Sara Lance isn’t the first person to use the White Canary codename, but its previous user was nowhere near as nice as Sara.
When fans think of the White Canary they tend to picture Sara Lance, captain of the Waverider from Legends of Tomorrow. But even though Sara herself is an original character, the title of White Canary is not. The very first White Canary appeared in comics years prior to Sara’s debut and she had none of Sara’s kindness or general goodness. The one thing they both have in common is that they are master martial artists. Beyond that, the White Canary of the regular DC Universe is a merciless killing machine.
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Created by Gail Simone and Ed Benes, the White Canary is the only sister of the Twelve Brothers in Silk, a family of master martial artists who were defeated by Black Canary. Her father, Master Huang, needed powerful martial artists in his family and because of that, and misogyny, he killed most of his daughters. But when he tried to kill his most recent daughter, lightning struck nearby. Taking it as a sign that she should live, Master Huang trained her the same as he did his sons, though he did separate her from them.
White Canary first appeared in Birds of Prey #1 by Gail Simone and Ed Benes. After learning of her brothers’ defeat at the hands of Black Canary, she hunted them down and killed them all in an effort to remove the dishonor that they had brought to their family, ironically delivering to them the fate that was dealt to all of their prior sisters. Normally, killing multiple family members is one of the worst things a character can do in comics, but White Canary managed to take things a step further by kidnapping Black Canary’s adopted daughter, Sin.
White Canary would then turn Dinah’s quest to rescue her daughter into a game of cat and mouse, framing Dinah for the murder of a kidnapper. Both Canaries finally met, but White Canary had a surprise for Dinah. She wanted Dinah’s help in capturing her “true” target, Lady Shiva and she threatened to kill Sin if Dinah did not comply. With her daughter’s life at risk, Dinah acquiesced. Together the two captured Shiva, but White Canary’s ultimate goal was revealed thereafter: She wanted Black Canary and Lady Shiva to fight to the death. Black Canary was injured at the time, so Huntress volunteered to sub in, something White Canary allowed, which really brings into question what she was really trying to get revenge at all. Regardless, this distraction gave Black Canary the time to rescue Sin and with no other reason to fight one another, all three women turned their wrath on White Canary. With no more leverage, White Canary could only vow to take revenge on Black Canary before she fled.
So obviously this White Canary is nothing like the Arrowverse’s Sara Lance. Sara is kind, fair, and compassionate. She operates as part of a team that does their best to save everyone. She started out as a loner but worked her way towards having a family of her own and she abides by a code that prevents her from bringing harm to others. More importantly, Sarah Lance is Dinah Lance’s sister and loves her with all her heart. In the short time that White Canary was introduced, she demonstrated that there are no lines she would not cross. She killed her brothers, killed innocents, and kidnapped and child. Based on all this it is almost certain that had Black Canary at any point defied White Canary’s demands she almost certainly would have murdered Sin, a young girl who had done absolutely nothing to anyone. White Canary showed no love or respect to anything save herself and the so-called “honor” of her family, whom she annihilated.
At the end of it all, the only things these two characters share is a codename and a mastery of martial arts.
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