| Felicity Smoak | |
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| Arrowverse character | |
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Felicity_Smoak_(Emily_Bett_Rickards).jpg) Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak during the filming of the episode "Lone Gunmen." | |
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| Last appearance |
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| Based on | |
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| Portrayed by | Emily Bett Rickards |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Felicity Megan Smoak |
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| Affiliation | Team Arrow |
| Spouse | Oliver Queen |
| Children |
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| Religion | Judaism |
Felicity Megan Smoak, also known by her code name Overwatch, is a fictional character in The CW's Arrowverse franchise. The character was first introduced in 2012 in the first season of the television series Arrow, which is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow. The series follows the story of billionaire Oliver Queen, who returns home after five years supposedly stranded on a remote Pacific island (Lian Yu) and becomes a vigilante on a quest to save his city. Felicity is based on the comic book character of the same name, created by Gerry Conway and Rafael Kayanan and was adapted for television by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg. Felicity was portrayed by Canadian actress Emily Bett Rickards between 2012 and 2020. Initially cast as a one-episode guest star in the first season of Arrow, she returned as a recurring character in the same season, and was promoted to series regular from season two. Rickards stepped away from the show at the end of season seven, but returned in a guest capacity for the finale of Arrow's eighth and final season. She has also featured in the spin-off shows The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and web series Vixen, as well as appearing in Supergirl. The character appears in the Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham video game as part of the Arrow DLC pack, and is one of the protagonists of the Arrow and The Flash tie-in novels and comics.
Introduced as having a genius level intellect, with a penchant for inappropriate commentary, Felicity debuted in the third episode of Arrow's first season as an employee of Queen Consolidated, working in the IT department. She is recommended to Oliver Queen by his stepfather/CEO of the company Walter Steele, to assist him with an IT issue. She later joins Oliver in his crusade becoming one of the founding members of "Team Arrow", alongside John Diggle, and goes on to adopt the moniker "Overwatch". She becomes CEO of Palmer Technologies and subsequently founds her own company, Smoak Tech. Her relationship with Oliver develops into a romantic one, leading to their marriage and to her becoming stepmother to his son, William, and later mother to their daughter, Mia.
Often cited as a positive representation of women in STEM, Felicity has been described as Arrow's "fan favorite" or "breakout" character and has received a generally positive response from critics, with particular praise for Rickards' performance. Critics have described her as an important part of Arrow's success, although at times some expressed concerns that her character became too prominent on the show. In 2016 she was voted number fifteen on a list of "50 Favorite Female Characters", in a poll of Hollywood professionals conducted by The Hollywood Reporter.