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Black Canary Fights Crime On 'ARROW' The Hard Way

Actress Katie Cassidy gives fans a closer look at the 'Black Canary' character on the upcoming CW television show.

When we talk about Black Canary, we usually focus on the fact that her screech can knock another character over who might be standing several feet away, or that she packs a pretty powerful high kick. Rarely do we discuss the fact that she's actually a bottle blond (who knew?), or that she once opened up a florist shop as a cover for her superhero identity. Now, as great as florist shops are, they don't exactly contribute to crime-fighting. Unless, of course, you're dealing with Poison Ivy (although in that situation you might unintentionally be fueling a fire). In the latest ARROW clip it seems Dinah Lance is taking on an all-new kind of day job -- she will be playing an attorney . Now that's definitely one way to stop corruption.

The latest ARROW television show clip gives us a peak at 'Laurel Lance' and what makes her character tick. Actress Katie Cassidy who will be playing the role reveals that there is a lot of depth, passion and determination in Lance's character -- she's not afraid to take down corporate scum in the courtroom. In the clip we see a pensive young woman who isn't afraid to take down the bad guy no matter how rich he might be. It also reveals that both she and Oliver Queen (Arrow) share an interesting history and that she isn't exactly so happy to see him. Queen, "the love of [Lance's] life" was involved in a boating accident that left him stranded and killed her sister, so although she might harbor some affections for the chiseled anti-her, she hasn't forgotten that he is the reason she lost one of her best friends. And she certainly doesn't let him forget it.

Although we've seen some of these clips before, it's still nice to get a closer look at a character that will likely help push the story -- not only as a romantic interest to Queen, but also as a possible aid in the fight against crime. Only difference is, she's still doing it the "legal" way. I wonder how long it will take the CW to get the character into a pair of fishnet stockings and depict her kicking butt across the TV screen. It will definitely be interesting to see whether or not this is something that actually happens, or whether the character was just given the name 'Laurel Lance' as an homage to Black Canary's character in the comics. What do you think? Is this something you would like to see? What do you think of Katie Cassidy's portrayal of Lance in the clip above? How would you like to see the character portrayed?

Source: CW

47 Comments

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ScreamingGhost

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Edited By ScreamingGhost

A lawyer seems a bit cliche' none the less it will be interesting to see how this show pans out.

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GR2Blackout

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Edited By GR2Blackout

Attorney? I thought this was supposed to stick to the comics...

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Wolverine0628

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Edited By Wolverine0628
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zackattack529

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Edited By zackattack529

mm...ive been seeing previews..and so far...its not the green arrow TV series i was hoping for :/

in fact it seems like any other CW show.

I doubt im going to like it but im still going to see the first couple of episodes.

plus football season just started and NBA in a month, i wont care for any other show :p

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NightFang3

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Edited By NightFang3

Hmmm....could be good.

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chalkshark

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Edited By chalkshark

So she's just called "Laurel Lance", she's actually playing Jean Loring. Got it. I'm still giving this show a shot.

Oh, and for the record, the Black Canary was a brunette who wore a blonde wig for nearly 50 years, until Kevin Smith established that she dyed her hair blonde, during his writing stint on Green Arrow.

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Barkley

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Edited By Barkley

people you cant put a comic book onscreen it will look dumb you have make it relateable

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Kal'smahboi

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Edited By Kal'smahboi

I'm still pumped for this show. If she's supposed to be Black Canary, I think it's kind of clever that she's a lawyer. She's still taking out the bad guys with the power of her voice :D

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Booster_Bronze

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Edited By Booster_Bronze

Maybe they'll just give her the nickname of "Black Canary" in the court room.

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spidergirl2012

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Edited By spidergirl2012

Hot!

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LoganRogue24

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Edited By LoganRogue24

still not impressed.

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MadeinBangladesh

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Edited By MadeinBangladesh

really lookin forward to this

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ravisher

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Edited By ravisher

why doesnt anyone want to dye their hair?

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bloggerboy

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Edited By bloggerboy

@Barkley said:

people you cant put a comic book onscreen it will look dumb you have make it relateable

But the comic characters and stories are relatable. If you mean believable we've still got The Avengers route versus The Dark Knight route. Both were very successful despite differing so much.

The Arrow is going for the Nolan route in it's presentation. It doesn't mean the story itself is mature or original. And as much as the show tries to hide it, the fact still remains that Oliver Queen dresses up as Robin Hood and uses a bow and arrows against firearms in an urban enviroment.

Okay, so Ollie's called Arrow (presumably) and we've seen him killing people. He sounds like a pulp character. That's the problem with shows like Smallville where they give Clark a black jacket and call him The Blur (worst name ever!) They aren't superheroes anymore. They are writing pulp heroes like The Spirit. If the writers want to tell the story of a Spirit-wannabe I don't mind but it's annoying how they start to rewrite characters.

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ogg927

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Edited By ogg927

@zackattack529: Yea Zackattack529 makes a good point. I wish that it was more like this.

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joshmightbe

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Edited By joshmightbe

Can we please wait until we see the damn thing before we start freaking out. The reason studios don't respect comic fans as a demographic is because they know that regardless of quality we will bitch even before seeing a second of footage, proven by the fact that many started complaining about this show back when it was just a rumored possibility for the CW. As long as we're seen as bandwagon complainers just looking for something to bitch about Hollywood will continue to not give a sh*t what we think.

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wowlock

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Edited By wowlock

I miss the old Green Arrow / Black Canary dynamic....before the whole ''Cry for Justice'' failure.

I mean that would be my 2nd worse pick from the recent story arcs...coming right after One More Day massacare....

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Savage_Hawkman

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Edited By Savage_Hawkman

They're taking the super out of su[perheroes for this show.

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haydenclaireheroes

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I hope she ends up becoming Black Canary in the show. I know they may try to build that story up though

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GothamRed

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Edited By GothamRed

@Wolverine0628: no new version of arrow, no connection to smallville

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_Black

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Edited By _Black

Meh.

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LifePool

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Edited By LifePool

Gets worse and worse... was actually real excited for it at one point, shame...

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GREGalicious

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Edited By GREGalicious

I'll check it out and im hoping Black Canary eventually makes an appearance. The best version thus far was from Justice League and Young Justice but I did like the Smallville version as well.

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TheMess1428

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Edited By TheMess1428

So shes a mix of Manhunter and Black Canary. Not too happy with her name being Laurel instead of Dinah.

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TheElusiveNewReader

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@ogg927: Yea but come on EVERYTHING would be better if it was more like JLU. I'm a firm beliver that a resurection of that show is the last best hope for humanity. Actually I take that back. It would be like when they brought back Futurama, he was dead for too long, too many brain cells died from lack of oxygen...

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ScreamingGhost

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Edited By ScreamingGhost

@ogg927 said:

@zackattack529: Yea Zackattack529 makes a good point. I wish that it was more like this.

Such a great show it'd be awesome if there was a new show in the original DCAU. A new Static Shock (aged up slightly) or Batman Beyond but as the adult version from "Epilogue". At least we get the Justice League Beyond Comic which I'm digging so far.

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Nerd Of A Hero

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Edited By Nerd Of A Hero

Green Arrow meets 'Law and Order' lol

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sethysquare

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Edited By sethysquare

woot

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antemiusenteri

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Edited By antemiusenteri

cheating is one thing but how can you "harbor" feelings for some who is responsible for your sisters death , i really hope they don't get together not until the second season at least also something tells me she might not have her power yet , maybe she'll get kidnapped by vertigo and given her sonic scream in the season finally

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longbowhunter

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Edited By longbowhunter

The flower shop was called Sherwood Florist. No I'm not joking.

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TomHunter

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Edited By TomHunter

I am old enough that I don't mind some tweaks here and there for these types of shows.

SMALLVILLE definately tweaked the whole Superman mythos but the show worked and it was a successful show for CW.

I am gonna wait and see a few episodes of ARROW before I jump the gun with either 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down'.

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RedheadedAtrocitus

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Maybe I'm just nitpicky but I'd be liking it so much more if Oliver and Laurel in this were blonde. Would like it better if she took the full name Dinah Laurel Lance too but I'm allowed to show my fanboyism here. Alright I'll just come back to it. I've seen Katie Cassidy blonde before, so why couldn't she be for this? Seriously...

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mfundo

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Edited By mfundo

Can't wait

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jinxuandi

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Edited By jinxuandi

@Barkley said:

people you cant put a comic book onscreen it will look dumb you have make it relateable

Jeez I know. You can't please some people. If the producers try to alter details to make the show accessible to people who don't read comics (a.k.a. the vast majority of people!), people whine that it's not close enough to the comic. If the show is a clone of the comic, you end up with a crap show and the same people will complain "it's not relatable enough" after it's cancelled.

Get a grip, people. Give me one reason why is Dinah Lance, florist more acceptable than Laurel Lance, lawyer other than the first appears in the comic.

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ogg927

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Edited By ogg927

@TheMess1428: I totally agree, I don't like the name change.

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HexThis

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Edited By HexThis

Why can't it be Dinah? Huh? How hard is that?

Sometimes in Hollywood they have really stupid reasons for changing things, I can just see CW executive saying "Okay, well, test audiences didn't like that her name was Dinah. We had a survey and most of them don't know a Dinah in their day-to-day lives so they find it difficult to relate to. Can we switch it up a little? How does Laurel sound? Does that sound good? I don't actually care. Change it to Laurel"

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COBRAMORPH

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Edited By COBRAMORPH

@Barkley said:

people you cant put a comic book onscreen it will look dumb you have make it relateable

If the right people do it, they could. & it would be better because they'd have the benefit of hinsight to fix up an weird storylines. Not a 100% adaptation no, but maybe 90%.

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COBRAMORPH

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Edited By COBRAMORPH

@jinxuandi said:

@Barkley said:

people you cant put a comic book onscreen it will look dumb you have make it relateable

Jeez I know. You can't please some people. If the producers try to alter details to make the show accessible to people who don't read comics (a.k.a. the vast majority of people!), people whine that it's not close enough to the comic. If the show is a clone of the comic, you end up with a crap show and the same people will complain "it's not relatable enough" after it's cancelled.

Get a grip, people. Give me one reason why is Dinah Lance, florist more acceptable than Laurel Lance, lawyer other than the first appears in the comic.

Because there is NO NEED to change her from a florist to a lawyer. It serves NO PURPOSE. In fact, there are other female lawyers that can show up WHEN NEEDED.

We had a survey and most of them don't know a Dinah in their day-to-day lives so they find it difficult to relate to. Can we switch it up a little? How does Laurel sound

@HexThis said:

Why can't it be Dinah? Huh? How hard is that?

We had a survey and most of them don't know a Dinah in their day-to-day lives so they find it difficult to relate to. Can we switch it up a little? How does Laurel sound? Does that sound good? I don't actually care. Change it to Laurel"

Probly did happen. Yet, I've met several Diana's etc, never a Laurel. Its a very uncommon name. Might as well just called her Laura.

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Mister_Sensational

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@jinxuandi said:

@Barkley said:

people you cant put a comic book onscreen it will look dumb you have make it relateable

Jeez I know. You can't please some people. If the producers try to alter details to make the show accessible to people who don't read comics (a.k.a. the vast majority of people!), people whine that it's not close enough to the comic. If the show is a clone of the comic, you end up with a crap show and the same people will complain "it's not relatable enough" after it's cancelled.

Get a grip, people. Give me one reason why is Dinah Lance, florist more acceptable than Laurel Lance, lawyer other than the first appears in the comic.

But "WE" as in those of us who frequently visit this site aren't the vast majority of people. If you regularly visit a site called "ComicVine" then you likely read COMICS and when a tv show or movie comes out based on the characters you love from said medium you tend to want them to stay as true to their origins as possible, now I agree with you a few minor tweaks like changing her from a florist to a lawyer is just fine in my book, it's just the things like not using her real name (Dinah) is what gets my goat, and if we continue to just "accept" changes to things like character's names and origin stories then you just lose the essence of the characters all together and the show becomes this very loosely based thing that's only recognizable by a few names and locations.

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jinxuandi

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Edited By jinxuandi

@COBRAMORPH said:

Because there is NO NEED to change her from a florist to a lawyer. It serves NO PURPOSE. In fact, there are other female lawyers that can show up WHEN NEEDED.

It serves several purposes and it's not about 'needing' a lawyer. First of all, Black Canary was given the florist job at a time when that was one of few jobs considering socially acceptable for women. DC could not have made her a lawyer if they had wanted to. In case you haven't noticed, times have changed. The show's creators wanted to give her a job that better reflected her aggressive personality and I applaud them for that. After all, how many young, hot, ass-kicking florists do YOU know?

From a more practical standpoint, lawyers (ones who practice independently anyway) have a more independent work schedule than small business owners. Oh sure, a small business owner can close whenever they want, but they risk going bankrupt.

@Mister_Sensational said:

But "WE" as in those of us who frequently visit this site aren't the vast majority of people. If you regularly visit a site called "ComicVine" then you likely read COMICS and when a tv show or movie comes out based on the characters you love from said medium you tend to want them to stay as true to their origins as possible, now I agree with you a few minor tweaks like changing her from a florist to a lawyer is just fine in my book, it's just the things like not using her real name (Dinah) is what gets my goat, and if we continue to just "accept" changes to things like character's names and origin stories then you just lose the essence of the characters all together and the show becomes this very loosely based thing that's only recognizable by a few names and locations.

Fair enough, but I don't think all comic fans (myself included) would agree with you. For me, TV is TV, movies are movies, books are books and comics are comics, and what makes each of them good are different. Sometimes what makes a good book doesn't make a good movie, what makes a good comic doesn't make a good TV show, and so on, and creators are well within their rights if they want to modify source material to make good television.

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HJK

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Edited By HJK

Too much deviation from the comics. Why bother creating Black Canary at all? Why not just create an all-new character if they're going to change so much of it. Obviously, they are planning to "Smallville" Green Arrow.

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deactivated-5d22cbdd103e7

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She better somehow end up activating her metagene and become Black Canary...

Ugh Black Canary who fights crime.....with her lawyer/attorney whatever it is job is so...................................................boring.

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fodigg

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Edited By fodigg

Sooo...she's just a lawyer, not a superhero, and her name is "Laurel Lance"?

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GreyPhoenix

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Edited By GreyPhoenix

@joshmightbe said:

Can we please wait until we see the damn thing before we start freaking out. The reason studios don't respect comic fans as a demographic is because they know that regardless of quality we will bitch even before seeing a second of footage, proven by the fact that many started complaining about this show back when it was just a rumored possibility for the CW. As long as we're seen as bandwagon complainers just looking for something to bitch about Hollywood will continue to not give a sh*t what we think.

Couldn't have said it any better,myself. You people bitch too much. Let's see you get off your ass and away from your computer and build characters without making them seem like too much too soon.Give it a rest already. I for one cant wait to see where this show goes. Katie is hot and sure as hell has the acting skills for it. P.S. JUST BECAUSE THE CW TOOK ON ANOTHER COMIC DOESN'T MAKE IT SMALLVILLE. AND IF YOU WEREN'T SO DAMN STUBBORN AND RESISTANT OF IMAGINATION, YOU'D SEE THAT IT TOO WAS NOT THAT DAMN BAD.

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Seafarinhare

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Edited By Seafarinhare

I hate to say it, but after seeing the fight between Ollie and China White, I'm not sure I want to see Black Canary fight. The choreography for this show is not looking good so far. Hopefully that gets fixed before they decide to bring out the Bird of Prey.

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bellaardila92

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Spoiler Laurel is not Black Canary her sister Sara was The Black Canary

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batpala

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Edited By batpala

@bellaardila92:
Actually Laurel is The Black Canary, Sara is the Canary and a stepping stone in Laurel's story. It's been confirmed time and time again by the showrunners and the writers. Laurel is the Black Canary; end of story.