Superhero shows often focus primarily on action, epic fight scenes and taking down the villains, but there's also space for other things, such as humor, character development, and, of course, romantic relationships. Arrow ran for eight seasons and featured a lot of memorable couples, but the two most prominent were Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak and Oliver and Laurel Lance, also known as the Black Canary. In the end, Oliver and Laurel broke up and he got together with Felicity, but both of the couples had their reasons why they were perfect. Let's take a look at 5 reasons why each was perfect for him.
10 Felicity: Addition To The Team
Felicity may not be a fighter like so many characters from the show, but that doesn't mean she's useless, not by a long shot. She has her own set of skills that come in handy multiple times during Arrow's run. Felicity is brilliant, fast-thinking and a master hacker. All of these traits help her to serve as technical support for Oliver and his fellow fighters since Felicity is the one who helps them to get to places they otherwise wouldn't have access to. Oliver and Felicity, therefore, complement each other both in their civil and superhero life and she brings a lot to the team.
9 Black Canary: Long History
Sometimes, it takes years to build a romantic relationship. That was the case for Oliver and Black Canary. They've known each other since they were children and while it's never shown in the show, it's safe to assume that they probably spent a lot of time together as kids and became close friends. When they were older, they started dating and were together for two years before the Queen's Gambit crashed and Oliver became stranded on Lian Yu. And when he came back home, his first instinct was to find Laurel and apologize to her, proving that he never forgot her.
8 Felicity: Friendship First
Some romantic relationships start almost immediately after the future couple meets for the first time but that wasn't the case for Oliver and Felicity. When they first met, Felicity worked for the Queen Consolidated and long before they became partners, she was there for Oliver when he needed someone's technical expertise. They gradually became friends, even though Oliver originally kept the truth about his superhero activity from Felicity. When they finally start dating, they already had their friendship to build on and that made the basis of their romance even stronger since they already know what they can expect from one another.
7 Black Canary: They Always Come Back To Each Other
Even when it seemed like their relationship was over and that Laurel would hate Oliver forever because she believed he was responsible for the death of her sister Sara (who later turned out to be alive and well), it didn't stop the former couple from finding their way to one another.
Laurel was angry at Oliver after he came back home and she seemed to hate him, but it turned out she never really stopped loving him in a way, and the feeling was mutual, as they shared a kiss fairly soon after Oliver's return. And even when they broke up for good, they never stopped being friends.
6 Felicity: Jealousy In Action
Too much jealousy in a relationship is never a good thing since it can easily poison the bond between two people and make them lose trust in their partner. But the right amount of jealousy can make one realize what the other person means to him or her, especially if they haven't started dating yet. Oliver and Felicity's relationship had a rocky start since Oliver had trouble blending the vigilante part of his life and his personal life. That didn't stop him from being jealous when Felicity meets Barry Allen and the two immediately click, or when Ray Palmer walks onto the scene dates Felicity.
5 Black Canary: His First Love
Oliver has had many relationships in his life, some of them short-lived, some of them night-one stands, and a few longer ones. He dated Sara Lance, Helena Bertinelli, Shado, and many, many others, Felicity included, but only one woman was his first love, and that always was and always would be Laurel. Before Oliver disappeared, Laurel wanted to settle down with him but he got scared because he thought he wasn't good enough for her and lashed out by seducing Laurel's sister. Laurel later revealed that she considered Oliver the love of her life, and if circumstances were different, the couple would have been amazing together.
4 Felicity: Traumatic Past
Even if someone's life wasn't picture perfect and the person in question had to face multiple problems and experienced a lot of trauma, it can bring them closer to people. Oliver has been through a lot in his life. He lost his mother, his best friend Tommy, he watched his father die, he watched his first real love die, and the list goes on.
That makes it difficult for Oliver to trust people and open himself to them but Felicity manages to break through his walls anyway because her life also hasn't been perfect, especially when you consider her family relationships, more specifically the one with her criminal father.
3 Black Canary: Capable Fighter
Just like Felicity, Laurel initially doesn't help Oliver in his fight against the crime in the city, even though she's intrigued by the vigilante the Hood and wants to know more about him. She fights crime in her own right since she works as a lawyer and has a bold plan to take down local big bosses even though she knows it could be dangerous. Laurel is a badass long before she joins Team Arrow as the new Black Canary after her sister Sara temporarily dies. While she may not be on the same level as Oliver, she can still hold her own in a fight, which makes Oliver and Black Canary a great duo not only in civil life but also on the battlefield.
2 Felicity: Mutual Attraction
While Felicity and Oliver work well together and have a lot of things in common, it also doesn't hurt that there's a strong mutual attraction between them. Oliver is better at hiding his feelings than Felicity, so at first, it seems she's the only one who's attracted to him. But gradually, Oliver grows more and more open at revealing his feelings and it's clear from the way he looks at Felicity that he loves her very much and finds her beautiful, even if Felicity might not always see herself as such.
1 Black Canary: It Was Written In The Comics
Finally, the ultimate reason why Green Arrow and Black Canary are the OTP couple is the fact that it was written this way. In the comics, while there is a character named Felicity Smoak, she's different from the TV shows, and Oliver happily continues to date Black Canary. These two have their differences and argue from time to time but when it comes to showing who they really care about, they're there for each other, and fight side by side. They've been together for years, are one of the most iconic DC couples and that's something that simply can't be entirely erased.