Black Canary in other media

Legends of the Superheroes

In 1979, the character appeared in two television specials Legends of the Superheroes, where she was portrayed by Danuta Wesley. The special featured a host of DC comic characters, including Batman, portrayed by Adam West.

Birds of Prey

In 2002 Warner Bros. produced a short-lived television series Birds of Prey, broadcast on The WB. Set in New Gotham City several years after the city has been apparently abandoned by Batman, it featured the characters of Helena Kyle / Huntress and Barbara Gordon / Oracle, alongside a teenage Dinah Redmond, (a re-imagined version of the Black Canary) who had psychic abilities. The character of Dinah was played by Rachel Skarsten.

Dinah's mother Carolyn Lance, portrayed by Lori Loughlin appeared in the series as a retired superhero formerly known as the Black Canary, who was the estranged from her daughter. Carolyn had the 'Canary Cry', which was activated by whistling, rather than screaming. The series suggests that Dinah may have inherited this ability from her mother, but this is never explored.

The series ran for thirteen episodes before being cancelled due to falling ratings.

Smallville

Black Canary featured in the long running The CW series Smallville several times from the seventh season onwards, portrayed by Alaina Huffman.

In the series, she wore a long brunette wig, while acting as a controversial conservative columnist and talk-show host for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. By night, she used her metahuman ultrasonic scream to become a vigilante/mercenary. She was initially employed by Lex Luthor to capture the Green Arrow, who she believed to be a terrorist. She was later convinced that Luthor was lying to her, and Oliver asked her to join his team, Justice League. Black Canary helped in the search for Clark at the start of season 8, and agreed the group should disband once their identies were exposed. However, she returned later in the season to help bring down Doomsday.

In the season nine finale, Dinah rejoined the League in order to help in the war against the Kandorians. Her final appearance in the series saw her and the other heroes captured and put into a virtual reality stasis by the Vigilante Registration Agency (VRA). She fought alongside Oliver and Chloe Sullivan to free the others.

In addition, it is further suggested in the series that another woman had been a member of the Justice Society of America some decades previously under the name Black Canary.

Laurel Lance

Katie Cassidy portrays Dinah Laurel Lance in the television series Arrow, as well as appearing in other Arrowverse shows, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Vixen

The character is first introduced in the pilot episode of Arrow Although called Dinah Laurel Lance, she is known by her middle name, Laurel. Working as a legal aid attorney for a legal assistance group called CNRI, she is also Oliver Queen’s ex-girlfriend who is stunned to see him return after being presumed dead for five years. However, she is still angry at him for cheating on her with her younger sister, Sara, who was aboard the Queen's Gambit when it sank, and blames him for Sara's apparent death.

Laurel's father, Detective Quentin Lance (a struggling alcoholic), is also introduced in the pilot. Laurel's burgeoning relationship with Tommy Merlyn, Oliver’s best friend comes to light Over the series, Laurel comes to see how different Oliver is and begins to forgive him for his betrayal. She also sometimes works with The Hood, unaware that he is actually Oliver. Laurel briefly rekindles her relationship with Oliver after Tommy breaks up with her but it is short-lived after Tommy dies saving Laurel’s life from a collapsing building during The Undertaking.

In season 2, Laurel is now an Assistant District Attorney but also struggles with Tommy’s death leading her to fight a battle with alcoholism. Laurel also learns that her sister is alive and later figures out that both she and Oliver are the vigilantes, The Canary and The Arrow, respectively.

In season 3, after Sara is murdered, Laurel resolves to become a vigilante to find her killer and to help people as her sister did. This leads her to begin combat training with Ted Grant and later Nyssa al Ghul, she eventually takes over her sister’s mantle and names herself the Black Canary officially joining Oliver’s team after his disappearance and return. As Black Canary, she uses a black side-handle baton as her trademark weapon and later uses an updated version of her sister’s sonic device called the “Canary Cry” that was designed by Cisco Ramon.

In season 4, Laurel and Thea bring Oliver back to aid them after the appearance of H.I.V.E. Laurel discovers the truth about Thea’s revival using the Lazarus Pit and decides to resurrect Sara the same way. However, the side effects of the pit render Sara a soulless being driven to kill Thea for killing her; Laurel and Oliver manage to restrain her and with the aid of John Constantine they are able to restore her soul. Laurel later discovers that Quentin has been reluctantly working for H.I.V.E.’s leader, Damien Darhk, after he threatened to kill Laurel. Laurel, with her father’s testimony, is able to imprison Darhk for his crimes, but after Darhk escapes he mortally stabs Laurel in retaliation for Quentin betraying him. Laurel eventually dies in a hospital from her injuries, but not before admitting to Oliver that he is the love of her life and asking him to keep an unrevealed promise. After Laurel’s death, a teenager named Evelyn Sharp usurps the Black Canary mantle and labels her a criminal. Her funeral is attended by the team, her parents, Nyssa and even Barry, although he arrives late because of Zoom. At Laurel’s funeral, Oliver reveals her identity as the Black Canary to save her image as a hero, and her identity as Black Canary is left on her tombstone.

In the Season 5, premiere it is revealed in a flashback that Oliver's promise to Laurel was to not let her be the last Canary of Star City. She later appears in the 100th episode Invasion!. When Oliver, John, Thea, Ray and Sara are abducted by Dominators they are put into a dream state where Laurel is alive and about to be married to Oliver. Eventually Oliver realizes the deception and he and Sara reluctantly leave after saying goodbye to "her", both finding closure from her death.

Laurel Lance (Earth-2)

Cassidy also portrays the Earth-2 version of Laurel Lance who is a villain rather than a hero. She is a member of Zoom's metahuman army. She is known as Black Siren, a callback to the Golden Age Justice Guild of America member from the Justice League animated series, and unlike her Earth-1 counterpart, her sonic scream is a metahuman power. First appearing in The Flash episode "Invincible", Laurel uses her scream to take down buildings on Zoom's order to distract Team Flash, but is stopped when Harry Wells uses a machine to render all Earth-2 metahuman unconscious. She is then imprisoned at S.T.A.R. Labs.

Laurel later reappears in season five of Arrow, initially impersonating her late Earth-1 counterpart after being freed by Prometheus and forced to work for him. During the mid-season finale, Oliver returns to the Arrowcave to find Laurel waiting for him. Felicity later manages to discover her true identity, and Laurel is captured and imprisoned once more, this time at A.R.G.U.S. However, Oliver remains optimistic that he can help her find redemption someday.

Dinah Lance

Alex Kingston portrays Dinah Lance, Laurel and Sara's mother. After Sara's apparent death, Dinah left her husband and moved to Central City. Six years later, she returns to Starling City to make amends with her family and to reveal her theory that Sara is still alive. In season 2, she returns to Starling when Laurel almost overdoses. She is later kidnapped by Nyssa al Ghul and finds out that Sara is indeed alive, reuniting her with her long lost daughter. In season 3, Dinah is informed by Laurel that Sara was murdered, with Laurel promising she will avenge Sara's death. In season 4, Dinah learns that Sara has returned once more after she calls her. She later returns to Star City when Laurel is killed and attends her funeral, learning that she was the Black Canary.

Sara Lance

Caity Lotz portrays Sara Lance, sister of Laurel Lance. The character was originally portrayed by Jacqueline MacInnes Wood in the pilot before being recast. She is a recurring character throughout the second season of Arrow, with a guest role in seasons three and four. She became a main character in the spin-off series Legends of Tomorrow.

Sara is Laurel’s younger sister, who was sleeping with her sister’s boyfriend, Oliver, during the boating accident that presumably killed them both.' During season 2, Oliver discovers that Sara actually survived the accident and was rescued by Dr. Anthony Ivo. She is later with Oliver on the island and witnesses the beginning of the blood feud between him and Slade Wilson. However, after the Amazo is sunk, Oliver believes she has been killed once more. She is eventually rescued by Nyssa al Ghul of the League of Assassins, and out of gratitude for saving her joins them. During her time with the League she becomes known as The Canary (Yellow Bird) (Arabic: الطائر الأصفر Ta-er al-Sahfer) and uses a sonic device and a pair of extendable batons which combine into a bō staff. Eventually she and Nyssa fall in love but their relationship is frowned upon by Nyssa’s father and the League’s leader, Ra’s al Ghul. After committing a large number of assassinations for the League, Sara leaves them and returns to Starling City to look after her family, reuniting with Oliver who is now a vigilante. Nyssa attempts to bring Sara home to the League but eventually reluctantly releases her from the League after Sara poisons herself and almost dies in her arms. Sara later becomes a part of Oliver’s team and his lover once more, finally reconciling with her sister. Sara eventually ends her relationship with Oliver and rejoins the League in order to use their forces to defeat Slade’s army.

In season 3, Sara returns to Starling City to locate Malcolm Merlyn but is murdered by Thea Queen, who is under Malcolm’s influence, in order rid himself of Ra’s.

In season 4, on learning of the its existence, Laurel resurrects Sara using the Lazarus Pit. However, due to the length of time she has been dead, the pit leaves her a soulless being. Oliver and Laurel manage to restore her soul with the help of John Constantine.

Following the events of Legends of Yesterday, Sara is recruited by Rip Hunter to become a member of his team who travel through to time in order to stop Vandal Savage's rise to power in 2166. Sara is reluctant to go as she is still suffering from the side effects of the Lazarus pit but is eventually convinced by Laurel. Laurel also provides her with a new uniform and codename, White Canary. During her time with the team, Sara regains her sense of humanity and befriends Kendra Saunders and Leonard Snart, the latter of which becomes romantically infatuated with her. She eventually reciprocates his feelings, sharing a passionate kiss with him before he sacrificed himself to save her and the team. She is visibly saddened after his death, shedding tears and reaffirming that he was a hero. Sara eventually returns to her own timeline five months after she left and learns about Laurel’s death at the hands of Damien Dark. She tries to force Rip to go back and save her but he reveals in the original timeline that if Sara had stayed Darhk would have killed Laurel, their father, and Sara herself and any alteration would result in her death or the team’s death. After Savage is killed, Sara departs with Rip again but not before visiting Laurel’s grave to continue her mission in honor of her sister.

In season 2, it is revealed that Sara has not given up hope of averting Laurel's fate through time-travel; she intends to kill Darhk years before his eventual confrontation with her sister.' With Rip Hunter missing after he scattered the team across time before using the Waverider to intercept a nuclear bomb aimed for New York in 1942, Sara becomes the team's new leader as their best tactician in Rip's absence.

Evelyn Sharp

Madison McLaughlin portrays Evelyn Crawford Sharp, a teenager who, along with her family, was imprisoned by H.I.V.E. and brainwashed into becoming obedient servants. When Malcolm Merlyn destroyed the facility trying to kill Damien Darhk, all the "volunteers", including Evelyn's parents, were killed, and Evelyn managed to escape. She did, however, witness Laurel's attempt to rescue them and came to idolize Black Canary but also to resent Green Arrow for not being there. In "Canary Cry" after Laurel is killed by Damien, Evelyn sneaks into the hospital and steals her canary cry collar, designs her own Black Canary suit and begins targeting H.I.V.E. as Black Canary, but isn't afraid to use lethal force. She targets Damien's wife Ruve Adams and attempts to shoot her in public. However Oliver is able to talk her out of her vendetta reminding her that Laurel would never kill in cold blood. Her actions inadvertently brand Black Canary as a criminal, but Oliver is able to savor Laurel's image by revealing her secret to the public. Evelyn is later seen in the distance watching Laurel's funeral. It is greatly implied that she somehow knew Laurel's secret prior to it being made public. She returns in Season 5 as she takes the mantle of Artemis and becomes a member of Team Arrow. However, it is later revealed that Evelyn has betrayed the team and is in league with Prometheus.

Dinah Drake

Juliana Harkavy portrays Dinah Drake, first introduced in season 5. A meta-human, she is a former Central City Police Detective who used the name Tina Boland whilst undercover. She gained her sonic scream when the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator exploded. On a personal vendetta to kill the man who murdered her partner/lover, she is discovered by Team Arrow whilst they are searching for a new Black Canary. After they aid her in taking him down, she decides to accept Oliver's offer to join Team Arrow.

Justice League and Justice League Unlimited

In the Justice League episode "Legends", the League teamed up with the Justice Guild of America in an alternate universe. The Guild member Black Siren was based on the Golden Age Black Canary, Dinah Drake. She was voiced by Jennifer Hale. The Siren's real name was given as Donna Nance on her tombstone.

In the sequel series Justice League Unlimited, Black Canary was voiced by Morena Baccarin. She was first seen in a small cameo at the end of "Initiation", where her looks are enough to convince Green Arrow to stay in the League. She first appears as a main character in "The Cat and the Canary". She was vexed because her old mentor, Wildcat, had been obsessively engaging in underground fighting tournaments, and she convinced the smitten Green Arrow to help her convince Wildcat to return to the League. She and Green Arrow start a relationship, as seen in "Double Date", thereby paying homage to their famed romance in the comics. She also started a rivalry with Huntress. This version of Black Canary also appeared in the Justice League Unlimited spin-off comic book.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

Black Canary briefly appears as a back-up member of the JLA in the film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. She has one line in the film ("Wanna hear a secret?") and is voiced by Kari Wuhrer. A Parallel Earth version of Black Canary, named Scream Queen, also appears. This is the first time that the character has been shown in her modern costume outside of the comics.

DC Showcase: Green Arrow

Black Canary appears in the DC Showcase: Green Arrow short film included on the Superman/Batman: Apocalypse DVD with Grey DeLisle reprising her role. In the short she's seen as Oliver Queen's girlfriend that he's picking up at the airport and has plans to propose to her, which he does after he defeats Merlyn and she saves him from Count Vertigo. She accepts calmly, yet happily and the short ends with the two kissing.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Black Canary has been featured in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold in the teaser of the episode "Night of the Huntress!", voiced by Grey DeLisle. She and Batman teamed up to stop Solomon Grundy from getting a new brain from a genius. She is Batman's main partner in the musical episode "Mayhem of the Music Meister!". Batman asks her to stay and keep watch of Black Manta, the Clock King, and Gorilla Grodd, after the first encounter with the Music Meister ("I'm The Music Meister"). She follows him instead, to the dismay of Green Arrow. The two fight against Music Meister ("The World is Mine!"), and Black Canary gets controlled again. Black Canary is also featured in the main plot of "The Golden Age of Justice!". Tired of being treated like a kid, Dinah Lance convinces Wildcat to have her help the rest of the Justice Society of America. Her mother, the original Black Canary, is seen in flashbacks, eventually dying after being crushed by debris during a fire. After Wildcat put his regret of being unable to save Dinah Drake behind him, they go off and help the rest of the Justice Society and Batman defeat Per Degaton. She returns in "The Mask of Matches Malone!", as one of the Birds of Prey.

Young Justice

Black Canary appears in Young Justice voiced by Vanessa Marshall. She is a recurring character and serves as the combat trainer for the members of Young Justice. Series co-creator Greg Weisman has said her role on the show was in part because she is his favorite character in the DC universe. In "Disordered," she holds a therapy session with each of the members of the team after what happened in Martian Manhunter's mind-training exercise. Black Canary's relationship with Green Arrow is touched upon in the series: in "Homefront," Red Tornado mentions he is taking over monitor duty at the Watchtower for Green Arrow because he has "a hot date with Black Canary". In the first-season finale, "Auld Acquaintance," she is brainwashed by Vandal Savage and attacks the kids, only to be knocked unconscious by Robin and Rocket. After being restrained and gagged, she is freed from her mind control and attempts to help the team free the other brainwashed JLA members. At the end of the episode, she and Ollie set out with Red Arrow (who is revealed to be a clone of Roy Harper) to find the real Roy. Black Canary returns in Young Justice: Invasion which is set five years after the previous series. In "Salvage," Black Canary assists Green Arrow, Guardian, Nightwing, and Kid Flash in Red Arrow's intervention where Red Arrow is still trying to find the real Roy Harper through whatever way possible.

DC Nation Shorts

Black Canary appears with Green Arrow in the 2014 DC Nation Short: Green Arrow shorts Brick and Onomatpoeiabot. Her design is based off her appearance in Smallville.

Mad

Black Canary appears in an episode of Mad voiced by Tara Strong. She joins the other superheroes in a musical number that asks Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman about being called "Super Friends." In her part, she stated that she once asked Superman to feed her cat only for Superman to go save the Louvre.

Justice League Heroes

Black Canary appears as a playable character in the PSP version of Justice League Heroes voiced by Jennifer Hale.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame

Black Canary is a playable support character in Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame, voiced again by Grey DeLisle.

DC Universe Online

Black Canary appears in DC Universe Online voiced by Kelley Huston. Players can interact with Black Canary. If the player is on the superhero campaign, they get to fight alongside her. If the player is on the supervillain campaign, they get to fight her. As a bonus, her sonic abilities are able to be bought as a powerful scream or a whirlwind of supersonic energy.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

Black Canary appeared in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, voiced by Kari Wahlgren.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Black Canary appears in IOS version of Injustice: Gods Among Us as a support card for Green Arrow. In addition, during the game's story mode Green Arrow carries a picture of Black Canary in his arrow case. There is also concept art that contains multiple ideas for how she would look in the game, suggesting that she may have been planned as a playable character at one point.

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Kari Wahlgren reprises her role as Black Canary in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. Additionally, the Sara Lance version is playable via downloadable content.

Injustice 2

Black Canary will appear in Injustice 2 as a playable characte, Vanessa Marshall reprises Her role from Young Justice.

Music

In 2016, DC Comics released a three-track EP called EP 1 to promote the comic book, in which Black Canary becomes the lead singer of a band that shares her name.