Arrow: The Hunt for Felicity’s Father

Now that it's confirmed that Damien Darhk is not Felicity's long lost father, our Fanny Pack is here to talk about a few contenders who might end up reuniting with their long lost daughter in Season 4 of Arrow.

For Arrow fans, the recent news dispelling the rumor that Damien Darhk may actually be Felicity Smoak’s father might have been disappointing. But in many ways the news opens the door to an arrival of some villainous comic book favorites as the writers set out to reveal the identity of Papa Smoak. A recent interview with Executive Producer Wendy Mericle confirmed that while Felicity’s Pops may not be Mr. Darhk, her father is, in fact, evil. Further, a separate interview with Emily Bett Rickards, who plays our beloved Felicity, confirmed that her long lost parent will most likely be rich and edging towards “super-villain” territory. So with that tantalizing set of teasers, the paternal mystery remains; and since I love a good theory, here are two ideas for potential candidates.

Stanley Dover – The Star City Slayer

The introductions of Damien Darhk and John Constantine to the Arrow-verse have added a magical element we have not seen before, except of course for the Lazarus Pit concept. In an earlier article, I wrote about the addition of magic into the world of Arrow and how once that element was introduced it meant that the world would be changed for good. Where we have had fantastical concepts become part of the DC Cinematic Universe through the introduction of meta-humans and the Flash’s time-travel abilities, all of those concepts are based on and explainable through science. Magic provides a new frontier; and now that magic is on the table, we are sure to see more villains who aim to harness that power for evil.

We know that Felicity’s father will be evil, and it’s likely that he will be rich and highly intelligent. Stanley Dover’s story arc began in Green Arrow #1, where he is established as an occultist whose wife ran away after learning of his plan to sacrifice their baby in order to become immortal. Upon hearing about a mysterious book that might aid him in his quest for immortality, the Magdalene Grimoire, Dover set out to steal the book — a task which proved highly successful. With the Grimoire, Dover amassed great wealth back in Star City.

In the comics, Dover’s daughter finds him after her mother dies and convinces him to let her move in. Sometime down the road, Dover's daughter and her husband have a baby. Dover uses the baby in his rituals, intent on controlling a monster he calls The Beast With No Name. Oliver Queen and Dover have a relationship in the story arc, and ultimately Oliver ends up with all of Dover’s assets. It was Dover’s sacrificing young children in Star City which earned him the title "the Star City Slayer".

This character is ripe with potential to be Felicity’s father; he has all the makings of a rich, super-evil villain. We already know that Felicity’s mother left when Felicity was a baby. We know that Oliver has a baby floating around that he doesn’t know about, and there is not a chance in the world that will not become a major plot point in the future. Since it seems unlikely at this juncture that Oliver and Felicity are going to have a baby of their own just yet, an easy picture to paint would be one where the baby’s mother dies and Oliver is left to care for his son.

This is even more compelling after the Season 4 premiere, which ended with Oliver at a gravestone—leaving audiences speculating as to who is six feet under. Naturally, if Oliver was to be newly dubbed primary caretaker for a son he didn’t know he had, then Felicity would be called in to parent as well…and that, my friends, gives us all the more reason why Stanley Dover is a great option for Papa Smoak and my top pick for the role.

Arthur Light

In season 2, episode 19, “The Man Under the Hood,” Arthur Light’s name was mentioned as a psychopathic scientist who was fired from STAR Labs. This fact alone makes Arthur Light a great candidate for Felicity’s father since he already exists in the Arrowverse. In pre-New 52 continuity, Dr. Light is a genius physicist who ultimately joins the Secret Society of Super Villains. While Light’s affiliations tend to waffle from good to bad, Teen Titans continuities portray him as a remorseless and vengeful killer with a vendetta against Green Arrow. Arthur Light’s potential for turning out as Felicity’s father seems lower than Stanley Dover, but Arthur Light does hit a few marks on the list of criteria. Light can easily be depicted as a genius villain with psychopathic tendencies, and has already been mentioned in the show. Whether or not he’s a supervillain depends on how the writers tell the tale and what, if any, comic-centric attributes they include.

Watch this season of Arrow on Wednesdays at 8/7c on the CW.

Fanny Pack is a Contributor to ComiConverse. Follow her on Twitter: @Onapack