Who Is Black Canary? Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Birds of Prey Character Explained

Black Canary, portrayed by Jurnee Smollett in the DCEU, has a long history in the comics. Although the hero has appeared in four different live-action franchises, movies and shows still have yet to cover a fraction of everything she has accomplished with the Justice League, the Birds of Prey, and by herself. Here are Black Canary’s DCEU future, her superpowers, and her origin story.

Prior to Smollett-Bell’s portrayal, Danuta Wesley briefly played Black Canary in 1979’s Legends of the Superheroes, a series of TV specials that included the appearance of Adam West’s Batman. More than 20 years later, Rachel Skarsten (who appears as Alice in Batwoman) played a slightly modified version of the hero in the short-lived Birds of Prey TV show, where Black Canary possessed psychic abilities. In Smallville, Alaina Huffman played the first live-action Black Canary to work alongside fellow Justice League members Green Arrow and Superman. And in the Arrowverse, several iterations of the character are played by Katie Cassidy, Caity Lotz, Alex Kingston, Madison McLaughlin, and Juliana Harkavy.

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Birds of Prey marked the live-action feature debut for Black Canary. The film primarily revolved around the villain Harley Quinn and her new colleagues, Cassandra Cain, Huntress, Renee Montoya, and of course, Dinah Lance a.k.a. Black Canary. Before Jurnee Smollett was announced as Birds of Prey’s Black Canary in September 2018, she had previously been acting in feature films and mainstream television series for nearly 20 years, best known for roles in ABC’s Full House, NBC’s Friday Night Lights, and HBO’s True Blood. But who is Black Canary in the comics?

Black Canary’s Origin In DC Comics

Black Canary’s DC origin story dates back to 1947 and has changed significantly over the years. Created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared as Dinah Drake in the comic Flash Comics #86, in contrast to Harley Quinn, who originally appeared in the TV show Batman: The Animated Series before appearing in DC Comics. Originally, Dinah Drake ran a flower shop, and goes undercover to infiltrate the criminal underworld.

During the ‘60s, in the DC Comics series, Dinah Drake moved from Earth-1 to Earth-2 after her love interest, Larry Lance, passed away. Because of her grief, Dinah Drake became known for “The Canary Cry,” a sonic scream that’s correlated with her Black Canary persona. It’s revealed that Dinah Drake and Larry Lance had a child, one who presumably died after being cursed. The storyline becomes more complex when Dinah’s memories are transferred over to her daughter, thus creating a time-bending narrative. The Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline from the mid-’80s essentially destroyed Black Canary’s backstory.

And so Black Canary was reborn again for a mother-daughter storyline, evidenced by the 1990 comic Secret Origins #50. Dinah Drake later appears in Birds of Prey #1, and was revised once again for DC’s 2011 relaunch, known as “The New 52.” Black Canary is mentored by martial arts master Desmond Lamar, joins Team 7, and secretly marries Kurt Lance. During a Pandora’s Box mission, “The Canary Cry” leads to Kurt’s alleged death. Black Canary later forms the group known as Birds of Prey.

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Black Canary’s Powers In DC Comics

All iterations of Black Canary are skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but they’re mostly known for their sonic scream that can literally shake up the world. Black Canary’s main power can be exhausting and excessively destructive, so it’s only utilized when absolutely necessary. It can also be neutralized by immobilizing her mouth and can be used to propel her when jumping or gliding. Because of Black Canary’s background in covert operations, she’s trained in leadership skills and knows how to efficiently operate when battling opponents with elite combat skills or superhero strengths. 

Black Canary is much more powerful than the rest of the Birds of Prey due to her sonic scream and martial arts expertise. Unlike Harley Quinn, she’s calculating and cognizant of her powers, and her tactical and leadership skills have allowed her to work alongside famous heroes like Batman, Green Arrow, and Superman. Black Canary is also skilled with a wide range of vehicles, gadgets, and weapons, especially if they’re melee.

Black Canary’s Role In Birds of Prey

In Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn meets Dinah Lance in Black Mask’s club, where she works as a singer. Roman Sionis himself hires her as his driver, but she soon starts to work with Renee Montoya to retrieve the Bertinelli Diamond from him and Victor Zsasz. Soon enough, she finds herself fighting side by side with Harley Quinn (whom she happens to rescue by chance), as well as Huntress, Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain.

Dinah Lance inherited her metahuman ability to produce a powerful sonic scream from her mother, who may or may not have had the Black Canary moniker before her. Dinah’s tough but compassionate personality leads her to form the Birds of Prey as an official team. Black Canary received a costume re-design for Birds of Prey; a character tweak that hasn’t gone unnoticed by long-time fans. But according to Birds of Prey costume designer Erin Benach, the goal for Black Canary’s look wasn’t to be completely faithful to the original comic series, but rather to complement the character’s personality.

Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Future as Black Canary In The DCEU

A Black Canary movie is officially in the works at HBO Max. Jurnee Smollett is confirmed to reprise her Birds of Prey role as Dinah Lance and Misha Green, who has previously worked with the actress in Lovecraft Country, will write the script. Details regarding the script, cast, and release date are not yet confirmed, but it’s likely that the movie will release in the following three years. It’s possible that some of Black Canary’s fellow Birds of Prey will return, perhaps marking the fourth DCEU appearance of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.

Given Black Canary’s close relationship with Oliver Queen a.k.a. Green Arrow in the comics, the Black Canary movie could mark the first big-screen appearance of the Emerald Archer. Depending on how the movie concludes, HBO Max’s could either set up a future big-scale conflict for Dinah Lance or a more grounded adventure, possibly in Birds of Prey 2.

About The Author

Q.V. Hough
(1892 Articles Published)

Q.V. Hough is a senior writer at Screen Rant. He’s also the founding editor at Vague Visages, and has contributed to RogerEbert.com and Fandor.

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