| “ | YOU'LL pay for this! | „ |
| ~ The Sheriff of Rottingham |
Mervyn, better known as the Sheriff of Rottingham, is the secondary antagonist of the 1993 comedy film Robin Hood: Men In Tights. He is the corrupt right-hand of Prince John who enforces his unjust rule and seeks to kill Robin Hood and the Merry Men. In line with the film's comedic tone, the Sheriff is both incompetent and cowardly; a departure from most depictions of the original character.
He was portrayed by the late Roger Rees.
Biography[]
Along the way, Robin and his companions meet the Sheriff of Rottingham who chases a young boy to arrest him. The Sheriff asks Robin to deliver the boy to him but he refuses. A fight between him and his men ensues. After defeating him, they head for the forest. The Sheriff reports to his superior about the meeting with Robin Hood. Prince John visits the witch Latrina, who warns him of the new arrivals. Robin Hood arrives at a banquet hosted by the prince to declare war on him. There he also meets the beautiful Marion. The Sheriff calls his guards to fight Robin Hood but he defeats them and escapes from the castle.
One day, the Sheriff shows to his sovereign his secret project: a catapult. When he explains the functionment, one of the guards mistakenly understands the Sheriff ordered the test so he cuts the rop, propulsing the Sheriff in Latrina's house while she prays for him. Overjoyed, Latrina comes off strongly at him but he manages to flee.
Prince John imagines a ploy to finally capture Robin Hood. He organizes an archery competition, where Robin introduced himself as he expected. Of course, the hero wins, unfortunately he is also taken. He also foils an assassination attempt made by Don Giovanni, a mobster hired by the Sheriff to get rid of him. Desperate, Marion promises the sheriff herself and her hand in return for not showing her beloved. During the ceremony, the executioner adjusts Robin's neck strap. Surprised, Lady Marion asks the sheriff what this is supposed to mean, and he replies, "That's in case you change your mind." Fortunately, Apsik frees Robin with a well-targeted shot. Marion interrupts the marriage when she sees that her lover is free. The fight begins. The sheriff kidnaps Marion, but Robin follows him. He frees his beloved. Robin Hood accidentally impales him with his sword, but Latrine, the castle cook who is often mistaken for a witch, gives him a magic pill that saves him, but then he is forced to become her husband, much to his horror.
Personality[]
Due to the comedic nature of the film, the Sheriff of Rottingham may not be the most terrible incarnation of Robin Hood's infamous archenemy, but he is undeniably evil, arrogant and relentless, being an especially undemocratic, authoritative, power-hungry and tyrannical figure. The Sheriff of Rottingham is show to have a strange speaking problem, in which he will randomly make rambling, incoherent sentences by ether mispronouncing words or completely mangling the placement of the words in a sentence. Rottingham is shown, or at least implied, to have very little/no combat skills what so ever, always cowardly backing out of fights, accidentally breaking his own sword when drawing it and when he actually did fight Robin Hood, he stood absolutely no chance and relied on swinging randomly. This is most likely because, as stated by Robin himself, his father got him the job as sheriff, either that, or he was just joking.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Legends Movies Television | ||