| “ | You want me to feel safe, you get me some more shooters. | ” |
Corporal Nathan Merwin[1] is a supporting character in The Dark Pictures Anthology's third installment, House of Ashes. He is a United States Force Reconnaissance Marine Corporal, technician and squad member of Mailman 2-1. He was voiced and motion captured by Alex Mallari Jr. and was modelled on Jozef Aoki.
Appearance[]
He wears a standard invasion-era Marine uniform:
- PASGT body armor in M81 woodland camouflage - with water, magazine pouches and miscellaneous gear
- PASGT helmet in three color desert camouflage - with dust goggles
- 3-color desert camouflage fatigues
- Earpiece and radio
- Tan backpack
When found after the earthquake, he is covered in scratches and blood from being tangled in barbed wire.
Personality[]
Merwin has no inhibition when talking, and is said by Jason to have "no social skills." He has a crude sense of humor that he practices with Joey, frequently making the two female members of the raid uncomfortable. He is a highly trained soldier and fearless in combat (even somewhat enjoying it) and willing to lay down his life for the team when feeling he is dragging them down. Merwin has no ethics and has a complete disregard for the laws of war, as he can be seen trying to ask Jason to use W.P. on the Iraqi soldiers, whom Jason can either agree or disagree.
He is disrespectful towards his superiors-in-command Eric and Rachel, calling the former a "pencil pusher" and imply to the latter that she was assigned to the operation only because of the presence of her husband.
House of Ashes[]
| Chapter Appearances | |||
| Cursed | Absent | ||
| The Briefing | Debut | The Assault | Determinant Mention |
| The Raid | Appears | The Horror | Absent |
| Underworld | Appears (Possible Death) | Enemy of My Enemy | Absent |
| Pazuzu | Absent | The Well | Absent |
| The Temple | Determinant (Possible Death) | The Ancient One | Absent |
| Breaking Up | Mentioned | Brothers | Absent |
| After the Fall | Determinant | The City | Absent |
| Slayer | Absent | Strange Aeons | Absent |
| The Truce | Absent | The Vault | Absent |
| Bloodbath | Determinant | Semper Fi | Absent |
| The Signal | Determinant (Death) | Daylight | Absent |
| The End | Absent | ||
Main Story[]
Act 1[]
Merwin is first seen doing bench presses in Camp Slayer, whom he immediately antagonizes Clarice. He is then involved in the briefing, behaving disruptive and even switches dirty jokes with Joey. He brings in a case containing a UV wand. He volunteers to use it, however Eric doesn't let him. He can then be seen near a table with ropes.
While in the helicopter, he exchanges more dirty jokes with Joey, before being shut by Rachel. Later near the compound, he makes Joey look back to the helicopter, much to the latter's anger. After securing the compound, he decides to taunt Clarice. In the firefight, he asks for the usage of WPs if Eric allows them to be brought. Jason can either approve this or disapprove. If Jason fails to save Joey, Merwin will be enraged and shoot the Iraqi soldiers with grenades or WP if brought. As the earthquake happens, Merwin is plunged into the caverns, before being stuck in barbwires.
Merwin is seen hanging on barbwires as Clarice tries to set him free. While Jason and Nick try to recover Merwin, Clarice is dragged by an unknown entity, forcing the rest to retreat. However, Merwin's blood keeps pouring out, forcing the duo to heal him while also silencing him at the same time. Merwin can either die of blood loss, suffocation, or be brought away deeper into the caverns.
Running from the monsters in the caverns, there are multiple parts where Merwin can die, either being crushed in confine spaces or decapitated. After Jason and Nick received a call from Rachel, Merwin starts to volunteer to be left behind. Jason and Nick can agree to leave him behind or continue to drag him away. If Merwin is alive, this could affect Eric's fate in Breaking Up - the trio will be too slow to intervene and - prevent some of his potential deaths, although Merwin doesn't actually appear in the chapter.
Act 2[]
Jason and Nick will then bring him to the temple and lay him down in the main hall. When Jason and Nick fortify the temple, he is approached by an infected Joey. However, Joey does not seem to harm him.
He will reappear fully recovered and help the others use the archaeologists' radio - but is then shot in the head by Dar. His body is then dragged away. If Rachel had abandoned Clarice, Clarice stayed behind, or Clarice fell, then Merwin would briefly be mentioned by Jason about his fate.
Possible Deaths[]
| Chapter | Mechanism of Kill | Caused by | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Underworld | Suffocated | Nick | Nick completes all QTEs to cover Merwin's mouth. |
| Blood loss | Jason (Accidental) | Jason fails the QTE to hold Merwin's leg still or inject morphine. | |
| The Temple | Crushed | Vampires | Jason and Nick go around the rubble; Jason or Nick fail the Keep Calm segment. |
| Decapitated | Jason and Nick do not go around rubble; Jason or Nick fail a QTE. | ||
| Mauled | Jason and Nick agree to leave Merwin behind. | ||
| The Signal | Shot in the head | Dar | Certain - Merwin is still alive. |
Killed Victims[]
| Chapter | Character | Mechanism of kill | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Raid | Several Iraqi soldiers | Explosion by grenade | Eric disallowed the usage of WP; Jason fails QTEs to cover for Nick. |
| Burned by White Phosphorus round | Eric allowed the usage of WP; Jason approved the usage of WP or said nothing. | ||
| Same condition; Jason fails QTEs to cover for Nick. | |||
| The Temple | Himself (Voluntarily) | Sacrificed to vampires | Jason and Nick agree to leave Merwin behind. |
Relationships[]
Jason[]
Jason considers Merwin to be a good fighter, but also a loose cannon who lacks social skills. He is willing to stand up for him in front of Eric, explaining that his disruptive behavior is just a result of the men eager to catch a break. If Merwin stays alive, he will eventually tell Jason to leave him, and Jason can agree or refuse.
Nick[]
Nick and Merwin do not interact much. Nick tries his best to save Merwin and is willing to help carry him through the caves - if he dies, Nick expresses some grief before being forced to move on. If Merwin is left behind or killed, Nick will worry about him later on.
Clarice[]
Clarice does not like Merwin's attitude toward women and sense of humor, but will attempt to save him regardless.
Joey[]
Joey, being a fellow Marine, shares the same sense of humor as Merwin and they are seen to have a very brotherly, rough-and-tumble relationship, cracking jokes at each other and not getting offended, but instead hyping each other up. If Merwin stays alive, Joey will approach him as a vampire but then walk away, leaving it unclear if Merwin is infected.
Trivia[]
Pictures[]
- Merwin appears in 1 picture: Squeeze.
Facts[]
- Merwin may be married, as there is a ring on his left hand.
Other[]
- Merwin shares the same face model as:
- Karl Carter from Hidden Agenda.
- Victor Milgram from The Inpatient.
- Ted Rhodes from Shattered State.
- Danny from Man of Medan.
- Thomas Wyman and the passerby from Little Hope.
- In early gameplay footages, Merwin is seen only wearing a green tank top while in the briefing room instead of a marine uniform and vest.
Trophies[]
- Merwin is associated with the trophy "So You're My Technician".
Quotes[]
| “ | Eric: This is footage from the highly classified Caelus program. Merwin: That supposed to mean something to me? Eric: It's a thermal satellite that I personally pioneered. Merwin: Ohhh, well I'm impressed. Please, pioneer away. Eric: You behave like this in all of your briefings, Corporal? |
” |
| “ | Eric: Tell me, Corporal, are you afraid of heights? Merwin: Please! I'm a Force Recon. I've trained in high altitude, low opening parachute jumps. Hostile conditions that would make most men wake up screaming for their mama. Eric: You paint quite the picture. I hope you're more than just mouth, Marine. |
” |
| “ | Eric: So you're my technician? I've heard about you. Merwin: I should fucking hope so. I'm here to keep our gear in check. And if any Iraqi pop their heads up, I'll take 'em clean fucking off. Eric: You seem pretty confident, Corporal. If you need any assistance with the climbing gear, I'm here to help. Merwin: I'm sure I'll manage, Colonel. |
” |
| “ | Merwin: I knew there was a reason you were tagging along. Rachel: What does that mean? Merwin: Well, someone's gonna have to tie all the pretty little knots and shit. |
” |
| “ | Eyes forward at all times. You look backwards in a warzone, it's no wonder you get your ass shot off.
|
” |
| “ | Merwin: W.P. grenades would be really useful right now. But 'daddy' said we had to leave 'em home, right? Jason: Orders are orders, marine. That ain't an option we got anymore. Merwin: Bullshit! |
” |
| “ | Merwin: Let's burn the fuckers out with W.P.! Nick: We can't use phosphorus against people! Merwin: Aw, come on! You rather us hold hands and sing Kumbayah around a fucking fire camp? |
” |
| “ | Merwin: I said leave me! Go! I'll hold them off. Jason: Fuck Merwin! Those are not Iraqis! Merwin: Whatever the fuck they are, they're mine. Go! |
” |
| “ | Jason: Ignore Corporal Merwin, he lacks social skills. Eric: I guess every unit has its resident jackass. |
” |
| “ | Merwin has a point. IF we spin up too many helos, we'll increase our chances of being spotted. Any concerns, see me after the briefing.
|
” |
| “ | Rachel: Watch your mouth, Corporal. Merwin: You gonna go running to your husband and squeal on me now? Rachel: I strongly suggest that you show some respect to your superiors. Merwin: Hey, if CENTCOM wants to put the nerds in charge, who am I to argue? |
” |
| “ | Nick: I fucking killed Merwin. Jason: It was an accident! Nick: Just like the woman at the checkpoint. Jason: Don't make shit weirder than it already is. Clear your fucking mind! |
” |
| “ | Let's not forget that they've already lost Corporal Merwin to the dark and the night is still young.
|
” |
| “ | Let's not forget that they've already left one man behind to die tonight.
|
” |
| “ | I'm no technician. If Merwin was here though, he could fix it.
|
” |
| “ | Merwin was right. Eyes forward at all times. Let's bug out.
|
” |
Gallery
References[]
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| Protagonists |
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| Antagonists | |||||||
| Supporting Characters |
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