Episode 11 of “Arrow” Season 5 titled “Second Chances” showed an initial glimpse of Tina Boland’s dark past before she was hailed as the new Black Canary in the Arrow universe.
Tina Boland, played by Juliana Harkavy, was also affected by the particle accelerator invented by the well-renowned scientist Dr. Harrison Wells of STAR Labs in “The Flash” universe.
Boland became a metahuman after the particle accelerator explosion happened while being tortured by brutal thugs who also killed her boyfriend with a gunshot right in front of her.
As she possessed a sonic canary cry similar to that of Laurel Lance’s, her journey was anchored more on vengeance against the crooks who murdered her boyfriend.
Noticeably, the new Black Canary has her dark past which is similar to the earlier vigilante days of Oliver Queen. While there is a thin line between morality and vengeance, Boland seems to be caught right in the middle.
But before Tina became the new prospective member of Team Arrow, it was also clear that Oliver Queen was looking for a replacement for Laurel Lance.
It was probably because Oliver lost his hopes to Earth-2 Laurel Lance who was featured in episode 10 who was revealed to be as the Black Siren, an evil alter ego of the original Black Canary.
Earth-2 Laurel Lance also teamed up with Season 5’s main villain, Prometheus, in order to seek revenge against Oliver.
It was then that Oliver realized that the deceased Laurel Lance will never be replaced by an evil doppelganger who has no interest in joining Team Arrow either.
Oliver lived by his words as he promised that the legacy of the real Laurel Lance will continue if they can find a logical successor who would help them in their crusade in fighting crimes.
However, it looks like the new Black Canary will not follow the footsteps of the original Laurel Lance because Tina believes she is more than Laurel.
She proved it when she tracked the Sonus group and let them pay for what they had done to her and her boyfriend. She then asks for Team Arrow’s help and the outcome and it was then that Oliver also realized that Tina’s past seems to resemble his as well.
Tina eventually held Sonus at gunpoint but Oliver was already in the middle of his ‘Don’t Kill, Don’t Be like Me’ speech because he does not want Tina to be like him.
But from the looks of it, Tina is not someone who can be bossed around as she followed her wishes and killed Sonus, justifying that it is what her boyfriend would ask her to do.
Despite the initial conflict of opinion, Oliver decided to give Tina a second chance to make things right for her life.
Fans of “Arrow” will get to see more of Tina Boland’s crime-fighting actions as the new Black Canary but it may be safe to assume that she is already replacing the deceased Laurel Lance.
Dinah Drake’s backstory in comic books
Later in the episode, Team Arrow also found out that Tina Boland’s real name is Dinah Drake.
Based on the comic books, Dinah Drake is one of the most common names who appeared as the Black Canary. Her character first appeared in 1947’s Flash Comics #86 and played as the sidekick until the Golden Age Revival of DC Comics in the 1960s.
She became a member of Justice Society of America in Earth-2 and was married to Larry Lance, a police detective in Gotham City, the city where Batman a.ka. Bruce Wayne operates.
Upon her name lies also a revelation which is far too different on what her story discloses on the small screen. In the comic books, Dinah Laurel Lance was her daughter actually.