28. Black Canary (Dinah Drake)
When the Arrow showrunners revealed that they were introducing another Black Canary, the reception from fans was mixed – and understandably so. First of all, the show seemed to believe that the mantle was interchangeable (when it wasn’t) and had previously killed off the first Canary and the actual Black Canary, why would they get it right this time?
While the end result hasn’t justified their questionable decisions, it’s hard to deny that Dinah Drake hasn’t made an impact on the show. With her police officer roots, badass attitude and metahuman-powered Canary Cry, the show did a great job setting her apart from previous Canaries (Black Siren aside) from the get-go.
Her initial reluctance to join Oliver’s crew of crime-fighting heroes was also a nice touch, and did a great job highlighting her hardass cop persona. As an undercover officer, she had seen the worst of the worst on the streets of Central City and eventually lost the love of her life to the job, so it made sense that she didn’t want to play dress-up with costumed vigilantes.
However, when she finally joined in on the fray, she wasted absolutely no time making an impact, carrying on Laurel Lance’s legacy as the new Black Canary. And although the writers have struggled to help her stand out in a show with so much going on, Dinah continued to come into her own and make a name for herself as the new Captain of the Star City Police Department. In doing so, she carved out her own path as a hero as she slowly found her place on the show.