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Black Canary gets into the ring against DC's biggest, baddest fighters - including Batman and her own mother

Is Dinah Lance the best hand-to-hand combatant in the DCU? New 6-issue miniseres Black Canary: Best of the Best intends to answer

Put all of the best (human) DC Comics fighters in a ring; who's coming out on top? Is it Batman? Wildcat? Cassandra Cain? This fall, Dinah Lance better hope she's the answer, as she's starring in Black Canary: Best of the Best. It's the "the match of the millennium," and it's coming to us from two of the hardest hitters DC has to offer: Tom King and Ryan Sook.

"Black Canary faces her toughest opponent yet, Lady Shiva, in a battle to determine who is the single greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the DC Universe," reads DC's series announcement. "To make it to the final round, Black Canary will need all her fighting skill and ability, plus additional training from some of DC’s most accomplished fighters, including Batman, Wildcat, and even her mother, the original Black Canary!"

Fans even remotely familiar with Dinah Lance know she's a force to be reckoned with on the DC battlefield. She's held her own against everyone listed above (Batman included), but what we have yet to learn why she'll be going toe-to-toe with them in this particular storyline. Writer Tom King (who is currently on Wonder Woman) was less than forthcoming on details, saying:

"I’ve been wanting to tell this story for a few years, and I’m really excited for fans to see what Ryan and I have planned for Dinah [...] He’s got the perfect art style for this series, and fans will feel every punch and kick thrown from the first issue to the finale."

Again, that's pretty slim on plot, but we do know from the press release that the main antagonist of the comic will be Lady Shiva, with whom Dinah has shared history in DC Comics of old. Knowing Tom King's writing style, the infamous Shiva will likely be more than just a physical threat to Dinah, but will challenge something core to her character in an internal way. But hey, that's conjecture on our part, having read our share of King books.

And since we're on the subject of conjecturing about Tom King, we'd be remiss not to point out that, while he's writing this comic, the DC staple is also one of the people helping construct the new DC cinematic universe. James Gunn has not only put him in the writers room and approved him as showrunner for the HBO Lanterns series, but is literally using the title of his Supergirl miniseries for the character's new DCU debut. Could putting King on a Black Canary comic foreshadow her cinematic future? 

Well, we don't have the answer to that right now, but we sure do have a first look at the cover and variant covers of DC's Black Canary: Best of the Best right here. They're pictured below, drawn (in order) by Ryan Sook, David Nakayama, Chrissie Zullo, Dan Hipp, and Otto Schmidt. 

Black Canary: Best of the Best brawls its way into comic shops November 27.


Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.  

Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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