Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #4 Review – Practically Perfect in Every Way
Thanks to Babs running her mouth, Huntress has taken her toys and is going home. Well, she’s actually going to kill Santo like she originally planned before she met Batgirl and Black Canary. That’s kind of home. It’s a home plan. But there’s also quite a bit of Huntress backstory, which is also home in a sense. Now we can finally see why she wants him dead so badly. We knew it had to do with the Bertinelli name, but what exactly happened between these two families?
Also, why didn’t Helena go after this family before joining Spyral? Why wait until now? Oh wait, I’m letting my New 52 knowledge shadow over whatever the Watchmen are doing to the DC Universe. Moving on…
Huntress’ story is actually quite a sad one, that really hit home to me as a mother. I won’t go into further details here, because it’s something you really have to read for yourself. Nevertheless, it wholeheartedly explains why Helena is hell-bent on killing this guy. Even Batgirl and Black Canary understand.
Did ya catch that they made up? When Huntress bursts in the nest of vipers, which is fairly literal, she’s almost killed due to her rash thinking. Babs and Dinah save her, but she has no interest in thanking them or even sticking around. That is, until Batgirl calls out her real name. Remember that server room Batgirl nearly got them all killed in? She was able to get plenty of information from the server before it went kaboom, which included lots of details on Helena Bertinelli. They invite her to return with them to the Watchtower and talk, which is where she unloads.
They do all kiss and make up, and no, they don’t find the fake Oracle this time. It’s all deep and tugs at the heartstrings, but it’s the humor slapped onto the panels that makes this particular issue amazing.
First of all, I nearly did a spit-take upon seeing this panel:
I really want sharp suits and hip hats to make a comeback. I think that’s what we’re all truly missing in our lives.
A few pages over, we have this epic gem.
It’s funny because it’s true. I shared this panel with other DC/Gotham comics fans, and we all got a huge kick out of it.
These aren’t the only humorous panels, either. Nearly every time the book changes scenes, there’s a lovely subheader intro to it.
This is exactly why I adore Batgirl and the Birds of Prey so much. It’s extremely dark and serious, but boy does it know how to lighten the mood. Top it off with some beautiful art, and you practically have a perfect superhero comic. I can’t wait to see where this comic goes next.
Our rating: YUS
Authors: Julie Benson and Shawna Benson
Artists: Roge Antonio and Allen Passalaqua
Publisher: DC Comics
Publish Date: 11/9/2016
Acquired via Purchase
