Excalibur #26 reveals that the mutants of Krakoa are facing a deadly threat in the form of Marvel’s oldest and most powerful magician.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Excalibur #26, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
In Otherworld, the wizard Merlyn has defeated the mutant team Excalibur and set himself up once again as the Omniversal Guardian, watching over the entire Marvel multiverse. While Doctor Strange is more widely known, Merlyn has demonstrated that he is once again the most powerful magician in the universe. Unfortunately for the X-Men and their allies, his first act in his new role is to declare war on the mutants of Avalon and Krakoa, as seen in Excalibur #26 (by Tini Howard, Marcus To, Erick Arcinega, and VCs Ariana Maher).
Merlyn is Marvel’s take on the mythological wizard from Arthurian lore. He also is the Sorcerer Supreme of Otherworld, the very nexus of the multiverse. At one time, he served as the Omniversal Guardian and was responsible for the safety of the entire multiverse. Merlyn’s daughter, Roma, took up the role after him and has acted as both his partner and rival in the past. She was aided in her responsibilities by Opal Luna Saturnyne, the Omniversal Matrix, who then served as Omniversal Guardian prior to Merlyn’s takeover.
At the center of Otherworld stands the Starlight Citadel—a great tower that serves as a nexus to the entire Marvel multiverse. It was Merlyn who attuned the various universes to each other and knit them together into a singular matrix, establishing the Citadel. After years of warfare and chaos, Otherworld fell into disarray allowing Merlyn to march his forces against the Citadel and the mutants within. Otherworld was vastly expanded upon in the recent “X of Swords” crossover, establishing various courts that represent populations and lands just being explored, and revealing that Merlyn rules the Holy Republic of Fae. Since then, Merlyn has been on a campaign to oust mutants from Otherworld. The powerful magician rallied an army and attacked the Citadel, retaking it and announcing his intention to retake his role as Omniversal Guardian. From this position, he has set his sights on Avalon, now under the rule of the mutant nation of Krakoa, and does not intend to rest until the recently revealed King Arthur sits on the throne.
Merlyn’s history is mired in deception, confusion, and mystery. First, there have been many versions of the wizard in Marvel comics over the years. His earliest stories reflect the mythology of the Camelot magician, with him performing tasks such as assisting King Arthur, mentoring and confronting Morgan Le Fey, and guiding knights in their quests. The current incarnation is a combination of all of his multiversal alternate selves.
This version of the magician has already proven to be extremely powerful. In an early battle against Morgan Le Fay, he flung falling stars from the sky at her. In his time at Camelot, he helped the first Black Knight forge the Ebony Blade out of the Star Stone, a meteor with unique powers. Whereas Doctor Strange is an explorer of the multiverse, Merlyn was the one who brought the various universes together into the multiverse. He was the teacher of the powerful Morgan Le Fay, and has faced everyone from the Avengers to the X-Men. Merlyn’s powers are quite different than Strange’s but ultimately enough to make him the most powerful magician in the Marvel universe.
In 2016’s Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme (by Robbie Thompson, Javier Rodriguez and Nathan Stockman), Merlin is revealed as having been a Sorcerer Supreme for a time and an old friend of Strange. As the collected personage of all his multiversal variations, containing all aspects of himself and their subsequent powers and abilities, Merlyn is astoundingly powerful.
The powerful magician now aims to outcast every Mutant from Otherworld, but he has yet to reveal his plan for doing so. In the recently announced Knights of X, taking place in Otherworld, the mutants will likely rally to survive in Otherworld as the formidable magician hunts them down.
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