Ricardo Diaz

"This city... Ah, this city, it's primed for a takeover. See, guys like you never understand these things. Why destroy a city when you can take it over?."

- Ricardo Diaz to Cayden James

Ricardo Diaz, known by the alias Dragon, is a crime lord and drug kingpin who manufactured an illegal drug akin to steroids. He was a member of Cayden James's criminal cabal and, unknowingly to Cayden James at the time, the one that had his son Owen Post killed. Following the disbandment of the cabal Diaz murders James and reveals his intentions to takeover Star City.

Early life
Ricardo Diaz, known under the alias "The Dragon", was a member of The Scorpions, an organized crime group operating in The Glades of Star City, with an impressive criminal record; however, at some point in his life, he started to operating on his own, heading an illegal drug operation and becoming a powerful crime lord, all while remaining off charts and covering up his tracks.

In early 2017 he hired Karl Iscove to kill Owen Post in a hooded costume in order to influence Cayden James and make him start a war with Green Arrow. Then, he killed Iskov to tie up loose ends and doctored a photo of Oliver as Green Arrow. It is unknown how he knew the Green Arrow's real identity.

Later in the year, Diaz leaked the photo to the FBI of Oliver Queen as the Green Arrow, thus placing the mayor under indictment and limiting his work as a vigilante.

At some point after that Diaz was arrested and sentenced to life sentence without conditional, but the charges against him are dropped by the Supreme Court because of some unspecified quibbles and he was then freed.

Drug dealing
Less than a month after his release, he sent his men to retrieve the components of a military-grade 3D printer and they were intercepted by Team Arrow Dragon appeared, setting off a smoke bomb, before walking away. Sometime later, Dragon met John Diggle when he went directly to his supplier, hoping for more drugs. Diaz checked him out, simply assuring him that they had no FDA approval and thus had to be careful. Later that night, Diaz assisted his crew with stealing a 3D printer from Palmer Technologies' bio division. He stepped out of a car, much to the surprise of Green Arrow, managing to shoot the vigilante. Shortly following Dragon was at their manufacturing warehouse, when Team Arrow showed up. Diaz dropped a drum of petrol, lighting it on fire, burning all of his drugs, before escaping.

Working with Cayden James
He was later contacted by Cayden James to join his criminal cabal. Although he was originally skeptical of how effective the group could be, James assured him that there was more to come. Later he was present when James told Jerry Bertinelli he wanted to take the port. When Green Arrow discovers James' location, Diaz and the rest of the cabal appeared forcing the vigilante to flee.

Afterwards Diaz went to the port with an army who were confronted by the Green Arrow and the Bertinelli crime family but the combined efforts of Vigilante, Black Siren and the Bratva with Diaz's army were enough to fend them off. Diaz then executed Bertenelli.

Diaz was present at a meeting to discuss the death of Sheck. James sent him and Anatoly to see that the bomb was moved and they escaped before Green Arrow could go after them.

Later, Diaz and the rest of the cabal were thanked by James for their contributions to his plan and after noticing the helicopters meant for their escape didn't come, he departed to not be there when the detonation of the bomb occurred. While leaving, he was captured by Wild Dog and Mister Terrific and brought to James who suspected him of being a traitor along with Black Siren and Anatoly. He managed to escape but was pursued by Spartan, whom he fought with before fleeing.

Diaz later appeared to the arrested Cayden James and told him that he'd used James to take over Star City saying that it's ripe for the taking and that James was narrow - minded to think he was controlling Diaz. He also stated James doesn't understand that things should be taken over and not destroyed while revealing he bribed the new police captain. He then murdered James telling him he was the who had his son killed and calmly exited the building.

Personality
Ricardo is shown to be ruthless in killing as he exhibits psychopathic traits. He has a complete lack of empathy and remorse, he is incredibly callous and shallow, displaying no qualms with murdering Cayden's son, or Cayden James himself. Ricardo wants power and is extremely patient as his plans to take over Star City began at least one year ago. He is intelligent enough to realize how Cayden would react to his doctored footage by attacking Green Arrow and assembling a powerful enough Cabal to weaken Star City, allowing for his rise to power. Ricardo also speaks with a shallow effect, with seemingly no emotion behind his words.

Abilities

 * Peak of human physical condition: Diaz is in top physical condition which he maintains through extensive training. He has fast reflexes, a remarkable durability and is strong enough to swiftly incapacitate a much larger foe with ease. Diaz's reflexes can block or catch an incoming arrow. His conditioning also lets him recover from most injuries very quickly, though not super-humanly.
 * Honed senses: Diaz has sharp hearing and sight, as well as keen skills of perception. He is able to pick up an incoming danger and react extremely quickly.
 * High-level intellect/Master tactician/Leader: As a crime lord, Diaz is able to manufacture drugs all while remaining off charts and covering up his tracks. Diaz also created a plan to take over Star City starting by having a doctored video of Karl Iscove to make it seem like Green Arrow was the one that killed Owen Post as well as leak a doctored picture of Oliver Queen as the Green Arrow to the public and the FBI. Although he was a part of Cayden James's criminal cabal, Diaz was only there to use James as a means for him to take over Star City, by letting him "thin the herd" for him, making it easier for him to take over.
 * Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Diaz is shown to be a master hand-to-hand combatant displaying a huge amount of skill as he effortlessly outmatched Thea Queen and was able to outclass and briefly overpower John Diggle who is a master hand-to-hand combatant himself. He was however swiftly subdued by Wild Dog and Mister Terrific though this could either be due to them having the element of surprise, overpowering him quickly before he could react, or because he intended to be captured to stop Cayden James from blowing up Star City as he wanted to take it over.
 * Expert marksman/Firearms: As a crime lord, Diaz is an expert in the use of many types of firearms.
 * Expert knife-wielder/Knife-thrower: Diaz is skilled in the use of knives as he carries one with him and has used it to kill Cayden James. He threw one at Thea Queen with pin-point accuracy.
 * High tolerance for pain: Diaz has a considerable tolerance for pain able to pull an arrow out of his leg and keep fighting Thea Queen.
 * Multilingualism: Being of Spanish descendant, Diaz speaks that language fluently, in addition to English.
 * Network: As the leader of a huge criminal organization, Diaz has established many connections who provides him aid for various natures, having on his payroll numerous politicians, judges and policemen both in the city and in the country.

Equipment

 * Pistol: Diaz is very proficient in using guns. He kept one holstered under his jacket to use it in case of emergencies.
 * Knife: Diaz carries a knife with him and plays with it as a manner to calm his nerves. He also used it to kill Cayden James.
 * Metal link chain: Diaz has used a metal link chain to battle John Diggle.

Trivia

 * Diaz sports tattoos of dragons around both sides his neck, his left shoulder and his back a references to the look of his comic book counterpart, Richard Dragon, after The New 52.

Behind the scenes

 * In the comics, Ricardo Diaz is a crime lord and martial artist based out of Seattle, as well as a founder of the Longbow Hunters. The shared multiverse's iteration's nickname is a reference to the pre-The New 52 version of the character, Richard Dragon.