Black Canary has led the Birds of Prey into one of their most dangerous missions in the team’s history: a heist on Themyscira. This is all motivated Black Canary trying to save Sin from a future prophecy by the time traveling version of Mia Mizoguchi. Based on the cover for Birds of Prey #2 the team will be running into Wonder Woman during their time on Themyscira. Given what is going on with Wonder Woman right now they will be catching Diana at a point in time she won’t see eye-to-eye with the team. Let’s find out how things go Birds of Prey #3.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Leonardo Romero
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
SOLICITATION
“THE FIRST MISSION FOR THE NEW TEAM! DESTINATION: THEMYSCIRA! The covert first mission of the re-formed Birds of Prey has established their beachhead…in Themyscira! What could be so important to Black Canary that she’d risk the wrath of the greatest warriors on Earth?!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
With all the set-up for the heist taking place in Themyscira the Birds of Prey are able to get right into the mission. That’s exactly where Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero knock it out of the park with Birds of Prey. The complete focus is seeing this new Birds of Prey roster operate in a mission. In the process this is the best example of why this team has a long-term future.
What makes Birds of Prey #3 so successful is the chemistry of not only the superhero team but the chemistry of Thompson and Romero. Its very easy to see when a creative team understand one each other’s strengths as creators. We see that with how Thompson and Romero play into each other’s strengths to choreograph the entire heist mission on Themyscira. There is specific timing with every scene and action that creates a strong flow from page to page.
This strong creative chemistry helps to elevate what we see the Birds of Prey do. We already saw from Birds of Prey #1 that each member is bringing their own specialty to the team. But now with Birds of Prey #3 we get to see how all their skills and powers work in a team environment. Which feed well into how Black Canary chose Batgirl, Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn to make her heist mission to save Sin as smooth as possible.
Most importantly, we see each character have there actions speak as loudly as the words they get. Whether it was Harley Quinn constant banter or Big Barda and Zealot being badasses, there was a feeling that everyone got an equal amount of screen time.
By doing this Thompson and Romero where able to give much needed development for Zealot. Out of the entire roster she is likely the “newest” member that fans are learning about. The ceremony she makes to create a promise with Themyscira was a great way to put over what she is about. This no-kill rule gives you a good idea of who Zealot is, which is backed up by the fighting skills she shows off against the Amazons.
For as successful as the Birds of Prey are, as Black Canary has a touching reunion with Sin, the mission is not complete until the team gets out of Themyscira. Knowing this fact, it was a cool reveal that Black Canary had Green Arrow ready to distract Wonder Woman the moment Diana would get alerted to what is going on in Themyscira. It was a great touch to showcase Black Canary’s leadership ability that she made this preparation. Even knowing Green Arrow could only buy her a few minutes works to show there was at least a plan to deal with Wonder Woman.
Speaking of, Thompson and Romero did well in showing Green Arrow use Wonder Woman not wanting to hurt her friends to buy the time that Black Canary needed. Wonder Woman being a tank that barely felt all of the attacks Green Arrow was throwing her was handled well. It didn’t bury either hero, which is not an easy thing to do as we’ve seen in so many of these hero vs hero clashes.
With all that build the stage is now set for an epic fight between the Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman. Going into this upcoming fight Thompson already established that the Birds of Prey know they don’t stand a chance against Wonder Woman’s overwhelming power. Having Big Barda in particular mention this showed that. But now after three issues we know that this Birds of Prey roster can be creative with the way they go about things. That creativity can open the door for them to escape Themyscira with Sin and avoid Wonder Woman defeating them.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Birds of Prey #3 builds on what the two previous issues built to create the best comic book reading experience possible. By doing so Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero are quickly establishing Birds of Prey as one of DC Comics best comic books. If they keep up this momentum that “best comic book” title won’t be something they are contenders for but champions of.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10