- "I'm just a desperate cop that got backed into too tight a corner."
- —Liza Warner to Quentin Lance[src]
Liza Victoria Warner[1] is a former police sergeant of the Star City Police Department and the former leader of the Rogue Anti-Vigilante Task Force.
Biography
Early life
Liza Warner studied Forensic Criminology at Starling University.[1]
The Task Force
In late 2012, Liza was personally handpicked by Detective Quentin Lance as one of the original recruits for the specialized Anti-Vigilante Task Force created to hunt down the unknown vigilante archer known as the Hood.[1]
In October 2014, Quentin was promoted to Captain and disbanded the task force, as he deemed it was no longer necessary to hunt down the vigilante now known as the Arrow after the latter's heroic actions in stopping the Siege.[2]
In early 2015, when an impostor dressed as the Arrow killed Mayor Celia Castle, the Anti-Vigilante Task Force was reinstated and a huge manhunt for the Arrow began.[3] However, after Oliver killed Ra's al Ghul and Team Arrow saved the city from the Outbreak, Quentin presumably disbanded the Anti-Vigilante Task Force for the final time.[4]
Going rogue
Around July 2015, Liza and five of her teammates decided to go rogue. They targeted and killed drug dealers and other criminals and stole their merchandise to sell to other criminals. The group aimed to make enough money for themselves and their families and then flee the city, which they believed was beyond saving.
Three months later after a heist, two SCPD detectives showed up and were surprised by the group's presence as they had not called a SWAT team in. Liza quickly drew her firearm and shot them both. One of the detectives managed to shoot her in the vest which made her lose a phone. She quickly killed him and fled the scene but left the walkie talkie behind.
The Rogue force learned that Thea Queen was going to buy a huge amount of drugs. They closed in on them but got ambushed by Green Arrow and Black Canary. During the fight, her team defeated Diggle and Thea. Liza engaged Black Canary in single combat and quickly defeated her. She blocked the arrows shot by Green Arrow but took one in the vest. Liza and her team took the drugs and quickly fled the scene. While fleeing the scene Liza noticed that Quentin Lance, now captain of the SCPD, was part of the group that had ambushed them.
The group confirmed the drugs were real and some members wanted to kill Captain Lance as he was a risk. Liza drew her firearm and told them they were not criminals and would not kill cops. She offered a solution in which they would use Lance to their advantage.
The group tracked Quentin down to his daughter Laurel Lance's apartment and captured him. Laurel came to his aid but Liza quickly overpowered and tased her before leaving.
They brought Quentin to the SCPD disposal facility and used his fingerprints to get in. Quentin, disgusted with Liza's actions, called her a criminal but Liza said she was simply a desperate cop backed in a corner.
Lance watches as Liza Warner holds the Green Arrow hostage.
After loading the drugs, Liza cuffed Quentin, who told her to kill him as he won't stop hunting them down. Liza replied that they will leave the city. Suddenly, Team Arrow attacked them again. Green Arrow confronted Liza, who he eventually ensnared with a trick arrow. As Green Arrow freed Quentin, Liza cut herself loose. Blindsiding Green Arrow, Liza threw a knife in his back and she started to strangle him with the wire of the trick arrow. Holding him hostage, she threatened to push the knife deeper and sever his spinal cord. Quentin implored Liza not to, pointing out that they were all desperate but in order to save their home, they would have to save themselves first. Quentin reminded Liza that she had put on a police uniform because she believed in justice, just like him. Touched by his speech, Liza released Green Arrow and allowed herself to be arrested by Quentin.[1] Liza was incarcerated at Iron Heights Prison.[5]
Leading a crusade
Cupid, Liza and China White steal Tobias Church's cash.
In spring 2016, Liza witnessed Quentin's confession of working with Damien Darhk,[6] causing her to become disillusioned with his words. Almost a year later in February 2017, Liza allied herself with Carrie Cutter and Chien Na Wei. They then broke out of a corrections bus in order to locate money left behind by Tobias Church after his death. The three of them first hit the Chinese Triad, leading to a massacre. They then targeted the Bertinelli crime family, only this time the Green Arrow and Quentin intervened, leading to Liza being shot with an arrow and fleeing the scene. When confronted by Quentin about her return to crime, Liza angrily pointed out the former's previous ties to Darhk.
After interrogating more gangsters about the money's location, Liza hired more gangsters in order to get away with the money. Arriving at the cemetery, the three of them were about to escape before the arrival of Team Arrow and Quentin stopped them. After a brief battle, Liza called upon her gang members to fight the vigilantes. During so, she managed to beat Mr. Terrific before the arrival of the ACU prevented her escape. Liza was then arrested and taken to the precinct, where she had one final talk with Quentin before being sent back to prison.[5]
Personality
Liza Warner was highly driven to be a cop and serve justice. However, as Star City started to wear down as the years went by, she slowly lost her faith. This caused Liza and her partners to go rogue and serve themselves. Liza aimed to flee the city with her family, believing her home to be a lost cause and that it was everyone for themselves.
Even while killing criminals and stealing, Liza still believed herself to be a cop and held onto her principles, trying to avoid hurting fellow cops or civilians. The remnants of her righteous personality were successfully appealed to by Captain Quentin Lance when he reminded Liza of her beliefs and how they had to work together for the greater good. Touched, Liza gracefully surrendered.
Upon discovering Quentin's ties to Damien Darhk, Liza became embittered and disillusioned, deeming Quentin to be a hypocrite and liar. Losing all respect for her former captain, Liza delved back to her criminal ways of stealing for her own gain, but this time without any of her previous morals; Liza freely killed criminals without regret and was even willing to attack Team Arrow and police officers.
Abilities
- Peak of human physical condition: As an elite police officer, Liza is in top physical condition. She was able to cut arrows out of the air with her wrist blades.
- Expert hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Liza is a highly skilled combatant. She was able to easily subdue Laurel Lance by dodging her baton strikes and knocking her unconscious. Liza along with, Cupid were able to fight and eventually defeat Mr. Terrific.
- Expert knife welder/Knife thrower: Liza was able to throw a knife through the armor of Green Arrow and impale his back only inches from his spinal cord.
- Expert markswoman: As an ex-police sergeant, Liza has shown proficiency with firearms.
Equipment
- SMG: Liza carried a SMG gun as her sidearm.
Former equipment
- SWAT uniform: Liza wore an SCPD SWAT uniform. The armor was strong enough to stop an arrow from penetrating her shoulder.
- Firearms: Liza used a variety of firearms while acting as a member of the Task Force.
- Wrist blades: Liza used double edged wrist blades attached to her armor. She can flick them out and use them for close combat.
- Wrist gun: Liza had a concealed gun attached to her forearm. She used this to break an arrow shot at her.
Appearances
Arrow
Season 4
Season 5
Trivia
- According to her police file, Liza is between 5' and 5'5" ft tall and weighs 110 lbs.[1]
- Liza's phone number is 555-0127.[1]
Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Liza Warner is the police chief of Ivy Town and goes by the codename "Lady Cop". She is actually a good character, rather than a villain, and a frequent ally of Ryan Choi/The Atom.
- Liza is Caucasian in the comics.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Beyond Redemption"
- ↑ "The Calm"
- ↑ "Public Enemy"
- ↑ "My Name Is Oliver Queen"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Sin-Eater"
- ↑ "Broken Hearts"