Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is getting ready to soar into the theaters as the latest chapter of the DCEU. The film will see Margot Robbie reprise her Suicide Squad role as Harley Quinn. As it will also usher in the big screen debuts of Black Canary, The Huntress, The Question, Black Mask and more. Birds of Prey is not a new concept to fans of the source material. Though, they are often a forgotten gem or underappreciated team within the DC Comics pantheon. They’ve been a team existing within the universe for nearly 25 years. Whether you’re a fan of the comics or newly interested party looking to know where to start. Here are five reasons why you should read the early comic roots of Birds of Prey. It’s also worth noting that their cinematic sisters are not the same as their pages. This article specifically refers to the Manhunt mini-series (Issues #1 – 4), Birds of Prey: Revolution, Black Canary/ Oracle: Birds of Prey, and the mini-story within Showcase ’96 #3.
#1 -Purpose Again
Prior to their debut in 1995’s Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey, both Black Canary and Oracle had been background characters for more prominent figures within the comic universe.. Black Canary had been the love interest to one Mr. Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow. Following his death in the early 90s, it seemed that character had largely lost purpose. Sure she had a couple of mini-series under her belt at the turn of the decade, but nothing that really stuck. Following in a similar path, Barbara Gordon was shot by the Joker in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. The shot turned the character from the fearless Batgirl and bound her to a chair. Forever changing her until the 2011 relaunch of the New 52.
Birds of Prey took these, otherwise, background characters and brought them to the forefront. Barbara Gordon had shown up in various Batman stories over the years since her accident. However, Birds of Prey established her as a genius and big sister. The chemistry between both characters is incredible to see. While Black Canary is in every way the hands of the operation, Oracle is the brains. Giving these characters bold new direction and reenvisioning their future.
#2 – Fought Real Issues
While other teams in the DC Universe fought cosmic threats or larger than life supervillains, Birds of Prey took a different approach to the villain game. The mostly grounded tone allowed for the medium to return to its roots of pitting heroes against real-world issues. Throughout the early adventures we are addressing here in this article, the villains that Black Canary and Oracle mostly fought were the worst of our own humanity. In one series, they are fighting a drug lord. While in another, they are fighting a man with a human trafficking ring. Some of us come to the medium of comics to escape. What Chuck Dixon did with these ladies in the early series was dare to shine a light on real issues. While also crafting compelling stories and bringing awareness to real-world issues. I mean when was the last time you truly thought about human trafficking or poverty?
#3 – Early Structures
Birds of Prey has a really interesting history in comic books. When most characters get their own debut series or miniseries – its usually a traditional comic book. However, for these ladies they got their start in the prestige format. If you don’t know what that is. This is usually when the publisher creates a one shot which is a self-contained story and is usually somewhere around 40 to 60 pages. For their first couple of outings in 1995’s Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey and 1997’s Birds of Prey: Revolution – these ladies sought to hunt down the worst of humanity in the largest stories possible. Sure, there was a miniseries between the stories but these structures allowed new readers to jump on at any time. Lay the foundation of future stories at the same time.
#4 – Laid Foundation for Future Series
While the prestige format allowed for the ladies to grow in intimate settings and intense scenarios – it also helped lay the foundation early on for the team. During their first couple of comical stories, Birds of Prey was nothing more than Black Canary and Oracle. One who was in the field and one who had an eye in the sky. With 1996’s Manhunt mini-series, the ladies proved the team could feature a prominent number of DC heroines. Black Canary ended up partnering up with Catwoman and The Huntress to take down the deadly Archer Braun. The series was a model that would later be followed into the first full series of the ladies, which spanned over 100 issues. Later also laying the groundwork for the 15 issue series, post- Brightest Day and their New 52 run as well. Seeing a cast of heroes becoming interchangeable much like fellow DC title, Suicide Squad. Only this one sought not to kill their characters with nano bombs.
#5 – The Organic Growth
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges in creating a series in any medium is the pacing. Storytelling is a hard feat to tackle. We complain about it sometimes doing movie reviews but with comics, it’s a bit harder because you have more time to tell your story. Perhaps one of the best weapons within its arsenal of their early days in the medium is the organic nature of their storytelling. The Birds of Prey aimed to tell intimate stories while tackling real-world issues. All while reinventing characters and growing the relationships between existing ones. These early years helped establish who the Birds of Prey would grow to become. Even with their upcoming big-screen debut, these ladies are ever-evolving. With the addition of characters like Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Katana, and The Huntress – this team proved that anything is possible with this team. While also growing them at a slower rate that allowed for beautiful character moments and relationships to grow naturally.
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Victims and Villains is written and produced by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey. Music by Yuriy Bespalov & Beggars. Birds of Prey is property of DC Comics. We do not own nor claim any rights.