When it comes to live-action adaptations, Black Canary is a character that has more experience than one might think. From the ill-received Birds of Prey TV series from 2002 to 2020’s ensemble action flick Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, Dinah Lance has been interpreted and reinterpreted by several flesh-and-blood actors who have all brought their own unique takes with the character.
The short-lived Birds of PreyTV series offered DC fans a completely original take on Dinah Lance, wherein a teenage Rachel Skarsten (currently playing Alice in the CW’s Batwomanseries) depicts a Black Canary plagued by precognitive abilities and “touch-telepathy.” Fans were immediately put off by the obvious disregard for the source material, which would sadly become a trend. At least until Warner Bros. brought Canary to the big screen in Birds of Prey.
So how different is Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary from the comic book source material in the Birds of Prey movie? Despite the film taking major liberties with comic book characters such as Cassandra Cain, it actually follows the comic books pretty faithfully when it comes to Dinah Lance. BoP takes character elements from key comic book stories dating back from her first appearance in 1947 all the way to the modern era. Needless to say, SPOILERS ahead.
The Movie Adapts The Modern Black Canary Best
Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary isn’t based off any one particular iteration of the character. Rather, she’s a “greatest hits” album of Black Canary’s strange origin stories. BoP introduces Canary as a street-tough, but ultimately kindhearted martial arts machine under the employ of a sadistic crime lord. While emotionally conflicted over working for criminal kingpin Black Mask, Dinah eventually becomes an informant (or canary) for GCPD detective Renee Montoya. This cinematic origin mirrors her first appearance in comics back in 1947. Her debut in Flash Comics #86 originally depicted her as a member of a criminal empire. Later it is revealed that she was actually working against the mob the whole time. The major difference between her original comic book backstory and her movie origin is that in BoP Canary isn’t so much “infiltrating” Black Mask’s criminal organization as much as she chooses the side of good after realizing she could no longer look the other way.
Another element taken directly from the comics is her career as a singer. In BoP Harley Quinn first encounters Dinah at Black Mask’s club, where she hits a note so high it breaks a martini glass. Black Canary’s music career was first canonically explored during DC’s New 52 relaunch (Though the Brave and the Bold cartoon and DC Bombshells universe did it first), where she becomes the lead singer of an indie band called Ashes On Sunday and then later signs a deal with A&B Records to form her own rock band she names Black Canary. DC even dropped a three-track EP for Black Canary that was marketed alongside the 2015 storyline. It was so well-received they eventually dropped a second Black Canary EP.
Black Canary’s Legacy: Like Mother, Like Daughter
Something else the film pulls from the source material is regarding Dinah’s mother. When DC orchestrated its first big continuity relaunch in 1985 with Crisis On Infinite Earths, the publisher needed a way to explain how some of their characters could be alive during the era of Nazi Germany while still being in their early 30s today. With Black Canary, they simply split the character into two women—a mother and her daughter.
Similar to Watchmen characters Silk Spectre I and Silk Spectre II, the name Black Canary represents a family legacy started by Dinah Lance’s mother, Dinah Drake, who was also a crime-fighter. And though the origins of the canary cry have changed throughout the years, the generally accepted canon is that it’s a genetic mutation passed on from mother to daughter. In an exposition heavy scene between Lance and Montoya in BoP, the hard-boiled detective mentions Dinah’s mother, who also worked with the police as a crime-fighter with a Metahuman sonic scream. Though her mother’s exploits alongside law enforcement are left vague, it is implied that she was eventually killed by the very criminals she fought against. This leads the younger Dinah to avoid rocking the boat when it comes to Gotham’s criminal underworld until the film’s final act.
The Canary Cry Fans Have Waited For
As far as Dinah’s signature canary cry, BoP does a great job depicting both its strengths and its limits. Though comics are hardly known for their consistency when it comes to superpowers, the general consensus among writers is that the canary cry has the power of a sonic boom with a fairly wide area of effect, but it’s unfortunately a one-hit-wonder in a fight. Shattering eardrums takes its toll on Dinah’s vocal cords, and its typically something she can only do in a pinch. When Black Masks’s endless battalion of goons rush toward Harley’s old hideout, Dinah uses the canary cry to smash their blitz and allow them to escape, but the effort exhausts her to the point of nearly passing out.
While some comic book fans have complained about Dinah’s wardrobe being “inaccurate” to the source material in BoP, it should be noted that the character has undergone several major makeovers over the course of her 73 years of crime fighting. From fishnets and booty-shorts to 40s-inspired pinup, Dinah has always made bold fashion choices with her style. To the film’s credit, Black Canary’s final costume at the tail-end of BoP is a cheeky nod to her dark blue jumpsuit, a costume that was considered by many to be too excessive, even for 1980s comic books.
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Arguably the film’s only sin in regards to Black Canary is it doesn’t give the audience enough time with her. While Harley and Huntress are given a satisfying helping of backstory, much of Dinah’s origins are left a mystery. Aside from brief moments of exposition between Dinah and other characters, not a whole lot else is known about her other than what’s already been mentioned. But with the nature of superhero movies nowadays, its likely that Warner Bros. is leaving her breathing room for a sequel. Hopefully the Canary is just beginning to soar.
