Boomstick: Uh, yeah, Wiz, I don't think that's the case here, because these two are the opposite: If you ever hear them cry, you're dead.
Wiz: Black Canary, the blonde bare-knuckle brawler of DC Comics.
Boomstick: And Sindel, the literal scream queen from Mortal Kombat.
Season seven's second outing may not have as deep a set of connection as the premiere, but the basis is still there: action brides whose mastery of martial arts is rivaled only by their weaponized screams. Both heroes at some point or another, two expert manipulators of sound meet in this episode, but between genetic mutation and unfathomable sorcery, only one will live to see her way through a death battle.
First off in the episode is the Black Canary, and more specifically, the second woman to bear this alias, Dinah Laurel Lance. At one point, her mother, Dinah Drake, was one of the greatest heroines in the Justice Society of America. Dinah trained alongside Wildcat, one of her mother's allies in the Justice Society, fueled by a desire to live up to the reputation set by the original Black Canary. Though mother Dinah disapproved of her daughter's ambitions, Lance grew up learning martial arts and eventually inherited the Black Canary moniker as her own. She then set about putting her skills to use in the Justice Society's successor organization, the Justice League; it was during her tenure with the league that she eventually pursued a romantic interest with Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. Since then, Dinah has been part of a number of teams from the League to the all-female Birds of Prey, but she continues to live up to her mother's legacy regardless of whomever she may ally with.
The training Lance received puts her as one of the peak superhumans of the DC universe. Having mastered dozens of fighting styles, the Canary is adept at techniques even verging on the fantastic; these include holds that induce unconsciousness or even instantly killing her foes. Dinah is, in fact, so skilled at hand-to-hand combat, she can bend steel through a force equivalent to 27 tons. However, as impressive as her martial arts prowess may be, that is not her signature ability; that honor instead goes to her canary cry. The details of its conception are sketchy, in that it was originally the product of a wizard cursing her at birth. Said conception has since been retconned to be Dinah inheriting the superpower-enabling metagene from her mother. Regardless of how she acquired it, the canary cry is a scream comprised of ultrasonic sound waves. An average canary cry is capable of rupturing eardrums while its known upper limit is exceeds 300 decibels; for reference, this puts the cry's maximum output at the same volume as volcanic eruption. For added versatility, she can adjust the cry's volume into a concentrated area or strengthen its effective range. Naturally, Dinah's own eardrums are coated in a membrane that protects her from excessively loud noises such as this. Further effects include launching objects away by the shock waves formed at higher decibel levels and even maintaining flight through the same method. In the way of equipment, Dinah has less to her name; merely a grappling hook and custom-made bombs that yield the same effect as the canary cry proper.
Over the years, Black Canary has regularly demonstrated a physicality well beyond any real-world human. Her reflexes are sharp enough to react in a nanosecond's time and in the brief span it takes hyper-advanced alien technology like Green Lantern rings to analyze a foe, Dinah can dispatch the same threat. The second Black Canary is able to survive thousand-foot falls into water and outmuscle otherworldly superhumans such as Wonder Woman and Amazo. The canary cry, meanwhile, is able to affect entire cities through its range if Dinah so wishes, and it bears enough force to stop a moving train. That said, a reasonable weakness is prevalent regarding the cry: if her throat becomes swollen or otherwise injured, the cry is temporarily inaccessible and she on her supply of canary bombs for the time being. For as glaring as this weakness may be, it has never truly stopped Dinah from carrying on her mother's role as the Black Canary, nor as she makes that identity her own.
- Black Canary: (throws two punches and a roundhouse kick before unleashing a canary cry)
From Black Canary, the episode moves on to her opponent: the queen of Edenia, Sindel. Once a benevolent monarch, Sindel ruled the lush greenery of her home realm alongside her husband Jerrod and their daughter Kitana. This tranquility would, sadly, be stripped from Edenia when the Outrealm warlord Shao Kahn arrived, thus dragging the realm into the Mortal Kombat tournament. Decreed by the Elder Gods as a measure to limit the spread of Shao Kahn's conquest, the rules of Mortal Kombat dictate that any invading party must defeat the defending realm's chosen protectors through ten consecutive tournaments. Kahn and his forces succeeded in this endeavor, taking the realm of Edenia for his own. Sindel proved defiant even as the villain slaughtered Jerrod and took her daughter; she chose to commit suicide, and in doing so, casted a ward around Earthrealm, the next of Shao Kahn's victims. Ten thousand years would pass before Shao Kahn pieced together a way to bypass the ward; ressurrecting Sindel, Shao Kahn then took control over her mind. The reborn queen, now loyal to no one but the Kahn, would go on to aid him in his bid to conquer all existence.
As an Edenian, Sindel is physically one of the most adept fighters in the Mortal Kombat tournament; her connection to Shao Kahn only intensifies that fact. Shao Kahn gains power from every soul he consumes, and by receiving a fragment of that power, Sindel has grown similarly stronger. This strength is put to use through two disciplines of kung fu: zha chuan, focusing on sweeping, long-reaching movement; and fu jow pai, which puts precedence on speed and precision in its strikes. Supplementing these martial arts is Sindel's usage of the guandao, a bladed polearm that, in the hands of the Edenian queen, can be rapidly spun about to deflect attacks or sever limbs with minimal effort. Similarly, her long-reaching hair is prehensile in nature and can be weaponized to constrict opponents or latch on to surrounding objects. Sindel's control over her hair is so precise that she can wrap it around her foes and unfurl it at speeds that result in liquefaction. All of this physical and martial might, however, must give way to Sindel's most iconic power: the banshee scream. Mystical in nature, the banshee scream is a sound wave that Sindel has no shortage of ways to control. This scream can be used to lesser extremes to disorient her enemies or be condensed into balls of energy known as starscreamers. With greater intensity, the banshee scream can strip the flesh off its victims' bones or even cause their bodies to erupt entirely.
Sindel may have spent numerous millennia in death, but that has done nothing to hinder her potential. A number of other kombatants Sindel has slain provide a point of measure to showcase how she exceeds them. Some Mortal Kombat fighters, like Sub-Zero, can shatter a block of diamond through a single punch with over four thousand tons of force. Others, like the Earthrealm protector Kabal, have been shown to parry incoming gunfire at Mach 3 speeds. The fact that both of these figures have been defeated by Sindel herself is proof enough that she is capable of surpassing these feats of strength and speed. Likewise, Sindel's own ability easily suggests that she is more than capable of handling any comers that pose a challenge; best shown by how her banshee scream can demolish a canyon through forces equivalent to a magnitude 5 earthquake. With this much power, it is easy to understand why Shao Kahn has such a vested interest in the Edenian; though it should be noted that the episode only covers one possible future in the series timeline. Regardless of how she is portrayed, Sindel and her royal power is an imposing threat for any who dare face her.
- Sindel: (draws magic energy into herself before expelling it through a banshee scream)
With that, both contestants have been fully introduced. The only thing left to do (besides promote the hair restoration service known as Hims) is begin the Death Battle!
Within a coliseum overseen by the infamous Shao Khan, a curiously two-dimensional crowd cheers at the sight of an unremarkable grunt being knocked down in a pool of his own blood. Diana Laurel Lance, better known as the Black Canary, steps into view, scoffing at how unremarkable the competition is. Her words come a moment too soon, though, as none other than Sindel, Queen of the Outworld, emerges from behind Shao Khan's throne and saunters forwards, taunting the blonde martial artist as she levitates into the arena. Canary takes her fighting stance as Shao Khan raises one hand and gives the command any longtime Death Battle fan should recognize:
"FIGHT!"
At the konqueror's word, both women dash to the center of the ring. A wide kick from Sindel hits only empty air as Dinah swerves behind the queen. With a pair of straight punches and kicks, Canary takes an early lead in the fight as Sindel is forced on the defensive. The royal kombatant's efforts to fight back continue yielding no result as the Canary continues pummeling her. After a jab sends Sindel skidding across the ring, she takes a moment to catch her breath. This proves costly as Dinah vaults into the air and wraps Sindel around her shapely thighs. A spinning flip slams Sindel back into the arena tiles, and as she slowly uprights herself, she sees the Canary standing before her. The Bird of Prey swings a leg upward, but the striped coiffure of Sindel catches it mid-fall. Now becomes Sindel's turn to shift the fight in her favor as she slams Dinah into the arena and tosses her skyward. Black Canary, helplessly flailing through the air, is soon met with a punch that shatters her ribcage; immediately after, Sindel fractures one of Dinah's legs with a knee strike.
With an agonized yell, Dinah drops to the floor to assess her injuries. Sindel hovers behind her, and, grasping the Canary's hands, brings herself closer to Dinah. Hellish shrieking floods the arena as the Edenian queen subjects the second Black Canary to the banshee scream, but the metahuman quickly recovers. A headbutt sends Sindel across the ring once more as Dinah belittles the scream. Not a second passes before the canary cry is let loose, the shock waves closing in on Sindel. In response, the kombatant calls upon her own vocal destruction to meet that of the Canary's. Rings of pale gold and fuchsia collide with such force that the tiles beneath both women begin to shatter, the damage only spreading as each scream cancels the other out. Taking only a moment to draw breath, the Bird of Prey ups the intensity of the canary cry, with the additional force enough to send the royal kombatant rocketing into the stands.
As the spectating Tarkartans cheer at the display, Dinah takes a moment to propose to Shao Kahn the idea of her victory. A brilliant magenta fireball blasts from the rubble; none other than Sindel, insisting that only when one life ends will the fight do the same. A barrage of starscreamers follow this proclamation, but Dinah's nimble footwork helps her evade every incoming projectile. With a lull in the action, the heroine sends out an acoustic volley of her own; the concentrated canary cries meet every starscreamer with perfect precision. Briefly, there is yet another pause in the fight, but Sindel makes good use of it; concentrating her banshee scream into a much larger starscreamer before lobbing it at her more heroic foe. The canary cry seems to proves a more useful power, halting the sphere inches from Dinah's face. That brief distance, however, is at a close enough range for the ball to burst, disorienting the Canary.
A massive white rope extends from the heavens and wraps itself around the Bird of Prey's neck. With her foe vulnerable, the Edenian takes to the skies as she tightens her hair's grip. Dinah's expression is that of panic, but she recomposes herself while rummaging through her leotard's compartments. Sindel takes offense at Black Canary's sudden surge of confidence before the latter detonates a canary bomb at point blank. A familiar shriek pierces through the nighttime sky as both fighters are blasted away from each other. Color returns to Dinah's face as she plummets back towards the arena; only with yards to spare does a proper canary cry launch her back skyward. Sindel, seeing the Canary closing in on her, rears her head back before unleashing another banshee scream. This attempted retaliation barely has a chance to begin before Dinah plunges a fist into Sindel's opened mouth. Driving that same fist well through her foe's head, the Bird of Prey frees herself with an uppercut motion. The headless remains of the fallen queen plummet to the floor as Dinah slows her descent with a final canary cry. Surrounded by the Tarkartan audience's excited noise, the Black Canary proclaims her own victory as Sindel's severed cranium unceremoniously drops behind her.
K.O.!
At this point in the episode, the post-match analysis awaits. For her part, Sindel had a number of advantages; her physical strength, natural flight, and ability to bombard Dinah with starscreamers helped her control the pace of the fight. In particular, scaling Sindel to the diamond-breaking Sub-Zero puts her as over 160 times stronger than the Canary. However, even by that measure, she still pales in comparison to other foes that Black Canary has beaten, some of whom have even greater strength. By reacting in the span of a nanosecond, Canary proved to be over 60 million times faster than Sindel, and her greater experience in martial arts proved to be an immense point in her favor. While Dinah has been training all her life, Edenia was a peaceful land prior to Shao Kahn's arrival, meaning Sindel likely had little opportunity to exercise her own skill. Last is the matter of comparing their respective screaming powers. Dinah had an inherent advantage in that her protective eardrum membranes mitigated the effectiveness of Sindel's banshee scream, but offensively, her advantage is even greater. Sounds increase in a logarithmic pattern; for an increase of ten decibels, the resulting sound is ten times more powerful. It is known that the canary cry can reach sounds of 300 decibels; in comparison, Sindel's greatest known feat with the banshee scream, causing to a magnitude 5 earthquake, is akin to 235 decibels. This puts the banshee scream as roughly a billion times weaker than the canary cry. In short, Sindel had range and physical might, but Dinah had greater experience, speed, and a far more devastating power that Sindel would simply have no answer for.
- Boomstick: It was Sindel's time to die-nah.
Wiz: What, no pun about screams?
Boomstick: Well, I was gonna, but I thought a pun that obvious wouldn't be aloud.
Wiz: The winner is Black Canary!
Black Canary vs. Sindel contains examples of:
- Badass Normal: Discussed in a sidebar during Black Canary's analysis. It notes that "peak human" in comics is generally a lot higher than real life and that (outside the Canary Cry) Black Canary may not be superpowered in her own universe but her physical abilities would be considered superhuman in ours.
- Beam-O-War: Black Canary and Sindel end up in one with their respective sonic screams. Black Canary wins, foreshadowing that her cry is far superior.
- Borrowed Catch Phrase: Dinah says "Fatality!" after killing Sindel.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: One key reason Dinah wins: Sindel is much more physically powerful, but Dinah is used to fighting superhumans that are even stronger, so that advantage didn't matter all that much.
- Continuity Nod:
- The cyborg mecha goose from Dragonzord vs. Mechagodzilla returns, and keeping in line with the naming debacle from that episode, Boomstick refers to it as the mecha-Goose Howard.
- Once Sindel's starscreamers are brought up, he mistakes them for a certain Decepticon who had a none-too-dignified appearance back in season one.
- Shao Kahn initiates the match with a "Fight!", referencing how his voice clips were used as the announcer in Season 1.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Dinah vs. the poor Tarkatan who Shao Kahn pitted against her before Sindel showed up.
- Deadpan Snarker: Dinah's in fine form, mocking her opponent throughout.
- Lame Pun Reaction: Wiz groans when Boomstick jokes about Black Canary dyeing her hair "yell-ow".
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Sindel's "we fight to the death!" is just as much about the rules of the show as it is about the rules of the Mortal Kombat tournament.
- Off With Her Head: How Black Canary finishes Sindel.
