Birds Of Prey And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn Review

Title: Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
Cast: Margot Robbie, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Pérez, Ella Jay Basco, Ewan McGregor
Filmmakers: Cathy Yan (Director), Christina Hodson (Screenwriter), Margot Robbie (Producer)
Release Date: 07 February 2020
Available In: Cinemas
Rating: R (strong violence and language throughout, and some sexual and drug material)

It's Valentine's Day today, and the female-led Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (also known as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey at some cinemas) has now been out for a whole week. While I originally intended to see the film today for the special occasion, I also had a bad day at the office last Thursday (long story) that I told myself I deserved to treat myself to something nice. I therefore decided to watch the film on opening night instead, and as for having a good time, the film does deliver on that front. (I'm actually going to go see it again at the cinema after work tonight.)

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E13 'Devil's Eyes'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Devil's Eyes
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 19 February 2003
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: Having discovered that Helena is Huntress, Harley uses a machine that gives her meta-human hypnotic powers. She then hypnotises Helena and persuades her to knock Barbara unconscious and steal an access disk.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E12 'Feat of Clay'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Feat of Clay
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 19 February 2003
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: After a robber, Chris Cassius, breaks into a chemical factory and drinks a mixture that gives him the power to turn people to stone, Barbara cancels her vacation with her boyfriend, Wade.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E11 'Reunion'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Reunion
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 08 January 2003
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: Helena refuses to attend her high school reunion, not wishing to relive the past. But when Helena's visiting former classmates are murdered one by one, Barbara persuades her to get involved.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E10 'Gladiatrix'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Gladiatrix
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 08 January 2003
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: Concerned over the disappearance of several female meta-humans, Helena investigates Malcolm Lagg, who manages a fight club that pits meta-human women against one another as men watch. After luring Helena to a prison in Old Gotham, Malcolm captures her and injects her with a substance to make her more aggressive.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E09 'Nature of the Beast'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Nature of the Beast
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 18 December 2002
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: When a legendary mob boss, Al Hawke, receives a death threat, the only person he trusts to protect him is his son--Reese. Reese asks Helena for help, but when she learns that Reese's father is the same man who killed Dinah's mother, Black Canary, Helena questions her loyalty.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E08 'Lady Shiva'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Lady Shiva
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 27 November 2002
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: Helena is thrilled when her best friend from high school, Sandra, returns to New Gotham, but the crime fighters are troubled by a series of murders with the unmistakable mark of Barbara's nemesis, Lady Shiva. Determined to fight Lady Shiva as an equal, Barbara dusts off her Batgirl costume and experiments with technology that allows her to leave her wheelchair.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E07 'Split'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Split
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 20 November 2002
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: Frustrated by her relationship with Reese, Helena becomes intrigued when she meets Darkstrike, a meta-human who has come to New Gotham on the trail of a serial killer. Meanwhile, Barbara and Dinah discover that Darkstrike has a dangerous alter ego.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E06 'Primal Scream'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Primal Scream
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 13 November 2002
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: At Reese's request, Helena goes undercover to help thwart a gang of thieves terrorising New Gotham and quickly discovers that the group is part of a larger criminal infrastructure. Helena pursues the top boss until she is exposed, putting her in grave danger.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E05 'Sins of the Mother'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Sins of the Mother
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 06 November 2002
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: Along with Barbara and Helena, Dinah learns the truth about her past when her mother, Carolyn Lance, comes to New Gotham in search of the daughter she abandoned years before. Dinah is shocked to learn that Carolyn was once Batman's protege, Black Canary. Meanwhile, Helena finds out that Reese has family problems of his own when he becomes secretive about a ruthless gangster.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E04 'Three Birds and a Baby'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Three Birds and a Baby
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 30 October 2002
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: When Helena rescues an abandoned baby boy, Elliott, and brings him back to the clock tower, Barbara and Dinah try to help. However, to everyone's surprise, the baby is only happy when Helena is holding him.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E03 'Prey for the Hunter'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Prey for the Hunter
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 23 October 2002
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: Helena and Reese clash when they both try to track down a serial killer who destroys metahumans by usurping their powers. Meanwhile, Dinah skips going to school when she learns from Helena that there is a metahumans only bar.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E02 'Slick'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Slick
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 16 October 2002
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: Harley hires Slick, an evil meta-human who can turn from solid to liquid, to kill the honest cops who thwart her evil schemes. When Reese becomes the next intended victim, Helena protects him, and their mutual attraction continues to grow.

Revisiting Birds of Prey (2002): S01E01 'Pilot'

Title: Birds of Prey
Story: Pilot
Cast: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Mia Sara, Ian Abercrombie
Producers:  Laeta Kalogridis, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola
Air Date: 02 October 2002
Available On: CW Seed

Summary: Into these women's lives comes an innocent teenage girl named Dinah, who is drawn to the clock tower by powerful, haunting visions. Unsure of her background but impressed by her budding meta-human powers, the two crime fighters allow Dinah to help them thwart a criminal scheme that has resulted in several mysterious suicides and threatens the city's infrastructure.

Helena Wayne 40th Anniversary: Wonder Woman #293 Review

Title: Wonder Woman #293
Story: Book Three: Countdown to Chaos
Characters: Wonder Woman (Diana Prince), Huntress (Helena Wayne), Power Girl (Kara Zor-L), Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), Starfire (Princess Koriand'r), Raven
Creators: Paul Levitz (writer), Roy Thomas (writer), Gene Colan (artist)
Publication Date: 30 June 1982
Available In: Digital

Summary: Following the attacks of Famine, Plague, and War on Earths 1, 2, and X, Death is the last of the four Horsemen left to appear. On Earth-1, Raven is met with an inexplicable intense pain and it is up to Starfire and Wonder Girl to help her. On Paradise Island, Donna's mother, Queen Hippolyta, and Paul Von Gunther of Science Island attempt to heal her using the purple healing ray, but trace the source of her pain to an alternate Earth--a world of immortals known as Earth-I. The Amazonian Queen realises she must send her daughter and Starfire to that alternate Earth to combat the problem there. On arrival, Starfire and Wonder Girl are met with the final Horseman--Death--whom they successfully fight and defeat.

Following the defeat of Death on Earth-I, the Adjudicator develops a weird fascination with the heroines who successfully defeated his apocalyptic creations. He decides to capture each of the heroines as specimens for further study. Trapped in the Adjudicator's spaceship, it is up to all of the heroines to work together and learn as much about their new enemy as possible to plan their own escape. If they don't get out on time, the Adjudicator could make them history along with their respective Earths!

Helena Wayne 40th Anniversary: Wonder Woman #292 Review

Title: Wonder Woman #292
Story: Book Two: Seven Against Oblivion
Characters: Wonder Woman (Diana Prince), Huntress (Helena Wayne), Power Girl (Kara Zor-L), Black Canary (Dinah Lance), Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Madame Xanadu, Lois Lane
Creators: Paul Levitz (writer), Roy Thomas (writer), Gene Colan (artist)
Publication Date: 31 May 1982
Available In: Digital

Summary: Following Wonder Woman and Zatanna's battle with Famine in Calcutta, India, the two women return to Washington DC where they meet with Pulitzer-winning journalist, Lois Lane, for a brief interview. Following the assault on Calcutta, Lois suspects the remaining three Horsemen of the Apocalypse won't be far behind and wants to know if Earth-1 should prepare for their arrival. Wonder Woman declines to comment further on the matter as a precaution against causing mass panic, which could potentially make the threat of the Adjudicator even worse.

On Earth-2, Black Canary solicits the help of Huntress and Power Girl of the Justice Society to fend off the remaining three Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Together they take on Plague who arrives in the Atlanta City of Earth-2's Georgia. The trio of women are able to stop Plague from causing further damage, but not without Power Girl getting sick in the process. Back on Earth-1, civilian Linda Danvers finds herself on the doorstep of Madame Xanadu at Wonder Woman's suggestion. The latter quickly deduces that the former is really Supergirl, and together they are transported to Earth-X where they assist the Phantom Lady in taking down the third Horseman known as War. Once again, the heroines are successful, but the danger isn't over yet. They still have Death--the last Horseman--to deal with!

Batgirl #34 Review

Title: Batgirl #34
Story: Crash and Burn
Characters: Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Black Canary (Dinah Drake), Huntress (Helena Wayne)
Creators: Gail Simone (writer), Fernando Pasarin (artist)
Publication Date: August 2014
Available In: Print | Digital

Summary: The epic finale of Deadline (and Gail Simone's run) begins with a yacht in the middle of Gotham Harbour, just as Charise Carnes prepares to set into motion her ultimatum on Gotham's criminal underworld. Also cruising through Gotham Harbour is Batgirl and two allies: her best friend, the Black Canary, and Earth-2 refugee, the Huntress. Together these three ladies are about to put up a fight for the rights of Gotham's citizens, including the ones Charise intends to kill.

Batgirl #34 Preview

BATGIRL #34
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN
Cover by ALEX GARNER
Batgirl teams with Huntress and Black Canary to stop the evil of Obscura! After everything Barbara has been through to become Batgirl, will she be undone by her demons?
AUGUST 13 | RATED T | $2.99 | PRINT | DIGITAL

NOTE: This issue is part of the Batgirl: Deadline storyline (Batgirl #27-34).

Batgirl #33 Review

Title: Batgirl #33
Story: Deadline, Part 2
Characters: Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Black Canary (Dinah Drake), Huntress (Helena Wayne)
Creators: Gail Simone (writer), Fernando Pasarin (artist)
Publication Date: July 2014
Available In: Print | Digital

Summary: Batgirl #32 saw the protagonist, Barbara Gordon, on the edge of her limits as a superhero after her arch nemesis, Charise Carnes (aka Knightfall), returned to Gotham bigger, badder, and more powerful than ever before. While Charise essentially shares the same goals as Barbara in that she wants to look out for Gotham's best interests, she also has an extreme and ultimately totalitarian idea of justice comparable to that of a dictator. Barbara is especially weary of her persistent use of violence as a way of getting her message across. The final straw for her was the amputating of Ricky Gutierrez' brother's hand to force the former into dropping his lawsuit against Barbara's father, James Gordon, for a shooting incident involving the GCPD. 

Knowing that she has to take things a step further if she is to take down Charise once and for all, Barbara recruits the help of her oldest and closet friend, Dinah Drake-Lance, who operates as Black Canary and the current leader of the Birds of Prey. Barbara fills her in on her case with Knightfall, and Dinah feels that she is embarking on a suicide mission, but agrees to help her out regardless. At the end of this conversation, they gain the support of one more individual, Helena Wayne, who chanced upon their meeting in one of her rare visits to Gotham.

Batgirl #33 Preview

BATGIRL #33
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN
Cover by ALEX GARNER
The deadline for all criminals to leave the area is fast approaching, and anyone left will be killed on sight. Knightfall lays down the law, but Batgirl has a plan of her own.
JULY 09 | RATED T | $2.99 | PRINT | DIGITAL

NOTE: This issue is part of the Batgirl: Deadline storyline (Batgirl #27-34).