History ComicBook / BirdsOfPrey

* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: "I am heterosexual to the bone" (see also BiTheWay and LesYay).

* BiTheWay
** When fighting Talia Al Ghul, whose superpower seems to be [[TheVamp dressing in skin-tight, low-cut outfits and talking in seductive tones]], Black Canary was originally supposed to mention that she was "75% heterosexual." Unfortunately, a series of miscommunications between the writers, artists and printers of the issue resulted in this being changed to "heterosexual to the bone." Gail Simone has stated that, [[WordOfGod according to her]], Canary is bisexual even if it never made it into the final printing.
** Savant, previously believed to be heterosexual, began a relationship with Creote when Creote finally revealed his feelings.
** Starling from the 2011 relaunch has also been confirmed to be bisexual by Swierczynski, and visits a former girlfriend in issue #5.

* {{Retcon}}: In the ''Blackhawks'' comic series, when Zinda Blake was brainwashed by Killer Shark to be his partner Queen Killer Shark, she had no loyalty to him. She abandoned Killer Shark to escape the Blackhawks twice in ''Blackhawks'' #200 and #204. And when Killer Shark and Queen Killer Shark capture the Blackhawks in #225, she betrays him, threatens his henchman to turn on him, and imprisons him with the Blackhawks. In ''Birds of Prey'', her brainwashed personally is shown to be completely loyal to Killer Shark, with her being completely in love and devoted to him, to the point that it's implied that she has been sleeping with him in the past.

A movie set in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse is planned for 2020, titled ''[[Film/BirdsOfPrey2020 Birds of Prey (and The Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn)]]''. It's set to be DarkerAndEdgier as the first R-rated DCEU movie, and features a rather creative cast of ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, ComicBook/BlackCanary, ComicBook/{{Huntress}}, [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Renee Montoya]], and [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]]. Though the team lineup itself consists of Black Canary, Huntress, and Cassandra. No word on whether Barbara Gordon will make any appearance yet.

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: ''Fearless Defenders'', launching in February 2013, is already being called "Marvel Birds of Prey". (Confirmed team members are Valkyrie, Misty Knight and [[ComicBook/NewMutants Dani Moonstar]])

** An Asian woman, dressed [[WomanInWhite all in white]], shows up at the end of the first issue of the relaunch. Based off her ancestry and her martial prowess, Black Canary believes it to potentially be either Lady Shiva or Cassandra Cain, either of whom stand a very good chance of killing not only Canary, but the Huntress as well. In issue #4 the reveal comes that it is actually...[[spoiler: the sister of the Twelve Brothers in Silk?]]

* WomanInWhite: An Asian woman calling herself the "White Canary" shows up at the end of issue 1 of the relaunch. Her costume makes sense once her identity is revealed : [[spoiler:In Asian fashion she is wearing white in mourning for her brothers, the Twelve Brothers in Silk, who she killed after their defeat at Black Canary's hands to uphold her father's honor]].

The series served as the basis for a live-action TV series which took a different approach to things. The core of the team is Huntress (daughter of Batman and Catwoman, as per her pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} backstory), Dinah, a touch-telepath and the daughter of Black Canary, and Oracle (Barbara Gordon, forced to give up being Batgirl after becoming paraplegic). Harley Quinn serves as the BigBad. Tropes for this iteration of the concept can be found in the article ''Series.BirdsOfPrey''.

''Birds of Prey'' is a Creator/DCComics series running from 1999 to 2009, relaunched in 2010, and relaunched again as part of the ComicBook/{{New 52}} in 2011, created and originally written by Creator/ChuckDixon. It features ex-ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Barbara Gordon after she was paralysed at the hands of ComicBook/TheJoker in Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' and reintroduced in the ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' series of the early-90's. Now the tech-savvy [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection Oracle]], she is a wheelchair using computer genius who leads a [[AmazonBrigade team of superheroines]] from a [[HackerCave high-tech HQ]]. Originally located in the Clocktower in Gotham City, her headquarters was later moved to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Metropolis]] and then to Platinum Flats.

* BornInTheWrongCentury: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]. Zinda Blake was originally a fighter pilot and hero from the 1950's who was brought to the early 21st century via TimeTravel. Due to her liberal and highly controversial beliefs regarding women's rights, responsibilities and abilities she is more at home now than she was in her original era, but she is struggling to deal with all of her [[Comicbook/{{Blackhawk}} friends and teammates]] dying of old age. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Also, she can hardly get anybody to honor her senior citizens discount]].

* GreenEyes: Catman has them, and they identify him as a member of a gang of criminals [[WhatBeautifulEyes when both hostage and hero recognize their beautiful uniqueness]].

* MoreExpendableThanYou: Huntress challenges Lady Shiva to a duel in order to prevent Black Canary from doing the same thing, since in Canary's current condition she has almost no chance of surviving the encounter. Huntress feels that, if somebody has to die, let it be herself, since Canary has a family and loved ones and a ''life'' to lose. [[SubvertedTrope Huntress ultimately survives the encounter]], and Canary explains to her [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments that she has a just as much of a family and loved ones as Canary does]].

* RaisedCatholic: Huntress, whose faith is a large part of her character despite her vigilante lifestyle, from the [[CreepyCoolCrosses crosses on her costume]] to the fact that she prays before fighting Lady Shiva, and thanks God [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments for allowing her to live]].

* SpitTake: Helena cannot hold on to her beer when Zinda [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments complains about how nobody will honor her senior citizens discount]].

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Oracle, especially to those who do not know her true identity and thus ''only'' confer with her over radio. Babs confers with a "council" of fellow hackers at one point, each of whom is represented only by a voice, an icon on the screen and addressed with the name of a color (Oracle is green). We never learn who any of them are, although it is implied that "Blue" is [[ComicBook/BlueBeetle Ted Kord]]....with whom Babs once "[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome cyber did it]]."

* WhatBeautifulEyes: Catman is recognized by a hostage, which leads Huntress to deduce his role in the robbery she is following, because of his GreenEyes, which stand out amongst everybody else.

-->'''Oracle:''' You traveled five thousand miles. You hooked up with a loose cannon -- possibly psychotic -- vigilante who doesn't place much value on life... and a world-class felon. You stressed my network to the max. You faced the world's deadliest martial artist. All to get back at a guy who ''didn't call you'' the next day. [[WasItReallyWorthIt Was it]] ''[[WasItReallyWorthIt worth]]'' [[WasItReallyWorthIt it]]?\\

A movie set in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse is planned for 2020, titled ''[[Film/BirdsOfPrey2020 Birds of Prey (and The Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn)]]''. It's set to be DarkerAndEdgier as the first R-rated DCEU movie, and features a rather creative lineup of ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, ComicBook/BlackCanary, ComicBook/{{Huntress}}, [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Renee Montoya]], and [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]]. No word on whether Barbara Gordon will make any appearance yet.

* GoodOldFisticuffs: Zig-zagged when Huntress and Lady Shiva square off in a fight to the death. Even though she never expects to actually ''win'', Huntress plans to at least ''injure'' Shiva by getting close and brawling with her instead of fighting at a proper distance with a refined style. Her logic is that, though Shiva has spent years dueling the most refined and skilled martial artists in the world, Huntress is a street fighter and understands how to get up close and personal in a fight. Huntress does manage a single knockdown on Shiva, but gets beaten into hamburger to do so. Shiva remains unscathed.

* BornInTheWrongCentury: Zinda Blake was originally a fighter pilot and hero from the 1950's who was brought to the early 21st century via TimeTravel. Due to her liberal and highly controversial beliefs regarding women's rights, responsibilities and abilities she is more at home now than she was in her original era, but she is struggling to deal with all of her [[Comicbook/{{Blackhawk}} friends and teammates]] dying of old age. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Also, she can hardly get anybody to honor her senior citizens discount]].

* TheBoxingEpisode: Zig-zagged. The cover of issue 106 is done in the style of a boxing poster promoting a bout between Big Barda and Knockout, but the actual story doesn't involve the sport at all. ''Punching'', on the other hand, is very much present.

** Mary, a former [[ComicBook/NightOfTheOwls Talon]], is Strix, [[AltumVidetur Latin for "Owl"]].

''Birds of Prey'' is a Creator/DCComics series running from 1999 to 2009, relaunched in 2010, and relaunched again as part of the ComicBook/{{New 52}} in 2011, created and originally written by Creator/ChuckDixon. It features ex-ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Barbara Gordon after she was paralysed at the hands of ComicBook/TheJoker in Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' and reintroduced in the ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' series of the early-90's. Now the tech-savvy [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection Oracle]], she is a wheelchair bound computer genius who leads a [[AmazonBrigade team of superheroines]] from a [[HackerCave high-tech HQ]]. Originally located in the Clocktower in Gotham City, her headquarters was later moved to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Metropolis]] and then to Platinum Flats.

A movie set in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse is planned for 2020, aptly named ''Film/{{Birds of Prey|2020}}''. It's set to be DarkerAndEdgier as the first R-rated DCEU movie, and features a rather creative lineup of ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, ComicBook/BlackCanary, ComicBook/{{Huntress}}, [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Renee Montoya]], and [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]]. No word on whether Barbara Gordon will make any appearance yet.

* BornInTheWrongCentury: Zinda Blake was originally a fighter pilot and hero from the 1950's who was brought to the early 21st century via TimeTravel. Due to her liberal and highly controversial beliefs regarding women's rights, responsibilities and abilities she is more at home now than she was in her original era, but she is struggling to deal with all of her [[Comicbook/{{Blackhawk}} friends and teammates]] dying of old age. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Also, she can hardly get anybody to honor her senior citizens discount]].

* MoreExpendableThanYou: Huntress challenges Lady Shiva to a duel in order to prevent Black Canary from doing the same thing, since in Canary's current condition she has almost no chance of surviving the encounter. Huntress feels that, if somebody has to die, let it be herself, since Canary has a family and loved ones and a ''life'' to lose. [[SubvertedTrope Huntress ultimately survives the encounter]], and Canary explains to her [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming that she has a just as much of a family and loved ones as Canary does]].

* RaisedCatholic: Huntress, whose faith is a large part of her character despite her vigilante lifestyle, from the [[CreepyCoolCrosses crosses on her costume]] to the fact that she prays before fighting Lady Shiva, and thanks God [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming for allowing her to live]].

* SpitTake: Helena cannot hold on to her beer when Zinda [[CrowningMomentOfFunny complains about how nobody will honor her senior citizens discount]].

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Oracle, especially to those who do not know her true identity and thus ''only'' confer with her over radio. Babs confers with a "council" of fellow hackers at one point, each of whom is represented only by a voice, an icon on the screen and addressed with the name of a color (Oracle is green). We never learn who any of them are, although it is implied that "Blue" is [[ComicBook/BlueBeetle Ted Kord]]....with whom Babs once "[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome cyber did it]]."

* BuryYourGays: Creote's suicide after Savant's murder [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope is actually a complete sham]], as the entire event was staged for Oracle's benefit. Once this is revealed it is Savant, who at the time thought he was straight, who attempts to really kill himself]].

Under Dixon the team centered around Oracle [[BrainsAndBrawn and the]] ComicBook/BlackCanary as they began working together and building a personal relationship in addition to their professional relationship. When Creator/GailSimone took over writing duties she introduced the ComicBook/{{Huntress}}, and several storyarcs later [[ComicBook/Blackhawk Lady Blackhawk]] to round out the core group, with heavy emphasis within the story that their [[TrueCompanions family]] was just as important as their crime fighting adventures. This teaming persisted until Canary's departure, around the time of her marriage to ComicBook/GreenArrow, after which the Birds took on a more [[HeroesUnlimited fluid line up]] with Huntress and Lady Blackhawk as senior field team leaders, and Misfit as regular Bird-in-training. However, the rest of the team was filled in such a way that it seemed like any female character from Franchise/TheDCU might show up next. Comicbook/{{Manhunter}} also became a regular during this period, supplemented by other heroes as needed.

Under Dixon the team centered around Oracle [[BrainsAndBrawn and the]] ComicBook/BlackCanary as they began working together and building a personal relationship in addition to their professional relationship. When Creator/GailSimone took over writing duties she introduced the ComicBook/{{Huntress}}, and several storyarcs later [[ComicBook/Blackhawk LadyBlackhawk]] to round out the core group, with heavy emphasis within the story that their [[TrueCompanions family]] was just as important as their crime fighting adventures. This teaming persisted until Canary's departure, around the time of her marriage to ComicBook/GreenArrow, after which the Birds took on a more [[HeroesUnlimited fluid line up]] with Huntress and Lady Blackhawk as senior field team leaders, and Misfit as regular Bird-in-training. However, the rest of the team was filled in such a way that it seemed like any female character from Franchise/TheDCU might show up next. Comicbook/{{Manhunter}} also became a regular during this period, supplemented by other heroes as needed.

Under Dixon the team centered around Oracle [[BrainsAndBrawn and the]] ComicBook/BlackCanary as they began working together and building a personal relationship in addition to their professional relationship. When Creator/GailSimone took over writing duties she introduced the ComicBook/{{Huntress}}, and several storyarcs later ComicBook/LadyBlackhawk to round out the core group, with heavy emphasis within the story that their [[TrueCompanions family]] was just as important as their crime fighting adventures. This teaming persisted until Canary's departure, around the time of her marriage to ComicBook/GreenArrow, after which the Birds took on a more [[HeroesUnlimited fluid line up]] with Huntress and Lady Blackhawk as senior field team leaders, and Misfit as regular Bird-in-training. However, the rest of the team was filled in such a way that it seemed like any female character from Franchise/TheDCU might show up next. Comicbook/{{Manhunter}} also became a regular during this period, supplemented by other heroes as needed.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Huntress explicitly states to Catman that there is a scale, with [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] & {{Superman}} [[IncorruptiblePurePureness at one end]] and ComicBook/TheJoker at the other. The middle of that scale, where she herself lives, is filled with {{gr|eyAndGrayMorality}}ay, but she is at least trying to change her position. Catman, she explains, needs to pick a side, since you cannot just hover in the middle forever.

** Black Canary is a [[ZigZaggingTrope complicated]] example; early issues had her explain that she no longer bothered with a secret identity because she no longer had a personal life to protect, and she used her real name and code name interchangeably. However, later issues had her maintain a life as florist Dinah Lance and made references to keeping her civilian and superhero lives separate, but while "on duty" she continued to introduce herself with her real name and was publicly recognized as Black Canary while "off duty." She even has a ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica credit card that she can use to purchase airline tickets without raising any attention. How this all reconciles with other events (Such as her very public marriage to ComicBook/GreenArrow/[=Oliver Queen=] without anybody then knowing that Arrow and Queen are the same person) has yet to be explained.