Laurel Lance (Earth-1)


 * For her mother of the same name, see Dinah Lance.

"I'm the justice you can't run from."

- Laurel to Jermaine Fisher

Dinah Laurel Lance (born November 15, 1985) known as simply Laurel Lance, is a former legal aid attorney, as well as a current assistant district attorney working under an unnamed District Attorney. Laurel is the daughter of Dinah and Quentin Lance, the older sister of the late Sara Lance, the ex-girlfriend, the close friend and on/off love interest of Oliver Queen, the ex-girlfriend and the close friend of the late Tommy Merlyn, and the best friend of fellow lawyer Joanna de la Vega.

After the death of her sister Sara, Laurel received training in combat from Ted Grant and became a vigilante, joining Oliver Queen's team. In the field, she operates under the codename Black Canary. She has been referred to by the media as the Woman in black.

Early life
Laurel was born in 1985 to Quentin and Dinah Lance, and she had a younger sister named Sara. When she was 7 years old she met and became friends with Oliver Queen, she also met and became friends with Tommy Merlyn at that time as well. When Laurel was 20 years old, at one of Tommy's parties, when her sister Sara snuck out of their house to spend alone time with Oliver, aware that her sister had a crush on Oliver, seemingly out of envy called their father and the cops, she got Sara grounded, and possibly sabotaged any potential relationship her sister could have had with Oliver, 1 month later, after Sara was no longer grounded Laurel and Oliver were now a couple. In 2007 when she was 21 years old, Laurel broached the topic of them getting a place of their own, citing that they had been together even longer than their friends who were already moving in together. Oliver initially agreed, but later panicked, instead of telling Laurel that he was not ready to move in with her yet, he impulsively made the mistake by cheating on her with an unnamed woman who he accidentally got pregnant with his child (unknown to Laurel), and later with her sister Sara, shortly after the Queen's Gambit went down, she found out from Oliver's mother Moira, that Sara was on the Gambit when it went down, she realize that Oliver was cheating on her with her sister, during the 5 years Oliver was away, Laurel went to law school and eventually graduated, sometime after graduating Laurel started working for a law firm called the City Necessary Resources Initiative or CNRI for short, 5 years prior to Oliver's return to Starling City.

Season 1
In ,

In, Laurel's client's father, an honest man, was murdered by Martin Somers. She encounters Oliver at the courthouse where his death in absentia was being revoked; she reminds everyone what he did (slept with her sister and then got her killed). Later Oliver goes to her apartment with ice cream, teasing her about wanting to do something with her that he couldn't do on the island. This is partly to apologize to her and try to reconnect. While they are eating the ice cream they are attacked by the Chinese Triad at Martin's behest.

In, Max finds out that Oliver is at the club and has him dragged to a back room to be beaten up by his goons. Tommy tries unsuccessfully to protect him but it's Laurel who quickly takes down Max and gets him to let them go. Max tells them that all three of them are banned for life. When Oliver tries to talk to Laurel she tells him they don't need his forgiveness or his blessing and leaves the club. Later Laurel talks to Tommy about what happened.

In, Laurel points out that a man shouldn't die for someone else's crime. At first the information she finds isn't enough to free him so she goes to the prison to talk to him. While Iron Heights Prison Laurel is attacked by the bodyguard of the man who actually killed Peter Declan's wife, but she is saved by The Hood. However she is so horrified by The Hood's violence that she later describes him as a "monster".

In, Laurel and Oliver kiss. She admits that she still has feelings for him but makes it clear that nothing can ever happen between them. Moira Queen requests her to be Oliver's lawyer on his insistence. She argues with her father when she chooses to defend Oliver in his trial. She tells her father that he can't blame Oliver for Sara's death, or the fact that her mother left them afterwards.

In, Laurel's legal aid office CNRI loses it's biggest sponsor so Tommy suggests throwing a fundraiser for them. Laurel is initially suspicious of his motives but CNRI needs the money desperately so she goes along with it. After seeing Tommy caring for the drunk Thea, Laurel indicates to Tommy that she might be interested in a relationship.

In, Laurel agrees to go on a date with Tommy. When his father cuts him off she comforts him and tells him it's not his money she finds attractive.

In, Laurel encourages Tommy to ask Oliver for a job and they argue over his insecurities but make up soon afterwards.

In, Laurel goes to the Queens' Christmas party with Tommy. After Adam Hunt is killed, Laurel realizes that the Hood was only trying to protect her.

In, After Joanna's brother, Danny de la Vega, dies suspiciously in a fire, Laurel asks her father for help. He refuses on the grounds that the death isn't suspicious so she steals his phone to The Hood. She calls The Hood for help investigating Danny's death. They work together and discover that Danny's murderer was a man otherwise believed to be dead, Garfield Lynns. Lynns attacks a fundraiser being held for the fire station and Laurel is briefly trapped inside with Oliver. Later Quentin tells Laurel she should keep hold of The Hood's phone as she'll find better use for it (while really planning to use her to capture The Hood).

In, Laurel has dinner with Malcolm Merlyn and Tommy.

In, When Thea gets in legal trouble to get her out of a long jail sentence, Laurel gets her father to get her a deal by reminding him of the trouble that Sara got into in her youth. As part of her plea bargain, Thea will work at CNRI with Laurel.

In, Laurel finds out that the criminal Cyrus Vanch has been released from prison, and so she asks The Hood for help finding evidence against him. When he has something to offer he calls her and she leaves a date with Tommy to meet him on the rooftop, not knowing her father is tracking her to capture The Hood. Later Laurel argues with Tommy about her putting her life in danger. He is furious at her for contacting The Hood, and she is furious with her father for setting her up. Laurel is then kidnapped from her apartment by Vanch who uses her as bait for The Hood. After her father and The Hood rescue her she tells her father to stay away from her for his earlier actions. The Hood (Oliver) tells her he sees how much danger he put her in now and informs her he's going to stay away. Laurel's relationships with both Tommy and her father suffer as a result of her activities with The Hood.

In, during a flashback, Oliver is seen calling Laurel but Oliver doesn't respond, just listens to her voice. Before he can say something Slade stops the call, leaving Laurel none the wiser about who called her.

In, Laurel and Thea are on a break while working at CNRI and are walking through the Glades when Thea's purse is snatched. Laurel attempts to chase down the man (Roy Harper) but he escapes. Later when Thea tracks Roy down, Laurel helps by passing on the information to her father so he can arrest Roy.

In, Laurel helps Tommy celebrate his birthday and comforts him when his father turns up and encourages him to attend a ceremony giving his father an award. At the end of the episode, she gets a visit from her mother, telling her that she thinks Sara may still be alive.

In, Laurel invites her father to breakfast not telling him that her mother, Dinah, will also be attending. She encourages her father to help Dinah investigate, (whether or not Sara survived the sinking of the Queen's Gambit), in order to prove to Dinah that Sara really is dead.

In, Laurel gets caught up in the investigation but ultimately manages to prove that the photo Dinah has found is not actually Sara. Dinah's confession that she allowed Sara to go on the Gambit with Oliver is ultimately what allows Laurel to reconcile with her. Laurel asks her mom to keep in touch when she goes back to Central City. Tommy finding out Oliver's secret in an earlier episode means that, unable to share what he knows, he distances himself from Laurel when she needs him.

In, Laurel is furious when her father tries to prove Tommy and Oliver were selling Vertigo at Verdant.

In, Laurel is trying to help a family when the couple is murdered by the assassin, Mr. Blank. She takes in their orphaned son, Tyler, but then makes herself a target when the assassin comes to tie up loose ends. She, Tommy and Tyler temporarily stay at the Queens. Laurel and Moira discuss the past briefly. Later Oliver comforts Laurel which Tommy sees and misconstrues though he doesn't say anything immediately. The assassin is killed by Oliver so Laurel and Tommy are safe to go home while Tyler's grandparents have been found and can take him away with them. Tommy leaves Laurel lying and telling her that he wasn't ready for a relationship.

In, in the flashbacks Laurel says that she wants to move in with Oliver as they've been together a while. This causes Oliver to panic and take Sara on board the Gambit with him while Laurel is unaware anything is wrong. In the present Laurel confronts Tommy over him leaving her, saying that she still loves him and believes he loves her so whatever the problem is they can work to overcome it. He tells her that Oliver is still in love with her and she should be with him instead. When Laurel goes to Oliver and asks him to tell Tommy that he doesn't love her, he refuses saying that he has too many lies in his life, and that he still in love with her.

In, Oliver goes to Laurel and tells her he hopes he didn't wait too long. She kisses him and tells him he didn't. (They end up sleeping together), which Tommy witnesses from the street below. Laurel is unaware that Oliver had previously encouraged Tommy to reconcile with her and he'd been on his way to do just that.

In, Laurel visits Oliver at the Queen Mansion because he left while she was sleeping (to investigate the Undertaking) He tells her to stay out of the Glades that night. But when Moira confesses in a press conference about the Undertaking, Laurel goes into CNRI to try and save valuable files for her clients livelihoods. While she's there her father calls her and tells her to get out. She leaves during the earthquake but is trapped under falling rubble when the building collapses. Tommy arrives to save her life but is tragically killed in the attempt while her father prevents her from trying to get back to him.

Season 2
In, Laurel is now assistant district attorney, because CNRI was destroyed in the Undertaking. During the mayor's event, it is interrupted by The Hoods. One of the members threatens the DA, but Laurel takes him down. Immediately after, one of them points a gun at her before she can do anything else. Her father, now demoted to officer rank, tries to ask her questions about the attack but his boss intervenes. Oliver arrives and they talk about how she regrets sleeping with him, feeling that she cheated on Tommy. Later, Laurel meets Oliver again at Tommy's grave. They agree on being friends, and she tells Oliver how she is going to help the DA take down The Hood, still unaware that The Hood and Oliver are one in the same.

In, Laurel makes plans to catch The Hood, determined to bring him to justice for his crimes. When he comes to talk to her, she reveals that she is also angry because it looked like he had the opportunity to save Tommy life, but didn't. When he comes to talk to her again she reveals that she's set a trap for him.

In, The Canary rescues The Arrow from Laurel and the police. When Quentin angers the serial killer his is hunting down, the Dollmaker, the man targets Laurel, kidnapping her and attempting to kill her while Quentin watches. The Arrow arrives just in time to save Laurel's life and The Canary kills the Dollmaker. Laurel realizes her misplaced guilt is aimed at the wrong person and that she really blames herself.

In, Laurel is having a hard time from recent events, and is drinking heavily and taking anti-depressants, almost getting arrested for a DUI. Both Oliver and Quentin attempt to get through to her but fail. The Canary, who is revealed to be Laurel's younger sister Sara, is shown to be watching over her older sister.

In, Laurel is put on Moira's prosecution and she's able to convince the DA to offer Moira a plea bargain - life in prison as opposed to the Death Penalty (if she's declared guilty). Oliver later takes her out for dinner in order to protect her from the Assassins pursuing her sister Sara. Afterwards, she makes a pass at Oliver, who gently refuses her and makes clear that he just wanted to be there for her as a friend, not reignite their romance. Tearfully, she then asks him why everyone in her life seems to end up running away from her. Laurel notices that her apartment is open and when Oliver investigates he finds a knife which he hides from her. After Oliver leaves, Laurel takes some anti-depressants.

In, Laurel is appointed lead prosecutor in the Moira Queen case to replace ADA Donner, who had been poisoned with Vertigo. While reviewing the case notes, she discovers Donner's "trump card" (that Moira had an affair with Malcolm Merlyn). Disturbed by what she found, she tries to convince Moira to protect her family by not taking the witness stand, warning that she is obligated to prosecute the case to the best of her ability and will be forced to present Donner's evidence in court if Moira testifies.

When Moira does testify, Laurel reveals the affair and makes a strong case for a guilty verdict. When she encounters Oliver immediately after mercilessly cross-examining Moira, she tries to avoid him, and is distraught and guilt-ridden at her actions in court.

In, Sin and Thea seek help from Laurel about Max Stanton. Laurel discovers that the Blood drive Max donated blood in required a psych test which is  unusual but not illegal meaning that she cannot help Sin further.

In, Laurel has begun investigating Sebastian Blood, whom she finds suspicious. She questions him about his past and his connection to Cyrus Gold, and asks her father to help her get more information on Sebastian. In the course of her investigation, she comes upon the name of Maya Resik, Sebastian's aunt who is confined in a psychiatric institution. Eventually she visits Maya, who reveals that she is not Sebastian's aunt, but his mother, and that Sebastian murdered his father and had her committed to hide his crime.

In, after getting a call from St. Walker's Hospital learning Maya Resik passed away, she believes she was murdered by Sebastian Blood in fear Maya would tell anyone else that he murdered his father. She asks Donner to help investigate the case but Donner refuses as he doesn't believe she was murdered as Maya was sick and there was no evidence that Sebastian did murder his father. Though Laurel tells Donner that she was told by Maya, Donner believes she said that as she was insane. Laurel then seeks help from The Arrow, he helps her to search for the files that would prove Sebastian's guilt. They are successful but learn the files have already been removed. Laurel arrives home to find that her apartment has been ransacked and is arrested by Officer Daily. She tries to pin it on Sebastian but her father doesn't believe her as she was in possession of prescribed drugs which she stole from her father. Oliver helps Laurel clean up her apartment after she is released but is knocked unconscious by Daily who then kidnaps Laurel. The Arrow goes to Starling Cannery to save Laurel, where she is apparently being held by Sebastian. She ends up being the one to shoot the man in the mask but when The Arrow removes the man's mask it turns out to be Daily. Later she is fired by Donner for her drug use and for seemingly being wrong about Sebastian.

In, Laurel grudgingly agrees to have dinner with her father, at his request. When this turns out to be a ruse to get her to attend a drug rehab meeting, she angrily leaves. She meets with Joanna about a job offer, only to learn that disbarment proceedings are being filed against her, making her unemployable. Later she shows up at Verdant, where she gets drunk and makes a scene. Oliver takes her keys and gets her a cab. When she arrives at her apartment, she sees her sister Sara.

In, it is revealed that Laurel didn't overdose, but was poisoned by a member of the League of Assassins. She tells Quentin that she saw Sara, although she is under the impression that it was a hallucination. When Laurel is told her mother is kidnapped, her father tries to comfort her. Quentin decides to reveal to her that Sara is alive but is called on Dinah's location. Laurel follows her father and learns that Sara is alive. After the whole Lance family is reunited, Laurel tells Sara that everything that ever happened to their family after she left with Oliver was her fault and tells Sara to "get out" out of anger. In the flashbacks, Laurel tells Sara she wants to move into an apartment in a year then get engaged about a year later. A jealous Sara leaves and decides to follow Oliver on the boat. When Laurel is discussing her future plans about Oliver, she learns the Queen's Gambit has sunk. Laurel is then told Sara followed Oliver on the ship.

In, Laurel still wants nothing to do with Sara, refusing to go to her homecoming party. Quentin persuades Laurel to host a family dinner, hoping he can reconcile with his ex-wife Dinah. At the dinner, things quickly go downhill when Laurel realizes that Oliver and Sara have rekindled their relationship. She explodes in rage, and argues with Oliver about her blaming everyone else for everything that's gone wrong with her life. Finally, a visibly hurt Oliver says he's done with her, and walks away. This seems to shake Laurel.

Afterwards, she goes to Verdant to apologize to Sara, and then later shows up at a Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with her father.

In, Laurel sees that Sara is clearly being pushed away by Oliver and tries to give Oliver advice on how to handle it.

In, her ex-boss Adam Donner offers her her old job back, if she agrees to prosecute the case against Frank Bertinelli. When Helena Bertinelli and her gang take over the courthouse in an attempt to kidnap Frank, Laurel is taken hostage and The Canary comes to rescue her. In the stress of the situation, Laurel is about to drink to but is dissuaded by The Canary. In a act of bravery she insists on staying until all the hostages are freed. She helps The Canary battle Helena's thugs, but is recaptured after the masked vigilante is defeated by Helena.

Laurel tries to persuade Helena to let the hostages go by explaining that they have a great deal in common, but the Huntress responds by slipping out of the courthouse and taking Laurel along with her. Later, when The Canary defeats Helena in battle, Laurel convinces her sister not to kill Helena.

Afterwards, DA Spencer apologizes to Laurel for Donner's having used her in his scheme to lure the Huntress out of hiding, but says that Donner had no authority to reinstate Laurel. Laurel then blackmails Spencer into rehiring her by threatening to reveal Donner's scheme to the public if she isn't given her old job back. She quotes Helena in this instance saying that someone recently told her that 'once you let the darkness inside, it never comes out'.

In, Laurel visits Sebastian prior to his debate with Moira Queen, and apologizes for suspecting him of murdering his father. Later, Laurel is visited by Slade Wilson, who reveals Oliver's identity.

In, Laurel has a hard time dealing with Oliver's identity, mainly because revealing the Arrow's identity is the only thing that could release Quentin Lance from prison. After she sees Sara's wounds, Laurel is nearly heartbroken on learning her sister's true identity. Quentin is then attacked by a prison inmate and Laurel rushes to see him. Quentin then persuades her to keep the secret about Oliver Queen after telling her to think about the difficulties the vigilante has to face. Laurel, finally at peace with the vigilante's identity forces the D.A. to release Quentin and then visits Oliver and hugs him, saying that he is one of the few people she values in her life.

In "Seeing Red", Laurel appears briefly in a flashback sequence from before Oliver was stranded on Lian Yu. She comforts a distraught Oliver, who (unknown to her) had just learned he had unwittingly impregnated another girl.

In "City of Blood", Laurel resumes her investigation of Sebastian Blood, confiding her suspicions to her father and asking him to help her. She manages to plant a bug in the mayor's office, allowing Kelton to hack his computer and search his files. They discover proof of his involvement in Moira's death, in the form of a press release offering his condolences to the Queen family, dated the day before Moira was killed.

When Oliver disappears, Laurel contacts Diggle and Felicity. She appears at the Arrow's hideout and reveals to Oliver that Slade told her about his secret identity. She insists that Oliver continue fighting for the sake of his family and friends and not surrender to Slade, that she knows him better than anyone else and that he never gives up. When none of this seems to sway him, she informs him that Mayor Blood is working with Slade, and emphasizes that this is no longer just a personal conflict between him and Slade, but involves all of Starling City, which finally galvanizes him into action.

Later, when Team Arrow leaves to confront Slade's army, Laurel asks to join them, only for Oliver to refuse for her safety. Nonetheless, she ends up following them. When one of the Mirakuru-enhanced prisoners begins choking the Arrow, she bashes the prisoner with a pipe, distracting him and allowing the Arrow to gain the upper hand. When she and the Arrow are cornered by Slade's soldiers, Oliver shoots the ceiling with an explosive arrow, causing a cave-in.

In "Streets of Fire", Laurel is trapped by rubble from the cave-in, but manages to escape by shooting an explosive arrow with Oliver's bow, at his instruction. Oliver is reluctant to leave her, but she tells him the city needs him more than she does. On her way to the police station to meet her father, she is attacked by one of Slade's soldiers, but is rescued by the Canary. Laurel tells Sara that she knows she is the Canary, and encourages her dejected younger sister, who believes herself to be beyond redemption. She witnesses Sara rescue a child from a burning building, then the sisters reunite with their father at the police station.

In "Unthinkable", Laurel is later abducted by Slade who wishes to avenge Shado's death by killing her, whom Slade believes to be the woman Oliver loves. Sara gives her black jacket to Laurel at the end of the episode, foreshadowing the entrance of the Black Canary in the third season.

Return of the Church of Blood
Following his injury, Quentin was taken to the hospital and placed in to a medically-induced coma, in which he stabilized. Laurel constantly stayed by his bed, so much so that a doctor insisted she take some time off from her father. Laurel decided to take the woman's advice, and went outside to call her sister.

Sometime later, Laurel began questioning Hoshaw Tolibao after he held a woman hostage at gunpoint. He claimed to need no lawyer, as he was righteous and his god, Brother Blood, would protect him. Laurel, shocked at the information, relayed it back to the team, who came to the conclusion that someone else had to have taken up the name. Laurel watched over an unconscious Roy, commenting on how he resembled her father. She later went to visit her father. While she was there Sara also visited, which caused Quentin to wake after weeks of being in a coma.

Sara's death
Five months after her abduction by Deathstroke, Laurel was assigned to prosecute Vincent Steelgrave, after Steelgrave was apprehended and delivered to the police by the Arrow. Once Laurel presented the evidence gathered by the Arrow, Steelgrave accepted the plea for fifteen to twenty years. Laurel met Oliver Queen in front of Starling City Courthouse, as Steelgrave was being transported to prison, and told him about Steelgrave in a celebratory mood. When Oliver asked her why she had invited him there, Laurel led him to a speech her father was giving nearby. The two listened as Captain Lance announced that the Starling City Police Department had disbanded the task force charged with capturing the Arrow.

Laurel's father was hospitalized that night after a failed attempt to capture Werner Zytle with the Arrow. Laurel visited her father at the hospital in the morning and berated her for still going out in the field despite his health problems. When asked why he kept pushing himself, Lance told Laurel that was the only life that he knew and stated he did not know what he was otherwise. Laurel answered by saying that he was her father, and she needed her. That night, Laurel met Sara, who had just arrived in Starling City, at a rooftop. The two sisters warmly embraced each other, and Sara asked Laurel how their father was. When Laurel answered seeing Sara would help him, Sara asked her not to tell Captain Lance she was there. Laurel was called in to backstop the interrogation of Zytle at the police station by his boss. As Laurel was leaving, Sara fell down from the rooftop, having been shot in the chest with three black arrows. Seeing her sister's death, Laurel hugged Sara's body as she cried. Not knowing where else to take her body, Laurel took Sara to Arrow's headquarters. Oliver, along with Roy and Felicity, found her in the morning, covered in Sara's blood, still crying by the body.

When Oliver promised Laurel he would find Sara's killer, she told him that when she had thought Sara died aboard the Queen's Gambit, all she could do was scream with rage, but this time she was going to help catch the killer. Oliver objected she should take care of herself and her father, prompting Laurel to say telling her father about Sara's death before they caught the killer would kill Lance. Laurel left, saying a bar was the last place she should be then. When Diggle found a mercenary archer, Simon Lacroix also known as Komodo, by going through the A.R.G.U.S. database, the Arrow followed Komodo as the mercenary was trying to kill a man named Erlich Kelso. Laurel watched the fight between the Arrow and Komodo on street cameras from the Arrowcave with Felicity, and was furious when Komodo escaped. Laurel went to the hospital Kelso was held under protective custody and lied her way through the police officers at his door. She harshly questioned Kelso and tortured him until Kelso told her they were working for a deal to build a pipeline for Amertek Industries. Before he could say more, Kelso was killed by Komodo who shot him with a single arrow through the heart from the building across. Captain Lance arrived at the hospital, worried about Laurel, and confronted her about the lie Laurel told his officers. When answered she needed to talk to him, Lance asked her to go home and let the police handle it. Despite seemingly agreeing, Laurel contacted Felicity to meet her at Verdant so she could tell Team Arrow about what she learned from Kelso.

By following the money Amertek paid Kelso and his partners, Felicity discovered an Amertek board member named Tom Weston had authorized the payments. Theorizing Komodo was paid to stop the deal, they determined his next target would be Weston who was attending Ray Palmer's Star City Pledge event. When Laurel tried to go after Komodo, Oliver argued she would be killed if she went and told her he would catch Komodo this time. Unwilling to stay behind, Laurel took a gun and went after Komodo anyway. She caught up to them just as the Arrow subdued Komodo. Seeing her with the gun, the Arrow tried to talk her out of revenge. Komodo denied having killed Sara, but was unable to convince Laurel as she pulled the trigger only to discover the Arrow had taken the bullets out of the gun. Back at Verdant, Oliver told Laurel Komodo's alibi of being in Blüdhaven had checked out. He told her it would take time to capture Sara's killer because the trail had run cold and urged Laurel to talk to her father about it. Following Oliver's advice, Laurel went to the precinct to talk to her father, but she was unable to tell her father when Lance's medication reminder's alarm went off. She sidestepped by apologizing for lying to her father the day before. At night, Laurel and Team Arrow put Sara to rest in her old grave from when she was presumed dead after the Queen's Gambit accident. Back at home, Laurel sat by herself with Sara's black leather jacket.

Training with Wildcat
Next week, Laurel was assigned the case of a break-in allegedly perpetrated by Tom Bronson. She went to the Wildcat Gym to question Bronson's fighting teacher Ted Grant. When he was told that witnesses had placed Bronson at the scene the previous night, Grant claimed Bronson was with him at the time, causing Laurel to angrily accuse Grant of perjury. Despite admitting to nothing, Grant answered that some people in Starling City were dealt bad hands and that he was willing to lie to keep a good kid who made a mistake. Seeing Laurel's rage, Grant invited her to train in his gym in order to work off her rage.

In her next AA meeting, Laurel confessed she was feeling rage over something she could not say and admitted she did not know what to do with it, before listening to a woman named Erica share being beating by her boyfriend. After the meeting, Laurel told her father Erica was giving a similar share every month and that it had been getting worse. When asked if he knew the boyfriend had eight assault charges against him, Quentin answered that he knew but the police acting on the confessions would defeat the purpose of the anonymity of AA. Deciding to take justice into her own hands, Laurel followed Erica's boyfriend and assaulted him with a baseball bat while wearing a ski mask and her sister's jacket. Laurel managed to get a few hits at first, but was soon overwhelmed and beaten severely. She was taken to the hospital where she was visited by his worried father who pleaded her to promise never to do something like that again. Laurel promised and told him she had made a mistake. Breaking her promise, she went to Verdant to speak with Oliver Queen. Seeing Laurel's injuries, Oliver asked her what had happened. Laurel told him and asked him to train her so she could get justice outside of a court room. Oliver flatly refused, saying Sara would never forgive him for it. Having been denied by Oliver, she went back to Grant instead who accepted training her. After she left the Wildcat Gym, Laurel went to the cemetary to visit her sister's grave where she encountered Nyssa al Ghul who had also come to pay respects. After praying in Arabic, Nyssa offered Laurel her condolences as well as her father's, causing Laurel to retort angrily she did not want their condolences. As Nyssa was leaving, Laurel stopped her by saying Sara would not have been killed with arrows in the chest if she had not met Nyssa. Nyssa answered she had found Sara alone and starving, and that she loved and protected her. Seeing Sara's jacket on Laurel, Nyssa told her she had given it to Sara and Laurel was not fit to wear it before leaving the cemetery.

Next morning, Laurel was contacted by Oliver Queen and told before her death, Sara had asked her father for information about something named "Jansen." Heading to the precinct, Laurel questioned Captain Lance about what Sara had asked about. Her father explained that Sara had been in Starling, but asked him not to tell Laurel, and that he had given her the last known address of Ken Zhi Jansen. Seeing Nyssa walk into the precinct, Laurel went to confront her. Nyssa figured out Laurel had not told her father about Sara's death, and although believing he had the right to avenger his daughter, she did not reveal it to Quentin because Laurel asked her not to. Quentin gave Laurel Jansen's address, and she went to wait in the Arrow's headquarters as the Arrow, Arsenal, Nyssa, and John Diggle went to investigate the address.

When they returned, Oliver explained to Laurel Malcolm Merlyn was alive, and Sara had been tasked to find him. Hearing that Oliver had tagged Merlyn with a tracer arrow when he had a clean shot at him, Laurel angrily asked him what he would do when he found him. She pressured Oliver into killing Merlyn, but Oliver adamantly refused, causing Laurel to storm out of the room. Outside, Nyssa caught up to her and promised that they would find Merlyn, and she would kill him.

When Nyssa kidnapped Thea Queen to set a trap for Merlyn the next night, Oliver asked Laurel's help in tracking them down. Laurel did not find anything specific to Nyssa or Thea, but she discovered the smoke signal Nyssa was using to send Merlyn a message on city cameras. She went back to the foundry and gave the location to Oliver so he could rescue his sister. After the rescue, Oliver returned with Nyssa and told Laurel Merlyn had not killed Sara, as well as warning Nyssa to stay away from Merlyn as long as he was in Starling City. When Laurel asked Oliver if he was sure, he told her he would not let Merlyn leave otherwise. Nyssa visited Laurel while she was training at the gym, and told her she had proven to be worthy to wear Sara's jacket.

When the cyber-terrorist group, Brother Eye, shut down power in the Starling City, Laurel was called in to the police department to act as the district attorney, because the DA was visiting at the Coast City. Protesters gathered in front of the Starling National Bank after the Brother Eye threatened to reset the balances of every accounts to zero in banks. Trying to make sure no one got hurt during the protest, Laurel pushed the boundaries of her authority and sent an emergency service unit to the bank, but the riot squad only served to exacerbate the situation. Before the protest turned violent, Arrow and Arsenal interfered and dispersed the crowd by using teargas on them. Captain Lance was furious when he learned Laurel had gone behind his back and escalated the situation. After he calmed down, he asked Laurel to talk about whatever was hurting her, but she refused to say anything about Sara's death. Captain Lance accepted her refusal, but urged Laurel to speak to someone else, saying secrets hurt. Laurel took her father's advice the next morning, and confided in Ted Grant about her sister's murder. Grant stated he now knew how to teach her and promised to help her deal with her anger.

She kept training with Ted Grant who also started to use grappling against her during the boxing sparring. After the training they decided to have diner together. When they returned a body was strung up in the gym and The Arrow confronted Ted. Laurel came in between and said Ted could not have done it as he was with her after closing the gym. She talked with her father who questioned her relationship with her trainer. She left the gym and walked straight past Carrie Cutter who observed the crime scene. Talking with Oliver she said Ted was innocent and had lots of (former) criminals in his gym who might want to send a message. Oliver questioned that she trained with him after he refused to learn her to fight, and told her she had to watch out with Ted.Laurel learned about the body in Ted his hideout and that he was a former Vigilante. She identified the victim as a former magician assistant. Ted told them that both are related to a hotel where a drug dealer got killed before he stopped being a vigilante. Oliver asked Laurel if Ted was aware why she was training and that she wanted to get in Sara her footsteps. Laurel said she can handle it and Oliver said she plays a dangerous game. Laurel later learned that Oliver had Ted arrested after they found the real killer. Roy told Laurel he probably killed Sara while he was still suffering from the mirakuru. Laurel asked why and he said he remembered doing it. Laurel was confused as Felicity said the DNA did not match with Roy. Oliver said she needed to focus on Ted right now. Laurel talked with Ted who was in custody. He told her his former partner Isaac Stanzler who helped him during his days as a vigilante. The both of them chased criminals in a way to make the glades safer. He told her Isaac was the one who killed the drug dealer. He said he told Isaac to flee the city to avoid revenge from the drug dealer his gang. Ted got released from prison and he and Laurel talked after which Isaac ambushed and captured them. He forced Laurel to drive them away in their car. He accused Ted of leaving him when he need them the most. As they talked Laurel called Team Arrow. Oliver and Roy gave chase and Laurel used the distraction to toss Isaac out of the car as he tried to shoot Roy. However the car crashed and Oliver and Diggle had to drag Laurel and Ted out of the burning vehicle. In the hospital she and Oliver talked and he told her he did not wanted to train her in order to protect her and that he always would look out for her. He also told her Roy did not kill Sara as he remembered killing a officer with an arrow during his mirakuru induced rage. Laurel later talked with Ted and said that his training made her doing the right things. She said she wanted him to help her become a vigilante.

While Laurel was mourning at Sara's grave, Thea came up to Laurel and asked why she was there. Laurel told Thea that Sara had died and told her Quentin could not know about it because of his heart condition. At the Police station, her mother visited Laurel and Laurel confessed to her mother about Sara's death. Laurel and her mother visited Sara's grave where Laurel promised to avenge her death. Dinah encouraged this decision and said she would make the killer suffer.

Becoming Black Canary
In "Left Behind", Laurel prosecutes Jermaine Fisher, denying him bail for shooting a cop. She reports to Diggle, Roy and Felicity concerning a member of mob boss Brick's gang which she identifies as Hose Anton. She learns of Oliver leaving to fight Ra's al Ghul. Upon learning of Oliver's supposed death from Malcolm Merlyn, and not being able to convict Brick's thugs, Laurel picks up the mantle of Black Canary, dons a leather suit and her sister's mask, taking out two of Brick's thugs in a fight.

In Midnight City", she continues fighting crime rescuing a woman from being raped by one of Brickwell's men and helping Roy rescue the kidnapped Aldermen.

In "Uprising", Laurel participates in the fight to reclaim the Glades from Brick, alongside Grant (Under the alias "Wildcat"), Roy and Diggle. She helps Grant after he gets pummeled by Brick.

In, Laurel continues to fight crime as Black Canary, despite Oliver's wishes. She is present during Count Vertigo's escape from custody, and stops a Vertigo influenced guard from shooting more innocent people. Laurel tracks Vertigo down, but during the subsequent fight is injected with a lethal dose of the drug. It causes her to hallucinate her greatest fear- her sister Sara telling her she is a fraud, addict and unworthy or replacing her. She attempts to fight, but is defeated by Count Vertigo. Laurel starts to suffer from an overdose, but Oliver arrives in time to take her back to Verdant for treatment.

When Laurel recovers, Felicity asks her if she is fine. Laurel tells her about her hallucinations, and she was crazy for thinking she could replace Sara. Felicity encourages her by telling Laurel by telling her that Sara wore a mask to hid her demons just as much as she wanted to help people, unlike Laurel. Felicity adds that Laurel has a light that Sara never had, and that she should stop trying to be her sister instead of herself.

Black Canary joins Oliver on the second attempt to catch Zytle. During the fight, Count Vertigo sets fire to the building they are in. While Arrow saves the civilians inside the building, Laurel goes after Zytle. She is once again injected with Vertigo and starts hallucinating another fight with Sara, as well as Quentin, who is furious about his ignorance of his daughter's death. However, despite everything Black Canary manages to overcome the effects of the drug and defeat Vertigo. She then visits Quentin, who confesses he knows she is Black Canary. Laurel tells him about Sara's death and her reasons for keeping him in the dark. Quentin is shocked by the revelation, and Laurel comforts him.

In ,

In, Laurel learns from Thea, that Merlyn drugged her and under his influence she killed Sara. Laurel doesn't hold Thea responsible for her sisters death and tells Thea that she doesn't need to follow Merlyn. Later, Laurel visits Oliver and she deliberately catches him in a lie about Sara's killer. They then argue over the fact that he kept it a secret from her, then it steers towards Merlyn and Oliver tries to make it clear that he needs Merlyn to protect his family. Laurel ignores it and she goes after Merlyn.During the confrontation, Merlyn easily overpowers Laurel, until Nyssa and the league showed up and successfully captured Merlyn. Nyssa then told Laurel that she could rest knowing that Sara's death has been avenged.Later when Oliver finds out that the league took Merlyn, he gets angry with Laurel and she defends her actions. Then when he plans to rescue Merlyn, Laurel is among the ones that disagree with the decision. After Oliver fails to rescue Merlyn and leaves for Nanda Parbat, Laurel has a conversation with Nyssa in which she reveals that having Merlyn to hate is a piece of Sara that she can hold onto and when he is gone so is another part Sara. Laurel then asks Nyssa if she remembers Sara's laugh and she says that the first time she heard Sara laugh was the moment she fell in love with her. Laurel thanked Nyssa for telling her.

In The Offer, after Oliver and Dig return, everyone is surprised and confused when he releases Nyssa and tells her to go home. He then tells them all to get back to work. Laurel then visits Thea and the two talk about everything that's recently happened to her. Laurel later goes to talk to her father at the police station. He states that he'll always love her but he doesn't think he can ever forgive her for lying to him about Sara's death for so long. suddenly murmur and his team arrive and attack the station. the two of them hide behind his desk. When the precinct is under attack by Murmur's crew, he orders her to get out while he provides cover fire. As she runs, she finds Nyssa who has returned. Nyssa joins in the fight along with Team Arrow who also show up. Together, they all manage to take down and capture Murmur. Laurel then leaves the station and finds Nyssa waiting for her outside in an alley. She asks her if she would like to talk about Sara which she agrees to as they go out for dinner. Nyssa then offers her training. Laurel accepts..

Personality
Laurel is intelligent, hard-working, and fights hard to get what she wants. She is a great lawyer and lives to stand up for the innocent and what is right, despite the corruption in Starling City. She can be stubborn, feisty, brave, independent, (which can, sometimes, get her into trouble) and doesn't like to be told what to do. Laurel is attracted to troublemakers, as shown when she dated both Oliver and Tommy. She gets annoyed when her father tries to get in the way, always forming his opinion of her boyfriends, even though it almost never changes her mind. Laurel is tough and knows how to take care of herself. She takes risks, like contacting Arrow, and can't resist saving people from tough situations, from when Tommy and Oliver were going to get beat up in the night club Poison, to innocent people on trial.

However, she has a big heart and tends to see the best in the people around her. While her anger towards Oliver for supposedly getting Sara killed and cheating on her with Sara made her harsh towards him, at first, a situation exacerbated by the fact that there was still a spark between them. In where Oliver states that she should hate him for what he did to her and her sister, but she did not. She even wants to get along with her father again, after he used her as bait for The Arrow, even though stating that it will take some time. She is also one of the few people seeing the good person Oliver is inside, even through the snob-front he presents on the outside. When first meeting The Hood, she was disturbed by his methods, she could eventually realize he was, in his own way, trying to help Starling City.

Due to the events of the Undertaking as well as her kidnapping and emotional dilemmas which are enough to break her, her personality takes a harsh fall. She also didn't want to face her own guilt, for being partly responsible for Tommy's death, so she tried to blame The Arrow for something that wasn't his fault, until she was captured and almost killed by Barton Mathis. She starts using drugs and alcohol, like her father, to cope with her pain; eventually she loses the respect of her father and Oliver, even losing her job as an ADA. She is reluctant to admit that she has a problem, and spirals deeper and deeper into her addiction.

When Sara returned alive and well, though she was shocked at first, Laurel viciously rejected her. Laurel kept on trying to blame people in general for ruining her life, this behavior of hers continued, until Oliver coldly criticized and corrected her on her actions, and being pressured by her father she began to go to AA meeting groups and tearfully reconciled with her sister welcoming her back. Laurel began displaying her former personality, showing some bravery and stubbornness as she refused to leave without her colleagues who were being taken hostage by Helena. She managed to convince The Canary to help her free the hostages.

Although she eventually seeks help for her addiction and reconciles with her friends and family, it seems that her experiences have left their mark and brought out a darker, harder, manipulative side of her character, as demonstrated when she blackmails DA Kate Spencer into giving her her old job back, and to have her father released from conviction when he was arrested for aiding the Arrow. Later on after discovering Oliver and Sara were the respective vigilantes Arrow and the Canary Laurel not only accepted these facts she confronted them on her own terms: she comforted and inspired them to carry on their crusades during their crisis of faith when Oliver was depressed following Moira Queen's death, and Sara's self-depreciation believing she wasn't a hero due to her time with the League of Assassins while participating in the fight against Slade Wilson's siege of Starling City.

After Sara was killed, dying right in front of her, Laurel was struck with grief, shocked and forced herself not to tell it to her father (out of fear it would cause him a heart attack). She became angrier, reckless, and was fueled with a desire for revenge: she sought to help people like her sister did as she tried to assault a man that beat his girlfriend. Determined not to fall into addiction again, she needed "another way" and asked Oliver to train her in combat. When Oliver refused, she later started to train boxing as an outlet, then learning of Ted Grant's vigilante past she became his apprentice, asking him to train her. To deal with her pain, and with Oliver's supposed death being the catalyst, she decided to take up her sisters mask and act as Black Canary. Despite a lot of objections and being unsuccessful at first she kept doing it and slowly became better. She reacted sharply to Oliver when he tried to talk her out of being a vigilante and said that he was the one who used adrenaline as a drug.

After she was injected by one of Werner Zytle's vertigo-filled throwing darts and almost killed by the latter, she finally realized that Oliver was right, Laurel finally came clean to her father about her sister's death.

Abilities

 * Skilled hand-to-hand combatant: Laurel received extensive hand-to-hand combat training. This is because Quentin made her take self-defense classes. Despite this, she has been taken out easily by thugs and criminals. She later begun increasing her skills in boxing and combat via training under Ted Grant. This training allowed her to fight crime as Black Canary, however she still ends up getting injured but she cannot be defeated by common thugs. Recently, Laurel has shown being able to trade blows with Nyssa. And though Nyssa eventually took her down, she nonetheless complimented Laurel's fighting skills.
 * Expert lawyer/Detective: These help Laurel to use the system of the court to her knowledge. It also makes her look at every aspect before making up her mind, and to see the bright side of everyone. They also help her in her quest to find the truth about Sebastian Blood.
 * Skilled markswoman/Firearms: Laurel's father taught her how to use guns and Laurel is shown to possess several firearms. She uses the shotgun on Mr. Blank possibly to slow him down long enough for the Vigilante to rescue them. She later kills Officer Daily, which makes her a skilled markswoman.
 * Skilled stick fighter: While starting to become a vigilante Laurel used a stick in her first fight. She later used the bo-staff of Sara, which she later replaced for a police baton. Through trial and error Laurel slowly became skilled in using a stick in combat. However, her stick fighting skills, are still nowhere near her late sister's level.

Equipment

 * Guns: Laurel is very proficient in using guns.
 * Black Canary Costume: Laurel wears a black leather costume while fighting crime as Black Canary. The costume is a modified version of the one used by her late sister. She also wears the black mask and the blond wig to hide her identity from her enemies.
 * Expandable Batons: After taking her role as Black Canary, Laurel took Sara's bo-staff to fight crime. The staff consists of a pair of expandable batons to fight. They are able to combine into a bo-staff. Laurel later abandoned this weapon in favor of a side-handle baton.
 * Nightstick: Laurel later used a nightstick like the one used by police officers. She is able to wield this weapon proficiently while fighting thugs.
 * Sonic Device: Laurel used the sonic device of her late sister to stun two criminals and break their car windows.

Appearances
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Season 3
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Arrow

 * "Time's Arrow"
 * "Call to the Bar"
 * "Keep 'Em Coming"
 * "Lapse"

Arrow: Season 2.5

 * "Descent"
 * "Following"
 * "Awakenings"

Trivia

 * Being the daughter of a police detective, she learned how police badges were serialized.
 * 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.
 * In, when Oliver and Laurel go alone to talk, Laurel mentions to Oliver that she wore fishnets to a Halloween party they attended together in 2005. This is a reference to Laurel's DC comic book alter-ego's costume, Black Canary.
 * 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.