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Laurel Lance, aka The Black Canary, is a major protagonist in the CW series, Arrow. The daughter of SCPD Captain Quentin Lance, and his wife Dinah, Laurel lived a happy life with her younger sister Sara. She later met and befriend Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn, the former of whom she would form a romantic attachment to. When her life turned upside following her sister and Oliver's presumed deaths, her parents split up and she threw herself into her work before developing a romantic relationship with Tommy. Following his death and the return of Oliver and sister, The White Canary, Laurel would later train to become the Black Canary, a vigilante and love of Green Arrow's life.
Lawyer by day and superhero by night, Laurel became a central figure in the Arrowverse until her death at the hands of Damien Darhk in Arrow's fourth season. Laurel later returned in the fifth season. She also makes guest appearances on The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Vixen.
Laurel is portrayed by Katie Cassidy. Katie also plays the Earth-2 version of Laurel Lance and the Earth-X villain Siren X. Katie also portrays Ruby in Supernatural and voices and motion-captures Becky Marney in the game Hidden Agenda.
Physical Appearance[]
Laurel is a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is 172 cm tall and weighs 60 kg.
Even before becoming the Black Canary Laurel was athletic and extremely fit, just like her actress Katie Cassidy. And just like Katie who underwent a rigorous training building strength and muscles for the role, Laurel began an intense physical training becoming even stronger, faster and tougher when she became a vigilante and donned the skintight black leather outfit of the Black Canary.
Height: 172 cm (5' 8")
Weight: 60 kg (132 lb)
Build: Athletic
Hair: Blonde and formally Bruinette
Eyes: Green
Age: Mid to late 20s
Birth Date: November 15, 1985
Powers[]

Using her Canary Cry to Help Oliver Queen
- Powers/Abilities since Laurel had the Canary Cry Choker, she had the power to scream at high amplitude for a variety of purposes.
Abilities[]
- Peak Human Conditioning: After months of training with Ted, Laurel was in top physical condition with fast reflexes and was strong enough to lift a grown man on top of a desk. She later received additional training from Nyssa who taught her the ways of the League of Assassins.
- Acrobatics/Free-Running: Since becoming Black Canary, Laurel had developed free-running skills and could drop from a height of several feet without injuring herself. She was also able to perform a backflip without using her hands during her fight against Eshu.
- Honed Senses: Laurel has sharp hearing and sight, as well as keen skills of perception. She is able to pick up and incoming danger and react extremely quickly.
- High-Level Intellect/Master Lawyer: Laurel was a respected and highly attorney, graduating law school with an offer to work at successful law firm in San Francisco and later offered the position of district attorney. Her ability to use the legal system to her advantage allowed her to help others and herself both inside and outside the court while looking at every aspect before making up her mind.
- Expert Investigator: Laurel's experiences as a lawyer make her a capable investigator and she has exceptional instincts, as she was correct on her assumptions on Sebastian Blood's corruption. As after learning from Slade Wilson that Oliver is the Arrow she was able to gather the evidence to prove his claims and as a result figure out her sister's identity as the Canary.
- Expert Interrogator/Torturer: As an ADA, Laurel was skilled in interrogating suspects this was demonstrated when she threatened to send one of Brick's men to Belle Reve where he can be killed if he did not aid her. Laurel was also capable of torture, such as when she pressed further on Kelso's injury when she was looking for information on Simon Lacroix. However, it should be noted that she did this under extreme emotional distress after Sara's death and does not believe in torture.
- Expert Driver: Laurel had the ability to drive multiple vehicles and is skilled at it, she is able to pursue enemies in various ways using different vehicles using either a car or a motorcycle.
- Expert Combatant/Martial Artist: Originally Laurel was a capable hand-to-hand combatant, this was due to Quentin making her take self-defense classes. Once Laurel decided to become a vigilante, she began further training in Boxing and advanced combat training under Ted Grant. Her training allowed her to match street thugs such as the Red Scarfs, however, she still gets injured from time to time. Nyssa al Ghul stated that her fighting style was competent but could be improved and offered her training in the ways of the League of Assassins. Over time, Laurel's fighting skills improved enough for her to hold her own against multiple fighters whether they were street thugs or members of the League. After five months, Laurel was now more than capable of defeating multiple enemies of advanced training such as H.I.V.E. soldiers or League members with only minor occasional assistance. Laurel's fighting style seems to be a mixture of Boxing, Judo, and techniques from the League of Assassins.
- Expert Stick Fighter: Throughout her career as a vigilante Laurel had used several weapons such as a stick, her sister's batons, and finally her choice weapon of a tactical tonfa. Laurel's skill with her tonfa had been improved through trial and error, with her later ultimately becoming able to hold her own and later defeat members of the League of Assassins. During confrontations against H.I.V.E. soldiers, Laurel had been shown to occasionally wield two tonfas in combat occasionally. While helping Mari against Eshu, Laurel used a metal bo-staff instead of her tonfa, yet she showed impressive skill while using the weapon during battle.
- Skilled Markswoman: Laurel's father taught her how to use a gun and she legally owns several firearms. She used a shotgun on Mr. Blank to slow him down long enough for Oliver to rescue her and Tommy, she was also able to kill officer Daily in order to save Oliver's life as the Arrow.
- Skilled Archer: While being trapped under rubble, Laurel was able to wield Oliver's bow and accurately shoot an explosive arrow and break out of the debris.
- Indomitable Will: Laurel was a determined and highly driven woman, unlike her father she was able to overcome her alcoholism and stay sober without any relapses. Laurel was also able to mentally overcome Werner Zytle's fear-inducing Vertigo in order to apprehend him.
- Network: Being the assistant district attorney and the daughter of a police captain, she had her own connections with the district attorney's office and the SCPD. Laurel also had contact with Cisco Ramon, who provides her tech such as her new sonic device or her sister's White Canary suit.
Equipment[]
- Pistol: Laurel was very proficient in using guns. She kept one holstered on her left leg when in the field, though only used it in emergencies.
- Black Canary suit: Laurel wore a black leather suit while fighting crime as Black Canary. The suit was a modified version of the one used by her sister. Laurel also wore a black mask to hide her identity from her enemies.
- Tactical tonfas: Laurel used a tonfa or side-handle baton, similar to the ones used by police officers. She is able to wield this weapon proficiently while fighting enemies, including League of Assassins members. After five months, Laurel adopted a second tonfa when facing H.I.V.E. to help her deal with multiple opponents.
- Bo-staff: In Vixen, Laurel used a bo-staff while fighting Kuasa and Benatu Eshu.
- Canary Cry device: An updated version of the sonic device that both Sara and Laurel used. This device was made by Cisco Ramon as a favor to Laurel.
Former equipment[]
- Expandable batons: After taking on the mantle of Black Canary, Laurel used Sara's bo-staff to fight crime. The staff consists of a pair of expandable batons, which are able to combine into a bo-staff. Laurel later abandoned this weapon in favor of a tactical tonfa.
- Sonic device: Laurel used the sonic device of her sister to stun two criminals and break their car windows. Laurel later abandoned this device when she asked Cisco to make her a modified version the sonic device.
- Blonde wig: Laurel initially wore a beach-blonde wig to hide her identity as Black Canary before abandoning it.
Trivia[]
- Laurel's death in Season 4 received universal backlash from many fans and ratings subsequently decreased in season 5 as a result. It's speculated that the introduction Dinah Drake was an attempt at appeasement as is the introduction of Earth-2 Laurel / Black Siren following the mix reception Dinah has also received. In real life actresses Caity Lotz (Sara Lance) and Willa Holland (Thea Queen) have expressed dislike towards Laurel's death as did Katie Cassidy herself.
- Like on the show, Dinah Laurel Lance is Black Canary in the original comic. She possesses the meta-human ability of a super sonic scream, which she can deploy to shatter objects and incapacitate her opponent. This ability is called the "Canary Cry". This has not happened in the show yet, though Sara and later Laurel produced a mechanical version of it. However her Earth-2 counterpart does indeed have this ability.
- Laurel is mentioned to be a bad cook, with the only thing she is actually capable of making is macaroni and cheese. This is a trait that her comic counterpart also shares.
- Her sister, Sara, owned a pet canary when they were children, which references her DC comic book alter-ego's costume, Black Canary.
- Laurel saved the lives of every past/present member of Team Arrow up until her, something not even Oliver has done. She saved her father from the Ghosts, used her Canary Cry to save Oliver from Bug-Eyed Bandit, resurrected her sister Sara, helped rescue Ray Palmer from Damien Darhk, stopped Sara from killing Helena, knocked out one of Brick's men who was about to kill Roy Harper from behind, and rescued John, Thea and Felicity from Damien Darhk's gas chamber.
Appearances[]
TV[]
- Arrow (152 appearances)
- The Flash (3 appearances + 5 mentions)
- DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2 appearances + 18 mentions)
- Supergirl (2 mentions)
- Vixen (5 appearances)
- Vixen: The Movie
- Batwoman (1 mention)
- Superhero Fight Club (2015)
Comics[]
- Arrow (2013, 6 appearances)
- Arrow Season 2.5 (2014, 7 appearances)
Novels[]
- Arrow: Vengeance
- The Chronicles of Cisco