Black Canary

> You know, kid, not every day is gonna be like this. You just gotta hang in there.
>
> Black Canary to Cassandra Cain, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

**Dinah Lance**, also known by her alias **Black Canary**, is the former resident chanteuse at the Black Mask Club and personal chauffeur for Gotham City crime lord Roman Sionis. She is also a powerful metahuman, inheriting her distinctive sonic scream ability from her late mother.

After becoming disillusioned with Sionis due to his cruelty towards others, she eventually fought back against him with the assistance of Harley Quinn, Huntress, and GCPD detective Renee Montoya in order to protect Cassandra Cain when the latter stole the Bertinelli Diamond from him.

Once Sionis was killed in their final confrontation, she, alongside Huntress and Montoya, formed the vigilante team named the Birds of Prey to fight crime more effectively together.

## Biography

### Early life

#### Losing her mother

While growing up, Dinah Lance's mother worked alongside the Gotham City Police Department, utilizing her metahuman ability to produce supersonic vibrations through screaming. At some point, however, she was killed and as a result, Dinah was left on her own on the streets of Gotham. As such, Lance harbored a resentment towards GCPD, and was reluctant to use her powers for good like her mother.

### Sionis' songbird

> Hey, you're that singer no one listens to."
> "Hey, you're that asshole no one likes.
>
> Harley Quinn and Dinah Lance, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

At one point, Lance began working as a singer in the club of crime lord Roman Sionis, which allowed her to move off of the streets. She entertained guests with her powerful performing abilities and repertoire, which included the song "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"; although as noted by Harley Quinn, no one ever seemed to pay attention to her performances.

 File:Black Canary - Club Singer.jpg
#### Protecting Harley Quinn

While she did not aspire to anything more, after Sionis observed her using her powerful martial arts skills to ward off people attacking Harley Quinn, he decided to hire her as his new driver. In her role as his driver, Lance was approached by GCPD detective Renee Montoya to work as a mole, and was present when the pickpocket Cassandra Cain stole the Bertinelli Diamond from Sionis' right-hand man, Victor Zsasz.

### Betrayal and siege at the Booby Trap

After witnessing Sionis intimidate and humiliate a woman whom he thought had laughed him, Lance became disillusioned with his whole operation, and resolved to work against him. Lance told Detective Montoya the location of the Bertinelli Diamond after Sionis sent her and Zsasz to retrieve it at the Booby Trap; however, unbeknownst to her, Zsasz discovered her betrayal and resolved to take her down once at the abandoned fun house.

After fighting off Zsasz with Quinn, Montoya, and Helena Bertinelli at the Booby Trap, she banded together with them to protect Cassandra Cain from Roman Sionis and his goons. It was towards the end of this fight that she used her sonic scream to knock out the remaining men, in order for Quinn and Huntress to chase down Sionis and Cain.

### Birds of Prey

After successfully defeating Sionis and saving Cain, she celebrated with the others at a Mexican restaurant before realizing that Quinn and Cain had stolen her car and made off with the diamond. Quinn returned the information stored within the diamond to Bertinelli, however, who then used her restored family's money to form the crime-fighting group known as the Birds of Prey.

## Personality

 File:Harley talks to Black Hanary.jpeg
Dinah seems to be a reluctant hero with a strong moral compass that guides her even when she is hesitant to help. While the death of her mother initially left her jaded about using her sonic scream and fighting crime, Lance tried to do good in her neighborhood and when she could. Despite her reservations, she still stands up for people when they cannot defend themselves, such as when Harley Quinn was heavily intoxicated and being kidnapped. Likewise, she seems to hold a fair amount of empathy for those who remind her of herself, as when she gave money to Cassandra Cain so she could avoid her stressful home environment. Despite her tendency to help, however, Lance still has a certain edge and easily sees through others' pretenses.

While working for Sionis, she was rather subdued and submissive in an effort to not cause much trouble; not minding when people ignored her performances or readily agreeing to be his driver. After witnessing his brutality against women, however, she realized that she could no longer simply stand by and found the courage within her to betray him.

## Powers and abilities

### Powers

> She's got a killer voice.
>
> Harley Quinn, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

 File:CanaryCry.gif
* **Sonic scream**: Inheriting the meta-gene from her mother, Dinah can produce high-frequency shockwaves through her scream. Lance's sonic scream is highly potent in combat situations against numerous attackers, as she is capable of dispatching opponents by hurtling them backward through the air with concussive force alone. However, using this power for a prolonged period will exhaust her to the point of fainting. The very nadir of her ability is capable of shattering glass, as seen when she performed on stage.
	+ **Sound immunity**: As a byproduct of her power, Dinah is immune to her own sonic scream, and, probably, to any other sound-based attacks and the damaging effects of higher decibles.

### Abilities

> Um... I really like how you were able to kick so high in those tight pants.
>
> Huntress to Black Canary, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

* **Peak human condition**: Dinah is in great physical condition, having enough strength to defeat men much larger than her.
* **Master martial artist**: Dinah is a talented mixed martial artist whose frequent execution of high and low kicks emphasizes her masterful skill in Kickboxing, Muay Thai and Taekwondo. In combat, Canary typically stays grounded and agile while using powerful kicks for her offense entirely.
	+ **Stick expertise**: Dinah can use stick-based weapons in combat, demonstrated when she used Harley's Good Night baseball bat when fighting Black Mask's men.
* **Expert markswoman**: Dinah is skilled at using firearms, best seen during her fight with Black Mask's men.
* **Singer**: Due to her superhuman abilities to manipulate the sound with her throat, Dinah is an extremely formidable singer, formerly working as the Black Mask bar singer. She sang "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" at Black Mask's club.

## Equipment

### Weapons

* **Sphinx 3010**: Dinah used Zasz's handgun during a standoff and in a shoot out with Black Mask's men.
* **Knife**: Dinah used this knife to free Cassandra from being tied up. and used it to stab Victor Zasz.
* **Good Night**: Dinah used Harley's baseball bat when fighting Black Mask's men.

### Vehicles

* **Car**: Lance drove a cream-colored 1987 Jaguar XJ-S 5.3 V12 Convertible, before it was stolen by Harley Quinn

## Relationships

Family* Mother †

Allies* Birds of Prey - teammates
	+ Helena Bertinelli/Huntress
	+ Renee Montoya
* Gotham City Police Department
* Harley Quinn and Associates
	+ Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn
	+ Cassandra Cain
	+ Roman Sionis/Black Mask † - former employer
	+ Victor Zsasz † - victim

## Behind the scenes

* Anisha Gibbs and Bethany Levy were stunt doubles for Jurnee Smollett in the role of Black Canary.
* Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Janelle Monáe were considered for the role of Black Canary before Jurnee Smollett was cast.[citation needed]
* Black Canary in the DC Extended Universe is the fifth live-action incarnation of the character, following incarnations portrayed by Danuta Wesley, Rachel Skarsten, Alaina Huffman, and Katie Cassidy.

## References

1. ↑ Black Canary Movie in the Works at HBO Max From Misha Green; Jurnee Smollett to Reprise Role
Hodson, Christina (writer) & Yan, Cathy (director) (February 7, 2020). *Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)*.

## External links

The ***DC Extended Universe Wiki** has a collection of images and media related to* **Black Canary***.*
* File:Favicon.png Black Canary on DC Database
* File:WP favicon.png Black Canary on Wikipedia

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