As mentioned before, when reviewing these Bombshells Mystery Minis, I just grab a box from the case at random and open it, no idea who it's going to be, then write about whoever I find. So it's pure happenstance or coincidence or even the toy gods smiling on us that the first one we'd pull out to review during Pride Month would be Black Canary.
In a series that's queer as hell, Black Canary's story is broadly the same as her main-universe counterpart: she loves Oliver Queen, she likes to sing, she likes to fight, she has a sonic scream, all that. What sets her apart is her backstory. In her own words: "My mama reckoned I was all snakes [sic] and snails 'til I was old enough to find my voice and tell her otherwise. She bought me my first fishnets and taught me a thing or two about fixin' motorcycles, too. Ollie came courting, and loved me for all that I am." In any other comic, you could play that off as just her being a tomboy or something, but in Bombshells? Black Canary says trans rights are human rights.
With her flannel shirt and her fitted skirt, Canary leans heavily into the rockabilly aesthetic the line originally toyed with. Unfortunately, the Mini also leans heavily to the side, with all her weight resting on her left foot. And since she's gripping a mic stand that sticks down lower than her feet, she's way off balance and doesn't want to stand for any length of time. You'll either need to put some Blu-Tack under her feet, lean her against something, or try hot water to remold her legs slightly. The fact that the shirt is blue and the skirt black keeps her usual colorscheme, and her hairdo is extra fancy with a big rose tucked into it, but they didn't do her choker. They did make an attempt at creating her tattoo (a heart with a green arrow through it), but put it in the wrong spot: it's supposed to be on the top of her forearm, not on the back of her tricep.
Like Zatanna and Supergirl, Black Canary was slated to get an action figure from DC Direct, but it got axed. (Though looking at it? That's probably for the best.) If you want this little songbird, superdeformed minis like this are your only option. Well, that or the big statue, of course.
Thank you for this review, I also say TRANS RIGHTS! and I don't know this series, but I like this Black Canary.and I would have liked the figure for my action figure dollhouse, if the released was just a little better designed. The mini is so cute!
You should ABSOLUTELY check out Bombshells! It's like if all the subtext from an 80s Claremont X-Book just became straight-up text...