In Birds of Prey #10, the Birds continue their search for Barbara Gordon. In their travels they discover that they are in a pocket dimension, which is the hunting ground of a malevolent spirit.
Birds of Prey #10 main cover by Leonardo Romero
Title: Birds of Prey #10 – “World Without End Part 2 (of 5)
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez & Gavin Guidry
Color Artist: Jordie Bellaire
Main Cover: Leonardo Romero with Jordie Bellaire
Variant Covers: Sweeney Boo; Serg Acuna (1:25)
Release Date: June 4, 2024
This comic book review contains spoilers.
The birds of prey arrive in 50’s-like style complete with matching costumes. As the team try to assess their location, they struggle with the fact that they may be further from Barbara Gordon, and Vixen still has no connection to the red. Arrows fly by, and Big Barda is hit in the chest. She goes down. Dinah Lance helps her up, but they are being attacked by the bat demon that has been pursuing them. A stranger shows up and blasts at it, and the portal they all entered closes. Dinah is certain that Barbara is trapped with that thing. The stranger says that the portals do not alter their location, instead it just re-skins the world based on the first to enter it. In this case it was Barda. They have not left Barbara.
On their trek, they learn that the woman who found them is named Cela. She does not have any desire to remain with the Birds. Dinah follows her to try to convince her to stay.
Suddenly Barda collapses. Dinah again urges Cela to stay with them, and Cela then tells them the story of how she ended up in this pocket dimension. She is one of seven sisters, and all of them developed different powers. The dimension they are in was created by one of the sisters. After the death of their mother, the sisters retreated back in the pocket dimension, only to be hunted one-by-one by their own, a sister named Maia, who has now taken the form of the bat demon. Cela is the only one left after killing one of her sisters at her request to get her power. After this story, Cela tells the Birds that they are really her end game. Cela tells them that in the future, Barbara Gordon and the Birds kill her mother. The mother was also known as the Velvet Tiger.
Elsewhere in the pocket dimension, Barbara Gordon regains consciousness. She finds herself in a new prison, and there’s no escape. She goes to work creating a way out.
With the rest of the Birds, Barda wakes up, but she is possessed by Maia and attacks. They all attempt to fight back, but Barda proves to be formidable. She is even able to get through Megaera, which has possessed Sin. With all the birds down, Dinah orders Cass to run, which she refuses. Cela prepares an escape portal, but Cass stands her ground and talks Barda into expelling the demon, which is successful. Maia herself finally arrives, and Cela pushes Sin through the portal with the others closely following.
Ouch… (Image Credit: DC Comics)
The character designs are absolutely fantastic. All of the characters, especially Vixen and Dinah, have 50’s hair styles, and I like each of their costume designs. I also liked the design of Barbara’s Batgirl costume in the scene she was in as well.
Story-wise, we get closer to what Meridian was talking about when she tried to save Barbara from their first mission on Themyscira. It appears that this situation was the cause of each of Barbara’s deaths. It is her involvement with the Velvet Tiger’s death.
The pocket dimension they find themselves trapped in is particularly interesting. It is populated with different portals that do not change the location, but they change the aesthetics of the world they are in. Since Barda is the blueprint for this world, it is appropriate that she is the main character affected in this story. With that pattern, it looks like Sin and Megaera may take center stage in the next issue.
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with an advance 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 Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
