[This article contains SPOILERS for anyone not caught up on Arrow S3!]

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As Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment ramp up their efforts to bring a shared superhero universe to the big screen, their TV show-verse has already proven quite successful. Officially, only Arrow and The Flash exist within the same universe for now, yet even within the confines of that world, producers Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Marc Guggenheim have already managed to squeeze in a lot of DC Comics' characters, history and lore. They've also managed to tweak these characters, toying with comic book fans' expectations.

Black Canary a.k.a. Dinah Lance, for instance, is the on-again, off-again girlfriend/wife/crime-fighting partner of Green Arrow in the comics. However, for viewers of Arrow things are more complicated. Oliver has two Lance ex-girlfiends: sisters Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and Sara (Caity Lotz). It's their mother who is named Dinah, and it was Sara who was a League of Assassins-trained vigilante operating under the name, The Canary.

Arrow's season 3 premiere shocked fans with Sara's murder, and choosing to do away with (arguably) the series' strongest female character has been controversial, but their reason for doing so is pretty obvious. While Sara's character blossomed in season 2 with a compelling back story and interesting development, Laurel's character was floundered by a poorly handled addiction story line and embarrassingly bad decision-making. (As to why one Lance sister had to die before the other could see any positive progress, that's another discussion.)

From the series' onset fans were predicting that Laurel would become Arrow's Black Canary, and it seems they were right; it just took a few seasons and the death of her sister for it to happen. Already this season, Arrow has been dropping some massive hints Laurel would take the Canary mantle - training with Ted "Wildcat" Grant, for one - and now in the released promo photos featured below (via TV Line) we can see Laurel in her new, crime-fighting duds.

Katie Cassidy as Black Canary on Arrow
Katie Cassidy as Black Canary

What's immediately noticeable is the similarity to her sister's outfit, which only makes sense since Laurel's wearing the black leather jacket Sara gifted to her at the end of season 2 (another of the series all-too-obvious clues to her character's trajectory). She's also sporting a blonde wig to help disguise her true identity, something her sister and DC Comics' original Black Canary both did. It appears Laurel's choice of weapon is a police baton as opposed to the bo staff Sara used, but it's a nice touch seeing as her father is a police detective.

As comic book to live-action costume adaptations go - and female superhero costumes in particular - Laurel's outfit is top notch. It even bares less cleavage than her sister's, which is a welcomed change. The only real hiccup to the design of Laurel's Canary outfit is the abundance of buckles and straps. Beyond a neat aesthetic they don't seem to have a purpose, and look like they'd make convenient handles for anyone to grab and throw her around.

Still, we're excited to see Laurel take on a more pro-active role, and according to TV Line, she'll start her vigilante ways in Arrow's mid-season premiere, "Left Behind", airing in January 2015.

NEXT: The Flash & Arrow Stars on the Upcoming Crossover Event

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What do you think of Laurel's Black Canary outfit? Are you excited to see this sort of progression for her character? Let us hear from you in the comments below!

Arrow airs Wednesdays @8pm on The CW.

Source: TV Line