Merlin

Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures. Geoffrey combined existing stories of Myrddin Wyllt (Merlinus Caledonensis), a North Brythonic prophet and madman with no connection to King Arthur, with tales of the Romano-British war leader Ambrosius Aurelianus to form the composite figure he called Merlin Ambrosius (Welsh: Myrddin Emrys). He is allegedly buried in the Broceliande forest, near Paimpont in Brittany.

Geoffrey's rendering of the character was immediately popular, especially in Wales. Later writers expanded the account to produce a fuller image of the wizard. Merlin's traditional biography casts him as a cambion: born of a mortal woman, sired by an incubus, the non-human from whom he inherits his supernatural powers and abilities. The name of Merlin's mother is not usually stated but is given as Adhan in the oldest version of the Prose Brut. Merlin matures to an ascendant sagehood and engineers the birth of Arthur through magic and intrigue. Later authors have Merlin serve as the king's advisor until he is bewitched and imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake.

John Farnham

John Peter Farnham, Jr. AO (born 1 July 1949), formerly billed as Johnny Farnham from his professional debut in 1967 until 1980, is an English-born Australian pop singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, but has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he temporarily replaced Glenn Shorrock as lead singer of Little River Band from 1982 to 1985. In September 1986 his solo single, "You're the Voice" peaked at No. 1 on the Australian singles charts. The associated album, Whispering Jack, held the No. 1 position for a total of 25 weeks and is the highest-selling album in Australian history. Both the single and the album had Top Ten success internationally including No. 1 in Sweden.

Domestically he has remained one of Australia's best-known performers with a career spanning over 45 years, and he is the only Australian artist to have a number one record in five consecutive decades (echoing that of Cliff Richard in the UK) with singles: "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" in 1967, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" in 1969/1970, and "Age of Reason" in 1988; and albums: Age of Reason, Chain Reaction in 1990, Then Again... in 1993, Anthology 1: Greatest Hits 1986–1997 in 1997, 33⅓ in 2000, The Last Time in 2002 and Two Strong Hearts Live in 2015.

Suicide Squad

The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X (the name of a closely related but independent supervisory organization), is a name for two fictional organizations appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 (1959), and the second version, created by John Ostrander, debuted in Legends #3 (1987).

The modern Suicide Squad is an antihero "strike team" of incarcerated, death row supervillains. Acting as deniable, covert assets of the United States government, it undertakes high-risk, black-ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences. The group operates out of Belle Reve Penitentiary under the directorship of Amanda Waller.

The Suicide Squad functions as an unorthodox, work-release program, which explains why many of the DC Universe's supervillains remain perpetually on the loose – regardless how many occasions they're apprehended and incarcerated for their latest crimes.

Various incarnations of the Suicide Squad have existed throughout DC Universe canon, as depicted in several self-titled comic book series, from its origins in the Silver Age, to its modern-day post-Crisis reimagining, to the current version that was introduced in the wake of DC's 2011 New 52 continuity reboot.

Marilyn Manson

Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American musician, songwriter, actor, painter, multimedia artist, and former music journalist. He is known for his controversial stage personality and image as the lead singer of the band Marilyn Manson, which he co-founded with Daisy Berkowitz and of which he remains the only constant member. His stage name was formed by juxtaposing the names of two American cultural icons, namely actress Marilyn Monroe and murderer Charles Manson.

He is best known for his band's records released in the 1990s, most notably Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals, which along with his public image earned him a reputation in the mainstream media as a controversial figure and an allegedly negative influence on young people. In the U.S. alone, three of the band's albums have been awarded platinum and three more went gold, and the band has had eight releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums. Manson has been ranked number 44 in the Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists by Hit Parader, and has been nominated for four Grammy Awards.