Arrow Star John Barrowman Reveals The Origin Of Malcolm Merlyn

What do the other characters on Arrow get up to while Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is busy telling people they've failed this city?

[...] more specifically, where does the semi-villainous Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) go when he's not popping out of the shadows to deliver ominous news, or seriously f--- with his daughter Thea's (Willa Holland) life?

Though the duo has collaborated before on a young adult book series called The Hollow Earth, as well as two novels set in the universe of the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood (in which John starred), this is the first time either of them has tackled comic books.

Though we've learned a little bit about him over the past four seasons of the show, we haven't seen what happened to the guy the League of Assassins called the Magician before he met Oliver, or what he gets up to when he's not alternately helping and terrorizing the Arrow's home base of Star City.

According to the Barrowmans, the show has no bible for Malcolm Merlyn's backstory, meaning the field was wide open.

Despite the lack of input from the show, the series has added major wrinkles to Merlyn's character, including the revelation that his real name is Arthur King -- something that doesn't just set him up as a clear opposite to Oliver Queen...

[...] readers who go back and catch up with the series shouldn't expect a kinder, more regal Malcolm/Arthur.

That said, there's another, more business-y reason for leaving the show's main characters on the table: "We didn't want to get stuck and have to get approval," John says.

With the set-up out of the way, the Barrowmans are definitely interested in tackling more Malcolm Merlyn stories, to depict what happens after he pops back into the dark shadows on the show, while still making sure the comics themselves aren't totally dependent on what happens on TV.

Oh, and speaking of screaming, John does have one major event to look forward to this season on Arro