Murdoc is a fictional character that appears in the ABC

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...

'' and in the CBS reboot series of the same name. In both portrayals, Murdoc is an

assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

and frequent

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Michael Des Barres. Murdoc is an

working for the Homicide International Trust, an international group of assassins. He appears in a total of nine episodes, being the most frequent

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Angus MacGyver's most frequent opponent, a member of Homicide International Trust (HIT) and master assassin who never fails – except when MacGyver gets involved. Murdoc is an accomplished pianist, a master of

disguise A disguise can be anything incognito which conceals one's identity or changes a person's physical appearance, including a wig, glasses, makeup, fake moustache, costume or other items. Camouflage is a type of disguise for people, animals and o ...

, as well as creative and highly skilled in the use of

booby trap A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or an animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may b ...

s. He is also fond of heavy weapons, including flamethrowers,

bazooka The Bazooka () is a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", th ...

s, and

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

. Murdoc's signature for each hit is to take photographs of his victim at the moment of their death. MacGyver first encountered Murdoc in 1980: Murdoc (disguised as a woman named Sarah) was being followed by Peter Thornton, and (after originally helping Murdoc escape by mistake) MacGyver saves Pete (and himself) from being blown up by two of Murdoc's helpers. Their interaction convinces Pete to hire MacGyver to work with him at the DXS. At the end of this encounter, Murdoc had apparently been killed. Murdoc's next appearance is seven years later; he has resurfaced to take revenge on MacGyver for foiling his plans during their first encounter. Murdoc's revenge scheme not only fails, but once again results in his apparent death. This became a recurring theme with the character: resurfacing after an apparent death, only to fail and appear to die again. This "near death" cycle occurred a total of six times throughout the series. He has survived, among other things, falling down an abandoned mine shaft, driving off a cliff in a car that exploded upon impact, having a collapsing building fall on him, being electrocuted and falling into a pool of flaming water, and falling thousands of feet off the sheer face of a mountain. His body was never found. Murdoc always screams "MacGyver!" at the moment of his "death", except in episode "Halloween Knights", where he and MacGyver act as allies. When Murdoc tried to retire following his repeated failures to deal with MacGyver, HIT refused to let him go, instead putting a hit out on him and eventually holding his sister hostage in an attempt to bring him in. To rescue her, Murdoc is forced to seek MacGyver's help. In this episode, it is revealed that he is terrified of snakes. He has over-the-top disguises and weapons complemented by a maniacal-smile persona that offer a touch of comic relief to the series. One signature giveaway is his wearing a death's head ring. He gets childlike joy from taunting his victims before he kills them using elaborate traps (which MacGyver can just manage to escape).

Chronology

Other appearances

2016 series

Murdoc is played by David Dastmalchian. As with the original series Murdoc is Angus MacGyver's frequent opponent who never fails – except when MacGyver gets involved, a master of

, creative and highly skilled in the use of

s, and fond of weapons. However, in this series he is initially a lone master assassin who later attempts to build a "Collective" recruiting other highly skilled assassins towards this goal.

Character biography

Nothing is initially known about Murdoc's childhood, but he later states that as a child he would rip the legs off

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s and then squish them for fun. He also claims his father was abusive and that he killed him. When Murdoc was in his early 20s he failed the psychiatric tests when attempting to enlist in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, and started working within foreign militaries in order to fulfill his desire to shoot and kill people. Eventually he was mentored by an assassin named Nicolas Helman, who Murdoc tells MacGyver and Jack Dalton he considers an even deadlier individual than himself. They end their partnership and later Murdoc accidentally killed Helman's wife during a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

between them. After becoming an assassin, but over a decade before his first encounter with MacGyver, Murdoc met a woman named Nadia who became

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

with his child and fell in love with him while he only felt she was "less repulsive than most humans". Soon after giving

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

to their child, Murdoc smothered her to death using a pillow, revealing she was his intended target all along. MacGyver's first known encounter with Murdoc is when Murdoc was hired to assassinate MacGyver by an initially unknown individual. He is then known as the international assassin Suspect 218, until he is formally introduced in his meeting of MacGyver's

roommate A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dorm-mate, suite-mate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Brit ...

Wilt Bozer and later to MacGyver himself. Murdoc is able to deceive Bozer long enough to enter MacGyver's home by pretending to be a "friend from work" there to see him. During a phone call MacGyver warns Bozer about Murdoc and his likely true intentions to kill him until Murdoc forces Bozer to end the call. Murdoc then subdues Bozer and uses one of Bozer's movie masks to hide his appearance when MacGyver returns. Murdoc is able to get the rest of MacGyver's Phoenix Team as hostages and demands that MacGyver surrender to him or he would kill the team. After a final showdown between the two, Murdoc loses and is

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...

ed by the Phoenix Foundation. At this time he refuses to reveal any other identity, and states he is Murdoc; this is actually the name of a previous victim, but the only name he will give them. Murdoc's next appearance is later that year; Riley Davis and Bozer visit him in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

to determine the identity of the mole within the Phoenix Foundation. Murdoc states he will not give them any information until they get him a rare first edition book. They do and Murdoc assists them by giving them all the information he has. Murdoc later helps MacGyver to impersonate him in order to find an individual being targeted and the person requesting the assassination. During the course of this event it is revealed that the leader of Phoenix, Matilda Webber, had found out about his now

teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

son, Cassian, who attends an exclusive

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is further revealed that while Murdoc does care for Cassian, sending him presents and keeping him safe, Cassian is unaware of his father's career as an assassin. At the end of the first season it is discovered that Murdoc was able to secretly hire an assassin to enter the Phoenix Foundation

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

to get revenge on MacGyver and team. While the entire team does survive the hired assassin, Murdoc is able to kill his prison guard and escape prison. During their next encounter Murdoc

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

and kidnaps MacGyver, holding him in an abandoned

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

and demanding to know Cassian's location. While MacGyver argues that Cassian would dislike him for what he has done, Murdoc responds saying "boys need their fathers" and uses MacGyver's recent searching for his father as

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...

. However, MacGyver refuses to disclose his location and eventually Murdoc leaves the room giving MacGyver an opportunity to escape through sewer

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s. When the Phoenix Foundation agents arrive they find a

picture An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be displayed through other media, including a proje ...

of a man named Henry Fletcher and assume he is a new target. While the team is at the warehouse, Murdoc calls Samantha Cage on the phone and after a brief conversation about their similarities, including the use of false names (something her team seems unaware of), he shoots Cage with a

sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...

. It is soon discovered that Cage was wearing a

bulletproof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or bullet-resistant vest, is a type of body armor designed to absorb impact and prevent the penetration of firearm projectiles and explosion fragments to the torso. The vest can be either soft ...

and survives. The team then determines that Fletcher is a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

who also is employed covertly as an assassin who makes his victims disappear. After arresting Fletcher, Murdoc frees Fletcher from a transport vehicle by using a

rocket launcher A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few i ...

, and leaves MacGyver trapped in the wreckage. After Murdoc

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

s Fletcher, he requests that he be his first recruit into his "collective" of assassins. After finding out Cage survived his earlier attempt to kill her, Murdoc makes a second attempt. This time he shot her at close range and left her to die alone. However, she was able to call MacGyver, who got her to a hospital where she recovered. Later Henry Fletcher requests and succeeds in receiving $10 million to hand Murdoc over to the Phoenix Foundation. After trading, Helman shows back up seeking revenge for killing his wife and reveals that Murdoc's real first name is Dennis. Murdoc is able to get away while they are hiding and during a moment when MacGyver is left alone by Dalton, both Murdoc and Helman reappear and Murdoc shoots MacGyver in the shoulder to get him out of the way and then kills Helman. He then surrenders and requests to see his son in return for saving MacGyver's life. When he sees Cassian he asks him to put on an earlier present he sent him,

headphones Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an ...

, and turn up his favorite

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

as loud as he wants. While his son is distracted he kills the guards using a pencil sharpener

blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

and flees with his son. He then drives to Fletcher's apartment and kills him after implying his plan is to kill all those members of his Collective that betrayed him.

Cameo

The original Murdoc, Michael Des Barres, portrayed Murdoc's mentor, Nicolas Helman, in the 2016 series.

References

{{MacGyver MacGyver characters Fictional assassins Fictional murderers Fictional mass murderers Television characters introduced in 1987