We’ve seen quite a lot of actresses play the Black Canary on the big and small screens, but who portrayed the hero the best?
Black Canary is undoubtedly one of DC Comics’ most iconic heroes. A long-standing character, she made her comic book debut all the way back in 1947 when she appeared in Issue 86 of Flash Comics. Since then, the Dinah Laurel Lance version of the character has gone on to get involved in some of the company’s most historic storylines, becoming a founding member of the Justice League and the Birds of Prey and the primary love interest of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow.
Perhaps the most-skilled fighter in all of DC Comics, she’s also renowned for her patented Canary Cry – a highly-effective sonic scream that incapacitates (and temporarily deafens) anyone she unleashes it on.
Though we’ve seen her dominate the comic book, TV and video game landscapes over the years, Dinah finally made her cinematic debut in 2020’s Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn) in which she was portrayed by Jurnee Smollett.
2020 was a good year for the Canary, with the character co-headlining that film and two versions set to headline Arrowverse TV series Green Arrow and The Canaries. Unfortunately, the series wasn’t picked up and her cinematic future was thrown into question after Birds of Prey‘s underperformance and the DC Universe reset (though it seems Smollett is still going to play the character in her own standalone movie).
Let’s take this opportunity to revisit the Black Canary’s on-screen history, and rank each live-action version from worst to best.
8. Danuta Wesley
Appeared In: Legends of the Superheroes
While the Black Canary has had the bulk of her live-action appearances within the past two decades, she actually made her debut in the medium much earlier than that, appearing at a time when superheroes on TV weren’t all that common. However, unlike Batman ’66 or Wonder Woman ’75, it’s not that well-remembered. There is a reason for that.
The very first actress to bring the legendary DC heroine to life in a live-action production, poor Danuta Wesley had a lot working against her from the offset in 1979’s downright bizarre Legends of The Superheroes.
A two-night NBC variety special, it saw the first ever live-action union of the Justice League of America and adopted a tongue-in-cheek tone akin to the classic Batman TV series – without possessing any of its wit or charm. This resulted in an array of ridiculously goofy off-the-wall scenarios that weren’t all that funny.
In Wesley’s defense, she was one of the few great things about it as she looked every bit like the Black Canary from the comics at the time and nailed the character’s playful nature – something we don’t see enough of. It’s just a shame that she didn’t have more to work with throughout.
7. Lori Loughlin
Appeared In: Birds of Prey
The WB’s Birds of Prey came about at the wrong time, struggling to fit in in an era that had moved on from the big-budget Batman movies of the ‘90s and one where superheroes only worked on TV if they were masquerading as a teen drama. Nevertheless, it attempted to bring DC’s trinity of heroes to the small-screen, and that included the first modern attempt at a live-action Black Canary.
Though Lori Loughlin wasn’t actually Birds of Prey‘s central Black Canary character Dinah Lance/Redmond, she did portray her mother Carolyn Lance and, as we’re told by the woman herself, she was the original hero to hold that mantle.
The retired hero who regretted giving her child up for her protection all those years ago, she sought to make things right by taking her daughter away from the same life that seduced her all those years before.
There was a good story there that guided the character, and Loughlin did a solid job with what she was given, but the lack of exploration and a strange Canary Cry (that was really more of a Canary Whistle) prevented her from doing anything memorable with the role.
6. Rachel Skarsten
Appeared In: Birds of Prey
That brings us to Birds of Prey‘s official attempt at the Black Canary character. Meet Dinah Redmond: The daughter of the original Black Canary who had been given to a foster family for her own protection. However, when she began to manifest unusual abilities, that foster family became abusive – forcing the young metahuman to run away to New Gotham and track down Barbara Gordon and Huntress.
Rachel Skarsten proved to be incredibly compelling in the role, making us all fall in love with a character that could have fallen apart due to how much she deviated from the comics. A teenage runaway is quite the departure from the revered Justice League member that we were accustomed to – but Skarsten did a great job as her endearing performance stood out in a show that often fell victim to its overly-dramatic tone.
Was it the best interpretation of the Dinah Lance character? No. There was certainly promise there, but some of the character aspects didn’t work – like the new telepathic abilities. That said, Skarsten was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with – something she continues to prove through her work as Alice on The CW’s Batwoman.
5. Alaina Huffman
Appeared In: Smallville
Smallville‘s diversion into the more heroic territory post-Season 5 brought with it some of DC’s more famous heroes and, with that, came the introduction of Dinah Lance/Black Canary. This time, the screaming superhero was portrayed by Alaina Huffman and it was certainly an edgier interpretation that what we were used to seeing.
An expert martial artist who knew a thing or two about throwing knives and possessed a metahuman Canary Cry, this iteration of the character was initially hired by Lex Luthor and took great pleasure in causing havoc for Clark Kent and Green Arrow. When she found out what he was up to, however, she joined Oliver Queen’s heroic team as they set out to save the world.
Though parts of the character didn’t initially work – the initial short-haired look didn’t feel very Black Canary and the Cry was more of a roar than anything else – Huffman brought Dinah to life in a way that felt completely loyal to her comic book counterpart. She was empowering, formidable and larger-than-life – and her Season 10 look (with the long hair, black jacket and the fishnets) was arguably the most comic-accurate Canary look we’ve ever seen on-screen.
Perhaps the most underrated of all the Black Canaries, Huffman ensured that we remembered her in spite of only appearing in six episodes.
4. Juliana Harkavy
Appeared In: Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
Arrow‘s third attempt at the Black Canary character had us all face-palming at the showrunners’ bafflingly inherent desire to disrespect the Dinah Laurel Lance character – and the fact that they went and called her Dinah Drake when the official Black Canary’s mother on that show was actually called Dinah Drake-Lance pushed the boundaries of believability. However, none of that was enough to prevent Juliana Harkavy from grabbing our attention.
The actress initially portrayed Dinah as a broody rough-around-the-edges woman who had fallen too far from grace in her attempts to avenge the death of her beloved partner and lover Vincent Sobel. However, as the character attempted to rediscover the hero that she was through the path of redemption that was the Black Canary mantle, Harkavy softened that performance and made Dinah a more endearing character.
In spite of a few thinly-written storylines in Seasons 6, 7 and 8, Harkavy remained at the forefront of the show and made us want to continue championing Dinah. And her performance in the backdoor pilot of Green Arrow and The Canaries just reminded us that there is a well of untapped potential just waiting to be explored.
The CW really dropped the ball by not picking the show up, because we feel like Harkavy’s Dinah would have shone brighter than ever in it.
3. Caity Lotz
Appeared In: Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, The Flash, Batwoman
The Arrowverse’s first attempt at the Black Canary character was essentially a device to propel the official Black Canary on her journey towards heroism, but Caity Lotz’s performance as her wayward sister Sara Lance quickly found its way into the hearts and minds of everyone watching Arrow.
Sara was a deeply troubled individual who, following one terrible mistake with her sister’s boyfriend, was sentenced to years of cruelty and desperate attempts to defy death. This all forged her into the warrior known as The Canary – a warrior that Lotz efficiently brought to life.
Lotz embodied the role, pulling off all the sensualities and badassery that the comic book Black Canary was renowned for. And though the character’s death was an apparent inevitability, the love for the actress’ performance was enough to convince the powers-that-be at the Arrowverse to bring Sara back. Returning as White Canary, Lotz led The CW’s most enjoyable ensemble over on spin-off DC’s Legends of Tomorrow for all seven of its seasons.
Though that off-the-wall show diluted the character a little throughout its run, Lotz’s larger-than-life offerings still infused Sara with the eternal life that the death-defying time-traveler apparently seems to possess.
2. Jurnee Smollett
Appeared In: Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn), Black Canary movie (upcoming)
There were senses of both intrigue and suspicion in regards to how little Birds of Prey was utilizing its titular heroes in its promotional material, but that ironically ended up benefiting it because it forced us to wait in order to see how the film’s portrayal of the legendary Black Canary would come across. Well, after seeing the movie, it’s safe to say that it was worth the wait.
Jurnee Smollett is a revelation as Dinah Lance. That’s in no way an overstatement because the way in which she effortlessly brings the heroine to life is nothing short of magical. She’s strong, intense and very full-on when she needs to be – capturing all of the character’s empowering qualities in an instant – but she’s also playful, emotional and even a little witty – and that‘s a side of her that we don’t see often enough.
Dinah’s backstory is among the best in the film, and the internal conflict she endures resonates well given her lack of screen-time. Furthermore, her fighting skills are second-to-none and her Canary Cry is a thing of absolute beauty.
The film certainly could have done with a lot more of her, as its lack of focus on Dinah and Helena really is quite the drawback here, but it’s a forgivable one because Smollett is a Dinah Lance for a whole new generation – and what a great Dinah Lance she is.
She is set to return for a new movie as the character, which still seems set to go ahead even with the DC Universe reboot. We hope it does, because a portrayal as rich as this one deserves far more screen-time.
1. Katie Cassidy
Appeared In: Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Vixen
Katie Cassidy was the very first person that Arrow cast all the way back in 2012 as it was announced that she would take on the iconic role of Dinah Laurel Lance in The CW’s new Green Arrow-inspired series. Though that character didn’t necessarily have all the fighting qualities associated with the comic book counterpart yet, Cassidy ensured that Laurel’s heart possessed the most important of those qualities.
A more grounded take on the character, Cassidy remained the show’s strongest performer throughout the first four seasons as she carried Laurel through a heap of emotional storylines and ensured that even when the writers were unnecessarily unkind to her, she was stealing the show.
Though the writing would again let her down with Laurel’s short-lived ascension to Black Canary and the character’s subsequent death, her popularity resulted in her return as the villainous Black Siren – a skilled metahuman with a Canary Cry from Earth-2 who eventually achieved redemption and took up the Black Canary mantle.
It took Arrow a long time to get Black Canary 100% right, but Cassidy was always on form, elevating anything subpar. She portrayed the first Laurel with the heart, tenacity and grit of a real person and the second with the sass, fortitude and emotional depth of her comic-book counterpart. And that perseverance ultimately paid off because the iteration of the character that we saw in Season 8 – a mix between both and the one that should have gone on to headline Green Arrow and The Canaries – was undoubtedly the best (and most accurate) live-action iteration of the character of all-time. This is, no doubt, the reward that this exceptional actress deserved.