Peter Pan

"Come on boys... Let's play."

- Pan to his Lost Boys

Peter Pan, previously known as the Fugitive Boy and the Pied Piper, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the first episode of the third season. He is portrayed by guest star Robbie Kay, and is the Neverland alias of Malcolm.

Peter Pan is based on the character with the same name from the play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. He also takes the place of the titular character from the legend of the "Pied Piper of Hamelin".

History
Peter Pan, then a grown adult named Malcolm, comes to Neverland from the Enchanted Forest with his son, Rumplestiltskin. Having spent time in Neverland through dreams in his boyhood, he is horrified to discover flying is no longer possible for him. After being told by the island's only inhabitant, a Shadow, that grown-ups don't belong in Neverland, he becomes so desperate to regain youth and abandons Rumplestiltskin. By severing familial ties with his son, Malcolm is transformed, in a burst of green light, into an adolescent boy. As Rumplestiltskin is whisked away by the Shadow back to the Enchanted Forest, he drops a straw doll that his father once gave him. Malcolm, now younger than ever, picks the doll up. From that day onward, he assumes the name Rumplestiltskin gave the doll—Peter Pan. Then, the Shadow leads Pan to Skull Rock to show him a large hourglass filled with sand slowly pouring to the bottom. The creature warns that even immortal youth comes with a price, and the day all the sand runs out is the day he will die.
 * -|Before the Curse=

One day, Pan sees two men, Captain Liam Jones and Lieutenant Killian Jones, arrive to the island by ship and then paddle to the shoreline on a small boat. He approaches to ask them if they are lost, to which the two draw their swords at him. After Pan affirms he lives on the island, Liam introduces himself and his brother while briefing on their mission, on orders of the king, to procure a specific healing plant, Dreamshade. As Pan looks at the plant drawing, he attests Dreamshade is dangerous and comments that their king must be really ruthless, though both Liam and Killian don't believe him. However, Pan presses the plant only leads to doom and exemplifies how easy it is to kill an entire army with poison instead of a messy onslaught of bloodshed in battle. Killian begins doubting their king, but Liam snatches the drawing back and the two brothers head to Dead Man's Peak. After Liam purposely cuts himself with Dreamshade and passes out, Pan helps Killian heal him by allowing passage to the island' remedial spring. As a catch, Pan gives a fair warning that they should not leave Neverland unless willing to pay the price of magic. Killian promises whatever the price, he'll give it. Pan remains silent and disappears after Killian hurries back to deliver the water to Liam, who is completely healed by it, but upon their venture out of Neverland's waters, he dies a sudden and fatal death.

Lonely by himself in Neverland, Pan concocts a way to gather children from the Enchanted Forest who can become his companions and come back with him to his world. Using a magic pan flute, the song draws in boys from the town of Hamelin as well as Rumplestiltskin's son, Baelfire, who longs for freedom and friends. Pan gains Baelfire's trust and informs him beforehand of a deal he is going to make with Rumplestiltskin. He states the deal will force Rumplestiltskin to allow Baelfire to decide, out of free will, to stay in the Enchanted Forest or leave for Neverland. Pan tells Baelfire this will prove that Rumplestiltskin cares and trusts him. When Rumplestiltskin finally arrives to confront him, Pan has a long awaited reunion with the son he left behind so many years ago. He explains his reason for being in the Enchanted Forest, and notes only certain boys, those filled with loneliness can hear the instrument's music, which explains why Rumplestiltskin heard it as well. Knowing Rumplestiltskin all too well, Pan accuses him of craving power, though he is nothing but an unloved, lonely lost boy. Additionally, he knows what Rumplestiltskin fears more than anything that Baelfire will leave him just like everyone else has. Pan presents the deal to Rumplestiltskin, stating that if Baelfire chooses out of his own free will to stay, he will respect the decision and leave for Neverland. Much to his ire, Rumplestiltskin finds Baelfire and transports him home instead.

Pan brings back many of the boys with him to the island as companions. Through an unknown method, he discovers it is possible to maintain his immortality by having the heart of the truest believer and ends up with a parchment drawing of a young boy. At one time, the Shadow brings back a girl, Wendy, to Neverland, but she goes home the night after. Then, the Shadow attempts to bring back one of Wendy's brothers for Pan, but Baelfire protects the family of siblings by condoning himself to Neverland instead. In guilt, Wendy travels back to the island in an attempt to rescue Baelfire, and in turn, her brothers, John and Michael, follow to save her. Pan entraps Wendy as his prisoner; forcing John and Michael to do his bidding or lest their sister will come to harm. To bind the two brothers to servitude, when they age into adulthood, he keeps them from aging any further.

In an unknown fashion, Pan pins the heart of the truest believer's location in the Land Without Magic in the city of Boston. Since the child was recently born and given up for adoption, he has his minions, John and Michael, apply as potential adoptive parents. The plan nearly succeeds when Regina, who adopted the child, almost gives him up and leaves John and Michael as the next potential parents, but she changes her mind at the last moment.
 * -|During the Curse=

Throughout Pan's search for boy possessing the heart of the truest believer, he uses a fake organization name, the Home Office, and enlists Greg and Tamara as employees. Though they have always been given the pretense their mission is to destroy magic, the two meet a gruesome end after bringing Henry to Neverland. As the Lost Boys give chase after Henry, Pan pulls him to safety. He masquerades as an ex-Lost Boy to gain Henry's trust and shows him a vial of pixie dust that was supposedly stolen from Pan with the intent to fly off the island. They decide to head to the Echo Caves where they can't be tracked. On the way there, their path ends up blocked by the Lost Boys, so they run and meet a dead end at a cliff edge. Pan suggests forfeiting the pixie dust to the Lost Boys in exchange for their lives, but Henry grabs the vial. They leap off the cliff, at which Henry uncaps the vial to pour the dust out, allowing both of them to gain the ability to fly. Once they ascend to the ground, Pan changes his demeanor, and surprises Henry by knowing his name. He reveals himself as Pan and states Henry's importance as he has the heart of the truest believer. As he pulls out a blade, Pan calls forth the other Lost Boys to surround and close in on a dumbfounded Henry.
 * -|After Broken Curse=

After capturing Henry, Pan pays a nighttime visit to Emma by drawing her into the jungle with voices. He introduces himself to her, prompting a defensive reaction from Emma, who demands to know where Henry is. He allows her just that by handing over a map to find Henry. Unsure of his motives, she grills him on why he’s giving it to her. With a smile, Pan verifies it’s not about finding Henry, but how Emma finds him as well as the fact she’s the only one who can. Though the parchment is blank, Pan guarantees it will work once Emma stops denying who she really is. He disappears and later dresses himself in Henry's clothes at a location in the Dark Jungle as a decoy if Emma chooses to cheat at his game. Unsurprisingly, Emma and her other party members end up finding him, which prompts Pan to engage the Lost Boys into battle with them. For several minutes, he allows the battle to go on until signaling with a whistle for the Lost Boys to return to his side. Before leaving, Pan repeats his previous instructions to Emma. When she finally unveils the map, Pan pays her another unannounced visit while she is scourging for berries. He commends Emma for beating his game and even nicknames her "lost girl", but also briefs on the reason for the test. He implicates that she hasn't forgiven her parents for their abandonment, and surprisingly, accuses Emma of bestowing Henry with the same feelings. Pan threatens that by the time she reaches Henry, he will never want to leave Neverland. He also leaves her with one last alarming detail—by the end of all this, she won't just feel like an orphan, but also be one.

When Henry wakes up, Pan allows him to try his hand at target practice by hitting an placed apple on Felix's head. He eggs Henry on as the Lost Boys begin chanting for him to do it. Tentatively, Henry readies his aim at the apple as Pan promises him the act will be “exhilarating”. At the last moment, he changes his target and fires the shaft at Pan, who catches the arrow with ease. Instead of being angry, Pan looks at Henry with satisfaction and pulls him away to show him something. As the move away to sit on a log, Pan explains the benefits of Neverland as a place no one ever tells anyone what to do. Henry doesn't think he belongs on the island, but Pan states they have all been waiting for him for a very long time. He exemplifies that Neverland runs on the power of belief, but Henry’s world is no longer full of magic because the people there have stopped believing. Pan calls Henry the savior of magic, and believes it was not a coincidence that a child was born from the greatest of light and dark. Then, Pan takes out a piece of rolled up paper, containing a drawing of Henry, and gives it to him. Pan guarantees once it’s opened, Henry will understand why he believes him to be the hero that magic so desperately needs. After accepting the paper, Henry tosses it to the ground and says he doesn't believe him. Smirking, Pan conveys Henry’s likeness to his father and leaves.

During the night, the Lost Boys rejoice with music and dance in celebration of Henry's arrival, but Pan notices the savior of magic himself isn't joining in. He tries to encourage him with a pan flute song, but Henry is unable to hear the instrument, surprising Pan. From the corner, Pan sees Felix return to camp after going to capture Baelfire, now called Neal, who came back to the island for Henry. Felix brings news of Neal's escape, and his discovery of some of their unconscious sentries who were knocked out by a sleeping spell. From this, Pan gathers that Mr. Gold and Neal have reunited and joined forces. Though Felix advises moving Henry to another location before the duo snatch him back, Pan is not afraid of them. When Mr. Gold infiltrates the camp, everyone is put to sleep except for Pan himself. Early on, he calls out a hiding Neal, who then aims and fires an arrow, which Pan catches in his fist by the shaft. Pan commends him for being clever, but realizes too late that Neal coated the arrow's shaft, not the tip, with squid ink. As they make off with an unconscious Henry, Pan mentions the prophecy that Mr. Gold wants to keep from coming true by murdering the boy. Once Neal learns the whole truth about Mr. Gold's previous ploy to kill Henry to prevent the prophecy, he leaves on his own with Henry. Pan and the Lost Boys corner him and steal Henry back. He laments over Neal’s decision to leave Mr. Gold and doing so made him vulnerable without protection, however, if they had not separated, Henry would be the one in danger. Even though Neal intends to do whatever it takes to get Henry back, Pan points out the real problem is no one walks off the island without his leave. Neal boasts he already did that once before, but is left unsure when Pan reminds him where he is now and everyone is exactly where they should be. At the sound of Henry groggily waking up, Pan ushers some of the Lost Boys to take a shouting Neal away to an unknown holding location. Returning Henry to camp, Henry wakes up and seems to recall hearing his father calling him, which is impossible since he's dead. Pan gives comforts Henry with the knowledge that it makes sense for him to dream about both things lost as well as hopes of his family coming to rescue him, but soon he will find new things to dream of that will come true. He shares his own experience of having once done that, revealing Neverland as a place where new dreams are born and believes Henry can bring that magic back. He also offers up himself and the Lost Boys as Henry's new family. Then, Pan announces he will be playing a song in honor of Henry. This time, Henry hears the pipe notes and is drawn into the dancing crowd.

From the sidelines, Pan watches another Lost Boy, Devin, push Henry into a duel. Impressed by Henry's quickness in using a stick to block Devin's attacks, he persuades him to use his power of belief to create a real sword. A moment later, the wooden stick in Henry's hand melts into a sharp, gleaming sword. Armed with a better weapon, Henry easily under minds his opponent's skill in defending himself as the crowd of Lost Boys cheer in approval; slashing Devin's spear to pieces as well as drawing a cut on his cheek. Henry, not meaning to take things so far, is quick to apologize and drops his sword in dismay. Still, Pan promises that Lost Boys never have to apologize while placing the sword back in Henry's hand, then raises the boy's arm into the air as the camp entourage roar in approval. At Dead Man's Peak, Pan proposes a deal for Hook to come back and work for him like in the old days. Hook is not interested, so Pan offers to give him and Emma a safe way out of Neverland. Hook is adamant that Emma could never leave her son behind. Since she already did once, Pan suggests if it happens again, Hook can be there to help her pick up the pieces. While Hook continues to show little care for the deal, Pan can distinguish the pirate is indeed interested since he is a survivalist, which makes self-preservation very important. To affirm Hook is in on their arrangement, he wants him to kill David at the top of the peak. Hook reasons that either way David will die from the effects of Dreamshade, but Pan wants to see him murdered in cold blood. Hook answers by challenging his authority, so Pan reminds him of what happened the last time he came to the island and didn't listen, alluding to the mishap with the pirate's brother. Hook disobeys him and saves David's life instead of committing butchery. In the jungle, Pan confronts him about the rejected offer. Hook is happy to say he doesn't need his help with Emma. Pan mocks him for thinking one little kiss means anything, though Hook perceives Emma is finally seeing who he really is. To this, Pan defines him as a one-handed pirate with a drinking problem, which sounds less than appealing. Hook murmurs he is a man of honor, so Pan presents a conflict with his budding romance—Neal is alive and in Neverland. He leaves it up to Hook to tell Emma the news or not. Regrouping with Felix, Pan checks up on a caged and drugged up Neal. He orders for their prisoner to be strung up beside another cage holding someone else.

Pan interrupts Mr. Gold while he is attempting to use foresight to look into the future to tell him it's not possible on the island since Neverland is a place where time stands still. Mr. Gold promises that he may not be able to see the future, but can make one happen. Pan looks dubious at his threat, stating he made Mr. Gold his favorite breakfast, eggs in a basket, which are actively cooking on a pan over the low campfire and that he looks like he needs it. Mr. Gold insists he's fine, but Pan names all the things that have happened since; losing Neal again and getting Henry is out of the question because he simply doesn't have enough power to go through with the sacrifice. Pan brings up the silver lining in Mr. Gold's cloudy life, which the latter believes is by killing him, all troubles will be gone. At this, Pan laughs because the only possible way is for that to happen is if Mr. Gold dies as well. To complicate matters, Pan raises the subject that even if Neal and Henry are saved, there's no point it in since they will never forgive him for all of his horrible deeds, especially since Mr. Gold himself never forgot how his own father abandoned him. On the bright side, Pan thinks it'd be a good idea for him to go back to Belle in Storybrooke and have a new child with her as it'll be the only future he can have without dying. Later, on higher ground, Pan observes through a mini-telescope of Emma's group movements towards finding Neal. He jokes that they look so determined to find their missing friend. After Felix prompts him, Pan commands for Neal to be placed in the Echo Cave.

During a quiet evening by the campfire, Pan senses someone leaving Neverland. Felix wants to know how they are going to stop it, though Pan already knows it's too late for that. Instead, Pan is going to send word to their friends on the ground in Storybrooke, John and Michael Darling, and let them handle the matter, even if it moves their plan up a notch. Additionally, he stresses they need to get Henry ready by letting him have a chat with the person in the other cage, Wendy. With that matter taken care of, Pan invites Henry on a stroll to somewhere special he'd like to show him. Henry refuses and calls him out for lying since his family is in Neverland, though he won't say how he found out. Pan goes for Henry's weak spot by raising the question of why his family hasn't come for him if they are on the island. Henry thinks he is purposely keeping them away, though Pan swears he's done no such thing. In disbelief, Henry promises to find out whatever he is hiding and leaves camp. Felix observes that they are losing Henry's trust. Pan forms a plan to trick Henry into believing he absolutely has to accept his role as savior of magic or else. Suspecting Henry is eavesdropping, Pan assigns Felix to deliver supplies to the other side of the island. Then, he goes to release Wendy and instructs her to feign ill health and make Henry believe she is dying as a result of the depletion of the island's magic. He sets Wendy up in a bedroom as Henry is unknowingly being led to her location by trailing Felix. When Wendy finishes playing her part, Pan steps out from behind a curtain to congratulate her acting skills in softening Henry up with stories of his father. Guiltily, she sits up to express disdain in lying to Henry. Rather than that, Pan considers what she did as providing motivation for Henry to do what must be done for all of them. While Henry has the heart of the truest believer, Pan is carefully calculating how he can control that belief. Wendy asks what he needs Henry to believe in. Pan confirms Henry has to be believe in him and then commands Wendy to go back into her cage. Afterwards, he approaches Henry in the wilderness. Pan reasons he did not tell Henry about Wendy because it'd be a burden on him. Henry wants to save her, so Pan brings him to a rocky shore near Skull Rock. Pan explicates that the inside of Skull Rock is where their salvation awaits and only Henry can bring it out, despite that the task won't be easy, as it will require heroism and sacrifice. Henry agrees to help.

In another game of pretend to reinforce Henry's resolve to save magic, he has Wendy lie down on a cot and feign sickness. Then, he and Henry take a rowboat to Skull Rock. Once they are past the steps leading upstairs, Pan draws a line on the ground, which will keep out anyone with a shadow, except for Mr. Gold. Before they can begin, Pan goes to take care of Mr. Gold, who has just reached the top of the staircase with Pandora's Box in hand. Pan attempts a heartfelt father-to-son conversation with Mr. Gold to affirm he does indeed care for him. He asks Mr. Gold to choose him instead so they can start over, but this is met with refusal. To counter him, Pan pulls out an identical Pandora's Box and gleefully reveals he possesses the real one while Mr. Gold is holding a fake. At once, he opens the box and successfully contains Mr. Gold within it. Returning to the task at hand, Pan necessities to Henry that he needs his heart to save magic. At first, Henry takes the meaning figuratively, thinking he simply needs to have a strong belief, but Pan clears up the misunderstanding. When Henry asks what will happen to him after sacrificing his heart, Pan talks about the legacy he'll be leaving behind as a great hero, but then admits the greater price is not being able to leave the island. Henry is willing to make the sacrifice, so Pan magically enchants his hand. With encouragement, Henry reaches to take out his own heart, which Emma, Mr. Gold, Neal and Regina rush up just in time to witness. They plead to Henry that Pan is feeding him lies. For a moment, Henry considers it, even though Pan presses that his family is lying because they don't want him to give up his own heart for the greater good. Henry chooses to disobey his family and shoves the heart into Pan's chest. As Henry collapses, Pan gains what he always wanted—the heart of the truest believer.

Pan relishes in the fact Henry gave him his heart out of free will while also revealing to Emma, Neal and Regina that Mr. Gold is now trapped within Pandora's Box. Emma nicks Pan with her sword, though he flies off shortly after to his "thinking tree" at Pixie Woods. He leaves the box out in open sight as a trap when Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina arrive, to which they are ensnared to a tree by vines. Pan muses about the importance of the "thinking tree" to him as he abandoned his child at the same place, and acknowledges to them that Mr. Gold as his son. The trio are unable to free themselves and are further warned by Pan that the tree will attack people who feel regret. Pan pushes Emma towards that emotion by detailing the disappointment he feels in Henry's heart, which is currently in his own chest, every time she let him down. When Mary Margaret intervenes, he berates her actions of abandoning Emma for twenty-eight years. However, the only one who cares naught for anything Pan has to say is Regina. She admits to having done the most vile and cruel things to people, but is filled with no regrets in the least since it got her Henry. Regina snaps herself and her allies free from the tree to tear out Henry's heart from his chest. Pan collapses out of weakness as Regina also picks up the box. Though beaten, he is not yet finished and materializes below deck on the Jolly Roger after Henry's heart has been restored to him. He threatens the boy with a dagger and moves to take his heart again, but a spell prevents him from pulling it out. Not ready to give up, Pan begins ripping out Henry's shadow until a recently freed Mr. Gold opens Pandora's Box to suck him in. Moments before he is taken into the box, Pan continues to cling onto Henry's shadow. Unseen to Mr. Gold, Pan secretly exchanges bodies with Henry. As Henry, he leaves for the upper level of the ship as they are flying back to Storybrooke and offers a disenchanted Felix a plate of food. Felix pushes him away until Henry gives proof of himself as Pan.

Upon arrival in Storybrooke, Pan has Henry's family lock up Felix for safety reasons. He is presented with a storybook of Henry's and feigns recognition of it when Emma picks up on his strange reaction. While spending the night over Regina's house, he flips through the storybook and sees a photo of the Evil Queen's vault. To Regina, he pleads for the necessity of magic in her vault to protect himself from Pan. She stresses that Pan will never break free of the box, and that magic isn't the answer to everything. After she is gone, Pan opens the window and releases a trapped Shadow from the ship sail. The next day, the Shadow kills Mother Superior, which leads everyone to suspect Pan is controlling the creature from inside the box. Regina takes "Henry" into her vault for protection. Once inside, he knocks her unconscious with a substance and steals a spell for the Dark Curse. He escapes to the outskirts of town with Felix with the intention of using the curse.

At nightfall, he and Felix go to the wishing well to begin dropping all the curse's ingredients in. As the last necessity, Pan needs the heart of the thing he loves most. Pan takes Felix's heart because he has always been most loyal to him, and sacrifices it. Shortly after the curse is cast, Pan finds himself switched back to his original body and awakens in Mr. Gold's pawnshop with a magic absorbing cuff on his wrist. Unknown to Mr. Gold, the cuff has no effect on Pan. When given the opportunity by Mr. Gold to be remorseful, Pan can only recall his son as an infant, who, throughout the years, took away everything he ever desired; whether it be freedom, money, time, dreams and the like. As Mr. Gold prepares to kill him with a sword, Pan rips off the cuff and materializes it on the latter's wrist. He shows his authority by magically throwing Mr. Gold into a shelf and reveals his intentions of the latter's loved ones, namely Belle and Neal, after the curse fogs their memories. As a last word, he insults Mr. Gold as a degraded coward without his magic to hide behind. Pan accosts the rest of the townspeople on the street and steals the Dark Curse scroll while freezing all of them in place. Pan chooses Neal as first kill just when Mr. Gold stops him by summoning the dagger from his own shadow. He stabs Pan, as well as himself, with it. On the brink of death, Pan melts away in darkened smoke as Malcolm takes his place momentarily before both he and Mr. Gold fade out of existence.

Trivia

 * The casting call describes him as, "in his teens, and is a mischievous and devious Lost Boy."
 * The casting call name for him was "Rufio".
 * Dreamy's drinking stein has an illustration of The Pied Piper.
 * The name "Peter" is of Greek origin rooted in the word "petros", meaning stone.
 * The name "Pan" is of Greek origin derived from the same word meaning "shepherd".

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.