Black Canary’s Canary Cry Just Got a Surprising Upgrade

Black Canary has been a fixture of DC for over 75 years, factoring into a wide array of the publisher’s stories. For the majority of her superhero career, Dinah has been armed with her trademark Canary Cry — and in the latest issue of DC’s current Birds of Prey series, it just got a new twist. Spoilers for Birds of Prey #4 from Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles below! Only look if you want to know!

The issue sees Black Canary and the rest of the Birds continuing their fight against the Amazons and Megara. In a last-ditch effort to get away from Wonder Woman, Dinah throws a string of magical orbs that are from her “bag of magic tricks.” According to Dinah, the orbs were dreamed up by her and Zatanna “long ago”, and they combine magic and the overwhelming power of her Canary Cry. While the orbs seem slightly similar to the ones used on The CW’s Arrowverse of shows — primarily by Sara Lance / The Canary (Caity Lotz) in Arrow‘s early seasons — this connection to Zatanna definitely makes them into something new and interesting.

What Is DC’s Birds of Prey Relaunch About?

In Birds of Prey, Dinah Lance is one of the DC Universe’s most elite fighters, and combined with her sonic scream, she’s a fearsome foe in any scenario…but sometimes even the Black Canary needs help. Faced with a personal mission brought to her by a mysterious new ally, and up against near-impossible odds, she re-forms the Birds of Prey with an unrivaled group—Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn—with only one goal: extraction of their asset at any cost. What could possibly go wrong? This all-new, all-deadly Birds of Prey is still breaking hearts and faces after all these years! 

“The arc is called “Megadeath” and we’ve said it’s a very personal story, and this is a very dramatic dangerous team, which all seems very “grim and gritty” but I don’t know…it’s just not how I write,” Thompson explained to ComicBook.com in a recent interview. “I feel like even in the darkest stories, there’s humor. It’s how we survive the worst stuff! So yes, I like dire situations, and to write big action and super coordinated fights. But I also like to let my characters really feel like they know one another—so I’m big on banter, which naturally keeps things a bit lighter. A character like Barda—who is a sort of fish out of water truth teller character—is so fun to play against a more laconic Cassandra Cain Batgirl. I find when you start smashing these characters together, magical things happen. You just can’t let it overwhelm the actual plot you’re trying to execute. I do think we found the balance here—but I am obviously biased!”

Birds of Prey #4 is now available wherever comics are sold.