Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' groundbreaking comic book Watchmen was initially meant to use characters from Charlton Comics, which DC Comics had recently acquired. That idea was eventually changed to make the protagonists original characters, but they were still heavily based on Charlton heroes. Most of the connections are obvious, with Rorschach, Nite-Owl, The Comedian and Doctor Manhattan as analogs of The Question, Blue Beetle, Peacemaker and Captain Atom.
In the case of the Silk Spectre, however, her origins are a bit more muddled. While nominally derived from the magical heroine Nightshade, she's much more so based off of DC's classic heroine Black Canary. Here are all the ways in which Silk Spectre adapted the legacy of Dinah Lance.
A Family Affair
Ever since the Bronze Age of comic books, the Black Canary mantle has been a legacy title carried first by Dinah Drake Lance and later by her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. Dinah Drake was a Golden Age member of the Justice Society of America, operating on the team during its heyday of World War II. Due to a changing number of reasons (death in the line of duty, retirement), Dinah Laurel Lance eventually takes her mother's name.
Along with sharing the same leather laden fishnet costume that was topped with a blonde wig, the second Black Canary also wielded a powerful sonic screech called the Canary Cry. This complemented the martial arts prowess that she also shared with her mother, and she would go one to become one of the DC Universe's greatest fighters. Due to the publication timing of Crisis on Infinite Earths and her subsequent appearances in Mike Grell's acclaimed run on Green Arrow, much of Dinah Laurel Lance's modern history was established in the 1980s. These and other elements would heavily inform the character and history of Silk Spectre in Watchmen.
A Darker Shade of Black
Silk Spectre was in many ways a realistic take on the bombshell archetype that Black Canary embodied, taken to the fullest fruition. The first Silk Spectre introduced in Watchmen is Sally Juspeczyk, who anglicized her last name as Jupiter due to the anti-immigrant sentiments of the time. This sultry heroine wore a rather scanty costume, especially for her time, leading many criminals to not mind being caught by her. She was active in the 30s/40s, the equivalent of the Golden Age of comics that Black Canary first appeared in. Her yellow costume, however, was more similar to Phantom Lady, another sultry Golden Age heroine, who herself would also develop a long-lasting legacy once becoming ingrained in the DC Universe.
Her daughter was Laurie Juspeczyk, who took the mantle of Silk Spectre after her mother's retirement. The time period of Watchmen's conclusion was set in the 1980s, which again was when the Dinah Laurel Lance version of Black Canary really came into her own. Her mother was almost raped and eventually had a relationship with gun-toting Edward Blake, a.k.a. The Comedian. This could be seen as a morbidly bleak take on either Dinah Drake Lance's relationship with police officer Larry Lance or even Dinah Laurel Lance's relationship with the marksman Green Arrow. Sally Juspeczyk's husband was also named Laurence, perhaps in reference to Larry Lance. Conversely, the name Laurie, a female variant of Laurence, is very similar to Laurel. The second Silk Spectre was also an accomplished martial artist and forward-thinking advocate for women, much like the second Black Canary. While Laurie was hesitant to fill her mother's shoes, especially given the less than modest costume, Dinah Laurel Lance was ironically established as becoming the new Black Canary against her mother's wishes.
The newly released Birds of Prey film utilizes the legacy aspect of the Black Canary character, with Dinah Laurel Lance being inspired by her mother, who died in the line of duty. In another bit of full-circle irony, Black Canary's usual black and blue color scheme is swapped for yellow, giving her a passing resemblance to Silk Spectre. Modern versions of Black Canary typically have the character as a singer, with the film version specifically being a lounge singer in Black Mask's bar. This is strangely similar to the first Silk Spectre's vocation as a burlesque dancer. Thus, it seems that the character that Black Canary inspired has gone on to shape Black Canary's own character.
Directed by Cathy Yan from a script by Christina Hodson, Birds of Prey: And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn stars Margot Robbie, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Perez, Ewan McGregor, Ella Jay Basco, Steven Williams, Derek Wilson, Dana Lee, Francois Chau, Charlene Amoia, Chris Messina and Matthew Willig. The film is in theaters now.