Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey was interesting, to say the least. The movie was a terrific effort to play up the most significant sisterhood in the DCEU, however, the camaraderie between the women got very little space to shine, especially the one between Harley Quinn and Black Canary aka Dinah Lance.
In the comics, they have a truly iconic friendship that is anchored by how different their philosophies are; Dinah is in many ways the anti-Harley even as a crime-fighter. But DCEU writers take some very ill-designed liberties with her character arc, and some of these inconsistencies mess with her already established history. Let’s have a look at the things which make no sense about Black Canary.
10 Her Priorities
What did Canary want in the film? In the comics she wanted to fight crime from a very early age, she’s also heavily inspired by her mum who was the original Black Canary; so she was able to cultivate her skills and her metagene to harness her powers to fight crime. But Birds of Prey’s Canary disappointed the true-blue DC fans with her lack of direction and initial indifference.
The comic title series began with Chuck Dixon's Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey in 1996 with headliners Barbara Gordon/Batgirl and Dinah Lance/ Black Canary. But in the film Dinah is just getting by, she doesn’t like her job and she’s just keeping her head down to survive. This was a weird turn of events for the fandom because it disengaged them from the Canary narrative they are used to.
9 The Reluctant Hero Narrative
Black Canary started fighting crime when she was nineteen; fans have often noted how that has always been her prerogative since she was in awe of her mum and she wanted to follow in her footsteps. But in this film, Black Canary doesn't seem to be interested in leading or addressing how murky Gotham has become and simply wants to get by however she can.
She's a survivor but has no interest in becoming a hero. This is confusing for fans because it messes with the entire canon, since this is how Harley and Canary were different and if anyone was brought up to be a superhero in the DC universe, it’s Canary.
8 Her Decision To Work For Sionis
One could see why Canary would agree to sing at Roman Sionis’ nightclub but why would she agree to be his bodyguard? It’s possible that she was intimidated and wasn’t sure how the crime lord would react if she said no. But there was no bad blood between her and Sionis, and even if she had refused he’d probably let her go back to her old job as a singer.
Black Canary knew how cutthroat and brutal Sionis is and how he treats people after he has used them, so why would she agree to it?
7 The Side-Lining Of The Canary Cry
Canary’s arc was quite sloppily handled by the writers, especially vis-a-vis her metagene - the ultrasonic scream with supernatural abilities. Though the power of her voice was established when she was singing, the powers that come with her metagene can do a lot more than break glass, her scream is essentially her weapon.
But the Canary Cry as it’s known in the comics is not even referenced once throughout the film until Black Canary uses it during a fight and this is a huge disservice to viewers who aren’t aware of Black Canary’s history. It’s also important to note that Black Canary is the only metahuman in Birds of Prey and her arc deserved a better treatment
6 She’s Depicted As A Loner
Some of DCEU’s creative liberties get in the way of each of its characters' personal histories and this is a pattern the cinematic universe probably needs to address. Dinah or the second Black Canary was a fierce, resourceful alpha presence who not only co-founded Justice League but was also the first person to be recruited to Birds of Prey by Oracle.
But portraying her as a loner changes Canary’s personal image completely. She has been fighting crime since she was nineteen, she has worked alongside some of the grittiest superheroes but Birds of Prey depicts Canary as kind of a reclusive lone wolf, who’s definitely tough but at the same time, isn’t essentially looking for kinship or any form of brethren or sisterhood.
5 Her Martial Art Skills
How did Black Canary get so good at martial arts? Her fighting technique does employ some street fighting but she usually uses martial art, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Taekwondo moves to fight the baddies. And one might argue that her mum taught it to her since she was the first Black Canary, but in the comics, Black Canary acquires her physical prowess after she meets Ted Grant aka Wildcat and Richard Dragon who trained her in martial arts.
Plus, Wonder Woman taught her Amazonian martial arts. It’s safe to say that Canary cultivated her fighting skills with the help of her colleagues but in the Birds of Prey universe, Black Canary hasn’t made any superhuman friends yet, so who taught her to fight the way she does?
4 Turned A Blind Eye To Sionis’ Crimes
The biggest plot hole in the film may be the fact that Black Canary kept on performing at Sionis’ club despite being aware of his crimes. This is just not consistent with Black Canary’s characterization and though the DCEU is entitled to take some liberties with character design, changing the basics of a character as crucial as Canary is really damaging.
Sionis saved her from the streets and gave her a job but why would she be so complacent about having a psychotic murderer as a boss? The fact that Sionis is a ruthless crime lord seems to have no effect on Canary, at least before she had to save Cassandra
3 Doesn’t Acknowledge Her Mum’s Legacy
Dinah’s mum was the original Black Canary and one of the most pathbreaking figures in DCEU history, and it’s weird she never addressed her mother’s history. Even if Birds of Prey was a standalone film, it surely can’t do away with Dinah’s parentage since that’s the source of her superpowers.
The film does give out some indication of how her mum was poorly treated by the police but the original Canary’s identity or her connection to Dinah is not even mentioned.
2 Her Dynamic With Harley
Harley and Canary’s love-hate relationship was quite iconic and the film does a total 180 on that one by homogenizing the dynamic of the entire group. This was a letdown considering how interesting Harley and Canary’s exchanges were in the comics and how powerful they could be if treated right.
What doesn’t make sense is that Canary seemed to be somewhat put off by Harley from the beginning of Birds of Prey, and no one knows why. It did seem like healthy ribbing but the tension never translated into something significant; so in spite of tremendous potential there, Harley and Canary had no real chemistry between them, even as allies.
1 She Faints After One Canary Cry
The origins of Canary Cry are not explained in Birds of Prey, which was a bad move considering Dinah was the only hero with superpowers in the film. But it hardly seems plausible that she’d faint after using the Canary Cry for less than ten seconds. One could see that her cry is a tricky thing to be depicted as a weapon, which is why in Arrow-verse the Canary Cry is a sonic weapon that can be worn on one’s neck and not a scream.
But the cry is Black Canary’s most significant source of power with which she can basically paralyze anyone for a length of time, and in the comics, she uses it repeatedly. So why would Birds of Prey’s Dinah faint after using it just once?
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January 09, 2021 at 06:30AM
