10 DC Characters Who Survived Terrible Debuts
5. Black Canary
Dinah Drake was created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino for Flash Comics #86. She was a skilled fighter and member of the Justice Society. She also participated in crime-fighting activities with her love interest and future husband Larry Lance and the mother of Dinah Laurel Lance, the second Black Canary. The first Dinah was as good as any female heroine of her time but the reason for her creation was less than stellar and she was far eclipsed by her super-powered daughter.
Artist Carmine Infantino revealed in an interview that neither he nor Robert Kanigher thought much of the character Johnny Thunder that the pair was writing and drawing as a backup feature in Flash Comics. Infantino called the stories “juvenile” and the character, a loser. So they introduced the Black Canary into the stories with him and she was an immediate success, so Johnny was phased out.
In later stories, the character of Black Canary developed a devastating sonic scream that could shatter objects and incapacitate or even kill powerful adversaries. It was decided that this character would be the original’s daughter, Dinah Laurel Lance. This Dinah became the lover of Green Arrow, a member of the Justice League of America and the Birds of Prey. The second Canary is also one of the best melee fighters in the DC Universe.