"You won. Your son has his father back, and he learned exactly who his father was, just like you learned who your father was right here... on these very same waters. William's younger than you were, so he's gonna be fine, you know? And you have each other. Which is good. Oliver, that's good, because it's gonna be lonely... without Mom and Felicity."
Simon Morrison (April 21, 1986[1]– May 17, 2017), known under the alias Adrian Chase, was the former district attorney of Star City on Earth-1 and a former close collaborator/friend of Oliver Queen as mayor, helping him in cleaning up the streets through the legal system. In reality, Adrian was a serial killer who called himself Prometheus, and not only knew that Oliver is the Green Arrow, but had a personal vendetta against him as well. Having lost his father four years ago at the hands of the Hood, Adrian desired retribution, and spent his time afterward studying The Hood's skills and history, while also uncovering Oliver's true identity as Green Arrow. In his alter-ego, Prometheus crusaded against Green Arrow in order to destroy the vigilante's life and legacy. He was also labeled by the media as the "Throwing Star Killer" for murdering people whose names formed anagrams of individuals on The List using shurikens made from Oliver's discarded arrows as a form of sending a twisted message to him.
Eventually, Adrian was defeated by Oliver and temporarily taken into custody by A.R.G.U.S.. After a short time spent in a glass-walled prison, he managed to escape to Lian Yu. After facing off with Oliver in battle once again, Adrian was defeated but committed suicide, triggering a dead man's switch which in turn set off many hidden C4 bombs situated throughout the island, effectively destroying its surface.
Who is Adrian Chase also known as in the Arrow series?
In the Arrow series, Adrian Chase assumes the vigilante identity of 'The Hood' in Starling City. He collaborates closely with Laurel Lance in their shared mission to combat crime.
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What were Adrian Chase's final words to Oliver Queen?
In his last conversation with Oliver Queen, Adrian Chase expressed his belief that Oliver's son would grow stronger than his father. He also acknowledged the impending loneliness Oliver would experience in the absence of his mother and Felicity.
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What is the significance of the name 'Prometheus' in relation to Adrian Chase?
In the Arrow series, Adrian Chase chose the alias 'Prometheus' based on the Greek mythological figure who defied the gods' omnipotence. Adrian saw a reflection of Prometheus in himself and Oliver Queen, as they both challenged those who wielded power as judge, jury, and executioner.
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Who portrayed the character of Adrian Chase in the Arrow series?
Josh Segarra is the actor who portrayed Adrian Chase, also known as the vigilante Prometheus, in the Arrow series across several seasons.
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Why is Adrian Chase a notable character in the DC universe?
In the DC universe, Adrian Chase is known as the first modern Vigilante. He also assumes the alias of Prometheus, a notorious villain who challenges Green Arrow to his limits. As Prometheus, Adrian becomes a mass-murdering antagonist, reflecting a darker version of the hero he opposes. In Starling City, he is a vigilante known as 'The Hood', partnering with Laurel Lance in their mission to eradicate crime.
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Biography
Early life
Simon as a baby.
Simon Morrison was born on April 21, 1986, to Justin Claybourne and Amanda Westfield (then named Morrison) in Star City. Little else is known of his earlier life, but Simon apparently grew up to be a psychopath.[2]
In 2004, Simon met Oliver Queen when Oliver successfully tried to pick up his girlfriend.[3]
Preparing for his crusade
After Claybourne was murdered by The Hood in 2012, Simon sought vengeance upon the elusive vigilante. Dropping off the grid completely and erasing all traces of his existence from the internet,[4] he took on the fake identity "Adrian Chase" and researched his target.[5] In his research, Adrian discovered his target's identity as Oliver Queen and obsessively studied him, learning everything he could about the man and his allies. In his research, Adrian became aware of the existence of The List, a book of Starling City individuals with ties to Malcolm Merlyn, which included Claybourne.[6] This led to Adrian believing that Oliver was really a serial killer and Oliver's righteous crusade was a lie to justify a killing spree and therefore poisons the lives of those he cares for and swore to make his target suffer.[7] At some point, Adrian met and fell in love with Doris, and they later married.
After acquiring the skills needed from Talia, Adrian armed himself with an array of weapons forged from The Hood's discarded arrows kept in the Star City Police Department evidence lockup.[6] Adrian also began using a suit strikingly similar to Oliver's suit as the Hood but with darker colors and with a full face mask, adopting the name "Prometheus". Adrian chose that name because of Prometheus' role in Greek mythology in taking away power from the judge, jury and executioner gods.[7] After Oliver became mayor, Adrian became a lawyer and eventually succeeded Wallace as district attorney of Star City to become personally acquainted with Oliver and keep closer tabs on him.
As the D.A., Adrian began building a case against Derek Sampson with the intent of flipping Derek so the drug dealer would give up the names of his suppliers.[3]
Five months following Damien Darhk's death, Adrian began his crusade by targeting individuals in Star City whose names formed anagrams to other names on The List.[6] His first target was Lieutenant Sam Conahan. When Conahan was leaving the SCPD precinct, he noticed Prometheus on the rooftop. Mistaking him for Green Arrow, Conahan asked how he could help him but was shot with an arrow. Conahan tried to shoot back but Prometheus dodged the shots, leaped to the ground, and threw a shuriken to disarm him. As Conahan tried to flee, Prometheus threw a knife into his victim's leg, knocking the lieutenant down. As Conahan desperately tried to crawl away, Prometheus slowly walked up, katana in hand. When asked if he was Green Arrow, Prometheus coldly replied that he wasn't and killed Conahan.[9]
A few nights later, Adrian learned of Green Arrow's encounter with crime lord Tobias Church amidst an illegal deal with AmerTek Industries, where Church almost killed the archer. In response, Prometheus stalked Church at Club XLR8 and killed his two bodyguards. While Church mistook him for the Green Arrow and laughed in amusement, Prometheus threw an ax into Church's shoulder, leaped to the ground, and slammed him into the pavement. Prometheus angrily told Church he was aware of the latter's attempt to kill the Green Arrow, and he would be dead if he did. He warned Church that the vigilante is his to kill and if Church ever tried to do it again, the crime lord would die as well. Church asked who he was, and he answered "Prometheus".[10]
After learning that Wild Dog supposedly killed Sampson, Adrian went to confront Oliver about this (officially becoming acquainted) and revealed what happened to Sampson. After Sampson turned out to be alive, Adrian requested Oliver to have Judge Pittson allow him to obtain a warrant to search Sampson's known hideouts. After he agreed, Adrian told Oliver about the first time they met, when Oliver picked up his girlfriend, but ironically reassured him that he doesn't hold grudges. Later, Green Arrow's new team apprehended Sampson, which pleased Adrian as he informed Oliver and Thea Queen of this.[3]
Adrian discussing the vigilante problem with Oliver, Thea, and Quentin.
A few days later during a meeting at the mayor's office, Adrian met the new deputy mayor, Quentin Lance, and said that working together would be a pleasure. When Quentin was surprised, Adrian stated that he doesn't blame Quentin for working with Darhk since the latter had threatened his daughter, Laurel Lance/Black Canary. He explained public service wasn't easy and, sometimes, getting a little dirty was inevitable in order to clean it up. When Team Arrow apprehended Sergio Espinoza and stole a package from Palmer Technologies, Adrian and Quentin personally delivered the package to the SCPD evidence locker. The evidence instead turned out to be a disguised bomb, causing an explosion that allowed Church's men to infiltrate and steal weapons from the evidence locker.
Later that night, Adrian interrogated Espinoza at the Anti-Crime Unit headquarters, threatening to beat the information out of him due to Espinoza's refusal to talk. Initially, Espinoza didn't take Adrian's threat seriously due to his position as a district attorney, but Adrian reminded Espinoza that justice in Star City is dealt by vigilantes. Before the interrogation could go further, Church's men attacked the ACU and killed several of the guards while trapping Adrian and Espinoza inside the building. Suddenly, Ragman planted a bomb on the wall and absorbed the ensuing explosion. Mr. Terrific, Wild Dog, and Artemis emerged from the hole that was created and escorted Adrian and the other ACU members out of the building to safety. Later, Adrian informed Quentin and Thea of the incident and that Wild Dog was missing, having been kidnapped during the attack. Adrian then told them that he'd re-evaluated his view on vigilantes and started to trust Team Arrow more.[11]
Angry that Church had ignored his warnings and kidnapped Wild Dog, Prometheus confronted Church. When Prometheus attempted to kill with an arrow, Church's bodyguard protected from the attack. Prometheus reminded Church this is his second warning and he wouldn't be given a third before leaving.
Prometheus after killing Church's police escort.
After Church was arrested following his defeat by Green Arrow, Prometheus attacked the convoy of escorting police cars transferring Church to Iron Heights Prison. After slaughtering the escorting officers, he confronted Church in the police van. Church futilely tried to plead for his life by revealing Green Arrow's identity, unaware Prometheus already knew. When Church asked if they were cool, Prometheus threw a shuriken into Church's neck, killing the crime lord, and replied that they were, then left the scene of his slaughter.[12]
War with Team Arrow
With Green Arrow now aware of his existence after being informed by Church prior to the crime lord's death, Prometheus lured Green Arrow and Spartan to a construction site using Church's cell phone. After they tracked the phone, Prometheus called it, heavily breathing into the phone as Green Arrow answered. He then ignited a message on the ground: "SO IT BEGINS".
From there, Prometheus continued killing civilians to form more anagrams of individuals on The List, including Peter Meld and Gay Eked. Their names, along with Conahan's and Church's, all spelled out anagrams of Oliver's previous victims: Adam Hunt, Ted Gaynor, Palmer Cokes, and Sachi Beech. Adrian later went to the scene of Gay's murder, where he "met" Green Arrow and told him everything he knew about the victim. Green Arrow was oblivious that the murderer is in plain sight.
Later, Susan Williams reported on Prometheus' murders on the news, which Adrian told Oliver was a disaster. After Susan dubbed him the "Throwing Star Killer", Adrian admitted to Oliver that it had a "certain flair". Finding more six more potential victims after discovering Prometheus' pattern, Team Arrow sent a member to each one. Prometheus went after a train driver, but was confronted by Artemis. They engaged in a brief duel where Artemis managed to cut his right arm before Green Arrow came to her rescue, shooting an arrow into Prometheus' back. Instantly recognizing it as an explosive arrow, Prometheus threw it onto the roof where it exploded and escaped through the hole made. However, he left a bomb which blew up the train, though Green Arrow and Artemis ultimately escaped with the train driver. Later, Prometheus snuck into Quentin's apartment and while the latter was passed out from drinking, he slashed Quentin's right arm, creating a wound just like the one Artemis gave him and left a shuriken to implicate Quentin.[6]
Sometime after their encounter, Prometheus sought Artemis out after deducing her identity as Evelyn Sharp. Prometheus manipulated Evelyn into betraying Oliver and joining him, as she still blamed Oliver for her parents' deaths and had become resentful after learning he was the Hood, who murdered several people she knew. Evelyn agreed in exchange for Prometheus promising to let her watch when he finally killed Green Arrow. Recruiting Evelyn to his cause allowed Prometheus to learn the identities of every Team Arrow member, as well as information on their personal lives and loved ones.[5]
Prometheus meeting with Artemis.
While trying to find bank robber Eric Dunn before the elusive Vigilante did, Adrian interrogated arrested associate Laura Buser. When Buser simply told him to "go to Hell", he gave a cold stare and replied that he'd been to Hell before slamming his hand into Buser's mask to intimidate her, causing her to give up Eric's location. As Adrian told Oliver that Eric is hiding out at Papp Motel, Oliver went to inform the ACU while Adrian secured a warrant to search the area. Later after Team Arrow defeated Vigilante, Prometheus met Artemis alone on a rooftop, where she assured him of not being followed and that Team Arrow didn't suspect her true allegiance.[13]
Prometheus breaking Black Siren out.
In December 2016, Prometheus traveled to Central City, where he broke into S.T.A.R. Labs without setting off any alarms and freed Laurel Lance/Black Siren from the Pipeline to taunt Oliver. With Earth-2 Laurel grateful and agreeing to serve him, Prometheus told her vital information on Earth-One Laurel's life, informing her of the Waverider and the Legends and providing a cover story of being brought back by Sara Lance and transported to the present. While Earth-2 Laurel was reluctant to aid him after learning that one of his targets was Quentin, he promised to spare Quentin in exchange for her compliance. Team Flash would be unaware of the breakout for almost 3 days.[8][14]
First encounter with Green Arrow
Prometheus sharpening his weapons.
During Christmas, Prometheus sharpened his weapons in his hideout. He was approached by Evelyn with photographs and addresses of Felicity Smoak and Rory Regan. Evelyn then asked Prometheus for her to be present when he killed Oliver, but Prometheus stated that he didn't intend to kill Oliver, only to make his nemesis wish to be dead. Prometheus later attacked Curtis Holt and his husband Paul at the mayor's Christmas party, effortlessly defeating Curtis and injecting him with Dycloseral, making Oliver and Team Arrow aware that he knew their secret identities.
Prometheus fighting Green Arrow.
At Claybourne Pharmaceuticals, Prometheus confronted Green Arrow and the two engaged in a battle. Prometheus managed to hold his own for a bit and showed off a technique Talia had taught them both. Suddenly, Wild Dog shot his katana out of his hand, causing Artemis to intervene and reveal their allegiance. As Green Arrow and Wild Dog stood in shock, Artemis fired a smoke arrow to cover their escape.
While investigating Claybourne Pharmaceuticals, Detective Billy Malone discovered a photograph of a baby (Simon), which he sent to Felicity before Prometheus captured him. Adrian later told Oliver of Billy's abduction and insisted that the ACU have a shoot-to-kill order placed on Prometheus, which Oliver agreed to. Tracking Prometheus to the AK Desmond Group, where Oliver killed Claybourne, Green Arrow discovered that Prometheus had staged the hallways with bodies to recreate the scene of the people Oliver killed when pursuing Claybourne. He confronted Prometheus in the exact spot where Claybourne was killed. Prometheus asked whether Green Arrow had even hesitated when killing Claybourne or if his father was merely another name on The List. Green Arrow tried to goad his opponent, stating he is here if he wanted revenge, but Prometheus replied that his crusade was about so much more than simple revenge.
Prometheus confronted by Green Arrow.
They engaged in a fight before crash-landing into one of the building's floors. Secretly over a wireless speaker, Prometheus taunted Green Arrow about Evelyn's betrayal and stated that he knows everything about him and is going to show everyone that everything Oliver touches dies. Having dressed Billy in his suit beforehand, Prometheus managed to trick Green Arrow into killing Billy in order to prove his point, telling him over the wireless speaker attached to Billy that everyone Oliver loved would die. Later, Imitating Lyla Michaels's voice, Adrian tricked John Diggle into returning to the safe-house John's family were staying in and tipped off the FBI, which allowed them to recapture John.[5] After this, Prometheus sent Laurel to confront Team Arrow roughly 3 days after his breakout of S.T.A.R. Labs.[8]
Not long after, Laurel's cover was blown, prompting her to meet up with Prometheus to discuss their next move. Prometheus was angered with her failure, to which Laurel wondered why she couldn't have just killed Team Arrow. In response, Prometheus furiously tackled the meta-human. Choking Laurel's throat tight enough to prevent her from using her sonic scream against him, Prometheus reminded Laurel that her freedom and life were contingent on following his orders. Terrified, Black Siren agreed and fell back in line.
Adrian was later called to Oliver's office and informed of John's arrest and wrongful imprisonment for illegal arms dealing of a nuclear trigger set up General J.G. Walker. Oliver wanted Adrian to represent John, to which Adrian was initially skeptical but agreed. He visited John and but as Walker appeared to transport John into custody, the latter insisted to Adrian that Walker would simply falsify an excuse to kill him to cover his tracks. Adrian then tried to delay Walker with various regulations but Walker said he had the Attorney General on speed dial and threatened to have Adrian disbarred unless John was placed in his custody within 24 hours.
Prometheus and Green Arrow facing off again.
Later when Black Siren escaped Team Arrow's custody, Prometheus went to meet up with her. Encountering Ragman, Prometheus quickly knocked him out before confronting Green Arrow, which lead to another fight between the two. Green Arrow threw a diazepam-laced dart at Prometheus before firing a cable arrow at him, hoping to restrain and capture him. Prometheus instead shrugged off the drug and reacted quick enough for the cable to wrap around his arm rather than his whole body as intended. Breaking the cables with his sword, Prometheus told the archer he had a tolerance to the drug and they continued their fight. After seeing Felicity being confronted by Black Siren, Prometheus tauntingly asked his opponent to choose between him or Felicity, concluding the ordeal by kicking Green Arrow through a wooden wall to where Black Siren and Felicity were, before escaping as Black Siren was captured again.
To ensure John wasn't placed in prison, Adrian told John to punch him and pretended to try and fight back as the guards intervened. Adrian then reminded Walker that if a prisoner committed an offense against the district attorney within his jurisdiction, he could personally oversee the matter and reminded Walker it "could take a while". This allowed Adrian to delay John's transportation into Walker's custody by one week.[8]
Adrian discovered from a friend at the NSA that they were investigating Walker, including his involvement with the nuke, but Walker's associates made sure the information remained classified and beyond Adrian's reach. Later, he received the NSA's case against Walker from an anonymous source (Felicity) and a judge pleading for a motion to dismiss, allowing him to get John released on bail.[15]
Oliver later held a conference to make John's public and commend Adrian's actions. Susan hoped to get an exclusive on Billy's death, though Adrian said he had no comment as he'd told the other reporters.[16]
Adrian quickly recovering.
After a gunman attacked City Hall and shot Adrian, he was taken to Starling General but quickly recovered. However, Doris became concerned about his well-being and tried unsuccessfully to convince Adrian to take some more rest instead of immediately returning to work. After discovering the shooter as James Edlund, a man who had lost his family to a mall shooting years before, Adrian discussed people's rights to wield firearms with Oliver. Though skeptical to allow civilians to have easier access to firearms, Oliver eventually agreed with Adrian and after much discussion with Councilwoman Emily Pollard, adjusted the firearms law, allowing people better protection.[17]
Attacking the Queen administration
Adrian informing Oliver about a cover-up of Billy's death.
After Oliver visited Amanda for her son's identity, Adrian sent a letter to SCPD Captain Frank Pike containing the autopsy report for Detective Malone's true cause of death. Thus, Pike ordered the Anti-Crime Unit to arrest Green Arrow for Billy's death. Adrian was later present when Oliver and Quentin tried to convince Pike that the Green Arrow is innocent, though Pike initially refused to listen as Green Arrow still killed a member of ACU. Despite this, Oliver was successful in getting Pike to stop this pursuit, to which Adrian leaked the mayor's office's role in covering up Billy's death to the media. This revelation is then broadcasted by Channel 52, which threatened to end Oliver's administration as mayor.[4]
Discrediting Green Arrow
Adrian offering resignation to Oliver.
Adrian offered his letter of resignation in order to take full responsibility for the cover-up, but Oliver denied his request and instead insisted that Adrian represent as a lawyer at the hearing. While Adrian agreed, he reminded Oliver that the circumstances would call for someone to take the fall. At the hearing, Adrian and Oliver watched as the coroner confessed to filing a false report on Billy's death to Councilman Collins and as Captain Pike told them of Oliver's vouching for the Green Arrow. After the first stage of the hearing, Oliver, Thea, Quentin, and Detective Dinah Drake left for the office, though their limo is attacked by Vigilante, leaving them all injured. Adrian gave his reassurances to delay the hearing in light of the attack while making Oliver accept medical treatment, which he declined. Adrian found Dinah discovering a broken piece of Vigilante's visor and offered to take the evidence back to the precinct.
Adrian reports sighting of Vigilante
Later, Prometheus encountered Vigilante on a rooftop (presumably using the tech from the visor to locate the latter) and warned him that Oliver is his to take down, but Vigilante vowed to kill him first and they came into conflict. Clearly being the superior combatant, Prometheus overpowered Vigilante and forced his opponent off the rooftop, though Vigilante somehow survived and fled. Unmasking, Adrian then called 911 and informed them of Vigilante's sighting. Later, Adrian talked to Pike over the various vigilante sightings and if they were simply delaying Star City's inevitable fate, though Adrian reminded him that delaying the inevitable was part of their job. As he kept Pike busy with small talk, Adrian slipped the piece of Vigilante's visor back to Dinah.
At Oliver's office, Adrian once again offered to take the fall for everything, which Oliver still refused to accept, though Adrian pointed out that someone needed to be discredited or Oliver would be impeached; Oliver decided to offer up the Green Arrow. Adrian stood by Oliver, Thea, Quentin, and Dinah as Oliver gave a speech to the public discrediting Green Arrow with Billy's murder. Afterward, Adrian informed Oliver that Collins has ruled against ending Oliver's administration. Oliver immensely thanked Adrian for this and Adrian reassured Oliver that he didn't do it just because Oliver was his boss, but because he was a "friend". Later, Adrian approached Susan and said he supposedly had an exclusive, sickly joking that it is a "matter of life and death".[18]
Final endgame
Discovered by Team Arrow
Adrian discreetly taunting Oliver.
Afterward, Adrian kidnapped and held Susan in an abandoned hotel rigged with explosives. Prometheus then filmed Susan tied to a chair and tearfully screaming in fear, as he held a knife to his captive's throat, tauntingly telling the woman to scream for him again. Anticipating that Team Arrow would use Amanda against him as leverage, Adrian had his mother relocated and left the film of him and Susan playing on a continuous loop for Team Arrow to find. Adrian was later informed by Talia that Oliver discovered his true identity, which she had divulged to make Oliver suffer, though Adrian was glad he now finally knew. As Adrian was in a board meeting discussing the drug trade, Oliver returned and Adrian discreetly taunted Oliver over his inability to confront him, asking if he's "been asleep this whole time".
Adrian taunting Green Arrow.
Adrian is later confronted by Green Arrow in a parking garage, who fired several arrows at his car in a failed attempt to intimidate him. Adrian was disappointed that Green Arrow wanted to arrest instead of killing him, though Green Arrow firmly stated he wasn't going to kill Adrian if only that's what he wanted to happen. Adrian then revealed to Green Arrow he had Susan hostage, warning that if he dies or doesn't get back in time, Susan will die of starvation and dehydration, nor was he concerned with the idea of torture as it would have the same results. Green Arrow reluctantly let Adrian go. Adrian pridefully taunted that he was 10 steps ahead of a game Green Arrow still didn't understand and laughed as he left the scene.
Later, Adrian ran into Quentin and Rene (also now aware) and told them he liked this better with everyone knowing who he is now. While Quentin and Rene promised to kill him, Adrian tauntingly reminded them that threatening a city official was a felony and he is only getting started with his plans. He ordered Quentin and Rene to get back to work, leaving them powerless to do anything. Anticipating that Oliver would try to use Doris as leverage, Adrian tipped off the ESU, who arrived at his home in time and stopped Green Arrow from getting near his wife. Adrian later attended a press conference to inform the public of Green Arrow's "attempted kidnapping" of Doris as retaliation for these recent "crimes". Because of this, Oliver was forced to publicly order Green Arrow to be brought in within 24 hours, or the SCPD would hunt the vigilante down, but this was also a discreet threat to Adrian himself.
Adrian threatened by Oliver.
After somehow learning that Oliver gave information on his original identity to Pike, Adrian (disguised as a homeless man) approached and stabbed Pike, putting the captain in a coma. Adrian visited Pike in a hospital as Oliver arrived, promising to kill Adrian as soon as Susan was found. Adrian wasn't phased by Oliver's threats and reminded him that Susan would be dead if he died, as much as Moira Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Shado, and Earth-1 Laurel are. He taunted that one more loss may just destroy Oliver, stating that if the former died, Oliver would only really be killing himself and losing any sanity he had left.
Adrian facing off against Green Arrow.
After Team Arrow finally uncovered Susan's location, Prometheus patiently waited for Green Arrow and unmasked himself, noting that he's glad that they knew as he preferred to fight him face to face. While Green Arrow threatened to keep them inside until the entire building exploded, Adrian deactivated the bombs. However, Adrian was caught off-guard when Spartan arrived with Doris, exposing his identity to his wife and proving Adrian really is not 10 steps ahead. After his wife's attempts to reason with him, Adrian seemingly promised Doris he will stop his crusade but instead stabbed her to protect his secret and continue his vendetta. Green Arrow attacked him in anger and the two begin to fight. After a brutal battle that ended in a draw, Adrian told Green Arrow neither would kill the other, to which Green Arrow stated that he could kill Adrian. Just then, Talia arrived and used a tranquilizer arrow to incapacitate Green Arrow. The two kidnapped Oliver, bringing him to an unknown location.
Adrian threatening Quentin and Susan.
Adrian later returned to the precinct as Quentin escorted Susan in for her statement, giving his "sympathies" for Susan as Quentin threatened him again. However, Adrian asked not to be threatened as he was in mourning since Green Arrow "killed" Doris, but Quentin and Susan swiftly saw through his lies. Adrian reminded them that he had Oliver hostage, whom he threatened to send "back in pieces" if Quentin and Susan tried anything. While Susan did still give a statement to the police, Adrian had an airtight alibi so they didn't believe her and his cover remained intact.[19]
Adrian preparing to subject Oliver to torture.
In Oliver's holding cell, Adrian watched Oliver futilely try to reason with Talia, who then ordered Adrian to make Oliver suffer, which he happily agreed to. As Oliver promised his own friends would find him, Adrian simply reminded Oliver yet again that he wasn't going to kill him. He then told Oliver that he'd confessed to a captive Susan that Oliver had helped him discover who he truly was, and promised to return the favor before subjecting Oliver to torture.[1]
Torturing Oliver
Adrian torturing Oliver.
Adrian tortured Oliver, trying to make him confess what the former believed to be the real reason for his killings: Oliver did the deed simply because he wanted to, using Robert Queen's wishes as justification. However, Oliver didn't know what Adrian wanted so Adrian tortured him for six days, trying to get the answer. On the sixth day, Adrian held Oliver's head underwater for 145 seconds at a time, the same amount of time it took for Adrian's father to drown after being shot by Oliver. When Oliver didn't "confess", Adrian resumed the torture.
Once Oliver regained consciousness, Adrian planted photos of his various victims, but as Oliver reminded Adrian that they all had victims themselves, Adrian further pointed out they also had families who all suffered because of Oliver. He then brought up a memorable victim whom Oliver had killed 3 years previously to save Felicity: Cecil Adams/Count Vertigo. When Oliver still didn't know what to "confess", Adrian fired three arrows into Oliver's shoulder, similar to what Oliver had done to Cecil. After pulling out the arrows, Adrian showed Oliver a pair of Felicity's glasses, having snuck into her apartment without her knowing, to taunt Oliver. He then showed a picture of William Clayton, admitting that he didn't know where William was but promised Oliver that he would find the boy eventually unless Oliver "confessed".
Adrian pretending to break Evelyn's neck.
Afterward, Adrian returned with Evelyn to deceive Oliver by pitting them against each other, promising to let the survivor go or he'd break Evelyn's neck, before leaving to tend to other business. When he returned, Adrian, disappointed to see that Oliver hadn't even tried, pretended to break Evelyn's neck as she played dead to horrify Oliver.
Returning, Adrian intensely taunted Oliver that his belief that everything (The List, the Hood, and his heroic crusade) were all just an excuse for why he truly killed. Oliver finally cracked, angrily admitting to killing because of liking it. Pleased, Adrian mused that he'd made Oliver confess the one secret he wouldn't even admit to himself, with Evelyn dropping her façade and agreeing with him. Adrian stated he was right, that Oliver infected every life he touched as his crusade was based on a lie, resulting in a price, namely the death of his loved ones, and John and Felicity would eventually pay too.
Adrian burning Oliver's tattoo
As a reminder of the six days of torture, Adrian took a blowtorch to Oliver's chest to burn away his Bratva tattoo. Before doing so, Adrian reflected that Oliver must have done something extraordinary to have earned a captain rank in the Bratva, and how the burned tattoo would now serve as a reminder of his confession. As Oliver tearfully tried to apologize, Adrian accepted the apology but informed Oliver he simply didn't care before burning away the tattoo, causing Oliver to pass out from the pain. Adrian then left while Oliver was unconscious, returning his uniform and equipment and leaving the door open as promised.[7]
Exposed to the public
Adrian tempting Oliver into killing in broad daylight.
The next day, Adrian visited Oliver in the latter's office, thanking him for his "compassion" in "granting [him]bereavement leave" to mourn Doris' death while Quentin angrily threatened him. When they were alone, Adrian gave Oliver a knife and presented an ultimatum; either kill him as a civilian in broad daylight, as Green Arrow couldn't reach him now that he is in protective custody since the vigilante "murdered" Doris, or let him go knowing there is nothing Oliver can do. Oliver ultimately declined Adrian's offer, much to the latter's disappointment. Adrian told him to keep the knife as he left. Later, Adrian's protective custody escort was attacked by Bratva agents hired by Oliver, but Team Arrow intervened and Adrian used this chance to escape. While he was briefly confronted by Curtis, Adrian swiftly overpowered him and tauntingly asked how Paul was before Curtis is forced to flee.
In light of the Bratva attack, the SCPD decided to transfer Adrian into federal custody and asked Oliver for this approval. Unable to decline without arousing suspicion, Oliver agreed and told Adrian that nothing was more important than his safety. Before Adrian was transferred, he quietly expressed amusement at what Oliver did but Oliver quietly promised that they weren't done and Adrian was transported into the custody of the US Marshals.
Adrian after murdering his bodyguards and evading capture.
Later while in protective custody, Adrian was writing as he heard the two Marshals receive a message and somehow immediately deduced he'd been exposed. He swiftly threw his pen into one guard's eye before strangling the other guard to death with his sling. With his secret identity revealed and his plans ruined by this setback, Adrian repeatedly stabbed the first guard to death viciously in frustration and left the safe house. As Adrian was driving down the street, watching the convoy of SCPD officers going to arrest him drive right past him, he whistled to the radio as he escaped from Star City, still splattered with blood.[19]
After arriving back in Star City, Adrian lured Team Arrow and the SCPD to a video game arcade but rigged all the attractions with weapons. He rigged one of the games to display an image of Prometheus and the words "GAME OVER". Adrian also somehow caused an EMP explosion in the Arrowcave, which left Oliver and Felicity trapped for some time and forced Team Arrow to focus on getting them out.[20] While they were distracted, Adrian tracked down William. Approaching the boy, Adrian claimed that he knew the William's father[21] before presumably kidnapping him and his mother, Samantha Clayton.[14]
Because of Adrian's exposure to the public as a serial killer, all the convicts he detained were released after retrial, including Sampson. Adrian soon enlisted Sampson's aid to seemingly recreate his father's tuberculosis outbreak by having him steal the chemicals required. While having Sampson obtain these chemicals, Adrian distracted Team Arrow by ruining Robert's memory; he sent a crate to City Hall containing the body of Councilman Henry Goodwin encased in concrete, exposing Robert's role in Goodwin's death 15 years previously to the public. Anticipating that Oliver would confirm the origin of the cement encasing Goodwin's body came from Oliver Enterprises, Adrian rigged one of the hallways with a trap which Oliver and Diggle fell into. They fell into a secret room in which Adrian had set up raw cement to flood the area and eventually kill them in the same manner Goodwin died. Dinah and Curtis were able to save them, but at the cost of Sampson obtaining more chemicals for Adrian's plan. Knowing that Oliver would seek out Darren Coffman (Goodwin and Claybourne's lawyer) for answers, Adrian gave Coffman a USB stick containing footage of Robert killing Goodwin, which was to be given to Oliver and Thea to tarnish their memory of their father.
Prometheus fighting Green Arrow.
After obtaining all the components, Prometheus had Sampson's thugs rig a device to disperse tuberculosis on a city-wide scale. When Team Arrow attempted to stop the plan, Prometheus ambushed Green Arrow, Spartan, and Mr. Terrific but Green Arrow managed to keep Prometheus distracted long enough for Spartan and Mr. Terrific to make their way to the roof, where they, along with Black Canary and Wild Dog, foiled the plan and stopped Sampson. Meanwhile, Prometheus continued to fight Green Arrow as their battle carried out down two flights of stairs, with both combatants being fairly evenly matched. Unmasking, Adrian taunted Green Arrow that their fathers' legacies are what led them to become who they are.
Adrian surrendering after learning of his father's intent to disown him.
However, Green Arrow revealed to Adrian (having learned from Coffman) that Claybourne was originally going to disown him, not because Adrian was illegitimate, but because Claybourne believed his son to be a psychopath. Green Arrow noted that Robert never gave up on him while Adrian had been fighting to avenge a man who was ashamed of him. Seemingly crushed to learn this, Adrian collapsed to the ground in grief and offered his katana to Green Arrow, begging to be killed. However, Green Arrow refused and stated that Adrian was going to face justice before knocking him out.
Adrian was taken into A.R.G.U.S. custody and watched Oliver on live television with a smile on his face while Oliver confessed to the city of Robert's sacrifice to save his life 10 years ago, in an attempt to somewhat preserve his father's legacy.[2]
Adrian watching Oliver salvaging Robert's legacy.
Meanwhile, Adrian arranged for Evelyn to break Laurel out of A.R.G.U.S. and had them coordinate with Talia and have her acolytes kidnap every Team Arrow member once he was incarcerated in preparation for his endgame. When Oliver learned of this, he arrived several times at Adrian's cell to demand his friends' whereabouts. Adrian replied that if Oliver wants their safety, he has to be released from custody, but Oliver repeatedly refused.
Later as A.R.G.U.S. prepared to transport Adrian to Idaho, Adrian gave Oliver one last chance to agree to his demands, which he again refused. As Adrian was taken away, he informed Oliver that the latter would be getting a phone call, which Oliver received seconds later, showing a captive William begging for help. Oliver decided to comply with Adrian's demands and helped him escape with Malcolm Merlyn's aid as he was being escorted by A.R.G.U.S. agents to a helicopter. When Oliver wondered why Adrian would involve William, who was innocent in all this, Adrian claimed that Oliver brought this on himself by involving Doris, reiterating how everyone in Oliver's life will suffer because of him. Adrian then used the helicopter to escape, telling Oliver that he'd "see [him] on the boat". He then took a plane to Lian Yu along with his team and the hostages.
Once there, Adrian reached out to Digger Harkness to aid him in his vendetta against Oliver, which Harkness agreed to. Adrian then met with and taunted the captive Team Arrow members, telling them that he would be waiting for Oliver to arrive on the island.[14] To prepare for the final battle, Adrian separated the hostages; he kept William locked inside a boat on the coast of Lian Yu and had Evelyn and Talia guard and imprison Thea, Felicity, Curtis, and Samantha in cages while Black Siren chained up John and Quentin in a monastery on the island alongside Dinah and Rene. Unbeknownst to anyone, Adrian had rigged Lian Yu with a network of hundreds of C4 bombs, with the trigger being a dead man's switch, planning to have Oliver kill him to detonate them.[22]
Battle on Lian Yu
Adrian greeting Oliver on Lian Yu.
Adrian, Talia, Black Siren, and various acolytes from Talia's cult confronted Oliver, Team Arrow, Nyssa al Ghul, and Slade Wilson/Deathstroke in the monastery. Adrian taunted Oliver about William and dueled with him as the rest of Oliver's allies took on Talia, her acolytes, and Black Siren. As they dueled, Oliver knocked Adrian off a balcony and trapped him in a headlock, with Adrian goading Oliver to snap his neck. However, much to Adrian's shock, Oliver chose to spare him in the end, stating that Adrian can blame Oliver for his father's death for the rest of his life, but Oliver has already forgiven himself for his own father's sins. Adrian once again tried to goad Oliver into killing him by claiming that William was dead, but Oliver saw right through the lie and affirmed that even if it were true, Oliver would never let Adrian get the outcome he wants. As Oliver turned to leave, Felicity alerted him about Adrian's dead man switch, having discovered the network of C4 bombs. Adrian then escaped from the monastery using a smoke bomb with Oliver close in pursuit, eventually finding the former trying to flee in a boat.
Oliver caught up to Adrian and brutally beat him down, demanding to know William's location. Adrian simply taunted Oliver about losing his friends, revealing that the former's plane was sabotaged. Oliver then urged his friends to flee Lian Yu using an A.R.G.U.S. supply ship. Suddenly, Adrian dragged William out on the deck. Oliver aimed his bow, but Adrian issued an ultimatum: for Oliver to kill him so everyone on the island would die or spare him so he would snap William's neck. Oliver lowered his bow, seemingly agreeing with the second option, and Adrian smirked in triumph. However, Oliver instead shot Adrian's leg, causing the latter to collapse to the ground in pain and saving William.
Adrian before shooting himself in the head.
Adrian lay on the deck defeated, realizing that Oliver was resolute in his will to never kill him. He congratulated Oliver for winning, explaining that he has William back, and that he learned who his father was, just like how Oliver learned who his father was on the same waters. He told Oliver that it was good that he and William have each other since it was "going to be lonely, without Mom and Felicity". Adrian then drew a pistol, which he pressed against his head, intending to shoot himself. Realizing his adversary's intentions, Oliver frantically attempted to stop him but Adrian fired the gun while grinning at Oliver, dying by suicide as a last-ditch effort to break him, one way or the other. Adrian's death triggered the dead man's switch, leaving a horrified Oliver and William to watch as Lian Yu was destroyed.[22]
Adrian appeared as a hallucination when Oliver was dosed with Vertigo. At first Oliver believes Chase was real, where the two proceed to fight and culminating in Oliver seemingly killing him. Only after Chase's body vanishes and he gets back up unharmed, does Oliver realize Chase is a hallucination. While Oliver performs a blood test on himself, the Chase hallucination entertains that Oliver has actually gone crazy.
Chase continues taunting Oliver on his failure to keep his team together or to save his city from Diaz. Chase also admits to Oliver that perhaps he indeed became a better man, but at the expense of being a less effective hero as the Green Arrow. Chase also wonder if he was Oliver's greatest fear since the Vertigo made him manifest, before admitting Oliver's greatest fear was actually himself.
The hallucination of Chase later appears again, this time encouraging Oliver to take Diaz down and goading Oliver into reckless action.[23]
New Multiverse
Is unknown about his fate in the new universe because he is never mentioned again on Earth-Prime.
Legacy
Most of Team Arrow managed to survive the destruction of Lian Yu by using Adrian's plane to shield themselves from the explosions. However, his endgame killed Samantha and landed Thea in critical condition, leaving William traumatized and Oliver heartbroken for months.[24]
Before his death, Adrian used all his money to hire and arm criminal Alex Faust to destroy buildings that were close to Oliver. Adrian also recorded himself in a video where he taunted Oliver and explained his plans, knowing that Oliver would be forced to watch it sooner or later. Adrian's motive for Faust destroying the buildings was to trigger PTSD in Oliver from Lian Yu's explosion.[25]
Even though Adrian's endgame left deep marks within Oliver and his friends, they were ultimately able to put him and his actions aside in order to move on. Thus, Adrian's entire scheme ended in failure, rendering his years of planning to break Oliver ultimately in vain. In fact, all of Adrian's efforts only resulted in Oliver becoming a better man than he was before.
When a doctored photo was shown to the public of Oliver in the Green Arrow suits, Team Arrow suggested it could be Adrian's final gift to Oliver[26] before the perpetrator was revealed to be Ricardo Diaz.
Sometime following Adrian's exposure as a serial killer or his death, Sam Armand succeeded him as the district attorney of Star City.[27] However, Sam was later revealed to be corrupt, just like his predecessor, and working for Diaz.[28]
When Oliver met Talia again in Slabside after being imprisoned, Oliver refused to work with her, reminding her that she worked with Adrian, which cost Samantha Clayton her life, although in the end they managed to reconcile.
When Oliver went to Earth-2 for the Monitor, he encountered Adrian's doppelganger, who was ironically a vigilante in Starling City known as the Hood. Both the Hood and Green Arrow initially clashed, presumably due to what the latter went through with Adrian. However, this effort was likely or mostly in vain as that universe was shortly destroyed by a wave of antimatter right in front of him, with Adrian being vaporized like many others at the SCPD next to the breach.[29]
Personality
"You're not a hero. You're a killer and I'm going to show you that. I'm going to show you how everything you touch... dies."
Little was known about Adrian's personality before the death of his father, Justin Claybourne, but he was believed to be a disturbed individual even before that; Claybourne secretly planned to disown Adrian because of his psychopathy.[2]
After his father's death, Adrian was consumed with grief and hatred for his father's murderer, and spent four years studying, training, and patiently waiting to destroy him completely. Adrian wanted to truly attack Oliver in a personal way similar to Slade Wilson's attacks, yet did not want to kill Oliver, but destroy everything Oliver stood for as well as his allies. Adrian used Oliver murdering his father as the event that defined his entire character and actions. After uncovering virtually Oliver Queen's entire history, Adrian went so far as to claim that he knows everything about Oliver and knows better than Oliver knows himself.[5][7]
While trying to accomplish his mission, Adrian developed the facade of a compassionate district attorney who cared about cleaning up the streets of Star City and ironically a trusted confidant to his father's killer.[1] In reality, Adrian's hatred for Oliver was so intense that he refused to allow anyone else to kill Oliver, as shown when he threatened and later killed Tobias Church.[10][12] In spite of his hatred for Oliver, Adrian was not interested in killing him but to make him suffer so much that he wished that he was dead.[5] Adrian had gone to great lengths to psychologically torture him and destroy his life including: killing innocent people to send a twisted message to Oliver, recreate the crime scene with dead bodies of Oliver killing Adrian's father, kidnapping his loved ones, and recruiting Black Siren, the doppelgänger of Laurel Lance, whom Oliver loved.[5][6][8] Adrian's hatred for Oliver even outweighed the apparent love that he had for his wife, Doris, as he killed her when Oliver used her against him after tearfully proclaiming he would go to the police. However, Adrian still later claimed that it was the Green Arrow who killed his wife.[1]
Adrian's revenge against Oliver was unjustified since although Oliver killed his father, Adrian had no justification to kill innocent individuals to send Oliver a twisted message or kidnap Oliver's friends and family since his revenge was against Oliver not against his family.
Adrian also believed that Oliver was not a hero but a killer who ruins the lives of everyone that he comes into contact with and was desperate to show that to him,[5] going so far as to physically and psychologically torture Oliver for an entire week and Adrian succeeded in proving that on some level Oliver enjoyed killing.[7] Adrian was also a hypocrite on some level as despite viewing Oliver as a killer he himself committed far more heinous actions than Oliver did, freely killing innocent people, using some of his victims' bodies as trails to recreate the scenes of Oliver's past kills, and even killing his own wife to further his vendetta, where Oliver never killed anyone who had not committed at least some kind of crime, proving that even though Oliver is a killer, Adrian was truly a psychopath. Adrian was also arrogant, smug and boastful towards Oliver and Team Arrow once they realized that he was "Prometheus" due to Adrian always being ahead of them and their inability to apprehend him at the time.[1]
After killing his wife and his identity being revealed to the world, Adrian had no regard for his own life, as on several occasions he allowed Oliver the opportunity to kill him, albeit at the cost of Oliver destroying his own life in the process.[2][19] Adrian again allowed Oliver the opportunity to kill him but once he refused, Adrian forced Oliver into destroying his own life either by forcing Oliver to choose between his son or people on the island. Once Oliver succeeded in saving everyone, Adrian, having nothing to lose, without hesitation, ended his own life to once again make Oliver suffer by losing virtually everyone else he cared about on Lian Yu, to which he failed.[22]
Adrian was also shown to be short-sighted and very stubborn, as even after finding out that his father was planning to disown him, he did not stop his revenge and kidnapped all of Oliver's friends on Lian Yu for Oliver to kill him and in the process kill his friends. Adrian himself committed suicide to finish off all of Oliver's friends (although in reality it caused more problems for his allies since only Samantha died).
Prometheus was barely affected from being drugged and able to intercept the cable arrow meant to restrain him, seemingly without effort.
Peak of human physical condition: Adrian was in incredible physical form after training for four years to defeat Oliver Queen, with his conditioning allowing him to fight the extremely seasoned and trained vigilante on equal footing, even outmaneuvering him at times. Adrian is strong enough to easily pin down the likes of the large and physically imposing Tobias Church[10] and Earth-2Laurel Lance, both with one arm, and kick Oliver through a wooden wall with one leg.[8] Adrian also withstood a severe beatdown from Oliver which left his face bloody and swollen, yet barely seemed fazed by it.[22] Like Oliver, Adrian had a high resistance to drugs, as he was able to quickly shrug off the effects of a diazepam-ridden dart which Oliver threw at him.[8]
Acrobatics/Free-running: Adrian was able to move and scale down walls with great dexterity and grace, even while simultaneously dodging bullets and throwing his shuriken.[9] During a battle against Oliver, he performed an arial flip while leaping to the ground without using his hands.[5]
Honed senses: Adrian had sharp senses, easily able to pick up danger and read the atmosphere around him. For example, he quickly sensed the arrival of Green Arrow at a crime scene[6] and immediately deduced when the US Marshals guarding him learned his identity by their silent reactions without turning around.[19]
"How'd you think you were gonna beat me, Oliver? We were both trained by the same teacher."
Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Adrian, like Oliver, was an extraordinary hand-to-hand combatant, having been trained by Talia al Ghul with a fighting style incorporating several moves that Oliver knew. His fighting style seems to be a mix of Escrima, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Hapkido, Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. He seemed to have a particular preference for a certain hip throw (Ō goshi in Judo), using it on three separate occasions against Black Siren,[8]Curtis Holt, and a marshal.[19] Adrian was able to single-handedly and quickly defeat Evelyn Sharp[6] and Curtis[5] with ease, as well as overpower Vigilante.[18] During all his battles with Oliver, Adrian proved capable of fighting on equal terms with and even sometimes gaining the upper hand over him. Adrian managed to defeat Oliver in their first and second altercations, although it should be noted that in the latter fight, Oliver was caught off-guard due to Felicity Smoak being in danger. In their third confrontation, Oliver dealt a more severe beating to Adrian and the two fought to a draw in their fourth confrontation. Ultimately, Adrian was overpowered by Oliver in their final duel.
Master knife wielder/knife thrower/weapons thrower: Adrian was extremely proficient in throwing weapons such as knives, throwing darts, throwing axes, flechettes, and his weapon of choice, throwing stars. He was able to use throwing stars to disarm police lieutenant Sam Conahan of his gun while jumping off a ledge[9] and perfectly split an arrow shot at him by Oliver.[5] Adrian even precisely threw a pen into a Marshal's eye from across a room.[19] He was also a very capable knife wielder in close combat, as shown during a confrontation with Oliver.[2]
Master swordsman: Adrian was highly skilled in the art of swordsmanship, often using his sword-fighting skills in conjunction with his melee skills. Adrian was capable of using his signature chokuto to trade blows with Oliver while the latter used his bow as a melee weapon.
Master archer: Like Oliver, Adrian was a highly capable archer, although he seems to prefer throwing weapons. Adrian is skilled enough to either wound or kill his targets with arrows. While torturing Oliver, Adrian fired three arrows into his shoulder in a tight pattern at point-blank range.[7]
"Oh... I'm 10 steps ahead of you, and you haven't even figured out what game we're playing yet."
Genius-level intellect/Master tactician/Expert investigator: Adrian was a distinctly effective tactician, with his tactics against Oliver being at a psychological level. He was successful in tricking Oliver into killing Billy Malone, knowing that Oliver came with the intent on killing the former.[5] Adrian one of the few people to ever tactically outsmart Oliver, who is a master tactician in his own right. Adrian positioned Oliver in a scenario where the latter was forced to proclaim his "Green Arrow" identity as a police killer, making it nearly impossible for him to take Prometheus down with his alter-ego.[18] Adrian had proven himself to be an excellent investigator and tracker, having learned much about Oliver and all those close to him - becoming aware of their secret identities, The List, the S.T.A.R. Labs pipeline, the Legends, and the multiverse. Adrian was very skilled at locating people, as he was able to track down the elusive Talia al Ghul[1] and William Clayton, despite Samantha Clayton's best efforts to keep her son hidden and safe.[21]
Computer specialist: Adrian had demonstrated a high degree of computer skills, as he was able to build and use several theatrical traps used against Oliver and Team Arrow.[2][5] Oliver also mentioned that Adrian has managed to erase all traces of his birth identity, "Simon Morrison", from the internet.[4]
Explosives expert: Adrian had a good knowledge of explosives, quickly placing a bomb on a train before escaping,[6] rigging many rooms of a hotel with a chain of bombs,[1] and later having a network of C4s all over Lian Yu, linked to himself to be triggered through a dead man's switch.[22] Adrian also successfully set off an EMP strong enough to shut down the entire Arrowcave.[21]
Master lawyer: As the former district attorney of Star City, Adrian was a highly capable lawyer, having prosecuted a number of criminals, including Derek Sampson. He was able to use his legal knowledge to successfully prevent John Diggle's prison transfer. Considering the fact that he only became the district attorney to get close to Oliver, it is possible that Adrian did not even possess a legitimate law degree, making his knowledge potentially even more impressive.
Master of deception/Manipulator: Adrian was exceptional at deception, letting Oliver believe he was a man with a normal life as a lawyer, to the point that he was able to befriend Oliver at work. Oliver only found out who Adrian really was through Talia. Adrian was also very manipulative, able to use Evelyn's increasing resentment towards Oliver in order to convince her to betray him.
Master interrogator/Torturer: Adrian was a highly skilled interrogator, trained in both verbal and physical extraction techniques. As a lawyer, Adrian was successfully able to flip one of Eric Dunn's men to find him.[13] While torturing Oliver, Adrian used the same methods of Oliver used to hurt his enemies, including water-boarding and shooting him with arrows, all while not killing him. At the same time, Adrian psychologically tortured Oliver by threatening his loved ones and seemingly killing Evelyn in front of him.[7] Adrian was eventually successful in breaking Oliver, a feat that only Slade Wilson and Mar Novu has accomplished, and even convinced Oliver to temporarily end his crusade until Diggle snapped him out of it.[19]
Skilled metalsmith: Adrian had stolen several of Oliver's arrows that he left behind during his vigilante career and melted them down to be reforged as his own weapons, mainly his throwing stars, showing he was a skilled crafter. Adrian's throwing stars were shown to be quite sharp, as they could split Oliver's arrows in half.[6]
Indomitable will/High pain tolerance: Adrian had a high tolerance for pain, as he could keep fighting without slowing down after Evelyn cut his arm[3] and barely flinched after being shot in the shoulder with a bullet. Adrian was still able to move his arm normally even when the bullet wound reopened.[19]
Stealth/Infiltration/Escape artist: Adrian displayed mastery in the art of stealth, as he was able to ambush his targets fairly quickly without them noticing, whether be it was day or night. Adrian snuck into Gay Eked's home, a moving subway train,[6] and even broke into S.T.A.R. Labs without triggering any alarms, an act that went unknown to Team Flash for 3 days.[8]
Intimidation: Adrian possessed an intimidating presence due to his ruthlessness, with Church, Evelyn, and even Laurel, a meta-human, displaying signs of fear towards him. Adrian's killings as the "Throwing Star Killer", combined with media rumors about his presence, was enough to cause a city-wide panic.[6] Even Darren Coffman stated Adrian was "terrifying".[2]
Equipment
Prometheus suit: Adrian wore a protective suit as Prometheus to hide his identity from his victims in his quest for vengeance against Oliver Queen. The suit also provided Prometheus with considerable protection for at least the torso, as shown when the arrows Artemis fired at Prometheus simply bounced off of him.
Voice filter: Adrian apparently used a voice filter in his mask to conceal his true identity and making him sound almost unrecognizable as Prometheus. For some reason, he made several alterations to his disguised voice. This is possibly what he used to mimic Lyla Michaels' voice to trick John Diggle.
Scabbard: A scabbard was strapped to the back of the suit, allowing Prometheus to carry his chokuto when he was not using it.
Quiver: Adrian carried a black arrow container, to carry his arrows with him.
Recurve bow: Although rarely used, Adrian carried a recurve bow, which he used to fire his arrows and for close combat.
Chokuto: Adrian carried a chokutō, a short, straight-bladed guardless sword, on his back for close quarters combat which he used to murder Sam Conahan and his fights with Green Arrow. The blade is sharp enough to kill humans, like Sam Conahan. This was created along with his throwing stars for his quest for vengeance against the Hood for killing his father. He carried it in a sheath next to his quiver, and used it to kill Lieutenant Sam Conahan. He later maintained his sword and used it to attack Curtis Holt.
One of Prometheus's throwing stars
Throwing stars: Adrian carried throwing stars strapped to his abdomen, usually no more than six at a time. These appeared to be Adrian's preferred method of killing his victims, as he showed deadly proficiency when utilizing them.
Throwing knives: Adrian carried several small and easily concealable throwing knives which could use to throw from distance or in close quarters combat.
Throwing Darts: Adrian used a throwing dart laced with Dycloseral to knock out Curtis Holt by throwing it into his shoulder.
Axe: Adrian carried at least one axe, which he used to attack Tobias Church.
Adrian chose his Prometheus alias because in mythology, Prometheus challenged the omnipotence of the gods. Adrian believed that like Oliver Queen, the gods played judge, jury, and executioner, but Prometheus took away their power.[7]
Even before the death of his father Justin Claybourne "traumatized" him, Adrian was already displaying signs of being sociopathic (which was why Claybourne planned to disown him), as shown during his vendetta:
Adrian killed numerous people whose names were anagrams of those on The List for no apparent reason other than to get back at Oliver, going as far as to recreate a crime scene with random individuals' bodies. Adrian also didn't care for his supposed allies' safety when he committed suicide to destroy Lian Yu, displaying a lack of empathy towards others' well-being.
Adrian couldn't comprehend that Oliver had changed from his former mindset as The Hood to the more heroic Green Arrow, simply believing it was an excuse to indulge in murder. Adrian's disbelief at how Oliver's friends continued to stand by him was a major factor in the former's downfall.
Adrian didn't simply kill Oliver to avenge his father, instead wasting time on drawn-out attempts to warp Oliver's self-perspective to match what the former saw him as, mostly for his own sick enjoyment.
The only real victory Adrian ever managed to achieve was the murder of Samantha Clayton, with his previous tactics gradually backfiring:
Thanks to Felicity Smoak's efforts, Team Arrow was able to release Adrian's identity as Prometheus to the public much earlier than he clearly anticipated.
His torturing of Oliver, though briefly leading to him leaving the Green Arrow identity, only increased the latter's hatred for Chase rather than himself. In addition, it helped Oliver slowly become an even better man than he ever was before as he finally made peace with his past mistakes and vowed to become the hero Star City needs him to be.
Oliver was able to stop Adrian's plot with Derek Sampson to release Claybourne's weaponized tuberculosis.
Adrian failed multiple times in his efforts to have Oliver kill him in public.
Oliver and his friends survived Adrian's endgame on Lian Yu, which really only endangered Adrian's own team.
Adrian is similar to Konstantin Kovar as both wanted revenge on Oliver by making him suffer and breaking him. However, while Kovar failed to break Oliver, Adrian was able to briefly succeed by forcing Oliver to "confess" that he killed because he wanted to and he liked it.
Both were obsessed with and went to great lengths in getting revenge on their respective enemies, Oliver and Kara Danvers. The difference between the two is that Rhea was driven to hurt Kara under the delusion that she would get her son, Mon-El back under her control while Adrian wanted to break Oliver out of revenge for his father's death.
Both killed their respective spouses for standing in the way of their vendettas; Adrian murdered his wife, Doris Chase, while Rhea murdered her husband, Lar Gand.
Both planned to kill innocent children to make sure their plans succeeded; Adrian threatened to kill Oliver's son, William Clayton, unless Oliver killed the former. Rhea threatened to destroy multiple children's hospitals unless Lena Luthor agreed to marry Mon-El.
Both planned to kill their enemies' family and friends in places significant to the heroes; Rhea planned a full invasion of Earth to kill all of Kara's loved ones while Adrian trapped all of Oliver's loved ones on Lian Yu, planning to bomb the island with explosives.
Both were the main antagonists of the 2016-2017 season.
Adrian is the first main antagonist of Arrow whose endgame did not involve the destruction of Star City or the rest of the world.
Behind the scenes
In the DC comics, Adrian Chase is known as the first present-day version of Vigilante (while Vigilante is a separate character in the series).
In DC comics, Prometheus is an alias used by multiple villains, most famously by an unnamed version that pushed Green Arrow past his limits. This version resembles Adrian in looks and modus operandi, being a mass-murdering "dark mirror version" of the hero he opposes, skilled with several fighting styles and weapons. Also, Prometheus's main motivation is to avenge his criminal parent's death and will go to great lengths to do it, similar to the comics where his parents were criminals killed by cops and wants to destroy all forms of justice because of this. Both claimed to be too smart for Green Arrow to overcome and made overly elaborate plans, but were subsequently proven wrong by Oliver and defeated, though they managed to cause massive explosions in places close to Green Arrow's heart: Prometheus destroyed Star City in the comics and Lian Yu on the show.
Prometheus' suit is extremely different from the one on the show.
Adrian shares similarities to the Batman character Arkham Knight, an alias used by Jason Todd, the second Robin, in Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Knight video game. Wrongly believing Batman abandoned him after Joker faked his death and tortured him for over a year, Jason swore revenge and adopted a darker version of Batman's suit armed with more weapons with the Arkham Knight alias, aiming to kill his former mentor. Adrian suffered a loss at Oliver's hands and uses a darker version of Oliver's suit with even more weapons than he carries as part of his vendetta against him.
Prometheus also has similarities to the speedsters Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash and Hunter Zolomon/Zoom in The Flash. Prometheus and Thawne would eliminate other individuals who interfere with their own plans. Prometheus and Zolomon have similar backgrounds caused by their fathers' actions, both men are unstable and insane, and Black Siren worked with both men. Prometheus and both speedsters are the darker versions of their respective enemies, whom they helped by feigning friendships under fake names while simultaneously opposing them in their evil personas.
Interestingly enough, his alias mirrors him being the darker version of Green Arrow since the name "Adrian" literally means "the dark one".
His birth name Simon Morrison is a reference to Prometheus's original creator Grant Morrison, with Simon being based off Batman villain Simon Hurt (also created by Grant). The character Simon Hurt also shares several similarities with the show's Simon Morrison.
Adrian's Prometheus mask looks very similar to the bandaged mask used by Hush in the DC comics.
Prometheus is the first main antagonist in the Arrowverse to willingly die by suicide. He is also one of the four main antagonists of Arrow alongside Malcolm Merlyn, Slade Wilson, and Ricardo Diaz to be credited as one of the main characters. Additionally, he was also the first main antagonist to be credited as one of the main characters in his first appearance in Arrow.
Also, like Merlyn and Wilson, Prometheus has a history with Oliver. However, Prometheus is the first antagonist with a history with Oliver that the latter was unaware of in their first encounter, as it took several episodes for Oliver to learn of Chase's ties to his father.
Unlike with other masked characters such as Zoom, Josh Segarra was in Prometheus costume in all his appearances, even before the reveal.[30]
Ironically, although Prometheus destroyed Star City in the comics, Adrian is the first Arrow villain whose endgame doesn't involve the destruction of Star City; his plan to use a biological weapon to cause a tuberculosis outbreak was part of a larger agenda.
Adrian served as the main antagonist of Season 5 of Arrow.
Adrian is also the first main antagonist to not appear or be referenced in any season prior to his own; Slade appeared multiple times in Season 1's flashbacks, Ra's al Ghul was mentioned a few times in Season 2, and Darhk was mentioned by Ra's near the end of Season 3.
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