Merklynn
- Merklynn is a Prysmosian from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
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Whether he's Merklynn or Garrison Kreiger, the appearance of this alien wizard always spells trouble. No kindly wish-granting wizard here: Merklynn is capricious — bordering on cruel — inscrutable, and more than willing to sacrifice anyone, even close allies, to further his own goals.
Having discovered and harnessed the ancient Talisman, anathema of technology, Merklynn has refocused on is original dream of ushering in a new Age of Magic, when technology will fall and the citizens of the galaxy will return to the old ways. And if a few mechanical beings stand in the way of that goal, then who is he to argue against the natural order of the universe?
Fiction
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Many years ago, Merklynn was a powerful wizard who inhabited the distant world of Prysmos, a world where technology ruled and magic had been forgotten by all. Scorned as a sad holdover of a dead religion, Schismatic Merklynn sought to restore the power of the "Arcana Vast" to his homeworld; some three hundred years ago, he did so by casting a spell that brought the planet's three suns into alignment, which shut down all technology on his homeworld. Cybertron No More In this new Age of Magic, Merklynn became a revered figure and bestowed his gifts upon the Spectral Knights and Darkling Lords, who competed for his favor. This second era was evidently brief; Merklynn had failed to account for the three suns moving back out of alignment, and when they did so, the gravitational forces unleashed ripped the planet to shreds. Less than ten thousand Prysmosians successfully escaped the cataclysm. Hoping to undo his mistake, Merklynn left the refugees behind and struck out on his own in the hopes of finding a new world to colonize. Schismatic
One way or another, Merklynn landed on Earth at some point before World War II, and wove a human disguise for himself, forging a new alter-ego as "Garrison Kreiger" First Strike #6 and claiming that he was the son of wealthy German immigrants to conceal the truth behind his extraterrestrial origins. Garrison Kreiger profile
Lonely and isolated, Kreiger would join the United States military before 1939. Despite the anti-German sentiment of the time, Kreiger was driven by the desire to plot a new course in a world facing imminent war. Though his wealth landed him a spot on the officer track, it didn't keep him off the front lines as he had hoped. By 1943, he had become a Second Lieutenant in the army and was assigned to the Screaming Eagles, a special tactics unit led by daring do-gooder Sergeant Robert Savage. One Unholy Machine Garrison Kreiger profile Kreiger would remember Savage for his willingness to look past Kreiger's "German" heritage and see him as a fellow American fighting for his country, opening the stranded alien's eyes to the necessity of war in a harsh universe. One Unholy Machine As a Screaming Eagle, Kreiger soon received the nickname "Blitz". The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb
While on a mission in Kalistan, the Screaming Eagles encountered mysterious robotic soldiers fighting for the Axis. One of these robots managed to land a hit on Kreiger, scarring his left eye. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb Recognizing the robots for the alien constructs that they were, Kreiger was left inspired by his encounter, having realized that other alien civilizations had already left their mark on Earth. One Unholy Machine
Kreiger's preliminary theories were confirmed in the winter of 1944, when the Screaming Eagles were deployed to Paris to work with the resistance. While on a routine patrol, they encountered more of the strange mechanical soldiers, who had been drawn a pair of metal goliaths battling it out. After defeating his opponent, the victor asked the Screaming Eagles for help in finding the ship that had brought him to Earth, so that he could return there die in peace. Strange Visitors Though disgusted by the idea of the "mechanical hell" that the giant robots embodied, One Unholy Machine Kreiger pushed Savage to help the stranded alien, hoping to find out more about its motivations for coming to Earth. Centurion profile
"I dunno, why are raspberry icicle pops blue?"
Centurion, Savage, and Kreiger tracked the ship to Brasnya, where more of the robotic troops swarmed them. Savage held the machines off as Kreiger and their metallic associate investigated the starship's frozen wreckage. Inside, Krieger found an empty recess that had once held what he dubbed a "Talisman", correctly deducing that it was a magical artifact responsible for conjuring the many lesser automatons that they had battled during their journey. Centurion explained that it had belonged to his "master" long ago; before he could explain who that master was, there was a loud sound from outside: the remains of Centurion's commanding officer, reanimated by the drones. As Kreiger watched the Eukarian brawl with the creatures, he determined the drones were being controlled by the Talisman. As he did, the drones did something that made the ship and the Sergeant himself vanish without a trace. As he saw a furious Centurion fell his former commander's remains, Kreiger was inspired, Strange Visitors hoping to recover the Talisman and harness its magic to recreate his destroyed homeworld of old. First Strike #6 With Savage gone, however, Kreiger needed a new ally. So he reached out to the devastated Eukarian, offering to help him... Strange Visitors
Over the next several decades, Krieger and Centurion spent years hunting down what Kreiger called "Binaltech", using whatever scraps of alien technology he could find to replicate the original Talisman. The Iron Klaw Despite his hatred of the Transformers, Centurion became one of Kreiger's closest confidants, who spent years grooming the lost Transformer into trusting him unconditionally. Unification Day: Dawn The Iron Klaw Over the decades, this endeavor would lead to the creation of many duplicate Talismans, inferior copies of the original. The Iron Klaw His search for paranormal relics led him to recover the bodies of "Optimus Prime" and "Shockwave", which were relocated to a top secret government facility constructed in the Brasnyan crater where the Axalon had once rested. When Eagles Scream Power and Glory As the decades passed, using technology derived from his studies, he began replacing parts of his body with cybernetics to extend his lifespan. Garrison Kreiger profile
In 1984, Kreiger enlisted the help of Dr. Elliot Marsh in his search for the genuine Talisman. The two discovered the artifact in the Tomb of Amtoltec in Dahshur, whereupon Kreiger promptly killed his guide and began experimenting with the Talisman. Eventually, he was able to animate and control a horde of Iron Troopers, and the unusual energy this produced attracted not only the attention of Joe Colton and his Adventure Team, but also Soundwave. A battle ensued between the team and Soundwave, until the Cybertronian decided to leave, having realized the Talisman wasn't his goal. In the aftermath, Kreiger took the device for himself without giving his "rescuers" so much as a "thank you". The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb
"Aren't you a little old to be building a fort?"
"No. No, I'm not. Shut up."
Kreiger was sanctioned by the government to study the Talisman, which was relocated to the Ice Man facility with the rest of his growing collection of artifacts. When Eagles Scream In the early 1990s, a depressed Mike "Atomic Man" Power came to him, seeking further upgrades to his cyborg prostheses after a chance encounter with the Talisman during their earlier clash in Egypt. Power and Glory The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb Though professing good intentions, Kreiger instead used Power as a test subject in what would be called "Project: Ice Man", subjecting Power to a battery of cruel experiments involving the Talisman and Power's increasingly augmented physiology. These experiments reached a turning point in 1994 when Kreiger had Power interface with the Talisman once more, which had the unexpected side effect of returning the lost Axalon and Sgt. Savage to normal space-time. Seconds later, Colton's "Adventure Force" arrived to confront Kreiger and sttop his experiments. Discovering that Atomic Man with no heartbeat, they mistakenly concluded that Kreiger had murdered him, Power and Glory and Kreiger was dishonorably discharged for his crimes. Garrison Kreiger profile It didn't bother him much, however—he had far greater ambitions by this point. Though the Talisman was taken from him by Colton's team, Kreiger continued his work in the Ice Man bunker, experimenting on the Atomic Man's mangled but still-living body and eventually turning him into the main nerve center of the base. Strange Visitors Power and Glory
To cover up and secure funding for his less-than-ethical experiments, Kreiger founded I.R.O.N., the "International Robotics Operation Network", where, as CEO, he developed a working relationship with Count van Rani, dictator of Kalistan and part-time supervillain. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb In the early 21st century, Kreiger was contracted by Colton to join him at Skywatch's "Project: Hot House" facility in Oregon, where he was reunited with the Talisman and began a brand new series of experiments—ways to weaponize the Talisman's energy, so that Colton could use it to counter the increasing surge of Transformer activity on Earth. Circa 2006, to reactivate the Talisman, Kreiger and Colton lured Sgt. Savage to the base and forced him into contact with it. His body saturated with its power thanks to his trip through time, Savage's touch brought the Talisman back to life; its energies hurled Savage further into the future once more, and killed Kreiger and Colton's Decepticon guinea pig Bugly outright, proving that it was the weapon they needed to fight the Cybertronian threat. When Eagles Scream
By this point, nearly a century old, Kreiger disappeared from the public eye a few years prior to 2017. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb Before he vanished, he ceded control of I.R.O.N. to van Rani, his main shareholder, who, in turn, appointed Tomax Paoli as the interim CEO of the company. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb In the meantime, Kreiger worked with Miles Mayhem to test the effects of the Talisman on Mayhem's Decepticon prisoner Blitzwing. First Strike #0
In the chaotic months that followed Optimus Prime's annexation of Earth into the Council of Worlds, Joe Colton decided it was finally time to bring the Talisman into play an eliminate the Cybertronian threat. Before he could do so, however, he was targeted by the Dire Wraiths for assimilation. Forced to amputate his own hand to survive and infected with Wraith bio-matter, Colton contacted Kreiger for assistance. The two met in Paris, and Kreiger brought Colton to the Brasnyan Ice Man facility for assistance. Kreiger treated Colton's wounds as they discussed recent events and the apparent magic of the Talisman. First Strike #0
Seeing in Colton's words a way to reach Cybertron and recreate his homeworld by using the Talisman to terraform the mechanical planet into a copy of Prysmos, First Strike #6 Kreiger agreed to help Colton in his plan to go outside the law and assemble a global cabal of international supervillains to aid him his objective. Kreiger fitted Colton with a new mechanical hand derived from the Talisman, and in turn Colton adopted a new persona: that of the masked villain "Baron Ironblood". First Strike #0 Colton, unaware of Kreiger's alien origins, never suspected that Kreiger was subtly manipulating Colton and his allies to advance his own agenda, quite separate from Colton's mission of Cybertronian extinction. First Strike #6
Colton and Kreiger continued to gather allies from across the world; working with Doctor X and the Iron Klaw, Kreiger had the Talisman transferred to an I.R.O.N. facility operated by the SIS in Schleteva. Garrison Kreiger profile Using his knowledge of alien technology, Kreiger helped hybridize Storm Shadow's Red Shadows with extraterrestrial biomatter. Ghost in the Machine
Shortly afterwards, Kreiger found the Predacons, who had been marooned on Earth following Galvatron's failed invasion some months back. Using his knowledge of Cybertronian biology, he found a way to mind-control them, using one of his Talisman copies to improve on a previous failed combiner experiment and create Predaking. The brainwashed Predacons became private shock troops for van Rani. The Iron Klaw Colton was less than enthusiastic about the idea, but their meeting was cut short after Colton received a message warning that G.B. Blackrock had accidentally stumbled on the Talisman. Ghost in the Machine
While Colton and several other operatives used an abandoned Cobra moonbase as a secondary headquarters, Kreiger remained in van Rani's Iron Castle. Soon afterwards, Ironblood's alliance went off in search of Tomax Paoli, Kreiger's choice to replace him as CEO of I.R.O.N., and Kreiger sent Centurion along as a bodyguard as the villains moved on to the next stage of their plan. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb Shortly afterwards, Kreiger received a visit from Tomax Paoli, who had caught Blackrock and brought him to Kreiger so the man could have a look at him. Kreiger relished the opportunity, determined to find out why the Talisman reacted to Blackrock. Before he could get started, however, Baron Ironblood noticed an intruder lurking in the shadows. On Ironblood's warning that the former Joe wasn't working alone, Kreiger unleashed the Predacons. With Snake Eyes apparently subdued, Kreiger questioned Paoli about his success working on "Project: Iceman" in San Francisco, at which point Paoli turned out to be the real Snake Eyes, the other being a robot duplicate. Thanks to Snake Eyes, and the actions of his allies, Kreiger lost both Blackrock and the Predacons.
In the aftermath, Baron Ironblood declared they had no choice but to scrub Centurion and Paoli. The Iron Klaw Visiting Paoli in person, Kreiger warned him of the incoming band of "Revolutionaries", telling him he was merely bait and didn't care what Paoli told them when caught. After Paoli and Centurion were taken in by the team, Kreiger took part in a conference call with his allies as he prepared to travel the Ice Man facility, stating his presence was "needed" to finish what they were planning. Strange Visitors The "Revolutionaries", joined by the forces of M.A.S.K., caught up with Kreiger in the Ice Man base. Kreiger turned the full fury of his inventions against the intruders: deploying a suite of anti-Cybertronian technology to take out Blackrock and Kup and unleashing the reanimated bodies of Domitius and "Shockwave" against Action Man. Action Man, Mayday, and M.A.S.K. fought their way into the nexus of the facility, whereupon Kreiger infused Atomic Man with a sample of Ore-13 as his ultimate weapon: the Talisman "made flesh". Kreiger's ultimate gambit failed when the grief-stricken cyborg realized his mistakes and chose to commit suicide, and in the aftermath he was arrested and taken into G.I. Joe custody. Power and Glory
Awaiting a pickup in Buenos Aires, Kreiger tried to appeal to a time-displaced Sergeant Savage, but the soldier had little patience for his treacherous comrade. Salvation came for the villain when Centurion—still loyal to his old friend—remotely hacked Blackrock's Onyx tower so that its defenses would fire on the incoming GI Joe air division. When Eagles Scream In the ensuing fight, Kreiger was able to break his restraints, gloating that Centurion couldn't be turned. As Metrotitan joined the fight and disgorged Optimus Prime, Kreiger was able to shoot Savage in the back. With Metrotitan bearing down on the group, Kreiger took command and ordered everyone to teleport out using the M.A.S.S. Device. Though Centurion was lost in the scuffle, the rest of Ironblood's team regrouped back in Kalistan, where, Talisman in hand, Colton told his operatives that it was time to strike. Ghost in the Machine As Colton's alliance made their final preparations, Kreiger recounted his motivations to his leader, pleased at the notion of using the Talisman as a weapon of conquest—the ultimate realization of the ideals Sgt. Savage had once imparted upon him. One Unholy Machine
Piggybacking off Metrotitan's space bridge signal using the M.A.S.S. Device, Kreiger accompanied Ironblood and his cabal of villains to Cybertron as part of Colton's plan to wipe out the species. Carrying the Talisman aboard Miles Mayhem's "Outlaw" the team deployed Shazraella to Enerchange with a Cybertronian and unleash the Talisman in Cybertron's core, First Strike #2 Kreiger having lied to the group about its effect on the planet. First Strike #6 In the meantime, the bounty hunter Colditz tracked down Centurion in Iacon, offering him the chance to return to Kreiger's ranks, an offer which the Cybertronian accepted. Unification Day: Dawn
On the way, Kreiger stopped to install sound-dampeners to prevent Soundwave finding them, then had to get between Manheim and Shazraella as they bickered. Kreiger openly expressed his belief the Microspace native would inevitably betray them, which prompted her to set some security drones on the squad, as warning against further signs of disrespect. First Strike #3 The group was momentarily waylaid by the need to set a booby trap to delay Scarlett's forces, which allowed Metroplex to pinpoint them and begin reconfiguring his internal architecture to pin them down. As they reached the access hatch that would take them into the core of the planet, Colton successfully dropped Sunstreaker, leaving them with no further obstacles to their objective. First Strike #4 As they clambered towards the heart of Cybertron, Kreiger briefly slipped and would have fallen if not for Colton's intervention. The team fought their way through an Insecticon swarm guarding the center of the planet... only to find that Scarlett and her allies had caught up with them, just outside the core. First Strike #5
"Not witch, warlock! It's a robe! Not a dress!"
In the ensuing battle, Kreiger fought Matt Trakker and Gloria Baker, using his technology to hack their power-granting masks. The fight quickly went south as Elita One, Starscream, and Obsidian arrived, turning the fight into a chaotic free-for-all. His ultimate plan to infect the whole of Cybertron now stymied, Kreiger made a break for the Talisman, rationalizing that he could at least remake a fraction of the planet in Prysmos's image. Uttering a magic chant to activate the alien device, Kreiger harnessed the Talisman's energy to take control of the planet's energon supplies; shedding his human disguise, he revealed himself as Merklynn to all assembled and explained his motivations: his dream of colonizing a new world at last fulfilled, Merklynn used the planet's energon to forge the city of "New Prysmos" and gloated that the Spectral Knights and Darkling Lords would soon arrive to wipe technology from the galaxy and usher in a new age of magic. His goal completed for the time being, Merklynn teleported the combatants back to the surface of Cybertron. First Strike #6
When other Prysmosians arrived on Cybertron, they were forced to imprison their leader within New Prysmos, where he was constantly overseen by a Cybertronian Security Force detachment. He enjoyed a modicum of freedom, however: when the Knights and Lords arrived, he was allowed to oversee their meeting where they discussed their next steps; Merklynn advised caution when dealing with the mechanoids. Schismatic When negotiations with Ironhide and Kup broke down — fatally, in the case of the latter — Merklynn used his magic to easily disintegrate his guards, and joined his acolyte Virulina as she prepared to destroy the force field that the Cybertronians erected around their city and begin the genocide of the Transformer race. When Spectral Knight leader Leoric objected to their plan, Merklynn easily swatted him aside with a bolt of spectral energy. Cybertron No More
External links
- Merklynn at the IDW Hasbro Wiki
- Merklynn at TheVisionaries.net
