If you're a comic book fan, chances are you're well aware that the DC Universe has plenty of badass hand-to-hand fighters. However, later this year, Black Canary will set out to prove herself the best there is at what she does in a new six-issue limited series.
Titled Black Canary: Best of the Best, Dinah Laurel Lance will set out to prove she's no longer the DC Universe's second-best fighter when she goes head-to-head with the villainous Lady Shiva. To train for that fight, it's said the hero will receive training from the likes of Batman, Wildcat, and her mother, the original Black Canary.
Tom King (Mister Miracle, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow) and artist Ryan Sook (X-Factor) are tackling a comic which has all the makings of a great movie. Given his involvement in the DCU - he's currently working on HBO's Lanterns - we can't discount the possibility that will eventually happen.
King's work has proven highly adaptable, with a Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow movie in the works at DC Studios and his Vision comic expected to heavily influence Marvel Studios' Vision TV series.
Newsarama (via ComicBookMovie.com) recently caught up with King and he revealed how WWE inspired his approach to Black Canary: Best of the Best.
"[My] oldest son became a huge WWE fan. That was not my nerd growing up, but he got way into it, the way I got into comics as a kid," the writer explained. "And remembering how my parents sort of very much did not enjoy my comics and did not participate in my hobby, I kind of wanted to do the opposite."
"So I decided to watch WWE with him, and read the books, and buy the toys, and I got very much into watching it. I became fascinated with the way they just had four corners of a ring to tell, like, 80 years of storytelling," he continued. "The challenge of that just blows my mind, that they make it so compelling. And every writer sees something they love, and they want to participate in it."
As for how the crazy world of professional wrestling has seeped into the comic book series, King added, "As for the commentators and the dialogue and stuff, I did sit down and do my 10,000 hours watching Raw and SmackDown and a lot of WWE pay-per-views, getting those down and just hearing those two voices in my head."
You don't have to be a fan of wrestling to enjoy Black Canary: Best of the Best (though chances are you will be if you're reading this) and King later made it clear that, at its core, this comic is his favourite kind of superhero story.
"I've said this a lot, but I'm gonna say it again. My favorite part about comics is when a superhero gets pushed as hard as they can be pushed, and then stands up and keeps fighting, because it inspires me in my own life."
"I've used those comics since I was eight years old to be like, alright, you know, I got bullied today. I'm getting back up and keep fighting because freaking Superman got off the mat. And so this comic, obviously, is about a fight. And I think the best part of, you know, any WWE match, in any boxing match, is that moment where your opponent is like, he is gone. That it's just impossible. But they get off the mat and they're like, no, it ain't over. You know, it ain't over. It ain't over."
"And if you don't think I'm putting that in this comic, then you don't know me as a writer. That's coming and you're gonna f***ing cheer, and I'm gonna cheer when it happens, it's awesome."
You can check out some new artwork from Black Canary: Best of the Best #1 below.