| Laurel Lance | |
|---|---|
| Arrowverse character | |
.jpg) Katie Cassidy as Earth-1 Laurel Lance / Black Canary inArrow season 3 | |
| First appearance |
|
| Last appearance |
|
| Based on | |
| Adapted by | |
| Portrayed by | Katie Cassidy |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Dinah Laurel Lance |
| Alias | Black Canary Black Siren(Earth-2 version; formerly) Siu Jerk Jai(Earth-2 version, occasionally) |
| Family | Quentin Lance(father) Dinah Lance(mother) Sara Lance(younger sister) |
Dinah Laurel Lance is afictional character inThe CW'sArrowverse franchise based on theDC Comics character of thesame name, created by writer-artist team ofRobert Kanigher andCarmine Infantino, and adapted byGreg Berlanti,Marc Guggenheim andAndrew Kreisberg forArrow in 2012.Katie Cassidy portrays the severalmultiverse versions of the character within theArrowverse, all of whom are mostly referred to by their middle name, "Laurel", unlike the comics.
The first version of Laurel is introduced inthe pilot episode ofArrow as a legal aid attorney andOliver Queen's ex-girlfriend, who later becomes a vigilante and takes up the mantle ofBlack Canary in subsequent seasons ofArrow until her death inseason four. The character also appears in spin-off showsThe Flash andLegends of Tomorrow[1] as well web seriesVixen, which are all set in the same shared fictional universe.
In 2016, thepenultimate episode ofThe Flashseason two introduces an antagonist doppelgänger of Laurel Lance from the parallel universeEarth-2, who is known asBlack Siren.[2] The character subsequently recurs inArrowseason five and becomes one of the main characters fromseason six onward.[3] This version of Laurel is gradually redeemed in the following seasons ofArrow and eventually assumes the heroic 'Black Canary' moniker, like her late Earth-1 counterpart.
Following the events of the sixth annual Arrowversecrossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths", Earth-2 Laurel is revived in the rebooted universe calledEarth-Prime. The penultimate episode ofArrow's final season served as a pilot for a potential spin-off seriesGreen Arrow and the Canaries set in 2040 in the new timeline, co-starring Cassidy as the character. However, the series was not picked up.
Dinah Laurel Lance is first introduced in the pilot episode ofArrow[4] as a legal-aid attorney working for a legal assistance group called CNRI (City Necessary Resources Initiative) inStarling City. Her fatherQuentin Lance is a detective and her younger sisterSara Lance and ex-boyfriendOliver Queen are both presumed dead, while having a secret fling during the sinking of Queen's Gambit five years ago.[5]
Over season one's course, Laurel pursues a relationship withTommy Merlyn,[6] and often works with "The Hood", unaware that the vigilante is actually Oliver who has returned.[7][8] Laurel initially blames Oliver for Sara's death but after her breakup with Tommy, she briefly resumes her relationship with Oliver.[9] Tommy's death during the events of 'The Undertaking' eventually causes Oliver and Laurel to part ways.[10]
In season two, Laurel becomes an Assistant District Attorney,[11] but also struggles with Tommy's death, leading her to fight her own battles with alcoholism and use of prescription drugs.[12][13] She learns that her sisterSara is alive.[14] She also learns that Oliver is the vigilante known as "The Arrow",[15] and her sister is also a vigilante, whom she eventually names "The Canary".[16][17]
In season three, Laurel witnesses Sara's murder and resolves to become a vigilante to find her sister's killer and to help people as Sara did.[18][19] This leads her to begin combat training withTed Grant,[20] and laterNyssa al Ghul.[21] Initially impersonating "The Canary", Laurel eventually assumes her own mantle as the "Black Canary" and joins Oliver's crusade.[22][23] As Black Canary, she uses aside-handle baton as her trademark weapon,[24] and later uses an updated version of her sister's sonic "Canary Cry" device designed byCisco Ramon.[25][26]
In season four, Laurel is shown to be still active as a vigilante in Starling City (now renamed Star City) alongsideJohn Diggle andThea Queen. She and Thea convince Oliver Queen andFelicity Smoak to return to aid their mission, which leads to Oliver adopting the moniker "Green Arrow".[27] Soon Laurel learns about the Lazarus Pit's power and attempts Sara's resurrection,[28] which succeeds withJohn Constantine's help.[29][30] Laurel soon convinces Sara to joinRip Hunter's team later known as theLegends; Sara does so, adopting the moniker "White Canary".[31]
Laurel is mortally wounded byH.I.V.E. leaderDamien Darhk and later dies in the hospital surrounded by the team and confessing to Oliver that she still loves him.[32][33] At her funeral, Oliver reveals Black Canary's real identity to the public to stopEvelyn Sharp's impersonation from inadvertently labeling her as a criminal.[34] Laurel's death is avenged when Oliver kills Darhk.[35]
In later seasons ofArrow, the Black Canary mantle is passed on toDinah Drake,[36] while Laurel's civilian identity is assumed by herEarth-2 doppelgänger, Black Siren.[37] In season 6, Laurel appears in Oliver's hallucination when he is drugged with Vertigo, accusing him of her death.[38] In season 7, archive footage of Laurel as Black Canary is seen inEmerald Archer, a documentary about Oliver's vigilante activities.[39][40] In season 8, Laurel appears as a speed force illusion in Arrow's episode ofCrisis on Infinite Earths, where she mourns Sara's death alongside Diggle.[41]
After the events ofCrisis, in the new Earth-Prime, Laurel is said to have married Tommy Merlyn, who survived the events of the first season in this new universe, although Laurel herself still later died.[42]
.jpg)
Black Siren is introduced inThe Flashseason two's twenty-second episode "Invincible" as a criminal and member ofZoom'smetahuman army.[2] Her scream is a metahuman power that she uses to take down buildings on Zoom's order, but is stopped byBarry Allen / The Flash's team and imprisoned atS.T.A.R. Labs.[43]
Black Siren later re-appears in season five ofArrow.[44] Initially posing as Earth-1 Laurel, she is revealed to be working forPrometheus. But her true identity is soon discovered byFelicity, and she, along with Team Arrow, imprison E2 Laurel atA.R.G.U.S.[45] She later assists Prometheus again in kidnapping and taking the Team onLian Yu.[46][47]
In season six, Black Siren works with criminalsCayden James andRicardo Diaz, and becomes a recurring menace for Team Arrow. On James's order, she kills Dinah Drake's (the 3rd Black Canary's) partner and ex-loverVincent Sobel, leaving Dinah angry and vengeful.[48] Morally conflicted Earth-2 Laurel is persuaded and supported by her late Earth-1 counterpart's father Quentin Lance who remains optimistic about her redemption.[37] She eventually goes public with a cover story of being abducted for "two years" making people believe that she is Earth-1 Laurel.[49] In the season finale, Laurel is devastated when Quentin is shot and killed by Diaz while trying to save her.[50]
In season seven, Laurel takes on her Earth-1 counterpart's position as District Attorney and becomes an ally of Team Arrow.[51] She gainsFelicity's trust and the duo start a crusade to kill Diaz, but both eventually overcome their vengeance.[52] Laurel later learns fromBen Turner that Diaz was murdered in prison by Oliver's half-sisterEmiko Queen,[53] who tries to discredit Laurel by exposing her criminal past.[54] She briefly relapses into her Black Siren persona but Felicity, Dinah and Sara manage to stop and convince her. Laurel then goes back to Earth-2 in pursuit of full redemption with Earth-1 Laurel's Black Canary outfit, given to her by Felicity.[55]
A flashforward set in 2040 shows Laurel working with a female vigilante group known as the Canary Network while helping a resistance movement againstGalaxy One.[56] She later returns briefly to help the team battle Emiko and theNinth Circle, now operating as the "Black Canary".[57]
In season eight, Laurel encounters Oliver on Earth-2, where she is shown to be actively working as Black Canary alongsideEarth-2 Adrian Chase / The Hood. She is also reunited withJohn Diggle and the group works together to stop "The Undertaking", orchestrated byTommy Merlyn / Dark Archer of this Earth. As Earth-2 is destroyed by antimatter, Laurel escapes with Oliver and Diggle to Earth-1[58] where she learns that Oliver is working forMar Novu / The Monitor, to save the multiverse from a forthcoming crisis. Laurel assists Oliver and Team Arrow for subsequent missions, leading them to places like Hong Kong,[59] Russia[60] and Lian Yu[61] and encountering several past and future enemies in often time-altering settings designed by Novu,[62][63] leading to "Crisis on Infinite Earths".
Following the events of "Crisis on Infinite Earths", Laurel learns about Oliver's death and his role in rebooting the universe as theSpectre, resulting in a new universe in which several people including Quentin and Tommy, never died. She attends Oliver's funeral and learns from Tommy that her original Earth-1 counterpart had married him in this new universe but died later. At some point after the funeral, Laurel travels to the year 2040 in this new timeline to warn Oliver's daughterMia Queen of an impending danger, and is reunited with Dinah Drake who is revealed to have been time-displaced since Oliver's funeral.[42]
In January 2012, afterThe CW ordered atelevision pilot for a potentialGreen Arrow series, its executive producersAndrew Kreisberg,Greg Berlanti andMarc Guggenheim developed the character of Dinah "Laurel" Lance, based on theBlack Canary fromDC Comics. The official character breakdown pitched Laurel as "a 28 years old, smart sexy, legal aid attorney determined to use her life as a one-woman war".[70]
In February 2012, Katie Cassidy was cast for the role.[71] Regarding the differences between the characters on the show and in the comics,Warner Bros. Television presidentPeter Roth stated in an interview withTVLine, "We are working very closely with DC. We are making sure that each of the original characters are honored, are respected, and any changes that we make are being made with the sanction and endorsement of DC."[72]
| "Laurel, in the corporate world and as a lawyer, is so good at what she does. She makes stuff happen, in the business world. At some point, if and when the Black Canary happens, it’s just awesome for a woman to get to kick some ass and fight, and just be as tough and bad-ass as Green Arrow, or whoever. I think it’s cool, and I think it’s fun. I cannot wait to do some fight training. It’s going to be awesome!" — Katie Cassidy in 2012, on the possibility of Black Canary.[73] |
In an interview given in October 2012, Cassidy stated that she loved the script when she read it.[73] She went on to say that, "It was everything that I wanted to get involved with, so I was beyond thrilled."[73]
In DC Comics, Dinah Laurel Lance is one version of Black Canary, a superhero in her own right, and a love interest and eventual wife of the Green Arrow.[74] However, the series takes a different route and introduces the character as a legal attorney and childhood friend of Oliver Queen, with whom she shares a romantic past. The character is known by her middle name, Laurel.[71] Oliver and Laurel's relationship is one of the key plots in season 1, as she initially blames him for cheating on her and causing her sister's death, but later forgives him and attempts to rekindle their relationship.[citation needed]
Laurel's sisterSara Lance, an original character developed for the series, is introduced in season one and returns in season 2, as a female vigilante known as the 'Canary'.[75] In an interview withTV Guide, then-executive producer Andrew Kreisberg revealed that Lotz's character was the beginning of the Black Canary's story.[76] He further stated that, "Everyone knows that Laurel Lance is the Black Canary. But how we get from A to B is the story of our show – People will see how Caity Lotz fits into Laurel's journey along the way".[76]
Sara's story serves as a backstory for Laurel's eventual path to becoming the 'Black Canary', who is also a legacy character in the comics.[77][78] Before assuming the mantle, Laurel's character goes through various personal tragedies such as losing her boyfriend Tommy,[10] being kidnapped multiple times, dealing with her father's alcohol-addiction,[9] and then her own addiction[12] and finally witnessing Sara's murder in the season 3 premiere.[18] In an interview dated January 2015, Katie Cassidy stated that, "You can't just overnight all of a sudden be a superhero. You have to go through things and hit your rock bottom and then be able to come out on top and build character and be strong."[78]
In April 2016, duringArrow's fourth season, the character was killed off in the episode "Eleven-Fifty-Nine".[79] The-then showrunners and executive producers Marc Guggenheim andWendy Mericle cited the decision to kill off Laurel as a "creative choice", at a press screening.[80] They also stated that, "Death does not mean goodbye on any of these shows" hinting at a possible return for the character/actress.[80] Cassidy mentioned in an interview that she learned about Laurel's fate only two episodes before shooting began on "Eleven-Fifty-Nine". However, she explained that, "I've had such an incredible arc, so it made sense to me, creatively, that we've told Laurel's story".[81]
In May 2016, Cassidy appeared as Laurel Lance's Earth-2 doppelgänger known as Black Siren onThe Flash, which had already introduced the concept ofmultiverse in its then-ongoingsecond season.[82] The alias "Black Siren" serves as a callback to theJustice Guild of America member from theJustice League animated series who herself was based on theGolden Age Black Canary.[83] In July 2016, Cassidy was promoted to a series regular across all Arrowverse shows, as part of a special contract that allowed actors to recur on multiple shows simultaneously,[84] previously signed by fellow actorsWentworth Miller andJohn Barrowman. In March 2017, it was announced that the actress would return toArrow full-time for its sixth season and portray the Earth-2 Laurel.[85]
Towards the end ofArrow season seven, Earth-2 Laurel eventually finds redemption and takes up the mantle of Black Canary.[86] Regarding the character's new costume in season eight, Cassidy stated in an interview, "It really truly feels like the Black Canary. It feels like Laurel Lance. It feels almost truer to the comic book than we've seen, and I think that's really cool. I wish I had it sooner".[87]
In August 2019,Newsarama reported that Katie Cassidy had pitched aBirds of Prey spin-off to the network. When asked about her previous interest in the team, Cassidy said, "I've pitched it. I think they should. It's time for women".[88] In September 2019,The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that The CW were developing a female-led spin-off series, withKatherine McNamara, Cassidy andJuliana Harkavy as the leads, reprising their roles fromArrow,[89] titledGreen Arrow and the Canaries.[90] However, the series was ultimately not picked up by The CW.[91]
The character received mixed response from the critics during initial seasons ofArrow.[92] David Hinckley ofNew York Daily News wrote, "Cassidy starts off well and is likely to get better as Laurel starts to figure things out", in his review ofthe pilot episode.[93] Other critics wrote Laurel as "a scrappy legal aid attorney"[94] or "plainly a good girl".[95] Laurel's character was often compared toRachel Dawes fromChristopher Nolan'sThe Dark Knight Trilogy, with some critics calling Laurel asArrow's version of Dawes.[96] Jesse Schedeen ofIGN included the character among "hit and miss" characters in hisArrow season one review.[97] Shunal Doke of the same website criticized Cassidy's portrayal for making the character "unlikable" but appreciated the motivations behind the character and wrote her as "eventually proving worthy of becoming a costumed heroine."[92]
The critical response towards the character improved in subsequent seasons.[98] InIGN's review ofseason three finale, Schedeen praised Laurel's team-up with Nyssa and wrote, "It seems Laurel has finally graduated to the big leagues, and she didn't even need to rely on her Canary Cry."[98] Writing forEntertainment Weekly, Chancellor Agard observed in his review of season three, that "Laurel, who was once the show's biggest problem, came into her own this season".[99]
In his review ofseason four episode "Eleven-Fifty-Nine", Schedeen called Laurel's death a "huge emotional moment" and her final conversation with Oliver as Cassidy's finest moments on the series.[100] Writing forTV Overmind, Andy Behbakht criticized the decision to kill off Laurel, feeling the character was underutilized and "The Black Canary was in many ways one ofArrow's big hearts and seeing the show losing that character, makes the series lose a lot of its remaining magic".[101] Eric Francisco ofInverse called the decision "a bold move that would have been a good one for the show... if it had been handled with delicate care. ButArrow is not delicate."[102] Laurel's death also drew criticism from many fans, prompting an online backlash.[103]
The Earth-2 version of the character – Black Siren received positive reviews.[104][105][106][107]Angelica Jade Bastién ofVulture wrote in her review that, "The Flash better serves Laurel thanArrow did in several seasons – Black Siren has swagger".[108] Schedeen also praised the character and wrote, "It was refreshing to see Cassidy cut loose and play a twisted version of her character".[104] TheArrowseason seven episode "Lost Canary" focuses primarily on Earth-2 Laurel's eventual redemption, which mainly garnered positive reviews. Scheeden wrote in his review, "We see Laurel at her best and truly embodying the redemption being Black Canary offers."[109]Season 8 episode "Welcome to Hong Kong" sees Laurel deal with the fallout of her home world's destruction. In his review, Schedeen wrote, "...this version of the character has never been more sympathetic or identifiable than when confronting the death of a world where she finally found happiness. Her ultimate decision to bounce back and continue saving the living in order to honor the dead feels like the culmination of a major arc for this character."[110] Chancellor Agard ofEntertainment Weekly said, "Overall, I loved Laurel in this episode more than anything else. The exploration of Laurel's grief over the loss of Earth-2 is some of the best material Cassidy has ever had on the show and yields one of her best performances."[111]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Fantasy/Sci-Fi | Katie Cassidy | Nominated | [112] |
| 2015 | PRISM Awards | Performance in a Drama Multi-Episode Storyline | Katie Cassidy | Won | [113] |
Cassidy provided the voice for the Earth-1 version of her character in the second season of theCW Seed Arrowverse animated web seriesVixen.[118] In the story, Laurel (Black Canary) provides assistance toMari McCabe (Vixen), along withRay Palmer (Atom), in capturing Mari's sister Kuasa in Star City. They later help Mari in combating former warlord Benatu Eshu inDetroit.[119]
The Blu-ray and DVD re-release of the first two seasons was combined into a single story asVixen: The Movie. It added fifteen minutes of never-before-seen content, including a few scenes of Earth-1 Laurel that were not included in the CW Seed release.[120] Thethird season ofLegends of Tomorrow ultimately changes the continuity ofVixen, resulting in an altered timeline where Mari McCabe now shares the 'Vixen' mantle with Kuasa. It is unclear to what capacity the events ofVixen season 2 get affected.[121]
The Earth-1 version was mentioned inThe Chronicles of Cisco Post 9 "Chapter Seven: Hannibal Bates",[122] and a video footage of the Earth-2 Laurel is seen in Post 40.[123] The Earth-X version was mentioned in Post 79 "#BestListenerEver".[124]
| Episodes |
| ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characters |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Arrow | |
|---|---|
| The Flash | |
| Supergirl | |
| Legends of Tomorrow | |
| Black Lightning | |
| Batwoman | |
| Animated series | |
| Characters | |
| Crossovers | |
| Related | |
| Alter-ego | |
|---|---|
| Supporting characters | |
| Enemies | |
| Teams | |
| Publications | |
| In other media |
|
