Arrowverse: Laurel Lance / Sandbox

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Dinah Laurel Lance (Earth-2 & Earth-Prime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dinah_laurel_lance_8.jpg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/black_canary_earth_2.png

^{Click here to see her first Black Canary outfit}

^{Click here to see her as Black Siren}

"I'm not the old Laurel. I'm me. Everyone has good and bad inside of them and you can't put people in one box or the other, ever."

Species: Metahuman

Known Alias: Black Canary, Black Siren, 小雀仔 (Siu Jerk Jai, Cantonese for "Little Bird")

Affiliations: Zoom's Gang, Prometheus' Team, Helix, Ricardo Diaz's Gang, Team Arrow, The Canaries

Played By: Katie Cassidy

First Appearance: "Invincible" (The Flash 2x22)

Appearances: The Flash | Arrow

"If you're trying to live up to us, don't. We are just as flawed as anyone, especially me. All you can do is live up to yourself."

To Mia Smoak, in "Prochnost"

The Earth-2 counterpart of the late Team Arrow member and Star(ling) City ADA Laurel Lance, known as the superhero Black Canary. A metahuman who can produce high frequency sonic waves through shouting, she's originally introduced as one of Zoom's most powerful allies, whom he brought to the main universe from Earth-2 to wreck havoc on Earth-1 Central City and soon finds herself entangled with Team Flash. After her defeat, she's incarcerated at the pipeline on S.T.A.R. Labs for some time before getting rescued by Simon Morrison aka Prometheus in order to psychologically break Oliver Queen. After Prometheus' defeat, she finds herself fighting against Team Arrow several times while working with their succeeding enemies Cayden James and Ricardo Diaz.

Circumstances in between ultimately led her into having to impersonate her late Earth-1 counterpart and live her life.

However, her encounters with her late Earth-1 counterpart's father, whom himself is the Earth-1 counterpart of her own late father, gradually changes her for the better, which she solidifies after his death at Ricardo Diaz's hands. To fully atone for her sins, she decided to become the Black Canary of her home universe, until it's destroyed by the Anti-Monitor. In the Post-Crisis world, with multiverse travel considered impossible now up to that point, she is considered the only Laurel Lance of Earth-Prime instead of the Earth-1 version.

After Oliver sacrifices himself to help recreate the multiverse, Laurel travels twenty years into the future. She recruits a time displaced Dinah Drake and Oliver's daughter, Mia Queen, to help prevent the now-peaceful Star City from falling into disarray once again by unknown forces.

see the Arrowverse: Future Characters page for more on her possible future version

see the Arrowverse: Team Arrow page for her Earth-1/Pre-Crisis counterpart

see the Arrowverse: Other Earths page for her Earth-16 counterpart

see the Smallville: Clark's Allies page for the Earth-167 character who bears her name and background

see the Birds of Prey (2002) page for the Earth-203 character who bears her name and background

see the Arrowverse: Earth-X page for her Earth-X counterpart

see the DCEU: Gotham Vigilantes page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears her name and background

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#-D

13 Is Unlucky: Her father died on her thirteenth birthday. The event was the first of many to begin her descent to villainy.
Aborted Arc: Despite her entire Story Arc in the final season of Arrow revolving around Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019), she sits out the event.
Action Girl: One of the Arrowverse's top female combatants.
Adaptation Dye-Job: In the DC Animated Universe, she's blonde. Here, she's brunette, but she eventually dyes it blonde when she impersonates Earth-1 Laurel and later decides to keep it.
Adaptational Badass: The Black Siren in the DC Animated Universe talks about baking cookies while the men do superheroics. Here, she does not hold back in kicking ass and even has the canonical superpower of the Black Canary.
Adaptational Modesty: While her costume is closer to the Black Canary's comics outfit compared to Laurel's, it still covers a lot. And then she inherits Laurel's outfit.
Adaptational Villainy: In the DC Animated Universe, she's a member of the Justice Guild of America in an Alternate Universe. In this show, she's another evil metahuman who works for Zoom, then goes on to work for the likes of Prometheus and Cayden James. This is eventually subverted when she reforms.
Adaptation Name Change: Goes both ways. She goes by "Black Siren" instead of "Black Canary", but the Black Siren's real identity is Donna Nance. However, Nance is actually the DC Animated Universe's version of Dinah Drake-Lance.
Aloof Ally: When working with Team Arrow after her Heel–Face Turn, she never misses a chance snarking at them or with them.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She has dark brown hair (at least initially) and is very snarky and sociopathic.
Alternate Company Equivalent:
- A Dark Action Girl with a sonic cry that pretends to be a bird themed hero and ends up Becoming the Mask, not unlike Songbird.
- An Action Girl from an Alternate Universe whose Dead Alternate Counterpart in the main setting is The Hero's original One True Love (whom his own counterpart on her world is long dead) who eventually overshadows said dead counterpart in popularity, not unlike Spider-Gwen.
Alternative-Self Name-Change: She goes by "Dinah" in her home universe but opts on using Middle Name Basis once she settles on Earth-1 for two reasons; 1.) She's making a Dead Person Impersonation of her late Earth-1 counterpart who went with "Laurel", and 2.) There's already a Dinah on the main cast (not to mention her late counterpart's mother having the same name which necessitated the Middle Name Basis in the first place).
Ambiguously Bi: In "Reversal", she goes on a murder spree and seemingly seduces both her male and female victims.
And Starring: Is credited with "Special Guest Star" citations, and after being made a regular for Season Six of Arrow, Katie Cassidy gets a "With" citation, along with Paul Blackthorne. The final season updates her to "Special Appearance".
Antagonistic Offspring: To Quentin Lance. Despite being told numerous times she's not his Laurel, she is his daughter as far as he's concern. Plus, she wants to ruin his life for leaving her for dead on the island. Subverted as Season Six goes on; she gets fonder of him with time, and is ultimately convinced to pull a full Heel–Face Turn after his death.
Anti-Hero Substitute: After her Heel–Face Turn, she goes from being the late Laurel's Evil Doppelgänger to a Reformed, but Not Tamed Nominal Hero. Also counts as a meta example, as she is Katie Cassidy's second major Arrowverse character but only Darker and Edgier.
Anti-Role Model: Mia Smoak clearly admires her (due to being saved by Laurel's future self), but Laurel herself tells her why she and the rest of Team Arrow are just too flawed (seen her quote above) to be admired and adviced the younger woman on forging her own path instead.
Arch-Enemy:
- Quickly establishes herself as for Dinah Drake, whom she hates for "replacing" her not only on Team Arrow, but as Quentin's favorite. Cemented when she kills Vincent Sobel while Dinah watched helplessly. Surprisingly subverted in the Season 6 finale however, when both put their animosity aside in order to try and save Quentin. In Season 7, Black Siren apologises for killing Vincent, and she and Dinah manage to bury the hatchet and work together effectively.
- Definitely towards Diaz once she betrays him, which he takes very badly. He later tries to kill her in order to make Quentin comply, which ends in Quentin to jump in the way of the bullet and give his life for her, which thoroughly cements her hatred of Diaz.
Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Almost literally. Aside from knowing full well how powerful she is, she has actual combat skills to boast.
The Atoner: Headed in this direction in Arrow Season 7, reflecting that she is remorseful for her past actions and how much Quentin's death affected her. She cemented it by becoming the Black Canary of Earth-2, until it's destroyed.
Ax-Crazy: She is a complete sociopath who loves nothing more than killing people. In fact she outright complains to Cayden James during a mission that there hasn't been anybody for her to murder yet. As time goes on, however, it seems that her bloodthirsty attitude was just an act, and she is far more morally conflicted about her actions than she let on.
Awesomeness by Analysis: She's very observant. For instance, she's able to determine at first glance that Cisco and Caitlin were not their Earth-2 counterparts when they were trying to distract her from potentially getting in Barry's way. Likewise, she was able to quickly get many details regarding her late Earth-1 counterpart to successfully impersonate her.
Backup Twin: Introduced not long after Earth-1 Laurel's death, she's a Reconstruction of this both In-Universe and out.
- In-Universe, her Dead Person Impersonation of the late Earth-1 Laurel is more of a survival move and she clearly scuffs at the idea of being made her late Earth-1 counterpart's Replacement Goldfish. Because of this and her prior actions, the loved ones of said late Earth-1 counterpart (particularly Oliver and Felicity) resented her for tarnishing their memory of her. But despite being repeatedly told that she could never be their Laurel and she herself declaring that she has no intention to be, living the life of her Dead Alternate Counterpart and interacting with said people on her late counterpart's life helped her regain her diminishing humanity and ultimately made her a better person.
- In Real Life, the original Laurel's death was very controversial, mainly due to her being a very important character in the source material but also due to its half-assed execution. The then upcoming backlash was something that The Flash writers anticipated, so they wrote Black Siren as a contingency plan; in case Katie Cassidy decided to leave the Arrowverse they'd be giving her a kickass send-off, and in case if she does stay (which she ultimately did) they'd be giving her a new character to work with. Naturally, many rallied for her to become the Black Canary, seeing her as the only acceptable substitute if the original Laurel is not going to be revived (which she wasn't). This is evidenced when controversial former Arrow showrunners Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle decided to introduce an In Name Only character based on Black Canary despite Earth-2 Laurel's existence, a move that backfired spectacularly.
Badass in Distress: She's imprisoned in the Earth-1 S.T.A.R. Labs under Team Flash's custody as of Season Two. She's later incarcerated by A.R.G.U.S. after being defeated by Team Arrow.
Badass Longcoat: She wears a steampunk-inspired trenchcoat.
The Baroness: Dark Action Girl? Check. Wears leather? Check. Tall, Dark, and Snarky Aloof Dark-Haired Girl? Check.
Beauty Is Bad: A Statuesque Stunner ^note in every sense of the word.
Being Evil Sucks: A life of crime and villainy sees her become a murderer many times over, a minion for a succession of violent psychopaths, Trapped in Another World, isolated from every friend she might have had, and ultimately, helpless to do more than watch as one of the few people who thought she was capable of being more than a killer dies saving her life. Small wonder that Laurel decides that she's done with being evil by the end of Season Six.
Berserk Button: Being told she's not like her Earth-1 counterpart, and will never be like her.
Laurel: (to Felicity) You know, sometimes I really hate being your Laurel.
Beta Outfit: As the Black Canary, she first uses Earth-1 Laurel's Black Canary suit before creating one for her own (retaining only the former's Domino Mask). Though the Season 7 flash forwards indicate that she will reuse Earth-1 Laurel's suit at some point, a major Cosmic Retcon happens which made it seem highly unlikely. Laurel time travelling to 2040 and staying there all but confirms this.
Big Bad Duumvirate: In Season Six, she's Cayden James' partner, though she acts like The Dragon. After James dies, she officially becomes The Dragon to Diaz.
A Birthday, Not a Break: Her father was killed in her thirteenth birthday while buying her birthday cake.
Brains and Brawn: Basically her dynamic with Felicity, with her being the seasoned Lady of War and Felicity being The Smart Girl.
Break the Haughty: It takes a whole lot of physical and emotional wounds (most of all, Quentin's death) to finally get the previously unrepentant killer on the right track. And even afterwards, her struggle continues, most of all losing her entire universe.
Breakout Character: Introduced as the final Villain of the Week on The Flash Season 2 not long after the death of the original Laurel from Earth-1, she quickly became popular with fans. With her being Truer to the Text compared to the original Laurel and her existence alone being seen as a second chance to write the character properly while also having the potential to be a different character in her own right, many rallied for her to be the Arrowverse's official version of the Black Canary. Ultimately, she ended up being transplanted to Arrow as a recurring, then eventually main character, and finally becoming the Black Canary near the end of that show's run. She was also slated to star in Arrow's cancelled successor series before the original show even concludes and has become a Canon Immigrant in DC Infinite Frontier.
Breakout Villain: Introduced as a Monster of the Week on The Flash, she was received so well that she got transplanted over to Arrow where she would remain as a major player on the villains' side before finally being given redemption arc that fans so desperately wanted.
Brilliant, but Lazy: She's one of the most powerful and dangerous metas in the Arrowverse, but after Zoom is gone she seems content acting as The Dragon for normal humans, whom she could probably kill in seconds if she wanted to.
Broken Bird: Her life has been pretty hard. Her father died on her thirteenth birthday, her fiancee drowned to death in a maritime accident, her depression led her to make decisions that will have her fall from grace and when she finally decides to repent, her home universe gets wiped out.
Canon Character All Along: In a roundabout way, after Crisis, she becomes the Dinah Laurel Lance more known from the comics.
Canon Immigrant: Later appeared in the DC Infinite Frontier Suicide Squad title as Black Canary's Earth-3 counterpart.
Celebrity Paradox:
- "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis is playing on the background while her Earth-1 counterpart and Oliver are talking during a flashback late in Arrow Season One. Her actress and the Real Life songwriter, Jesse Mc Cartney, previously dated, and even admitted that he wrote that song for her after they broke up.
- The penultimate episode of The Flash (2014) directly refers to the first Taken film. Her actress played a key character there.
- Supernatural exists in the Arrowverse, with the Legends visiting its set being the whole point of a Season 5 episode of their own show. Her actress was a series regular during its third season.
Character Development: The more time she spends on Earth-1, especially around Quentin, the more Black Siren starts to show some genuine unease with her life of villainy. Being confronted by Quentin's belief that there's still good in her, as well as his memories of Earth-1!Laurel seems to be particularly affecting; she's noticeably hesitant to murder a helpless Vigilante and looked very unsettled after being forced to carry out the act, where she previously jumped at any chance to take a life and showed no remorse.
Chef of Iron: She is far superior both as a fighter and a cook to her late Earth-1 counterpart.
Civvie Spandex: When she began her Redemption Quest, she ditches her Black Siren suit in favor of clothing that has color schemes evoking the Black Canary costume from the comics. Once she completed her Heel–Face Turn, she is given Earth-1 Laurel's costume before getting herself a new one.
Clingy Jealous Girl: She's a platonic version of this for Quentin. She is pissed that he doesn't think of her as his daughter or treat her the same as he did her Earth-1 counterpart. She later goes out of her way to destroy said counterpart's costume.
Co-Dragons:
- She implies that she shared the position of Zoom's Dragon with Reverb.
- She and Evelyn Sharp become enforcers for Prometheus in the final two episodes of Arrow Season Five.
Cold Ham: Like most villains on the show, she really likes to express it, but in a slower, slightly quieter way.
Color Character: Black Siren, then Black Canary.
Combat Stilettos: She sports mid-heeled boots in combat.
Composite Character:
- The Black Siren is the DC Animated Universe's version of the Dinah Drake Lance Black Canary ^Explanation, who is Dinah Laurel Lance's mother and predecessor. Here, it's the alias used by the Earth-2 Laurel Lance.
- She also has shades of Scream Queen from Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, who is an Evil Doppelgänger of Black Canary.
- Her overall backstory (the Black Canary from an Alternate Universe with dead loved ones going to the main Universe to start over and assuming the mantle of her Dead Alternate Counterpart) is largely lifted from the Injustice version.
Cool Aunt: Heavily implied. Talking about her sister and her child brings a surprisingly softer side to Laurel. Their death after Earth-2's destruction nearly breaks Laurel back into depression.
Costume Evolution: Not counting her Civvie Spandex, she has had three proper costumes; a Gothic Punk attire as Black Siren, the late Earth-1 Laurel's Black Canary suit and her own Black Canary suit which has black and yellow color schemes.
Daddy Issues: Quentin believes this is the reason why she served under so many Big Bad villains like Zoom, Prometheus, and Cayden James, because of how she lost Earth-2's Quentin at a young age and thus, is secretly searching for a father figure for guidance.
Dark Action Girl: Very much so, as she's a dangerous and skilled metahuman working for the Season Two Big Bad.
Dark Is Evil: Initially an Evil Doppelgänger to an Earth-1 hero who dresses head to toe in black leather and calls herself Black Siren.
Dark Is Not Evil: As (Earth-2's) Black Canary, though her case is really Dark Is Not Evil Anymore.
Deadpan Snarker: The woman is known for her sass and "in-your-face" attitude.
Dead Person Impersonation:
- The Arrow episode "Who Are You"? reveals that she's the Laurel seen at the end of "What We Leave Behind", having been strong-armed by Prometheus into posing as Earth-1's Laurel to psychologically torture Team Arrow.
- Over a year later, she was forced to publicly announce that she is her Earth-1 doppelganger who has been abducted for two years. This was because of finding herself in a literally terrible position after getting at the crosshairs of Vigilante's vengeful girlfriend whom Laurel personally (reluctantly, and under Cayden James' orders) executed, which happened not long after Cayden James's death, which said girlfriend, in turn, saw as an opportunity for payback.
Death Seeker: Implied a number of times. On many occasions someone against her have the upper hand, she just mocks them as if she's begging for a quick death. Notable examples are claiming to be the one who killed Cayden James' son and mocking Vigilante's widowed girlfriend on how Laurel personally executed him (despite being clearly disturbed by having to do the deed). Her Survivor Guilt over Earth-2's destruction essentially cements this.
Defrosting Ice Queen:
- In Season Six, she gradually warms up to Quentin, bonding over their similar losses and points of view about each other. By the time Quentin dies, they more or less act as father and daughter.
- In Season Seven, post-Heel–Face Turn, she slowly becomes friendlier to her former enemies from Team Arrow, making peace with Dinah and forming a cordial, if not friendly, relationship with her, as well as developing a semblance of a friendship with Felicity.
Despair Event Horizon: She is Driven to Villainy by her constant misfortunes, specifically the deaths of her father and fiancee. Then when everything seems finally going straight for her, Earth-2 is destroyed. This nearly causes her to relapse in depression.
Disappeared Dad: Her father was killed by a drunk driver on her 13th birthday, which is why she treats his Earth-1 counterpart with more fondness than anyone else.
Doppelgänger Gets Same Sentiment:
- Still grieving over the death of Earth-1 Laurel, Oliver is greatly affected by the appearance of Black Siren. Despite his continual denial, it's apparent he sees her as the original Laurel and a second chance to save her where he had failed her the first time.
- Quentin Lance has a much stronger emotional reaction. In fact, he has an arc where he kidnaps her to try to convince her that she can be his daughter if they both believe hard enough. Laurel, in turn, also sees Quentin as a replacement for the father she lost years ago.
The Dragon: Despite being a powerful metahuman, she normally serves as the right-hand to a show's seasonal Big Bad for a reason.
- She's Zoom's most powerful ally, and is also the final Villain of the Week of The Flash Season Two before the Season Finale. She also seems to be the only one of Zoom's minions who is aware of his true identity. At the very least, she's seen him with his mask off and neither of them comment on it. She also appears to be slightly more comfortable around him than Zoom's other minions (although she's clearly intimidated by him and takes a step back when he turns to look at her).
- She later ends up as Prometheus' primary enforcer in the final two episodes of Arrow Season Five, assists him in battling Team Arrow on Lian Yu, and is the last of his minions to be defeated before the man himself.
- Played with in Arrow Season Six; she acts like Cayden James' Dragon, but the man himself considers them to be partners.
- Even with James now dead and his group essentially disbanded, Black Siren was left wandering in terms of where to go next. By mid-Season Six, however, she serves as Diaz's Number Two once he has fully come out of the shadows of James' group as the true mastermind.
Dragon-in-Chief: She served as The Dragon for four different Big Bads, but only Zoom is really more powerful than her. It could be argued that both Prometheus and Diaz can pose a challenge to her when it comes to combat skills, but Cayden James was clearly not a threat to her.
Driven to Villainy: Crossing the Despair Event Horizon several times causes her to snap and rage against the world.
"We live in an ugly world and the only way to survive it is to be ugly right back."

E-K

Endearingly Dorky: In "The Demon", she stumbles over an attempt to ask Felicity to join her for a slice of pizza, and quickly (and unconvincingly) backtracks when Felicity asks if that was an attempt to ask her out on a friend-date.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Judging from her comments to Earth-1's Oliver, she seems to still carry a torch for her Earth's Oliver. She's also gentler with Quentin than with anyone else and doesn't seem to be completely mocking when she calls him "Daddy".
Even Evil Has Standards:
- She seems uncomfortable with Zoom's ultimate Evil Plan, the details of which she doesn't know. Might be subverted in Season Six, where she's very much aware of Cayden James' plan to destroy Star City and doesn't raise a single objection.
- Cayden James' order for her to kill Vigilante while Dinah is Forced to Watch is enough to give her serious pause, and although she does go through with it under threat, she looks distinctly unsettled by the deed afterwards.
- The more time she spends in Ricardo Diaz's company, the more she seems disturbed by his capacity for violence, being especially unsettled when she watches Diaz murder his childhood bully by burning the man alive.
Everybody's Dead, Dave: With Earth-2 destroyed by the Anti-Monitor, she becomes one of the few survivors. Crisis rewriting Earth-2 while she becomes the Laurel of Earth-Prime may make her the sole survivor.
Everything's Better With Zippers: Her original Black Siren suit is loaded with zippers.
Evil Brunette Twin: Invoked. Both she and Earth-1 Laurel are brunettes, but Black Siren first appeared during the time Laurel was still technically dyed blonde (Earth-1 Laurel recently died during Black Siren's debut). By the time she reappears in Season Five of Arrow, Black Siren has dyed her own hair blonde.
Evil Doppelgänger: For Laurel. Subverted post-Heel–Face Turn, although she's still more violent and snarkier than Earth-1 Laurel ever was.
Evil Is Hammy: She's not unlike Killer Frost in that regard.
Evil Is Petty: Black Siren seems to be quite jealous of her Earth-1 counterpart, and goes out of her way to insult her, especially to her friends. In the Season Six premiere of Arrow, she even tries to destroy Earth-1 Laurel's Black Canary costume out of nothing but sheer spite.
Evil Wears Black: She's Black Siren and is evil as they come. At least initially.
Expository Hairstyle Change: Introduced in her natural brunette when she was Zoom's lieutenant. Once she's freed by Prometheus from the Pipeline, she dyes her hair dark blonde to make a Dead Person Impersonation of Laurel then dyes it sunflower blonde for a while before returning to her previous hair color. Some time after her Heel–Face Turn and becoming the Black Canary of Earth-2, she gets herself an Important Haircut and dyes her hair platinum blonde.
Faux Affably Evil: Black Siren often smiles and winks at people and speaks in a pseudo-friendly tone, but it comes off as smug mockery. She does show signs of sincere affability towards Quentin and (possibly) Oliver. Post-Heel–Face Turn, she's become more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
Fights Like a Normal: She doesn't over-rely on her screaming powers as she is a skilled combatant.
Fire-Forged Friends: After being Arch-Enemies for over one and a half seasons and just barely tolerating each other afterwards, she and Dinah eventually become best of friends, starting the Canary Network together.
Fish out of Temporal Water: She ultimately decides to stay in 2040 to help Mia along with Drake.
Forced to Watch: She watches Earth-2 be decimated by antimatter before Oliver pulls her out.
Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Her Black Siren outfit is a figure-hugging leather outfit with a duster attached to the hemline to give it a Badass Longcoat look.
Glass Cannon: She is a very powerful metahuman capable of destroying structures who also has prowess in physical combat. Despite these skills, she is prone to attacks which is not helped by (or probably because of) her fondness for Evil Gloating.
Good Costume Switch: During her Redemption Quest, she begins to ditch her Gothic Punk gear in favor of Civvie Spandex. Upon cementing her Heel–Face Turn, she begins wearing her late Earth-1 counterpart's costume before finally having herself a new one.
Gothic Punk: Her Black Siren costume design is heavily inspired by Medieval fashion.
Green-Eyed Monster:
- Despite all her comments about believing her Earth-1 counterpart to be weak, there are hints that she's more than a little envious of her.
- She really hates Dinah Drake for "replacing" her. They've managed to bury the hatchet by Season Seven.
Harmful to Minors: Her father got run over by a drunk driver on her own birthday.
Hates Being Alone: Her penchant to work with/for different characters, evil or not, in the first chance she gets heavily hints at this.
Heel–Face Turn: Motivated by a fear of Diaz, and later, a desire to live up to the person Quentin thought she was capable of being, Black Siren pulls one of these near the end of Season Six, cementing it in Season Seven by taking a level in kindness and becoming an ally (albeit an aloof and not exactly trusted one) for the heroes.
Hell-Bent for Leather: Her outfit is overall very leather-y. Those not covered by leather shows fishnets.
Hello, Attorney!: Her Dead Person Impersonation of the late Earth-1 Laurel sees her having to assume the latter's job, even getting promoted to District Attorney. And she's just as stunning.
Hero with an F in Good: Facing the immediate consequences of her dark deeds, she struggled on her Redemption Quest.
Heroic Comedic Sociopath: After her Heel–Face Turn. She even snarks that empathy is something she's trying to learn.
Hero of Another Story: As atonement for her sins, she ultimately decided to become the Black Canary of Earth-2.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: After they move past their issues and bond over their hatred of Diaz, she and Felicity effectively become this in Season Seven. Black Siren is the only person in Oliver and Felicity's circle to know about her pregnancy besides Diggle (though that's because she figured it out on her own, the sister she has on her own Earth was once expecting), helps Felicity hide said pregnancy, and when she decides to go back to Earth-2 to atone, Felicity is the one to give her Earth-1 Laurel's Black Canary suit]]. Like Quentin, Felicity refused to give up on her, and it ultimately payed off in the end.
Hidden Depths: Assuming her conversation with Oliver in "Who Are You?" wasn't just manipulation, Black Siren might harbor regrets about the direction her life has taken, describing her present situation as the result of "some bad choices". Less ambiguously, she shows concern for Quentin, indicating that, despite her villainy, she still cares about her father enough that she doesn't want to see even his doppelganger come to harm.
Horrible Judge of Character: After Prometheus releases her from prison, Black Siren becomes loyal to the man and helps him kidnap members of Team Arrow under the condition that he spare Quentin. Prometheus repays her loyalty and trust by leaving her and her father's doppelganger to die while he blows Lian Yu sky high with explosives.
Hypocrite: Despite expressing contempt for her Earth-1 counterpart, Black Siren shows more than once that she's envious of Laurel and resents the idea of someone replacing her on Team Arrow (an opportunity, it's worth mentioning, that Black Siren roundly rejected).
Iconic Attribute Adoption Moment: She doesn't have the Canary Cry at first. Sara Lance (the first Canary) uses a throw-down sonic device. Her sister Laurel Lance gets a friend from Star Labs to make her a collar-worn version, but it's only when metahumans join Team Arrow that we finally end up with a Black Canary who can super scream.
Iconic Outfit: Her outfit is more in line with her comic counterpart's than Laurel's was, particularly the choker and fishnets (and the Badass Longcoat, Depending on the Artist). And of course she ultimately dons her late Earth-1 counterpart's costume.
Iconic Sequel Character: Does not appear in the Arrowverse until its fourth year during the penultimate episode of The Flash Season Two.
Identical Twin ID Tag: Unlike with Earth-1 Laurel, the editing team never bothered to hide Katie Cassidy's tattoos. Played more straight in the Arrow final season in which she had an Importanthaircut.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Heavily hinted at. The last known person she genuinely shared a special connection with prior to her introduction died in a yacht accident. The people she's been with since are practically colleagues whom she mostly share professional relationships with, at times only due to gratitude. When Quentin and Felicity made genuine bonds with her, she's visibly affectionate towards them.
Important Haircut: She cuts her hair short upon returning to Earth-2.
In Spite of a Nail:
- Laurel still ended up falling for the Oliver Queen of her Earth. The difference is that until his death, their relationship never became compromised. Apparently, Earth-2 Oliver wasn't a womanizer and did not cheat on her with Sara.
- She becomes a vigilante with a Code Name starting with Black like her Earth-1 counterpart, albeit an evil one. And by choice, becomes the Black Canary of her world.
- Even after the multiverse is restarted and no less than three original universes being merged into one, she still hails from a universe outside of Earth-Prime and is a former supervillain. Whether it's still from Earth-2, which has been refitted for Stargirl (2020), or an entirely different Post-Crisis universe is left unanswered.
Inadequate Inheritor: While she is more powerful than her, Black Siren still has some big shoes to fill, as Earth-1 Laurel was very beloved by her friends and family, and many of them make it abundantly clear that she will never replace her.
I Owe You My Life: A sure fire way to earn her loyalty. She becomes loyal to Prometheus when he freed her from custody twice. The same applies to Cayden James when he rescues her from the remains of Lian Yu. Quentin and Felicity are also the first of the good guys she shows the most affections towards since they were the ones who made genuine efforts to bond with her when practically everyone else was either using her or wants her dead.
Irony:
- After Quentin spends most of his time treating this Laurel the same as his own that he lost, it's revealed that this Laurel is treating Quentin the same as the father that she lost.
- The death of her father was the catalyst for her Start of Darkness, while the death of her father's Earth-1 counterpart was the catalyst for her much anticipated Redemption Quest.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Crosses into this territory post-Heel–Face Turn. She's as snarky and aloof as ever, but she's out to become a better person, tries to nip Felicity's increasing extremism in the bud, helps the former Team Arrow when she can, and even asks Felicity to join her for pizza after a victory.
Kick the Dog: Seemingly takes great enjoyment in Prometheus' plan of teasing Oliver by masquerading as Earth-1's Laurel, only to rip away his hopes by revealing herself to be irredeemably evil. This gradually fades away.

L-R

Lady of War: She used to be Zoom's top lieutenant and helped lead his metahuman army from Earth-2. She's also a more confident fighter than the late Earth-1 Laurel.
Laser-Guided Karma: A pretty harsh version, as Quentin was an innocent victim, but with him being killed right in front of her, Laurel was put into the exact same position as Dinah when she watched Vincent getting murdered by Laurel herself. It is at this point when she finally changes her ways.
Late-Arrival Spoiler: The death of her Earth-1 counterpart is brought up when she appears. She also becomes the Black Canary of Earth-2 near the end of Arrow Season 7 before it's destroyed, then she becomes the Post-Crisis iteration of Laurel Lance instead of her Earth-1 doppelganger.
Legacy Character: She finally accepts to take over the mantle and costume of her late Earth-1 counterpart, though she instead decided to operate on her home universe.
Legally Dead: When he restarts the multiverse during the Crisis, Oliver brings Earth-2 Laurel to the new multiverse while letting her Earth-1 counterpart (whose history is nevertheless also brought to the new multiverse) remain dead. As a result, Dinah Laurel Lance is legally dead in Earth-Prime, even though there is a version of her still running about.
Leitmotif: Black Siren in Central City occasionally pops up, starting from her appearance in "Invincible" when she makes her first appearance in Central City.
The Lost Lenore: She did genuinely love her Oliver, and his loss hit her so hard she couldn't stand staying in Star City, leading her moving to Central City, just in time to view the night that Harrison "Harry" Wells activated his Particle Accelerator...
Madden Into Misanthropy: Heavily implied. Her dialogues every time she's talking about her past suggests that she wasn't always the angry and antagonistic person she is now.
Made of Iron: She survives being Car Fu'd by Wally and shrugs off a vibe blast from Cisco, though even she can't stand up to the pulse that knocks out all the Earth-2 metahumans. Proves to be downplayed; after Curtis shuts down her scream, she gets knocked out with a punch to the face by Felicity, and she later suffers the same fate when Quentin clobbers her from behind with a pole, almost to the point of being a Running Gag.
Monster of the Week: She debuted in the series as this. She gained more prominence in the following season, albeit in a different show.
Mook Carryover: Has been The Dragon for no less than four Big Bads across two shows: Zoom, Prometheus, Cayden James and Ricardo Diaz.
Morality Pet: The only people she genuinely showed affection towards are her family (specifically her father, sister and nephew/niece), her late fiancee (Earth-2 Oliver), and maybe her world's Thea. During and after her Redemption Quest, this extends to Earth-1 Quentin, Earth-1 Sara, Felicity, Mia, and maybe Earth-1 Thea. Also, Earth-2's Adrian Chase/The Hood. When Earth-2 in destroyed during Crisis on Infinite Earth's, she outright refers to Adrian as part of her family.
Mythology Gag:
- Her Black Siren moniker is taken directly from the DC Animated Universe.
- Her Civvie Spandex attires in Seasons 6 and 7 evoke the different Black Canary costumes from the comics.
- Her second Black Canary suit is clearly inspired by the Smallville version.
Nice Mean And In Between: Of the three Dinah Laurel Lances in The Multiverse, she's the in-between one due to being a Reformed, but Not Tamed former supervillain. The late Earth-1 Laurel was obviously the nice one, while the Earth-X version is the mean one with her being a Nazi.
Of Corsets Sexy: She's wearing what looks like a corset underneath (or attached to?) her Badass Longcoat.
One-Shot Character: She is a main character in Arrow, but in The Flash, she only appeared in her debut episode.
One-Steve Limit: Much like her Earths 1 and X counterparts, her full name is Dinah Laurel Lance. She also implies that she really goes by Dinah, which puts her into conflict with both her late Earth-1 counterpart's mother and the Arrow Season 5 recruit.
One True Love: Earth-2 Oliver was her fiance and the love of her life; his death was the last straw for her and caused her to move to Central City, which eventually led to her becoming Black Siren. Since then, she's never showed romantic interest in anyone else. It deeply complicates her relationship with Oliver at first, who is still in love with her Earth-1 counterpart (and always will be), but in the end, they regard each other as different people to the ones they loved and made the unspoken decision not to pursue each other for that reason.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: She's more subdued around Earth-1's Quentin than she is around anyone else, with little evidence of her usual smug smiles or taunts. She even calls him "Daddy" outside of posing as Laurel.
Other Me Annoys Me: She hates her Earth-1 counterpart and thinks that she's weak and pathetic. There are shades of envy implied in her part, though.
Paradox Person: Post-Crisis, her existence is kind of a doozy. She is the only surviving incarnation of Laurel Lance, but she did not originate from Earth-1, unlike pretty much everybody else in Earth-Prime (except for the Supergirl cast, which originated from Earth-38). In fact, it's stated in the Grand Finale of Arrow that Tommy married a different incarnation of Laurel before her death, meaning that the surviving Laurel still came from Pre-Crisis Earth-2, even though, Post-Crisis, it never existed.
Parting-Words Regret: When her father forgot to bring her her 13th birthday cake, Laurel threw a tantrum and told him "I hate you". That ended up being the last thing she said to him. She...didn't take it well.
Pet the Dog: Black Siren is nicer to Quentin than she is to anyone else, due to him being her father's counterpart; she tries to ensure his well-being, despite helping Prometheus abduct him, and even makes an effort at a genuine conversation while he's being held captive.
Promotion to Opening Titles: Zig-Zagged. She's originally the final Villain of the Week of The Flash Season Two (being The Dragon of the season's Big Bad) before being transplanted as a recurring Wild Card in Arrow Season Five, ultimately being promoted to series regular in the following season of the latter show. However, she is an Evil Doppelgänger to a character who originally appeared on Arrow, obviously played by the same actress.
Reformed, but Not Tamed: Despite pulling a Heel–Face Turn, she's not averse to a bit of brutality, notably torturing Silencer to try and get information on Diaz.
Reformed, but Rejected: For understandable reasons, everybody is still quite wary of her in Season 7, with Oliver even making it clear that she will never replace the original Laurel in his eyes.
Reformed Criminal: She ultimately decided to ditch her dark past to honor Quentin's memory and his faith that she could be better. She cements this by becoming the Black Canary of Earth-2.
Replacement Goldfish:
- Implied to be the reason why Oliver briefly considered the idea of redeeming her. He eventually accepts that he can't project his own version of Laurel to her and has to see her as a different person.
- Made much more obvious with Quentin who constantly wants to see the best in her and sees her as a replacement for the Laurel he lost. Eventually he realises that Black Siren isn't Laurel and can never replace her but genuinely believes that she can be better then who she is currently and wants a relationship with her.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Originally appeared on The Flash for one episode, then went on to become a recurring character (and villain) for Arrow, in service of Prometheus.
Rousseau Was Right: She wouldn't have been Driven to Villainy if she had enough (or maybe even any) genuine support group during her misfortunes. Once characters like Quentin, Thea, Felicity and Sara realized this, they all made efforts (individually and together) to pull her away from the dark side which eventually succeeds.

S-Y

Sarcastic Devotee: In Season Seven, having pulled a Heel–Face Turn, Black Siren acts as an ally to the heroes at times, but rarely, if ever, drops her snarky attitude.
Sci-Fi Bob Haircut: She wore a brunette wig in this style during early episodes of Arrow Season 6. She eventually gets the hairstyle for real two seasons later but pulled back and dyed platinum blonde.
Secret-Keeper:
- It's implied that she's one of the few people from Earth-2 who is aware that Zoom and "Jay Garrick" are the same person, as Zoom interacts with her while unmasked with no comment on it from either of them. Her comments on his character in Season Six of Arrow further suggest that she knew Zolomon better than most of his other minions did.
- Her working for Adrian Chase in Earth-1 makes a lot more sense when we learn in Season 8 that she is close to her Earth's Adrian Chase and is one of the few who knows his identity as the Hood.
She Cleans Up Nicely: Assuming the late Earth-1 Laurel's life means she was immediately hired as a lawyer, which requires her to dress formally, which unsurprisingly shows how elegant she could be.
Smug Smiler: She smiles in a sinister way.
Smug Snake: She's too fond of Evil Gloating for her own good and has been taken down by non-metahuman opponents on several occasions now.
The Snark Knight: Her mouth doesn't just have strong powers, it has strong (if not stronger) sass.
Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Her sadistic and snarky demeanor hides considerable angst over the losses she's suffered and the dark path her life has taken.
Spared by the Adaptation: She performs a Heroic Sacrifice in her only appearance in the DC Animated Universe. Here, she survives her debut episode.
Statuesque Stunner: She nearly makes the cut at 5'7 1/2.
Superior Successor: In terms of combat prowess, Black Siren definitely is this towards Earth-1 Laurel, being more experienced in hand-to-hand (and overall) combat and having actual metahuman powers instead of just a sonic device.
Supreme Chef: One of the differences she has with her doppelganger is that she is a talented cook, unlike Earth-1 Laurel. Quentin even lampshades this.
Super-Scream: Unlike Earth-1 Laurel, her ability to cause damage by screaming comes from an actual superpower and is several orders of magnitude stronger.
Survivor Guilt: It happens twofold after her reformation.
- She believes that she should have died when Earth-2 was destroyed since she was a former supervillain, and that good and innocent people like her sister and nephew/niece should have been the ones to survive.
- She gets it again after the multiverse is restored and Earth-1 Laurel is one of the few loved ones Oliver couldn't resurrect, due to her being the one to replace her in the Post-Crisis world. Quentin consoles her by saying no matter which version she is, she's still Laurel.
Tall, Dark, and Snarky: At 5'7 1/2, she's quite tall for a woman. She also happens to be a snarky Aloof Dark-Haired Girl, hitting all three trope criteria.
The Teetotaler: Unlike Earth-1 Laurel, she never succumbed to alcoholism even after losing her father and boyfriend. She nearly slips on this fact while she is pretending to be the former, though Felicity manages to discover her identity on her own, anyway.
Token Super: She served as this for both Prometheus' and Ricardo Diaz's respective teams, being the only metahuman on a Badass Normal crew. She later becomes this for Team Arrow during the Season 7 finale and much of Season 8 due to Dinah Drake's scream getting crippled thanks to Stanley Dover until Oliver as the Spectre heals her Post-Crisis in the last three episodes.
Too Many Belts: She inherits her late Earth-1 counterpart's Black Canary gear.
Took a Level in Jerkass: In Season Six, mainly because the events of "Lian Yu" killed whatever affection she had left for Quentin and Team Arrow. To be more specific, she tried to murder Dinah when she and Quentin were searching the island temple for survivors, and after Quentin shot her to save Dinah, she went all Never My Fault on him. Subverted as time goes on; she starts showing attachment to Quentin again, and for the first time, starts to show some hesitation and even remorse for her crimes. Then it's Double Subverted when she publicly fakes being Earth-1 Laurel and becomes The Mole for Ricardo Diaz, pretending to want redemption so as to trick Team Arrow into trusting her. Then it's Triple Subverted when she comes through for Team Arrow in the end by refusing to testify again Oliver and turning on Diaz.
Took a Level in Kindness: Despite taking her a long time getting there, she eventually decides to be a better version of herself, apologizing to Dinah for Vincent's death, helping Felicity track down Diaz, and even suggesting a means of getting Oliver out of prison. She even lampshades this, describing empathy as "a word she is learning".
Trailers Always Spoil: The previews for the Arrow episode "Who Are You?" reveal that she's impersonating Earth-1 Laurel.
Transplant: Zig-Zagged. She's originally the final Villain of the Week of The Flash Season Two (being The Dragon of the season's Big Bad), then becoming a recurring Wild Card in Arrow the following year before ultimately being promoted to series regular in the subsequent season of the latter show. However, she is an Evil Twin to a character who originally appeared on Arrow, obviously played by the same actress.
Trapped in Another World: She's incarcerated at S.T.A.R. Labs on Earth-1 after being defeated by Team Flash. She's later freed, then incarcerated again after being defeated by Team Arrow, this time in A.R.G.U.S. However, Prometheus breaks her out, and while she has yet to be locked up again, she never showed any desire to return to Earth-2 until her Heel–Face Turn. This happens again permanently after Earth-2 is destroyed.
Trash the Set: She's introduced destroying Mercury Labs, then several buildings afterwards. It is implied that Zoom usually assigns her for demolition missions. She later trashes the Arrowcave while under the guise of Earth-1 Laurel.
Trauma Conga Line: She saw her father get killed on her thirteenth birthday. Then she lost her fiance in the capsizing of the Queen's yacht. It all culminates with her becoming a metahuman shortly after she moved to Central City to rebuild her life.
Truer to the Text: In many ways compared to Laurel (and the other Canaries, really).
- Unlike the original Earth-1 Dinah Laurel Lance, she has the organic metahuman cry the character is known for.
- Unlike the original Earth-1 Dinah Laurel Lance, it is heavily hinted that she actually goes by Dinah instead of Middle Name Basis. She only really goes by Laurel due to; a.) she's stuck in her Dead Alternate Counterpart's universe, b.) she made a Dead Person Impersonation of said counterpart, and c.) there are already two living Dinahs there (though she debuted first than the one who regularly uses the name).
- Black Canary debuted as a villain on a The Flash medium, much like she did. ^note.
- Her overall backstory ^note is largely lifted from the Injustice comics.
Undying Loyalty:
- After Prometheus breaks her out of prison, she develops a loyal streak for the man and willingly helps him kidnap members of Oliver's team, provided that Quentin is unharmed. Prometheus then blows Lian Yu to kingdom come while Black Siren and Quentin are still on it, showing just how much he values her loyalty.
- Similarly, after Cayden James saves her life on Lian Yu, she carries out his plans with no hesitation, with the sole exception of killing Quentin.
- Ultimately for Quentin himself, and unlike the previous two, this worked for the better as her bond with her late father's Alternate Self gradually took a positive effect on her. After Quentin dies, she switches to Felicity, who also went out of her way to bond with her.
Unflinching Walk: Tends to advance on her opponents at a steady pace, but once she's started closing in for the kill, she bursts into action.
Unreliable Expositor: We only have Black Siren's word that any of the Dark and Troubled Past story she told Oliver in "Who Are You?" is true. Given that she was acting on behalf of Prometheus to psychologically torture Oliver, and had already posed as her Earth-1 counterpart, whether or not she was telling the truth is up in the air. Season 6 eventually reveals that she was in fact telling the truth.
The Vamp: Is capable of seducing people of both sexes if she has to.
Villain Decay: When she first appears in Central City during the Metapocalypse, she is by far one of the most dangerous adversaries Team Flash have ever faced; she can level entire skyscrapers with her Siren Scream and it takes an erratic frequency to finally KO her. When she makes her way to Star City, however, while still an expert in CQC, her scream now can only stun her opponents, and she is taken out by Felicity of all people after Curtis neutralizes her power.
Villainous Fashion Sense: She's a supervillain dressed like a frontwoman of a Gothic Punk band/group.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Gradually with Dinah, by the final season.
Walking Spoiler: Barry's encounter with her includes characters discussing Laurel's death on Arrow. She also underwent a Heel–Face Turn and ultimately becomes the Black Canary of Earth-2.
What You Are in the Dark: Given the choice between murdering Quentin (as James ordered) or sparing him, when there are no other witnesses, Black Siren chooses to let him go. Later, she starts stalking him, apparently to have some semblance of a connection with the father she lost as a teenager.
Where It All Began: She decides to return to Earth-2 and become its Black Canary since she plans to atone for everything she did and starting it at home.
Wild Card: Her relationship with Quentin makes her convictions falter several times.
The Worf Effect: In her debut she demonstrated that her sonic scream was powerful enough to topple a building. She has never shown this level of power since with her screams at most sending people flying.
Wrestler in All of Us: She displayed quite a few shoot wrestling striking moves, one such example is giving Diggle a front dropkick.
Yank the Dog's Chain: After several misfortunes such as losing her father and fiancee, she snaps and takes her anger out in the world. Eventually, after meeting the doppelgangers of the people she knew in an Alternate Universe (including her father's and fiancee's), she realizes the error of her ways and decided to go back to her home universe to repent. Not long after that, her home universe is destroyed by an evil god-like entity.
You Are What You Hate: Circumstances ultimately forced her to live the life of her despised late Earth-1 counterpart.
You Can't Go Home Again: Earth-2 was destroyed by the Anti-Monitor while she's taken by Oliver and Diggle to Earth-1. When The Multiverse is rebooted, Earth-2 becomes a whole different universe altogether.

Sandbox / Arrowverse: Laurel Lance

Dinah Laurel Lance (Earth-2 & Earth-Prime)

Species: Metahuman

Known Alias: Black Canary, Black Siren, 小雀仔 (Siu Jerk Jai, Cantonese for "Little Bird")

Affiliations: Zoom's Gang, Prometheus' Team, Helix, Ricardo Diaz's Gang, Team Arrow, The Canaries

Played By: Katie Cassidy

First Appearance: "Invincible" (The Flash 2x22)

Appearances: The Flash | Arrow

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Sandbox / Arrowverse: Laurel Lance

Edit Locked

Dinah Laurel Lance (Earth-2 & Earth-Prime)

Species: Metahuman

Known Alias: Black Canary, Black Siren, 小雀仔 (Siu Jerk Jai, Cantonese for "Little Bird")

Affiliations: Zoom's Gang, Prometheus' Team, Helix, Ricardo Diaz's Gang, Team Arrow, The Canaries

Played By: Katie Cassidy

First Appearance: "Invincible" (The Flash 2x22)

Appearances: The Flash | Arrow

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Index

Next