Within the DC Universe, several formidable baddies have adopted the mantle of Prometheus. Throughout comics, this supervillain has served as a frequent adversary to the Justice League, while also going toe to toe against such heroes as Batman, Green Arrow, and Midnighter. But while the name Prometheus may ring a bell, just how much do you about the men behind the mask?
The original Prometheus was created by Len Wein and Paris Cullins and made his debut in Blue Beetle #3 in 1986. Known as Curt Calhoun, this small-time criminal was hired by Doctor Alchemy to steal promethium from KORD Inc. While he managed to obtain the promethium, both Calhoun and Doctor Alchemy are captured by the Blue Beetle. In a later fight, Calhoun is covered with metals laced with promethium and is covered with a permanent metallic shell. This metal epidermis grants him superior strength and durability, while he is also capable of raising the temperature of his armored form to several hundred degrees. After adopting the alias Prometheus, he fights against superhero teams like the New Teen Titans.
A newer version of the character was introduced in New Year's Evil: Prometheus in 1998 by Grant Morrison and Arnie Jorgensen. This most recognized version is established as the child of to hippie spree killers who were eventually gunned down by police. Traumatized from his childhood, his hair turns ghostly white and he vows to avenge his slain parents by “annihilating the forces of justice.” Utilizing his parents hidden fortunes, this Prometheus travels the world developing his skill set. Along with his genius-level intellect, he is also a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist, an expert in the use of various weapons and has peak human physical and mental conditioning. This version of the character battled the Justice League and the Avengers, before joining Lex Luthor’s second Injustice Gang.
In The CW’s live-action Arrowverse, Josh Segarra portrays a heavily adapted version of Prometheus. Segarra played the Earth-1 version of Simon Morrison that served as the main antagonist of Arrow season five. After Green Arrow killed his criminal father, Morrison trained under Talia al Ghul to become a dark mirror to the hooded vigilante. Morrison adopted the alias of Adrain Chase to get close to Oliver Queen, while simultaneously terrorizing his vigilante team as the serial killer Prometheus. In his quest for revenge, Prometheus ended up shooting himself in the head in the season five finale.
But much like in the comic universe, death is not the end. As Arrow heads into its eighth and final season, several characters are coing back from the dead, including Segarra’s Adrian “Prometheus” Chase. Read more about this exciting development and what it means for the Arrowverse on Scoop.