William Clayton (formerly known as Matthew when in hiding from H.I.V.E. and William Harris in an erased future) is a supporting character in the Arrowverse.
He is the son of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow and the late Samantha Clayton, the stepson of Felicity Smoak, the paternal half-brother of Mia Queen, the grandson of the late Robert Queen and Moira Dearden Queen, Frank and Irene Clayton, and the nephew of Thea and Emiko Queen.
History[]
Pre-Crisis[]
Post-Crisis[]
In late-2019, his father, Oliver Queen, sacrificed himself for the sake of the multiverse in the Crisis, and to ensure the future of William and his family. With Oliver's sacrifice, he and the Paragons restored William, replacing the old multiverse with a new one. On Earth-Prime, instead of losing contact with his family, William and Mia were raised by Felicity in Queen Mansion. He got to know his paternal grandmother, Moira, and his other aunt, Emiko due to Oliver Queen preventing their deaths that occurred in Season 2 and Season 7. As Slade Wilson did not murder Moira, the Queen family kept the manor so William and Mia were able to grow up in the same house their dad was raised in.
In 2020, the past version of William was kidnapped by John Byrne, a man who wanted to exact vengeance on Oliver because his father had apprehended him seven years prior. The future version of Mia saved her brother and rather than kill Byrne, Mia showed the man the same mercy she and William's father showed him seven years ago. Later in the Arrowcave, Mia showed William her arrow without revealing who she was.
The next day, William attended his father's memorial service with his family and friends.
In 2023, when John Diggle and Oliver were briefly reunited with each other, the men discussed how William was attending college and that Oliver was proud of both of his children.
Potential Future[]
William became an employee of Smoak Technologies and briefly dated Keven Dale, who cheated on him with another man.
In 2049, Williamwas kidnapped by an unknown salliant and was missing for 2 years. As such Mia from 2051 traveled back in time to 2021 where she assisted Team Flash in defeating Despero and the Reverse-Flash to prevent Armageddon. Mia decided to go visit her mother in Star City and ask for her help in searching for William.
Personality[]
William demonstrated exceptional intelligence and brilliance throughout his childhood. Unbeknownst to him, he had ties to the Queens, yet he valued his upbringing with Samantha, treasuring their close-knit family. A dedicated admirer of the Flash, he swiftly developed a friendship with Oliver, oblivious to their familial connections at that time. Their shared enthusiasm for baseball further strengthened their relationship. In the aftermath of the events on Lian Yu, William experienced some resentment towards Oliver for his inability to save her, resulting in a phase of blame. Nevertheless, after an honest and sincere discussion with Oliver, the two were able to reconcile.
Gradually, William became comfortable referring to Oliver as "Dad," indicating his acceptance of Oliver's role as his father. He later experienced anxiety over the possibility of losing his father when Oliver resumed his identity as the Green Arrow. Over time, William also developed a close relationship with Felicity Smoak, Oliver's girlfriend, who took on a maternal role in his life which eventually became fulfilled when Felicity became his stepmother. When Mia mistakenly assumed that William had been an ex-lover of Felicity's, he was quick to express his disapproval, clarifying that Felicity was, in fact, his mother—technically, his stepmother.
However, when he lost contact with both of his parents, William thought Oliver and Felicity had abandoned him when in reality, his maternal grandparents ceased contact with the couple. He remained unaware of his baby sister's existence and harbored resentment towards both Felicity and Oliver until 2040 when Felicity Smoak reached out to him after a prolonged period of silence.
William, now an adult, was determined to conceal his history with the Queen, going so far as to adopt a different surname. He shared a strong bond with his sister, Mia, reminiscent of the relationship between their father and their aunt Thea.
In the original multiverse, William was not raised with his sister and didn't meet her until adulthood.
Powers and abilities[]
New Multiverse[]
- Genius-level Intellect
- Programming/Computer skills
- Skilled hand-to-hand combatant
- Cooking
Erased Future[]
- Genius-level intellect/Great business acumen
- Computer specialist/Master computer hacker
- Multilingualism
- Culinary Arts
- Skilled Hand to hand combatant
Trivia[]
- Both William and Mia never had their father's last name in the original multiverse. Currently only Mia has their father's surname.
- In the original comics, Oliver's son was Connor Hawke. In The Arrowverse, Connor Hawke and William Clayton are separate characters and it is William's sister Mia who becomes their father's successor as the Green Arrow.
- William is gay; his biological father Oliver and stepmother Felicity have known about that since he was a teenager.
