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Arrow fans have hit out at the show for killing off one of its most beloved characters.

In Wednesday night's episode of the CW superhero drama, assistant district attorney by day and superhero by night, Laurel Lance ( Katie Cassidy ) was brutally stabbed by Damien Darhk in front of her friends.

The death had been heavily teased with flash-forwards since the premiere episode, but now it's been confirmed that Laurel is the person in the grave, and it's safe to say that fans are not happy.

As the episode aired, #NoLaurelNoArrow began trending on Twitter with thousands of fans raging at the death of the Black Canary, contrary to the source material.

(Image: Warner Bros)

In the comics Black Canary and the Green Arrow eventually grew to be matched in skills and also in life as they settled down together, or as much as two crime-fighting superheros could.

Elsewhere the show faced critical maulings for the choice, with critics saying the show had 'jumped the shark'.

However, executive producer Marc Guggenheim insisted Earth One's Laurel would remain dead and won't be undergoing a resurrection like her sister Sara.

(Image: Warner Bros)

"We made a creative choice and we're sticking to it," he said.

"We're recognizing that Black Canary and Laurel have an incredibly loyal fan base and Katie has an incredibly loyal fan base but the show has never been just about the comic book history.

"It's never been just about one or two different particular fanbases. We make the creative choices we feel benefit the show as a whole and the story we're telling overall."

But one thing that's true is that the DC television universe has not seen the last of Cassidy.

The actress has just completed filming for a guest role of her Earth Two self, the Black Siren, on The Flash , and she's also signed up to voice her character in the animated series Vixen.