Birds of Prey #20 – Kelly Thompson, Writer; Sami Basri, Artist; Vicente Cifuentes, Inker; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: It’s a new arc and a new mission, as the Birds of Prey are back in Gotham – but not for long. A heist of an experimental drug from a Gotham penthouse has Cass on the case – and surprisingly, Batman actually lets her take lead after they compare notes. She finds plenty of evidence – maybe too much, as it starts to feel like a false lead. That leads Oracle to take charge and develop an elaborate mission plan that takes the whole team across the world. Cass and Sin are staying in Gotham, performing a key stakeout, while Black Canary is headed to Tokyo for an important weapons conference undercover. Barda, meanwhile, is investigating a massive futuristic skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates – something she’s not happy with, given the burning heat and the fact that her bikini armor is likely to provoke an international incident. And so the Birds are sent on their biggest mission yet.
Kelly Thompson is amazing at combining big moments with small moments, and that’s especially important in a book with a large cast like this one. This is the first time the cast doesn’t seem to have any bonus members hanging around, and that lets the core cast shine. There are some really nice moments between Cass and Sin, as the two bond over their mutual past of being used as weapons, and Sin starts to explore her identity and her bond with the goddess Megeara in a very interesting way. The Black Canary subplot is brief, but drops some really interesting hints. And the Barda story is alternatively hilarious and action-packed as she infiltrates the skyscraper and meets a mysterious figure – one that, if I’m right, is the debut of a fan-favorite animated villain. And then things take a very serious turn, one that ups the stakes of this arc in a huge way with a shocking final page.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
