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    White Canary

    Character » White Canary appears in 24 issues.

    White Canary is a mysterious new villain appearing in the Birds of Prey series. Her martial arts prowess is said to surpass that of Lady Shiva.

    Short summary describing this character.

    White Canary last edited by leandro_rab on 06/06/18 03:05PM View full history

    Mysterious Figure

    First appearance
    First appearance

    After receiving a troubling briefcase filled with endless documentation and files on countless heroes, as well as villains, Oracle calls the Birds of Prey back into action to investigate. The files contain such detailed information that even she is astonished. Everything from addresses to secret identities, even the number of people Power Girl has slept with. There are even files on each member of the Birds of Prey themselves.

    Also contained within the briefcase is a message declaring that every hour a name from the briefcase will be killed until the Birds of Prey stop the carnage. After speculating on the possible identity of the killer, a signal light is seen just over the skyline much in the same way the Bat-Signal is used causing the Birds of Prey to track its source. Upon arriving they find the Penguin cowering and pleading to a shadowy figure to spare his life. Blinded by the light the mysterious figure's face remains hidden, yet Black Canary deduces from the posturing that the figure has a sense of royalty, and is most likely Asian. Immediately two names flash through her mind, Cassandra Cain, or Lady Shiva. Without warning the shadow attacks, easily taking down Black Canary and disarming the Huntress.

    Her attack so precise, so proficient, that Black Canary comments that, "If it is Shiva, she's gotten better." Unabated the shadow plunges one of Huntress' arrows into the neck of the Penguin but does not kill him. She then reveals herself to be the White Canary and challenges Black Canary to stop her.

    Unstoppable
    Unstoppable

    Accepting the challenge, Black Canary and Huntress attempt to bring down the illusive martial artist with little success. Both heroines are easily dispatched with minimal effort. Although displaying remarkable martial arts ability, the emotions that accompany the assassins strikes cause Dinah to comment that she is not Lady Shiva, but can not understand how a fighter of White Canary's caliber has gone unnoticed. The Birds of Prey briefly gain the upper hand as Huntress wraps up the villain long enough for Dinah to land several shots that only seem to anger the white ninja. Hawk, Dove, and Lady Blackhawk arrive just as White Canary slips free from Huntress' grasp.

    White Canary vs Hawk
    White Canary vs Hawk

    Arrogantly Hawk charges ahead only to be sidestepped and cut open, but not before snatching a handful of White Canary's hair. The fight is then interrupted as local T.V. stations and Gotham City, police arrive on the scene. It is revealed that White Canary has set the team up, and possibly even murdered Savant, and Creote. She leaves them with a cryptic message -

    "One of you will die every hour for the next six hours. You choose.......Or I will" - White Canary

    With no other options the Birds of Prey retreat, barely escaping a collection of rogue Gotham City police officers determined on killing the team. They briefly hold up in the Penguins nightclub before it is eventually stormed by the police and Hawk is seriously injured when he is stabbed through the back by one of the White Canary's specialized daggers adding to the Birds of Prey's already overwhelming situation. Black Canary determines she must face the mysterious assassin alone or more lives will be lost.

    "I know who she is"

    After ordering the remaining members to take the injured and run, Black Canary meets White Canary on the rooftop for an epic one on one showdown. Through the course of the fight Dinah narrows down the identity of her assailant, throwing out Cassandra Cain and Lady Shiva as possible suspects when White Canary becomes visible agitated at the mention of "family." The battle continues and soon, Black Canary believes she has figured it out, she knows who the White Canary is. The bigger revelation that the deadly martial artist suggests that she is merely the tool who a much richer villain has chosen to use in his plot against the Birds of Prey.

    Origin Revealed

    White Canary is Born
    White Canary is Born

    Nineteen years ago, along the ancient "Silk Highway" in the Saanxi Province, White Canary was born to the martial artist Si Fu Huang. Her mother passed away during child birth, and like all female infants born to Si Fu, she was condemned to death despite the desperate pleas of her mother's midwife. However, before she could be taken down to the river and drowned, a freak bolt of lightning struck the midwife killing her instantly. The divine intervention did not go unnoticed by Si Fu, and he decided to spare the child's life. Thus White Canary became the lone sister of the Brothers Silk. Si Fu was a great fighter whose reputation was the stuff of legend. Consumed by his own legacy and obsessed with the realization that one day his age would catch up with him, Si Fu decided to pass his knowledge on to a new generation. Taking many wives, he fathered many children, all male, to carry on his linage. Each one was born under a different sign of the Zodiac and if any of the infants were deemed unfit or female, they were immediately put down. In the end, twelve remained (thirteen counting White Canary).

    White Canary vs The Brothers Silk
    White Canary vs The Brothers Silk

    They were dubbed the " The Twelve Brothers In Silk," rumored to be as skillful in the art of combat as Lady Shiva. Eventually the brothers were defeated by Black Canary and her band of heroes. This defeat would later be the death of the brothers as White Canary deemed it a shameful act that had dishonored her legendary father, thus motivating her to murder all twelve of her brothers.

    Other Media

    Arrow

    Caity Lotz as The Canary
    Caity Lotz as The Canary

    The White Canary appears in the Arrowverse, first in Arrow and later in Legends of Tomorrow. Her real name is Sara Lance. She is the younger sister of Laurel Lance, daughter of Quentin and Dinah Lance, and one of the love interests to Oliver Queen. She was originally played by Jacqueline MacInnis Wood in the pilot but later played by Caity Lotz in the second season and on. She was believed to be killed when the Queen's Gambit went down but she survived and was later picked up by Dr. Anthony Ivo's men aboard his ship, the Amazo. She was later found by Oliver when the Amazo came upon Lian Yu and picked him up. After spending some time on the island with Oliver, Slade Wilson, and Shado, she is thought to be dead again but she takes up training with the League of Assassins and falls in love with Nyssa al Ghul. After her time with the League, she eventually shows up in Starling City as The Canary and has Sin as her eyes on the street. She reunites with Oliver and eventually joins Team Arrow. During Season 3, she is murdered by Thea Queen, who was drugged and forced into killing her by her father, Malcolm Merlyn. Her death inspired Laurel to take up the Canary mantle and later became the Black Canary. During Season 4, she was brought back to life by Thea and Laurel with the help of Malcolm by using the Lazarus Pit. The Pit's effects caused her to have a blood lust that can only be quenched by killing Thea. Also, since she had been dead for a while before they revived her in the Pit, she was soulless. Oliver enlisted the help of John Constantine who performed a spell to return Sara's soul to her body.

    Legends of Tomorrow

    Caity Lotz as the White Canary
    Caity Lotz as the White Canary

    Caity Lotz reprises her role as Sara Lance in Legends of Tomorrow. After her resurrection and return to normal life, she wasn't sure where she belonged. Rip Hunter recruits her to his team on his mission to go back through time to stop Vandal Savage from rising to power and taking over the world in the year 2166. Also on the mission are Hawkman, Hawkgirl, the Atom, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Professor Martin Stein, and the new Firestorm, Jefferson Jackson.

    Arrowverse

    Caity Lotz as White Canary in Crisis on Earth X
    Caity Lotz as White Canary in Crisis on Earth X

    Caity Lotz reprises her role as White Canary in Supergirl and Flash during the crossovers "Invasion" and "Crisis on Earth X"

    Games

    Injustice 2

    Sara Lance in Injustice 2
    Sara Lance in Injustice 2

    White Canary is a exclusive-mobile playable character in the game.

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