camelot states that the name Merlin is passed on from one individual to the next with it being more of a title within King Arthur's court than a name. As a result it is unclear whether this incarnation of Merlin, first seen in The Neutron Knights, could also be one of these established characters or another claimant altogether. The character himself has been shown to be a shapeshifter with multiple familiar forms.

A link was established between this character and Marvel Comics' version of Merlin, who has appeared in comics since 1943, when the character design of Merlin the Wise which first appeared in The Neutron Knights was shown as an alternate incarnation of Marvel's Merlin in A Rag, a Bone, a Hank of Hair.... This link was further solidified when Marvel's incarnation of Merlin later appeared in the altered reprint of Star Death released in The Daredevils #5, and the Neutron Knights' Merlin later appeared in a larger role throughout Paul Cornell's The Guns of Avalon in Captain Britain and MI-13 Vol 1 .