Birds of Prey #1 Discussion/Spoilers

[Koriand'r]

I talked a whole lot of trash in another thread about how I hated the line-up and didn't like the art, but Kelly Thompson is making me eat my words. Her writing elevated the material and forced me to overlook the negatives.

The crossed out list was cool, although I couldn't figure out who was between Katanna and Zatanna and the "Black" doesn't look like Black Orchid like I thought it was originally. Also, Themyscira has me intrigued and Barda was hilarious!

[Factor]

I enjoyed the issue. I also thought the reasoning for including Harley was contrived, but that's no surprise.
I liked pretty much everyone else, but Zealot got the weakest introduction. Barda was the highlight for me, even if the constant repetition of "Small Bat" made me get tired pretty fast. But it would be a cute nickname if not so overused.
The last page reveal is what worries me the most, to be honest. It just seems too random to have a timetravelling Maps. At least she does have a very cool look, so I'm willing to see what Thompson is up to.

[Mr. White]

Overall decent start, aside from Harley, pretty great art.

Though Goddamn is the whole "we need an unpredictable element" excuse to justify Harley's involvement so fucking tired and nonsensical. No one wants a wild card, thats stupid as Hell. When your constructing a team full of people you can at least trust and rely on, the last thing you want is someone you have no way of controlling or relying on.

It makes more sense if they just did the mission, Harley happens to be there, and they are forced to work together for mutual survival. Thats how most wild card's join the team, generally by complete accident.

110%

While not an overly offensive issue, the mere inclusion of Harley was a turn-off for me. The "rationale" behind it just doubles down on the stupidity and annoyance.

It would've been an easier pill to swallow if the argument for her inclusion was as a reserve, to activate if things go wrong and they need a chaos element to ensure a successful exfil. For example.

But thats just me...

[Factor]

I was scratching my head thinking why Dinah wouldn't consider Vixen and Huntress trustworthy. The list was cool but completely threw me out of the story.

[j9ac9k]

-- First off, I liked the first issue. Will continue.
-- I like the art a lot.
-- I really don't like Zealot's armored look - it's too bulky and makes her seem unimpressive somehow. I don't see why they can't give her a modified version of her 90s outfit, and her facepaint is incomplete. I also feel she should be taller. (and Grifter's bad joke makes zero sense since her armor completely covers her up)
-- I wouldn't have picked Harley for this book, but I don't mind how they wrote her in and I don't mind how she's being written. I hope we get some more insight into why Dinah couldn't pick some of the other heroes on that list. Even a mention of how her top 5 choices were busy or something would be enough for me.
-- I figured this involved Themyscira as a way to justify having a female team. I thought maybe Dinah was talking about Wonder Woman at the beginning with Ollie, but I suppose it was Maps.
-- It didn't occur to me until now, but does Barda have her Mega Rod? She didn't use it in the vampire fight and I'm wondering if they want to make her less powerful here to even them all out.

[Triniking1234]

I'm guessing Williamson's Green Arrow mini finished before Knight Terrors, right?

[Factor]

I'm guessing Williamson's Green Arrow mini finished before Knight Terrors, right?

It was on hiatus during the event, but it will be back and has been extended to 12 issues (possibly more).

[M@Bowers2014]

And the events in this version of Birds of Prey take place AFTER Green Arrow #6 which hasn't come out yet. As far as the Harley wild card thing. I like that Kelly had Black Canary resist that idea hard. Hell as soon as they meet up with Harley, Dinah is like, "Nah. Screw this.", which I really liked.

[j9ac9k]

And the events in this version of Birds of Prey take place AFTER Green Arrow #6 which hasn't come out yet. As far as the Harley wild card thing. I like that Kelly had Black Canary resist that idea hard. Hell as soon as they meet up with Harley, Dinah is like, "Nah. Screw this.", which I really liked.

Hm... makes me wonder if Canary will have to show her loyalty to Harley at some point as part of the team.(especially if Harley is shown to really be willing to risk her life for Sin - which I believe she would be, given her speech. It's giving me Spike/Dawn vibes ...)

[Frontier]

I'm guessing Williamson's Green Arrow mini finished before Knight Terrors, right?

And WildCATS ends with Grifter and Zealot together.

And the events in this version of Birds of Prey take place AFTER Green Arrow #6 which hasn't come out yet. As far as the Harley wild card thing. I like that Kelly had Black Canary resist that idea hard. Hell as soon as they meet up with Harley, Dinah is like, "Nah. Screw this.", which I really liked.

What should always be the natural reaction to Harley .

[Mantis-Ray]

And WildCATS ends with Grifter and Zealot together.

What should always be the natural reaction to Harley .

The only thing missing is Zealot should have punched her once she got too close. Really it feels like Zealot and Barda considering their nature as violent warriors should have less leniency towards Harley's obnoxiousness.

Someone's job should definitely be to regularly tell her to shut up.

[thwhtGuardian]

I usually try to avoid major spoilers...but that ending gave me an ear to ear grin. Let's just say that if you love Gotham Academy as much as I do then you need to pick this up. So, my reaction to the twist at the end over with I'll go back to the start and say that although this is pretty much your typical gather up the team kind of a plot it's well executed and has some pretty fun character moments as each team member is introduced. I know that some fans will be put off by the lack of Babs and Huntress but there is a plot point explaining the change up, sure, it's vague and mysterious now, but it seems like something that will be explained as the story progresses. I'm not sold on Harley being able to go toe to toe with Cass just because she's unpredictable but I'm not opposed to her very presence on the team. All in all, although light on plot the action was great and it had a fun tone so I'm all in on this book.

[Factor]

I love Gotham Academy, but I don't usually like having time displaced versions of other characters around, so I'm not sold on the surprise appearance. Especially as it's someone with a tenuous at best connection to the main cast, so it just feels very random to have that character be the one to instigate the events in the book.

[thwhtGuardian]

I love Gotham Academy, but I don't usually like having time displaced versions of other characters around, so I'm not sold on the surprise appearance. Especially as it's someone with a tenuous at best connection to the main cast, so it just feels very random to have that character be the one to instigate the events in the book.

Other than not being a fan of time displaced characters(I don't personally mind the idea)I don't see why the rest would be a negative. Why does it matter if she's never had a connection to the cast before? It just felt light and fun to me and I'm there for that.

[kcekada]

Though Goddamn is the whole "we need an unpredictable element" excuse to justify Harley's involvement so fucking tired and nonsensical. No one wants a wild card, thats stupid as Hell. When your constructing a team full of people you can at least trust and rely on, the last thing you want is someone you have no way of controlling or relying on.

Frankly, if BOP can't survive without HQ, then I don't think it should be published. Others may disagree.

I could see rare circumstances where bringing Harley as a distraction could be of benefit, but only in rare circumstances.

I'm not crazy about this style of artwork, but I'm old school and others may like it. It's not bad -- it's just kinda simple.