Could a "Golden Age" Black Canary be in DC's future?

[MajorHoy]

I’m confused….there’s always been a golden age black canary. It’s black canary’s mom she was in the justice society. There’s a whole storyline about it in JLA Year One by Mark Waid. Why is this suddenly a mystery?

By the way, Waid's JLA Year One was twenty-five years ago . . . the DC Universe / history has undergone a few changes since then.

= cough! = Flashpoint / New52 = cough! =

[D.Z]

Bunch more too.

[Wally West]

Plus, the "modern day" Black Canary had her previous origin(s) tossed out during the New52 where she was no longer raised as the daughter of the original Black Canary, and since Rebirth back in 2016, I'm not aware of anything that has changed that origin back to the previous version. (Haven't her links to "Team 7" been mentioned since then?)

Now, this thread was originally started back in 2016, before DC finally officially gave us back the Justice Society of America, but there are still many questions (that may never get answered) as to what parts of their past are still as they were and what revisions DC may have made as to what's "canon" and what is no longer in play.

I would assume that things have reverted to pre-new 52 with black canary being the daughter of the golden age black canary who fought with the JSA. This is reinforced by her apperance in recent flashbacks

[MajorHoy]

I would assume that things have reverted to pre-new 52 with black canary being the daughter of the golden age black canary who fought with the JSA. This is reinforced by her apperance in recent flashbacks

Just because DC has shown Black Canary with the JSA back in the Golden Age does nothing to say modern day Black Canary is still her daughter.

All those images do is show that there seems to have been a Golden Age Black Canary, something that was still uncertain when this thread first started, but we still don't know how much of her past stories are still "canon" or if/how much DC may alter the Golden Age Black Canary from what we knew pre-Flashpoint.
Hell, they had already made a MAJOR change to what we knew about the original Black Canary back in 1983!

[CaptCleghorn]

I would assume that things have reverted to pre-new 52 with black canary being the daughter of the golden age black canary who fought with the JSA. This is reinforced by her apperance in recent flashbacks

That assumption makes sense as it is pretty much the default option. But we still have the time between GA and now which is getting bigger and bigger. Where mother/daughter worked in the 80s when it was first written, forty years have been added since then. It's very possible that DC may just have an unofficial "There was a GA BC and a modern day BC. Deal with it because we 'do not discuss it with outsiders'" philosophy.

I still think a time jump is necessary as this problem is not only not going away, but getting worse. Whether it's Ragnarok or Dataweaver's 1985 JSA COIE idea, something needs to be done. The reason this plan is likely to fail is that when a solution is published, there will be writers who get the idea that they can improve on it and fix it. The solution as published doesn't stand. Just take a look at the events we've seen since Rebirth.

[MajorHoy]

It's very possible that DC may just have an unofficial "There was a GA BC and a modern day BC. Deal with it because we 'do not discuss it with outsiders'" philosophy.

I have a feeling this is closer to what DC is falling back on these days. If they don't define the past, they're not locked into anything.

Besides, if Golden Age Dinah did still first appear in 1947

and we say she was around 20 years old at that time, she would be about 96 years old if she were still alive today. That's an age where modern-day Black Canary, age-wise, would be more likely to be a granddaughter than a daughter of Golden Age Black Canary.

[kcekada]

Well, she wouldn't be the only JSA member/Golden Age character to still be alive today -- and have a child who appears to be 20-something or early 30s in age.

[MajorHoy]

Well, she wouldn't be the only JSA member/Golden Age character to still be alive today -- and have a child who appears to be 20-something or early 30s in age.

Well, that's a questionable statement.
If Golden Age Dinah were still alive today, how would that be? Guys like Alan, Jay, and Ted have unusual explanations for why they are still alive. And who else is there? The ever-reincarnating Hawkman?
As for children, who else has definitely been said to still be around these days? Obsidian and Jade are, and Atom Smasher isn't the son of a JSA member.

[CaptCleghorn]

Well, she wouldn't be the only JSA member/Golden Age character to still be alive today -- and have a child who appears to be 20-something or early 30s in age.

She isn't. That's a lot of the Infinity, Inc. problem. However, Black Canary is one of the few women to be in this role of being active in the Golden Age and giving birth to a child who is active in the modern era. Men remain able to father children long into their senior years while women lose this ability as they get older. Black Canary is also arguably the most famous of JSA offspring.

[kcekada]

She isn't. That's a lot of the Infinity, Inc. problem. However, Black Canary is one of the few women to be in this role of being active in the Golden Age and giving birth to a child who is active in the modern era. Men remain able to father children long into their senior years while women lose this ability as they get older. Black Canary is also arguably the most famous of JSA offspring.

JSA's longevity typically had nothing to do with their abilities -- unless they were magic-based characters. Instead it was their exposure to magic-based beings like Dr. Fate, Spectre and the Thunderbolt -- even Alan's powers are more mystical than scientific. It's not a great explanation. There was also a batch of the more prominent members who were exposed to magic during a battle with Ian Karkull -- but BC wasn't one of them. I mean, there is always a way of making something happen if writers want it.

[MajorHoy]

JSA's longevity typically had nothing to do with their abilities -- unless they were magic-based characters. Instead it was their exposure to magic-based beings like Dr. Fate, Spectre and the Thunderbolt -- even Alan's powers are more mystical than scientific. It's not a great explanation. There was also a batch of the more prominent members who were exposed to magic during a battle with Ian Karkull -- but BC wasn't one of them. I mean, there is always a way of making something happen if writers want it.

But don't forget, in the original "origin" of Black Canary II, Golden Age Black Canary died and was replaced by her daughter (who had ALL of her mother's memories with the exception of knowing she had been born and that she was a separate person from her mother), and the post-CoIE story in Secret Origins #50 also dealt with Golden Age Black Canary dying.

So not too much precedent for original Golden Age Black Canary to still be alive in the 21st Century.

[MajorHoy]

One other one-panel appearance of the Golden Age-era Black Canary with the Justice Society of America was seen in last year's The New Golden Age one-shot:


Also, we're back to having Wonder Woman present then.
(She had been removed from any references to the hearing in post-CoIE continuity.)