- "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 Felicity Smoak's ex-boyfriend. He 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 along with his roommate Myron, and girlfriend Felicity, created a "super virus" which was originally meant for noble intentions. While using the virus to hack into the Department of Education, Cooper attempted to get rid of every student loan despite Felicity's protests. Although he was stopped, he would be arrested by the FBI soon after. He supposedly hung himself before his sentencing.[1]
Cyber attack on Starling City
Cooper brought back the virus for a cyber attack on Starling City. He attacked the Starling National Bank, knowing when a truck load of freshly printed cash was to be sent to the city. Cooper kidnapped Felicity and her mother and was revealed to have faked his death in order to work with the NSA for the past five years. Cooper then had Felicity re-route the truck drivers to their location, using her mother as leverage. Having no other choice in the matter, Felicity followed his orders. To make sure she didn't attempt to escape, she was tied to the desk and warned that the computer was protected, preventing her from alerting the police. When Cooper realized Felicity made contact by using her mother's watch given to her by Ray Palmer, he attempted to kill her before being stopped by The Arrow. Cooper held Felicity hostage at gun point, though Felicity disarmed him, knocking him out. He 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 of the organization H.I.V.E., Seldon, along with many of the other inmates of Iron Heights, were freed from captivity. Seldon's hacking skills caught the eye of H.I.V.E.'s leader, Damien Darhk, who recruited him to hack into Rubicon. However, Seldon found himself once again opposed by Felicity in a hacking battle, only this time, she was backed up by her father, Noah Kuttler. Kuttler and Smoak, working together, managed to defeat Seldon and sent a power wave through his computer, knocking him out.[2]
Upon waking up, Seldon was shot by Darhk for his failure, and he used his powers to torture Seldon, slowly moving the bullet closer to his spine and promising to kill him in the most painful way possible if he didn't continue to help Darhk carry out Operation Genesis. Darhk set him up in an abandoned warehouse where he thought that no one would be able to find Seldon. However, he was tracked down by Felicity, Malcolm, and Thea Queen. Cooper explained his dilemma to Felicity, but she managed to talk him into helping them by reminding him of how he always wanted to save the world. Cooper allowed Felicity access to his computer, knowing Dahrk would kill him for it, and indeed, Darhk sensed that Seldon had betrayed him, and promptly followed through on his promise to kill him painfully.[3]
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.
Appearances
Arrow
Season 3
Season 4
- "A.W.O.L." (mentioned)
- "Lost in the Flood"
- "Schism"