The 7 best (and 6 worst) Arrowverse villains

Dark Archer

When Oliver Queen returned to Starling City intent on righting the wrongs of his family, he couldn’t have known that he would have been greeted by another archer. Malcolm Merlyn was everything that Oliver’s father didn’t want to be and it was up to the Arrow to stop him from destroying the city – both literally and figuratively.

The Dark Archer was everything you could want in a first major villain. He tested Oliver in every way imaginable because he was his equal. A billionaire by day, vigilante by night; Merlyn was the ultimate test for Oliver and he matched him at every turn, with his experience often giving him the upper hand. John Barrowman played the charismatic and charming billionaire well, and he was also terrifying as the Dark Archer, bringing both sides of the character to life with ease.

It was a more grounded interpretation of the DC Comics villain and it suited Arrow’s tone and style down to the ground. Though later seasons would water the character down to a shell of what he once was, that first season with Merlyn at the forefront of it solidified him as one of TV’s greatest villains – and he remains one of the Arrowverse’s very best.

Verdict: BEST