The 'Arrow' season 3 premiere isn't for a few months but that doesn't mean the news and spoilers are lost. They are being discovered all the time. This week, one particular spoiler regards Starling City's premiere computer hacker, Felicity Smoak.We already know she and Oliver will be going out on a date this season -- it happens in the first episode -- but what about her backstory and what does it have to do with 'Oracle'?
Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim spoke to TV Line about the upcoming 'Arrow' season 3 and what it holds for Felicity:
"We have had a backstory for [Felicity] for over a year now that we keep saying, 'This is the episode where we're going to do it,' and we don't," exec producer Marc Guggenheim told TVLine. "But this is the year we're going to do it."This all stems from the casting of Charlotte Ross -- better known for her role in NYPD Blue -- as Felicity's mother. She will make an appearance on 'Arrow' season 3, whether in flashback or current continuity, and that's when we get to see at least some parts to Ms. Smoak's backstory.
So what does this have to do with Oracle?
Well, the title of the episode where Felicity's backstory will be revealed is titled 'Oracle.' This episode is the fifth of the new season and will air sometime in November. That name is familiar to comic book fans as it is the name given to another famous computer whiz, Barbara Gordon.
Barbara Gordon is the daughter of Commissioner Jim Gordon of Gotham City. In the comics, she took up the Batgirl mantle after being inspired by the Dark Knight when she returned to Gotham from her studies. She would be Batgirl till 1988 when DC Comics decided to retire the character.But it would be that same year when the controversial 'The Killing Joke' storyline by writer Alan Moore depicted Joker shooting a plain clothes Barbara Gordon through the stomach. Although she would survive the attack, it left her paralyzed from the waist down.
However, through the careful reintroduction of Barbara from the likes of John Ostrander and Kim Yale she would be brought back into the DC Universe - as a disabled person. Barbara would then start to make another name for herself as Oracle in the early 90s helping the Suicide Squad and other heroes. Using her amazing intellect and computer skills, Oracle would hack hostile systems and guide other heroes by providing the information they needed.
Oracle rose to prominence in the DC superhero community by forming her own team of female heroes called the Birds of Prey and remained one of Batman's most loyal partners and friends.
Huntress, Oracle and Black Canary on the cover of 'Birds of Prey' credit: DC Comics
In the current DC Comics books, Barbara Gordon is Batgirl again after going through an experimental procedure that gave her back use of her legs. Currently there is no one taking up the Oracle mantle.So Felicity Smoak could be this universe's Oracle as she is a computer whiz with an above average intellect. It would be a way to bring Oracle into the picture while still having Barbara remain Batgirl.They could have Felicity 'become' Oracle in a similar fashion as Barbara had in the comics. We already have seen Felicity in bad shape in the trailer for 'Arrow' season 3.
Perhaps -- and I'm hoping it doesn't happen -- she becomes paralyzed in whatever incident takes place. It's a stretch but it's something to think about. The 'Arrow' universe also has introduced Huntress and Black Canary who are staples of Oracle's Birds of Prey and would be a chance to spin-off to another show or have sidequests away from the main story, very much like how the Suicide Squad had an episode dedicated to them.But fans will have to wait till Oct. 8 to see what happens to Felicity and the rest of the crew when 'Arrow' season 3 begins.
