Greetings nerdy list aficionados and welcome back to top 10 nerd and today we’re going
to be filling you in on some facts surrounding dc’s birds of prey cause well at the time
of this recording there’s a movie coming out that heavy on the Harley and kinda sorta
showing the rest of the team.
The birds of prey have an interesting history and are fairly recent only debuted in 1996
in Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey #1 so let’s fill you in on some facts these are
the Top 10 Shocking Birds of prey facts you need to know you know it hurt us to not put
scary in the title.
I’ll never be the same again let’s get started.
Number 10 -There used to be just two of them.
The when it first started as you may be able to glean from the title of the first issue
consisted of black canary and oracle Barbara gorden.
Oracle being the role she had taken on since the killing joke which had been an elseworlds
story but was so well received it ended up having an impact on the main canon.
So Barbara had become wheelchair bound and was the information broker of the bat family
and the birds of prey and she learned hand to hand combat so she could still kick butt.
Oracle was an amazing character unpopular opinion but to me better than her as batgirl
blasphemy I know but she’s batgirl again anyway so it’s fine.
No matter the roster Black Canary and Barbara would be the core of the team.
Until the new 52 where Barbara would leave the team for a bit after regaining the use
of her legs.
Number 9 - There was a tv show it was super shortlived but it happened 13 episodes and
it had the most 90s grunge rock theme I can’t play it but look it up.
Now people think this show is from the 90s but those people are wrong this series came
out in 2002 on the wb you know before it was the cw.
And well it has some ideas that will be revisited by later shows.
This series takes place in new gotham city which is just gotham but after it had been
abandoned by Batman.
Did he actually abandon the city we’ll never know there were 13 episodes.
Also in this black canary was not black canary but a telpath a metahuman who would have premonitions
of doom.
Huntress was also a metahuman who could shift into a cat form cause she was the daughter
of batman and catwoman her original origin pre crisis hot the cat transformation part.
The only person who has her backstory is Barbara this show went a little rogue but it was pre
social media days or the big boom of that era can you imagine if they tried this today.
Ok here us out so Black Canary changes into a real canary.
Number 8 - Black Canary’s Wig - Now modern black canary is blonde but not a real blonde
a woman who dyes her hair give me a moment while I faint that’s too shocking.
Well actually her dying her hair is a retcon classic black canary had a wig and it was
so intense it even changed her head shape.
However over time people began to think well couldn’t someone just snatch her wig.
She’s going to get her wig snatched I don’t care how good it is it’s coming off this
has led to some confusion when people pick up older comics and see her and ollie and
go who is that.
That’s her do you miss the wig let me know.
I love wigs if I was a superhero I’d have so many wigs if I was a villain I’d have
a helmet.
Number 7 - Their name has no purpose – So Birds of prey is a pretty cool name and at
first it kinda fit I mean Barbara was batgirl a bat’s not a bird but it has wings I make
enough reaches here to give Barbara one.
And oracle was black canary, but the rest of the team not bird themed sometimes we get
that but it’s incidental.
The name is just a name and this would become a running joke with allies asking them why
were they even called that.
Ted Kord the 2nd blue beetle would be one of those people this was back after the jli
so he had a bit more of a jokey persona still.
Number 6 - Ted and Barbara speaking of ted kord he was there cause he had a crush on
Barbara gorden, there’s been a bit of a couple war since new teen titans gave the
world kory and dick between that pairing starfire and nightwing and the pairing of nightwing
and oracle or batgirl.
Which do you like fight down below or really please don’t just tell me why you like what.
Well ted kord was introduced as a bit of a wildcard he was really into how smart Barbara
was and her outlook on life post paralysis which was to keep on keepin’ on and making
a difference.
This wouldn’t go anywhere cause Ted Kord would be murdered by Maxwell lord in countdown
to infinite crisis and well things are different since the new 52 and rebirth.
Number 5 - Another Perspective one of the runs that is quite celebrated for birds of
prey is the first gail simone run she’s done more than one with it she oft times sought
to undo what she saw as damage or a flippancy towards these female characters.
She got into quite the tiff with the author of cry for justice James Robinson when he
had Hal Jordan proclaim that he had had a threesome with the huntress and lady Blackhawk
although in all fairness Hal dind’t bring this up Ollie did and yet hal gets all the
hate.
Still this well it didn’t really need to be in the issue it’s kind of a throwaway
line but it annoyed Simone as she felt it was degrading to the characters in her book.
So she wrote a retaliation line wherein Hal had got blackout and the threesome never happened.
Using characters as pawns in personal feuds mileage varies.
Both instances are well they don’t really enrich either of their comics do they.
Still stuff like this happens and it’s always fascinating to watch when it does.
Number 4 Stance on Lethal Force – Now most superheroes have a very staunch no killing
policy it’s how we draw the line but the Birds of Prey would end up coming to have
a laxer view of it especially after coming up against the secret six.
Now one member who was always down for a good kill was the huntress in fact it was the brutality
of her methods that got her kicked out of the justice league of America.
And for awhile the rest of the team especially oracle a member of the bat family who may
as well have a don’t kill crest on their costumes even though they sometimes do was
all for her changing her ways.
However, she would later come to apologize to huntress and feel that sometimes lethal
force was necessary.
Number 3 - Connection to Harley So the movie that is coming out is largely featuring Harley
quinn which to some is perplexing Harley wasn’t an original member but I mean she wasn’t
an original member of the suicide squad either.
However, this isn’t the first time she has been added to a birds of prey endeavor.
Let’s go back to the early 2000s series Harley featuring heavily in that and an interesting
take yes she was the joker’s ex but she was also a cunning and manipulative sociopath
in her own right she was his girlfriend while he was out and not his doctor so she was still
a practicing psychologist who was working to achieve revenge on new Gotham for her mr
J. It was interesting rendition more cold and calculating than she usually is but no
less dangerous but I liked it that show though.
Number 2 - Barabara’s retcon so Gail Simone also took huge issue with batgirl’s paralysis
feeling it was an example of fridging and that it should never have happened and yet
she would write oracle as an amazingly compelling character however when she got the chance
she would retcon the paralysis in the new 52 she was still shot but she got better.
This ended up being a polarizing retcon while some felt that the paralysis should never
have happened a point people also don’t agree on many felt oracle was amazing and
a cool character and also strong rep for the physically disabled and to have that taken
away to fix a mistake was ableism while others were on the babs is the best batgirl train
forget oracle magic those legs better if Bruce can have his spine snapped and be fine Barbara
can be fine too.
For others it was yet another case of back to the status quo which can be quite tiresome
for longtime fans and others felt why not retcon out the whole shooting then since the
killing joke is a non canon story anyways.
There’s lots of feelings around this I like discussing it but people get triggered I like
a good triggering but the fun rousing discussion kind not the I’m sitting outside your kids
school and called your job kind.
Very different.
Number 1 - It Houses The Gayest Panel?
So Chuck Dixon’s run is said to house the gayest dc panel now that’s a bold claim
but it’s pretty gay look at this panel of black canary cradling oracle after saving
her as she asks her to call her Barbara which she does.
Woo calm down this is a family friendly channel…no it’s not.
This would be read through a queer lens by many fans I mean it’s hard to read it how
Dixon intended just friends saving each other it’s just not drawn that way this would
lead into the speculation that black canary was bisexual in fact there’s a line that
was cut in one issue where she says she’s 75% straight but we’ll always have this
panel.
Call me Barbara why did I give her a terrible batman voice.
So those were 10 shocking facts about the birds of prey did you know all of them are
you excited for this latest adaptation at the time of this recording share all your
thoughts down below.
I’m Sasha thanks so much for watching Top 10 nerd don’t forget to like share comment…