The latest Birds of Prey series has quickly found its momentum with the mission on Themyscira to save Black Canary’s sister, Sin, picking up in the previous issue. The new Birds of Prey team were put over both individually and as a team. But now they will be getting their biggest test as a team as they have caught the attention of Wonder Woman. With the Birds of Prey getting the attention of one of the Trinity members how will things go next? Let’s find out with Birds of Prey #4.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Leonardo Romero
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
SOLICITATION
“THE BIRDS VS. THE AMAZON WARRIORS! Chaos reigns as the first mission for the Birds of Prey has (unsurprisingly) gone sideways. Even with the collective battle prowess of her hand-picked team, did Black Canary bring enough firepower to fight their way off Themyscira?!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero do not disappoint delivering a blockbuster showdown between the Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman. Birds of Prey #4 was exactly what it was promoted to be and you just can’t help but enjoy every moment. Its hard hitting, emotional, and, most importantly, progresses the plot around Sin to its next level.
Having Big Barda be the first of the Birds of Prey was a great tone setter. Out of all the Birds of Prey members Big Barda is the only one that can stand toe-to-toe with Wonder Woman. While Wonder Woman ultimately comes out the winner Thompson and Romero make sure Big Barda gets her blows in as the team muscle. Big Barda’s showing worked into what her role was in Black Canary’s plan to buy the rest of the team time to try to get out of Themyscira with Sin.
As Big Barda vs Wonder Woman is the big fight we continue to see the rest of the chemistry with the team. Black Canary, Harley Quinn, and Sin are shown to work effectively with one another against the amazons. Zealot previous prayer allows her to fight without limitations of using deadly force. Then there is Batgirl, who is able to further back-up Big Barda by using her stealth and fighting skills to last longer against Wonder Woman than most would.
With how hard the team fights it all puts over the urgency of getting Sin off Themyscira. Creating this urgency adds to the importance of the mission in this first story arc. When they are all captured by Wonder Woman it leaves you wonder if this will lead to the end that was prophesied by future Mia Mizoguchi.
As things calm down Thompson does a great job shifting Wonder Woman from antagonist to ally once she and Philippus discover that Penelope is releasing Megaera. Digging into Greek mythology by having Megaera, the Fury representing jealousy and envy, was an great way to escalate the story. This pushes the story forward as we see the consequences of the Birds of Prey failing their mission to get Sin off Themyscira.
Given that this is the first mission for this Birds of Prey roster their failure is something that does not make them look bad. They did more with the short time they had to build their chemistry to fight their way through all of the Amazons except for Wonder Woman. There is no shame in that. Now Thompson and Romero set the stage to be even bigger so the Birds of Prey, with Sin’s help, can ultimately save the day against Megaera.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Birds of Prey #4 is pure fun with a lot of great action and character moments. The pacing of the story led this story gave time to properly present Wonder Woman as an antagonist for the Birds of Prey and then quickly shifting the story to its next big phase. Everything comes together for a can’t miss comic book from Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10