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.