Black Canary Deserves to Be a Key Part of the New DC Universe

The live-action DC mythos is set to change in some fascinating ways in the coming years, now that James Gunn and Peter Safran have stepped in to co-lead DC Studios. The duo will be shepherding a slate of new movies and Max-exclusive television shows, which could kick off as early as next year with shows like Waller and Creature Commandos. While the slate sports a fascinating mix of well-known names and obscure characters, there is still a huge swath of DC lore that future DCU projects can still explore. At the moment, there's no telling what that future could hold, but one character who could (and should) be a significant part of that is Black Canary.

Who Is DC's Black Canary?

Created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino in 1947's Flash Comics #86, Dinah Drake/Black Canary started out as a highly-skilled martial artist who subverted femme fatale expectations, and quickly became one of the most popular female heroes of DC's Golden Age, and the second-ever woman to be inducted into the Justice Society of America. Once the JSA were revived in the tail end of the Silver Age, the tragic death of Dinah's private eye husband Larry motivated her to move to Earth-1, where she operated as a prolific member of the Justice League of America, and went on a number of adventures with Oliver Queen / Green Arrow and Hal Jordan / Green Lantern. Along the way, she also developed an ability to emit a powerful sonic scream dubbed the "Canary Cry". In 1983's Justice League of America #220, DC established a second, younger incarnation of Black Canary — Dinah Laurel Lance, the daughter of Larry and Dinah Drake. The two have remained as staples of DC lore ever since, with Dinah Laurel going on to found DC's premiere female-fronted superhero team, the Birds of Prey. 

Black Canary has appeared across countless issues of comics, as well as multiple television shows, video games, music, and even a young adult novel, before eventually making her live-action film debut in 2020's Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). In that film, Dinah (portrayed by Jurnee Smollett) was established as a singer at the Black Mask Club, whose reluctance to be a hero was sparked by the tragic death of her mother. As the film went along, Black Canary embraced her role as a hero — and her Canary Cry, which she'd inherited from her mother — ultimately helping found the Birds of Prey at the end of the film. The iteration of the character was such a hit with fans that a Black Canary solo film was put into development in the summer of 2021, but updates on that have been few and far between in the years since.

How Could Black Canary Appear in the DCU?

That brings us to Gunn and Safran's new DCU — a cinematic universe that is confirmed to be including a blend of the familiar (characters from Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad will be reprising their roles) and the new (David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan were recently cast as the new universe's Superman and Lois Lane). None of the ten projects already announced for the DCU are confirmed to include Black Canary — either played by Smollett, or otherwise — but that doesn't mean there aren't avenues for the character to appear. The Batman-centric The Brave and the Bold movie is set to include members of the larger "Batfamily", which could possibly establish Dinah's comic-accurate Birds of Prey co-founder, Barbara Gordon, along the way. A Lanterns television show is in the works for Max, opening a hypothetical door for her and/or Green Arrow to have a "Hard Travelin' Heroes" crossover with Hal Jordan. Even the Booster Gold Max show could very well establish a tie to Dinah's brief tenure in the Justice League International.

Beyond that, it certainly doesn't seem out of the question that Black Canary could factor into something in the future of the DCU slate. If the JSA were to be reestablished in the new DCU, it stands to reason that Dinah Drake could be shown as one of its staple members. The options grow exponentially when you move to Dinah Laurel Lance, including (but not limited to) a solo project, a Green Arrow and Black Canary adaptation, a new Birds of Prey project, or anything tied to the Justice League or the Justice League International. (The DCU could easily borrow from the JLA: Year One maxiseries and make Dinah Laurel a founding member of the team, but that's a conversation for another day.) It helps that Gunn has shared Justice League comic art that has included Black Canary in the past, and he has cited Green Arrow (who Dinah is frequently partnered with on both a professional and romantic level) as one of his favorite characters.

Why Should Black Canary Appear in the DCU?

While there are countless avenues for Black Canary to appear, it's also worth acknowledging what it would mean for the character to factor into the new DCU. On top of simply introducing a charismatic, compelling heroine to a larger audience, weaving Black Canary into this new-old canon would help further the franchise's feeling of legacy — something that it seems to be tackling both literally (in the Corenswet-led Superman: Legacy) and metaphorically (with Lanterns and The Brave and the Bold dealing with the dynamics between characters with similar or adjacent superhero mantles). When she was first retconned into existence, Dinah Laurel Lance essentially became one of the first female legacy heroes in DC's arsenal, and the new DCU has potential to take that plot point even further than the Birds of Prey movie did. 

The introduction of Black Canary would also help bring even more heroines to the DCU's roster, building upon the forthcoming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow movie and the Wonder Woman prequel series Paradise Lost. Establishing Black Canary first could work in the canon's favor, depending on how long Paradise Lost runs for and how long it might take to get to the franchise's new Wonder Woman, as Diana Prince often cites Dinah Laurel as a superhero inspiration. As Black Canary fans already know, she's a character who is more than deserving of being a prominent part of the DC mythos — and the DCU could definitely help her get there.

Where would you want to see Black Canary appear in James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DC Universe? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!