Alias: Black Canary
Nicknames: BC, Canary, Di, Bird Lady, Bird Babe
Occupation: previously a florist, currently "employed" by Oracle as a mission operative
Base of Operations: Mobile (international), residence in Gotham City
Affiliations: Birds of Prey (with Oracle) Bat-Family, a founder of the Justice Society of America, founding and former member of JLA
Marital Status: Single
Height: 5' 4" Weight: 115 lbs.
Eyes: Blue Hair: Black, but she dyes it blonde
At the tender age of 19, an age when most of us are trying to decide whether to use our babysitting money for college or blow it on a trip to Italy, Dinah Laurel Lance decided to become a crime fighter.
Superheroism, after all, was the family business. Her father, Larry Lance, was a police officer, her maternal grandfather had been a Gotham City detective, and her mother, Dinah (or Diana) Drake Lance had been the Black Canary, the fishnet-wearing, high-kicking blonde bombshell of a hero who had raised her daughter on judo and dubious fashion choices. Since she had developed a close relationship with several of her JSA "uncles," Dinah had been training with them � including Ted Grant (Wildcat), who trained her in the martial arts.
So young Dinah, the strong-willed child who had been raised on tales of her mother's adventures, donned the fishnets, bought a blonde wig to hide her raven hair, and became the second Black Canary. Her mother was not happy with Dinah's
Blessed with the meta-human ability of a sonic cry, Dinah met a handful of fellow rookie heroes with funny names like "Flash" and "Green Lantern" during one of her first forays into crime fighting. After defeating the invading aliens from the planet Appelax, they decided to work as a team and formed the Justice League of America. Dinah chose the name in remembrance of the original team her mother was part of, the Justice Society of America.
After the first incarnation of the Teen Titans disbanded, Oliver's sidekick and young charge Roy Harper, aka "Speedy", was in rough shape. Green Arrow was broke, dating Dinah, and fighting less crime. As Roy and Oliver began to drift apart, Roy started feeling partially neglected by his guardian. It was at this time that Roy started experimenting with drugs. He took the trust money that Oliver had set up for him and spent it on heroin. Roy at first fooled Green Arrow into thinking he was working �on the inside' to bust up a drug ring. Soon enough, though, his secret was exposed, and Black Canary and Green
Black Canary continued to work solo, and shortly with the new JLA, until Green Arrow decided to settle down in Seattle. Dinah followed him and the two of them set up a florist shop, Sherwood Florist, following Dinah's mother's example. Much of the rest of their time was spent cleaning the streets of crime. For the four years that they cohabited, Oliver, hardly a pillar of stability himself, repeatedly tried to cage his �pretty bird,' - to get her to hang up her fishnets and leave the super-heroing to him. Dinah, strong-willed as ever, often defied Ollie's wishes by hitting the Seattle streets as Black Canary.
The events of the kidnapping affected Dinah badly, and her already troubled relationship with Oliver suffered. For several years they stuck it out, Oliver often taking off and leaving the weight of the florist shop on Dinah's shoulders. But even when Oliver left for over a year, Dinah hung on to the belief that he would come back. He did eventually, but while she waiting, her passion for justice and determination to fight it for herself was reborn. She soon started to fight supervillains again, rather then the criminals she had dealt with in Seattle, both with and without Oliver. Dinah found a renewed sense of purpose.
But while the superhero aspect of her life was going well, everything else was falling apart. After all the strains and frustrations and heartbreaks of their relationship (which included Oliver's having a child
The next several months were even rockier, and not long after their breakup, the beautiful, castle-like "Sherwood Florist" building in which Black Canary and Green Arrow had lived and worked together for so long burned to the ground. Dinah lost her focus then, and while she still hunted Seattle's streets, fighting crime where she found it, her
The love of her life was dead, her personal life was a shambles, she could barely meet her bills, and she'd developed a cynical veneer to stave off emotional attachments. Dinah had never been so low before.
Then Oracle called - just in time - and helped pull Dinah out of the malaise into which she'd fallen. Although Dinah did not meet Oracle until well into their partnership (they communicate during missions via transmitters and receivers through one of Oracle's satellite hook-ups), the two women became close friends very quickly. Together, they formed an international crime fighting partnership, the Birds of Prey. Dinah was back in action,
Working as a Bird of Prey has put Dinah back on her feet, renewing her confidence and her enjoyment of life. She's even ventured into global teamwork again, helping to form a new Justice Society of America, and remains a reservist for both the JSA and the JLA.. Oracle has set up an generous expense account for her, making her one of the few full-time professional crime fighters in the DCU, so Dinah can continue to do what she does
One of the strongest characters in the DCU, Dinah is funny, sensitive, loving, enjoys life and kicks butt like nobody's business. She maintains a strong mother/son, sister/brother, friend/friend relationship with Roy Harper, remaining a close confidant and a doting mother figure to his daughter Lian. She is fiery, independent, and experienced. She can even order Batman around, which in itself is hilarious and impressive. As a leader, a friend, a partner, and as a person, there are few better than Dinah Lance.
POWERS AND ABILITIES
Black Canary is a keen detective and a master of several martial arts. Besides having excellent general athletic abilities, she also has the ability to emit a sonic scream, a superstrong sonic concussive blast dubbed the �Canary Cry�. For the time that Dinah was deprived of the scream, she
Most impressively, Dinah is one of the top seven martial artists in the DCU along with (in no particular order) Lady Shiva, Batman, Connor Hawke, Richard Dragon, Bronze Tiger, and Nightwing.
Oh, and she has an absolutely kickin� motorcycle! What's not to love about that?
Dinah can get away with just about anything! She's just that kind of dynamic character that you can believe can do anything. She's not conceited about it though - she's honest and she fights for what's right, always putting other's first. She's the kind of person you want to be your best friend and big sister and yet she scares the heck outta you half the time. Captivating on all levels, it's very hard not to love Dinah, even when she's talking about pie in the middle of a civil war in Angola or something. But don't mistake her optimism as a sign of being an airhead - Dinah is just as quick-witted and serious as she is a shop-a-holic.
Dinah has probably the most outrageous and varied taste in music, ranging from Tracy Chapman to Aerosmith to Skillet to Amy Grant. She'll listen to almost anything so long as you can move or drive to it, whether it's 80's music or boy bands or Tim McGraw (and so long as it's not Britney Spears). Her musical flexibility reflects onto her personality. But if she doesn't like it, you better not argue. Of course, it doesn't help that she's tone deaf. Just don't ask her to rap, okay? Okay...
