Peter Pan

"Peter Pan never fails."

- Felix

Peter Pan, previously known as Malcolm, is a supporting character on Once Upon a Time. When he was a boy, he would visit the magical land of Neverland in his dreams and became obsessed with the prospect of flying. But then he grew up and had a son named Rumplestiltskin, someone to remind Malcolm that he was no longer a child and could no longer visit Neverland. Opportunity soon arose, however, and father and son, by aid of a magic bean, returned to the land in which they would never grow up, but Malcolm still couldn't fly. To overcome the setback of being an adult, he sacrificed his son to the mysterious shadow, sending him back to the Enchanted Forest whilst regaining his own youth, adopting the new identity of Peter Pan. But like all magic, this came with a price - Pan's youth and life-force became contained within an hourglass, and should it run out, Malcolm will die. This inspired him to begin his grand search for the heart of the truest believer, so that he could fully gain immortality. In the meantime, he got lonely, and so he kidnapped children from around the realms, naming them Lost Boys and making himself their leader.

Before the Curse
"A child can't have a child, Rumple."

Rumplestiltskin, a young boy, witnesses his father Malcolm get beaten up by a peasant when he attempts to scam him via a card trick, something his lowlife father is adept at. After giving him a straw doll and telling him to name it, Malcolm gets his son a job with a couple of spinsters, where Rumple discovers his talent for spinning at the wheel. However Rumple comes to the bar looking for his father and finds Malcolm up to the usual, drinking and running con games. The father claims to have been taking a break in his quest of looking for a job, but Rumple doesn't believe him and presents to his father a magical bean that the spinsters gave him. The young boy explains that the bean can take them anywhere they would like, that they can seek a fresh start. Malcolm speaks fondly of the place he visited in his dreams as a child, and wants to go there, so the bean is dropped, a portal opens, and the two of them make their way to Neverland. Here, you can do anything so long as you can believe it, but Malcolm is disappointed when he's unable to fly, realizing that he'll need pixie dust to do so. Malcolm climbs a high tree in order to collect some dust from the flowers at the top, and whilst he's up there, he makes a deal with the island's only resident: the shadow. Rumple waits at the bottom, scared something terrible has happened to his father, but Malcolm soon returns, telling Rumple that he can't fly because he's not a boy. However, due to the deal he made with the shadow, he will be one soon, and leaving Rumple is the price for that. The shadow then takes Rumple away, causing the boy to drop his straw doll in the process, whilst Malcolm is turned young again by pixie dust, able to stay on Neverland for the rest of his days. Malcolm picks up his son's doll and decides to call his new self after the doll - Peter Pan. He then makes his way to the cave of Skull Rock, where the shadow shows him an hourglass and explains that it represents the magic that is providing Malcolm with youth, and when it runs out Peter Pan will die. The shadow adds that Malcolm broke the rules in trying to stay here forever, but he retorts that rules are meant to be broken and that he will find a way to live forever, because he believes.

Captain Liam Jones sets sail on his ship, accompanied by his trustworthy crew and his lieutenant Killian Jones - who also happens to be his younger brother - to the far off Neverland, under instructions of the King to bring back a plant that could heal any ailments. Once they reach the island, the Jones brothers are told by the land's only resident, Peter Pan, that the plant, Dreamshade, is actually very poisonous and deadly, and that the King must plan on using it to fight wars. Whereas Killian is wary, Liam doesn't buy the young man's tale. They reach the plant, and Liam cuts himself with it to prove his brother wrong... and then drops to the floor, close to dying. Pan shows up to the desolate Killian and lets him know of a spring with magic healing waters that could save his brother, but warns him that magic always comes with a price, and he should be prepared to pay it. Pan opens the path to the spring, and Killian, who took his warning to mean that they should pay the young man for the access, saves his brother by making him drink the water. Liam is healed, but when Killian wants to give Pan his payment, the kid is nowhere to be found. Once they return from the island, back into the ocean waters of their realm, ready to expose the King as a coward, Liam is once again overcome with the poison of the Dreamshade plant and dies. Apparently, the water's healing powers, stemming from the core of Neverland, only work there: once someone leaves, the ailments that afflicted them return.

Peter Pan makes his way to the small Enchanted Forest town of Hamelin where his uses his magical pipe to lure away children who feel abandoned or unloved. When he leads them away, he also snatches up Baelfire, son of Rumplestiltskin, and these boys all dance around a bonfire together. The next night, when Pan lures away a second load of children, Rumple himself is able to hear the pipe's music also, and so follows it to its source. He arrives at the bonfire where he is surprised to learn that the Pied Piper's identity is his father/old friend/enemy Peter Pan. Rumple demands that his son be given back to him, and Pan offers the Dark One a deal: if Rumple asks Bae to return home, and Bae says yes, then Pan will gladly let them go. However, if Bae declines the offer, then Pan will take him to Neverland, a place from which he will never return, where he will become a member of the newly founded Lost Boys. But when Rumple finds his son, he doesn't ask him a thing, and simply uses magic to transport the two of them back home. Peter Pan assures Rumplestiltskin that he's going to regret not taking his deal.

Peter Pan's shadow is sent to collect a boy from the Darling house, and Wendy Darling and her brothers are fascinated by its magic. It visits them many nights, but when Wendy tells the new addition of their family, Baelfire, about the shadow, he warns her against it, believing magic to be bad. When the shadow comes that night, it wants to take Wendy to Neverland, but Bae doesn't like this. He tries to wrestle Wendy away from the shadow but it ends up flying away with her, with Wendy declaring that Bae just doesn't believe. She returns the next morning devastated. She tells Bae that the children the shadow takes to Neverland never come home, and that the only reason she was returned is because it wanted a boy; Bae assures her that this won't happen. When the shadow returns that night, Bae attempts to defend Wendy and her brothers, but Michael 's left stranded in the middle of the room when the others hide. Needing to save him, Baelfire offers himself over, and the shadow takes the boy and flies away with him. As Bae and the shadow approach Neverland, Bae gets an idea and lights a match; this then makes the shadow confused and he drops Bae into the ocean. The shadow searches around a little but is unable to find Baelfire, and so gives up and flies back to the main island. Bae is picked up by Captain Hook and his crew and Peter Pan sends his Lost Boys to go and search the Jolly Roger. They are unable to find Bae, but as events transpire, Hook hands the boy over, and Bae is taken to the island. Here, he is deemed to not be the boy that Pan was looking for, as he is in fact after Henry Mills. Sometime after this, Pan allows Captain Hook and Smee to travel into the Enchanted Forest for an order of cakes.

Season 3
"Let's play!"

Henry arrives in Neverland, his hands tied with a cable tie, accompanied by his captors, Greg and Tamara, who inform him of where they are. They try to contact the Home Office, but find that the communicator given to them was false. They then set up a fireplace in the woods, and are found by the Lost Boys, who reveal to be the Home Office. Realizing they have been duped, Greg and Tamara refuse to hand Henry over to them, but a shadow descends from the sky and rips Greg's own shadow away from his body, and Tamara is shot with an arrow by a Lost Boy. However, Henry manages to get away, and is intercepted by a young man, who claims to be an escapee, and that he is being sought after because he stole pixie dust that doesn't even work. The two try to make it to the Echo Caves, per the boy's suggestion, where they can allegedly escape their chasers. However, they reach a dead end: a gorge. The young man looks hopeless, but Henry takes his pixie dust from him and says that magic needs to be believed in in order to work. He grabs the boy, and together they jump over the gorge. The pixie dust then kicks in and they immediately start flying over Neverland, and away from the Lost Boys. They reach their destination, but Henry is confused when the boy addresses him by his name, which he had never revealed before. The young man who "rescued" him reveals himself to be none other than Peter Pan, the villain who arranged for Henry to be brought to him, by lying to Greg and Tamara. He wants to play a game, a puzzle to solve... Pan explains that for a very long time he has sought after something very important and elusive: the heart of the truest believer. And he now knows that Henry possesses that heart, and now he and his heart are Pan's. He calls the Lost Boys, who circle Henry, and tells them, "Let's play!"

As she tries to sleep on their first night in Neverland, Emma is awoken by cries coming from nowhere and gets up, only to meet the infamous Peter Pan, who was curious to know who he was up against. Emma pins him against a tree and demands to be told where Henry is, but Pan turns the situation around by giving her a blank map that will reveal to her Henry's location once she stops denying who she really is. He disappears, and Emma is left to try and solve the riddle, so she accepts things that she had a hard time accepting in the past, like being the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and being the "savior". However, the blank parchment remains blank. Emma can't understand why it didn't work, and Regina, fed up, enchants the map so that it takes them to Pan. This works, however, Pan doesn't appreciate them having cheated, so the gang is circled by the Lost Boys, who attack. In the meantime, David saves Mary Margaret from getting hit with an arrow and it hits him instead, apparently grazing his jacket. During the attack, Emma pins down a Lost Boy and forcefully demands to know where Henry is, but when she sees the look on the scared boy's face, she backs off. Pan and his army leave, and later, Mary Margaret comes to have a talk with Emma, as she tries to make the map reveal itself, and asks about the boy and why she let him go. Emma reveals that she related to the boy, because she's always felt and still feels like an orphan. They're both hurt as they say this, but Snow tells her daughter it's her job to change that for her. In the meantime, the map finally appears, indicating Henry's location. Pan then shows up and taunts Emma again, telling her that Henry hasn't forgiven her for giving him up either, and that by the time they're done, Henry won't want to leave Neverland, and Emma will not only feel like an orphan... she will be one. This said, David walks away from the group to reveal that he was indeed scratched by the poisoned arrow, and it's working its toxin on him.

The Jolly Roger crew continues their search for Pan's camp in the woods of Neverland, but realize that Pan is moving it. Meanwhile, Henry lies sleeping under a large tree but is awoken by the villain, who throws an apple at him. Henry claims not to like apples - a family thing. Pan points out that it's not for eating, but rather for a game, a game he calls "target practice" - something he says as he points a crossbow at Henry's face. As they prepare for the game, Henry witnesses Pan soaking an arrow in Dreamshade poison, and the villain recounts that there's a lot of stories there of a man who once shot an apple over his son's head. Henry asks what the poison is for, if they're shooting at the apple, and Pan replies that it's for motivation. Pan calls out for Felix then, and Henry worries about the latter's aim, but the Lost Boys' leader explains Henry will be the one shooting the arrow, and that it's exhilarating. Felix plants the apple over his head and everyone chants for Henry to shoot. He does, but aims at Pan instead. The latter grabs the arrow mid-air, and is amused by Henry's attempt to harm him. Later, Pan and Henry have a talk, where the former tells the latter that the thing about Neverland is there is nobody to tell them "no". Henry points out that he doesn't belong there, and Pan explains that they've been waiting for him for a very long time, since before he was born. He goes on to say that Neverland runs on belief, but every other world has stopped believing in magic, and Henry's destiny is to return the magic, and be the savior. Henry recounts that his mother is the savior, but Pan counter-argues that maybe what makes her the savior is having given birth to him. He is the descend of both light (the Charming lineage) and darkness (the Dark One's bloodline). He says Henry was created for a reason, and he can help him find it. Pan then gives him a scroll that proves his belief on why Henry's the hero magic has been waiting for. Henry takes it but says he doesn't believe him, to which Pan replies that Henry reminds him of his father. Later, Henry looks at the parchment and sees an old drawing of himself... the one Pan and his Lost Boys used as reference when they were searching for him. Meanwhile, Pan's shadow is summoned to the Enchanted Forest to get Robin Hood's son, as part of Neal's plan to get to Neverland. Neal goes with the shadow himself and is told by Felix that Pan will be happy to see him again.

When the Lost Boys are vigorously celebrating around a campfire in Pan's compound, it upsets Pan to see that Henry isn't joining in with the festivities, especially considering the fact that the party is being held in his honor. Henry points out that there's nothing to celebrate, and Pan again tells the boy that he is the savior who will save magic. Pan then decides to play Henry a tune from his pipe (the music from which can only be heard by those who feel abandoned or unloved), but Henry is unable to hear anything, much to Pan's dismay. Pan is then aggravated to learn that Baelfire, who's in fact alive and returned to the island to save Henry, has escaped Felix's custody and is on the loose. A sleeping spell is soon cast over the camp, knocking out Henry and the Lost Boys but not Pan, and Rumple, who cast the spell, walks in with Neal. Neal uses magical squid ink to immobilize Pan and take Henry, however, when Neal learns of the prophecy stating that Henry will be Rumple's undoing, he uses the squid ink to immobilize his father also in fear that he'll kill Henry to protect himself. Neal then sets off alone with his son over his shoulder, but he is soon ambushed by Lost Boys, who take Henry back. Pan tells Baelfire that the game has changed, and back at the camp, Henry wakes up, being told by his captor that he merely dropped off for a catnap. The Mills boy says that he dreamt of his father, who he believes to be dead, whilst he was asleep, and Pan offers his condolences, commenting that it makes sense to dream of the people he's lost, and what he hopes for, such as his father being alive or his mother coming to find him, when neither are going to come true. Pan tells his captive that Neverland is a place where new dreams were born and that he and the Lost Boys can be his new family. The demon child proceeds to play his magical pipes and, this time, Henry is able to hear the music the produce. The young boy then merrily dances around the campfire with the rest of the Lost Boys, and Peter Pan is thrilled.

At Pan's compound, Henry is again seen sitting by himself, distancing himself from the activities of the other Lost Boys, until one of them, Devin, comes in and starts poking him with his weapon and asking if he's the boy Peter has been looking for all this time. Henry defends himself from Devin's provocation by grabbing a stick and engaging in a feigned swordfight with him. Pan shows up and gets Henry to believe he's holding a real sword... which he does, and it works. Henry then swordfights the other kid using an actual sword, and winds up cutting him on the cheek, leading the other Lost Boys to cheer him on, and Henry himself to join them in the cheers. Later, while Charming is lecturing Hook again, the prince finds part of Hook's brother's old satchel. Hook then tells the prince that they may be able to find a sextant atop of a mountain where his brother's satchel will be. After saying goodbye, the duo make their way to the top of the mountain. Hook climbs up first and is then met by Peter Pan, who offers Hook a way to leave Neverland if he kills Charming before the poison does. Little does Hook know, Charming overhears this as he climbs up. They continue their journey and eventually reach the same Dreamshade that killed Liam, Hook's brother. Hook reveals that there isn't actually a sextant, angering the prince. Hook is forced to knock Charming out and then he collects Neverland's magical waters. After waking the prince up, Hook explains that the water will save his life, but he won't be able to leave Neverland. Charming agrees and drinks the water, curing him. He then realizes Hook lied to him because he knew he wouldn't come just to save himself. When they return to the girls, they claim Pan got the satchel first. After Hook and Emma kiss, following the pirate saving the life of her father, Peter Pan informs Hook, in a provocative way, that Bae is actually alive and in Neverland, and leaves Hook to share this with Emma if he wants to. Then, the villain meets with his Lost Boys and orders that Neal's cage be hung up along another cage containing someone else...

Pan appears before Rumple when the latter is attempting to see the future and he informs the Dark One that he can't predict a future in a place where time stands still. Rumple says that he could create one, and Pan is surprised that he's actually being threatened, especially since he made Rumple his favorite breakfast: eggs in a blanket. Pan, eating the eggs because Rumple won't, tries to convince the Dark One to go back to Storybrooke and start a new family with Belle, as he's already lost Neal yet again and Henry is unobtainable as Rumple would have to go through him, which Pan knows he cannot do. Rumple refuses to leave his family behind, but Pan assures him that saving them is pointless as he cannot be forgiven, pointing out that Rumple himself still hasn't forgiven his own father. The demon child soon retreats into the jungle, leaving Rumple to ponder, and later sees that Emma and the rest of the Jolly Roger crew are currently trekking through the jungle in order to rescue Neal. Amused, Pan decrees that Neal be moved to the Echo Caves, as the only way his enemies will be able to save him is if they spill their deepest, darkest secrets, thus weakening them. ("Ariel")

Pan externally feels that someone, Ariel, has left Neverland, and tells Felix to alert John and Michael in Storybrooke in order to put a halt to whatever the mermaid is up to; he then requests to see his friend in the other cage. Now reassured that his family is coming for him, Henry starts to question Pan, who assures him that he's not been lying to him. Henry then theorizes that Pan has his family prisoner, and so decides to sneak out of the camp to investigate. In order to trick the child into believing he has to save magic, Pan frees his prisoner in the other cage: Wendy, who is blackmailed to do his will at the expense of her two brothers. Henry follows Felix, who's carrying a bag of apples, to a tree house, and inside, where he's expecting to find his family, he finds a girl Wendy lying in a bed, and she tells the boy that she's dying because Neverland's magic is deteriorating, and she needs him to save it so that she may live. Henry feels sympathy for the girl, especially after learning that she was friends with his father Baelfire, and his faith in Pan is reaffirmed, much to the demon child's satisfaction; he commends Wendy on her performance. Pan later takes Henry to a part of the island where Skull Rock is visible; he tells the kid that that's where he'll save magic, and Wendy's life, but warns him that it may require some sacrifice. Henry assures his captor that he's up to the task.

Pan tends to Wendy, reminding Henry that only magic can save her, which only Henry can save if he truly believes. After Henry assures Pan that he does, Pan announces to the camp of Lost Boys that Henry is ready to fulfill his destiny. Pan and Henry then row out to Skull Rock, where Pan casts a protection spell behind them, before entering the cave with Henry. Once inside the cave, Pan shows Henry a giant hourglass, telling him that it shows how much magic is left in Neverland, and it is almost empty. Pan then briefly leaves Henry alone, saying he has something to take care of. Peter goes to see Rumple, knowing he would be able to get past his protection spell as he has no shadow. Pan asks why Gold hasn't told anybody who he really is and offers his son one last chance to move on and be together, reminding Rumple that he also abounded his son. But Rumple points out the difference: that he regretted his decision ever since. Gold then opens Pandora's Box, hoping to trap his father and save Henry, but Pan reveals that he switched it for a fake. He holds up the real box and traps his son inside. Pan returns to Henry, saying it is time to save magic and that he must literally give him the heart of the truest believer. Henry, knowing that all magic comes at a price, demands the true cost of giving away his heart, as Pan informs him it would mean Henry must stay in Neverland. Henry accepts this, knowing that heroes must make sacrifices and content with knowing his family would be proud of him, so Pan enchants his hand to allow him to remove his heart. But just as he is about to give his heart to Pan, Emma, Regina and Neal run up, warning Henry that Pan is lying. The three parents combined attempt to persuade the boy not to, but wanting to be a hero, Henry tells his parents that he loves them before putting his heart in Pan, sending a shock of magic through the land. As Pan grows more powerful, Henry collapses to the floor and his parents rush to his side in horror.

Now infused with the heart of the truest believer, Pan flies away from Skull Rock after being cut from enraged Emma, and Regina notes that the blonde drew blood; this means that they can hurt him, and if they can hurt him, they can kill him. Henry's two mothers, along with Mary Margaret, soon go looking for Pan so that they may save Henry, and Mary Margaret is drawn in by Pandora's Box which is sitting on a rock. Knowing that Rumple is inside, and that he's David's only hope of being cured of Dreamshade, she makes a grab for it, but this causes her, Emma and Regina to be magically tied to a tree that forces one to reflect upon their regrets. Pan then emerges, taking the box and shocking the ladies with the revelation that Rumplestiltskin is his son, before taunting them about the regrets they're currently being faced with; he reminds Emma of giving Henry up for adoption, and Snow of sending her daughter through a wardrobe and off to Maine. He then approaches Regina, who he believes has the most regrets of all, but the Queen reveals that she does not. She says that, despite all the horrible things she's done, she regrets none of it because it all led her to Henry. And with that, she breaks free of the vines binding her to the tree and rips her son's heart from Pan's body, leaving him there. When the heart is returned to Henry aboard the Jolly Roger and the ship begins to fly back to Storybrooke, Pan appears aboard and attempts to take the boy's heart again. However, he is unable to due to a spell cast by Regina. He then attempts to tear Henry's shadow from his body, but is caught by a now free Rumple who traps his father inside Pandora's Box. As this is happening, Pan transfers his consciousness into Henry with magic, causing the two of them to switch minds. Due to this, Pan, who's in Henry's body, remains free, whereas Henry, who's in Pan's body, is trapped in the box to no one's knowledge. Pan later offers his trusty Lost Boy Felix some food as Henry, before admitting who he really is; he states that he never fails, and Pan and his sidekick begin plotting on their way back to Storybrooke.

Pan, in Henry's body, returns to Storybrooke aboard the Jolly Roger in guise of the little boy, with all Henry's family and friends believing his charade. After being met with a warm welcome, he attempts to gain the others' trust by getting Felix sent to jail, but Emma notices something is up with the child when she gives him back his book of fairytales and he reacts indifferently. The blonde is further made suspicious when "Henry" requests that he go home with Regina that night, and not her. When being tucked in, he asks the Evil Queen if she brought her vault to Storybrooke, and if her magic is kept inside (having read about it in the book), to which she answers positively, wondering why her son would need to know this. He says that he might need that stuff to protect himself from Pan, but Regina assures him that he's safe with her, and leaves. Once she does, he gets out of bed and frees the shadow from the ship's sail, allowing it to wreak havoc on the town. The next morning, it murders Mother Superior, and "Henry" and Regina make their way to the scene of the crime, being told by Emma to go somewhere safe; Regina decides to take her son to her vault, much to Pan's delight. Meanwhile, thinking that Pan is a threat, Emma releases him over the town line and prepares to execute him, but she soon learns that he is in fact Henry in Pan's body, and that the Henry that's currently with Regina is an impostor. Now in her vault, Pan uses a magical substance to knock out Regina, before stealing the Dark Curse. He then breaks Felix out of jail and explains to his most loyal Lost Boy that he plans to send the residents of Storybrooke into a world of his own dark design.

Peter Pan, still in Henry Mills' body, makes his way to Storybrooke's landmark well alongside Felix, who has brought with him all the ingredients needed for the Dark Curse to be cast. They are all thrown into the well by Pan, who gloats his victory, but the final ingredient must still be collected: the heart of the thing he loves most. Felix wonders if that means his son, Rumplestiltskin, but Pan reveals that he never loved Rumple, explaining to his highest ranking Lost Boy that love doesn't just come from romance and family, but from loyalty and friendship... and only one person has always believed in Pan. With that, Felix's heart is ripped from his body and Pan squeezes it into dust as he drops it into the well. Green smoke begins to rise from the magical water, the curse taking effect. However, Emma and the others hatch a plan to regain the curse scroll by getting Henry and Pan back into their own bodies so that Regina, the original caster, can tear it and undo the curse altogether, sending everyone back to their home in the Enchanted Forest. By using the Black Fairy's wand, Rumple is able to cast a spell that accomplishes the first part of this plan, meaning that, whilst the others set out to find Henry and the scroll, Pan wakes up, back in his own body, in Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer faced with his son, who's placed a leather cuff on his wrist that renders those with magical abilities powerless. After expressing his annoyance at never being able to get free of the son he never loved, he reveals that he's the one who designed the cuff, meaning it doesn't work on him. He then simply takes it off and uses his magic to attach it to Rumple's own wrist, beating up the Dark One and exiting the shop with the aim of murdering Belle and Baelfire, the two people his son loves most. He magically immobilizes all those on Main Street and, after taking back the scroll, decides to start with Neal, but Mr. Gold soon exits his shop as well, intent on stopping his father. Much to Pan's amusement, Rumple says his goodbyes to his loved ones, and the demon child reminds his son that he's powerless. Rumple reminds his father in turn of the one thing they have in common: neither of them have a shadow. With that, he summons his own and regains the magical dagger he previously gave it, using this to stab Pan in the back. Dying, Pan resumes his former adult form of Malcolm, and begs his son to stop, saying that they can still be happy together. But Rumple tells his father that he's a villain... and villains don't get happy endings. He then plunges the dagger deeper into Malcolm's back, causing a bright glow to ensue. This glow consumes them both, and soon enough, there is nothing left but the curse scroll. Peter Pan and Rumplestiltskin are now both dead.

Trivia

 * During this character's casting, he was codenamed "Rufio", leading many to believe that this character would be the homonymous character featured in the 1991 film, Hook. The actual character is eventually mentioned in the series as a nod, but will never be featured due to it being a property of Paramount Pictures.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills used to promote the character.