Sara Lance

See also:List of DC Comics characters: W § White Canary

Sara Lance
Arrowversecharacter
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / White Canary inLegends of Tomorrow
First appearance	"Pilot" Arrow October 10, 2012
Last appearance	"Knocked Down, Knocked Up" Legends of Tomorrow March 2, 2022
Created by	Greg Berlanti Marc Guggenheim Andrew Kreisberg
Portrayed by	Caity Lotz(2013–2022) Jacqueline MacInnes Wood(Arrowpilot only)
In-universe information
Alias	The Canary Ta'ir as-Safir(طائر الصافر) Black Canary White Canary
Affiliation	Legends Team Arrow Paragons League of Assassins(previously) Justice League
Family	Ava Sharpe(wife) Quentin Lance(father) Dinah Lance(mother) Laurel Lance(older sister; deceased)
Significantothers	Oliver Queen(deceased) Leonard Snart(deceased) Nyssa al Ghul

Sara Lance,also known by her alter-egoWhite Canary,is afictionalcharacterinThe CW'sArrowversefranchise, first introduced in the 2012pilot episodeof the television seriesArrow,and later starring inLegends of Tomorrow.The character is an original character to the television series, created byGreg Berlanti,Marc GuggenheimandAndrew Kreisberg,but incorporates character and plot elements of theDC ComicscharacterBlack Canary.Sara was portrayed byJacqueline MacInnes Woodin the pilot episode, but subsequently byCaity Lotz.

Sara initially goes by the moniker ofThe Canary,a translation of her ArabicLeague of Assassinsnameالطائر الصافر(Ta-er al-Sahfer). She later adopts the code name of White Canary before joining theLegends of Tomorrow,and eventually becoming the captain of the team.

Lotz has appeared as Sara Lance and her superhero persona in crossovers onThe Flash,SupergirlandBatwoman,all set within the Arrowverse. The character has also appeared in a digital comic book series.

Appearances

Arrow

Sara Lance first appears in the pilot episode ofArrowas the younger sister ofLaurel Lance.It's shown that five years prior to the beginning of the series, she was having a secret affair with her sister's boyfriendOliver Queenand was with him on his family yacht when it shipwrecked.Everyone on board was presumed dead but flashbacks in season two reveal that, like Oliver, Sara actually survived the experience. She was rescued by a research boat, theAmazo,and when Oliver was captured by the ship's crew, Sara helped him escape. Together, along with Oliver's friendSlade Wilson,they attacked the ship. Due to Slade's love forShado,an ally who was killed indirectly because of Oliver who was being forced to choose who to live between Sara and Shado, Slade betrayed Oliver and took over both the ship and Oliver as his prisoner. Oliver and Sara confronted him on the freighter and Sara was swept away in the current, causing Oliver to believe that she died once again. However, Sara was found byNyssa al Ghul,who took her toNanda Parbat.She and Nyssa became lovers, and Sara became a deadly fighter with theLeague of Assassinsunder the nameTa-er al-Sahfer,roughly translated to "Yellow Bird" or "Canary" from Arabic.

In season two, Sara returns toStarling Cityafter a six-year absence as "The Canary" to protect her family. In keeping with a promise, she also befriends wayward teenagerSinand watches over her. Oliver manages to capture and unmask The Canary, revealing Sara to be alive. She eventually informs her father, SCPD DetectiveQuentin Lance,and looks after him and Laurel (who also later discovers she's alive and is a vigilante). Sara joins Team Arrow and revisits a brief relationship with Oliver. She aids him and his colleaguesFelicity Smoak,John Diggle,andRoy Harperin taking down a drug-enhanced Slade Wilson, with help from the League of Assassins, which requires Sara to return to Nanda Parbat.

In season three, Sara is killed on a rooftop with three arrows to the chest. Some time later, it is revealed thatThea Queenkilled Sara after being drugged by her fatherMalcolm Merlyn/Dark Archeras part of a plot to pit Oliver againstRa's al Ghul.Meanwhile, Laurel takes up Sara's mantle to fight crime as the Black Canary.

In season four, Laurel resurrects Sara using the League's mystical Lazarus Pit. The process is successful, but Sara is brought back to life without a soul, making her feral and dangerous. Oliver calls his old friendJohn Constantineto assist them in restoring Sara's soul. Days later, Sara aids in rescuingRay Palmer/The Atomfrom the hands ofDamien Darhk,before leaving town to find herself, eventually joining theLegendsalong with Ray. During her time away with the Legends, Laurel is killed by Darhk and Sara is later made aware of it by Quentin when she briefly returns to present-day Star City at the end of season one ofLegends of Tomorrow,where she and Quentin mourn Laurel together.

Sara, along with Ray and the rest of the Legends, return for the season five crossover "Invasion!"whenBarry Allen/The Flashand his team contact her, informing her and the Legends that they and the rest of the heroes in the present day need help fighting an invasion from an alien race known as theDominators.The Legends arrive and meet up with Team Flash and Team Arrow, then introduce themselves to Barry's friend from Earth-38Kara Danvers/Supergirl,whom he had brought over to help combat the Dominators. After Oliver appoints Barry leader of the group, they all spar with Kara to practice fighting aliens, and are repeatedly defeated. Meanwhile, Sara develops a small friendship with Kara. When Barry is forced to reveal that he had gone back in time to save his mother and then reversed the decision, which has now altered some of the group's lives a bit, Sara scolds him and everyone except Oliver and a few others lose faith in Barry. Kara leads Sara and the others, while Barry and Oliver stay behind to rescue the president from the Dominators. This ends with the president being killed and the Dominators using a device to mind-control the entire group. Sara returns with the rest of the mind-controlled heroes and attacks Barry and Oliver, until Barry tricks Kara into destroying the device, freeing them. They regroup and after they reaffirm their faith in Barry, five of them (Sara, Oliver, Ray, Thea, and Diggle) are abducted by the Dominators and placed in pods that put them in a shared dream world, where Sara, Oliver, and Oliver's father never got on theQueen's Gambitand all of Oliver fallen friends, including Laurel, are still alive. In this dream world, Oliver and Laurel are engaged, and while Sara helps Laurel get ready for their wedding, she begins having memory flashes of her actual life. Sara later saves Oliver and Diggle from a manifestation of Deathstroke, and the three realize that the world they're in isn't real. They later rally Ray and Thea and attempt to leave, but are forced to fight manifestations of Malcolm, Slade, Darhk, and their mercenaries before killing all of them. Sara and Oliver share a heartbreaking goodbye with Laurel. They wake up on the Dominator ship in the real world and escape in a pod before being rescued by the Legends' timeship Waverider. They conclude that the dream world was a distraction meant to keep them busy while the Dominators probed their minds for information on metahumans. They return to earth, and as some of the Legends—along with Felicity andCisco Ramon—head to the past and attempt to abduct a dominator, Sara, Barry, Oliver, and Ray confront a group of secret service agents who attempt to kill them. They defeat the agents, whose leader informs them that the Dominators are after metahumans because they are aware that Barry has changed the timeline. The Dominators now perceive them as a threat. Barry attempts to surrender himself to the Dominators in exchange for their leaving earth, but Sara and the rest of the heroes persuade him not to. She pilots the Waverider with Cisco to hold the Dominator's freefalling metabomb in place with a tractor beam whileJefferson Jackson/Firestormtransforms it into harmless water and the heroes on the ground use a pain-inflicting device to force the Dominators to flee. Sara and the other heroes are honored by the new president later that night and they celebrate, before sharing a hug with Oliver and returning to the Waverider with the rest of the Legends.

Sara briefly returns in season six when she receives a call from her sister's doppelgänger, the recently reformed criminal from Earth-2Laurel Lance / Black Siren,who informs her that Quentin had been seriously injured in the battle againstRicardo Diazand is in the hospital. Sara arrives and meets her deceased sister's doppelgänger, who had developed a genuine father-daughter relationship with Quentin; they refer to each other as such. Sara thanks Earth-2 Laurel for calling her; Laurel thanks her for coming. Laurel tells her that the doctors are optimistic that Quentin will make it and asks Sara if it's weird seeing her. Sara replies that it is, a little. Sara asks if she is like her Laurel, and Laurel replies that she hardly is at all, clearly disappointed with herself. The two witness Oliver being arrested for being the Green Arrow per the condition of his agreement with the FBI, in exchange for their help in the fight against Diaz and his allies. The doctor comes and informs everyone present that Quentin has died from lack of oxygen to his brain during surgery, leaving Sara, Laurel, Oliver, and the rest of Team Arrow devastated. Later, as Oliver (under the direction of the FBI) announces to the world on live TV that he is the Green Arrow, before being taken to prison, Sara and Laurel mourn together over Quentin's body.

In season seven, Sara returns when Felicity summons her to convince Black Siren to stop her crime spree after her crimes and being framed for murder. After they and Dinah stop Shadow Thief. Sara helps Black Siren come to terms with Quention's death.

In season eight, Sara witnesses Oliver's sacrifice to create Earth-Prime and attends his funeral.

Legends of Tomorrow

In the spin-off series,Legends of Tomorrow,Sara is recruited byRip Hunterto atime travellingteam of rejects aimed at defeating the immortal villainVandal Savage.Before she departs, Laurel gives Sara theWhite Canaryname and outfit to signify her new start. Over the course of the first season, Sara continues her battle with blood-lust andsets in motionthe events that will lead to her own rescue by Nyssa. While she romances or flirts with numerous people throughout history, among them a younger Martin Stein and a closeted lesbian 1950s nurse, she develops a budding relationship with teammateLeonard Snart,who bonds with her due to their common history as killers and desire to redeem themselves. Though Sara is slow to return his feelings, Snart eventually hints at his love for her and expresses a desire to have a future with her near the end of the season after they destroy the Occulus. Snart, however, ends up sacrificing himself to destroy the Occulus in Ray Palmer's place, and Sara kisses him for the first and final time before leaving with the rest of the team before the Vanishing Point explodes. Sara subsequently mourns Snart's death and admits that he died a hero. The Legends return to 2016 a few months after they left, where Sara learns from her father thatLaurel was killed by Damien Dhark.Sara confronts Rip about deliberately returning her to after Laurel's death to stop her from trying to save her, but Rip tells her that Laurel's death is a fixed point in time, and attempting to change it will only get herself and her father killed.

In season two, Sara becomescaptainof the timeshipWaveriderandleaderof the Legends following Rip's disappearance. She mercilessly hunts Darhk throughout history before accepting that she cannot bring Laurel back due to the delicacy of time. In the "Invasion!"crossover event, Sara and the Legends return to 2016 to aid Team Arrow, Team Flash, and Earth-38'sSupergirlin repelling the Dominators' alien invasion. She subsequently learns of the subtle changes in the timeline due toBarry Allentravelling back in time to save his mother from Eobard Thawneout of grief for his father's death at the hands of Zoom, subsequently creating and undoing theFlashpointtimeline which has alerted the Dominators, and scolds Barry for his carelessness, while still using her own experience losing Laurel to sympathize with Barry. In the second-season finale, Sara is forced to use theSpear of Destinyto save reality from theLegion of Doom.While tempted to rewrite her own tragic history, the Spear briefly reunites Sara with a projection of Laurel, who encourages Sara to do what's right and make peace with her death. Sara then chooses to render the Spear itself inert, foiling the plans ofThawnehimself (whose death as a result ofEddie Thawne's suicidehad also been undone due to Barry creating and revertingFlashpoint) and allowing him to be killed by theBlack Flash,who has been hunting him all season.

In season three ofLegends,Sara continues to lead theWaveridercrew as they track down and repair anachronisms throughout time, working in an antagonistic partnership with Rip Hunter's new bureaucratic organization, the Time Bureau. In the four-part crossover "Crisis on Earth-X",Sara travels to 2017 to attend the wedding of Barry Allen andIris West,where she has a one-night stand with Supergirl's adoptive sisterAlex Danvers.The assembled heroes work together to repel an invadingNaziarmy from the alternate world ofEarth-X.While confronting the demonic entityMallusalongside her old friend John Constantine, Sara and Constantine hook up, despite her ongoing romantic tension with Time Bureau agentAva Sharpe.Ava and Sara begin dating in subsequent episodes, but break up after Sara is temporarily possessed by Mallus through the death totem and reasons that, given her history with death and destruction, she poses a danger to Ava.

Despite this setback, they soon get back together, with the two shown to be in a stable relationship by the time of the Legends removingPaul Reverefrom the height ofBeatlemania.Season four ofLegendsfocuses on Sara leading the team to track down magical "fugitives" of mythology from around the timestream, with the support of Ava and the Time Bureau. In season five, after the Time Bureau is no more, Ava is co-captain of theWaveriderand helps the team track down the "encores", evil criminals returned from hell to different points on the timeline. In season six, Sara is abducted by aliens, later revealed to be employed by Bishop, a scientist from the 22nd century and Ava's creator, who wants Sara to work with him in an attempt to restart the human race with alien-human hybrids. After being fatally poisoned by an alien, Bishop clones Sara and transfers her dying mind into her new body that is spliced with alien DNA granting Sara regenerative abilities. Although horrified by what Bishop has done to her and no longer sure of who she is, Mick convinces her that she is still herself. After escaping the alien world with Mick and Gary, Sara returns to Earth and proposes to Ava who gladly accepts. The two eventually wed in 1925, during an alien invasion caused by Bishop which the Legends eventually manage to stop. However, before the Legends able to leave 1925, an unknown second Waverider destroyed the original Waverider.

During season seven, Sara is stranded in 1925 with the rest of the Legends. While trying to get back to 2021, they learn that the second Waverider was commanded by Bishop along with an evil version of Gideon, who later deploys robot versions of themselves to eliminate the Legends. Sara and the Legends try to get toGwyn Daviesin New York, the person who invented time travel, in order to help them get back home. At the end of season seven, it is revealed that Sara is pregnant with Ava's baby. When she returned to the Waverider, she was arrested by the Time Police alongside her team for breaking the timeline.

Creation and development

Jacqueline MacInnes Woodwas cast as Sara Lance in March 2012.However, due to scheduling conflicts the role was recast.Caity Lotzwas announced to be playingArrow'sversion of Black Canary during July 2013. During the same month it was revealed that her character is Sara, who had survived theQueen's Gambitshipwreck.

According toArrowproducer Andrew Kreisberg, Sara was originally meant to beRavagerbut they decided to give that role toSummer Glau's characterIsabel Rochevinstead. After the switch was made, Sara was made into the Canary.

After the character's death during the shows third season, it was announced in February 2015 that Caity Lotz would become a cast member onLegends of Tomorrow,though it was not until May that they revealed she would continue to play Sara instead of a new character.

Originally known for her martial arts prowess, in July 2019 it was announced that Sara would develop a superpower during thefifth seasonofLegends of Tomorrow,later revealed to beprecognition.

Other versions

• An alternate version of Sara is mentioned on Earth-X where the NaziswonWorld War IIand proceed to conquer the rest of their world. Like her Earth-1 counterpart she was bisexual; when her father, anSSSturmbannführer,discovered this he killed her.
• In the episode "Starling City",it is referred that Earth-2's Laurel Lance has a sister.It is unclear whether this is actually Sara's doppelganger, though Laurel does mention in the episode "Green Arrow & The Canaries"that like Sara she slept with Earth-2's Oliver.
• In the crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths",on Earth-16 (a world like Earth-1, but with no fantastical elements), Oliver Queen became the Green Arrow, but Sara Lance actually did die on theQueen's Gambitand thus never became the White Canary.
• During the "Armageddon"event, it is mentioned that Sara (and other Legends, including Ray and Nate) was murdered by Damien Darhk and a Reverse-Flash version of Barry Allen in the Reverse-Flashpoint timeline created by Eobard Thawne.

Reception

The revelation in the season two episode, "Heir to the Demon", that Sara is bisexual and has been in a relationship with Nyssa al Ghul was positively received by critics as it made her the first character from eitherMarvelorDCto be explicitly shown as bisexual in either the movies or TV shows.IGN's Jesse Schedeen praised the relationship between Sara and Wentworth Miller's character Leonard Snart (dubbed by fans as "Captain Canary" ), as well as the chemistry between Lotz and Miller, describing the "faint romantic tension that existed between [them] since the first episode" as containing more weight than many of the other relationships on the show.

In other media

• Sara Lance also features in the tie-in novelArrow: Fatal Legacieswhich was released in January 2018. The novel focuses on events between the fifth-season finale and sixth-season premiere ofArrowand is co-authored byArrowexecutive producerMarc Guggenheimand author James R. Tuck.
• White Canary is a playable character in the mobile-exclusive edition ofInjustice 2,with herLegends of Tomorrowattire available as an alternate skin for Black Canary.