In Black Canary: Best of the Best, Black Canary is getting her butt kicked. She’s fighting Shiva in a match where you must surrender or die in the ring. The last issue featured Batman in a killer training scene, but things are different in this week’s issue. In Black Canary: Best of the Best #4, Green Arrow takes up the oxygen as Black Canary also gains an edge in the ring.
First off, it’s great to see Black Canary, aka Dinah, get an edge for once. The last few issues have been brutal, as Shiva’s mercilessly beat her down. Even her trainer was sent to the hospital! That makes this issue highly enjoyable since we’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ryan Sook makes you feel every punch and fight move to the point where you might cheer as you read the comic.
Writer Tom King’s sportscasting dialogue is also fun to read since they counted Black Canary out and are now fighting the desire to change their minds even when Black Canary is winning. Their one-liners continue to add a bit of humor to the spectacle.
However, the fight commentary does feel borderline unnecessary. There’s so much of it at times, and I honestly wondered if it needed to be there or at least cut down.
Black Canary: Best of the Best #4 opens at the superhero party where the fight is being watched. Green Arrow has a quick chat with Hal Jordan about the match, which is a decent segue into Green Arrow playing a major part in the flashbacks in this issue.
Brutal fight scenes in this one.
Credit: DC Comics
While important to Black Canary’s DNA, these flashbacks feel a bit out of left field. Green Arrow has popped up in the series, but in this issue, it’s almost like we’re being forced to see how they got to know each other early on. The scenes aren’t bad, but they don’t seem all that important to this story arc narrative. Maybe something will be revealed later as to its importance.
The biggest takeaway as far as this narrative is how it humanizes Black Canary’s mom a bit when the two are texting. Sook does a cool layout with a phone screen as panels as texts go back and forth.
By issue’s end, the ongoing mystery of whether Black Canary will take a dive is preserved, but mostly, this issue feels like a pitstop into how she met Green Arrow.
Black Canary finally turns the tide with a display of fierce combat and undeniable grit, as Ryan Sook’s dynamic artwork makes every blow resonate. Tom King’s playful, sportscasting dialogue keeps the energy high even amidst the chaos. Despite the excitement, the issue is not without its flaws — the overdone commentary and the intrusive Green Arrow flashbacks serve as narrative detours that dilute the forward momentum of Black Canary’s ongoing saga.
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