- "I've studied you, Oliver Queen. I know everything, who you love, who you trust, who you've hurt. But do you know how easy it was to turn Evelyn against you? How easy it will be to turn them all? 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."
- —Prometheus to Green Arrow[src]
Adrian Chase is the District Attorney of Star City and a close collaborator of Oliver Queen as mayor, helping him in cleaning up the streets through the legal system. He is also secretly Prometheus and with a personal vendetta against the Hood. Having lost someone to the vigilante, he trained for 4 years in order to gain retribution, studying his skillset and history, while also uncovering his true identity as Oliver Queen. In his alter-ego, he crusades against the Green Arrow in order to destroy the hero's life and legacy. Prometheus has also been labeled by the media as the "Throwing Star Killer" for murdering people, whose names formed anagrams of people on The List, with shurikens.
Biography
Early life
Adrian met Oliver Queen in 2004 when Oliver successfully tried to pick up his girlfriend.[1]
At some point in his life he met and fell in love with a woman named Doris, who later become his wife.[2]
In 2012, Adrian's father, Justin Claybourne, who wasa pharmaceutical owner was killed by The Hood as he was on the List, who had Adrian with his mistress, Amanda Westfield sometime around 1986. However this remains unverified as Adrian himself has yet to confirm the speculation, though he is reported to have vanished after his funeral indicating there may be some truth to this.[2][3]
Since 2012, Adrian has trained himself to learn everything he could about his target, and learnt several specific moves that were taught to him by Talia al Ghul, who also trained Oliver Queen.[2]He also armed himself with an array of weapons forged from The Hood's discarded arrows which only Star City Police Department would have access to, though how he got a hold of them is unknown. He also began using a suit strikingly similar to Oliver's suit from his days as the Hood, but with darker colors and with a full face mask, adopting the name "Prometheus".
Sometime after the death of Susanna,[3] Adrian succeeded her as the district attorney of Star City.
Beginning his crusade
Five months following Damien Darhk's death Prometheus began his crusade by targeting individuals in Star City whose names formed anagrams to other names on The List. His first target was Lieutenant Conahan.
When Conahan was leaving the SCPD precinct, he noticed Prometheus on the rooftop. Mistaking him for Green Arrow, Conahan asked if he could help him, but was shot by an arrow. Conahan painfully tried to shoot back, but Prometheus dodged his shots, leaped to the ground and threw a shuriken to disarm him. As Conahan tried to flee, Prometheus threw a knife into his leg, knocking the cop down. As Conahan desperately tried to crawl away, Prometheus slowly walked up to him, sword in hand, and, when asked if he was Green Arrow, coldly replied that he wasn't, and killed Conahan.[5]
Conflict with Tobias Church
A few nights later, Prometheus somehow learned of Green Arrow's encounter with crime lord Tobias Church amidst his illegal deal with AmerTek Industries, where he almost killed Green Arrow. In response, Prometheus stalked Church and as he left Club XLR8, he killed his two bodyguards. While Church mistook him for Green Arrow, Prometheus threw an axe into Church's shoulder, leaped to the ground and slammed Church into the pavement. Prometheus angrily told Church he was aware of his attempt to kill Green Arrow, and warned Church that Green Arrow was his to kill and if Church tried it again then he'd die too. [6]
Derek Sampson's case
Adrian was building a case against Derek Sampson and was close to flipping the drug-dealer but couldn't after a hockey masked vigilante "killed" Derek. After it was revealed that Derek was still alive, Adrian tried to contact Oliver to get Judge Pittson to sign a warrant. Shortly after, Adrian joked about their past and assured Oliver he doesn't hold grudges. After Green Arrow and his new team took care of Derek, Adrian told Oliver that Derek was apprehended.[1]
Dealing with Church
A few days later, during a meeting at the mayor's office, Adrian met the new deputy mayor Quentin Lance and proclaimed his pleasure in working with him telling he don't blame him for having worked with Darhk as public service isn't easy and sometimes is inevitable getting a little dirty to clean it up. Later, as Team Arrow has captured an associate of the crime lord Church, Adrian and Quentin personally delivered to the SCPD the evidence they got from him, which turned out to be a disguised bomb, whose explosion allowed Church's group to break in and steal weapons from evidence. Later that night, at the SCPD's Anti-Crime Unit headquarters Adrian interrogated Church's man menacing to beat the information out of him as all the justice in the city comes from vigilantes. During the interrogation, Church's group assaulted the building trying to destroy the ACU, however Team Arrow managed to help everyone inside escape the attack, including Adrian who then decides to trust the vigilantes' motives.[4]
A couple of weeks later, Prometheus learned that Church had ignored his warnings and confronted him at the docks. Reminding him of his threat Prometheus tried to kill him with an arrow, but Church had his own bodyguard to protect him. Prometheus reminded Church he had his second warning and wouldn't be given a third and left. After Church was arrested following his defeat by Green Arrow, being transferred to Iron Heights, Prometheus attacked the convoy of police cars escorting him. After slaughtering the escorting officers, he confronted Church in the police van. Church tried to plead for his life by telling him Green Arrow's identity: Oliver Queen, though it's implied Prometheus already knew Oliver's identity. When Church asked if they were cool, Prometheus threw a shuriken into his neck and killed him, and replied that they were, then left the scene of his slaughter.[7]
Crusading against Green Arrow
With Green Arrow now aware of his existence after being informed by Church prior to his death, Prometheus lured him and Spartan to a construction site, using Church's cell phone to lure them out. After they tracked the phone he called it , heavily breathing into the phone, as Green Arrow answered. He then ignited a message on the ground, "SO IT BEGINS". From there, he continued killing civilians to form more anagrams of individuals on the List including Peter Meld and Gay Eked. Their names, along with Conahan and Church's all spelled out anagrams of Green Arrow's previous victims: Adam Hunt, Ted Gaynor, Palmer Cokes and Sachi Beech.
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 Evelyn Sharp/Artemis. They entered into a duel where Artemis managed to cut Prometheus right arm, before Green Arrow came to Artemis' rescue, shooting an arrow into his back. Instantly recognizing it as an explosive arrow Prometheus threw it onto the roof where it exploded and Prometheus escaped through the hole made, but left a bomb which blew up the train though Green Arrow and Artemis escaped with the train driver. Later Prometheus sneaked into Quentin Lance's apartment and left a cut on his arm, while he was passed out from alcoholism, just like the cut Artemis gave Prometheus, and left a shuriken to implicate him.[8]
Some time after Prometheus' encounter with Evelyn he sought her out. Prometheus manipulated her into betraying Oliver, as she had become resentful of him after learning he was the Hood, who'd murdered several people she knew, promising to let her watch when he finally kills 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.[2] Days later, Prometheus met Artemis alone on a rooftop, where she assured him she wasn't followed and told him Team Arrow doesn't suspect her true allegiance.[9]
At some point in December 2016, Prometheus went to Central City, where he broke into S.T.A.R. Labs without setting off any alarms and freed Laurel Lance/Black Siren, the Earth Two doppelgänger of the late Laurel Lance/Black Canary, to impersonate her Earth One counterpart, threatening to kill her if she didn't comply. Reluctantly, Black Siren agreed and, to maintain her cover, Prometheus told her vital information on Earth One Laurel's life. He also informed her of the Waverider and the Legends, so Earth Two Laurel could use the cover story that Sara brought her back and transported her to the present. Team Flash would be unaware of the breakout for almost 3 days.[4]
During Christmas, Prometheus, while sharpening his weapons, was approached by Evelyn with photographs and addresses of Felicity Smoak and Rory Regan. Evelyn then asked Prometheus to be there when he kills Oliver, Prometheus stated that he doesn't intend to kill Oliver, but to make him wish he was dead. Prometheus later attacked Curtis Holt at the mayor's Christmas party and his husband, Paul, effortlessly defeating him and injecting him with the drug, Dycloseral, leaving Oliver and Team Arrow that he is aware of their secret identities and that he is Justin Claybourne.
At Claybourne Pharmaceuticals, Prometheus confronted Green Arrow and engaged him in a battle. Though Green Arrow initially had the upper hand, Prometheus ultimately bests him - only for Wild Dog to shot his katana out of his hand, causing Artemis to intervene and reveal her true allegiance. As Green Arrow and Wild Dog stood in shock Artemis fired a smoke arrow to cover her and Prometheus' escape.[2]While investigating Claybourne Pharmaceuticals, Detective Billy Malone discovered a photograph of a baby and sends it to Felicity, leaving Oliver to believe Prometheus is Claybourne's son, before Prometheus appended Billy. Tracking Prometheus to the location of where Oliver killed Claybourne, Green Arrow discovered that Prometheus had recreated the whole scene in which of all the people that he'd killed when pursuing Claybourne before confronting Prometheus in the exact spot in which he killed Claybourne. Prometheus asked if Green Arrow even hesitated when he killed him, or he was merely another name on the List.
They engaged in a fight before landing crashing into one of the building's floors, in which Prometheus told Green Arrow that he knows everything about him and is going to show him and everyone else that everything he touches dies. Having dressed Billy Malone in his suit beforehand, Prometheus ultimately orchestrated Green Arrow killing him in order to prove his point, telling him over a wireless speaker attached to Billy that everyone loves dies. Somehow Prometheus also imitated Lyla Michaels' voice to trick Diggle into returning to the safe-house his family were staying in, and tipped off the F.B.I. which allowed them to recapture him. [2] After this Prometheus sent Earth Two Laurel to impersonate her Earth One counterpart, roughly 3 days after breaking her out of S.T.A.R. Labs.
Eventually Black Siren's cover was blown but as she asked why she couldn't have just killed them, Prometheus furiously tackled her. Choking her throat tight enough to prevent her using her scream power against him, Prometheus reminded her that her freedom and life are contingent on her following his orders. Terrified Black Siren agreed and fell in line. Later after Black Siren was captured by Team Arrow, Felicity would later allow Black Siren to escape, hoping she would lead Team Arrow to Prometheus, which proved successful.
As Prometheus went to meet up with Black Siren he knocked out Ragman before confronting Green Arrow, which lead to another fight between the two. Green Arrow shot a drugged-dart shot at Prometheus before firing a cable-arrow at him, hoping to restrain and finally capture him. Instead Prometheus struggle 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 most drugs and they continued their fight. After seeing Felicity being confronted by Black Siren, Prometheus tauntingly told him to choose between him or Felicity, concluding the ordeal by kicking Green Arrow through a wooden wall, to where Black Siren and Felicity are, before escaping.[4]
Attacking the Queen administration
After Oliver visited Prometheus' apparent mother Amanda, asking her for the name of her son, Prometheus sent a letter to S.C.P.D. Captain Frank Pike containing the autopsy report for Billy's cause of death, which D.A. Adrian Chase had covered up to avoid a panic. As a result Pike ordered the Anti-Crime Unit to arrest Green Arrow for Billy's death, though Oliver was successful in getting Pike to stop his pursuit after talking sense into him. Instead Prometheus leaked the mayor's office role in covering up Billy's death to the media which was broadcast by Channel 52 news, in order to end Oliver's administration as mayor.[10]
Personality
Little is known about Prometheus other than his extreme hatred for Oliver Queen to the point of obsession for ambiguous reasons. Prometheus's fixation on Oliver runs so deep that he will threaten and even kill those who threaten Oliver's life, as he wishes to destroy Oliver himself, as seen with Tobias Church when he made an attempt on Oliver's life.[6][7] Prometheus's methods against Oliver are ruthless, merciless, and psychologically personal as he willing kills innocent people simply because their names are anagrams on Oliver's List, using his victims to recreate the scene in which Oliver killed Justin Claybourne, setting Oliver up to kill Billy Malone who was his ex-fiancée's current boyfriend, and freeing Black Siren to torment him because she is the Doppelgänger of Laurel Lance whom Oliver loved.[8][2][4] Prometheus's end goal is unclear, however he has stated to Evelyn Sharp that he wants to make Oliver wish he was dead, and prove to him that everything that he touches dies.[2]
Abilities
- Expert archer: Like Oliver, Chase is a trained archer although his exact level is unknown due to his preference for throwing weapons. He is, however, skilled enough to shoot arrows to either wound or kill his targets and uses it as a improvised quarter-staff like Oliver.
- Expert swordsman: Prometheus is trained in the art of swordsmanship, often using his sword fighting skills in conjunction with his melee skills; his exact level as a swordsman is unknown.
- Free-running/Acrobatics: Prometheus is able to move and scale down walls with great dexterity and grace, even while throwing his shurikens.
- Intimidation: Prometheus possesses an intimidating presences due to his ruthlessness with Tobias Church, Evelyn Sharp, and even Black Siren, a meta-human, showing signs of fear towards him; his killings as the "Throwing Star Killer" combined with media rumors and his presence was enough to cause a city wide panic.
- Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Adrian, like Oliver, is an incredible martial artist with his fighting style being similar to Oliver's and like him he was trained by Talia al Ghul. Prometheus was able to quickly restrain Church and Black Siren, effortlessly defeat Evelyn and Curtis Holt, and was able to fight on par with Oliver during two of their confrontations.
- Master marksman/Knife-thrower: Chase is an incredibly skilled marksman who is highly proficient in throwing weapons such as knives, battle axes, flechettes and his weapon of choice: shuriken. He was able to disarm police Lieutenant Conahan while jumping and was able to perfectly split an arrow shot at him by Oliver in half, by throwing a shuriken.
- Master tactician/Manipulator/Investigator: Adrian has proven himself to be a highly skilled investigator, having learned much about Oliver and all who are close to him. He knows of their secret identities, The List, the S.T.A.R. Labs pipeline, and the Legends. Prometheus is also a highly effective tactician, with his tactics against Oliver being at a psychological level, as he was able to successfully trick Oliver into killing Detective Billy Malone knowing that Oliver came after Prometheus with the intent to kill him. Prometheus is also very manipulative, able to turn Evelyn against Oliver and her fellow Team Arrow members.
- Peak of human physical condition: Prometheus is in top physical form after four years of training to defeat Oliver. He is strong enough to pin down the large and physically imposing Church and kick Oliver through a wooden wall. He also has a high tolerance to drugs, as he was able to quickly shrug off the effect of the Diazepam-ridden dart that Oliver threw at him.
- Skilled computer hacker: Chase has demonstrated some degree of computer skills, as he has used a theatrical trick during his first confrontation with Oliver and Oliver has mentioned that Prometheus has erased almost all traces of his identity from the internet.
- Skilled metalsmith: Prometheus has stolen several of Oliver's arrows that Oliver has left behind during his vigilante career and melted them down to be reforged as his own weapons: mainly his shuriken.
- Stealth: Prometheus is highly skilled in the art of stealth, as he is able to sneak in or appear people fairly quickly without them noticing. He was able to sneak into S.T.A.R. Labs without triggering any alarms, an act that went unknown to them for 3 days.
Appearances
Arrow
Season 5
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Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Adrian Chase is known as the crimefighter Vigilante.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "A Matter of Trust"
- ↑ "Spectre of the Gun"
- ↑ "Green Arrow"
- ↑ "Penance"