Birds of Prey: SPOILER Returns in New DC Preview

The new Birds of Prey ongoing series has already given fans a lot to talk about, brilliantly chronicling the story of Dinah Lance / Black Canary and her latest crop of unlikely teammates. The first issue of Birds of Prey outlined the reason for the team's high-stakes adventure, as they are going to work to save Cynthia "Sin" Lance from the Amazons on Themyscira. The possibility of Sin's return — especially given her incredibly-personal connection to Dinah — has excited fans for months now, and now we have the best look yet at what that will entail. On Friday, DC unveiled its December 2023 solicitations, which reveal some of the covers for Birds of Prey #5. The main cover, from series artist Leonardo Romero, show Dinah and a now-teenaged version of Sin in fighting stances.

Some had theorized that Sin could end up being Red Canary, who debuted in the comics earlier this year and becomes a superhero after being inspired by Dinah. Red Canary's real name was recently revealed to be "Sienna", which led fans to wonder if there would be a connection between the two, but the premise of this Birds of Prey series, and this cover, seem to indicate they are two separate characters.

BIRDS OF PREY #5

• Written by KELLY THOMPSON
• Art and cover by LEONARDO ROMERO
• Variant cover by CHRIS BACHALO
• Variant cover by W. SCOTT FORBES
• 1:25 variant cover by NATHAN SZERDY
• 1:50 variant cover by CHRIS BACHALO
• $3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
• ON SALE 1/2/24
• As the Birds and the Amazons double their efforts in fighting Megaera, Dinah and Sin take the battle inside, quite literally. The battle for the fate of Sin has now truly begun and it is not something everyone is gonna walk away from.

Who Is DC's Sin Lance?

Created by Gail Simone and Paulo Siqueria in 2006's Birds of Prey #92, Sin is a young girl who enters Dinah's orbit at a vicious martial arts camp in Asia, which Dinah has enrolled in after swapping lives with Lady Shiva for a year. After Dinah learns that Sin is being trained to be the next Lady Shiva, she helps her escape the camp and essentially becomes her mother figure. The two of them live in Metropolis together, and Dinah quits the Birds of Prey so she can better protect Sin. In 2007's Black Canary spinoff series, Dinah and the Green Arrow family battle with the League of Assassins over Sin's future, as the latter group wants to kidnap her and make her their new leader. To end the conflict, Oliver Queen / Green Arrow fakes Sin's death and hides her away in a monastery, where Dinah visits her from time to time.

"I think, when I can, I always look for something really personal to center a story around," series writer Kelly Thompson told ComicBook.com in a recent interview. "The story will, of course, be about a lot of things, but at the center it's best and most powerful if there's something very personal at stake for our primary POV character. Which, in this story, is Dinah. That personal thing doesn't have to be a person, but in this case, that made a lot of sense. I also always love, when I can, to pick up on things other writers have done and build on them. That can be nerve-wracking, as it feels like a lot to live up to, but my heart is in the right place and I have an amazing team doing it with me. So, I hope it'll be the kind of story building that everyone can get excited about."

Are you excited for Sin Lance's return in Birds of Prey #5? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Birds of Prey #5 will be released on January 2, 2024.