Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Birds of Prey - BLACK CANARY!

Dinah Lance from the Birds of Prey Boxset - DC Direct - 2003
 
The first time I ever liked Black Canary was in 2002's Batman: Hush storyline.  It was a very intriguing first impression, but a very alien one compared to the Dinah I've grown to love since.  I only have fuzzy memories of her scenes in that story (was she dressed like Mockingbird?), but I definitely remember being reminded of Coyote Ugly.  Sooo.. I'm thinking sexy barmaid fistfights?  I was too old in 2002 to not roll my eyes at that.  Who knows what it was, but something made me start reading Birds of Prey and then I was hooked (shhh.. I even have the show on DVD).  Black Canary is one of the very first DC heroines.  She debuted in a 1947 issue of Flash Comics, just five years after Wonder Woman first appeared.  Granted, that Black Canary had been retconned into this version's mother (only to be merged back into the same character again in 2011).  The only real difference is that the original character did not possess the metahuman "Canary Cry" ability, but other than that they possess the same fighting skills, same looks, and same name.  Plus Dinah hardly ever uses her cry anyway.  Let's check out this classic figure below!





 
 
This box set is pretty cool.  It comes with one of my favorite Huntress figures ever (Reviewed Here), and the only Oracle figure we will ever see (I assume-- since she doesn't exist anymore).  This set fetches a pretty penny on eBay (where I happened to steal these packaged photos from).
 
 
 
 
 
I love this Black Canary figure because it's such a unique snapshot of her constantly evolving costume design.  She only wore this costume in 2002.  Up until January 2002, she wore a similar costume, but with bare legs.  And by January 2003, she had moved on to black leather and fishnets.  I always thought of this as her "wetsuit" look, and I always thought it was pretty great.
 
 
 










 
 
 
The facial sculpt is beautiful.  DC Direct used to be really good at including Sculptor details on the box, but I unfortunately don't know the artist behind these.  I have some strong guesses, but I'm not certain.
 
 
 

 
 
She's articulated in the typical 12 places that all early DC Direct figures had.  Her only accessory/action feature is her "removable belt."
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Time for a Comparison Shot!
 
 
 

Cheers!



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