Matthew Shrieve

Matthew Shrieve
Biological Information
Species	Human
Status	Deceased
Universe Information
Home universe	Earth-1
General Information
Occupation	Military general
Affiliation	United States Army
Actor	Marc Singer

"The Chinese own enough of our national debt to decimate our economy and all without firing a shot. Or, they could destroy us with the largest army in human history."

—Matthew Shrieve^[src]

General Matthew Shrieve (died 2010) was a corrupt military general of the U.S. Army. Fearing China would eventually bring the end of America, Shrieve plotted China's downfall with a bio-weapon which killed thousands in Hong Kong including Akio Yamashiro. In rage, Shrieve was executed by Akio's father, Maseo, but only after hours of painful torture by Oliver Queen.

Biography

After Oliver Queen stopped Chien Na Wei from selling the Omega, General Shrieve told Oliver he had to return to China for a debrief, in return, he would allow Oliver to go wherever he wished. Upon finalizing Oliver's debrief, Shrieve kept his word and allowed Oliver to go anywhere he wished, but he had to go to Japan with the Yamashiros first. It later was revealed that he broke his promise and ordered men to hunt down and kill Oliver and the Yamashiros. It turns out, while Oliver is infiltrating an A.R.G.U.S. field house, General Shrieve had held Amanda Waller prisoner. He thought that Hong Kong was a military threat and was planning on using the Omega to destroy the city.

After Akio was subjected to the virus, Maseo and Oliver tracked down Shrieve where they forced him to procure the cure for Akio. Unfortunately there was never a cure, as Shrieve revealed that Maseo had in fact taken insulin for Shrieve's diabetes. Upon his trickery, he subdued Oliver with snipers.

Due to Akio's death caused by the virus, Oliver tortured Shrieve for hours and left him unconscious; until Maseo shot him in the head, killing him instantly.

Legacy

Despite Shrieve's death, his actions were what indirectly led Maseo Yamashiro to join the League of Assassins, becoming known as "Sarab". Shrieve's brutal death made Oliver believe he was torturing him for justice, but eventually realized it was vengeance and served as a vital growth point to help him distinguish justice from vengeance.

Oliver and Tatsu Yamashiro felt that torturing Shrieve took away Oliver's humanity.

Personality

"Well, Shrieve seems to think that China is a military and economic threat."

—Amanda Waller to Oliver Queen^[src]

Shrieve was a manipulative liar with little regard for the individuals he hurt, justifying it with the belief that he was serving his country, he attempted to kill Oliver and the Yamashiros in order to tie up loose ends despite the services they had done for him. He was probably as sociopathic and immoral as Amanda Waller was, if not worse, in his pursuit of his goal to wipe out China, which he believes to be a major military threat, by using the Alpha-Omega bio-weapon that would kill thousands of innocent individuals. In his final moments, he had absolutely no guilt, shame or remorse for his despicable actions.

Despite Shrieve's horrendous actions, he did genuinely believe his actions would benefit the United States by crippling China.

These negative traits of Shrieve's, were what led to his painful yet deserved torture at the hands of Oliver Queen and his justified death at the hands of Maseo Yamashiro.

Abilities

"My contact says Shrieve has men everywhere, with even more resources at his disposal than Waller ever had."

—Maseo Yamashiro to Oliver Queen^[src]

• High-level intellect/Military training/Expert tactician/Leader: As an military general of the United States Army, Matthew was a highly intelligent individual, an excellent tactician and leader.
• Network: Due to his affiliation with the United States Army, Matthew had connections with several military organizations.
• Intimidation: Matthew was able to intimidate other people.

Weaknesses

• Diabetes: Shrieve was diabetic and required insulin.

Appearances

Arrow

Season 3

• "The Return" (flashbacks)
• "Nanda Parbat" (flashbacks)
• "Broken Arrow" (mentioned)
• "The Fallen" (flashbacks)
• "This Is Your Sword" (flashbacks)
• "My Name Is Oliver Queen" (flashbacks)

Season 4

• "Green Arrow" (mentioned)
• "Code of Silence" (mentioned)

Season 5

• "Second Chances" (mentioned)
• "Missing" (flashbacks)

Season 8

• "Welcome to Hong Kong" (mentioned)

Trivia

• Matthew Shrieve was the only flashback main antagonist to not be killed by Oliver Queen. The other four (Edward Fyers, Anthony Ivo, Baron Reiter, and Konstantin Kovar) died at the hands of Oliver Queen. In Matthew's case, he was killed by Oliver's friend Maseo Yamashiro.

Behind the scenes

• In the DC comics, Matthew Shrieve is a military lieutenant who leads a paramilitary squad known as the Creature Commandos, comprised of cinematic monster themed super-heroes.
• Shrieve served as the main antagonist of the "flashbacks arc" of Season 3 of Arrow.
• Shrieve is portrayed in contrast to his comic counterpart; originally he was a hero, but in the Arrowverse he is an immoral, sociopathic villain.