Given the superhero genre is as known for its eye-catching costumes as its action, it
should come as no surprise that Birds of Prey's aesthetic is rooted in the comics. But how
do the Birds of the screen compare to the Birds of the page?
Clothes make a statement, and the statement shouted by Harley Quinn's outfit is that more
is most definitely more. Necklaces heavy with charms, acid-yellow overalls, transparent
plastic motorcycle jackets heavy with fringe in a galaxy's worth of patterns, colors, and
textures they're all in her closet and then some. Harley never met a color she didn't
like, piles on jewelry by the pound, and power-clashes on principle. If there is a unifying factor
to her wardrobe, it is her love of contrasting the traditionally feminine against the rugged.
Pigtails, red lipstick, and ostentatious jewelry sit alongside ragged cut-offs, stick-and-poke
tattoos, and smeared eyeshadow.
"Isn't this fun? It's just like a sleepover."
The Harley Quinn of cartoons and comics, however, sports a very different look. Her debut in
the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor" established what was to be the character's
dominant design for years to come: a sleek unitard in red and black, its pattern echoing
traditional jester's costumes. That costume endures to this day, though recent DC comics
have expanded her wardrobe fairly dramatically. If a dominant look has emerged, it's the roller
derby-inspired design created by artist Amanda Conner for the character's 2014 solo series.
Even that outfit retains the red-and-black of the 1992 design, however, marking the cinematic
Harley as having a truly unique look.
Birds of Prey's Black Canary sports a look as intimidating as it is cool. On stage, she
is swathed in black fabric, her hair framing her face with a dramatic curtain of bronze.
Elsewhere, she dons a gold crop top, high-waisted pants, and a plethora of accessories. She's
a little bit punk, a little bit glam, and a little bit goth and in combining them all
with a toss of her hair, entirely her own brand of cool.
The Black Canary of the comics is among the best-dressed of the DC Universe as well, yet
in very different fashion. The character's most well-known look features a black leotard,
a bolero jacket, fishnet tights, and boots. It's a costume that can lean more or less
moto-chic, frayed punk, or pristine bombshell, depending upon the situation. Though it's
starkly different from her movie duds, its spirit is similar: striking, stylish, versatile
fashion for a woman as comfortable in the streets as she is on stage.
Black Mask isn't into subtlety. He is, after
all, lord of his club-bound kingdom why not shake up the typical businessman's wardrobe?
His suits might be as well-cut as any banker's, but he has them made in green velvet and floral
prints, paired with monogrammed gloves and vivid pocket squares. There's a flamboyance
to the villain, rooted in his success. He dresses according to his own tastes, because
he's built a world in which his tastes are the only ones that matter.
The Black Mask of the comics, in contrast, sticks to the classics. His suits are beautifully
made, but largely understated. If he branches out, it's by wearing pinstripes, a double-breasted
cut, or a simple pocket square. This understated canvas highlights the true departure of his
design: the black mask he takes his name from. Carved from the ebony wood of his father's
coffin, he is rarely seen without it. He's a terrifying man who lives to see his enemies,
their cronies, and more than a few innocent bystanders suffer beneath his thumb. Not the
kind of dude to experiment with sunglasses, but very much the sort to enjoy trading his
normal face in for a terrifyingly inhuman facade.
Birds of Prey's Victor Zsasz looks like the consummate creep. His clothes aren't much
to look at, but the way he wears them says it all. He slouches, sneers, and never seems
to be without a knife hidden in one of his many pockets, all the better to brandish at
the Birds. Add in a bleached crop of hair and prominent facial scars, and he looks every
inch the violent enforcer of Black Mask's sinister intentions that he is.
The Victor Zsasz of the comics is similarly unpleasant, but to very different ends. He's
painfully thin, often shirtless, and absolutely covered in tally marks one for each life he's
claimed. This Zsasz is a demented serial killer, and his negligible clothing underlines this
fact. His eyes tend to bulge and roll, his teeth to clench in manic glee, a knife ever-present
in his wiry hands. The cinematic Zsasz might look like the jerk lurking in the alley, but
the comics Zsasz looks like he's straight out of a nightmare.
The Cassandra Cain of the Birds of Prey movies sports a look typical of any skater kid you
knew growing up: clothes for running, hanging out, lying low. Her cutoffs are the classic
kind, having clearly begun their life as actual jeans she took scissors to instead of something
created in the factory, topped by layers of hoodies, t-shirts, and jackets. Her most distinguishing
feature is the hot-pink cast on her arm, crowded with doodles of guns, playing cards, and others
icons. She's the punk kid in every sense: deliberately ragged, uninterested in fashion,
and likely to be kicked out of any given corner store for loitering.
"Do I look like I'm worth half a million dollars?"
"Not really."
The comics' Cassandra Cain sports a far sleeker look. Each superheroic persona she's claimed
Batgirl, Black Bat, and Orphan being the three most prominent has come clad in black and
yellow, closely-fit to her body for maximum stealth. Her Batgirl costume, likely still
her most well-known look, obscures her hair and face, exchanges the classic yellow gloves
and boots for black ones, and hollows out the bat-symbol on her chest into a simple
yellow outline. She's a shadow of the Gotham skyline, devastating and unstoppable in her
delivery of justice.
Played by the incomparable Rosie Perez, Birds of Prey's Renee Montoya is a pillar of power.
Her clothes enforce this: sleek slacks, button-downs, and blazers all say that this is not a woman
to be messed with. Her clothes are pared down to the essentials there are no pleats, appliques,
or patterns to be found on Renee Montoya. The steely police officer only offsets her
look with a simple gold chain and, occasionally, a pair of brass knuckles.
Generally speaking, the Renee of the comics keeps things similarly simple. But there's
a casual edge to her clothes that the cinematic Renee lacks, especially when she's on the
job. Though Renee does wear more formal clothes now and again, she favors t-shirts, jeans,
and leather jackets. As the Question, a role Renee assumed in the 2006 52 series, she keeps
things a little more formal, wearing a suit, tie, fedora, and face-obscuring mask. In both
universes, Renee's clothes make one thing crystal clear: She is absolutely not to be
messed with, and, in her practical shoes and boot-cut slacks, absolutely able to chase
you down if you make an ill-advised break for it.
Unlike certain other members of the Birds of Prey, Huntress largely sacrifices fashion
for function. Sure, she enjoys shades of purple, crop tops, and leather, but she dispenses
with the piled-on jewelry, prints, and whimsical jackets of her friends. Her look is tactical,
even militaristic, incorporating body armor, motorcycle gear, and the movie's only utility
belt. With her trademark crossbow in hand, she cuts a fearsome figure indeed which is
exactly what the ex-mafia princess wants.
Huntress maintains a similar look in the comics, favoring purple, leather, and enough pouches
to keep her well-stocked in weaponry. But there are also a few theatrical details the
cinematic Huntress might balk at. Most prominent is her mask, a purple affair that, at its
most dramatic, rises to two sharp points above her hairline. Then there are the cross motifs
she's often incorporated, a whole host of crop tops and belly cut-outs quite a bit more
revealing than her movie counterpart's, and closet's worth of thigh-high boots. Huntress
is never without her crossbow, signature color scheme, or a pouch or two to stow her bolts
in, but that doesn't mean she's seen no changes in her move to the big screen.
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