Overview: In Birds of Prey #1, Black Canary (Dinah Lance) reforms the team in order to take down a new threat.
Written by: Kelly Thompson
Art by: Leonardo Romero
Colors by: Jordie Bellaire
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Synopsis (Spoilers Ahead): “Megadeath” opens with Black Canary (Dinah Lance) and Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) discussing the gathering of the team. The only clear instructions for Dinah is that Barbara Gordon cannot be involved. Dinah is making a list and checking it over with Ollie. Ollie is impressed, but he wants someone on the team that can watch Dinah’s back. This is a cryptic statement, making the reader think that the people Dinah is gathering cannot be trusted. Dinah does have an ace in the hole to Ollie’s request.
The scene shifts to a battle. Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) is fighting a group of ninjas. She is handling her own, but it looks like she may be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the adversaries. That is until Dinah Lance arrives and the two beat back the ninjas. Dinah then asks Cass if she will join her team. Cass immediately agrees; there is nothing more important than helping a sister. The two separate to gather more members of the team.
Cass’s destination is Los Angeles. She finds a fight in a bar. Big Barda is fighting a cadre of vampires. Barda actually unintentionally punches Cass before she realizes who she is and apologizes to Batgirl. Barda helps Cassandra up from the floor and explains that the vampires are disciples of a former teammate of hers, Bloody Mary. These guys are just insects, but she does ask the Small Bat if she will assist. True to character, Cass immediately agrees, and the two face off with the vampires. As with Dinah and the ninjas, these two handle this obstacle with ease. Now Cass explains why she is in LA. She wants to ask Barda to join the team. Barda at first declines but when Cass mentions Sin, Barda agrees.
Elsewhere in Star City a sleeping woman hears a call. She responds despite a dry throat and starts to get dressed. This awakens her male companion. It is revealed that the woman is Zealot, and the call came from the Black Canary. She greets Grifter and talks on the balcony. Dinah is calling in a favor, and Zealot agrees to join the team.
The four warriors are now gathered together. Dinah, however, says that they need a fifth member. Dinah thinks they are missing an X factor and Cass has an idea. She suggests Harley Quinn. Dinah shoots it down, but Cass relates a story where she fights Quinn. The story is very short, and according to the other characters, she used very few words. The point of the story was that Harley almost beat her, and Harley Quinn is the unexpected.
In Gotham City, Harley is fighting a group of clowns. Black Canary swoops in and uses her Canary Cry to knock out the combatants. Harley then sees all four warriors and immediately calls them a kill squad. Dinah tells her they are not a kill squad, but they want her on the team. Harley is in awe with the four warriors, and Dinah tells the clown to forget it. Harley snaps back, and Dinah turns to go. Cass grabs Dinah’s arm and tells her it is for Sin. This peaks Dinah’s attention, and Dinah clarifies that Cass is referring to Cynthia Lance. Harley knows the girl and immediately says she wants in. Harley tells them the reason is that she does not like it when people mess with cool-ass little girls, and she wants to make sure that they grow up into cool-ass women.
Now the five team members gather in the current Birds of Prey base of operations in Gotham. Dinah introduces the team to Meridian. She is from the future, in this time she is known as Maps or Mia Mizoguchi. She is in this time to help the team break into Themyscira and rescue Sin from the Amazons before the end of the world is ushered in.
Analysis: For a setup issue, Birds of Prey #1 is kind of weak both in writing and art.
For the art and coloration there really is nothing noteworthy. The detailing of the characters is weak. I prefer when Dinah Lance is drawn more muscular and stronger, and we do not get a lot of scenes with her arms. Her legs look okay but not overly muscular. Harley appears to be drawn without her white makeup, and the colors overall are kind of dull. For some reading the stitching over the piece covering Cass’ mouth on her cowl is over-exemplified.
The writing is a little better but again nothing to amaze. The fight scenes are effective, and we do not get to see Zealot in action. Of all the characters in this team, she is the one that is the least known to me. I remember her from the 1990’s Wildcats, but that is about it. It is interesting that they are depicting her as having a relationship with her teammate Grifter. I would like to have seen her in a little action to showcase her abilities and strengthen.
The character that does shine is Cass. She is actually the main character in this story. She is actively involved in two of the fight sequences, and her character of always wanting to help is spotlighted. Zealot has some debt to her, and both Barda and Harley question her joining the team even though the team is questioning her joining the team. Cass immediately says yes and is willing to drop everything to get involved. She is even active in getting Harley and Barda to agree to join the team.
The story really did not get interesting until we learn that the women will be invading Themyscira, making it obvious that Ollie cannot help in this mission, and that the only people who can hope to get on the island are a group of women. If you are going to face off with the Amazons, you are going to need a strong team of fighters. Harley is right, this is a kill squad.
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with an advanced copy of this comic for review purposes. You can find this comic and help support TBU in the process by purchasing this issue digitally on Comixology through Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
