Detective Malone Brings Mystery To 'Arrow'

There have been a lot of new characters introduced to Arrow Season 5. With the death of Laurel Lance and the changes in the Arrow squad, room has been made for more comic book and original characters alike. Felicity's boyfriend, Detective Billy Malone, is one Arrow newbie already making waves. And unfortunately for fans who want to know where his storyline could be going, Detective Malone is not a DC Comics character — at least as far as we know. So that means there's no way of knowing how long he'll be around to interfere with the reunion between Oliver and Felicity that we're all waiting for.

So far, Detective Malone appears to be good, as he helps Felicity gather evidence without asking too many questions and comforts her at home. However, few characters in the Arrow universe are what they first appear to be. Malone could simply remain a roadblock to Olicity happiness, or we could see him develop into a real villain as the season progresses. Because there's no character named Billy Malone in the comics to draw from, his storyline could take him anywhere.

Right now, the biggest risk Malone poses is his desire to be brought into the fold. Anytime a character gains information about the secretive Arrow and his band of vigilantes, it presents risks for our favorite characters. One major risk is what could happen if Malone finds out that Oliver is the Green Arrow, and starts to have concerns about Felicity working alongside him so closely. Jealousy has turned many a comic book character into a villain, and we could see Malone take a dark turn if he's not quite as sweet as he first appeared.

However, Malone could become something much worse than a jealous or scorned boyfriend. What if Malone turns out to be the mysterious Prometheus? The masked villain is still running around shooting people with arrows and vowing to kill the Green Arrow and anyone, including Malone, could be under that hood.

Bolstering this theory is the fact that Prometheus also appears to be an an original character. Executive Producer Wendy Mericle discussed the new villain with IGN before the season started and said, "He has a very personal grudge and axe to grind with Oliver and he's going to come at him in a really interesting, sociopathic kind of way." What's more sociopathic than using Felicity just to get close to Team Arrow and enact some vicious revenge? Though there haven't been any major clues pointing towards Malone being Prometheus just yet, I wouldn't be surprised if the pieces start to fall into place.

The Arrow world is a dark one and my gut is telling me Malone is up to no good. But every new character also brings the potential to be another ally in Oliver's fight against evil. There has been a lot of talk this season about the need for Team Arrow to work better with law enforcement. Whatever side of the fight he falls on, I think Malone will take on a much more important role as Arrow Season 5 continues.

Images: Diyah Pera, Bettina Strauss/The CW