Thomas "Tommy" Merlyn (February 1985—May 15, 2013) was the son of Malcolm Merlyn and the late Rebecca, a 28 year old former billionaire "trustafarian", the best friend of Oliver Queen, the ex-boyfriend of Laurel Lance, and the former crush and the paternal older half-brother of Thea Queen. Tommy was Oliver's best friend who helped him ease back into life when he returned while dating Laurel. Tommy was a selfish and reckless money spoiled brat until Malcolm cut him off completely from all his money and worked for Oliver, and became more responsible. However when Tommy discovered Oliver's secret, combined with Oliver and Laurel still loving each other, he became distant, mainly out of jealousy and anger. He was killed in "Sacrifice", while he was saving Laurel's life but made amends with Oliver before he died. His death served as the motivation for Oliver to stop killing his enemies and also sent Laurel into a state of depression and became an alcoholic until Oliver was eventually able to snap her out of it.
BIOGRAPHY
Early Life
Thomas Merlyn, generally refereed to as Tommy, was the son of Malcolm and Rebecca both of whom loved Tommy very much but Rebecca was killed by a thug in the Glades which sent Malcolm into a state of depression and even left Tommy for 2 years. It was later revealed that Malcolm had an affair with Moira Queen, which Malcolm felt so guilty for and left. The affair also lead to the birth of Thea Queen, Tommy's half sister. In between the two years Tommy met Oliver Queen and became best friends with him and hung out with at his house more often than his own and even saw Oliver's father Robert as more of a father to him than Malcolm. In their youth Robert took Tommy and Oliver to their first basketball game and their first R rated movie. In their early 20's Tommy and Oliver got up to many social scandals and media related incidents which saw them both in court more than once. At some point he also met Laurel Lance and her sister Sara. Tommy and Ollie also at some point met McKenna Hall. Tommy once hosted a party which Sara sneaked into to see Oliver which was broken up by the cops. At some point Tommy filled his father's pool entirely with alcohol and swam in it much to Oliver and Laurel's amusement. Once Oliver was presumed dead at sea with Sara, Laurel out of anger had an affair with Tommy which he would later describe as "your place, my place, my place again" implying that they slept together multiple times but both decided that it wasn't going to work. though Tommy always still had feelings for her. By the time he was 27 Tommy had never worked a single day in his life.
Thomas Merlyn, generally refereed to as Tommy, was the son of Malcolm and Rebecca both of whom loved Tommy very much but Rebecca was killed by a thug in the Glades which sent Malcolm into a state of depression and even left Tommy for 2 years. It was later revealed that Malcolm had an affair with Moira Queen, which Malcolm felt so guilty for and left. The affair also lead to the birth of Thea Queen, Tommy's half sister. In between the two years Tommy met Oliver Queen and became best friends with him and hung out with at his house more often than his own and even saw Oliver's father Robert as more of a father to him than Malcolm. In their youth Robert took Tommy and Oliver to their first basketball game and their first R rated movie. In their early 20's Tommy and Oliver got up to many social scandals and media related incidents which saw them both in court more than once. At some point he also met Laurel Lance and her sister Sara. Tommy and Ollie also at some point met McKenna Hall. Tommy once hosted a party which Sara sneaked into to see Oliver which was broken up by the cops. At some point Tommy filled his father's pool entirely with alcohol and swam in it much to Oliver and Laurel's amusement. Once Oliver was presumed dead at sea with Sara, Laurel out of anger had an affair with Tommy which he would later describe as "your place, my place, my place again" implying that they slept together multiple times but both decided that it wasn't going to work. though Tommy always still had feelings for her. By the time he was 27 Tommy had never worked a single day in his life.
PERSONALITY
When Tommy first appears in the series, he comes across as a light-hearted, cheerful, carefree, and laid back individual without a care in the world, due to his financial access being nearly limitless. He tries to get Oliver to rejoin the party scene, picking out girls for him and taking him around town. However, his affection for Laurel was slowly changing him into a more responsible individual.
When his father cut off his trust fund, he became angry, but then became more resolved in his desire to change. He applied himself more in his relationship with Laurel and sought out Oliver to get a job running Verdant. He was bitter towards his father, who he perceives as power and money hungry, and uncaring, especially due to the fact that Malcolm left Tommy for two years after Rebecca Merlyn, Tommy's mother, was killed. Their relationship improves when Tommy attends an award ceremony for Malcolm and after Malcolm was nearly killed by Deadshot.
He was thrown into a sea of confusion when it was revealed to him that Oliver is The Hood. He finds that he has problems trusting Oliver, whom he says he doesn't know anymore, and later quits the night club saying that he has too much self-respect to continue running Oliver's front when his best friend doesn't even trust him. Tommy then went to his father to find work.
It is implied that his later distrust of Oliver partially stemmed from jealousy and anger, as the Oliver he knows now is a far better person than he thought he would be. In his final moments, he admitted to the inferiority complex he was feeling, reconciled with Oliver, and then passed away.
When his father cut off his trust fund, he became angry, but then became more resolved in his desire to change. He applied himself more in his relationship with Laurel and sought out Oliver to get a job running Verdant. He was bitter towards his father, who he perceives as power and money hungry, and uncaring, especially due to the fact that Malcolm left Tommy for two years after Rebecca Merlyn, Tommy's mother, was killed. Their relationship improves when Tommy attends an award ceremony for Malcolm and after Malcolm was nearly killed by Deadshot.
He was thrown into a sea of confusion when it was revealed to him that Oliver is The Hood. He finds that he has problems trusting Oliver, whom he says he doesn't know anymore, and later quits the night club saying that he has too much self-respect to continue running Oliver's front when his best friend doesn't even trust him. Tommy then went to his father to find work.
It is implied that his later distrust of Oliver partially stemmed from jealousy and anger, as the Oliver he knows now is a far better person than he thought he would be. In his final moments, he admitted to the inferiority complex he was feeling, reconciled with Oliver, and then passed away.