Black Canary: the fighter with a sonic cry, Clark's ally in Smallville
Share
Everything you need to know about Black Canary in Smallville, the blonde fighter whose cry makes Clark buckle. Dinah Lance, played by Alaina Huffman, arrives in “Siren,” which aired in the United States on February 7, 2008. In the episode, Lex Luthor pays her, and she takes on Clark before joining Oliver Queen's team. She comes back in five more episodes, all the way to 2011. You're about to find out how this mercenary becomes an ally, where her cry comes from, and who the two Black Canaries of the comics are.
📋 Contents
- Who is Black Canary in Smallville?
- “Siren”: the mercenary Lex Luthor sends after Green Arrow
- The sonic cry that brings Clark to his knees
- One episode to switch sides: from Lex to Oliver's team
- Season 8: searching for Clark, then standing up to him
- Seasons 9 and 10: a video call facing Zod, then Egypt
- Black Canary, Clark's ally all the way to Smallville Season 11
- In the comics, two Black Canaries: the mother in 1947, the daughter in 1969
- Black Canary and Superman in the comics, from 1981 to Injustice
- FAQ — Frequently asked questions
- Conclusion
Who is Black Canary in Smallville?
In Smallville, Black Canary's name is Dinah Lance. By day, she's a conservative host and commentator at the Daily Planet, where she's nicknamed “the Word of Justice.” By night, she works as a mercenary. The series flips the comics look around: Dinah wears a brunette wig in her civilian life and saves her blonde hair for Black Canary. At the paper, she butts heads with Lois.
The role goes to Alaina Huffman, a Canadian actress born Alaina Kalanj on April 17, 1980, in Vancouver. She plays Dinah in six episodes, from season 7 to season 10, which aired in the United States between 2008 and 2011. On a show that ran for ten seasons, those six episodes take her from paid enemy to teammate. Her on-screen partners are covered in our article on the Smallville cast. For the French dub, Wikipedia credits Laura Préjean as her voice in her first episode.
“Siren”: the mercenary Lex Luthor sends after Green Arrow
Black Canary enters the series in “Siren,” the 11th episode of season 7. The CW aired it in the United States on February 7, 2008, drawing 4.01 million viewers. Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson wrote it, and Kevin Fair directed it. TV Guide had announced the character's arrival as early as November 1, 2007, and the episode was supposed to air on January 10, 2008: the American writers' strike pushed it back to the following month. In France, it's called “Le Cri” and aired on M6 in October 2008, on the 4th according to Wikipedia. To see where this episode fits in the bigger picture, check out our season-by-season guide to Smallville.
In “Siren,” Lex hires Dinah twice. First, he pays her to get back a disc from Chloe, who has burned one of Lex's files onto it. Then he sends her to capture Green Arrow, whom he describes to her as a terrorist. So Dinah sets off to hunt down a vigilante, thinking she's stopping a criminal. Clark will have to convince her of the truth, but not before he's fought her.
The sonic cry that brings Clark to his knees
Clark and Chloe track Dinah down by looking for whoever logged into the Daily Planet's servers. They're the ones who come up with her name: Chloe jokingly suggests “Yellow Raven,” and Clark replies that “Black Canary” sounds better. The fight breaks out at the paper, in front of the office marked “Lex Luthor, CEO.” Dinah unleashes her cry, and Clark collapses, his ears bleeding. His super-hearing then turns into a weakness: this cry can take down a Kryptonian through his hypersensitive hearing.
Dinah puts Clark out of action without a single trace of kryptonite, using nothing but her voice. In Smallville, this power is no gimmick: Sylvester Pemberton's files, shown in the episode “Absolute Justice,” link it to a metagene. For the Smallville version, the terms used are “subsonic scream” or Canary Cry, whereas the comics describe an ultrasonic scream. Dinah doesn't rely on her voice alone: she's also a fighter who has mastered martial arts, throws knives, and uses a grappling hook. The same files mention training under a former heavyweight boxing champion. Identifying him as Ted Grant, aka Wildcat, remains a theory the series never confirms.
One episode to switch sides: from Lex to Oliver's team
The turnaround comes from her own doubts. Dinah finds out that Lex is lying to her and goes to tell him so to his face: he shoots her in the shoulder. Clark deflects the bullets and carries her off at super-speed, then finishes convincing her of the truth. On the roof of the Daily Planet, Dinah apologizes, and Oliver invites her to join his team. Clark backs the idea, but he's not the one doing the recruiting: the invitation comes from Oliver, and it's his offer that Dinah accepts.
So Black Canary becomes Clark's ally at the end of “Siren,” and not before. She started the episode working for Lex, against Clark, and she ends it on the side of the archer she was supposed to capture. This detour through Oliver matters for what comes next. Her bond with Clark is born within the team Green Arrow puts together, not out of a friendship struck up on the Kent farm, and it's as Oliver's teammate that she'll cross paths with Clark again in the following seasons. An ally, yes, but one who keeps her own judgment.
Season 8: searching for Clark, then standing up to him
Dinah is back as soon as season 8 opens, in “Odyssey” (8x01), which aired in the United States on September 18, 2008. The Fortress has collapsed, and Clark has vanished. Dinah goes looking for him with Oliver and Arthur Curry, the show's Aquaman. The expedition goes wrong: LuthorCorp captures her along with Arthur, and it's Clark and Oliver who come to free them. The team's identities are compromised, and the League scatters.
The finale of that same season puts her in a more uncomfortable position. In “Doomsday” (8x22), which aired on May 14, 2009, in the United States, Oliver wants to kill Davis Bloome, against Clark's wishes. Dinah sides with Oliver, as does Bart Allen. From there, accounts of the episode differ. The show's fan wiki has her present when Oliver takes Clark down with a kryptonite dart; English Wikipedia says nothing about that and instead describes her helping Clark bury Doomsday underground. Either way, when it came to Davis's fate, she chose Oliver over Clark.
Seasons 9 and 10: a video call facing Zod, then Egypt
In season 9, Dinah makes just one appearance, and a remote one at that. In “Salvation,” the season finale, which aired in the United States on May 14, 2010, she's seen on a video call with the Watchtower, alongside other members of the League and the JSA, just as they're facing Zod's Kandorians. She isn't listed in the credits. On the day the episode aired, Alaina Huffman confirmed to MovieWeb that she was indeed in it. So Black Canary doesn't fight Zod on the ground.
Season 10 gives her her last two episodes. In “Icarus” (10x11), which aired on December 10, 2010, in the United States, she attends the funeral of Carter Hall, aka Hawkman, in Egypt with Clark and Lois, before the whole group gets knocked out. In “Collateral” (10x12), which aired on February 4, 2011, in the United States, the government locks her inside a virtual reality. She then helps Chloe, Oliver, Rick Flag, and Deadshot in the real world. None of these episodes puts her up against Darkseid.
| Episode (original title) | Number | US air date |
|---|---|---|
| “Siren” | 7x11 | February 7, 2008 |
| “Odyssey” | 8x01 | September 18, 2008 |
| “Doomsday” | 8x22 | May 14, 2009 |
| “Salvation” | season 9 finale | May 14, 2010 |
| “Icarus” | 10x11 | December 10, 2010 |
| “Collateral” | 10x12 | February 4, 2011 |
Black Canary, Clark's ally all the way to Smallville Season 11
Put together, these appearances add up to a real but indirect alliance. Dinah fights alongside Clark because she belongs to Oliver's team. She searches for him when he disappears, attends Carter Hall's funeral with him, and appears with the League during the Kandorian crisis. That doesn't mean she follows him blindly, as her choice in “Doomsday” shows. On screen, the series never gives her a one-on-one fight with Zod or Darkseid. The article on Smallville and its origin story places Clark back within this long coming-of-age tale.
The rest of the story plays out in comic books. Smallville Season 11, written by Bryan Q. Miller, continues the series on paper. Black Canary shows up there with Speedy in Seattle in “Hollow,” published in Season 11 Special #3 on October 30, 2013, a story in which Superman also appears. She's mentioned in “Titans,” Special #4. In the miniseries “Continuity,” she finally fights the Manhunters alongside Superman. It's no longer Alaina Huffman's face on the page, but it really is the show's Dinah carrying on her journey, this time on paper.
In the comics, two Black Canaries: the mother in 1947, the daughter in 1969
In the comics, the name Black Canary first belongs to Dinah Drake. Robert Kanigher writes her and Carmine Infantino draws her in Flash Comics #86, cover-dated August 1947. She makes her debut in a backup story devoted to Johnny Thunder. At first she's taken for a criminal, until it becomes clear that she's infiltrating a gang. This first Black Canary has no superpowers at all.
The cry arrives with the next generation. In Justice League of America #74, cover-dated September 1969, Larry Lance dies saving Black Canary during a fight against Aquarius. She then leaves Earth-2 to join the Justice League of Earth-1; according to DC Database, the only source for this detail, Superman welcomes her with open arms. In #75, cover-dated November 1969, she takes her seat with the team, discovers her sonic cry, and fills in for a Wonder Woman who has lost her powers at that point. Since a revelation in 1983, this issue has been treated as the first appearance of Dinah Laurel Lance, the daughter, credited to Dennis O'Neil and Dick Dillin: she's the one who has the Canary Cry.
Smallville follows that daughter, Dinah Lance. The mother appears only in the JSA painting in “Absolute Justice,” a two-part episode written by Geoff Johns that aired on February 5, 2010, in the United States: Johns spelled this out to KryptonSite. Alaina Huffman doesn't appear in that episode.
Black Canary and Superman in the comics, from 1981 to Injustice
Superman and Black Canary team up in DC Comics Presents #30, cover-dated February 1981, which went on sale in 1980. “A Dream of Demons!” is written by Gerry Conway, drawn by Curt Swan, and inked by Vince Colletta: in it, Doctor Destiny lures the two heroes into a dream dimension using visions of Larry Lance. In 1983, Justice League of America #219-220 (cover-dated October and November) reveals that the League's Black Canary is actually the daughter: the Superman of Earth-1 and the Thunderbolt transferred her dying mother's memories into her body.
After the DC universe was overhauled, JLA: Year One (1998), by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn, and Barry Kitson, shows her as a founding member of the League in place of Wonder Woman, with Superman and Batman only in supporting roles. Infinite Crisis later gives that spot back to Wonder Woman. In 2007, in Brad Meltzer's relaunch, Black Canary serves alongside Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and chairs that League before resigning after the clash with the Shadow Cabinet.
The comic Injustice: Gods Among Us takes place outside the main continuity. In it, Black Canary leaves the League when Superman becomes a tyrant and joins Batman's Insurgency. Superman kills Green Arrow, her husband, then kills her too in Year Two, powered up by a yellow ring; Doctor Fate brings her back to life on another Earth. This dictator Superman has a deep dive of his own. In the Arrow series, another continuity, Laurel Lance gets her Canary Cry from a device, the opposite of the metagene in Smallville.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
Who plays Black Canary in Smallville?
Canadian actress Alaina Huffman, in six episodes that aired in the United States from February 2008 to February 2011. She doesn't appear in “Absolute Justice,” where the JSA painting depicts the character's mother.
In which episode of Smallville does Black Canary first appear?
In “Siren,” episode 11 of season 7, which aired on The CW on February 7, 2008, in the United States. Originally scheduled for January 10, it was pushed back by the writers' strike. Its French title is “Le Cri.”
Is Black Canary Clark's enemy or his ally?
Both, in that order. Paid by Lex Luthor, she starts out fighting Clark, then joins Oliver Queen's team at the end of “Siren.” After that, she keeps her independence: in “Doomsday,” she backs Oliver against Clark's wishes.
Where does Black Canary's cry come from in Smallville?
From a metagene, according to the Sylvester Pemberton files that appear in “Absolute Justice.” So it's not a device. The cry hits Clark through his super-hearing.
How many Black Canaries are there in the comics?
Two, and they share the same first name: Dinah Drake, who debuted in 1947 with no superpowers, and her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance, who has the Canary Cry. Smallville follows the daughter.
Does Black Canary fight Zod or Darkseid in Smallville?
No. In the season 9 finale, she only takes part by video call during the crisis with Zod's Kandorians. None of her six episodes puts her up against Darkseid.
Does Black Canary team up with Superman in the comics?
Yes. In 1969, she joins the Justice League, of which Superman is a member, and the two of them team up in DC Comics Presents #30 (cover-dated February 1981). In “Continuity,” a miniseries that carries Smallville Season 11 on in comic form, she takes on the Manhunters at his side.
Conclusion
Over six episodes of Smallville, Black Canary goes from mercenary to teammate. Paid by Lex in “Siren,” she brings Clark to his knees with her cry, joins Oliver's team, and sticks with it through season 10, then into the Season 11 comics. DC's comic books, for their part, have two Black Canaries: the mother from 1947 and the daughter from 1969, the one the series chose.
To dig deeper, the article on Green Arrow tells the story of the archer who recruited her, and the one on Michael Rosenbaum covers the Lex who paid her. Finally, the feature on the Justice League shows Superman's place in the team Black Canary joins in 1969.