Prometheus upped his harassment of Oliver Queen in this week’s episode of Arrow, giving information to both the ACU and the local Star City media about Green Arrow/Oliver’s role in Billy Malone’s untimely death and the subsequent cover-up. Between the stakes-raising and Oliver’s visit to Mama Prometheus’, the mystery of who is under the mask continues to simmer.
Right now, the biggest clue we have to Prometheus’ identity is that he is may be the illegitimate son of Justin Claybourne, a corrupt businessman the Hood offed back in Season 1 — at least, that’s what Team Arrow currently suspects. They have been known to get things wrong before, though, so we’re not ready to dismiss some of our more out-there theories just yet.
Who do you think Prometheus is? Check out some of our likeliest suspects, then vote in the poll at the bottom of the page:
Tommy Merlyn
This is a popular fan theory that has been making the rounds since Prometheus first hit the spoiler scene pre-season five. Arrow has brought back pretty much every other former series regular back from the dead at least once (except for Moira Queen, which I am still waiting for), why not Tommy Merlyn? Malcolm Merlyn had access to the Lazarus Pit, and dipping his long-dead son into that hot tub to bring him back to tortured life is 100 percent the kind of thing he would do. Followed by Malcolm convincing Zombie!Tommy that Oliver is his enemy. It’s been too long since Arrow has had a big bad that Oliver (and us) truly cares about. Tommy as Prometheus would make the best big bad since Slade Wilson.
This theory is complicated by the fact that Colin Donnell is currently a series regular on Chicago Med, but I’m not quite ready to let this dream die yet.
Malcolm Merlyn
I am always 50 percent sure that Malcolm Merlyn is the person trolling Oliver Queen. It’s one of his main passions in life, and it’s probably only grown in enthusiasm since Oliver chopped off one of Malcolm’s hands. Dressing up like a big bad and taking to the streets of Star City like an evil version of the Green Arrow is definitely a move out of Malcolm Merlyn’s playbook, and this guy has been suspiciously quiet since season five started. You just know that he is probably hanging out in a super secret lair somewhere in the Star City business district, working on his How to Humiliate Oliver Queen crazy wall.
This theory is slightly complicated by the fact that Malcolm is currently a part-time villain over on Legends of Tomorrow, however his CW contract is technically as a series regular across all of the CW superhero TV shows, which means a return to Arrow for the end of the season, just in time for the Prometheus reveal, is not out of the question.
Adrian Chase
Am I the only one getting some serious Sebastian Blood vibes from this guy? He first meets Oliver through his work in public service. He thinks little of Oliver’s Poor Rich Boy past. His last name is suspiciously sinister.
More conspicuously, Adrian was the only other person outside of Team Arrow who knew about Green Arrow’s part in the Billy Malone murder and Oliver Queen’s role in covering it up. It was Adrian who suggested the cover-up in the first place, talking Oliver into it. Sure, Adrian was a real mensch helping to get Diggle out of jail, but he is also an extremely likely suspect when it comes to Prometheus’ non-supervillian identity.
Editor's note: Adrian Chase (Josh Segarra) was already reported as being spoiler the DC Comics character Vigilante, but feel free to vote for him anyway!
One of Oliver’s New Recruits
Disproved!
Could one of Oliver’s new recruits be Prometheus? It seems unlikely, given that they are all just learning. Also, Rory — who is probably the most likely suspect, given his understandable anger about the Havenrock incident — already has an alter ego in Ragman. Why would he also be Prometheus? Yeah, this option doesn’t seem super likely, but it would be an emotionally-gutting choice, which I am always for. As long as it’s not the human cinnamon roll known as Curtis Holt. There are some narrative choices that are too cruel, even for Arrow.
Anatoly
This would break my Anatoly-loving heart, but Arrow does like to tie its mysterious big bads to its flashbacks (because it has to tie something to its flashbacks). Could one of the big twists of the flashbacks be that Anatoly actually has a reason to hold a massive grudge against Oliver? This would be a hard one to sell, given that we’ve seen Anatoly helping Oliver post-flashbacks (in season two’s “Keep Your Enemies Closer”). Also, Anatoly isn’t actually known for his physical prowess. Still, he’s the only consistent flashbacks character right now, so that makes him a suspect. Still, he’s a consistent flashbacks character, and that makes him a suspect.
Slade Wilson
Slade Wilson remains the best big bad in Arrow history. Has Slade escaped from Lian Yu and planned another slow, torturous take down of Oliver Queen? It’s definitely in his playbook.
Billy Malone
Yeah, I know, he’s dead… but is he? Arrow has made me super skeptical when it comes to character deaths and what better way to throw Team Arrow off your scent than to fake your own death? This would have taken some serious planning, given that we saw what seemed to be a dead Billy Malone with a few arrows to the chest, but you never know. Billy has been constantly mentioned since his death, but we still know very little about his past. Could he be the son of Justin Claybourne?
Susan Williams
Yep, I’m continuing my ever-enthusiastic campaign to make one of Arrow’s big bads a lady. Four years and counting, CW. I’m ready whenever you are.
Reporter Susan might not look like she could physically handle being Prometheus, but, you know what? This show has a dude who survived a nuclear explosion because of a pile of ancient rags, so I’m calling shenanigans on that particular counter-argument. We know that Susan is cunning, clever, and has been on to Oliver Queen and his Green Arrow identity for a while now. Could she also be out to get him on the streets, as Prometheus? Please, CW, make my Female Big Bad dreams come true.
After this week’s episode, Susan has even more reason to be pissed at Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow. Oliver assumed that Prometheus’ more aggressive moves was a result of his visit to Amanda Westfield’s house, but what if it was actually a result of Thea getting Susan fired? That would certainly necessitate action.
Worf
Did you know that Michael Dorn, aka Worf of Star Trek fame, does the voice for Prometheus? Yeah, he’s just a voice holder while Arrow takes its time with the Prometheus reveal, but wouldn’t it be great if Prometheus ripped off his mask to reveal our favorite Klingon? Not sure what Worf’s motivation would be for something like this, but it would probably involve honor.
Vote in the poll below and we'll keep an eye on the results until the final reveal!
'Arrow': Who Is Prometheus?
