uring their final, epic battle, Batman defeats his greatest enemy, the Joker. The Joker manages to escape for a few hours, but during that time he takes out his vengeance against those Batman cares about most, as Catwoman is murdered in front of her teenage daughter, Helena, and Batgirl is shot and crippled. Across the country, a young girl named Dinah witnesses it all in a dream.
Seven years later, Barbara Gordon uses a wheelchair to get around, and has left Batgirl behind. She's become Oracle (Meyer), while Helena, the daughter of Catwoman and Batman, has evolved into Huntress (Scott). The crime-fighting duo may not always get along, but they do manage to save the world now and then.
Into town comes Dinah, who is now a teenager. She's not quite sure what she's looking for in the big city, but it doesn't take long for her to witness a tragic incident, when a man is hit by a bus. Dinah (Skarsten) can "see" things and has a vision that leads her to believe the man was murdered. Before the day is over, Dinah manages to get herself into trouble, and it's up to Huntress to kick butt and help her out. Dinah recognizes her from that childhood dream. With the help of a vision, Dinah is able to follow Huntress back to her lair, the Gotham clock tower. There she finds Oracle, who she realizes is the other woman from her dream.
While Dinah is ready to join up as a crime fighter, Oracle and Huntress aren't quite prepared to take her on as a superhero-in-training. Oracle discovers that Dinah is a meta-human who has a power that allows her to touch someone and see into his mind. Her particular power becomes an asset when Oracle realizes the teenager knows something about the man hit by the bus, the second of two strange suicides. Suddenly, their investigation opens up, leaving Huntress to go toe to toe with Detective Jesse Reese (Shemar Moore), Alfred (Ian Abercrombie) to put in his two cents, Helena's psychiatrist to question Barbara's motives and Dinah to prove she has what it takes to join the team.
These birds prove that they can fly
Birds of Prey is a new series from the producers of Smallville which delves deeply into Batman's world sans Batman. While the characters may have been born in the DC comic-book universe, both they and the story will develop along separate lines. Yes, the writing is great, the production values are excellent, and the cast is wonderful, but much like Smallville, this new series works because it is true to the spirit of the material.
Producer and writer Kalogridis gives a strong voice to Birds of Prey that is uniquely female. The powerfully written pilot quickly defines the characters and the universe in which the series takes place. With its rich production values and fantastic shots of New Gotham City and the clock tower, Birds of Prey builds a real world for the characters to inhabit.
While some fans-to-be are worried about the producers tinkering with the original and darker pilot, the changes are mostly cosmetic and don't affect the clever dialogue or rich characterization. This new pilot works as a terrific introduction to the world, which is set in the near future. Batman is gone, and people don't believe in superheroes anymore. The ladies of Prey have jobs, date when they can find the time and get in trouble when they cause property damage—inevitable fallout when you're a superhero.
It's impossible to know if the series will live up to the promise of the pilot, but Birds of Prey has a sparkling cast that fits as if they've been working together for years, from the sharp-tongued Huntress to the intrigued cop Reese. Yes, the cast is amazingly beautiful, with a character actor or two thrown in to give them weight, but the characters are so well defined and the actors are so talented that the combination works. Scott as Huntress is especially strong and looks to be the breakout star.
