- "Just your typical boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy goes to jail for girl... boy tries to kill girl for money."
- —Cooper Seldon[src]
Cooper Seldon (died May 2016) was a computer hacker and the ex-boyfriend of Felicity Smoak. Cooper was also the leader of the cyberterrorist organization Brother Eye, a former hacktivist, and an ally of H.I.V.E..
Biography[]
Early life[]
While attending MIT, Cooper Seldon, along with his roommate Myron Forest and girlfriend Felicity Smoak, was a hacktivist. In 2009, Felicity created a "super virus" which was originally meant for noble intentions. While using the virus to hack into the United States Department of Education, Cooper attempted to get rid of every student loan despite Felicity and Myron's protests. Felicity pulled the plug on the computer, but he had already wiped out 3,000 debts. Soon after, Cooper was arrested by the F.B.I.. He ultimately took responsibility for both the hack and creation of the virus to protect Felicity. When Felicity protested this decision, Cooper told her there was no reason both of them should be in prison since he was the one who erased the loans. Shortly afterwards, Cooper supposedly hung himself before his sentencing.
In reality, Cooper had faked his death in order to work with the National Security Agency for five years in exchange for not being imprisoned for life. During his work, Cooper changed his perspective on the world and grew to believe his hacktivism was all for nothing, deciding to instead use his abilities to gain power and money. After completing his sentence, Cooper tracked Felicity down, hoping to let her in on his plan with the virus, but grew angry after discovering she became a "corporate lapdog." Cooper planned an attack on Felicity's new home, Starling City, and formed a cyberterrorist group called Brother Eye.[1]
Cyber attack on Starling City[]
Cooper brought back the virus for Brother Eye's cyber attack on Starling City. He also attacked Starling National Bank, knowing the mayor would order a truckload of freshly printed cash from the US Treasury to be sent to the city. Realizing he would need Felicity's help to re-route the truck to their location, Cooper arranged for her mother, Donna Smoak, to come to Starling City as leverage. Afterwards, Cooper had Felicity and Donna kidnapped and brought to his hideout. Upon revealing himself, Cooper forced Felicity to hack into the Treasury trucks' GPS so they would arrive at their location by threatening her mother. Having no other choice in the matter, Felicity followed his orders. To make sure she didn't attempt to escape, Cooper zip-tied Felicity's hand to the desk and warned her that the computer was protected, preventing her from alerting the police. Upon seeing the trucks arrive, Cooper ordered his men to kill the drivers and take the money. However, Team Arrow intervened. Realizing Felicity somehow made contact, Cooper attempted to kill her but was confronted by The Arrow. When the Arrow destroyed his set-up automated machine guns, Cooper held Felicity hostage at gunpoint, but she quickly disarmed and knocked him out. Cooper was then sent to Iron Heights Prison.[1]
Allying with H.I.V.E.[]
During the Iron Heights prison break orchestrated by Malcolm Merlyn and Andy Diggle on behalf of the organization H.I.V.E., Cooper, along with many of the other inmates, were freed from captivity.[2] Cooper's hacking skills caught the eye of H.I.V.E.'s leader, Damien Darhk, who recruited him to hack into Rubicon so H.I.V.E. could finish carrying out their plan, Genesis. However, Cooper found himself once again opposed by Felicity in a hacking battle, only this time, she was backed up by her father, Noah Kuttler. Working together, Felicity and Noah managed to take control of Rubicon from Cooper and sent a power wave through his computer, knocking him out.[3]
Upon waking up, Cooper was shot in the back by Darhk for his failure. Darhk used his powers to torture Cooper by slowly moving the bullet closer to his spine, promising to kill him in the most painful way possible if he didn't continue to help carry out Genesis. Darhk set Cooper up in an abandoned warehouse to ensure no one would find him. However, he was tracked down by Felicity, Malcolm, Curtis Holt, and Thea Queen. Cooper explained his dilemma to Felicity, shamefully admitting how terrified he is of Darhk. However, she managed to convince Cooper to help them by reminding him of how he always wanted to save the world, which was why he became a hacktivist in the first place. Cooper then allowed Felicity access to his computer despite knowing the consequences. Indeed, Darhk sensed that Cooper had betrayed him and promptly followed through on his promise to kill him painfully while Felicity helplessly watched.[4]
Legacy[]
Felicity and Curtis were able to redirect the Rubicon missiles into space, saving the planet and preventing Genesis, thus ensuring that Cooper's sacrifice was not in vain.
Cooper's death was avenged when Damien Darhk was killed by Green Arrow.[4]
Appearances[]
Arrow[]
Season 3[]
Season 4[]
- "A.W.O.L." (mentioned)
- "Lost in the Flood"
- "Schism"
Behind the scenes[]
- His name is most likely a gag on one of The Big Bang Theory's main characters, Sheldon Cooper, who is also a genius with little in the way of social skills, who just so happens to be a fan of The Flash.