Black Canary is the superhero moniker that has been used by two women in DC comics. The first was Dinah Drake, a Golden Age hero and member of the Justice Society of America who was introduced in Flash Comics #86 (August 1947). The second was her metahuman daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. The younger hero inherited her mother’s talent for martial arts, her bravery, and grit, and can create ultrasonic vibrations when she screams (known as her Canary Cry) to incapacitate her foes or shatter objects.

Dinah Laurel Lance was created by Dennis O’Neil and Dick Dillin, who introduced her in Justice League of America #75 (November 1969). The younger Black Canary is regularly a member of the Justice League, a founding member and leader of the Birds of Prey, is a close friend/ally to Barbara Gordon, and has long been in a relationship with Oliver Queen.

The younger Dinah has operated as the main Black Canary since her introduction at the tail-end of the Silver Age. She grew up surrounded by the former JSA members, and planned to become a hero one day, even though her mother discouraged it because she thought it was too dangerous. Despite that, Dinah trained with fighters like Wildcat and eventually took the name Black Canary and operated in Gotham City. She met Green Arrow when she joined the Justice League and though they initially rubbed each other the wrong way, their attraction was undeniable. After leaving the JLA, she and Oliver moved to Seattle and opened Sherwood Florist flower shop.

Her next move was to join Barbara Gordon, now operating as Oracle, to create the Birds of Prey. Their partnership was rocky at the beginning because Oracle was so organized and controlled, while Black Canary was more impulsive. Soon they learned how to mesh their styles and formed a strong bond that became the foundation for a larger team with the likes of Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, Katana, Big Barda, Catwoman, Cassandra Cain, and many others.

During the big Countdown to Final Crisis storyline, Dinah and Ollie finally got married. The arc was spread across the Black Canary Wedding Planner and issues of Green Arrow and Black Canary, leading to the Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special. Since the wedding was going to be heavily attended by superheroes, the Injustice League planned an attack, causing mayhem that surrounded the “I dos.”

When the Blackest Night event happened, Dinah was forced to fight Ollie who had been turned into a Black Lantern by Nekron. Once he was returned to normal, it was discovered that he had murdered Prometheus, so Dinah, Hal Jordan, and Barry Allen confronted him. Ollie turned himself in to the authorities and made it clear that he didn’t want to see Dinah in jail, so they split up.

In the Brightest Day event, the Birds of Prey were attacked by the White Canary under Lady Shiva’s orders while they were trying to save a kidnapped child. The team traveled to Bangkok where Black Canary was told that she needed to fight Lady Shiva to save the child, Sin, and her foster parents. Huntress offered to take her place in the fight, giving Dinah time to free Sin and stop the battle between her teammate and Lady Shiva.

When DC rebooted characters in The New 52, Black Canary and Green Arrow were no longer a couple, and her powers came from government experiments instead of the metagene. Once DC introduced the Rebirth initiative, the pair quickly recognized their chemistry and got back together. She has also rejoined the Justice League and led a new incarnation of the Birds of Prey.