The Arrowverse is known for having several iterations of certain DC Comics heroes, but when it comes to the Black Canary, it’s on a whole different level. For eight seasons, Arrow was the series that grounded the franchise while also serving as the universe’s launchpad for spinoffs. Not only did it help jumpstart multiple spinoff shows, but with Arrow creating the Arrowverse, The CW became a huge player in the comic book TV business. But for as much good as Arrow did, the Green Arrow drama had its hiccups with Oliver Queen’s closest ally: the Black Canary. Arrow began with Dinah Laurel Lance, who is the most famous Black Canary in the comics as she took on the mantle from her mother, Dinah Drake-Lance.
However, unlike her comic counterpart, Arrow had Laurel (instead of using her first name) introduced as a non-metahuman who worked as a lawyer and had a longtime relationship with Oliver. Given that Oliver cheated on Laurel with her little sister Sara, the two obviously had a problematic relationship when he returned to Star City after being “missing” for five years. However, the DC drama didn’t have Oliver and Laurel get back together, as the first season introduced Felicity Smoak whose quick popularity got her promoted to series regular and, essentially, took over as the female lead. But that wasn’t the only reason why the Black Canary legacy became as shaky as it was.
Sara ended up being the one to kickstart the linage as the Canary before her death in Arrow season 3. While it was intended to help Laurel find her destiny as the Black Canary, it complicated things. Her arc fully began in Arrow season 3 when she decided to follow in her sister’s footsteps after her gruesome murder. Even if Arrow didn’t desire to follow the mythology and have the Green Arrow end up with Black Canary, at least Laurel seemed to be intended to be one of the primary heroes. But that changed with Arrow season 4 as Laurel was, shockingly, killed off, which became one of the show’s most controversial moments. Not only did Arrow pull the Women-in-the-Refrigerators trope on Laurel, but it killed off one of the most iconic Green Arrow characters.
The death was met with a lot of uproars by portions of the fandom and even critics as the move came off as incredibly poor planning. In addition to that, it also demonstrated that Arrow wasn’t interested in trying to at least portray Green Arrow and Black Canary as a platonic heroic duo, even if they didn’t end up romantically. The controversial decision to kill Laurel off led the writers having to rely on The Flash for damage control as Katie Cassidy came in as the Earth-2 version of Laurel, operating as the villainous Black Siren who, despite her evil path, was a more comic accurate Black Canary. From having her iconic metahuman sonic scream to a more accurate costume, Black Siren gave Arrow a second chance to give Dinah Laurel Lance a proper place in the Arrowverse.
But the signs of the creators still not having their Black Canary plans fully down were also made evident in Arrow season 5 when Juliana Harkavy was cast as Dinah Drake, better known as Laurel’s mom in the comics. She was brought in to take over for Earth-1 Laurel as the new Black Canary while later on sharing the heroic title with Earth-2 Laurel in Arrow seasons 7 and 8. While Laurel and Dinah did become a powerful dynamic that will hopefully be seen again in the Arrowverse, it doesn’t deny the fact that Arrow and the franchise didn’t have a proper plan for how Black Canary would live on The CW next to the Green Arrow.
