Justin Claybourne was first mentioned in the pilot as an entry on ‘The List,’ but it wasn’t until Arrow Season 5 episode 9, “What We Leave Behind,” that we got to see The Hood take him down. After Curtis was attacked by Prometheus and shot with an arrow laced with dycloseral, Oliver figured out the drug’s connection to his days as The Hood in Arrow Season 1.
Oliver, Dig and Felicity remembered why the name ‘dycloseral’ sounded so familiar. Then we saw a series of newly filmed flashbacks of Oliver’s days as The Hood, including when he took down a black market organization called AK Desmond Group, who were in business with Claybourne Pharmaceuticals. The company, which Justin Claybourne owned, was making tuberculosis into a bioweapon only curable by their own absurdly expensive drug: dycloseral.
Donning The Hood costume from Season 1 in the new flashbacks, Oliver tried to convince Justin Claybourne to make things right, but obviously he didn’t listen. This was back in the time when Oliver didn’t hesitate to kill his victims. He barged into Claybourne/AK Desmond's Starling City hideout located at 1852 West Maple St. on the 30th floor, killing all of the guards. He finally went face to face with Claybourne, who pleaded to Oliver Donald Trump style: “You wanna make this city great again, this is how. With business, money.” The Hood wasn’t convinced and put an arrow right through his chest.
Back in present day, Oliver remembers Claybourne’s address on West Maple St. He goes to the same rooftop where Justin Claybourne died and sure enough, Prometheus is there. At first, Team Arrow thought Justin Claybourne somehow survived. But after Felicity’s boyfriend, Detective Billy Malone, finds an old photo of a baby in Claybourne’s office, the team realizes Prometheus could be Claybourne’s child.
But Oliver doesn’t get far enough to find out who's really behind the mask. Prometheus tricked Oliver up with a classic bait and switch. He kidnapped Billy Malone, duct taped his mouth, and put a weapon in his hand after leading Oliver into an extensive maze of mirrors. Thinking it was Prometheus, Oliver killed Billy Malone, giving Prometheus exactly what he wanted: to prove Green Arrow is a killer. Through an intercom on Billy Malone’s chest, Prometheus spoke to Oliver as he navigated the trap.
“Did you hesitate at all when you killed him, or was he just another name you crossed of your list? This is about so much more than revenge. I studied you Oliver Queen. I know everything. Who you love. Who you trust. Who you’ve hurt. Do you know how easy it was to turn everyone against you. How easy it will be to turn them all. You are not a hero. You are a killer and I'm going to show you that. I'm going to show you have everything you touch, dies. Four years I've waited to make you answer for your sins.”
Considering Prometheus seems to be one step ahead of Oliver at all times, here’s a strong possibility that baby photo is misleading. The Season 5 episode 10 promo confirms Felicity is looking to find the mother of the baby in the photo, which could prove to be a useful bit of information. Or a trap… either way, this photo is good clue, even if Prometheus doesn’t end up being Claybourne’s kid. Prometheus did not confirm Claybourne was his father, but Claybourne’s death is a large part of why he wants revenge.
The most interesting part of all this is how Prometheus and Oliver’s timelines are starting to link up. If Prometheus is Claybourne’s kid, how the hell did he end up in Russia training with the same woman as Oliver? During the first fight scene between Prometheus and Green Arrow, the same one where Artemis reveals herself as a traitor, Oliver notices a special flip that Prometheus does. He concludes they must have trained in the same place, by the same woman.
In addition to the old photo, there were many other clues about Prometheus’ identity. The connection between Prometheus and Artemis is still unknown, but now we know it was Prometheus who sought out Artemis, not the other way around. He could be doing the same thing with other people negatively affected by Arrow’s early-life shenanigans. Susan Williams may end up being one of those people. The upcoming flashbacks in Russia will hopefully continue the Konstantin Kovar and Viktor story arcs, which could end up being Susan Williams’ connection to Russia. Throwing a wrench into all of this is the appearance of Talia al Ghul in Season 5 episode 10. She could end up being the woman who trained Oliver and Prometheus.
What do you think? Is Justin Claybourne really Prometheus' dad? Let us know in the comments below!
