A Viewer's Guide To "Birds Of Prey"
"Birds of Prey" continues to air
worldwide in international syndication. As a result, we are gaining new
viewers -- and fans -- each and every day.
Over the past year, viewers have noticed discrepancies between the show
and the comics upon which it is based. I thought that I would take a
moment to address some concerns which have been raised over the past few
months:
Q: "Hey! What's this about Huntress being Bat's daughter?
This isn't in the comics!"
A: Actually, it IS in the comics. The Silver Age Huntress actually
WAS the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman. The
Huntress featured in BOP is a combination of both the Silver Age (Helena
Wayne) and modern (Helena Bertinelli) Huntresses (Helena Kyle possesses
Helena Wayne's genealogy and Helena Bertinelli's personality).
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Q: "Since when is Catwoman a meta-human?"
A: Judging from the costume that is featured in the opening credits, we're
assuming that the producers are basing their Catwoman upon the one
featured in the 1992 film, "Batman Returns" (In the movie,
Selina Kyle absorbs the essences of the cats -- nine lives, ability to
always land on one's feet, etc. -- which revive her after Shreck pushes
her off the building.)
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Q: "This isn't like the comics!"
A: BOP is best appreciated as an "Elseworlds" story; it exists
in a continuity all its own -- apart from the comics, films, etc. (i.e.,
in this continuity, Joker is alive.)
The show draws from several sources: the comics, the films, and
"Batman: The Animated Series" (cf., Harley Quinn and the voice
of Mark Hamill as The Joker.)
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Q: "What's this business about Oracle walking?"
A: Blame The WB for that one. According to Executive
Producer Hans Tobeason, the network had "issues" with Oracle
and her chair (what's more, they tried to freeze her out of the show
altogether by limiting her screentime.)
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Q: "Where's Batman/Batgirl? You can't
have a Batman show without Batman!"
A: "Birds of Prey" is not about either Batman or Batgirl. The
show is about Huntress, Dinah, and Oracle (who USED to be Batgirl.)
The title of the show -- "Birds of Prey" -- pretty much says it
all.
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Q: "Why did they have to kill Catwoman?"
A: In the comics, that was what led Helena Wayne to become The Huntress.